Christmas Greetings and a Happy New Year from Cooper Hire MRC

Near Tring, view SE towards London on WCML. No. 10001 is parted from its twin (No. 10000) in winter owing to their lack of train-heating equipment and here is probably working the 14.55 Camden - Crewe class C freight.
  © Copyright Ben Brooksbank

In the spotlight

Getting withdrawal symptoms. Its two weeks since the last Cooper Hire MRC layout photo session when the BBC filmed Dduallt for a spring TV programme on the history of railway preservation. However, the wait was over when Trevor and Mrs Jones from the HORNBY magazine arrived on Friday to photograph our New Mills layout for an issue in early 2013. This is ahead of next years Hornby Model Rail Show in July when we exhibit the layout in its current 1960s guise at the Hartlepool venue...taking a bit of the West Coast main line up the east coast !

The session included some video sequences that may appear on the HORNBY magazine website. The new Bachmann AL5 in its initial electric blue livery featured, a super model but it will never possess the character and personality of our fleet of reworked Trix / Lilliput versions of the early LMR electrics, created by Phill Hutchings and the Artistic Director and nearly as old as the real thing!

While we wait for the HORNBY magazine feature here is another super shot of New Mills by Chris 'Fisheye' Nevard..

Chiltern RHTT

Its not all Chiltern DMUs with the occasional bin liners on our local line. We do have our moments and last Wednesday was one of them.

A Network Rail RHTT arrived northbound at lunchtime and was held in the centre road, firstly within the station and then north of the Summerleys Road bridge, to permit the passage of up and down service trains

Topped and tailed by rather grubby Class 66s , it was delayed further to allow a Ruislip - Calvert rubbish to wend its way across to the Aylesbury branch, its signature aroma of West London effluent drifting over the platforms..

Finally, 30 minutes after its arrival, the RHTT train was released south, itself adding to the local pollution levels as its spray jets burst into action!

And then normal service was resumed!

Some people are on the track! They think it's all over!

It is now. Last day of iconic MET A stock in public service Wednesday 26th September. Last link with the MET main line has gone - now just a component of Boris World. RIP? Well no..they have gone to Booths scrapyard!

A Stock Update

The latest information from MET 'insiders' is that the recently introduced S stock, replacements for the iconic A stock, will where appropriate be returning to Derby for new gearboxes! But sadly no reprieve for the remaining A stock sets. Got my ticket for the A stock Farewell Tour on 29th so very happy. In the meantime Sarah Siddons and preserved 1938 unit out this Sunday in association with the Amersham Bus Day.

MET A stock

The word is that the fleet of new S stock trains delivered over the past year to replace the iconic MET 1960s A stock will all be required to return to Derby for 'attention'. Rumours included cracked bogies but it now seems that their 'wiring looms are not MET compatible', whatever that means! The wonders of modern technology! Sadly there is more than enough S stock to compensate for this recall so the few surviving A stock sets will not be required on active service and are now rarely escaping from Neasden. Yesterday the LT Museum announced the A Stock Farewell Tour, planned for Sunday 29th September. The end of an era.

I snapped this unit at Harrow on the Hill earlier this month, now a very rare sighting.
PS These are older than the Rolling Stones...just!

Routemaster Satisfaction

Hard to believe but the LT Routemaster bus is older than the Rolling Stones! Designed in the early 1950s and delivered from 1958 it predates the band by some 4 years. Although finally withdrawn from active LT service in 2005 a small heritage fleet still operate routes 9 and 15 during the day so maybe they can outlive the Stones...but probably not! Enjoyed a trip in this example from Tower Hill to Trafalgar Square last week.

Rugby flyover

Photo courtesy of Andy F

The grade separation, or flyover to you and me, just south of Rugby Station on the WCML was the inspiration for Phill Hutching's model bridge on New Mills. The original track plan for the layout, drawn in 1990 by the Artistic Director on the back of the proverbial envelope, incorporated a flying junction at the north end of the layout to allow trains to move between the upper and lower levels. However, as the project developed it was soon realised that this interchange would seriously interrupt the flow of trains on both levels and reduce our ability to 'keep things moving' at exhibitions. Consequently our flying junction is cosmetic, the trains on the upper cross country line simply returning to or exiting the upper fiddle yard. But it still makes for an interesting feature nicely captured in model form.

The photo above is looking south (up) from Clifton Road bridge at the grade-separated junction of the 'old line' (the main line route to Euston) and the 'loop' (the route via Northampton) south of Rugby station. A Virgin Trains Pendolino on the up main line passes under the down line of the loop.

Super power

Another classic Chris Nervard view. A green Duchess hauling Mk 1 stock on a southbound express from Glasgow meets a down freight hauled by WD 2-8-0 90483.

Southbound Clan

Another loco that performed on home ground when we exhibited New Mills at the Glasgow show was the Guru's nicely weathered 72008 Clan Macleod, captured here by Chris Nevard, heading a southbound Anglo Scottish cattle train. Above, a Standard 5 heads for the flyover with a cross-country parcels..

Coaled Up

The Guru's scale length mineral trains have always been an impressive feature on New Mills but the up train has lacked loads. Not any more! Sparky has burnt the midnight oil in West Hillingdon and created authentic coal loads for the up set which had their first outing at Model Rail Scotland.

He cut dense foam blocks to fit the mineral wagon interiors then profiled their tops to capture that full load look. And for coal he actually used er....real coal. You can't beat it and it shames the synthetic alternatives. Before applying the coal to the foam formers he made sure that it was to crushed to a realistic size for 4mm. Check the contemprary photos...it rarely came in the large chunks that you see regularly modelled, often verging towards the 'fine dust' end of the spectrum.
Now for the iron ore rake!

Model Rail Scotland

A great weekend in Scotland - well 5 days actually when you take in the Thursday night set up and Friday opening. Good to see so many friends from down south - more than we see at local shows which says something about Glasgow's pulling power!
In good company too with the likes of Portchullin (still not seen an otter!), New Hey, Pempoul and the legendary Borchester. A quiet night or two in the Counting House to round things off.
Phill Hutchings scratchbuilt AL4 had its first outing on New Mills, fittingly performing just a few miles from it's North British birthplace. Probably the most unusual bodywork on any of the early electrics but Phill has captured its lines superbly. It behaved impeccably, hauling our longest anglo scottish sets with ease, something the original members of this class found rather challenging! 

Vans loaded

Off to the Glasgow show in the morning with New Mills. Another great photo by Chris Nevard, this time in monochrome, captures our chosen period superbly.

Last run for DP2?

No excuses for featuring DP2 again. Since we time-warped New Mills back to the early 1960s this loco has performed brilliantly on the exhibition circuit, effortlessly hauling our 12 or 14 coach expresses and creating quite a buzz amongst an admiring public gallery. The actual loco had real presence and this translates uncannily in 4mm too.

Our model is one of Phill Hutchings wonderful collection of diesel, electric and gas turbine prototypes locos from the late 1950s and 1960s. Crafted from a LIMA Deltic with Craftsman overlays and an A1 detailing pack, it captures the impressive bulk of this one-off was a prototype, a Type 4 mainline loco built in 1962 by English Electric at their Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows. Although lacking the power of the Deltics it did prove to be the test bed for the Class 50 build.

The 1A4C headcode tells us that our loco is hauling the the 14.05 Liverpool to Euston train in 1962 shortly after its completion.
The HELJAN DP2 is arriving soon and is sure to be a cracking model if their other diesels are anything to go by. So do we retire our DP2? There is something special about prototype models such as this that were never offered in r-t-r format so had to be created by adapting other models or kit bashing, by teasing resin or plastic into shape, and applying various detailing kits. Something tells me that our DP2 will always command a 'special place' in our loco fleet!

This model was part of a large collection of transition era steam and diesel locos originally produced by the team who create Radmore, a large terminus layout built in the 1980s and exhibited across S E England. It predated New Mills but heavily influenced the design concepts behind New Mills. But where is Radmore today? Has it survived? Rumours persist that it may have survived in the hands of a series of owners and you could hardly fail to recognise the striking station building based on Marylebone. If you've seen it let us know!

Glasgow bound

This is the Chris Nevard photo Model Rail used for the cover of their latest edition. No excuses for displaying it here in all it's glory!

Model Rail 166

It's out, Model Rail 166 with a super feature on New Mills thanks to some fabulous photography by Chris Nevard.....who'd expect anything else! This is their pre Model Rail Scotland edition ahead of the Glasgow show on the 24th - 26th February. Now in two halls - it's sure to be even better this year and we're looking forward to participating with New Mills. See you there!

MET Jubilee coach

Himself has returned from a weekend workparty on the FR but found time to check progress on the restoration of the Metropolitan 353 'Jubilee' steam stock coach at Boston Lodge, a commision for the LT museum ahead of their 2013 celebrations. As would be expected the FR carraige team are clearly doing a superb job!

The 1892 coach body as delivered to the FR. The oldest surviving underground passenger vehicle in the world!

A rake of Jubilee stock behind an A class 4-40 tank in the early 1900s.

GT3

The undoubted star of the Model Enginnering show at Alexandra Palace over the weekend was again the scale model of GT3, the experimental gas turbine loco from the early 1960s that was trialed on our local GC line. This 5" gauge model designed and built by Tim Coles, is 'to scale' in every sense.

Every component down to the turbine and jet unit are exact working miniatures of the original. And does it work...the test runs during the show were awesome.

The model can reach 40mph on outdoor track and has huge pulling power. Worth the entrance money alone!

The real thing on the GC. Photo courtesy of Crawley Model Engineers.

And something completely different, a full scale LMS Coronation class streamlined headlamp!

D5000

D5000 at Aylesbury on a Marylebone -Nottingham train, September 3rd 1966, the last day of main line services on the GC.  Photo courtesy of RCTS

Not actually the 5,000 diesel built for British Railways but a nice pic to illustrate a minor achievement - reaching 5,000 hits on our blog! While we are some way from catching up with sites likeYouTube (8 billion hits per year) or even our sister Bron Hebog blog which has recently topped the 46,000 mark.The Guru, Sparky, Himself and the Artistic Director thank you all for following our ramblings over the past 9 months!

Brick Lane

No excuses for returning to East London which despite constant urban renewal still offers some historical gems. Over the Christmas break I ventured up Brick Lane, heading north from Whitechapel Road beyond the curry houses to view the new Overground viaduct.

Looking north up Brick Lane. Former Bishopgate Depot overbridge abutment on left with street level tramway below.

This sweeps over Commercial Road and the site of the former Shoreditch LT East London line station in Brick Lane before dropping south under the Thames. Quite impressive but despite the wholesale demolition in this area to accomodate this new railway, parts of the original GER Bishopsgate Goods Depot remain underneath!

Street level tramway entrance off Brick Lane. Presumably huge quantities of grain were delivered to the former Trumans Brewery in Brick Lane from this yard.

Peep through gaps in the wooden gates that block the lower level entrance into the depot off Brick Lane and you can still see some of the original street level tramway, originally accessed via two wagon hoists from the open yard above. I guess that as you are now standing nearer Bethnal Green rather than trendy Spitalfields, progress as they call it runs at a slower pace! 

Tramway tracks still in situ!

The north side of the former Bishopsgate Depot with new viaduct alongside.

Bolstering our bogies

Ahead of the Wigan Show in December we applied steel loads to one of our rakes of bogie bolsters. Nothing too complicated, simply lengths of Evergreen H section plastic cut to fit, sprayed initially with Halfords acrylic grey primer and then treated with the usual palette of Humbrol matt black, leather and white via an Iwata airbrush to capture that very slight weathering that new steel quickly sports when it is open to the elements. No further finishing required other than a spot of glue to secure them to the wagon cross beams. Plastic strip such as this can be fairly greasy so give it a rub down with a brush and soapy water before applying the primer. This will avoid a bubbly finish! And don't forget to trim and file down the girder ends if you have used hand cutters or a file to cut the lengths.

The end result was a business like rake of 8 bolsters for our down line freight services. A quick project but very effective.

MODEL RAIL165 February issue

The current February issue of Model Rail includes a tantalising glimpse of Chris Nevard's brilliant photoshoot of New Mills on the inside of the back cover where they herald the contents of the March issue, the annual Model Rail Scotland Exhibition special edition which includes our layout. Just 50 days to go to the show!