Jump to content
 

Manchester Central, CLC & GN Warehouses & Castlefield Viaducts


Ron Heggs
 Share

Recommended Posts

I wonder what astonishing reality you might have achieved with your existing masterpieces, had this technology been available to you several years ago...

 

Probably a little more detail, and accuracy not totally dependent on hand and eye coordination. A little more advanced in the layout build

 

Ron

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Ron

 

Absolutely stunning. When is the 3D printer coming ?

 

Hi, John

 

One machine at a time  :scratchhead: - after all I am building a layout not a business

 

The really quick answer is - when someone buys me one :O 

 

The latest DIY printers at around £500-600, sound ok for getting to grips with the process. But need to progress a bit further before being a reasonable priced everyday tool for producing precisely detailed rolling stock, and railside items

 

Cheers

 

Ron

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ron,

 

I know that the bridge sides are intricate, but can you put something alongside so that we can judge the scale better.

 

The cutter brings a new dimension to the build now, although you still have to have the skill and fore sight to generate the layers.

 

Compared to using the etches that you were going to get done, do you thing it's as good as you could have achieved with them?

 

(looks excellent to me!!) 

 

Dave

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ron,

 

I know that the bridge sides are intricate, but can you put something alongside so that we can judge the scale better.

 

The cutter brings a new dimension to the build now, although you still have to have the skill and fore sight to generate the layers.

 

Compared to using the etches that you were going to get done, do you thing it's as good as you could have achieved with them?

 

(looks excellent to me!!) 

 

Dave

 

Hi, Dave

 

The North Face is 457mm long x 87mm high, and the South Face is 432mm long x 87mm high

 

post-10633-0-35439500-1387577896_thumb.jpg

 

post-10633-0-64547700-1387577961_thumb.jpg

 

As the bridge building continues, I will place a locomotive on the bridge to give a better view of the scale

 

Overall the styrene build is as good as would be expected with etches. The one area which is better for me is my experience with styrene versus the requirement to sweat large areas of brass to brass, which is something I have never had to attempt before

 

The next part of the build is the bridge deck, which has to carry three tracks, including 2 turnouts, a diamond crossing and a double slip crossing

 

Ron

  • Like 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

The rosettes were finally cut and fixed -

 

post-10633-0-78632000-1387744806_thumb.jpg

 

post-10633-0-07273400-1387744869_thumb.jpg

 

Now that the cutter is available, the outstanding five underdeck beams for the CLC Deansgate Bridge were cut -

 

post-10633-0-47374900-1387745958.jpg

The underdeck beams of the CLC Deansgate Bridge

 

post-10633-0-65393000-1387744936_thumb.jpg

 

post-10633-0-20338200-1387744994_thumb.jpg

 

post-10633-0-47106800-1387745061_thumb.jpg

 

... and are now ready with a few extra details for adding to the bridge whilst undergoing its modification with the additional gantry and signalling

  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

The photo of the underdeck beams is that good I thought it was the model...

 

Can this thread get any more jaw-droppingly great ?

 

I wish !

 

The present day clean-air allows white paint to be used to brighten the underside of the bridge showing detail that would have delighted Mancunians in those distant dark and smog ridden days

 

It presents a challenge to model and then disappointingly dumb it all down with grey paint and grime

 

Ron

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Started on the GN Deansgate Bridge deck -

 

post-10633-0-96032200-1387902978_thumb.jpg

The deck plating (40 thou) - just a little on the skew

 

Nearside is North - 477mm, Farside is South - 422mm, Right is West - 282mm & Left is East - 336mm

 

post-10633-0-93173000-1387903034_thumb.jpg

Underside view with deck support beams - 45 deg tapered ends

 

post-10633-0-28129300-1387903006_thumb.jpg

A few beam webs (40 thou) laid out

 

.... flanges (20 thou) to be cut and fixed, and the completed beams fixed to the deck plating

 

more pictures later tonight

Edited by Ron Heggs
  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Redrew the circuit for the Theatre Display, and built the LED diode matrix circuit as a two layer stripboard sandwich -

 

attachicon.gifMatrix Circuit Diagram.png

 

A much simpler circuit

 

The row connections made on a 10 x 10 hole piece of stripboard, and the column connection made on a 5 x 10 hole piece, and no wired inter connections required

 

The overall item size is approx. 26mm x 26mm x 13mm

 

attachicon.gifIMG_0332.png

Due to the width/diameter of the resistors and LEDs they are offset slightly from one another

 

attachicon.gifIMG_0333.png

The soldering is a bit naff, as the smallest soldering bit I have is a 4.3mm chisel bit. A 1mm taper bit is on order

 

Yes, it all works as intended

 

Still have to fit flying leads for the 12v supply and switches

 

The fibre optics strands will be here this morning - ready to fit :scratchhead: this evening

12 inch to the foot scale..

 

Redrew the circuit for the Theatre Display, and built the LED diode matrix circuit as a two layer stripboard sandwich -

 

attachicon.gifMatrix Circuit Diagram.png

 

A much simpler circuit

 

The row connections made on a 10 x 10 hole piece of stripboard, and the column connection made on a 5 x 10 hole piece, and no wired inter connections required

 

The overall item size is approx. 26mm x 26mm x 13mm

 

attachicon.gifIMG_0332.png

Due to the width/diameter of the resistors and LEDs they are offset slightly from one another

 

attachicon.gifIMG_0333.png

The soldering is a bit naff, as the smallest soldering bit I have is a 4.3mm chisel bit. A 1mm taper bit is on order

 

Yes, it all works as intended

 

Still have to fit flying leads for the 12v supply and switches

 

The fibre optics strands will be here this morning - ready to fit :scratchhead: this evening

12 inch to the foot scale..

 

post-4034-0-20065100-1388010743_thumb.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

12 inch to the foot scale..

 

attachicon.gifIpswich Goods Jcn 002s.jpg

 

Thanks for this prototype info. It would appear that the indicator was a 7 x 5 lamp display

 

The lamp numbers refer to row and column positions for each displayed letter B, M & P

 

e.g. 11 is row 1 column 1, and 75 is row 7 column 5, and so on

 

Cheers

 

Ron

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for this prototype info. It would appear that the indicator was a 7 x 5 lamp display

 

The lamp numbers refer to row and column positions for each displayed letter B, M & P

 

e.g. 11 is row 1 column 1, and 75 is row 7 column 5, and so on

Yes, 7 row x 5 columns was the standard size, a two letter requirement would need two units side by side. A 7 x 7 version was available if numbers 10 - 19 were wanted, usually for a terminal approach. On the LM Region in the '60s we used parallel wiring with complex lamp proving to avoid risky partial indications. The series wiring shown completely avoids partial indications with the trade off that there are more failures although the example given above has not got lamp proving so failure of this one was not considered risky.

Keith

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi, Dave

 

That was my first option, but the challenge of soldering all those LEDs in such a tight array has been put on the backburner for the moment. A etched PCB would be needed to hold and supply the 35 LEDs and the associated leads

 

Cheers

 

Ron

i wonder if  instead of a pcb  could you insert brass pins  through a piece of  paxolin and solder the surface leds to that ?  the leads  could then me soldered to the pins

Edited by nigelb
Link to post
Share on other sites

i wonder if  instead of a pcb  could you insert brass pins  through a piece of  paxolin and solder the surface leds to that ?  the leads  could then me soldered to the pins

Hi, Nigel

 

Thanks for your input. But the 70 pins would need to be spaced at 1.2mm x 0.6mm centres on a 5 x 14 matrix, which could be a slight problem with my level of manual dexterity

 

Cheers

 

Ron

Link to post
Share on other sites

Lineside panelling and flanges fitted to the bridge parapets. Parapets fitted to the bridge deck

 

North face views-

 

post-10633-0-84031000-1388153649_thumb.jpg

 

post-10633-0-41522000-1388153681_thumb.jpg

 

East end view-

 

post-10633-0-45255600-1388153713_thumb.jpg

 

Underdeck view-

 

post-10633-0-98530200-1388153744_thumb.jpg

 

GN Deansgate Bridge buttresses, brickwork support structure and bridge painting next

 

.... and the CLC Deansgate Bridge beams

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

 

Ron, do you EVER have an untidy bench? ;-) I sometimes wonder if the untidy minds/benches such as mine give rise to less than satisfactory work. Having said which, Gravy Train - who does excellent, professional, buildings and structures - does have a *chaotic work-surface very often, which b*ggers up my excuse!

 

* I won't link to a photograph but they are in his Topics/Blogs which are well worth a visit in any case.

 

But back to the point: would you feel very uncomfortable with a messy bench threatening efficiency?

 

Tony.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ron, do you EVER have an untidy bench? ;-) I sometimes wonder if the untidy minds/benches such as mine give rise to less than satisfactory work. Having said which, Gravy Train - who does excellent, professional, buildings and structures - does have a *chaotic work-surface very often, which b*ggers up my excuse!

 

* I won't link to a photograph but they are in his Topics/Blogs which are well worth a visit in any case.

 

But back to the point: would you feel very uncomfortable with a messy bench threatening efficiency?

 

Tony.

Hi, Tony

 

.... and the answer is YES - I have four work tables in the railway room, and the dining table when not in use for meals - Each one except the dining table is in an ever changing state of almost chaos

 

The problem is I have at least five or six builds on the go at any one time plus two laptops with various drawings, etc. in progress

 

The worktables are set-up for separate types of build i.e. card building and plastic work or small and large structures. However, some builds are multimedia and things stray just a little :scratchhead:

 

Painting and woodwork is restricted to my workshop under the drive

 

Tools and waste bins are the only objects which are kept in a reasonable order

 

Photography is kept to part of the kitchen worktop and the dining table

 

The computers, printers and cutting machine do have a separate work table, but usually follow me around wherever my work is taking place

 

My favourite work place, subject to SWMBO permission is the dining table which is right in front a very large (5.5m x 2.5m) south east facing picture window overlooking the valley - very good lighting - ideal for modelling  :O 

 

You can guess where I am now   :scratchhead:  :sungum: 

 

Back to your point about efficiency - my modelling is about enjoyment - efficiency would be more appropriate to business, production and deadlines 

 

Cheers

 

Ron

Edited by Ron Heggs
  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi, Tony

 

.... and the answer is YES - I have four work tables in the railway room, and the dining table when not in use for meals - Each one except the dining table is in an ever changing state of almost chaos

 

The problem is I have at least five or six builds on the go at any one time plus two laptops with various drawings, etc. in progress

 

The worktables are set-up for separate types of build i.e. card building and plastic work or small and large structures. However, some builds are multimedia and things stray just a little :scratchhead:

 

Painting and woodwork is restricted to my workshop under the drive

 

Tools and waste bins are the only objects which are kept in a reasonable order

 

Photography is kept to part of the kitchen worktop and the dining table

 

The computers, printers and cutting machine do have a separate work table, but usually follow me around wherever my work is taking place

 

My favourite work place, subject to SWMBO permission is the dining table which is right in front a very large (5.5m x 2.5m) south east facing picture window overlooking the valley - very good lighting - ideal for modelling  :O 

 

You can guess where I am now   :scratchhead:  :sungum: 

 

Back to your point about efficiency - my modelling is about enjoyment - efficiency would be more appropriate to business, production and deadlines 

 

Cheers

 

Ron

Thanks for that. And why am I NOT surprised that you covered the issue in detail.

 

Soooooo... It's astonishing how a person can get stuck into a work-related mind-set. I tend to do most things on the one bench, and this is not necessarily due to lack of space - rather, habit. In this light I will consider the obvious options of varied work-stations for specific tasks. I think the telling factor, however, is LIGHT - can't have too much of it - well, unless it's blinding but that is just silly. Natural light is something I'm rather starved of, hence, back to the single bench. Even so, it is not beyond pocket or wit to upgrade the illuminations on to other areas.... And my PC is in a well lit area and need not be... Hmmmmmmm.

 

Thanks again, useful as usual. :-D

 

Tony.

Link to post
Share on other sites

As to requiring light to work by, I have found by accident a solution to the problem. I purchased a led lightbulb from Tesco's last year, that I use in my cheap table lamp. Then my son did break the opaque glass cover. The best bit is the light still works, and after removing the glass bits, I have been left with a VERY bright white light, perfect for modelling with. By bright, I mean it is painful to look at, but is perfect for lighting things indirectly.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...