North East England - Steam Days Screenshots - Large Screenshots Possible

Thanks for that Frank, - very informative.

When I was still driving I had a 'helpful' member of the public with a big Japanese 4x4 snap my very nice tow rope by reving up and snatching the towrope when he was 'helping' to get my car out from where it was stuck in the mud. Like all such things there is an art to doing it properly and with brothers in the motor trades and being around cars and trucks most of my life I knew he was going to make a hash of it, but he wasn't going to listen to the 'nice old lady' he was set on rescuing.
 
Hello Annie

Re post 661. He obviously made some assumptions about your "expertise" and I bet he didn't like it when he parted your tow rope.

Borough Gardens Turn 33 started at 6:47 p.m. with the footplate crew signing on. It specifies Park Lane Guard, so he was picked up at 7:02 p.m. nearby at Park Lane. The footplate crew and Guard laid over at Darlington between 9:03 p.m. and 10:40 p.m. when it worked a down Goods to Heaton Junction, arriving there at 12:58 a.m. At 1:30 a.m. the engine returned light to Park Lane (presumably to drop off the guard). Park Lane arrival 1:48 a.m. The footplate crew signed off at 3:02 a.m. but the guard did not sign off until 3:32 a.m. There is no light engine movement listed back to Borough Gardens but Park Lane and Borough Gardens shed were very close to each other.

Normally, engines which work for more than 9 hours on long runs had two footplate crews assigned to them in the working timetable. However, if one duty was a longer run with a spell of shorter runs later I wonder if an engine might be used to increase its utilisation. Possibly, 1:48 a.m. may not have been the end of the day's work for the engine on Turn 33. Gateshead Borough Gardens Turn 4 was working trip transfers and shunting round Gateshead Park Lane, Norwood Junction and Dunston East. Due in the yard at 2:20 a.m. with the footplate crew for turn 4 signing on at 1:35 a.m. There was enough time between 1:48 a.m. and 2:20 a.m. to take coal and water, especially if the footplate crew of Turn 33 and Turn 4 were together over those 32 minutes. Certainly the footplate crew of Turn 32 were doing duties "as required" on shed until sign off at 3:02 a.m. Equally possible of course is that Turn 4 was a larger tank engine, such as a B Class 0-6-2T. An Assistant Guard from Dunston worked with Turn 4 from 3:30 a.m. so I can guess who "drew the short straw" at Dunston Exchange Sidings! As the old hands would have said though, you have to "pay your dues" when working your way up the ladder.
 
Have you thought about writing a book Frank? Your knowledge of the NER and its train workings always impresses me and always helps to make your screenshots become alive.
 
Thanks Annie, but I am merely posting what I have read from quite a wide variety of books, publications and magazines. I am a member of the North East Railway Association and there are people there who have a greater breadth and depth of knowledge than I do. I believe that most of them have no idea of the existence of trainz (or the other sim which shall remain un-named.....) and while some possibly are railway modellers I don't believe that the majority are. I enjoy running trains but an aspect of it for me is running something that is representative of what actually operated and trying to understand why it was the way it was. Hence those posts on "Keeping the Balance".
 
1920: Ferryhill Goods Turn Number 2

Northeast England during the steam era. The engine and van from Ferryhill Goods turn number 2 head from Birtley to Stella Gill sidings to pick up a rake of loaded coal hoppers for Ferryhill, which will go via Washington and the line through Fencehouses and Leamside.





On the chord from Ouston Junction to South Pelaw Junction.




At South Pelaw Junction crossing from the Consett branch lines to the Pontop & South Shields Branch lines to Stella Gill.




Approaching the entry to Stella Gill's eastern sidings at South Pelaw Junction. Passing the trailing connection from South Pelaw Colliery.




Turning on the turntable at the southeastern corner of Stella Gill yard.
 
1920: - Ferryhill P2 on Goods Turn Number 2

More on the Ferryhill Goods turn number 2, but this time in the hands of Ferryhill shed's Worsdell P2 Class 0-6-0 number 434. The P2 had detail differences compared to the later P3 Class but they were in the firebox bottom and the ash pan, so outwardly they were identical, both using the LNER Diagram 57 boiler. The turn started at Ferryhill Down Goods yard at 6:55 a.m. but wagons were shunted in to the spur throughout the night as inbound trains brought in wagons destined for Birtley.




At Ferryhill Down Goods yard.




On the down goods yard line heading for the yard exit.




Departing the Down Goods yard and joining the down goods lines.




Wending its way through the goods lines passing east of Ferryhill station.







Emerging from the station complex and taking the down goods lines towards Metal Bridge and Tursdale Junction.







Passing Metal Bridge on the Down Goods line.
 
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Excellent screenshots Frank. I think if I tried running a trainset the size of your one it would make my head hurt.
 
1920: More P2 on Ferryhill Goods Turn Number 2

Thanks Annie. Yes, the ECML extract for County Durham extends from Cowton in North Yorkshire to Newcastle Central station in (at that time) Northumberland, so it gives a good run of about forty-three miles. If running the 1928 Flying Scotsman behind an A3 Pacific this takes me at speed past Darlington, past Ferryhill, through Durham and in to Newcastle Central station. To set up a session such as that has plenty going on along the ECML and the lines which join it.

More screenshots of the ferryhill P2 working its way north towards Birtley.




Passing Littleburn.




Passing Bridge House junction with the Bishop Auckland line behind the loco.




Approaching Relly Mill Junction. The Bishop Auckland line from Deerness Junction to Relly Mill is behind the loco.




The approach to Relly Mill seen from the south. The Signal box and sidings at Baxter Wood are visible through the smoke.




Passing Relly Mill Junction.




On the River Browney viaduct to the east of Relly Mill. Today this view is completely obscured by trees.




Approaching the south end of Durham station. The fine Durham Viaduct signal bridge is the work of Chrisaw, as is the grand bank of gantry signals, which had no less than seven backing signals controlling shunting from the trailing turnout on the viaduct.




The view from the cab of Durham station from the north end of the viaduct.




Crossing from the down through line to the slow line north of Durham station.




On the down slow line between Durham and Newton Hall Junction.
 
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Hello Marky, regarding your post #669, it is skipper1945's Branch line Turntable <kuid2:116296:36665:1>. As skipper writes in the description: "Small branchline turntable. Please note that this mesh has been designed to use only one square grid in TRS, so any assets placed in very close proximity to the turntable may give some difficulty in their repositioning." Unlike other turntables which centre themselves at grid square junction points, skipper's centres itself in the middle of a grid square and if you delete a scenery asset within about 15 metres of it then you tend to delete the turntable. I think that it works out at about a 45ft turntable (there were two 50ft turntables at Stella Gill) so with no UK 50ft turntable having 2 outlets available on the DLS, skipper's is the closest I can get.
 
Borderreiver,
That has to be one cracking engineer job to get that 0-6-0 to fit on the turntable. There is no room for error. Very nice shot!

Heinrich505
 
That particular turntable is a tight squeeze for an 0-6-0 tender engine. A GER Y14 will just fit nicely, but a GCR 9J won't; - it's just a micro-tad too long.
 
That turntable was too small for me, but luckily found one by Clam1952 which is perfect for St Blazey yard, I was using a polish one before.
 
1920: Ferryhill P2 0-6-0 on Ferryhill Goods Turn 2 - Further Continuation

UK Turntables are, in my opinion, yet another asset which is under-represented. I have several turntables in various diameters by Paul Mace, particularly to help with the N.E.R.'s type of roundhouses (single or multiple turntables ilocated within rectangular buildings, along with 2995Valliant's 65ft GWR Turntable.

The journey along the Down ECML from Ferryhill to Birtley continues for the Ferryhill shed P2 Class 0-6-0 on Ferryhill Goods Turn Number 2. From Newton Hall Junction to Kimblesworth Colliery Junction Sidings.




Rounding the curve east of Newton Hall Junction towards Plawsworth. The line in the left background is the branch for Sunderland, which will join the Leamside line at Auckland Junction. There is a tall viaduct across the Wear on that line, along with a brick and tile works at Finchale. Also at that point for several decades was the connection to a wagonway serving several collieries at Pity Me (an anglo-saxon corruption of the Norman French term "Petite Mer" (little sea) dating from the Norman Conquest. I do not know whether it referred to fishponds, a marshy area of lakes or was a jest by the Normans.)







Taking the facing turnout in to the sidings at Kimblesworth Colliery Junction. There were three loops here, built to exchange traffic for the colliery located at quite a higher elevation than the ECML and situated around a mile to the west. Kimblesworth Colliery is not shown in the N.E.R.A. reprint of the L.N.E.R. N.E. Area Newcastle District November 1927 Mineral Train Time Table (yet Esh Colliery on the Waterhouses branch is) so my belief is that the Colliery came under the Sunderland District MTTT and it appears that none has survived. In Colin E. Mountford and Dave Holroyde's "The Industrial Railways & Locomotives of County Durham Part 2 - the National Coal Board and British Coal" Kimblesworth Colliery was listed as previously owned by "The Charlaw & Sacriston Collieries Limited" putting it outside the larger regional companies. In N.C.B. days British Railways handled both shunting and traffic to/from the Colliery. This probably was done by the N.E.R. between the colliery opening in 1873 and the grouping, with the L.N.E.R. assuming the task between 1923 and 1947.

Durham Mining Museum lists output as "coal" up to 1896. From 1896 to 1921 output was "Coal: Gas, Household, Manufacturing". From 1930 to 1960 "Coal: Coking, Gas, Household, Manufacturing, Steam". Output in 1947 was 225,000 tons so it was a significant source of traffic. Peak employment there was 1,132 in 1921. While no accidents involving five or more deaths was recorded, there were 63 individuals who died in accidents at the colliery. While all were tragic, 13 year-old Thomas Carr is notable for his youth. Killed August 16 1889 by being crushed between loaded coal tubs. Another eleven teenager deaths included; Thomas William Layton, 14 years old, killed Nov 1st 1896, J.W. Ramsay, 16 years old, unknown cause of death April 15 1885, Richard Coyle, 16 years old, killed Jan 18 1901, John Thomas Heslop, 16 years old, killed June 14 1918, William Bruce, 17 years old, killed July 13 1883, John Robert Allen Heslop, 17 years old, killed July 15 1910, Robert Atkinson, 18 years old, killed Feb 18 1936, Thomas L. Cocker, 18 years old, killed May 11 1885, Robert Grieverson, 19 years old, killed Dec 3rd 1885 John Walton, 19 years old, killed April 9 1911 and Robert Young, 19 years old, killed Aug 14 1930. R.I.P.

A washery was opened there during the 1950s and took in coal from as far away as East Hedley Hope Colliery (on a wagonway to the west of the Waterhouses terminus of the N.E.R. Waterhouses branch). The colliery closed on November 3rd 1967.

I have a search on my hands to try and find which shed supplied the loco(s) which worked Kimblesworth Colliery and my thoughts are it was likely to be Durham, which was a sub-shed of Sunderland.




The three road wagons have been dropped off, to be worked forwards to Birtley at 11:15 a.m. stopping to work Plawsworth, Chester le Street and Birtley. I believe that this was a duty assigned to the locomotive allocated to work the Kimblesworth Colliery branch. Time to start trawling through the records to find a likely candidate among Durham's allocation. It seems my thoughts about Durham are misplaced. Examining some allocations for the 1940s and 50s the predominant loco is the G5 0-4-4T, with (later) a V3 2-6-2T and here and there an A8 4-6-2T or two. Not the first choice for working a colliery. However, Sunderland shed during 1938 had no less than twenty-seven 0-6-0s, of which ten were J27 and two J39. All probably employed hauling coal trains. Four N9 and two N10 0-6-2Ts at Sunderland shed in 1938 strike me as being well suited to work operating the Kimblesworth Colliery duty, as was the single J77 0-6-0T allocated to Sunderland.
 
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Shunting at Harraton Colliery

I have been doing some work on a section of my NW Durham route, in this case replacing the previous Harraton Colliery with something closer to the original.
A Barclay industrial 0-6-0 saddle tank couples up to a rake of hoppers to propel to the screens.




The fan of sidings is crossed by Vigo Lane, which means the colliery signal cabin has a couple of yard crew supervising traffic. There are more pedestrians than cars to prevent trying to cross while a shunting move takes place.
 
Further Progress of Ferryhill Goods Turn Number 2

Back to the further progress of the journey of Ferryhill Shed Goods Turn Number 2.




After dropping off the road wagons, rejoining the down ECML at Kimblesworth Colliery Junction.




Approaching Plawsworth station.








Passing Plawsworth Station.




Between Plawsworth Station and Chester South Moor Colliery.




A cab view of the exchange sidings at Chester South Moor Colliery. Like Kimblesworth Colliery, this coal mine was shunted by the railway company (N.E.R. then L.N.E.R. and finally British Railways).








Passing Chester South Moor Colliery. No trace of it remains today.
 
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1920; Concluding the Northbound Ferryhill Turn Number 2

The final leg of the northbound Ferryhill Goods Turn Number 2 from Chester le Street to Birtley.




The view from the cab approaching Chester le Street station.




Passing through Chester le Street station.




Taking the track over the viaduct at Chester le Street.




The northern end of the viaduct and the Pelton Road overbridge.




Between Chester le Street and Ouston Junction.




Ouston Junction with the Consett branch behind.




On the slow lines for Birtley. The overbridge carries the Beamish Wagonway.




Riding the slow lines between Ouston Junction and Birtley.







Arrival at Birtley station, where the wagons will be dispersed to the sidings.
 
NER Fish Vans Diagram F6

Thanks Annie.

I am trying out the new N.E.R. Diagram F6 10 Ton Fish vans commissioned from Paul.





895 were built from 1906 and several lasted until the early 1950s in Fish traffic, with others running as general goods vans. Most were based at Hull but I have decided to use several based at North Shields, Amble and Whitby. The survivors in to the 1940s were unlikely to have been on the fast ECML fish trains but utilised on more local/regional flows. Here, I have two from North Shields and two from Amble heading south out of Newcastle behind a Raven S3 4-6-0. The curved roof was a feature of the design, as were the sliding doors.
 
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