The Saltport Harbour Authority

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Just to kick things off and test my posting abilities I thought I’d add a couple of pics of my industrial layout ‘Saltport’. It is based on a real place that existed quite briefly on the banks of the Rivers Weaver and Mersey in Cheshire. There was little development and it faded away in the early years of the 20th Century. However great things could have happened…

Here we see Saltport Estates no.5 (Hawthorn Leslie, from a modified Stewart Reidpath lead casting), running past the engine shed, and Saltport Harbour Authority crane tank no.40 (Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns, from a Backwoods kit) approaching the East yard.

 

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[pcarrick59Participant]

Some lovely shots, Stuart. It certainly is superb layout you’ve built there.

Envious of Colchester….

[Membership SecretaryKeymaster]

Excellent work

[Peter RigbyParticipant]

Very nice work Stuart. Is it a ‘layout that never leaves home’?

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Thank you – Yes, very much so – it moved house 21 years ago but that was quite an undertaking and it was nowhere near as complete back then.

[Douglas FirthParticipant]

Dear Stuart,

Great modelling and good to see where your excellent models run.

Thanks for posting,

Douglas Firth  17006

Western Australia

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Thanks Doug. I include a picture of one of the line’s more recent loco’s, a Hudswell Clarke & Rodgers  0-4-0 ST made from an old K’s kit, using a chassis kit by Ambis Engineering.

 

 

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[Peter RigbyParticipant]

Very nice work Stuart. May I ask whether there is an Area Group extant in Western Australia. I am aware that there are a small number of EMGS members in the state.

Thanks,

Peter

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Thanks Peter. I’m in Essex by the way, it’s Douglas in Australia – no relation, as far as I know !

[Douglas FirthParticipant]

Gentlemen,

To answer your question Peter, We have a small group of members that loosely keep in touch but no official group which may include some non members, not sure, I am a relatively new member of the society(4 yrs) also one is a long time p4 modeller.

Stuart, I don’t know but my great grandfather came to Sydney to work on building the mortuary station and clocktower at Central railway station. Late 1800’s. We came from Huddersfield and wrote to members of the family in  the UK until the second world war and then nothing. We always thought that the writer must have been killed in WW2. I replied to your post because I liked the authentic look of your model railway. My model is of a GWR Edwardian branch line terminus. Thanks, Doug.

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Some of the line’s ‘heavy metal’ parked outside one of the layout’s larger structures.

The Garratt is from a Backwoods Miniatures kit and the Nasmyth Wilson Scratchbuilt. The building is made from an American DPM modular kit. I can only justify such large loco’s by assuming there is an element of banking of trains up to the exchange sidings – I make it up as I go along!

 

 

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[Douglas FirthParticipant]

Great looking loco’s Stuart,

There is something about industrial layouts it must be the gritty authenticity that adds to the realism of a model.

Douglas Firth.

[Nick RidgwayParticipant]

I love the way you’ve turned down the colour in some of those images, Stuart. It adds realism, because we are used to seeing steam subjects that way. It’s certainly something I intend to follow – all the way to monochrome, even!

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

A couple of recent additions to the line’s wagon fleet, both courtesy of Messrs Tri-ang !

The Hull & Barnsley van is the old Tri-ang fish van, with a new chassis that uses MJT bits, and the L&Y diagram 3 van, now sold off by the LMS and in use as an internal user, is the ‘insulfish’ van that was once pale blue and ‘graced’ my childhood train set! It too has MJT underpinnings, and has had the roof line lowered slightly.

I think it’s fascinating to know that someone at Tri-ang all those years ago cared enough about what were basically toys to ensure they were pretty fair representations of pre-grouping wagons. I wonder if they did anything else that we could use?

[Nick RidgwayParticipant]

Nice work, Stuart!

Ray Hodson and I were considering doing the L&Y diagram 3 van in some numbers for the Eastwood L&Y layout, which I believe is booked for ExpoEM 2023. He hasn’t made a commitment, so I have disposed of several via a popular internet auction site.

I still have a few left, though.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Nick Ridgway.

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Following some chat about the Forum and a certain lack of user comments, plus the desire to avoid too much duplication, I am adding this link to my layout thread on RMWeb, where the full story is told, and using this as a test of my ability to post such links.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/index.php?/topic/153520-the-saltport-saga/

 

 

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

The latest loco to join the stud is something rather different for me, partly because I didn’t build it and partly because of its size…

I bought this Stanier 2-6-4T on the 2nd hand stall at Expo in 2022. A Hornby body on a Comet chassis. Modern motor and gears, possibly Ultrascale wheels, all for £20 – I couldn’t resist. It needed a small amount of work to get it running properly, but nothing else happened until recently when I finally got round to painting it. Dirty post-war condition, unlined (conveniently). Compared to most of my loco’s this is just so big!

 

[Nick RidgwayParticipant]

One might ask what such a powerful suburban passenger tank engine is doing lurking around a place like Saltport!

<ducks to avoid brickbats> 😉

[Nigel BurbidgeParticipant]

Stuart, that is indeed quite a beast when compared to other locos in your fleet.  Having seen photos of some of the tight curves, presumably it’s availability is restricted?!

cheers

Nigel

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Hi Nigel, it can (just) handle most of the layout, but not this part:

 

[Nigel BurbidgeParticipant]

That’s a lovely piece of industrial track work; very reminiscent of the Romford brewery layout! I can’t imagine anything longer than a short 0-4-0 going around that.

Nigel

[Nick RidgwayParticipant]

That’s not a curve; that’s a corner! 🤔

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

On Nick Ridgway said

One might ask what such a powerful suburban passenger tank engine is doing lurking around a place like Saltport!

<ducks to avoid brickbats> 😉

I like them – is that a good enough excuse? I also have a Hornby Fowler 2-6-4T from my youth, with all the late period Perseverance add-ons, waiting for me to build a Perseverance chassis for it. Don’t worry though – the next loco project will be at the opposite end of the size scale !

[Nigel BurbidgeParticipant]

Sounds good enough to me! A sound application of Rule 1.

Nigel

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

The latest loco, as promised, somewhat more suitable. Impetus kit, and has flown together so far.

[Nigel BurbidgeParticipant]

That is rather lovely Stuart! I suspect you may have to start figuring out where to load it with lead as otherwise it may struggle towing an economic load!

Nigel

[Paul TomlinsonParticipant]

I love these little Rustons. Hats off to you, I failed miserably to correctly form the bonnet on mine. I put it back in the box and bought a 7mm version, which suited my fat fingers a lot better. I expect you already know that RT Models do a chassis kit, and High Level do a quad-driver for it. Maybe I’ll have another bash. Please show us more of yours as it progresses. Cheers.

Here’s my 7mm one. I think I bought it from Robin Arkinstall at an exhibition in Paddington.

 

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[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Thanks both. Keeping the drive simple and 2 wheel drive as designed, so I can use the gearbox and Sharman wheels that came with it.

[Douglas FirthParticipant]

I have been following your last few builds with interest. I tried to post a photo of my 1366 loco but it failed so I gave up.

The Ruston will be a fine addition to the layout but I too am worried about weight or the lack there of.

Well done,

Doug Firth.

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Hi Doug it would be fine with 4 wheel drive but in the interests of keeping it simple I went with the original 2 wheel drive kit design, so it will have limited haulage powers!

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Well it didn’t take too long in the end, and I finished it this weekend. It won’t pull much (OK – 2 wagons!) but it does run very slowly and smoothly. A great project and good fun to build.

[Nick RidgwayParticipant]

Lovely little thing, Stuart. Nice one! 🙂

I’m still hoping for a photo of that David Coleman loco to appear here. Go on. I dare you! 😉

[Paul TomlinsonParticipant]

That looks very fine indeed. The shade of green you’ve used suits it very well. No doubt the (rather portly) crew add some useful ballast! Cheers.

[Douglas FirthParticipant]

She looks teriffic. I have used that figure a few times with mods. He gives the impression of being the inspector of newly finished locos! Well Done.

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Thanks chaps – the crew are plastic I’m afraid, though I discovered that putting ballast that far back had no effect on traction anyway. That character’s chief benefit is that he hides the motor rather well…

[Nigel BurbidgeParticipant]

Lovely loco Stuart! Really looks the part and the motor is very well hidden given such a small unit.

Nigel

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Hi Nick – You mean this monstrosity?

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by Stuart Firth.

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[Nick RidgwayParticipant]

Only a mother could love it. 🙂

“What do you make of that?” – with apologies to the late, great, David Coleman.

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