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Queensbridge Road Wharf


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I have finally sent in the form for the competition, so now it's time for a thread. I had already started a thread before this section was created, but I'll try to keep these both up to date.

To summarise, a small canal-side wharf served by a short branch of the North London Railway from the line running south to Broad Street Station. I'm envisaging the branch separating somewhere in the area of Haggerston station and then running the short distance to the wharf at street level. Set in 1903 and modeled in P4 the layout features small tank engines and goods wagons in fairly narrow confines. The trackplan is a slightly lengthened version of Iain Rice's Hepton Wharf, having been reset to the inner city.

Progress to date can be found here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/122023-queensbridge-road-wharf/

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I have finally finished the wiring. Well, except for the fiddleyard. The points have been finished, the point motors installed, a control box assembled, wires strung around. Lots of work with not that much to show. I have tested most of the layout and things are working well. I can't check the first point yet, it's too close to the fiddleyard. I hope to have the fiddleyard track and wiring done soon, but I'll probably get distracted by something else first.

In the meantime, I have a video showing a bit of testing. Everything's gotten a bit modern for my Edwardian layout, Something else to sort out...
 
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Today I decided to shorten the main siding at the front of the layout. With the bufferstop in place there was very little room between it and the adjacent building. I didn't think it looked like a reasonable way for any sort of vehicle to access the wharf. I looked at a couple of options and ended up shortening the track by about the length of the bufferstop. I think it looks much more natural and less cramped.

Before:
JKr9P2n.jpg

During:
FrTTQEp.jpg

And After:
nFzqBwj.jpg
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Progress has continued with track being laid in the fiddleyard. I made it over to Scalefour North a week ago and picked up the last package of Exactoscale P4 trackbase that C&L had in stock. This turned out to be the perfect amount to build a three road sector plate. I had considered four roads, but there wasn't enough space between the tracks to handle the stock. I also had almost the prefect amount of rail left over from the scenic section. I still have to wire it up, but trains roll smoothly over the track joints, so things are looking good. Having track on the fiddleyard has allowed me to finish testing the first point and I am pleased to report that it is functioning properly. It's so close to the baseboard edge that I had only been able to test it in one direction previously.
I have found a coupe of wagons, some unfinished, that need a bit more weight as well as a short section of track where the gauge is 19.45mm. Not sure how that happened, but it will be rectified.
Here is the fiddleyard part way through tracklaying:
uzOqOYE.jpg
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Progress has continued with track being laid in the fiddleyard. I made it over to Scalefour North a week ago and picked up the last package of Exactoscale P4 trackbase that C&L had in stock. This turned out to be the perfect amount to build a three road sector plate. I had considered four roads, but there wasn't enough space between the tracks to handle the stock. I also had almost the prefect amount of rail left over from the scenic section. I still have to wire it up, but trains roll smoothly over the track joints, so things are looking good. Having track on the fiddleyard has allowed me to finish testing the first point and I am pleased to report that it is functioning properly. It's so close to the baseboard edge that I had only been able to test it in one direction previously.

I have found a coupe of wagons, some unfinished, that need a bit more weight as well as a short section of track where the gauge is 19.45mm. Not sure how that happened, but it will be rectified.

Here is the fiddleyard part way through tracklaying:uzOqOYE.jpg

19.45mm? You’ll need a few more mm for broad gauge....

D

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I made a bunch of temporary buildings today. I thought that having something would be better than nothing and I could work out the basic designs now. Most of the buildings are based on real ones I've found in London. Most have been rearranged a bit, but they should give the character I'm after. Everything is built out of foam board and tape because I had it to hand and it's easy to work with. Tomorrow I'll spay them all a light brown colour to help with the appearance. There will be a retaining wall sloping downwards to the right. It is partially marked out in pencil.

First up is a group of four buildings based on the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. I've mirrored them horizontally but they're otherwise modelled on the prototype. The biggest change is that the first structure is now trapezoidal to fit against the road where the prototype is rectangular.

6RUpAjs.jpg
3uP0pSz.jpg
ZSMMUXP.jpg
YjWriSA.jpg
AanELV5.jpg

The next two buildings come from a street just south of Tower Bridge. They're both small warehouses with the charming small cranes mounted on the walls. Unfortunately I think I will have to leave these off the models. I think it would be more realistic for the cranes to be on the street side, which is where the backscene is. But there will be more cranes later...

LVL91AS.jpg
6O6BNyO.jpg

The next building features the road access to the goods yard. Unfortunately I seem not to have photographed it, so I have included an image from google maps. The building may change, it's one of two that still need to be finalised, but the length is fixed, the height's about right, and the arch for vehicular access needs to be there. It will probably get a hip roof as most of the other buildings have.

w9Ed1lF.jpg
C09oqWA.png?1

The building at the end of the layout is the only one I've actually started work on, and I've barely started. It's based on the Metropolitan Wharf in Wapping. I have been planning on having some latice walkways between this building and the one with the arch to help hide the hole in the backscene. However, now that I'm actually putting them in place there is a choice between hiding the hole or having them line up with the floors of the warehouse. This will need to be rethought.

VofRcUG.jpg
oDlZ61V.jpg
5no7Qgo.jpg
HOAPiDb.jpg

Next we have a view of the bridge over the tracks. The building on the left will be a small factory manufacturing wooden packing cases. It was inspired by one of the buildings that now make up Camden Market, although there is no architectural similarities. In front of it, at the edge of the layout, is a staircase going from the street down to the canal. I have some 3D printed stairs to go here, but I can't find them anywhere.

z6wupgm.jpg
O3WEgsf.jpg

Finally there are the two other buildings on the road. The one in the corner hasn't been developed at all. The general size is right but I need to choose a prototype for it. The other one at the front corner is a rather interesting small warehouse in Limehouse. I'm not sure if it's been painted, the top and bottom look to be London yellow brick, but the middle seems to be red... But it has a crane, so all is good.

aTv3qa7.jpg
cDaw4Yy.jpg
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  • 2 weeks later...

Are you going to get a laser or silhouette cutter to make fabrication of these lovely buildings easier?

D

With all my extra money?

 

I've just bought some plywood to make the shells out of. Then they'll be clad in Slaters brick sheet. At least that's the plan at the moment. I've got some Brassmasters etched windows, I'll need to buy more before I'm done but it's enough to get started with.

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Well, one lives in hope that a good friend would acquire such tools.... I’ve loads of project ideas that they could hone their cad and cutter skills on!

D

I think that goes both ways Duncan. I've got plenty of projects for you to practice on when you buy one...

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I made a bunch of temporary buildings today. I thought that having something would be better than nothing and I could work out the basic designs now. Most of the buildings are based on real ones I've found in London. Most have been rearranged a bit, but they should give the character I'm after. Everything is built out of foam board and tape because I had it to hand and it's easy to work with. Tomorrow I'll spay them all a light brown colour to help with the appearance. There will be a retaining wall sloping downwards to the right. It is partially marked out in pencil.

 

First up is a group of four buildings based on the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. I've mirrored them horizontally but they're otherwise modelled on the prototype. The biggest change is that the first structure is now trapezoidal to fit against the road where the prototype is rectangular.

 

6RUpAjs.jpg

3uP0pSz.jpg

ZSMMUXP.jpg

YjWriSA.jpg

AanELV5.jpg

 

The next two buildings come from a street just south of Tower Bridge. They're both small warehouses with the charming small cranes mounted on the walls. Unfortunately I think I will have to leave these off the models. I think it would be more realistic for the cranes to be on the street side, which is where the backscene is. But there will be more cranes later...

 

LVL91AS.jpg

6O6BNyO.jpg

 

The next building features the road access to the goods yard. Unfortunately I seem not to have photographed it, so I have included an image from google maps. The building may change, it's one of two that still need to be finalised, but the length is fixed, the height's about right, and the arch for vehicular access needs to be there. It will probably get a hip roof as most of the other buildings have.

 

w9Ed1lF.jpg

C09oqWA.png?1

 

The building at the end of the layout is the only one I've actually started work on, and I've barely started. It's based on the Metropolitan Wharf in Wapping. I have been planning on having some latice walkways between this building and the one with the arch to help hide the hole in the backscene. However, now that I'm actually putting them in place there is a choice between hiding the hole or having them line up with the floors of the warehouse. This will need to be rethought.

 

VofRcUG.jpg

oDlZ61V.jpg

5no7Qgo.jpg

HOAPiDb.jpg

 

Next we have a view of the bridge over the tracks. The building on the left will be a small factory manufacturing wooden packing cases. It was inspired by one of the buildings that now make up Camden Market, although there is no architectural similarities. In front of it, at the edge of the layout, is a staircase going from the street down to the canal. I have some 3D printed stairs to go here, but I can't find them anywhere.

 

z6wupgm.jpg

O3WEgsf.jpg

 

Finally there are the two other buildings on the road. The one in the corner hasn't been developed at all. The general size is right but I need to choose a prototype for it. The other one at the front corner is a rather interesting small warehouse in Limehouse. I'm not sure if it's been painted, the top and bottom look to be London yellow brick, but the middle seems to be red... But it has a crane, so all is good.

 

aTv3qa7.jpg

cDaw4Yy.jpg

Wow! Love the buildings and the setting!

Keep up the good work, you're doing a cracking job and I am enjoying following progress.

 

David

Edited by south_tyne
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As so often happens with my modelling, I was going along on a project and suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to do something different. I realised that Queensbridge was never going to be finished if I didn't actually work on it. So I went and had a look to see if I could find a suitable project. I decided to start on the fiddleyard end with one of the two buildings. In the back corner will be a pub. I have some ideas, but this is the only structure I don't yet have a prototype for. So the obvious solution was to start work on the other building at that end. This is a small brick warehouse based on a building in Limehouse. Last summer I started work on one of the other buildings using a plywood core with Slaters brick sheet attached to it. This may work for some people, but I didn't find it successful. Windows are always where I seem to have trouble. So for this new building I decided on an all-styrene approach. Previously I have had difficulties fitting etched windows to brick sheet. The problem is always the arch. I love the look of arched brick windows, but they're problematic to make. I've finally settled on a solution that will work, make the windows to fit out of styrene strip. It's not done, but so far it's working.
M8mQdjb.jpg

So to actually build the structure, I started with a rectangle of brick sheet cut to the correct size. When I photographed the building I used the measure app on my iPhone to estimate the height of the building. From that I made the width to fit the space and the proportions looked good. I marked out the approximate locations of the openings on the sheet, then set about making arches. I figured it would be easier to make the openings fit the arches than the other way around. I took a strip of brick sheet, two full bricks wide, and cut two thirds of the way through between each brick. This made the strip curve and allowed me to further curve it to fit the desired shape. I looked around for a small round object to use as a guide, so they would all be consistent, and settled on the cap for my bottle of flux. I cut the arches to 16 bricks long, curved them, and glued them to 0.010" sheet. Once cured I cut out the arches and trimmed the backing sheet. I left extra material above the arch for attachment, but the other three sides match the arch.
DYhYpZK.jpg
Using the arches to guide the width and a photo to guide the height, I cut out 11 windows and 1 doorway. I also cut out a section in the middle for the three freight doors. There were inevitably gaps around the arches, and these have been filled in with putty. I then used 0.030" strip to block around the window openings, and then attached a sheet of 0.040" styrene to the back of the wall. Once the windows had been opened out again, the wall was mostly done. The two side walls are of similar construction, brick sheet on plain styrene. The windows are the next step, and that will be a separate story. 
3TTP7bV.jpg

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All the wiring is done, aside from the lighting. I had been waiting on the setts until I was sure the wiring didn't need any changes but I have now begun with this project. It's slow going and I'm not trying to rush, no point in needing to redo it. I've been spreading thin layers of Das clay. The large open areas have thin foam sheet that brings the level up to about that of the sleepers. I've spread clay in between the sleepers, once that's dry I've applied another layer up to just below the rail head into which I press the setts with a modified paintbrush. 

9S93KGz.jpg

Fo6JDZC.jpg

Edited by garethashenden
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The first warehouse is just about done. Need to finish the roof and a couple of details, that’s it. The windows were all 3D printed.

F602AUY.jpg 

 

One of the challenging areas recently was curving the bricks into the doorway openings. I did this by creating a short bit of wall entering the building, rounding over the corner with a file, and then chasing each mortar course with a square needle file. It was rather tedious but the results were worth it.

1) Raw opening:
hdtgfum.jpg 

 

2) With the new wall: 
zWoZJw0.jpg 

 

3) Rounded over:
sB4h5Zi.jpg 

4) All bricked up:
CqNs8Xw.jpg 

 

In position on the layout. The road is next. 
gpNWNBx.jpg 

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  • 1 year later...

I've now replaced the window with the broken mullion. In addition to that, all the other details have been taken care of an initial painting has been done. I used a whitemetal crane from Scalelink. In person its a little chunkier than the prototype but I still like how it looks. I added two platforms for the upper storey doors. I think that one of them should have been modelled up, but they're quite firmly glued now. Good think I've got several other similar buildings still to make. The downpipe is 1/16" brass tube with a curve put in at the end. It fits the look I was after. 

CJjd7AO.jpg

I've also been working on the road in front of the warehouse. Getting the pavement at the right height relative to the building and the roadway at the right height to clear the trains at the back was more challenging than it should have been. In the end the building had to be raised about 1/2" off the baseboard. But the overall effect is correct and that's what matters. I had been procrastinating on the road because I didn't want to press all those setts, but then it occured to me that I could use Wills sheet for most of it and only make clay setts at the corner. I think I will employ this technique in the yard as well. If a sheet can be used whole, I'll use it. If I have to trim it then I'll use clay instead. That should speed things up without compromising the appearance. 

0jjPcW2.jpg
MdUPxVN.jpg
6Lift1V.jpg
lZ0uXAm.jpg

While its too new for the layout the Bentley was the only vehicle I had to hand. Its an Oxford Diecast model and rather heavy handed. The WO Bentley Memorial Foundation are in the process of sending me some factory drawings so that I can make better models, but that's the subject for a future thread. 

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