More work has been done with the balustrades on board 4. They have been refitted, filled, smoothed and sprayed in undercoat to be 'photographically proved'
The 'proving' has been useful in showing up all the imperfect finishing.
Normally this would have probably been OK for 'normal viewing distances' but not for 'cruel' camera close-ups which are now such a part of out hobby nowadays!
The new visitor arrived last week which will be used for our 'blue/grey' operating period. It will a
John and I were planning on going up to Sussex today to get some more detail photos (at the time of the last trip we weren't planning on doing the whole viaduct) but in view of the weather we decided to postpone and get some other planning issues out of the way.
One of these was to confirm the distribution of the board sections making up the viaduct and its approaches, and on laying the trackbed laser-cut sections out we decided finally on:
Approach section with 4 arches (1.4m)
10-arch
The viaduct that will become the shortened version of the 'Ouse Valley Viaduct'. We'll be adding the ballustrading and cut the voids from the supports. (if we can!)
No compromise, no shortcuts - this is what we're building in 4mm. The real thing is over 440m long and up to 30m high, so the model will be about 20ft long.
Here are some of my own photos from our initial field trip last November, but if you Google images under Ouse Viaduct, Ouse Valley Viaduct, or Balcombe Viaduct there are loads more, some of them showing the whole thing in one go.
A bit more meat on the bone now from the previous 'vague' dimensions.
We've dispensed with the idea of a common 'Brighton' fiddleyard fed from both the north and from the Lewes Brighton platform, mainly because of the tight curves needed to get to/from the latter. Instead we have a separate shorter fiddle yard of 8ft for 'Brighton' on the basis that through trains via Lewes would only be loco + 4 coaches + van from Eridge (which also assumes an 8ft FY) or short coast route trains from Eastb
The first area to be 'terra-formed' has now been done.
Two of the main reasons for doing it this way is for lightness and durability. Using traditional plaster bandages, they're too easily damaged as I found out on Matford. The whole area is only supported along the edges with the chicken wire doing all work keeping all in place. It may need an second coating with resin as I've missed a few bits here and there. I'll see when it's all cured nice and hard, and of course it adds virtually no ex
First test bolt up to try out assembly procedure. Still several things to check before the final assembly method is approved.
This is the first time that we've got a 'feeling' for the project. When we add some ballustrading and refuges it really will seem like we're on our way!
Some of you will know of my planned Camberhurst layout from the old site http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7091
I'm not sure any more whether this will ever happen. This is for a variety of reasons, including
* Time for a sole project considered against other commitments
* Space to put it up at home
* I don't really like shunting, much prefer trains passing through the landscape (c.f. Eridge, Tawbridge)
* I also feel much happier with real locations, or at least so
Here are a couple of snaps of a typical FREMO set-up. 'Hölle' in P87 was seen at Utrecht last year, with a known reprobate playing trains!
This bit is only about a 20th of the whole project! There are interchangable sections which are cleverly 'scenically blended' This one was the best that I've ever seen with such good scenic continuity. Some that I've seen in the past have looked like a patchwork quilt!
We would devise our own profile for baseboard end plates, rather than using the 'lai
With very many thanks to Jim S-W of this parish for his designing the artwork and commissioning this first test etch which arrived yesterday. Lovely they are too.
Here are a few snaps of the etches.
Each brick arch is etched in two parts and tacked together to give the level change in the brickwork.
Arches for the characteristic 'holes' in the piers
Beginning to look like the effect that we're after.
When we were up at Balcombe last week, there were a couple of photos in the booking hall of the station in previous years, with a contact name and phone number for copies. Well, I rang this gentleman and what a diamond and fountain of knowledge he has turned out to be! He's lived in the village all his life and appears to be the community archivist, and has all sorts of other views and anecdotes as to how the place developed, filling in a few details that we couldn't work out.
He has alrea
After the first attempt at tree making using Gordon Gravett's methods I wasn't happy at all with the efforts. Some had the 'broccoli tree' look whilst others looked too dense or with too much 'space' and with the wrong colour foliage! Using the Woodlands 'foliage' just doesn't cut it, at least until I can master a better technique in using it. The Monterey pine has been sidelined with it's dark Woodlands foliage, as it all looks too flat.
The ones illustrated here have all had their original
It's been a long time since there were any updates to the viaduct project (and no I haven't done any more to that footbridge). This has been due to a variety of non-modelling issues for both John and myself.
Anyway, we're back looking to rebuild some momentum. This weekend we have made significant progress in conceptual planning of the final presentation format (of which more in due course). The main thing was to decide how high to have the track, bearing in mind that it will be different
Some more trees and an armature for Balcombe. These are all experimental ATM and will be placed at the rear of the layout. I've still got to improve on tree recognition and produce better models of particular types.
Some of these will probably be removable for use on other projects. The smaller ones will be used on the Matford rebuild on the new extension board.
Some medium sized silver birches.
A few more smaller ones will be made and then some other more predominent species will be next, oaks, chestnuts, sycamores and probably some elms would be nice.
There was quite a prominent stand of pines (Scots or Maritime) at the Brighton end embankment. They stood on the road side of this embankment during the main time period that we are modelling. Totally different techniques will have to be mastered to make them!
Balcombe would see these as the main traction on fasts (which wouldn't stop!)
http://semgorgu.ipower.com/gallery/6pul_1.html as well as Brighton Belles.
Semi fasts and stoppers would be
http://semgorgu.ipower.com/gallery/4lav.html and http://semgorgu.ipower.com/gallery/2bil_01.html
Whilst Newhaven boat trains and freights would be either steam-hauled or with Bulleid's CC1/2 and 20003 Booster electrics such as (first two pictures, actually in Balcombe yard):
http://semgorgu.i
A dry run to check fit of the pier assemblies. The screwed rods are to allow accurate adjustment between the piers and arch sections. All the holes through which they pass are oversize to allow for this prior gluing together and for final bolting to the 'undercarriage'. They will also serve as 'droppers' for track power so no need for wiring through the piers.
The next (big) job will be cladding the piers with plasticard and the curved brick etches.
Also the same with the arches.
Muc
Good day's progress today over at John's. Pavilions finished apart from decoration around top of columns, finalised track bed cutting on end boards, and attached 'plinths' to balustrades - using 3.3mm ply sleeper strip, makes a surprisingly big improvement to their 'solidity'. Not done the coping yet, walnut stripwood not yet arrived. Also made a jig for consistent fitting of the corbels supporting the refuges - Mark has finalised the design and a trial run of 20 has been ordered from Shapewa
Looks like that it's been there from the early days, judging by the brickwork looking unaltered.
The first pic suggests that the original finished near the lamp hut.
The 'great lift' is now finished, with the addition of the final 2mm at the bases of the pavilions, and I have also put all the moulding detail around the tops of the pavilion columns - at least as far as practicability allows. I had previously done this on one of them, but that got trashed when I separated the roof slab to add the 2mm in there, so it's just as well I hadn't done them all before.
This is what I'm referring to:
Anyway, it's useful to show again how I did it.
Mai
A few entries back I showed a 'completed' pavilion. But on returning to the viaduct for another recce a month or so ago, we found that the roof construction was somewhat different so it was back to the workbench for another go.
The objective this time was to come up with something like this:
So here is a photo sequence of how I did it:
1) Build basic subframe (2 x 2mm Evergreen section)
2) Attach 'under-roof' using 0.5mm plasticard - in black so you can see what you'r
I've now finished (I think) the first of the eight pavilions required for the viaduct, except for the painting which can wait until they're all done.
I'm always supercritical of my own work (aren't we all?) but I'm quite pleased with this given there were no drawings available and access to measure was not a practicable option. It's not as detailed as the real thing, but in view of the scale of the whole model and the distance from which it is likely to be viewed I think it conveys the esse
Been doing a bit more on the refuges, bringing some up a level in detail with sleeper timbering and limewood.
Here is what they look like before light sanding, filling, painting etc. Each one has 16 pieces.
