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Jon Fitness' average 7mm signals workbench.


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It may well be! :good: I'll have to check out some greaseproof paper from Wifey's baking drawer as well.Other ideas are clear styrene sheet, clouded by mucho scrubbing with a fibreglass pen or a quick spray with white primer. I also have some backing sheet from a sheet of letraset (remember letraset....?). The cover sheet for pressfix transfers might work too.

All suggestions will be trialled...

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Jon

If you airbrush satin varnish onto clear that will look like frosted glass or semi transparent material.

Pete

 

 

 

Cheers chaps!

 

Now I've done the lamp case and lamp (warm white LED) I'll be able to test which is best. I'll try different resistors on the LED until I get the right brightness. In stock are 475ohm 1000ohm,and 1500 ohm. I've also flattened the front face of the LED with a file to change the spread of light a bit (and to get it in the lamp case easier!)

 

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The lamp case was made from a piece of square tube and a brass washer beaten into a dish shape and soldered on. This was then soldered to a tube and aligned with the back of the banner and soldered up. Very strong! The LED has had its neg tag soldered to the inside of the lamp case and the poz was attached to a piece of fine wire which was then fed down through the main stem.

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I'll make a plastic detachable lid for the lamp case so I can get in if need be.

 

Oh and this is the signal that the banner repeater will be ..repeating; a scratchbuilt ex LMS restricted width/height stop signal.

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More soon

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Very nice John.

 

I assume you know Chester (No.6) had 2 on the up fast / slow at Windmill tunnels - often visible in photos in books.

 

 

Theres still 2 there on the down slow and fasts for CR113 and CR115. Theres also 2 in the station for CR93 and CR95. I think they are all the older pattern still and not LED ones. (unless they've sneaked a couple in when I wasn't looking like they did to the signal heads on the Wrexham line!)

JF

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Theres still 2 there on the down slow and fasts for CR113 and CR115. Theres also 2 in the station for CR93 and CR95. I think they are all the older pattern still and not LED ones. (unless they've sneaked a couple in when I wasn't looking like they did to the signal heads on the Wrexham line!)

JF

 

CR113 and 115 are BR installed repeaters, put in for the PSB stageworks/area, nothing there pre Chester and it's stageworks (post Crane Street abolition of course), No.6 did the routing and it was 4 tracks over the Viaduct.

The ones at Windmill were of the type you are modelling, long gone as the signals they repeated (LNWR tunnel signals) were replaced by colour lights back in ... late 1960s iirc.

 

hth

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A couple of pictures of one of those odd looking signals.. Unfortunately some joker has changed the enamel arm to something totally inappropriate...

 

 

 

Those GW blades get everywhere ........Would that mean the arm now goes the wrong way!!!dry.gif

JF

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Jon

As a new member of RMweb I would like to congratulate you on a fantastic step by step guide to scratchbuilding signals, most informative and the photos help to show how its done properly. If you don't mind I would like to print this off and keep it at my workbench as a workbench manual. As and when I work out how to do it I will pass on a couple of photos taken at Barnetby, one is a ground shunt signal painted black with a yellow stripe across the centre, the other is a standard tubular post. Keep up the good work.

Alan

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CR113 and 115 are BR installed repeaters, put in for the PSB stageworks/area, nothing there pre Chester and it's stageworks (post Crane Street abolition of course), No.6 did the routing and it was 4 tracks over the Viaduct.

The ones at Windmill were of the type you are modelling, long gone as the signals they repeated (LNWR tunnel signals) were replaced by colour lights back in ... late 1960s iirc.

 

hth

 

 

Ah yes! Went through a few local books and I see the ones you are talking about now.

Am I right in saying the only true pre PSB signals are 81 and 83 on the gantry and under the canopy on plat 3 and down&up main?

Was watching a video of a Jubilee class (taken from the old footbridge at the Crewe end) drifting down what is now plat 3 and I could see the 2 signals glowing in the gloom.

Cheers

JF

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Jon

As a new member of RMweb I would like to congratulate you on a fantastic step by step guide to scratchbuilding signals, most informative and the photos help to show how its done properly. If you don't mind I would like to print this off and keep it at my workbench as a workbench manual. As and when I work out how to do it I will pass on a couple of photos taken at Barnetby, one is a ground shunt signal painted black with a yellow stripe across the centre, the other is a standard tubular post. Keep up the good work.

Alan

 

 

Cheers Alan,

Looking forward to seeing your signals :yes:

JF

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Near enough finished the banner repeater now.

After the fiasco at the layout the other night, trying to re site the gantry and connect all the servos up, I've decided to try to attach the servos directly to the signals where possible.

This one is stuck on with heavy duty double-sided trim tape! It's been tested and works fine.


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Jon,

In amongst my drawing equipment I have some translucent tracing paper, is that the type of thing that might be suitable?

Best regards

DaveC

With all the gubbins now attached, I had a play with various translucent materials for the back glass. The best turned out to be some backing from the letraset sheet and luckily I have a leather punch that is exactly the right diameter so a circle was duly bashed out and this is the resulting light.
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Looks pretty much ok to me and I reckon I can get both the front and rear glasses in without disturbing the frame round the front face so this will be soldered up pre- glazing and sprayed up tomorrow.

More soon

JF

Edited by Jon Fitness
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One of my banners in action.. Can you do a movie of you rather superb model?

 

 

Thanks for that!:good:

I'll try and and put one on when it's installed on the layout.

Its all finished but I can't move it to fot it at the moment as the paint's still wet!dry.gif

JF.

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Finished the banner and it's ready for installation now.

The rear screen was carefully glued in with PVA. The front screen was bashed gently eased into position and fortunately didn't appear to need any glue (no idea how I'd either glue it in or get it back out if I need to!)

I've tested it on the servo and it works but as it will be connected to a different driver board when installed on the layout, anything other than basic testing wasn't needed.

I'll set the travel and operation speed once it's installed using LNERGE's helpful video clip as a guide!
Sorry about the quality of pics.. poor light in the workplace!!

JF

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Edited by Jon Fitness
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The Banner is looking very good. You had some interesting suggestions, the backing from Letraset looks to give a really good impression of the translucent glass.

 

I too think the series on signal making is worthy of a copy being on my work bench for when I (eventually) get round to making some signals.

 

Many thanks

 

DaveC

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As requested, among the pics of the new signals installed on the layout, here's a quick vid of the banner repeater operating. The way it works is a bit wrong as it simply works on the same switch as the signal it repeats. I did consider fixing a microswitch to the servo arm on the home signal to work the banner but well....this was easier!:laugh: .

 

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I'll be reviving another ex-Talacre signal for fitting shortly...

 

More soon

 

JF

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