Shez Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 Really enjoyed my lunchtime operating session today on Deffors, even if I couldn't get the sequence right! There was lots of interest in the layout, and those I talked to were really impressed when I explained that Sam had scratch built almost everything. One visitor just smiled and said "great to see real modelling!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 had a wonderful weekend, just got the layout back home, some little things to work on 2 photos taken Saturday morning deffors (1) by Sam, on Flickr deffors (2) by Sam, on Flickr 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 It really looks the bees knees when fully displayed - congratulations. I'm impressed by those crowd-barriers ...... they certainly don't do things by halves in Wakefield. K Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginelane Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 It really looks the bees knees when fully displayed - congratulations. I'm impressed by those crowd-barriers ...... they certainly don't do things by halves in Wakefield. K With over 2000 visitors this weekend we have to be prepared! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 there was a short on point 4 to the cattle dock, i found that the problem was a solder join between 2 wire contacts on the switch, it only shorted when the point was changed to the dock and i couldnt fix it there and then because of how awkward it is to get to that switch underneath, i didnt need to use the dock but would have liked to, so i was going to fix that when the layout came back such as now and then i bought these rather nice chunky point switches from the club second hand stall and thought that they look chunky and strong which would be much better than the maplin switches which are slowly weakening and will eventually fall apart but then found that they are passive switches for point motors so the contact is only made halfway over the lever throw and the contact is gone at the end so the motor isnt burnt by constant contact, i can use them by soldering in strips of phosphar strip to make the contact on the end of the throw and drill a hole in the lever for the rod deffors (220) by Sam, on Flickr From the show i also got my first exhibition plaque to put on the layout deffors (221) by Sam, on Flickr 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toplink@()1989))(( Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Hi Sam, just wanted to say it was good to have a chat and see Deffors in the flesh so to speak. Lots of potential there mate, well done! Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted November 28, 2017 Author Share Posted November 28, 2017 (edited) nothing done to the layout itself since the show and i'm not putting it back up until the point short has been fixed but i have been doing some more work on the station masters house with the additon of all the roof pieces, lintels and sills, the cross was to remind me back when i was cutting it that the piece was reserved so i didnt use it for something else deffors (224) by Sam, on Flickr deffors (222) by Sam, on Flickr the big switches i bought the other week have been found to be of no use as the switch throw is twice as far as the point even at the base of the lever, but ive already modified them before i realised it so they cant be used for motors ever again Edited November 28, 2017 by sir douglas 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted November 30, 2017 Author Share Posted November 30, 2017 the short on the point has been removed and the layout put back up deffors (225) by Sam, on Flickr deffors (226) by Sam, on Flickr 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted December 15, 2017 Author Share Posted December 15, 2017 My idea for the fiddle yard was for it to be painted grey and would have done it before the show while doing the black but didnt have any grey and never got around to buying any but just this morning remembered that ive already got a tin of grey so put a coat of that on deffors (228) by Sam, on Flickr 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted December 26, 2017 Author Share Posted December 26, 2017 christmas eve and yesterday, while the tv was rubbish and the computer was taken i got a little more done on the layout, building up the ground behind the bufferstop and sorting the landscaping between the footpath and the cattle/horse dock the other day the blue foam was cut and glued down, Yesterday the filler was applied onto it Deffors (230) by Sam, on Flickr The slope from the path to the dock was only ever meant to be there until i decided what was going there, yesterday it was cut away and a retaining wall put in. the is corrugated cardboard behind the embossed sheet for it to stick to and give strength Deffors (229) by Sam, on Flickr 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 the area on the dock was cleaned up and covered over with cardboard deffors (231) by Sam, on Flickr the platform was covered with styrene embossed sheet and painted with a based coat of grey, the sheets were offcuts from green ayre deffors (232) by Sam, on Flickr the inside of the rails have been filled in with the same dark grey covering as the rest of the yard but it looks darker because of sun light decay. the fascia edge along the end behind the building has been cut down to ground level and the new earth work has been painted, there will eventually be a gateway inbetween the building and the end of the slope deffors (233) by Sam, on Flickr ive now started cutting timber for the fiddleyard shelves 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 3mm ply with framing glued and screwed around underneath, but currently just the front piece on, there are 2 cut outs for the vertical timbers deffors (234) by Sam, on Flickr the vertical timbers mentioned will be screwed onto the backscene and plastic L brackets to sit the shelves on but will need cutting down to fit which deffors (235) by Sam, on Flickr 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewry Car Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Hi Sam, Nice little layout this. Is it available for exhibitions please? I'm looking for layouts for a show at the Middleton Railway, Leeds for 16th/17th June 2018. If you are interested/available can you drop me an email to ian.dobson9015 AT btinternet.com (replace AT with @). Thanks Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 yes i would l am interested i have already been invited by AMJ but i put it aside as something between friends since hes not the show organizer such as yourself, ive just had my first show back in november and middleton would be a suitable place to take it next. email sent Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted February 1, 2018 Author Share Posted February 1, 2018 This morning, the shelves were assembled ready for painting Screwing the brackets to the uprights Deffors (237) by Sam, on Flickr and bolting the shelves to the brackets Deffors (238) by Sam, on Flickr the bridge has been repainted as i wasnt happy with the dark brown, the dock and platform have also been painted the same, on the backscene, the grey silhouette on the left represents Lofthouse on the horizon in the distance, the tops of the trees have been cut down by painting over with the pale sky colour, the path across the field has been painted back in and a field has been painted in to the left of the tower as thats more like as it would have been back then but is over grown now, the odd brown patches on the field are where ive temporarily painted over after accidentally splashing some paint cream paint Deffors (236) by Sam, on Flickr 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted February 4, 2018 Author Share Posted February 4, 2018 the shelves are painted and fitted deffors (239) by Sam, on Flickr 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 cutting the window frames for the station master's house deffors (242) by Sam, on Flickr this upper window has since been glued in its opening and the second one is nearly done deffors (243) by Sam, on Flickr Ever since i first used the maplin switches for the points, i was never happy with the quality of them, the strength of the throw spring was okay as new but gradually has weakened , one of the switches has eventually failed to give electrical circuit to the frog when thrown in one direction, i had ideas about modifying the switches i bought last november so used this dead switch as a test bed by changing the length of the throw and remounting them on the brass plates i made for the maplin switches, but im not happy with the result deffors (240) by Sam, on Flickr deffors (241) by Sam, on Flickr if i can find a point switch to easily modify, i'll try 1 to start with and if it works, do it again another 3 times, i'm going to try a Hornby one, by changing the position of t he bronze strips for constant contact and drilling a hole in the lever for the rod it should work 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 both upstairs windows fitted and one downstairs deffors (244) by Sam, on Flickr 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 laying a barrow crossing from the right hand end of the platform Deffors (246) by Sam, on Flickr extended the cattle dock platform and removed the ramp Deffors (245) by Sam, on Flickr 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted March 14, 2018 Author Share Posted March 14, 2018 the right hand side of the dock has also been faced with embossed stone and seeing how much of the dock i can cover with the stone sett off cuts ive got from a friend, i will probably have to buy some new pieces to finish it, the dock will have 2 small pens, the far left corner will be just clear of the backscene, on the drawing below, showing the pen and the end fencing, the red indicating gates Deffors (247) by Sam, on Flickr painted the crossing Deffors (248) by Sam, on Flickr 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 (edited) i never liked the slope across the front on the right hand board as i couldnt think of a good transition between it and the station forecourt so ive cut it down and filled in the gap inbetween the front and the platform Deffors (249) by Sam, on Flickr Edited March 16, 2018 by sir douglas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted March 18, 2018 Author Share Posted March 18, 2018 (edited) with the shaping done, i covered it with filler Deffors (250) by Sam, on Flickr and painted it drak brown, a mixture of acrylic burnt umber and black with a bit of water to spread it further on the dry filler as it soaks up the moisture of the paint Deffors (252) by Sam, on Flickr opened out the sector plate Knob hole a bit Deffors (251) by Sam, on Flickr Edited March 18, 2018 by sir douglas 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Making cardboard housings for the point switches, these will be removable, not just as i still need to replace the witches but afterwards too for maintenance. The one on the left is as i built them and then the one on the right has been cut out to fit the particular position deffors (253) by Sam, on Flickr Housing sat on switch 4 (furthest right hand side) deffors (255) by Sam, on Flickr Switch 3 deffors (254) by Sam, on Flickr Inspired by the timber gates Tony made for green Ayre, i made my yard front gates out 2mm of balsa and the posts are firework sticks deffors (256) by Sam, on Flickr deffors (257) by Sam, on Flickr the gates are attached to the posted by track pins, fed through drilled holes and then bent to right angle with the gates pushed onto the point and then a drop of superglue locks them together deffors (258) by Sam, on Flickr only after putting the gates in place into holes drilled in the board did i realise i put the gates on the wrong way round with the pickets facing in wards instead of out, but its all locked together with superglue and in an awkward place to get to, i cant be bothered to fix it for now deffors (259) by Sam, on Flickr there will be a fence from the gate to the backscene but im not sure yet about putting a fence the other way up the slope and how far to go with it, maybe just as far as the buffer stop 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted March 24, 2018 Author Share Posted March 24, 2018 doing some repainting of the backscene, on the left is supposed to be a simplified depiction of the Eastmoor estate and to right of that Parkhill Colliery and continued the horizon across into the trees Deffors (260) by Sam, on Flickr the main job was repainting the field, the addition across the bottom is supposed to be the continuation of the wall on the left going around the other side of a yard that leads onto the cattle dock. although its not clear, some varied shades of brown have randomly been added to the trees across the top as this should be early autumn because thats when the field is ploughed as depicted. Ont he right on the common is supposed to be the Well arch Deffors (261) by Sam, on Flickr the well 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 Last Saturday i bought 2 of those Hornby switches to try out and currently only working on one to sort it all out and make sure it works before copying it on the others. First thing was finding out that the springing only throws the lever one way and the other way is held in place by moving it sideways into a slot, so first thing was moving the spring to throw it both ways, one end of the spring had a hook on it to hook onto the lever and the other end was straight to sit on the mounting, the hook was cut back to just an L bend and the straight end bent in another L but the other way, on L is fed into a hole drilled in the lever and the other into a styrene bracket bolted onto the case, the lugs for the casing were cut off and the base drilled through for the bolts, the phospher strips were taken out as they are now useless to me in their positions. on the back of the lever is a phospher pick up that slides across the top of the 2 strips, the end of the pick up was cut off has also not wanted, at the end of the sliding face of the pick up is a ramp to push the lever into the slot, this has been cut back, and just by pure chance is that the mounting screw holes are exactly the same distance as on my brass mounting plates from the old switches, so the new switches can go straight onto the layout with new holes in the board the switch as bought deffors switch (1) by Sam, on Flickr deffors switch (2) by Sam, on Flickr deffors switch (3) by Sam, on Flickr after modifying, currently only modified the springing and yet to fit any new electrical contact, the little holes were where i re positioned the spring to tighten it up until i was happy it, the larger hole at the base is for the rodding deffors switch (4) by Sam, on Flickr 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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