Jon Fitness' average 7mm signals workbench.

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

10 hours ago, Steve Hewitt said:

Jon, that's another stunning signal.

Video? - YES PLEASE.

 

Steve.

Thanks Steve. I'll sort that today. I've done the clips, they just need editing..

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

36 minutes ago, LNERGE said:

How close is your nearest real railway? With careful placement with a real railway background these signals would pass as the real thing. 

About 300 yards away. If it's still there. It's closed at the moment for an upgrade and there was a gang removing old rail yesterday but I think a 5 doll gantry would make a great improvement over the single line at the foot crossing...

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

 

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

 

From my largest signal, down to my smallest recent construction. A GWR double ground signal. This is more or less a straight build of the all cast brass SSS kit. I have added micro servos and a couple of SMD LEDs for illumination. Seems to work fine!

 

 

 

More soon

JF

 

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

Next up on the bench is an LMS Upper quadrant stop signal. Quite a tall beastie at 35 feet, it features a running line to loop signal bracket and a bonus stop arm for the opposite direction of travel. It will be servo operated and LED lit and uses a lot of my own etchings.

The original was at Parkend and fortunately I've been supplied with some useful photographs to assist in the build.

Luckily I'd already built the bracket as a demo for instructions and as it's designed to be built as a separate assembly I could just slide it down the main post to its correct position before trapping it on with all the other fiitings.

 

Next up was fitting the etched bolting plates. These are tiny but add much needed detail to what would be a plain structure. The RSU is perfect for this job. I just need to get used to using less solder paste

 

 

It was then the turn of the LEDs which are soldered to the post as a common negative and the positive wire run inside the post. These are set so the excellent Modelu 3d printed lamp cases just need dropping on after painting has taken place. These are just temporarily fitted for testing.

 

 

Weight bars, stanchions, handrails and ladders were then fitted. Time for a big cleanup session before it hits the paintshop tomorrow.

 

 

More soon

JF

 

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

This is the Parkend signal all done and weathered. All my own etches with Modelu Lamps and Scale Signal Supply Lamp cases.

The photos are a bit dull but the weather seems to be unremittingly gloomy down here at the moment...

 

 

More soon

JF

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

I've produced an etch for the LMS ground signal. I have always struggled with the available cast whitemetal version and this one was designed with buildability, operation and illumination in mind. The open "Lid" at the top will be folded down and soldered once an LED is fitted and working.

 

 

The test build went rather well, so the production version will be available to buy in about 6 weeks

JF

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

A link to my usual overlong Youtube videos! This one shows my method of fitting servos to the signals I build...

 

More soon

JF

[Steve Hewitt 6,451]

Not too long at all Jon, that's a really good explanation of your method.

 

Excellent.

 

Steve.

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

On 28/02/2021 at 17:55, Steve Hewitt said:

Not too long at all Jon, that's a really good explanation of your method.

 

Excellent.

 

Steve.

Thanks Steve. I'm never sure how much detail to include!

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

So.. Time for an update. I've been busy at the bench and the computer so there's a new etch or two to see..

This is the BR(W) version of the 2 doll bracket for tubular WR style signals

It differs from the available etches in that the main post is positioned in between the two dolls. It features fold up construction and marks for punching out the rivets. Also provided is the diagonal T section support.

A test build..

 

So what did muggins then go and do?

 

Use it as a GW style bracket for a customer!!

 

I was tasked with copying several of my previous builds so this centre pivoted one was chosen.

 

I had to scratchbuild the two arms..The basic shapes

Then making the bearing bosses..

 

Adding to the structure

Fitting out the structure with LEDs, and Modelu lamp cases and finials.

 

Now here's a little tip for using these LEDs. (Unless I've already mentioned it!!) The latest batch of these warm white 3mm LEDs were very focussed on the tip and gave off almost zero side illumination unlike the previous lot. To make them shine sideways I filed a chamfer on what became both the front and back faces of the LED and lo and behold, the light was deflected perfectly to give a nice diffused light front and back!

 

The finished article out in the sunshine. The decking boards were laser cut for me from .9mm ply by a local friend, Nikki Wilkes..

 

Next up was a wooden post GWR stop signal with lower shunt arm using scale signal supply arms and a Borg-Rail fold up brass post.

 

 

Now, this one isn't the same signal as a previous entry but a correction to it. I made a cracking job of getting the previous one wrong. This entailed getting a new Right Handed etch done of the LMS running line to loop bracket as it couldn't just be fitted the other way round and is also 6inches wider than the Left Hand version. That'll teach me to read the customers instructions...

 

My most recent job was another copy of the Severn Tunnel East bracket I originally did for Steve Fay. The main difference on this one is I've used Borg-Rail fold up posts this time instead of actual wood on the first one. Much easier as everything can be soldered rather than glued and the posts are of course hollow so it's easier to conceal wiring.

 

 

There may be an interesting banner repeater coming up next...(if a banner repeater can be interesting

 

More soon

JF

[Steve Hewitt 6,451]

Absolutely FAB-U-LOUS  Jon.

 

 

[The Stationmaster 115,528]

Jon - wonderful stuff but alas that 'S' on the Shunt Ahead arm is not in the right place (unless you've found a photo of an exception?).  The 'S' should be nearer to the centre of the arm and well clear of the outer end.  

 

The picture below is of a preservation fake (the 'S' has peculiar ends but its thickness looks correct  ) BUT the 'S' is in the right position, or as near as, on the arm.   I do have a pic of a real one but it would unfortunately not show up very well because of my less than brilliant teenage photography.

 

[Stephen Freeman 690]

Page 148 of GW Signalling by Adrian Vaughan supports Jon's placement. Have they put the S on upside down?

[KingEdwardII 312]

16 hours ago, Jon Fitness said:

BR(W) version of the 2 doll bracket for tubular WR style signals

Jon,

 

Any chance of that etch becoming available in 4mm scale? It's a beauty.

 

Yours,  Mike.

[The Stationmaster 115,528]

20 minutes ago, Stephen Freeman said:

Page 148 of GW Signalling by Adrian Vaughan supports Jon's placement. Have they put the S on upside down?

That 'S' doesn't look quite right to me for some reason, definitely on the skinny side as well.  BTW the illustration - from the General Appendix - on Paf ge 153 of C Vaughan's book skws the correct placement - as does the (different) illustration in the 1921 General Appendix although it has the 'S' with fancified ends vaguely similar to the Buckfastleigh 'fake' example.

[Stephen Freeman 690]

I think the S is perhaps too long in the upper part. The pointy S seems to be standard. I have 2 etched S's here, one is  Peco(Webster) and I think the other is MSE. They are different in size, with the MSE being the smaller and slightly thicker. Just to muddy the water slightly, the one that was at Thame appears to have a different arm (smaller spectacle) but it's difficult to be absolutely certain.

 

In 4mm scale there seems to be a dichotomy of views. I have some S's with the pointy ends (Ex D&S) and some scalelink arms with a plain S but thicker.

[kitpw 566]

The models on this page are an inspiration (much needed at the moment as I plough on with another GWR signal) - bravo!

 

(The preservation example pictured above looks pretty much identical to the illustration of a 3' shunt arm in the '1908 GWR Standard Signal Fittings' page reproduced in 'Semaphore Signal Construction' by Peter Squibb (Wild Swan Publications) - including those pointy ends to the S!)

 

Kit PW

 

 

[Stephen Freeman 690]

On a closer look the D&S etch has both types of S! However, After consulting my copy of BRJ No 10,  page 33 showing official details of GWR Standard SignaL Fittings, shows an S with the pointy ends, it is fitting number 80. It does mention large and small.

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

On 21/03/2021 at 12:55, KingEdwardII said:

Jon,

 

Any chance of that etch becoming available in 4mm scale? It's a beauty.

 

Yours,  Mike.

Believe me, I'd really love to but it would require a complete re-jig to get it right. I can't just re-size it as is because it would become too delicate. I'm a bit too loaded up with 7mm work to start going down the 4mm route I'm afraid.....

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

On 21/03/2021 at 12:03, The Stationmaster said:

Jon - wonderful stuff but alas that 'S' on the Shunt Ahead arm is not in the right place (unless you've found a photo of an exception?).  The 'S' should be nearer to the centre of the arm and well clear of the outer end.  

 

The picture below is of a preservation fake (the 'S' has peculiar ends but its thickness looks correct  ) BUT the 'S' is in the right position, or as near as, on the arm.   I do have a pic of a real one but it would unfortunately not show up very well because of my less than brilliant teenage photography.

 

I very much see your point on this! I did look at quite a few pictures but I found several showing slightly different positions. The MSE S I used is all I had in stock and looked right at the time..

 

On 21/03/2021 at 12:53, Stephen Freeman said:

Page 148 of GW Signalling by Adrian Vaughan supports Jon's placement. Have they put the S on upside down?

I think that was the picture I used eventually....

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

On 21/03/2021 at 13:18, The Stationmaster said:

That 'S' doesn't look quite right to me for some reason, definitely on the skinny side as well.  BTW the illustration - from the General Appendix - on Paf ge 153 of C Vaughan's book skws the correct placement - as does the (different) illustration in the 1921 General Appendix although it has the 'S' with fancified ends vaguely similar to the Buckfastleigh 'fake' example.

It certainly does look a little skinny. I may have to look into an etch of GWR subsidiary fittings and arms in the future.

 

[Stephen Freeman 690]

This help? From article in BRJ no 10 by Peter Squibb

[Jon Fitness 5,865]

3 hours ago, Stephen Freeman said:

This help? From article in BRJ no 10 by Peter Squibb

Its all appreciated Stephen. There's quite a lot of the catalogue printed in David Smith's book too...

JF

[The Stationmaster 115,528]

But don't forget there was r that (early) 'S' and the slightly different later pattern.  I suspect the change would hava occurred around about teh time of the Great War when a number other changes took place in GW signals with some arrangements becoming becoming obsolete.   BUT just to be cantankerous one arrangement which had officially become obsolete by c.1920 was installed on a brand new replacement signal in the 1950s albeit partially using secondhand material.