Alpha Mill

Outside the fence.
JFS
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby JFS » Wed May 23, 2018 9:27 pm

Sometimes you have to have a bit of luck and in this case it all came together! I very much agree about the technology, and to me, the whole benefit comes in projects like this where the technology enables the "impossible".

Great also if you got the bug for the history, and to get in a "plug" - if you like mill engines, there are a couple not too far away which steam regularly. One is the Ellenroad engine

https://sites.google.com/a/ellenroad.or ... ning-Times

which is just off the M62 at the New Hey junction. And the other is the Trencherfield in the middle of Wigan.

https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Museu ... ngine.aspx

As it happens, both are next in steam on the 3rd June, but steaming days are pretty regular.

They both claim to be the biggest working mill engines in the world and I think they are both probably correct!

Dave Holt
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby Dave Holt » Mon Jun 11, 2018 2:40 pm

Hi Ralph.
Now I'm back into the Forum, I just wanted to add my congratulations on your efforts to make a realistic representation of this mill. You are certainly achieving fantastic results with clever use of multiple layers to replicate the decorative brickwork used in George Stott designed mills from the early 20th century. Howard originally asked me to send him some of the Regent mill information I had also got from Oldham Local Interest section of the library, so that he could mock up the larger end wall he sent to you. I'm so pleased you've taken it on even further and are well on the way producing your mill. The preliminary sections you had at Scalefour North looked very good and appear to have been improved even more with the production versions.
I can't wait to see the final results, especially as you are also looking to represent the engine, also an interest of mine - although I'm more drawn to Buckley & Taylor products and specifically their inverted vertical triple expansion engines (as supplied to the Regent).
Are you intending to create the correct chimney for your mill? A friend of mine has turned a scale 210 foot example for me in case i ever get around to the Regent project. My idea was to cover it in a printed brick paper drawn out as a developed truncated cone.
Best wishes with the whole project and I look forward to further updates as it progresses.
Dave.

ralphrobertson
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby ralphrobertson » Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:36 am

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your kind words, having been impressed with the drawing that Howard sent us it was only right that we should have a go at producing what is, after all, an imposing building. We are fortunate in having a laser cutter readily to hand which has made all this possible but I won't tell you of the rejects that were made on the way but eventually I worked out that it was achievable - it may not be a totally accurate model of Warwick Mill but it is pretty close!

There won't be a chimney modelled as the location for it would be off the baseboard but it may get 'introduced' into the backscene eventually. The engine will be 3-D printed if we can but the emphasis right now is to get the building made together with the engine house and part of the boiler house.

The photo below shows the back of the framework of the mill which just surrounds the touch screen monitor we are using to control the layout. This is an accurate portrayal of the size of Warwick Mill so as you can see it just fits with a few mm to spare. Chris, who has a 3-D printer, is working out how to allow the monitor to be removable once the mill is firmly fixed down, you can't get your arms in to unscrew the clamps we are currently using.

The second photo shows the 'scene' which we are developing and there we have Richard Dunning's nice lock gates seen through Dick Petter's lovely bridge. The signal box and the mill are mine and the Caprotti and the train are by John Lingwood. Once all this is completed that should be a great scene to watch trains go by and this is what we are aiming for. The train was moving but we will try and pose this shot again soon.

In the meantime the mill is advancing. The front and left hand walls are now firmly attached to the wooden framework. This proved interesting as I had to find a glue that would stick the laminated card. With having various laminations there is some 'bend' on the walls but PVA was not sufficiently strong to hold it flat. Also after applying shellac the glue doesn't stick too well so I tried out some Gorilla glue (never used it before) and went for this - the word blanket comes to mind when I look at the strength of this although it did need lots of lead to hold it down whilst setting but it seems to have worked perfectly.

Anyway, work is progressing and the tower end is coming up pretty quickly now - back to the drawing board (literally).

Ralph

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ralphrobertson
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby ralphrobertson » Sat Jun 23, 2018 12:58 pm

I have just been cutting the bottom layer of the right hand wall of the mill and thought others might like to see it. There are 43 windows in total giving 283 panes to be cut. There are 13 balustrade openings giving a total of 296 cuts. This wall was cut in about 90 minutes. There are a couple of bad cuts where the laser didn't quite cut through the black layer of the card at the back - I will fix that and it won't be visible when I have finished with it.

I couldn't resist engraving the name onto this layer although it won't actually be seen, it is on the top layer only - there are another 2 layers of 0.5mm card to apply before the top layer of mounting board.

I am waiting for some ply to be delivered for the wooden backing for all this. I have some birch ply but it is not as easy to cut as poplar ply which I prefer for this laser. Birch ply is a hard wood and the stock I have is very difficult to cut so I have given up using it along with MDF, it just takes too long on the machine and leaves a lot of soot. Poplar ply is much easier to cut and it also cuts easily with a Stanley knife so it is my preference. Hopefully I will get the stock in the next few days when I can get the wooden backing for the tower made and get on with the job of 'bricklaying'.

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JFS
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby JFS » Sat Jun 23, 2018 1:10 pm

Excellent work Ralph, and looking forward to seeing further progress. I feel your pain knowing how much work there is in there - laser or not!

Thanks for the tip on poplar ply - not heard of that, but poplar is well know as a non-flammable wood!

Best wishes,

ralphrobertson
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby ralphrobertson » Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:34 am

Nearly 2 months since the last posting and there has been some progress. The right hand wall has been made and detailed and the tower structure is complete. The brickwork on the front of the tower has now been completed but the rear (which is only visible to the operator really) still needs to be done. After that it is the roof and then a whole load of detailing.

Anyway, here are a couple of shots that show where we are up to. The yellow colour is the colour of the card I used for the brick overlay on top of the mounting card. Where it is a dirty colour this is because of the soot mixing in with the shellac when strengthening the bricks. They are pretty vulnerable before the shellac is applied and it is difficult not damaging them.

The whole building is now getting BIG and it is not easy to handle without doing some damage especially to the windows - there are windows everywhere. Fortunately I have worked a technique to repair them quite easily so it is not so bad but I do need to force myself to think now before picking it up!

Off on hols for a couple of weeks so not much more progress for a while.

Ralph
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby ralphrobertson » Sun Sep 30, 2018 3:13 pm

Since my last post I have been adding a lot of detail to the model. It has been mainly the stonework which has been added and this is layers of card and also a resin cast which I made up when I started doing all this a few months ago. The roof has been slated and is waiting for an etch to be done for the decorative ironwork surrounding the flag pole on the top of the roof. I have an etch going in to the etchers very soon and this will be added to it.

A splash of the red brickwork paint has been added and it needs at least one more coat, possibly 2 to get the depth of colour. It has had a coat of grey primer already and this helps the colour of the red come through otherwise the burn mark of the laser makes it difficult to paint over the black burn marks. The stonework then needs painting and the windows will need retouching before a weathering coat which tones the whole thing down to get a finish just like my test wall shown earlier which actually looks right to me.

There is a skylight to make which sits on the roof top left covering the rope race. There is also a door to make at the bottom of the tower - this is why I haven't applied any paint yet. There is a lot of decorative stonework surrounding this door and right now I am not exactly sure how this is going to turn out so I am leaving my options open on this but it will be decided in the next few days. I have been tinkering with some tiny parts on the laser to make up some stonework and so far it looks like I should be able to get it right but it all depends.......

Anyway, if you compare this shot to the picture in the first post on this thread I think you will agree we have managed to get a close likeness to Warwick Mill in Middleton, Manchester. I still have to make the engine house at the left hand end and the pump house to the right of that. After that there is a boiler house which will sit at the rear of the engine house which is not where it was on Warwick Mill but layout space indicates we need to put it there. Its getting there!

Ralph

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JFS
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby JFS » Sun Sep 30, 2018 7:50 pm

Splendid work Ralph - I could not have hoped for a better outcome when I first dived in at you!

Just one query - I see in the painted shot there is a parapet wall to the left of the decorative screen wall above the rope race. I know this wall is present at the Warwick today, but I do not know if it is a later addition. Certainly most of the other mills of this design do not have it - for example the Devon:-

Devon rope race wall.jpg


It looked a bit odd as these mills are usually so symmetrical and I had not seen it in any of the previous shots.

Good luck with the remaining "minor" bits - like the engine room...

Best Wishes,
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ralphrobertson
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby ralphrobertson » Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:35 am

Thanks Howard. This is actually an illusion and although Warwick Mill has more brickwork on the top of the left hand wall I haven't modelled that as I came to the same conclusion - guess it might have something to do with Health and Safety and the cleaning of the skylight once the building had been converted into a different use, it is a bit exposed. What you can see in the earlier picture is the top of the rope race wall set back from the front of the building and the photo below shows it in more detail. The dust tower is modelled but not open to the bottom of the building as I know it should be.

Don't pay much attention to the poor painting, this is a first coat only and it needs much more work doing to it. Just been to Hobbycraft to get more Humbrol paint, No 174 for the brickwork which seems to work well for this style of brick once it is toned down after the red brick colour is built up.

Going to have a go with the door stonework today!

Ralph

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JFS
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby JFS » Mon Oct 01, 2018 4:14 pm

Ah! All becomes clear - thanks for that.

No small job painting all that brickwork! Don't worry overmuch about covering all the laser lines as the mortar was always black in these Accrington brick mills.

Looking forward to further developments!

Best Wishes,

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iak
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby iak » Tue Oct 02, 2018 12:56 pm

Impressive...Suitably dark and satanic :thumb
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Dave Holt
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby Dave Holt » Wed Oct 03, 2018 9:01 pm

Ah, that's just it. These Edwardian era mills, built using "Accrington" semi-glazed brick, were anything but dark. Satanic, maybe, but not dark. Even in the soot laden gloom of pre-clean air act Lancashire, these mills stayed quite clean, with their orangey red colour, in stark contrast to older rough faced brick mills and stone buildings and retaining walls, which were virtually black.
This really is an excellent model, beautifully capturing the elegant, embellished style of George Stott's designs. If I ever get round to doing my mirror image Regent mill, I'll be coming cap in hand.
Dave.

ralphrobertson
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby ralphrobertson » Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:16 am

Thank you for the kind compliments. Despite having to make all this up as I went along it is a credit to George Stott the architect that with all these different brick levels and recesses it all works out very well and it turns into a lovely looking building full of great character - wait until the engine house is added. I wouldn't mind betting that the prototype was built in a similar amount of time to my model will be by the time it is finished.

Right now the left hand end is being fully painted first as if I get it looking wrong it is easier to re-do, once I am happy with that I will work on the rest. There is also the slight addition of a small extension to rectify one of my little errors, all with Howard's ever useful contribution to this project - it couldn't have been done without your help Howard, thanks.

Ralph

JFS
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby JFS » Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:14 am

Dave Holt wrote: Satanic, maybe,

Dave.


And maybe not even that! The cotton industry gets a fair amount of bad press for its mistreatment of children etc - some of which is justified but much of which is completely misinformed. So it is worth remembering that in 1909, a mule spinner in a mill such as this, spinning medium counts of cotton, would earn around 40 shillings a week, whilst his "Little Piecer" (minimum age 13 years) would get 13s 6d. And in 1919, my old Gran was renting her 2 up, 2 down end terrace, with garden, for 10s 6d. By comparison, the L&Y was paying its signalmen in all but the biggest boxes, around 30 - 35 shillings. The consequence was that over 85% of (male) cotton mule spinners owned their own homes, (the highest percentage of any manual worker group) and Oldham (in 1902) had the highest rateable value of any Borough in the land - so much for Kensington and Chelsea...

The real mistreatment and exploitation in the cotton industry is that which goes on today where "popular fashion brands" have their textiles made in shocking sweat shops in "third world countries" poisoning the rivers and polluting the planet whilst the "employees" work 12 hour days for next to nothing in conditions which Arkwright would have been ashamed of - many of them dead by middle age. But someone is making untaxed-millions so who cares?
Rant over - for now...

Great work Ralph and if I have helped then it has been my privilege.

Best Wishes,

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Le Corbusier
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby Le Corbusier » Tue Oct 09, 2018 8:44 am

JFS wrote:
Dave Holt wrote:
So it is worth remembering that in 1909, a mule spinner in a mill such as this, spinning medium counts of cotton, would earn around 40 shillings a week, whilst his "Little Piecer" (minimum age 13 years) would get 13s 6d. And in 1919, my old Gran was renting her 2 up, 2 down end terrace, with garden, for 10s 6d. By comparison, the L&Y was paying its signalmen in all but the biggest boxes, around 30 - 35 shillings. The consequence was that over 85% of (male) cotton mule spinners owned their own homes, (the highest percentage of any manual worker group) and Oldham (in 1902) had the highest rateable value of any Borough in the land - so much for Kensington and Chelsea...

The real mistreatment and exploitation in the cotton industry is that which goes on today where "popular fashion brands" have their textiles made in shocking sweat shops in "third world countries" poisoning the rivers and polluting the planet whilst the "employees" work 12 hour days for next to nothing in conditions which Arkwright would have been ashamed of - many of them dead by middle age. But someone is making untaxed-millions so who cares?


Interesting ... did that change during the preceding half century or has there always been an element of misinformation here? ... was it hard won through collective action, or benign ethics a la Bourneville? I tend to think of the cotton mill sweat shops in relation to late Georgian/early Victorian England before the Victorian reforming zeal ( both hard won from below and morally driven from above) that this Mill is perhaps a good example of? Not speaking from any in depth knowledge here ... just asking the question.

This being the case I suspect that by this time the 'satanic mills' soubriquet had more to do with external visual experience Chimneys belching smoke etc?

Perhaps it was the very fact of 40 shillings a week (once capital became global) that became the very reason we now have third world 'Dickensian' sweat shops - ie the avoidance of regulation etc. Very zeitgeist with this airing on TV last night https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bn6034
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Guy Rixon
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby Guy Rixon » Tue Oct 09, 2018 12:15 pm

"Satanic mills" is, of course, from Blake's poem Jerusalem and I doubt Blake was ever inside a cotton mill. He lived in London, and later Sussex, and possibly never even saw the outside of a cotton mill. A very unreliable witness. There's also a suggestion that "satanic mills" refers to the established Church, Blake being a dissenter.

Conversely, a vist to the iron-founding districts of the Black Country, in Blake's time, might lead anybody to think of hellfire. In the 20th century, the manufacturing areas of Digbeth were bleak enough to inspire Tolkien's vision of Mordor. I suspect that the cotton mills were damned by association with other industries.

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Noel
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby Noel » Tue Oct 09, 2018 1:49 pm

I'm not sure why "Jerusalem" is associated with cotton mills, as other industries used mills of one sort or another. Parts of London, incidentally, were quite heavily industrialised in the early 19th century and remained so well into the C20th. However, since the reference is to "those satanic mills", which would presumably have had a well understood meaning when the words were written, requiring no further explanation, I suspect that Guy is right about the attribution.
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Noel

JFS
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby JFS » Tue Oct 09, 2018 4:42 pm

Oh dear - big and complex subjects! But perhaps some general points. I think cotton has had a bad press because it was the first large-scale factory-based industry, resented by the rich landed gentry as it threatened their exclusive right to wealth. It was easy for such powerful people to point out that it turned the former home-workers into factory hands, overlooking the point that if you are near-starving (Britain of the Corn Laws) you are still a slave even if you are working in your own garret! Especially when you can only sell your product to a powerful merchant.
Also the industry quickly became very large, dominating life in Lancashire and the bad conditions which rapid growth always seems to bring reflects badly on the nation rather than the industry. Don't forget that when Fredrick Engels published his book on the conditions of the working class in Manchester which so impressed Karl Marks, he only published it in Germany and France - he did not publish in England until 40 odd years later: perhaps he was afraid of being challenged for exaggeration? Certainly, industry in general in the mid 19th century needs to be seen on the context of a very oppressive and exploitative nation state. So although it is Engel’s writings which present-day critics use as their reference, we need to remember that he wrote about the cotton mills because that was what he knew - not because they were the worst.

The cotton industry itself had some shocking aspects - the "country" mills (such as Litton, Quarry Bank, Cressbrook) were places of horror - abusing the Apprentice System (with Government connivance) to enslave and brutalise pauper orphans - but not so the better "Arkwright" mills such as New Lanark. And the Mule spinning mills were very different – craftsmen, self-employed, renting room and power from the mill owner and selling their products at a market price and employing THEIR OWN WIVES AND CHILDREN TO ASSIST - and that is the overlooked point. And they constituted about 85% of the industry. Not that it was all sweetness and light - there were endless strikes and lockouts, there were employers looking to cut corners, there was brutal government action to suppress "insurrection" (200th anniversary of Peterloo next year), but there was also a rising level of prosperity and continual advances in conditions of work. The role of trade unions (Friendly Societies before the 1824 repeal of the combination laws) is also very interesting but the Spinners Amalgamation was not the driver for Socialism which might be imagined - they had Kier Hardy banned from the TUC and they sponsored Conservative Parliamentary candidates to stand against Liberals Like Winston Churchill! (Oldham, 1902)

Some thoughts:-
1) I would rather do any job in a cotton mill than spend 8 hours on my back, hewing coal from a 2' 6" seam. And yet children were prohibited by law from working in mills long before they were banned from going underground!
2) as a pioneer, the cotton industry did much bad but it also pioneered the good: factories Acts (in 1803, 1813, 1831, First Factory Inspectors from 1831 etc). It was also a driver for social reform - ie the Plug Riots in 1842 leading to the Great Reform act etc etc. (200th anniversary of Peterloo next year – plug No. 2!)
3) We all remember the Tolpuddle Martyrs who were transported in 1830 for striking against a cut in wages from 10s to 7/6 a week. But they were reprieved. Glasgow Spinners were transported in 1837 for leading the fight against an Employer's lockout, but they were never reprieved. And that lockout was engineered at Government instigation to break the union - and it succeeded. Luckily, subsequent attempts by the Government to break the Union in Preston then Manchester failed - otherwise we might all still be slaves...

Perhaps Blake is popularly associated with the Mills of the North because he died in 1827 - by which time the cotton mills were becoming very dominant in the North and certainly the chimneys smoked a lot, but they were never that dark or satanic compared with conditions elsewhere. But then, it is equally true that you had to be pretty well-heeled to see England's Land as green and pleasant - it had been slavery for most people for hundreds of years - especially in the countryside! But then, Blake's father was a hosier - so he must have had contact with the cotton industry - both pre and post its industrialisation.

Final personal rant – I do believe that school kids ought to be taught about this stuff (rather than the American Wild West for example – yes, really) as it might teach them to be a bit more sceptical of what they read in the Daily Mail about the Government “Taking back control”!

I must write that book one day... meanwhile, back to lever frames...

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Le Corbusier
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby Le Corbusier » Tue Oct 09, 2018 5:25 pm

JFS wrote:Oh dear - big and complex subjects!

I must write that book one day... meanwhile, back to lever frames...


You write it ... I'll definitely read it. fascinating stuff :thumb

Covered a certain amount of this as part of my History of Architecture module(specifically the impact of indutrialisation), but knowledge tends to be digest and over simplified.

Thanks :thumb
Tim Lee

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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby David Knight » Tue Oct 09, 2018 8:21 pm

There were hazards associated with cotton mills not least of which is byssinosis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byssinosis. In brief the dust settles in the lungs in much the same way as coal dust does. It is still a problem today in mills with inadequate ventilation. The dust also had the potential to be explosive with an ignition source a simple as a spark from someone having a fag in the wrong place at the wrong time. More information than you might need at:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_mill

My connection to mills is a family one as my maternal grandfather was an engineer at the Coats mill in Paisley up until the early ‘60s.

Cheers,

David

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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby ralphrobertson » Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:38 am

I have to say that whilst finding out a lot more about cotton mills than I knew at the start of this year I visited Masson Mill in Cromford where Howard spends a bit of his time with some of the lovely old cotton spinning machines. I was lucky enough to go on a tour of the mill and met Howard who captured the attention of the party with the history surrounding the mills and how it all worked. Some of the party had parents and grandparents who worked in the mills and were keen to learn more and Howard certainly enlightened them with his knowledge. I too came away with the feeling that there was a lot to learn about this industry. Thanks for a splendid tour Howard, I learnt a lot.

Now, getting back to the model. Last night I took the model to the club to get a trial fit and the photos below show how it all went. Painting has started and the front has only had a single coat of red and needs more. The left hand end needs touching up and then a weathering wash applied to tone everything down but that will happen once all the other walls are painted properly. The main door has been repositioned and is waiting to be detailed and painted and there is a little extension at the front that is going to be added. The reason behind this lies in the situation with ground levels on the model. The prototype was on a sloping site and I missed out a level of windows which would have been important. Fortunately Howard put me right and even at this late stage a compromise was able to be produced which would be feasible in the prototype world. This construction is now being made.

The first photo shows the mill placed over the touch screen control panel which is one of the reasons for having such a big building. The screen is a tight fit left to right but there is space at the top for the screen to be removed which is necessary for transporting the layout. Richard Dunning's lock can be seen in the lower left and I needed to see how the ground would work with this in place. Tony is overseeing operations!

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The other end shot shows the part that needs another couple of buildings making. The first is the engine house which will sit on the right hand end and immediately adjacent to the left will be the boiler house. The boiler house will cover the electrical plugs and sockets which control all the running of the layout. This is a change from the prototype modelled but we don't have any choice given the space we have on the layout. A compromise is better than not having it at all I think.

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Back to the other end and having cut some 75mm Kingspan bits to shape the model fits pretty well with Richard's canal piece.

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Last shot shows the mill from the front with the extension mockup added. Richard is busy at the back working with his S&D 2-8-0s. Plenty more to do yet!

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Ralph
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JFS
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby JFS » Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:50 am

Looking absolutely splendid Ralph - very well done!

You will need a boundary wall round the mill site to isolate it from the Canal and perhaps a fence to the railway embankment. More work to do...

Glad you enjoyed Masson!


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JFS
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby JFS » Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:56 am

David Knight wrote:There were hazards associated with cotton mills not least of which is Byssinosis

David


This is true - though the mortality rate for Byssinosis is much lower than other industrial lung diseases - I know a couple of ladies in Lancashire who are still drawing their Byssinosis pensions in their 80s...

But a much bigger stain on the industry is spinner's cancel (scrotal Epithelioma). It was identified epidemiologically in the 1890's, the cause - carcinogens in the spindle oil - was identified by the 1920's, yet legislation to mandate white oil was not passed until 1972 - by which time there were only a couple of hundred spinners still at work and several thousands had died a slow agonising death. In a mule mill the size of Alpha (97,000 spindles) there would typically have been around a half dozen such deaths by the 1960s

When it comes to Health and Safety at work, I always say that my old mum worked in the mills for many years and she is still going strong at 92. Her father was a miner and was dead at the age of 46 in a fall of roof.

I confess I have never heard of an explosion in a cotton mill, though fires - sometimes very serious - did occur from time to time. But I was speaking to someone who worked in the jute industry in Dundee and I was telling him about the rules laid down for fighting fires in cotton mills. He said in jute mills, there was only one response to fire - to run like h*ll... Everything is relative!

Did you Granfather leave you any photos? The engines at the Coat's mills were very impressive!

Best Wishes,

David Knight
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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby David Knight » Wed Oct 10, 2018 1:57 pm

“Did you Granfather leave you any photos? The engines at the Coat's mills were very impressive!”

Sadly no. I only ever saw one picture of him inside the mill and that was unrelated to the actual engines. My memories of it were from the outside and walking over with my mother to meet grampa when he was coming off shift. Now they’ve gone and turned the whole thing into a condo. Actually it was the Anchor Mill but more can be found here .http://www.paisleypeoplesarchive.org/th ... mills.aspx

Cheers,

David

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Re: Alpha Mill

Postby ralphrobertson » Thu Nov 08, 2018 11:48 am

Painting has moved on a whole lot further since my last posting. The red brickwork had 3 coats of paint applying and the whole lot has been toned down and weathered to produce a more satisfactory finish. The doorway has been made from a lot of pieces of card glued together to make the shape of the prototype although my stonework is not as intricate it is a good representation.

20181101_095139.jpg


The skylight has been made and I would have hated not having the laser to make this although I guess it could have been done with strips of plastic applied to the glazing but I made this out of card with the glazing bars made up as one piece, much easier and quicker.

20181103_115645.jpg


Still more work to do before I move on to starting on the engine house. The glazing will come next and then I will apply some backing behind the windows as the touchscreen monitor is sitting within the mill and we don't want that visible.

A couple more end shots.

20181106_200639 irfan.jpg

20181106_200700 irfan.jpg


I have to say that I found George Dent's new book on Weathering Buildings and Scenery most useful in selecting what materials to use to get the effects I now have on the model, worth a look if you haven't already seen it.

If you want to see Alpha Mill in the flesh come along to the Manchester show on 1st and 2nd December, details on the Exhibition thread.

Ralph
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