Ressaldar Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Hi Brian, The 'front' layers are on the ID Backscenes website here http://www.art-printers.com/Build%20Kits%201.htm and are good value for money in that they have many uses. Today while waiting for the points to arrive (they came at lunchtime) I made a start on the Coal stage ramp extension, the fiddliest part was fitting the posts in for the railings, there was a piece missing from the kit and that is now in the post. I ahve now started on the ramp itself, which at 6' long is a bit of a handful, but the windowsill is just the right width and the sun is pouring in so that is assisting with the drying process.- the post and rail fence on this piece is going to be real fun! cheers Mike 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold MarshLane Posted October 18, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 18, 2016 Hi Mike, Starting to look good - nice to see a fellow Digitrax guy on here! Presume you went for Peco points? Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted October 19, 2016 Author Share Posted October 19, 2016 Hi Rich, Yes. I'm quite impressed with the Digitrax system, so much so I persuaded the Club to go for it when I talked them into DCC in the first place. Again yes, I have recycled the Peco points and plain track from 'Hatcham' and just needed two additional left hand points (L3 & 4) which have now arrived and are awaiting fitting. No tracklaying progress this week as I have had to restrict my modelling to my den in the house (and therefore much regulated by SWMBO) whilst changes were being carried out in the kitchen which involved my attendance from time to time, so I have been assembling the coal stage and its associated ramps - not without issues I hasten to add, which will be described later this week when the full assessment can be posted!! cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 Modelling over the last couple of weeks has been restricted to my 'den indoors' as my presence was required to be on hand for various deliveries and installations within the kitchen. This indoor work restricted the use of various glues and solvents but fortunately, Glue 'n' Glaze was not on the banned list issued by the household authorities! I therefore made a start on the Timber Tracks laser cut MDF & ply GWR Coal Stage, ramp and ramp extension. I tackled the extension first as it was the smallest kit and it went together quite well - the fence posts being the fiddliest part. I then moved on to the ramp - more of that in a later posting, when it is finished. So a start was made on the building itself - in similar fashion to the ramps - outer and inner skins to give depth of recessed brickwork resulting in a square (rectangular) box, into which the inner lower walls are glued, the tops of which creates a shelf for the suspended floor to sit upon (emphasis in the instructions to make sure that the walls are fully pressed down and level). A dry run saw the floor fit perfectly, so it was removed and then glued in place, shortly followed by the upper walls, again, emphasis on alignment, especially regarding the windows and door openings. The 'box was then laid aside for the glue to go offf. Next comes the tank which is formed by gluing an end and side together and then glue the resultant L shapes around an open rectangular former (which also acts as the floor where the tank sits on the walls) - problem was the the rectangle was 1.5mm too short in both directions! So I made a mitred cut across opposite corners of the rectangle, pushed the resultant two apart so that all edges of the rectangle were in contact with the walls and glued a reinforcing spacer into the corners. I also glued in a length of 20x10 plastic angle to each side of the ring beam as a means of locating the tank onto the building shell and also allow the tank to be removable for painting and any maintenence that might be needed over time. when the glue had dried I then offered up the three roof support spacers to check the fit, only to find the they were proud of the tops of the tank sides by 3mm - the thickness of the rectangular 'ring beam' - so each end of the spacer was notchjed to allow the top of the spacer to sit correctly at the top of the wall I then returned to the shell, only to find that the upper walls were 1mm lower than they should have been , evident by the heads of the window frames being deeper by that dimension than they should have been. It would appear that the floor now being supplied might be thinner than when the kit was designed. The remainder of the assembly has gone fairly smoothly, save that the counter weights on the lower part of the coal chute apparatus is shown on the wrong side to where it should be. The staircase and the coal tubs gave no problems and there only remains for the roof hatch and its associated platform and ladder to build - best left until after the building has been painted and located on the layout. The ramp construction and photos will follow shortly. regards Mike 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffP Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Exquisite! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 Hi Jeff, many thanks for your comment. Before I proceed any further with the build, I thought it would be useful to see how things were lining up overall - I'm glad I did.................................................. from this angle, all seems quite right........ but fro the other end,............................................................................. trouble with a Capital T - the staircase does not line up with the upper door. It looks as if I can found the top landing on the ramp brickwork and move the timber supports back towards the other set of 'legs', I'll have a closer look tomorrow. There is little or no adjustment for the location of the ramp as it needs to be centred on the archway. The next step was to check clearances, so out came the 9F and thankfully, things do not look too bad I will report back on the staircase issue asap. cheers Mike 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffP Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Looks to me as if you could remove the rear most set of supports for the upper landing, shorten that landing and have it straight onto the upper trackwork? Still looks good to me.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Very interesting Mike, the photos for me will be very useful. Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 Hi Jeff, that is what I was trying to suggest in the caption " trouble with a Capital T............" Hi TTG, photos will keep coming do not worry. cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Mike The layout is looking great, and your 9F is a thing of beauty. I fear you might find some of the issues with your coal stage that I have found with mine. I hope my experiences might help. You'll find some photos in my PD thread. Firstly, I junked the steps provided with the kit, because the step rising & going seemed more appropriate to a gauge 1 figure than 7mm. I also felt that the banisters are a bit coarse. I decided to use plastruct, which you can see part-built in some of my photos. They have ladders and stairs in their range, with matching handrails, but they are 1:48, so perhaps just a little small. Personal opinion of course, but I felt that it looked much better. It would also aid your "fit" issue with your ramp. Secondly, the kit is fundamentally wrong, in that the trackbed should be lower than the deck on which the coal trollers run. Photos at http://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=25&p=464247. You'll need to scroll down a way. I was struggling with the length of the ramp, so the reduction in the height was a boon - I see that you're in a better place than I was in that respect, so the height is possibly somewhat less of an issue for you, but in terms of fidelity... The third issue is that the real stage has massive buttresses at the back, and internally around the arched entrances. Like on your model, these would not be very visible on my layout, and I decided not to bother, but there is a very detailed plan (to 2mm scale) in E Lyons' "Great Western Engine Sheds 1947" should you feel the need! Hope this is of help, you're a little less advanced in your build, so if you decide to, the surgery might be less painful than it was for me. Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Thanks Mike. I have the same kit but it won't end up in its usual shape. I wanted the kit to bash it about to meet my requirements on my layout and it will have a slight triangular shape to it when done. All will become clear once things get started. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 Hi Simon, many thanks for your comments and tips, much appreciated. I think that I will try altering the steps to suit my 'situation' as I have mentioned above, if I make a ricketts of it then yes the Plastruct seems a good solution. I had looked at Lyons book and on Flickr (Didcot Coaling Stage) and noticed the buttresses but decided that as they would be at the back and generally out of site I would leave them off. I may have track alignment issues yet, due to the ramp kitbeing wrong so I may hopefully end up with two negatives making a positive - but I doubt it! we'll see. I have work to do at the Club over the next few days and will not be back on this until Friday afternoon at the earliest, so I will think about my next moves over the next few days and see what results. kind regards Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 Hi TTG, I think that it is by chance that mine has ended up square so your shape might be easier to produce! I look forward to seeing your progress on your thread in the near future. kind regards Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Mike just shout if you want photos of anything on my model. best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 Hi Simon, many thanks for the offer, I may be in touch next week. regards Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 (edited) Now that 'Management' is on the mend I slipped out into the workshop to decide on the ramp stanchion situation and went with the 'as supplied' option - really for no other reason than the brass stanchion alternative, which looked very nice, would have added £120 onto the costSo first up we come to the major error in the kit - the stepped spacers, insufficient supplied, hence the ply 'infill' at the far end, were cut to the same width as the 'roadway' instead of the roadway less the thickness of the two inner skins which form the outer walls. unfortunately, it is not until the glue has gone off having put the second side on top of the spacers (position as in the photo above) and you are able to put the ramp 'right way up' and offer the roadway to the ramp, is the problem seen - as usual much too late to take any useful remedial steps the resultant error - albeit that it creates a drainage channel - a reasonable reason not to try and rectify the situation. An alternative would be to put a coping stone along the top of the wall (I think that one should have been included in the kit anyway).So the fun begins - fitting 170 odd fence posts, all of which have to have 5 strokes of a fairly rough file to form a taper to the bottom 'leading face' to compensate for the angle of the slopeI decided to loose fit all of the posts first , then go back with the Glue 'n' Glaze to hold them in place I used a 3' level to maintain the vertical alignment 'up the ramp' and the good old No 1 eyeball across the ramp. No doubt there will be final adjustments made as the brass rod is threaded through. The last picture shows the omission of the post that would have otherwise fouled the exit at the top of the staircase - in its revised configuration.More to follow next week.regardsMike Edited November 4, 2016 by Ressaldar 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 I really wish the photos had come out as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 Hi TTG, sorry about that, I tried to be clever and copy/paste from another forum, but whilst I could see the photos on here, you obviously could not. Hope you can see them now. cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Hi Mike, Couldn't believe the cost... then saw how many you need! I think your posts will be fine if you treat them as concrete, with galvanised steel pipes as the rails. Concrete posts would be say 3-4" square, maybe 5", and the rails would be say 1.5 - 2.5". It's a long ramp! Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 Hi Simon, yes, cost does come into modelling somewhere along the line (pun intended) but I may follow your path and get some of Cornwall Models Boat's brass stanchions for the tank hatch platform as they would have been lighter than the 'concrete' variety as supplied by TT for use at that height! regards Mike 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Thanks for sorting out the photos. Well worth the wait. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 Hi TTG, you're welcome. It was silly of me to think that I had cracked first time! regards Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 (edited) The reason why I have so much interest. I was down at Brian's, Mr Timber Tracks, house and could not resist it along with the Parcels Office which will not be a parcels office. Edited November 5, 2016 by two tone green 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 Hi TTG, I trust that you had a full and frank discussion regarding the comments made above? cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ressaldar Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 (edited) I had not intended to do any work today but my curiosity got the better of me and I ventured out - just to see how the stanchions had 'set'. All was ok so I reached for the packet of 1.2mm brass rod supplied for the railing - all went well until I realised that, bearing in mind that the stanchions have two holes in them, there is only sufficient rod in the kit for a single rail on both sides -just the small amount of 12' of rod not supplied!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not good enough when the kit costs so much. I had sufficient in stock to complete the runs, but that should not have been the case. Thankfully, I shall not need any further of Mr Lewis's kits to go on this layout. regards Mike Edited November 5, 2016 by Ressaldar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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