Ron Heggs

Are you likely to post your build - it would be interesting to see your methods on such a large structure. I did prepare drawings for the cutting machine, for the main factory building and some of the associated buildings, but couldn't meet the deadline of mid-December with all the other structures being built. If you want some pictures of the site, about a dozen or so, I could PM them to you Cheers Ron

Will see if I have enough time to get the camera out, in between breaths. I am bobbing about a bit between models trying to keep them all at the same stages of build, etc. Cheers Ron

Back in May of this year I was asked whether I would be prepared to get involved in producing scratch built models in HO scale, of various railway related structures for a tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. After series of discussions I agreed my part in this project The Project - Chrissleisure (Pvt) Ltd, a Company dealing with the hospitality industry is on course to create Sri Lanka's largest model train project in HO scale at a popular holiday resort in the high mountains of Sri Lanka The layout of approx. 2,500 sq ft will feature the scenic railway from Demodera to Haputale, passing through Ella, known among many of the tourists to Sri Lanka, and winding its way past beautiful tea estates, gushing waterfalls, lakes and fields through the stations of Bandarawela, Diyathalawa and onto Haputale, nestled at 1431 meters above sea level The project is expected to open for the public in early 2017 The project requires good modellers to undertake some of the other structures. About 100 plus structures of buildings, bridges, tunnels, etc. Those interested in more details, and a passion to be involved in the project may contact Christo Perera, Chairman / Managing Director of the Company on +94 716 805900 or christo.perera@chrisslogix.com My part in Stage 1 of this project involves the production of the following fifteen models - 2 Arch Viaduct, Demodara 3 Arch Viaduct, Ella 4 Arch Viaduct, Demodara 9 Arch Viaduct, Demodara Demodara Bridge Bandarawela Station Bandarawela Bus Station Demodara Station Diyathalawa Station Ella Station Haputale Station St. Andrews Church, Haputale Heel Oya Station Kinigama Station Kithalella station The first three completed models - Nine Arch Viaduct - Located between Ella and Demodara The model is 1350mm long and 420mm high with a single track deck. It is designed to be freestanding whilst it is being incorporated into the valley landscape Demodara Station – A popular destination to enjoy the experience of viewing the Demodara Loop which the railway line takes to travel around a hill to pass through a tunnel under the station as it continues over Demodara Bridge on towards Badulla. Without this diversion route the gradient would exceed the maximum allowed on Sri Lankan Railways The platform length is 1425mm long. The approach platform from the south is straight, and it curves through the station Demodara Station Goods Sheds - These three sheds are approximately 100m south of the station on a goods loop line. There are now disused and in a state of disrepair Demodara Bridge – This bridge is approximately 200 metres from the tunnel exit towards Badulla over the Badulu Oya River The model is 960mm long and 165mm high with a single track deck. It is designed to be freestanding whilst it is being incorporated into the river valley landscape .. more pictures to follow as the remaining models are completed

I am still here and health is OK As previously advised at the end of May I am involved in a very large commission which involves the build of some 60 HO scale model structures associated with the highland railways in Sri Lanka. This is taking all my spare time The first batch of fifteen plus models will be completed by mid-December - four viaducts, one bridge, eight stations with goods sheds, one bus terminal and a church. All built in styrene - of course Hopefully, with the commissioner's permission I will post in a relevant thread - Link now in my Signature There should be a short interlude after Mid-December, before taking on the next batch, when I may be able to restart my layout again Cheers Ron

No just wearing modelling glasses for long periods, and still having to squint to focus on some small detail Gave up drinking shortly after coming to Spain, as it was too easy to over do it. It's cheap and there is a lot of sun. Not good for your health or modelling Cheers - Ooops

Almost right. Definitely in the shade, always when I am modelling. Only drink Gaseosa (Spanish tasteless lemonade) with Lime juice (Juicee) during the day - I can go crossed eyed without alcohol Ron

I thought that with all the scaremongering going on that WW3 was taking place - £ / € is still above 1.06 which it was when I moved over to Spain almost seven years ago - The food and drink is still cheaper than the equivalent in the UK The only problem I foresee is that the price of Evergreen Styrene will shoot up in the short term - but there are ways of getting round that Oh, I nearly forgot - I ordered my new car in early June on a fixed price - delivery October Ron

Hi, Peter No health issues other than being very busy on other matters I have noticed over the last few days that you were into a marathon read of this topic. Glad to see you have come out this end in a coherent fashion - Many thanks for all your comments, they are much appreciated My layout build has stalled a little whilst I have been undertaking a commission build of a number of bridges, viaducts, stations and numerous other railway related buildings, which came out of the blue in early April. Details will be posted when the project manager gives his go ahead for a topic on their layout. It will probably be another couple of months before I can get back to my own layout build You can guess from this topic that if you need any advice on your projected layout, I and many others are here to help, just ask Cheers Ron

That is my preferred way of cutting out thicker materials. I even use the same method when cutting small intricate shapes in 10thou to prevent tearing of the material when the odd piece comes loose off the mat. It may be a bit fiddly and increase the time spent, but it does preserve the accuracy of the cut item Cutting and snapping, or cutting and hand finished cuts I find are the best way to go Ron

Hi, All Certainly not taking umbrage or inflicting silence on anyone The month of May is a very busy period for my wife and I, as we both work part time for the local charity fundraising organisation which covers nine local villages in the valley. Barbara is the central stock warehouse manager, and I provide the transport for the stock movements to and fro, between the warehouse and the two charity shops. In addition we both had three busy and successful weekends (Friday through Monday) involved in local village May Fairs Also to add to the temporary pause in the layout modelling, I am involved in a rather extensive commission, of which I am not at liberty to post any details at the present time. This is a bit of a two edged sword, as the pause has allowed me to investigate additional sources for materials in Spain, with success in achieving some spectacular discounted prices and shorter delivery times. With a bit of planning, continuation of the layout construction should start again this next weekend Cheers to all Ron

A thought Mick Can you put single dummy horizontal and/or vertical lines of unique different colours. Then before making your specific horizontal/vertical cuts, cut one of the relevant dummies first. This should line up the blade before its proper cut Ron

As mentioned in a previous post, it was never intended that the layout was to be made to be transportable. The fragile nature of the station structure alone would necessitate a surgical team to remove it from the layout and the railway room for transportation. Luckily, the whole layout is built for lightness, on 30mm thick foamboards over an open 400mm x 400mm x 150mm deep egg crate support structure, so a dedicated team could probable cut it into suitable sections for extraction, and transportation, but I wouldn't envy them their task Ron

Method used to produce the decorative double row of angled brickwork - The CAD drawing needed for the Silhouette cutter - The length each 45 deg angled face is 1.103mm, and each double strip is 5.78mm wide and 132.5mm long One half of the cut 10thou styrene sheet - Three cut double strips ready for splitting. To split the individual strips, they are first folded in half, and then pulled apart - Split strips ready for laminating (3 strips for each row of brickwork) - Two sets of offset laminated strips assembled as a single unit - The next step in using this type of unit in the detailing of the Station Wall build is still a week or so off

Will put the method on a post - probably late Friday Ron

You are right. There were no external drainpipes from either of the roofs. They must have been run internally and down into the Undercroft, which would have had suitable drainage arrangements to prevent flooding. Probably into the disused canal which ran through/under the undercroft Ron

The Station Parcels Offices which faced onto the forecourt. Strangely it was the only building or structure on the whole site which was not rectangular or tapered in plan - Just needs planting on the layout, and a small canopy constructing over the public access frontage

Quick update on the Train Shed East Wall construction - The upper wall section is 3 bays of internal face and core with the printed brickwork facings The lower wall section is 4 bays of external face and core with the printed brickwork facings - work in progress with two bay facings, and window rebates fixed, two rebates await fixing The internal and external wall sections will sandwich the centre core comprising the windows and doors Still await the styrene delivery which will enable progress on the goods yard canopies Detailing of the Parcels Offices on the Station Forecourt is almost complete - pictures tomorrow

Keeping a reasonable supply of specific items of styrene is becoming more difficult as the final structures require differing quantities of various sizes not normally held in stock Whilst waiting on the next delivery of styrene (from UK), took the opportunity to also stock up on 1.25mm thick mountcard (from Germany), 5mm thick Foamboard (from Spain), and new cutting mat and blade (from USA) - all in preparation for the Train Shed West Wall and Goods Yard Canopies construction Have cut the mountcard laminations for 8 bays of the 15 bays of the wall, comprising Inner Cores and Faces, and Outer Cores and Faces. Printed and cut the Inner and Outer Brickwork card facings ready for tonight's modelling session This morning took to the Silhouette cutter to produce a sample of the brickwork detail for the high level ornamentation - specifically the two levels of brickwork laid at 45 deg - The sample was made up from 6 laminations of 10thou styrene - 3 layers make up a 1mm (40thou) brick height - it's the solvent welds that make up the difference in height when no pressure is applied Sufficient for 16 bays can be cut from a single 270mm x 140mm sheet of 10thou styrene The rest of the ornamental brickwork will be produced in a straightforward manner

Agree. I find this approach is the best one can hope for with 20 thou styrene. Cut with the Cameo at speed 1, pressure 33, and blade set at 10, double pass, then carefully score with craft blade to ease the waste out from within the apertures Ron

Pictures of the glazing bar base cut-out, and start of canopy #4 build - The base is cut from 20 thou black styrene - to assist in displaying the build steps. The glazing bars and ridge purlin added in white styrene Mid and eaves purlins, and trusses added in white styrene

Always trying to find shortcuts and new methods to achieving stronger structural builds, and easier and faster construction. The strip method to fabricating Tees & Angles, and subsequent cut to length sections being used to construct a fairly flimsy structure, is slow and prone to warping, due to the number of individual joints and seams Have found a quicker method using fewer pieces of styrene which produces an overall stable structure with less warping. The flanges of the glazing bars and the roof purlins are cut as a single fret from a sheet of 20thou plasticard. The webs of the glazing bars and purlins are then fixed onto the upper and lower faces of the fret. This produces a single roof/glazing assembly ready for fixing to the roof trusses of the canopy Pictures to follow when ambient lighting conditions improve. Hopefully tomorrow

Using a good part of the 3.5m length of fabricated styrene angle, have built two lengths of canopy girder. One 390mm long and the other 167mm long. This shorter length will be used to extend the existing long canopy girder to its overall required length of 542mm The build of the shorter girder has been photographed as the construction proceeded - First the main elements cut to length - four pieces of angle 167mm long, two 20th x 80th x 16.5mm end strips and 22 diagonal struts/ties 20th x 40th x 20.5mm long Top and bottom angles fixed with the two end strips. The spacing between the two angles is ensured by the use of a 14.5mm wide movable spacer, and two SS rulers The first diagonal strip fixed checking that the linear spacing is 15mm Second diagonal strip fixed, checking the overall linear spacing is 30mm Eleven diagonal strips complete the first side assembly Short pieces of strip as back to back spacers, and 20th x 80th x 3mm spacers/vertical plates for attachment of the roof trusses, fixed to the rear of the assembly The remaining two angle lengths fixed to the spacers Second set of eleven diagonal strips fixed to complete the girder The girder awaits painting, and fixing to the existing girder. The 390mm long girder will be painted at the same time and allow construction of the next canopied bay

Hi, Simon The photo showing the original canopy structure and its support, indicates that the end of girder was encased within the wall of the office block with no visible additional support for the upper flanges. I can only assume that there was a steel member between the lower and upper flanges, similar to the other end of the girder, that was within the brickwork Looking at pictures of other buildings during their demolition, where the remaining canopies were originally abutted to, they show what remains of the upper and lower flanges of the girders just proud of the brickwork, suggesting that the end of flange members were within the brickwork Ron

The part rebuild of the canopy between the two goods offices is almost complete. Just requires re-glazing before placing on the layout - The near canopy corner will be supported from the CLC Goods Warehouse corner. The nearest tubular canopy support has the round concrete base modelled from Plasticene Canopy fixed to one of the goods offices A 3.5m length of angle has been fabricated from 20thou microstrip, and will be used to construct the next canopy bay trusses - The windows for the extended and re-shaped end of CLC Goods Warehouse are in the process of being fitted. Pictures when the flat roof has been re-laid

It's a sure way of either going cross-eyed or slipping into a deep sleep