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New signal box and other things


Barry Ten

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As mentioned, I've built a new signal box to replace the old platform-mounted one for which there was unfortunately no place on the layout following the addition of a bay.

 

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Final exterior detailing is still to be done, but the painting is more or less complete and I think it looks quite smart. I followed the guidelines for signal box painting from the table in Vol 2 of Stephen Williams' GWR branch line books, using dark stone for the woodwork around the windows, and leaving the frames white. The area around the signal box, which was a mess of different levels, gaps in the scenery, and so on, is being consolidated to give a level surface for the addition of point rodding, walkways and so on.

 

I had a fight with the letters on the nameplate. The set I had (Ratio, I think) were incredibly brittle, such that i didn't manage to get a single "N" to come off the fret without shattering. The "O"s where also similar afflicted! I hope it was just a dodgy pack as I would like to think I could revisit the nameplate again at some point and do a neater, more consistent job - hence, it's only lightly fixed in place. I now have to tackle the interior, which can be good fun but I think this will be my fourth such detailing job, so the fun is starting to wear off slightly!

 

I do still have this older signal box I built for Wyvant:

 

wyvant13.jpg

 

Which has a fully-detailed interior, and is unlikely to ever feature on another layout of mine. so the temptation is to re-use all the

parts on this new box. If anyone would like that box, by the way, I'd be happy to see it go to a new home. It's totally freelance,

cobbled together from two or three Wills boxes, and is much too large for King's Hintock!

 

On the subject of signal boxes, I've also spent some time extending the point-rodding along the platform, as seen by the length

protruding in front of the 28XX:

 

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This is an 8-rod run and took me about four hours to do the length of one set of rods, or about 14 inches. The bad news is that I still have about 12 hours worth of that before I get to the signal box - and then it carries on the other side, although admittedly only 4 rods then! In any case there's no rush as I've run out of components and will need to wait until RailWells before stocking up on more MSE parts.

 

Where the rodding presently terminates:

 

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Another job I must attend to is removing and replacing the incorrect cloakroom designations on the station building, such as the ladies waiting room. 

 

Aren't these two figures characterful? I got them from a old box of castings made by Linka, and I've no idea of their provenance, whether they're someone else's 

figures "reboxed", but they're splendid chaps, I think you'll agree; obviously not up to the standard of Modelu figures but very good considering their age. Unfortunately

the pack of figures contains lots of copies of the same few types, so there's a limit to how many I'll be able to use. For the chap with the broom, I cut off the casting and added

a separate broom handle from brass wire. The bicycle, by the way, is an etched product from - I think - Dart castings. I must make some more of them.

 

 

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A couple or general shots to finish off with:

 

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That's it for now, thanks for reading.

 

 

  • Like 10
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1

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