Jonathan's Modern Image Workbench (3D-printed class 323 EMU, class 156s, 3-car 144s, a 141, 4-car class 465s)

[crossforth]

Some absolutely superb modelling here and I'll be following this thread so I can hopefully use some of your ideas on my own layout

[JDW]

It's been lurking in the background for a while so finally finished the cut-down Hornby footbridge today. Not even really sure I need one (it's a terminus station, though the premise is it was once a through station) but it adds height and interest to what would otherwise be a bit of a bland area at the outer end of the platforms.

It was shortened by removing the centre section and glueing the two halves back together after much filing to make sure it sat square. Thin plasicard steips cover the join in the railings, and it has had a change of colour to something like SYPTE blue. Steps have been edged in yellow.

 

 

Also on the go today, dismantling Bachmann 158s. The original kind. A couple of mine had developed a pronounced drumming noise from the inner-end bogie, and one in particular makes a squealing noise if it sets off or stops too quick. I can't see anything wrong, either from above or below, but am thinking maybe a split plastic gear hidden within the gear tower? There's sometimes a stiff spot if I turn the motor by hand too. I'll try and transplant the two good bogies into one unit.

Has anyone had similar problems? I'm sure Bachmann's service dept would be able to fix it, but to save sending the whole unit it would be good to know if there's a simpler answer.

[cheesysmith]

IIRC Barnsley had a foot bridge at the level crossing for public to use when the crossing was closed to road traffic. In fact, a footbridge with a level crossing is not unusual as Lincoln also had one.

[Jack374]

1 hour ago, cheesysmith said:

IIRC Barnsley had a foot bridge at the level crossing for public to use when the crossing was closed to road traffic. In fact, a footbridge with a level crossing is not unusual as Lincoln also had one.

Grimsby Town has a level crossing and footbridge too, I’m sure there are countless others.

 

18 hours ago, JDW said:

...a pronounced drumming noise from the inner-end bogie, and one in particular makes a squealing noise if it sets off or stops too quick. I can't see anything wrong, either from above or below, but am thinking maybe a split plastic gear hidden within the gear tower? There's sometimes a stiff spot if I turn the motor by hand too. I'll try and transplant the two good bogies into one unit.

Has anyone had similar problems? I'm sure Bachmann's service dept would be able to fix it, but to save sending the whole unit it would be good to know if there's a simpler answer.

I can’t think of anything from your description...squealing indicates lack of lubrication (quiet at the back!!  ), or a gear spinning maybe as you say? The only issue with Bachmann gear towers I’ve had is on my 20, where a gear pin was missing, so the gear was free to move around 1mm in all directions around the centre hole - where a pin should’ve held it central. This resulted in intermittent pulling power as the gear could fall in or out of mesh as it, the load it was pulling, or gravity pleased. I’ve never had a split gear from Bachmann (touches wood), although a stiff point could indicate the gears not meshing properly with a tight spot which may suggest slight misalignment. Or a tooth could be missing?

 

The short answer is there could be many causes! Have a look and a play about but something must be causing it.

 

Footbridge looking great BTW!

 

Jack.

[JDW]

5 hours ago, cheesysmith said:

IIRC Barnsley had a foot bridge at the level crossing for public to use when the crossing was closed to road traffic. In fact, a footbridge with a level crossing is not unusual as Lincoln also had one.

 

True, I hadn't thought of that! Barnsley's footbridge was the only means of crossing last time I was there as the level crossing and the area above it was being rebuilt (pedestrianised?) so the crossing was/is closed to road traffic.

 

4 hours ago, Jack374 said:

Grimsby Town has a level crossing and footbridge too, I’m sure there are countless others.

 

I can’t think of anything from your description...squealing indicates lack of lubrication (quiet at the back!!  ), or a gear spinning maybe as you say? The only issue with Bachmann gear towers I’ve had is on my 20, where a gear pin was missing, so the gear was free to move around 1mm in all directions around the centre hole - where a pin should’ve held it central. This resulted in intermittent pulling power as the gear could fall in or out of mesh as it, the load it was pulling, or gravity pleased. I’ve never had a split gear from Bachmann (touches wood), although a stiff point could indicate the gears not meshing properly with a tight spot which may suggest slight misalignment. Or a tooth could be missing?

 

The short answer is there could be many causes! Have a look and a play about but something must be causing it.

 

Footbridge looking great BTW!

 

Jack.

 

Thanks Jack, I was looking at the gears themselves, if it's a worn gear axle that might be the cause. I'll add it to my list of things to check. It's an odd one, I certainly can't see any split gears at least from what is visible from the outsides, but was struggling to think what else might cause a stiff spot or brief lock-up. Thanks for your thoughts. 

 

I realised today while I was looking at it what was bothering me about the bridge, what didn't quite look right - that the bridge really needs a set of handrails. Hopefully I have some thin wire or plastic section somewhere. I did wonder about 'boarding up' the latticework with solid panels either just on top or all of it, to give it a 'modernised' look. That's a job for another day though.

[JDW]

With apologies in advance for the low quality pictures, today I bit the bullet and started a big rebuild. The layout stagnated a while ago, and recently has started seeing more stuff being done, including starting reballasting, which has made it all look rather bare.

The layout has always been an L-shape but the boards are actually a J, the extra 'kick' having been used as a shelf although it was planned to house a tram on a shuttle unit and bus interchange. That never happened, so I decided to move the station around onto it, giving me around an extra metre of running line, but because it wraps around it feels further. In the pic below, the track came in bottom right, a bit further from the wall than now, and the platforms ended on the far left.

It also gets rid of a couple of awkward shaped spaces between the track/station and rear wall. So far all I've done is mock up the track and platforms to check it all fits, and order a few more sets of points to widen the approach from a single track to double all the way in to the platforms. 

Trying to fit it in means its not an ideal track layout but about the best balance of practical/cost/realism. I'm trying to think of a reason to include the short siding bottom right in the pic above, which would sit behind a row of terraced houses. Some extra area of interest would be good rather than just cityscape but am struggling to find a reason for it - it would only be about 2 feet in usable length. Any ideas? 

I'm also debating what to do about the station. I think this time the main building will go behind rather than in front, giving a full length platform to be able to view stock nicely. I'd like some kind of overall roof over the last foot or so, but more like the one at ?Beverley which is a brick structure, or for any who remember the layout "Gallow's Close". That kind of effect. I'm wondering about adapting something like a Metcalfe engine shed kit to suit. The Hornby building is a placeholder, not sure what I'll do for a main building yet either, will need some experimenting once the track position is finalised. I have an order of track and bits coming in the next few days hopefully, I accidentally spent way too much at Kernow and Rails this evening!

In the meantime, the rest of the old surface needs removing - and unlike the platform surface I tried a few weeks ago which bubbled, this has remained solidly stuck flat to the baseboard and seems to want to stay there...

Any thoughts, ideas and comments appreciated!

Edited May 22, 2020 by JDW
Problems posting

[cheesysmith]

How about moving the platforms a few mm and putting the ends for people to walk between the different platforms, just like Cleethorpes. Then you can use the footbridge for a level crossing, and as for the old surface at the front, put a small wall in, then cover it with tarmac for a car park.

 

As for the building for the station, I would be tempted to use the Metcalfe MSLR kit, as it looks just like woodhouse station.

 

If you are modelling modern trains (judging by the scuds) a siding like that would have been removed years ago, so remove it and use the space for scenic work. Sometimes less is better.

[JDW]

2 hours ago, cheesysmith said:

How about moving the platforms a few mm and putting the ends for people to walk between the different platforms, just like Cleethorpes. Then you can use the footbridge for a level crossing, and as for the old surface at the front, put a small wall in, then cover it with tarmac for a car park.

 

As for the building for the station, I would be tempted to use the Metcalfe MSLR kit, as it looks just like woodhouse station.

 

If you are modelling modern trains (judging by the scuds) a siding like that would have been removed years ago, so remove it and use the space for scenic work. Sometimes less is better.

 

Thanks, the plan is to do something along those lines with the ends of the platforms, I'm waiting for a few extra sets of points to arrive to I can see how it all fits but I think it would both look good and provide a nice solid end to prevent anything running through the buffers! I have some buffer stop lights somewhere too. 

 

I'll have a look at the Metcalfe one, might be a bit deep for the space but I can always shuffle things around. 

 

I was trying to find a way to justify a stub of an old siding, overgrown and  somewhere to park something like a tamper on, but you might well be right. I'll get rid and build a supermarket on the site instead...!

[JDW]

I mentioned on @Eddie R v2.0's workbench thread that I have a few 3D printed detailing kits for the Hornby/Lima class 156 on their way. They arrived this morning, excellently packaged in two separate boxes (one with 4, one with one). 

 

 

I had planned to start with a Strathclyde unit, which is more of a display model than a layout one, just because I like the colour scheme. But Eddie is doing one already so I went with a Central Trains unit instead. 

 

Out came the Dremel with a cutting disc, and after dismantling it was a quick but messy job to slice off the underframe moulding. It's been a while since I did the Hurst ones, I'd forgotten what a mess the plastic Lima/Hornby use makes! Still, it was an easy job, and after running a file around the opening I carried out a dry run. 

Unlike the Hurst kit, these parts fit into the hole left by removing the 'box', which means no replacement floor needs to be cut. It also means once attached, the chassis and body cannot be separated, but the roof comes off for access inside so it's not really an issue.

 

 

I started with the unpiwered car, for no other reason than it was the first I picked up. There are slightly different parts representing the air tanks and brake control unit/air suspension isolating cock, to fit around the power bogie, as the chassis is slightly different on the powered car. 

 

 

Everything fitted well, with no more than the occasional few strokes of a file to remove the remains of any pips. So much so in fact that within the space of a few hours, I'm already on unit number 2!

 

 

The snowplogh and BSI coupling are not included, but all of my units have had them fitted from Hurst or Hornby parts anyway. The Hornby class 153 ones are often available on Ebay or from Peter's Spares. The only onther thing to add is the driveshaft from the gearbox to the bogie, but I don't think I have any suitable plastic rod to hand. It's not very visible though, and would be pretty fragile, so I'm not too worried.

 

Overall, very pleased with progress so far. Sadly it's raining heavily so I can't go outside and spray them just yet, so I'll carry on building and paint them all in one go.

[Jack374]

Superb work Jonathon...I’ve got a similar unit to do at some point. I shall keep an eye out on eBay as has been said in Eddie's thread.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[JDW]

I can't take much of the credit really, the kit is a doddle, from picking up each coach to sticking on the last piece takes about half an hour, if that. Zip around with a Dremel, clean up with a file, stick pieces on, NEXT! The Hurst kit wasn't exacty difficult, but had a few fiddly little etched parts. This one is even easier.

I'm already onto number three, a Regional Railways unit. I figured that the Dremel creates such a mess (I'm surrounded by bits of black plastic swarf!) I might as well do some more while I'm at it! I think I'll just do these three for today, and the four car Super Sprinter set can wait for another day. 

I also found some plastic rod of suitable diameter for the driveshaft, much easier to fit now than try and fit it afterwards.

[cheesysmith]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cheesysmith]

Don`t know why it posted twice. But if it helps anybody, here are a series of photos of a 156 underframe taken at barrow hill open day a few years ago when EMT ran a shuttle service from chesterfield to barrow hill. Also notice mt daughter getting in on the photos lol.

 

Also note, this is a later version, so in the photo about half way down you will see the sanding equipment mounted next to the air tank just in front of the powered bogie.

[JDW]

Haha twice? Three times! I've used the Report Post button to ask the mods to remove two of them.

 

Thanks for posting, looking at them means I feel I should give a bit more thought to weathering them properly now though! The downside of the way the 3D-printed kit fits is that I can't just take off the body and weather the underframe, so might need to stock up on masking tape! 

[JDW]

Today's good weather meant a chance to do some painting. I only have three things to hold the shell while I spray, so did the Central unit and half the Regional Railways one today.

 

Gave them a coat of black first, then a coat of Railmatch frame dirt, possibly a bit heavy handed in hindsight but it looks better than plain black, and highlights the detail more. Can't say as I've ever been a fan of painting, it's probably as close to weathering as I'll get any time soon. 

 

I know the BSI coupling is missing, I bought the chassis with the Hurst snowploghs already attached. I have a set of Hurst BSIs I was planning to use but the ploughs are so firmly glued on, removing them to fit the BSIs would probably have taken half the chassis with it! I've ordered a pair of Hornby class 153 mouldings instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought for a quick job I'd replace the Lima couplings on my pair of BRT 20s with smaller ones. I forgot what Lima plastic is like, took an age to cut them off and glue wouldn't take at all to attach the Bachmann ones. So plan B - a set of wire loops. Apart from the chassis is metal. Ended up glueing them to the bottom of the chassis, time will tell if they're strong enough. Took longer to do that job than the 156 kits!

 

 

Edited October 25, 2020 by JDW

[JDW]

And thanks to a small Ebay purchase arriving, the BSI couplings were added. Time to get on with the last two units now...

 

[JDW]

In a slight diversion, today I 'found' a 153. I have a few, and of course used two as the basis for the 155. I bought one second hand and damaged as a source of extra windows for the 155, but have somehow ended up with two damaged chassis and three bodies. A little while ago, I stripped and primed one of the good bodies with a view to repainting it in Arriva Trains Northern livery. Looking through the box of bits I wondered how much of a second complete unit I could get.

One chassis will need new air tanks, but runs fine, so that's the Arriva one sorted.

Which leaves a good East Midlands Trains body and a non-working chassis with air tanks and a few other bits missing. 

The main issue for both is missing radio pods on the roof, but apart from that I managed to find enough complete glazing. I'll have a look for some suitable plastic rod for the air tanks. In the mean time, I now have an almost complete second EMT 153 that I never knew I had. Body-mounted snowploughs have been added since I took the picture. Just need to find some suitable transfers now to renumber it.

 

 

I've had an FNW blue/gold one since they came out, and never really liked it, it never looked right and the all-yellow ends look odd to me, although they did on the real thing too. I got it out today, and after studying some pictures, there didn't seem quite enough yellow on the ends. I masked it and added about 1mm of yellow on either side of the 'narrow' cab, down the corner of the cabs. It's not much, but I think it makes a difference. Still far from my favourite unit, but looks a bit better.

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by JDW

[JDW]

I think I mentioned already that I'd bought a few Bachmann low relief mill fronts with a view to using them to hide the chimney flue behind where the station used to be. At around £30 each they're not cheap but look rather good. I'd planned to use two side by side as the front, with a single panel each side, but in the end an L shape at an angle seemed better, it makes the building look bigger. I'll just add a plain side for the third side, as you can't really see it unless you're leaning over the layout looking along it. 

 

I've also been making some unusually-shaped roofs...

...to extend buildings that were just low relief over the top of the roof timber to give the impression of them being much bigger. There's no backscene as such along the long side of the layout, so it will create a better impression of depth. 

This one doesn't work as well, as it's not quite tall enough, and the beam gets in the way. The two further to the right sit nicely astride and have fuller roofs. This one had to go there to join the shed, which is almost against the end wall. 

 

Although I set out to improve and finish the layout while I'm on furlough, it does feel like I've un-built and dismantled more than I've built, but there has been some progress at least. The area around the level crossing is looking better, the tired-looking Metcalf shop needs some work, and until the sets of points arrive I'm not going to fix the level crossing in place in case fine adjustment is needed. Some 'soft' landscaping is still needed, the grass verge for example, but its progress. Adding TV aerials and satellite dishes  wasn't a fun task. The Bachmann satellite dishes are very good, the aerials a bit chunky but better than I could have made.

Edited October 25, 2020 by JDW

[cheesysmith]

the halfway express i see lol.

 

Only drove that a few thousand times.

[JDW]

10 hours ago, cheesysmith said:

the halfway express i see lol.

 

Only drove that a few thousand times.

 

Haha yes, being an ex-First driver I have a fleet of about 25 First buses, need to try and find some suitably generic destinations, or position them so only the rear screens can be seen. Before I started the station rebuild, there were the beginnings of a large bus station transport interchange, that I never got around to finishing, with a view to displaying some of them. Think I have pretty much every corporate livery model made until a few years ago, when I decided enough was enough! I did get rid of a few of the poorer older ones though at one point. 

[cheesysmith]

only been at olive for 19 years now, 11 behind the counter. they will not let me out on the road lol

[JDW]

2 hours ago, cheesysmith said:

only been at olive for 19 years now, 11 behind the counter. they will not let me out on the road lol

 

Ahhh, they're keeping the people of South Yorkshire safe then  I did enjoy my time behind the counter - I'm sure we've mentioned it before, but I enjoyed my time behind the wheel too, until they bought the ADL Enviro300s and then Wright Streetlites. 

 

I had hoped to get a bit more modelling done today, but pulled a muscle in my back so spent the day laying down instead. And managed to spend a bit too much money. I started off with an order for paints from Phoenix, some WYPTE red and cream and a few other useful bits I'm running short of. Then whilst looking for MetroTrain transfers on the Fox website, found myself ordering some Loadhaul class 60 ones too... I've had a two tone grey one with yellow EWS 'patch' for a good few years, and wondered why I bought it as I don't really like the livery. So thought it might be worth having a go at re-branding it as a Loadhaul one. We'll see how it goes. Has anyone removed the EWS logo from one? What works best on Hornby printing? 

 

And then I popped over to Ebay and happened to spot 3D printed kits for class 323 EMUs. I've always liked them, though they are useless for my layout which has no overhead wires and is set in Yorkshire. But I felt like doing something a bit different, so ordered a set of bodyshells. I'll probably go for GMPTE 'reverse Intercity' colours. It should arrive later this week, so I'll post some pictures as I go. 

[cheesysmith]

i was looking at the 323 myself, will have to see how you get on.

 

I like streetlites, especially the hybrid ones, they do shift when working right, and still better than the old dennis dominators. They were knackered. Worse thing we have is the blue streetdecks, they were the first batch ordered, full of faults.

[JDW]

1 hour ago, cheesysmith said:

 

I like streetlites, especially the hybrid ones, they do shift when working right, and still better than the old dennis dominators. They were knackered. Worse thing we have is the blue streetdecks, they were the first batch ordered, full of faults.

 

Aha, I always knew there was something odd about you  :-D Maybe yours are better than ours, which seemed to spend half their time trying to find a gear and the other half in the wrong one. Into 1st at 20+ mph was a common one. Or staying in a high gear as you try to stop, with the engine anti-stall software fighting you trying to keep the engine turning when revs dropped too low, in effect trying to accelerate as you braked. 

Cheap panels, everything rattled after 18 months or so. Heavy steering. Need handbrake on to open doors, but fitted with long handbrake levers in a poor place and with a really long throw, when something Volvo like where you could flick it on just by moving your wrist would be so much easier. Can't adjust the steering column without switching everything off, then ignition back on. (Re-)Start the engine with doors open and an alarm shrieks at you til you close them. Air suspension that would regularly list to one side or the other. Accelerator pedal further away than brake pedal. Interior lights only stay on for 60-90 seconds when engine switched off. Takes about 20 seconds to restart engine and wait for the lights to come back on. Oh, and ever tried reversing uphill...? 

Ours were 63XXX ones, the Merc engined the shorter ones at First Scotland East drove slightly better but still poor buses. Can you tell I don't like them? 

I've heard lots about the Streetdecks but not driven one yet myself. I'm due a drive of a hydrogen-powered one soon though.

[cheesysmith]

The secret to streetlites is to drive them like you have stolen them. Totally the opposite to the drive green (drive red when i am on a bus). We had the first batch plus the four prototypes, all cummings engined versions. We had a few of the later ones with merc engines, they are worse, and the streetdecks are merc engines. Good when new, but crap after 3 years. We had one blow up a engine on its way back from having a new engine fitted.

 

As to trains, if you do go for the 323, keep us updated. Thinking of one myself, but building 3 dinosaurs first using DC kits bits with replica bodies.