Rufford Red Lion Square

[James Harrison]

Those coping stones.  There's something not right with them, they don't quite please me. 

 

Well, firstly I can still see the corrugations in the card.  I was hoping to be able to fill these with paint but that didn't quite work out.  Then there's the matter that I had in my mind the stones jutting out over the wall to form a corbel, which these don't.  Then I think the colour is too uniform, and I'm not happy with how they've collapsed and splayed out at the edges. 

 

I have what I think/ hope will be a fairly simple fix for them but it might take a little while to complete it.  I'm happy with keeping the existing copings as a basis for improvement, so the first thing I have done is to cut some long slips of balsa wood and glue them to the retaining walls to cover the corrugations.  These have then been painted the same colour as the copings.  That's stage one of the fix. 

 

Stage two of the fix will be to prepare and cut more paper 'stone flags' like I laid on the platforms.  These will be glued down onto the corbel and copings and will give some variety and look more realistic, I hope.  And of course in keeping with the platforms and station roofs. 

[James Harrison]

Drilling out top lights on a Kirk/ Coopercraft coupe composite. This model is years old, I've not bought this recently... It's not a difficult job, just a bit ticklish and the biggest headache is getting the toplights identical, or close to. 4 off1.5mm diameter holes, elongated with a scalpel blade and cleaned up with a file, make up each toplight.

[richard i]

But it will make something different which is always nice to see personalizing it so it has some of you in it. 

[James Harrison]

It's one of 'I've not seen it before' models, by taking the ventilators out I can backdate it to a Great Northern design. A Rufford to York through carriage, anyone?

[James Harrison]

Sunday evening saw the sides and ends of the GNR coach painted Matt yellow and orange. Hopefully by the weekend it will have fully dried out and I'll have come to some sort of a conclusion what brown to scumble over. We've discussed previously how GC and GN teak look to have been rather different beasts so my usual solution may not apply here. We shall see!

[James Harrison]

Another weekend upon us.... right, plans. 

 

In no particular order;

 

- Complete the twin bolster ( a simple and quick job with some transfers);

- Start rebuilding the GNR carriage;

- More drawings for RLS;

- Continue with the new copings. 

Speaking of the new copings, I got a few of them on last weekend... it will I think be a long slow process as they have to be wetted to coerce them to fold and then firmly fixed in place with neat PVA glue.  Then to get them to really, throughly settle down, it pays to paint some more PVA over them.  The result is that once around 10cm or so has been done you find yourself at risk of pulling off earlier work.  One solution of course is to be working on several areas simultaneously and indeed I have three areas where I've made a start, but that still means once those three areas have been attended to you find yourself, again, waiting on glue to dry.  It will get there, eventually.  

 

 

[James Harrison]

First order of business, teak. This has to be done sooner rather than later as it takes hours to dry. A few thin coats of a very much diluted satin 133 over the matt yellow/ orange from last weekend.  Then when this has dried I'll have a look at the lining- to be done before reassembling the bodywork.

[Compound2632]

On 23/03/2019 at 14:00, James Harrison said:

Also, a bit of an appeal. I have a Coopercraft LNER coupe composite, which isn't much use to me at present. Is there a way of removing the ventilators at the top of the doors?- if I can replace them with top lights I can turn it into the GNR version of the same design, which I could reasonably run on RLS.

 

I've tried doing the same to backdate Ratio Midland square-light clerestories, without being satisfied with results...

 

... so well done!

Edited March 30, 2019 by Compound2632

[James Harrison]

It looks tolerably close to the preserved GNR coupe composite in the Severn Valley- except that that compartment side seems to have been mirrored. I'm not sure if the GNR built them both ways?- but, for my purposes, it is close enough. Tomorrow, I will look at lining it out.

[James Harrison]

Twin bolster is finished; copings are finished; a bit more grass has been laid and I'm starting to think about the mess and tool vans. I was going to use some Hornby 4-wheelers but on reflection I don't think they'd look right. Quick sort through my spares box produced a Hornby 4-wheel chassis and some Ratio GWR carriage sides, so I think I'm going to try and meld these into a mess and tools can instead.

[James Harrison]

More grass has happened- except for some final patching in and bedding down I think that element is now finished. There is one final corner of CfP that needs surface materials laying. I think I have just cause to be quite pleased with this, there's just a lot of clearing up and tidying scruffy edges at the moment.  Next steps? I want a fence along that footpath and gates at either end. I have platform lamps the need to be built and fitted. I have nameboards to build and paint. I have a signal to build and fit. I'm undecided about trees at the moment, on the one hand I think they were strongly discouraged on railway land, on the other there is photographic evidence of them in abundance on the CLC at least and the roots would help stabilise the cutting sides, so more research required. Time to get the books down...

[James Harrison]

Carriage lining took place. I used an easi-liner tool for this which I bought years ago. Hopeless, in my hands, for loco lining but perfectly suited to carriage and rolling stock lining. That will do for me. Next weekend, transfers...

[James Harrison]

Reference to my books (Great Central North of Nottingham vols 1 and 2 and the Ken Grainger's Derbyshire Lines trilogy) shows that even in the 1960s foliage on the lineside was kept rigourously in check. So, no trees. Some Peco flexi-fencing has been ordered so at least one job next weekend will be fitting this. Generally I anticipate next weekend will be more of a cleaning up and patching in exercise than anything else. There are, for instance, loose bits of plaster lying in the 4'. There are bits of scatter that fell onto the track and platforms that need to be cleared. There are other areas that aren't bald, but aren't secured down either. There are areas where plaster has obscured paint. It all needs squaring up.

[Regularity]

I found a copy of the PWI handbook in the transport history section of Leicester University’s library about 30 years ago, which made reference to reducing the fire risk on embankments by ensuring that there were no trees or bushes (except in special circumstances, where they might appear at the edge of the railway property) and also keeping the length of grass in check but cutting and controlled burning.

It also mentioned that this had ceased where “modern traction” had been introduced.

[Caley Jim]

3 minutes ago, Regularity said:

It also mentioned that this had ceased where “modern traction” had been introduced.

This is one f the reasons why railway maintenance companies are now regularly employed on 'vegetation clearance'.  Where once the grass and bushes on the sides of cuttings and embankments were kept in check by occasional fires caused by sparks from locos, they started to proliferate when diseisasals came along, resulting in the problems from 'leaves on the line' in autumn, among others.

 

Jim

[Regularity]

6 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

This is one f the reasons why railway maintenance companies are now regularly employed on 'vegetation clearance'.  Where once the grass and bushes on the sides of cuttings and embankments were kept in check by occasional fires caused by sparks from locos, they started to proliferate when diseisasals came along, resulting in the problems from 'leaves on the line' in autumn, among others.

 

Jim

Made worse by the use of disc brakes: shoes working on the wheels help scrape leaves off the tyres.

[James Harrison]

The lack of trees saves me a job for a change. Little bit of work on a weeknight... transfers happened on the Great Northern coach. I hate Methfix, as I had no meths... 

[Annie]

They certainly wanted to let everyone know who owned that coach.

[James Harrison]

Indeed. "G-R-E-A-T  N-O-R-T-H-E-R-N".... I still need to add a number but, aside from the preserved 2701, I can't source an appropriate running number.

[James Harrison]

Plans for the weekend.

 

1. Proceed with the Great Northern carriage.

2. Clean up around Cremorne for Pittance. 

3. Maybe start work on the mess and tools van. 

 

[James Harrison]

Back in one piece! Now to fill the little cracks and gaps with glue'n'glaze. It can set and dry out tonight and then tomorrow I might do something about lightening up the roof, or maybe not. The sooty look I do rather like.

[Annie]

Very nice work James.  There's certainly something a bit special about a teak coach and you've made a lovely job of that one.

[James Harrison]

Praise indeed! The interesting thing is how different the teak is to my usual GC fare. Yet the same paint shades were used. Hmm ... Maybe it's the lining, or maybe it's the bright orange and the pale yellow undercoats. If I can get that sort of sheen on my Robinson stock...

[Annie]

A teak finish is a tricky thing to do which I certainly found out for myself when making my digital GNR coaches.  You've certainly caught the  muted golden tones of a recently varnished coach that's been out and about in the smoke and the coal dust for not too long.

I've not really done any GCR coaches since my ones are all in the Dark Oak and French Grey livery, but it seems to me that GCR coaches have much more of a dark mahogany tone to them than GNR teak.  I would say that your choice of undercoat colours had a great deal to do with the final colour of your coach and to my eyes it looks absolutely spot on.

[James Harrison]

It could be of course that the original finish contributed too.  I can't remember what I used on it originally- it was 5 or 6 years ago now!- but this time around I used Humbrol 46 matt orange, Humbrol 81 matt pale cream and Humbrol 133 satin brown (133 being scumbled over the top and 46 / 81 being used as undercoats).  Exactly the same colours as on my Robinson stock but I think I usually go for two coats of 133 scumbling to get closer to the darker GCR teak.  

 

I've come to a decision about the roof- that is going to stay the mucky, sooty grey colour.  I don't think I have any white or cream paints to hand that would result in an improvement over the existing finish.  I just need to check now if the gaps I filled with glue'n'glaze last night are still obvious- if they are they will require a bit of paint- but other than that I think the only outstanding job on this is the final varnishing coat. 

 

Considering Cremorne for Pittance, I think this weekend I'll need to carefully clean it all down because there's been a lot of work that creates detritus and mess and it's all got spread across the layout (when I did start thinking of it as a layout?).  Loose ballast, grass, soil material, little bits of plaster that have been broken or knocked free... all needs to go really.  When that is done, I have some fencing to build and paint.  I had a go at building my own fencing last year for the Cakebox Challenge and I didn't enjoy it much, so what I have done this time is to buy the closest approximation to GCR fencing I can find- Peco flexible fencing as it is going uphill- and the plan at some point this weekend is to build and paint that.  I note Peco have recently re-tooled or improved the fencing, so it's a material that will take paint and glue.  Once this fence is in place that will really start the next phase of construction, the smaller details.  

 

Now the smaller details I have in mind are a starter signal on the down platform (Ratio GWR square post type- very similar to GCR signals), station running-in boards (Langley), lamps (Langley), barrow crossing (originally Ratio but as this doesn't suit code 75 bullhead rail I think I'll have to pull it up and replace with something scratchbuilt), posters and noticeboards (not sourced yet- must remember to order those 7mm ones somebody mentioned upthread if I can't source the 4mm Smith ones), figures (not sourced yet, thinking of A C Stadden castings)...