Ron Heggs

I have over 100 Seep PM1, and none of the rods rotate or bend. Looking at the video it appears the manufacture has changed as the rod has been crimped either side of the shaft instead of it being an interference fit in the shaft. The rods on my Seeps are hardened steel and cannot be crimped or cut easily Definitely return them as 'not for purpose'

Thanks. I must admit that this sometimes happens to my photos. They look alright in the folder, then when they are uploaded some of them spin 90o Have to then reload them into my photo app and just resave them, then all is well. Strange !! Cheers Ron

I am enjoying every moment creating these models reflecting the unique character of Sri Lanka and its railways, and working with such an enthusiastic team

For those of you who are on Facebook, Chrissleisure's FB page is https://www.facebook.com/modeltrainvillage/, the first pictures of the start of the layout are shown The initial module is intended to show the stretch of railway between Ella and Demodara If you have any comments and 'likes' on the layout, please leave them on FB There will be more models to follow Ron

... and for something completely different - Lattice post Semaphore signals - still the main method of railway signalling on this part of Sri Lanka's Railway System Scratchbuilt from photographs of actual signals in Sri Lanka. Brass etchings produced by PPD from my original DXF drawings These first two of an initial ten signals have been finished with appropriate LED suitable masked, and coloured filters in the spectacles I understand the first signal is fixed on the layout Christo Perara will no doubt post any additional photographs he feels appropriate

A number of structures have been constructed which due to time constraints pictures of the finished items were not taken 2 Arch, 3 Arch and 4 Arch Viaducts - Ella Station - Main Station building is very similar to Demodara with an extensive steel supported canopy the complete length of the main building and beyond with a total length of approx 700mm All these completed models are now in Sri Lanka, and await fitting to the layout as progress allows Pictures will be available when they are in place on the layout

Close to Demodara Station is Southam Tea Factory Copyright - Christo Perara Copyright - Christo Perara The challenge was to produce a single structure with LED lighting to each floor and the attached low-level structures The LEDs had to be fitted in such a way to enable easy future replacement, if found necessary, without removing any of the floors or roof The main tea factory building model is 861mm in length and 131mm in width, and comprises five floors with a shallow single apex roof. The overall height is 224mm The model is built from Styrene sheets with Acrylic sheets used for glazing. The building is provided with warm white internal lighting The main structure core is constructed using 2mm thick Acrylic sheets with internal vertical divisions dividing the length into five separate sections. These internal partitions will be edge lit by SMD Leds Horizontal floors are provided four upper levels and the ground level are made from 1mm thick Styrene sheet These vertical and horizontal divisions provide structural strengthening as well control the lighting to each section of each floor level The external walls are made from three additional laminations to the outer face of the 2mm Acrylic glazing. The first lamination is produced from 10 thou thick styrene with all the individual windows cut into it. The second lamination provides the outer window framing using 20 thou thick styrene. The two laminations are painted on the internal face with a dark grey paint to reduce light bleeding through the walls from the inside. The outer face is painted light green to match the existing building window frames. The final outer lamination employs30 thou corrugated styrene sheets for all the external wall surfaces. The roof is also finished with 30 thou corrugated styrene Approximately 140 individual windows are fixed in the open position, as per the present original building The lighting which is provide by SMD LEDs fixed on sealed tapes, are fed up the building at both ends of each of the four dividing acrylic partions, and provide edge lighting to each floor level These are designed for a 12volt DC regulated power supply. An adjustable 3v-12v potentiometer is provided to allow the appropriate level of lighting to be set when installed on the layout At the junction between the internal partitions and the outer walls a vertical channel 12mm wide, 7mm deep and 270mm high was made from 40 thou white styrene. This allows a strip of 12 smd LEDs to be fed up from the base and light the vertical edges of the partition walls. The light feeds through the walls to illuminate the each floor level throughout the building Finally, all the external walls and roofs are clad with Slaters Corrugated Styrene Single window frames have been attached to the open windows, and Fire Escape structures fitted at the corners of the main building The whole of external faces and roofs have been weathered with a dirty/grey wash Three external storage buildings, two bungalows and six open sided storage structures have also been constructed - No pictures have been taken of the six open sided structures, but following picture shows the actual storage buildings located between the two bungalows - Copyright - Christo Perara All the above buildings are now crated and await shipping instructions

Back with a few more structures Demodara Station and the associated Goods Sheds are now in place on the layout The tunnel under the station has been provided with the necessary stone built openings - Four small buildings close to the station have been built with LED lighting, and installed on the layout -

Have had note from the project owner that he is going to provide photos and a write-up on the status of the layout build in the near future, which I will post on the Sri Lanka thread. My present involvement is coming to a close shortly with another shipment of model structures to Sri Lanka Ron

Just beautiful . A fine piece of modelling Ron

Hi, Rich Completed the first round of models for Sri Lanka, and immediately received an additional commission for the same project. Looks like this will extend into May this year. Might be able to take a week or two out then for my layout, but not holding my breathe. At least I have been able to lay in sufficient materials to make the restart a quick one Cheers Ron

What about the Net Curtains?

Hi, Chris Doesn't sound too difficult. You need to set out all the important dimensions - typical roof truss span and curvature, curvatures of the two outer supporting walls/columns, height of supports above platform level, number of truss supports and spacing. Produce elevation drawings of a typical truss with supports, etc., and an overall plan Decide on the materials to be used for modelling the structure, and produce a sample of a typical truss. Use this to modify your design and construction methods until you are happy to proceed to build the complete structure Any problems or assistance just PM me Cheers Ron

Have had a request to stop posting updates on this project for the time being. Will re-commence with many more pictures when advised by Christo. Hopefully in the New Year when the project has the models in place on the layout Ron

Hi, Edward Just about completed my part in the first stage of the Sri Lanka Project, and expect to be back in action on this layout towards the end of January Cheers Ron

Have used a variety of styrene sheets from a number of suppliers, and as has been noted above Evergreen does appear to be a little harder than most. Now use styrene from Eileen's Emporium more or less exclusively. It does pay to keep to one manufacturer/supplier as your cutter settings can standardised, and reduce the volume of failed cuts Ron

Hi, Ian Using any type of adhesive which has a solvent in its formula will cause some tendency to warp especially with small section styrene. The only occasion when this does not happen is with butt jointing sections or sheets. The solvent first softens the two joint surfaces and subsequent drying and solidifying causes the joint surfaces to shrink, and creates warping, Sometimes flooding the joint will cause excessive warping, and on occasion controls the warping by shrinking the whole of the two sections more or less uniformly. This method is not to be recommended, as the styrene can lose all its form and strength An example is making handrails from 20thou rod. If you attach the handrail to one side of a post using a small brush stroke of solvent, warping will occur along the complete length. If the handrail is attached to the posts with say Cynoacrylate then very little, if any, warping will occur Depending on the structures the warping can be controlled by counter positioned joints and clamping in small jigs Ron

The track will be HO gauge at 16.5mm, not 19.25/19.27mm, but the locos, etc. will be 1:87 or 3.5mm/ft scale

On the subject of speed settings, I have been cutting 40 thou styrene recently (over 30 sheets of 220 x 330 mm) for various viaducts and station platforms - the maximum thickness that the Cameo will accommodate - of course the sheet cannot be used with a cutting mat. The downside is there are unusable margins at the left and bottom edges To ensure accuracy of cuts, especially where curves are involved it is necessary to use multiple cuts at speed 1 starting at a low thickness (pressure) setting and following up with subsequent cuts at increasing (pressure) thickness settings, all with blade depth 10 This procedure of low speed and progressively increasing pressure prevents the blade grabbing the styrene and causing it to move slightly from its initial path through the roller The final result is accurate cuts to approx. depth of 25 - 30 thou, which means the sheet can be snapped fairly easily

I hope you are all enjoying the 'ride' with a difference There is a lot more to come Cheers Ron

Hi, Stu I have already given Christo an outline of temperature and humidity requirements, which he was already having to deal with for the layout baseboards, etc.. The preference is to keep styrene/ABS as the main modelling media, as this would obviate any concerns with regard to humidity problems with the use of wood and card, and the use of mixed media in the models You could ask Christo if you have any specific concerns Cheers Ron

View of the rear of the Bandarawela Bus Station from the Railway Station - Bandarawela Railway Station View of underside of main station canopy The latest stage of the model build - - more to follow

Bandarawela Bus Station The first stages of the model of Bandarawela Bus Station which is directly across the tracks from the Railway Station (to be shown in a later post) - .. and after painting and some assembly - Windows and Roofing still to be added

No load testing of the bridge spans as track/deck width is rather too tight, and also fairly short, so any deflection would not be noticeable The viaducts don't pose any loading problems because of the depth of the deck structure and the arches are relatively narrow This is my first attempt at weathering structures taking it slowly with plenty of light coats Ron

With the exception of the Nine Arch Viaduct, all the models are designed so that the overall length of each piece of the model is no longer than about 600mm - 2 feet. The Viaduct deck is in one piece with each of the nine piers being separate to be plugged into the underside of the arched deck There are always going to be exceptions such as the stations with long canopies All the models are packed first in foamboard with cut-outs to hold and support them, then within strong cardboard boxes, and finally wrapped in plastic sheeting Christo is personally arranging for the transporting of the models to Sri Lanka I have been able to find a great number of suitable pictures on the web, including Google Maps/Streetview images. Although not all structures are accessible to Google's Camera Car. Christo has also been a great help in adding additional pictures for some of the detail requirements which are not usually seen on 'tourist' photographs All in all, it is a remarkable and fast moving experience to be involved in producing some very interesting buildings and structures very different from my own layout Ron