Upgrading and refining Mostyn 1977 Penmaenmawr to Hope St/Sandhills consists whilst adhering to prototype

[Tilly]

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Collecting together the period notes of wagon enthusiasts; 1977ish pictures of the prototype consists and the BR publications of the day has allowed us to make a start on more accurately replicating these two traffic flows, that changed over time in terms of the wagon variants used. The aim is to use Rumney etched underframes/resin print fittings & kit/3D print or even heavily reworked RTR bodies, if that gets the job done more efficiently given the queue of Octel tank variants waiting in line for our 3D printed body/bespoke etched underframe route onto Mostyn.



The Sandhills (Liverpool) hopper rake (formed currently of considerably upgraded 51L kits modelled as diag 1/163 & 1/166 ex ironstone hoppers) has already made its debut on Mostyn at the Macclesfield 2023 exhibition and is a work in progress, more hopper types (diag 1/161, 1/162) still to be added. A fitted head of spare vanfits...included in this formation...was a popular way of adding brakeforce to such workings in the 1970s and made it easier to run such trains amongst the faster ones on busy lines, until more vacuum brake fitted hoppers could be cascaded into this traffic and remove the requirement.

The period pictures at Chester below (Hope St, Manchester to Penmaenmawr empty tipplers with brakevans fore & aft) and Winwick jcn (hopper stone loads for Sandhills) respectively...the first two images by currently unknown photographers, the latter by Dallam Dave, give an idea of what we're trying to create.

Current modelling centres on the tippler variants of the Hope St working, with any diagram 1/161, 1/162 hopper work merely a weekend project.

We have five of the elderly and inaccurately dimensioned Mainline hopper bodies available for the 1/161, 1/162 hopper build if they produce the right result once reworked and mounted on a modified 9ft Rumney underframe. The Superstripped prototype for this route had an appointment with the razorsaw to reduce it to components usable in the project.

All of the wagons used in these two flows will be modelled loaded, therefore the protrusion of the square styrene used to widen/lengthen the hopper body into the load area won't be visible on the end result.

The scale 1/161, 1/162 diagram in the excellent David Monk-Steel hopper tome provided the basic dimensions necessary to add to the RSL diagram.



Amongst the 1/180, 1/181, 1/183 (9ft & 10ft wheelbase), 1/184 (fitted & unfitted) tipplers were a few rebuilt 21T mineral opens on 24 1/2 ton underframes...two of these will feature in the new Hope St working, again as per the period image below, these are already running on Mostyn (having debuted at the Macclesfield 2023 exhibition), currently at the rear of up trip 47 revenue and will be added into the new Hope St formation with the 6+ tipplers approaching completion, for the Spalding 2023 exhibition in November.

The complete 2024 consist for the Hope St will be 2x SLW class 24, 2x SLW class 25/1 or 25/3, 20T standard brakevan fore & aft, 24 tipplers from the above diagrams and 2 x rebuilt 21/24.5 T mineral open, grossing around 950 prototype tonnes all up for the wagons. The limiting gradient of the prototype route for this working was likely to be the climb from Warrington Walton Old jnc past Arpley and out onto the WCML at Bank Quay.

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This fitted 1/184 is the latest visitor to the paint shop and will be finished in pure rust...Ore 26 VB decals to add before a few dirty matt varnish washes/white & grey weathering powders. Underframe frame dirt layers to complete yet.

A little dry weather today is allowing a few rust & faded grey shades to be added...decal work when the showers pass through...

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[Richard Oldfield]

Hi Dave,

Very nice to see these two formations rapidly taking shape!

Looks like there will be quite a lot of testing going on when Mostyn is erected in the clubrooms in advance of our trip to Spalding in early November.



Cheers,

Richard

[Tilly]

...bring it on

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One side of each almost decal complete...a couple of sets of etched body corners to make, then underframe painting and all over weathering to do once the other side decals are complete.

Two rebuilt 21/25T mineral opens will be added to the 6+ tipplers for Spalding...these were ex shops in the Summer of 77...

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[Tilly]

A little Sunday engineering work has seen a pair of Bill Bedford RCH W irons fitted into a Rumney 16ft 6in, 9ft wheelbase unfitted underframe for the prototype 1/161, 1/162 hopper. The top-plate has been scrawked out to accommodate the modified Mainline RTR hopper body.



The HMRS hopper book with its scale drawing showed that the hopper support at each end needed re profiling and new inner struts will be required.

Filing 1.5mm brass L's from fret to form half of each etched body corner strengthener on two more tipplers is a bit mundane just now but the end result is well worthwhile.

[Tilly]

Weathering and final painting under way just now on the current batch of six tipplers. My approach is to group the project together and work in turn on whatever looks least likely, a little at a time until the intensity and balance are about right, whilst referring to prototype images of each model. Wooden toothpicks, dilute rusty enamel shades and medium sable brush with a little enamel thinners on the bristles is the toolkit of choice for this stage...

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Weathering powders to finish once the weathering wheelsets are fitted/any stray paint removed from the springing mechanisms.

Dave

[Richard Oldfield]

Hi Dave,

Those recent work-in-progress images of the tipplers are really starting to capture the feel and texture of the 8J22 MWFO Penmaenmawr to Manchester Hope Street conditional working.

We must remember to marshall a through-piped brake van next to the locomotive in order to ensure the fitted head is operative on what will eventually be a heavy train.

Cheers,

Richard

[Tilly]

...working through the maximum allowable trailing tonnages for this train with a pair of Sulzer type 2s via Warrington Walton Old jcn and Bank Quay was interesting Rich. We'll need either 2x24, 2x25/1 or 2x25/3 from Phil for the complete 28 wagon consist, as any other pairing falls short on max trailing weight allowed.

Dave

[Tilly]

A little more individual detail to touch in but approaching a point that I'm happy with...

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Dave

[jdfaulkner]

Dave,
That looks like a fine collection of wagons forming up there!
David

[Tilly]

...thanks David...another six to finish off and then the second twelve to start/complete.

Dave

[Tilly]

A four segment former Mainline hopper body atop a modified Rumney 9ft tippler underframe...the prototype for five diagram 1/161, 1/162s for Mostyn...

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Dave

[jim s-w]

I'm a bit confused by this Dave. The mainline hopper was too long but the right width (8ft 6in over the side uprights) while the Replica kit was the right length but too narrow. Are you converting this into something else?

[Tilly]

...I'm using the David Monk Steel scale drawing in his HMRS hopper book...8' 6" at 4mm to the foot for the overall hopper width = 34mm...no confusion here. The secondhand RTR models that I purchased were in Mainline boxes but were certainly of varying origin (different plastics) once Superstripped. The prototype dimensions are all that I can adhere to. Grouping the RTR plastic bodies together I would surmise 3x Mainline and 2 others...possibly Replica...all with overthick sides/ends to the hopper body tops when compared with the DMS scale drawing...

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Dave

[jim s-w]

I'm going off this. What does the book give as the overall width out of interest?

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[Tilly]

...8'6" overall for the body width but an accurate model hopper top (sides/ends) width should be 1mm not 1.75mm (RTR overthickness) which means heavily thinning the upper bodysides/ends. I will be adding prototypical L section (brass) and web inserts on the corners at the top of the body, again as per prototype.

Dave

[Tilly]

25042 debuts at the SLW class 25 launch at Bentley, Crewe just now on the first wagons of the Penmaenmawr to Hope St stone working...weathering to add to the 25 yet...

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Dave