ECC Wheal Imogen / Rosevean Station: the expansion

[The Fatadder]

A new addition to the fleet is almost finished, just needing couplings and transfers to complete.   A 2 axle Cargowaggon from Jon Hall’s kit

 

[The Fatadder]

While plans for the future of the layout are still rather up in the air, I need to get it presentable before next month.  After which I can have a good long look at what comes next.

 

Yesterday I was finally able to get the required modifications made to Brent's fiddleyard to enable me to fit Wheal Imogen into its new home.  With the layout in place I was then able to have a proper look as to the extent of the work that is required to a) get it presentable and b) improve for the future.

 

Starting with the repairs:

• Top of the list is the rust issues, there is a lot of it all over the concrete infill area.  It has been mentioned that some types of filler have a high PH content which could be a cause, however looking at the slurry siding the rust spots do look like they are aligning with the copperclad sleepers so I think flux is the more likely cause.  Unfortunately if the rust returns I dont see any option other than starting from scratch.
• Building damage: as can be seen in the photos, one vent is broken off the right hand building, a canopy off the main dries, and the covered loading area has broken off a leg (and separated from the dries).  All should be quick fixes (although the covered loading area has always been a pain to work on.
• Other damage, several fence posts have been knocked, plus there is a large hole in the right hand side where I removed the signal.  I cant decide what I am going to do here between buying another Dapol signal, getting a non working signal in place or just grassing over the area and eventually adding the signal to the other board.  One way or another the hole needs to be filled asap.
• Finally there are some wiring issues after I caught the control panel while moving the layout and ripped it off.  At least one switch was destroyed and who knows what wires were broken.
• edit: I forgot the final key job, I have a lighting rig which needs installing (all the more so given the poor light in that area)

 

There are some small improvements I would like to make in the future, which may or may not be tied in with the expansion.

• First up none of the buildings are fitted with gutters / down pipes, or the associated spotlights etc you would expect to see.  A couple of evenings work adding details to the buildings prior to gluing back into position would be time well spent.
• The grass areas are a little one dimensional, a couple more applications of different fibre lengths / colours would help bring it to life.  This is probably a post expansion task, as it would help blend it all together.  
• The fiddleyard needs to be rebuilt with a thinner deck/ frame.  At present the with the layout in its new home there is no roof for the fiddleyard to move.  For its showing next month I will likely be stuck having to manually move stock from one line to the other.
• Finally a complexity to the expansion has been discovered, in that I didnt actually build the layout to match the plan.  Instead it looks like what happened is that the yard and branch plans were separated and aligned independently.  This is going to make things a lot more difficult with the extension as it will not be a simple case of printing off the template that I have already prepared. The extension baseboard needs cutting down to size, once that is done I will do a test print and see how it looks (in particular whether playing with the radius of the curve between the yard entry point and the existing branch will sort it.    The alternative would be a redesign which removes the point connecting the yard with the branch (and shifts it off scene).  Instead the extension would add the other half of the runaround loop and the headshunt.  With the track between the slip and the entrance point running off scene (as would the branch).  It solves the design issues and also avoids needing a gradient between the point and the baseboard joint to resolve the issue with the branch being 10mm or so higher than the yard.

 

Other than that there has been a few movements stock wise, with a Rainbow Railways TUA ordered to add some variation to the slurry fleet (replacing a TTA hack that was almost finished but had too large a diameter tank).  The CDAs keep coming on and off the bench for more rework to try and get them running, although they are now pretty much at the point of doing a full chassis strip to fit Bill Bedford units.  I keep thinking about the Calvalex model, but the price to source 8 of them is the stumbling block (and the fact that £250 or so would also buy a lot of coach kits for Brent...)  So for the moment I keep trying to get my heavily modified Hornby ones to actually work (without success so far).

Edited June 7, 2021 by The Fatadder

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, The Fatadder said:

a large hole in the right hand side where I removed the signal.  I cant decide what I am going to do here between buying another Dapol signal, getting a non working signal in place or just grassing over the area

In the short term I think I'd go for a non-working signal or even just a signal post with no arm.

[The Fatadder]

Lots of work and not a lot to see for it sums up tonight, I have been trying to tackle the rust.

 

First up however was improving the lighting, as the layout is now located under Brent the lighting is terrible.  The solution is a 3 bar ‘daylight’ LED light removed from an old fish tank.  Only issue is that it is slightly shorter than the layout, so will need some modified brackets to hold in place.  Naturally I don’t want to do this until I am finished, so for now it gets balanced across the arch / backscene.  At least this means I can see what I’m doing.  I will look at adding some brackets to the underside of Brent to get a more sturdy location until I’m ready for it to be properly installed.

 

moving onto the rust, it’s a tricky job to remove with a wire brush, file, fibreglass brush before finally dressing with emery paper.  Naturally I ran out of fibreglass half way through, so this will need redoing…

 

the difficulty is that I can only easily get to the top surface of the rail, with the flange way gap too narrow for the file (so only the fibreglass brush really does much on the side). While the other side of the rail is sealed in with the filler (potentially hiding more rust.)   As such I am fairly sure the rust will return in a year or two.   

 

It all needs a good clean up now, though I’m happy for the rust stains to remain in a few areas as it looks fairly prototypical.

 

once done I will need to reblend the painting on the weathered concrete slab as in numerous places I’ve worn through the surface when filing / sanding the rail.

 

finally for tonight, minor repairs to the fences are complete.  Only a small job but it’s one off the list.

[treggyman]

Hi

 

Regarding the rust problem........

 

I'm assuming that you are using nickel-silver rail......

I've had slight issues in the past with copper clad sleepers & nickel silver rail going GREEN if  acidic flux has not been cleaned off but never a rust colour.....( Copper oxide (Malachite ) is green..... ) But only on bare rail & not under filler or paint......I should but rarely wash homebuilt points/track etc & have not YET had a major issue...The flux I use is 9% Phosphoric acid but I have used others in the past ......

if using steel rail then I could understand the rust showing through as in your pictures seeming to follow the rail rather than going across the track though I would have thought if the flux were water soluble then it might follow the track but also follow the sleeper as well....

I'm curious as to the reason of your problem hence my post....

 

Hopefully you can sort it as I'm following your progress with interest....

 

Cheers Bill

[The Fatadder]

The layout was cobbled together with what rail I had available, always intended to be a budget project rather than diverting funds from Brent.  So it ended up with a mix of left over nickel silver and steel rail.  In particular all of the vee/k crossing assemblies and switch rails (all Ex Blackcombe) were steel.   So it’s with the latter. That I have had the issue, where I used it on copperclad sleepers.  The other half of ballasted track (glued construction) was fine.  
 

My guess is I used more flux (carrs green) when soldering to the copper strips than i did adding power feeds etc rot the other half.

[The Fatadder]

I managed a little more work on the rust this morning, slowly getting to the point that it is as good as it is going to get.  There is some pitting on the rail surface which I cant do much about, so more likely than not a substantial rebuild is going to be needed eventually.  The  issue is the need to eradicate the rust from the areas where it has gone below the rail surface without resulting in an uneven finish, dont get rid of all of it and the rust will return eventually (though the same is also true about any rust remaining on the rail sides.)   My worry is that naturally this is going to cause issues with power transfer to the wheels.  One potential solution for the time being would be applying graphite to the affected areas to fill in the gap and hopefully maintain conduction.

 

I have taken the first of the buildings inside for repairs over the next few evenings, however the next priority task is going to be sorting out the damaged wiring in order that I can give it a test run (after rewiring the broken point switch).

 

I have moved the first of the buildings inside, it makes sense to do some minor updates while its on the work bench having the damage repaired.  So if I can find some suitable plastic in the Evergreen box I will get some gutters added along with a few other extra details.  As well as reattaching the broken canopy and repairing some damaged paint.   While originally the 3 buildings were all glued in position, this time round I am going to use double sided tape as I want to be able to remove them when (if) I get round to rebuilding the layout.

 

[Siberian Snooper]

From memory,  we used a form of Cure Rust which  is a trade name for a word that I can no longer recall, but it doesn't usually leave a smooth enough surface to run model trains on.

 

 

[The Fatadder]

Slight change of plan, instead of fixing wiring I decided to start on the buildings.  
 

first up the dries, a minor repair to the roof on the left hand side (which took forever to get the plastic to stay bonded) and reattaching the middle canopy.

 

while it was on the bench I also added the gutters / down pipes and did some minor paint repairs

The other two buildings have now been moved inside to be worked on tomorrow, when I have a day off with the plan of working on the layout. 
 

the slurry loader is glued in place and will need gutters etc added in situ 
 

naturally (as often seems to be the case) it looks like I have a sick child off school

tomorrow which will throw a spanner in the works (and certainly prevent me getting in the garage).  So completing the work on those two buildings (along with whatever can be done on the curved roof) will at least ensure progress.

 

 

with those jobs done, visually I just need to resolve the signal damage and the layout will at least look the part.  Then focus can move onto the running…

 

[The Fatadder]

Unfortunately the arrival of my next loco project has rather got in the way of the planned layout work, so despite having an empty house I’m still not getting much done.

 

Before the post arrived I did finish off the repairs to the other two buildings, so it’s just the slurry loader which still needs attention adding gutters.  These two are now awaiting a return to the layout once I run out of jobs to do on my new loco.

 

thanks to @Southwich  offering me a part finished model of 56049 (which has already had one end chopped off and replaced with the correct type) I couldn’t resist even if it is not overly useful for 1998 china clay.

 

It needs roof and end grills adding, new handrails, EWS cantrail grills, and a repair to a missing cantrail grill etch.  
i am in two minds when it comes to the bodyside grills, as while the Shawplan bits look better I am relatively happy with the standard part (as opposed to the roof grills for which the Hornby part is awful).

however unless I can find a replacement Hornby cantrail grill etch, I think I will be stuck replacing them with the Shawplan ones (and if I do the cantrail I will need to do the sides as well) 

Edited June 9, 2021 by The Fatadder

[The Fatadder]

The next final building repair is now complete, and returned to the layout.  Though it does not want to stay in position!  I think I’d I do rebuild the layout this covered loading area may get replaced with a brass frame to get a lot more stiffness.

I also have a temporary solution for the hole where the signal used to be, I am

going to cover it with a large buddleia  (a job for tomorrow).

 

this leaves fitting the fiddleyards, replacing the broken switch and testing as the main remaining jobs.  I also want to have a go at improving the joint between the concrete slab and the ballasted track.

37065’s first appearance on the layout, still awaiting Mainline logos and weathering. There are quite a few photos of this interesting loco (with its mismatched ends) working on clay.

 

 

[The Fatadder]

Looks like some rust is coming back on the previously repaired track, so unfortunately it looks like I am going to have to do a major rebuild of the concrete infill track.  I will attempt to remove the plaster to get back to the copperclad strip and then rebuild with nickel silver rail.   The alternative is to get some new baseboards, recover as much track as possible and rebuild the layout…

 

for the moment there was one final job to do in advance of Lydd Rail, with a buddleja bush added covering the hole in the baseboard.   Depending on what happens in the future with the layout, this can always be removed to restore the signal later on.

[The Fatadder]

While its been a while since I last posted on Wheal Imogen, I have been finishing off the next wagon for the layout one of Jon Hall's Habfis 2 axle Cargowaggons.  With Railtec now producing the transfers, all that remained was to paint the yellow stripe and add the transfers.  Unfortunately while painting there was paint build up on the edges of the masking tape.  Normally this is a simple job to fix with fine wet and dry, but the acrylic yellow has not bonded well with the enamel silver and lifted up requiring more touch ups. 

With that done it was onto the transfers, there was a slight issue with the W (which Railtec promptly fixed) which really finished the wagon nicely.  I have decided that I will be adding a second (and must get on and pay Mr Hall for it!)   Next time I will spray the whole side yellow and then mask the stripe before spraying the silver.  It can now enter the queue for some weathering (as well as a set of Dinghams once I remember where I have put them!

 

As part of the same delivery of transfers I also received a pack of Railtrack JNA transfers, so could finish off the lettering on my skits build that I put together last year.   Again as is often the case having spare transfers is making me want to build more in order to use them.   After getting the 3d printer recently, I am using it as a design exercise to see just what the printer can do wagon wise.  A few more details need adding to the drawing (which really pushes the print area to the maximum.) 

Finally on the 3d printing front I have completed the design of parts required to finish my Optical Car for the Structure Gauging Train, this just needs a little more refinement to resolve some support issues before printing.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2022 by The Fatadder

[The Fatadder]

A start on the next loco project, I have been looking to model one of the 3 locos that I took a photo of at Didcot during my modelling period.  Using my damaged 60007 as a basis for a model of 60060 in Loadhaul seemed a pretty sensible decision, particularly after finding a couple of photos of the loco working on clay.  I have ordered nameplates from Railtec, and set to work this evening doing the numbers.

 

the originals were removed using a cocktail stick (as well as removing the black data panel from the cab side.). New numbers were added along with a white data panel to the right of the cab door.

 

On the single grill side the Loadhaul logo is in the wrong place, about 6mm to the right of where it should be.  (I see this is wrong for 007 as well). I did think about correcting, but without knowing how thick the paint is (or for that matter having any suitable transfers) I think I can live with it.   Just need to ensure that when I do the couplings it is the good side which is facing forwards. 
 

Once the names are on it is going to need some weathering to finish off, it also needs new air horns at one end and some repairs to the brakes, long ago it was partially dismantled to try and cure its running issues.   Now I have a solution (if I can get some Heljan gears), it can be converted back to P4 and restored to service.   (Although i will hold fire on the P4 conversion until I make a final decision as to what I am doing with Wheal Imogen mk2 later in the year)

[The Fatadder]

With an arrival from Railtec this morning, 60059 has now had its nameplates fitted, just need to decide if I am going to have a go at removing the Loadhaul logo from the other side to correct its location, then can start on weathering

 

As part of the same Railtec order, I got a set of Mainline logos for 37065, these had to be cut to remove the stripe (given I had already fitted them to the model), but it worked perfectly.  This loco was kept pretty clean in 98/99, so it will need some roof weathering along with dirtying up the bogies.  These need to be fitted with new actuator cylinders first (which means I need to get on and draw some up to print)  I might finally start looking at fuel tank improvements, along with doing something about the windscreens.  My understanding is that the Vi Trains laserglaze will fit the Bachmann model, this will open up the "glass" part of the window to the correct size (Bachmanns look too small as they moulded the window frame onto the glass and didnt make the hole bigger to compensate).  This leaves me needing to add a window frame, elsewhere on the forum this has been shown by cutting down a Shawplan etch.  However while its a complicated shape I think I will see what I can draw up.

[The Fatadder]

Last night I made a start on completing another old wagon project, 

 

A long time back I started modelling the Long Rock fuel train, with 6 Bachmann TTAs aquifer for the purpose.  One of which was retrofitted with Bill Bedford suspension as part of an attempt to see how the effort involved compared with removing the incorrect springs from the w irons. 4 wagons have now gained the underframes from MTA that I had previously upgraded with new springs, so this effort is not required now.

 

 

The first tank had been completed with S Kits replacement walkways / end ladder for the single ladder type correct for the Esso wagons.  There appear to be some dimensional errors with this (ladder is too long and there is insufficient space for the filler / vent). Stenson Models do a much better etch, but seeing as I already had these I’ve made do….

 

the wagons were prepped with the new holes drilled (at a cost of 4 drill bits!) and the parts glued in place.   They will be sprayed grey/red, given a gloss coat and then I will need 2 packs of the Railtec transfers.   (If anyone has a half pack of either the main pack or the extra numbers going spare please let me know…

 

A couple of wagons are missing end steps, they all need the third access panel on the top at the non ladder end adding) and half appear to have lost their unloading gear.  The latter two parts I will 3D print some replacements.

 

I also have 4 of the bitumen tanks in various stages,  these were bought from Jon at DEMU in the mid 2000s based on a Hornby tank.  One has full detail, one is missing a roof vent and the other two are just the basic tank.   Again the plan is to draw up a replacement set of details and finish these off.  I have added the missing chamfer to the base which gives a big improvement when mounted on the Bachmann chassis 

 

 

That leaves 3 more spare TTA chassis, for which I think I might have a crack at scratch building china clay TTAs to go with my Rainbow Railways TUA when it arrives 

i had previously cobbled together an approximation of one diagram (which had the largest diameter tank) but never completed it after Rainbow’s announcement as it wouldnt look right next to the right sizes wagon.

[The Fatadder]

The TTAs need a bit of dry weather so that I can paint, then need to get the transfers ordered.  Quite possibly a job for next weekends Swindon show.

 

So in the mean time a quick wagon project, I picked up a cheap Bachmann CEA from eBay in unbranded EWS red.   It was the early Bachmann model, so the first job was to take it apart and move the body over to a new Bachmann chassis (repainting the supports and cradle to match)

 

the roof also needs to be repainted, (I think it should be easisheet orange).  I also want to do something about the roof strapping, although I haven’t worked out what yet.  Need to have a look at how Cavelex tackled it on their CDA… 

Speaking of the roof I have done one job, using thick superglue to add crease lines prior to painting 

Edited February 25, 2022 by The Fatadder

[Neal Ball]

It seems you never stop Rich…. Putting the rest of us to shame!

 

Well done, keep it up

[The Fatadder]

The fuel TTAs are now ready for transfers (ordered from @railtec-models yesterday and on my door mat today.)  As is usual for for Railtec they come with preformed numbers, however with 4 sets on a sheet there is not enough for the full rake.  While Railtec do sell an extra sheet with a further 8 sets of numbers, I am taking the cheaper option of chopping together two sets of numbers...

 

I have a set of parts ready to print containing the discharge gear, bitumen tank parts and replacement filler covers, all of which will be ready for use at Swindon on Saturday.

Speaking of CAD I have also nearly finished a drawing of the 4 wheel clay TTAs, just the hardest part adding the panel gaps to the ends needs to be finished, a task which so far has got the better of me.

It will print as 3 parts (plus a filler cap that is not shown) and again use a Bachmann TTA chassis.  The barrel is hollow (with appropriate drainage channels to allow uncured resin to escape).  No one makes the required walkways, so that will need to be cobbled together from available etches...  I havent got enough resin to print these in advance of the Swindon show, so will aim to have it at Ally Pally instead.  Got the tricky task working out how I am going to set up the supports for it still...

On the plus side I have done a quick check and it is possible to fit two barrels on the printer at once, which will at least speed up getting the required number of wagons printed.

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by The Fatadder

[The Fatadder]

Thanks again to Carl for helping me work this out, I think the drawing is now done so as soon as I get some more resin it will be time to try printing it.  Supports have proved a little tricky so far on the ends, the panel gaps are causing me some issues with islands forming, further analysis will be needed this evening to try and resolve...

[The Fatadder]

The first TTA bits are currently printing, hopefully it won’t take too long to add supports to the tank this evening so that is ready to print.  I may have enough resin left for a single tank, if so I will set the printer off as soon as I have cleaned it all up after doing the current parts.  That said it will be a  20 hour+ print!

 

I had a delivery this morning from Jon Hall with a second Habfis Cargowaggon.  I will be building it on the Demu stand at the Swindon show tomorrow 

 

 

[jonhall]

1 hour ago, The Fatadder said:

I had a delivery this morning from Jon Hall with a second Habfis Cargowaggon.  I will be building it on the Demu stand at the Swindon show tomorrow 

 

 

 

That represents all 50 of the production batch being in customers hands (and not cluttering up my overcrowded workshop) leaving me with just the 3 prototype approval samples to build.

 

Jon

[The Fatadder]

Had a good day at the Swindon model exhibition today on DEMU duties, this gave a good opportunity to test out the bitumen tank parts. The coil heaters worked nicely, the chimneys less so as I somehow had set one extrusion to be the overall length rather than the correct length so they were far too long.  While I was at it I took another set of cast metal (A1 models maybe?) ends and converted a fifth Hornby TTA tank into a bitumen version). 

The discharge apparatus print and the filler cap both worked perfectly, so its now very easy to upgrade a rebuilt TTA chassis back into a proper TTA.   
Speaking of TTAs the first two wagons were fitted with transfers, before deciding I would be better off waiting until I was back home to do the rest (and able to get a coat of varnish on to protect the transfers).

A Railtrack PNA was fitted with new suspension, and a start was made on the Cargowaggon which is now ready to start entering the detailing phase.  

Edited March 5, 2022 by The Fatadder

[The Fatadder]

Finally finished the bitumen tank vents, I think they make a big difference over the Appleby originals so I will be retrofitting on the other wagon (shown in the first photo).  The tank has also been fitted with my discharge pipe (it is on an MTA chassis) and still needs new springs adding.   Eventually both of these painted wagons will need Jon’s scratch built  walkways removed and replaced with Stenson Models etches (which the other 4 will also be needing). 
 

The original Appleby parts used on a wagon converted by Jon Hall

 

my parts in use

 

I also printed the first parts for the end off the Clay TTA, although on two parts had some odd miss prints which were not present on the other 6.  No idea what the cause of these random blobs on what should be a flat surface

[The Fatadder]

A little more 3D work last night, pulling together the start of my Class 37 upgrade.

 

I want to cover 3 areas:

>Window frames/cab front glazing

>Bogie brake cylinders
>Fuel tanks

 

The first requires a complicated drawing, using the silhouette to cut the new frames and an experiment adjusting laserglaze to fit the Bachmann windows.  It should make a huge difference to the look to the front of the loco.

 

The Bachmann brake cylinders are a bit rubbish to say the least and are less than half the diameter they should be.   I have drawn a new one based on the detail photos on Brian Aston’s Flickr page.  Not a final

version yet, more a POC to test sizes etc.  The centre cylinder is a bit more tricky as I don’t intend to change the steps, the solution looks to be reducing its height to clear the solid top of the step. Once I have a final version it will have the air pipe added from 0.45 brass.

the centre cylinder has been roughly chopped and filed to get an idea as to how much to adjust the drawing, and will be reprinted tonight.  (Hence currently sitting too low.) the right hand is closer to the final part (just need the mounting bracket added now I’m happy with the size). 
I have found that the arm on the end brakes easily when removing from the supports with a 50% failure rate! 

 

the final job will be another 3D print of the fuel tank, aiming to add the missing pipes and brackets (as well as the missing cut outs)   As well as improving my Bachmann fleet, this is a first step to producing a dummy 37 chassis, I have eventual need for a pair of double headed 37s and see no need to have both powered.  A £25 body and a few pounds worth of resin will do the job nicely.  (However that is a job for the future…..)

 
my current aim is to be working ok both the 37 improvements and the clay TTAs on the DEMU stand at Ally Pally on Saturday week.