The Heybridge Railway, 1889 to 1913

[PhilH]

I've been looking for suitable ballast for my narrow gauge layout, something a bit more varied in colour and size than the usual ballast aggregate, and obtained this from a local river:

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Its been passed through a sieve, so the maximum size of the sample is probably just under 1mm, and there are fines in it although it doesn't show in the sample. If you have the opportunity its probably worth scouting round the area your model is based in for any natural material, old gravel pits, river banks, etc. The inside of a curve in a river is the most likely place to find deposits of such material.

Mainline ballast is 2" nominal size, or at least that's what Penmaenmawr Quarry was supplying to BR in the 1960s when I worked there. Whether the specification has changed since or not I don't know.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Phil thanks ever so much. We often go to the area for walks, I can take a empty margarine tub.

In fact thank you to everyone for the last few posts. I've worked out what ballast I should be modelling, and I have ideas on how to go about doing it.

 

[daifly]

Folks

Extracting your own sands and gravel may seem like a very 'green' solution but please be aware that it contravenes several environmental laws and may also be considered theft in some circumstances. Just saying.

Dave

 

[PhilH]

Richard,
Another piece of advice I forgot to mention, when I go 'nicking material from the countryside I usually wear a balaclava, stick false numberplates on the car and make sure I'm not followed when I leave

 

[Richard Gawler]

I doubt I will ever discover what came out of the aggregate workings near Heybridge, but I did take a couple of photos in the Gipping Valley (Suffolk) last week.

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View attachment 214384
These deposits are beside some excavations now full of water, near Pipps Ford Lock.

I wonder, is this the sort of stuff we are talking about for ballast?

This is a possible ballast mix, trying to mimick the appearance of deposits in the Gipping Valley without the weeds and all legally-harvested.


This is equal parts of sieved bird grit, Proses "genuine limestone 00/H0" and Woodland Scenics "ballast, fine buff", laid loose for the camera. I sieved the bird grit twice, to remove the largest bits and then remove the dust. The grit is catching the light from the flash and looks a little more dominant here than it does in natural daylight.

I am actually rather pleased with this so I can now try some other resources and see if the result is better or worse.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Yes, I don’t see why you’d waste something new on this sort of application - fence posts, platelayers’ huts and so on have chair imprints on them, the Ffestiniog and other railways used half sleepers, rarely new. The rail on light railways was often second hand too (as I’m sure it was for buffer stops).

Adam

My entire Heybridge Railway project represents a fiction, with this fiction founded on a joint venture between a canal company and a railway company. I expect that some members of WT viewed this as an absurdity and stopped looking at this Workbench a long time ago. For everyone still here, the fiction needs to be good enough to hold an interest long enough to enjoy the model. This needs to be the lifetime of the project for me, less for everyone else.


I want my layout to be a fairly upbeat and colourful affair. If we suppose Charlie, the tree and the the track here are in their final colours then the buffer stop seems fine to me. Apart from anything else, I like the contrast of creosoted and untreated wood.

I enjoy imagining little back-stories for my layout, and I can happily imagine that Brown's (the timber merchant at the Chelmsford end of the Navigation) had an overstock of untreated six-foot narrow gauge sleepers left over from a cancelled order from a colony.

I do not see this as a "waste" in the context of my Heybridge Railway, but I do see that the Heybridge Railway is a bit left-field. This is how I want my model railway to be.

 

[Dog Star]

This is how I want my model railway to be.

Just so.

Keep on truckin'.

regards, Graham

 

[Richard Gawler]

A year on WT!

Thank you to everyone for your kindness and support during my first year here. This is a fine place and I am thoroughly enjoying myself both here and in 7mm scale. A special thank you to the members of the Flying Squad who are obliged to read every new post and therefore had to plough through my back-story and other ramblings.

Trying to post something suitable for everyone, here is an illustration from a children’s reference book I bought to help my project.

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From “Eyewitness Victorians”, abridged edition published in 2021 by DK / Penguin Random House.

There is no mention of a water tank, though a caption above the tender explains, "coal was stored in this truck". Which is true. I bought my copy remaindered in Chelmsford Market, the idea was to get a simple introduction to Victorian life

Two years on WT, and about two and a half years modelling in 7 mm scale, I can see a good chance of actually building a model of a small light railway with most of the trains and scenics built from kits, and me being pleased with the result.

The main hinderance at the moment is waiting for glue to dry on scenic models. Soldering is so much quicker. Also I am making up some models as I go along and sometimes I don't have the materials I need to keep the momentum going. The station platform at Heybridge Basin (yesterday) is a good example, I couldn't decide on finishes until I could see the model on the layout.

The hobby room is getting cluttered with unpainted models. There is still Nellie, a passenger saloon and a van to be painted, plus a yard crane and a water column in similar state. One excuse is because I haven't firmed up on the liveries, but the real reason is because I much prefer making things. Painting the track on Heybridge Basin was the largest painting job I have ever done where I was mixing the colours as I went along and not simply applying something straight from a tin.

The project is more focussed now than it has ever been. I have sold the less suitable wagons and kits, and everything in the stash now has an application on the railway. Also, Heybridge Basin is wired and usable as a test track.

Earlier today I went to an open day at the Saffron Walden club. This was a pleasant day out though at least two people identified me as a visitor in possession of a layout! I won't finish off Heybridge Basin in a hurry, but things could work out after I give it a fiddle yard.

My main observation has got to be, WT remains such a genteel place. If a post gets little or no response, or a response couched in really guarded language, it usually means I really ought to reconsider. I am still enjoying posting photos of progress and I am still very happy here. Thank you for all of the continued support and feedback