Waddlemarsh - somewhere southwest of London sometime before today

[DougN]

Rick it's coming along nicely. 

[eastwestdivide]

Like the brake dust and muck up the side of the left hand EPB

[Gwiwer]

A miserable day outside has caused some work to be done inside.  

 

Card strips to form Waddlemarsh Halt's platforms have been painted to resemble concrete slabs.  The required joints will be scribed in later and weathering applied in due course.  

 

I also received a delivery of Ancorton security fencing recently which is destined to become chain-link boundary fencing for much of the goods yard.  The angled tops and accompanying barbed wire might not be used but the rest definitely will.  I need to weather the wire mesh but had to paint the posts first.  

 

In other news I have sourced some (approximately to scale) corrugated metal sheets which are destined to become the Down-side waiting hut.  These are from a war-games supplier eBay username aha21  The first couple of packs arrived looking perfect so I now await the required balance for construction.  

 

I have a deadline of 17th November for presentation of a working work-in-progress layout on video for Hayle MRC.s virtual winter exhibition.  That deadline will be met with time to spare.  

 

For reference the paint mix I use to give the concrete effect is white gesso as a binder and stiff base, Woodland Scenics Earth Undercoat and Jo Sonja's "Smoked Pearl" and "Unbleached Titanium".  The textured effect is created by adding to the mixed paint a little very fine powder - in this case Peco grey ash from their track weathering kit.  

 

 

[Gwiwer]

The platforms are going down.

 

Three of four card strips are down with the final one to do late tonight.  Despite some irregularities in the supporting legs they are superglued fairly evenly where possible and "float" a tiny amount above the legs where those are a little on the low side.  

 

Finishing will include scoring the edges of the concrete slabs, applying white edge lines and weathering down the textured paint on the surfaces.  

 

 

[St Enodoc]

12 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

The platforms are going down.

 

Three of four card strips are down with the final one to do late tonight.  Despite some irregularities in the supporting legs they are superglued fairly evenly where possible and "float" a tiny amount above the legs where those are a little on the low side.  

 

Finishing will include scoring the edges of the concrete slabs, applying white edge lines and weathering down the textured paint on the surfaces.  

 

 

Very nice Rick.

[Gwiwer]

Testing colours and opacity. 
 

Woodland Scenics black and slate grey acrylics mixed with dark rust weathering powder in the running rails. Black with “grimy black” powder on the con-rails. Those two blended fir the con-rail run-on ramps. 
 

 

[Gwiwer]

A couple of different views showing the progress on Waddlemarsh Halt.  The Motor Luggage Van is not a type which would normally be associated with the area represented but it may have passed through at times on its way to Eastleigh Works.  I cannot currently illuminate the front end of trains stopped in the Down platform as my lighting is fixed overhead; a portable solution may be possible in due course to address this issue.  

 

Also shown is the Dart Castings "running-in" board which is placed where it is intended to go on the Up platform and which requires painting and the application of its "enamel" name board.  

 

 

[St Enodoc]

How about one of those little portable headlamps? You could wear it to fill in those shadows.

 

Yes, this is a serious suggestion!

[Gwiwer]

Another view this time including a Crompton (BRCW Type 3, later Class 33) on the goods line and with the shunting neck in the left foreground.  

 

[Peter Beckett]

Looking great, Rick

[Gwiwer]

The platforms have been weathered down.  A blend of weathering powders has been used.  Scored lines show the slab edges and darker weathering has been applied long and around these lines.  A closer image shows the effect of having textured the base layer of paint.  The white line is the next feature to add.  

 

 

[Gwiwer]

The first panel of the Ancorton security fence is ready. 
 

As supplied this has angled tops to the posts and pre-drilled holes for (supplied) barbed wire. I have cut the tops off because photo references suggest far from all fences in the 1950s and 60s had the barbed wire toppers.  My memory is of fences without it or with a single strand directly above the chain link. 
 

Posts have been painted the same concrete base colour as the station platforms and the chain link has received a wash of dark rust and grimy black weathering powders mixed with water. 
 

Assembly is a little fiddly as the posts must be super-glued to the mesh before placing the panel where needed. 
 

First image shows the painted and assembled panel and then placed where required. Further weathering of the posts is required as is blending in at ground level with a little growth climbing the mesh
 

 

[Gwiwer]

Hissssssssssss.  Simmering at the signal 

 

[Gwiwer]

Preparation of a video for the Hayle MRC Virtual Christmas Exhibition has occupied my time in recent days.  No real work has been done but rather the layout has been cleared of constructional junk and excess rolling stock and has been tested to ensure trains run as they should and stay on the rails.  

 

Some niggling electrical issues showed up.  There is one dead spot which requires a re-jig of wiring.  The rest are due to dirty point blades arising from construction.  The frog switches are not yet wired to the panel meaning I am reliant on blade contact for now.  I managed to get things working well enough to film what I required.  

 

There are some track distortions.  In some cases I can fettle the problem out but in others I am stuck with it.  The boards were first built 12-13 years ago and have been stored outdoors in Australia for most of that time before being shipped to England.  About half the track and much of the under-board wiring is original and dates from that time.  The tight curves necessitated by negotiating a corner of the room don't help.  Most stock goes around most track most of the time but ......... 

 

A few still images taken during today's session with the cameras and the lights set up may be of interest.  

 

The goods shed was fitted and weathered some time ago but is in a tight corner making photography difficult.  With lighting and the SLR in use today I got a better result than before.  The pantechnicon is in the colours of Lucking & Sons, Washington near Worthing, well-known theatrical removes back in the day.  

 

 

A view into the 10-road fiddle yard squeezed into the space beneath the bed, above the work-room desk and perched atop a bookshelf.  Left to right are the two passenger tracks, the goods line and the yard headshunt.  A scenic break is to be fitted across this end separating running lines from yard area.  

 

 

Two trains pause at Waddlemarsh Halt.  An Up service is formed of a 2-Hal unit while the Down is formed of a 2-Bil showing headcode 35.  BR Southern Region used these types interchangeably from around 1960 once newer stock had arrived in Kent to replace the 2-Hal units there.  Work remaining here is final detailing of the platforms, fitting of lighting and signage, seating benches and levelling of the footbridge and buildings.  

 

 

 

[PeterBB]

The quality of your platforms comes well into view - the time taken to obtain this was well spent.

 

[Gwiwer]

A piece of the action.

 

The fuel oil tanks arrive from Fawley behind an SR "Crompton" BRCW Type 3.   These locos became Class 33 under TOPS and are more widely known today by that number.  The train will reverse in the yard and be taken on to Cricklewood diesel depot by an LMR loco.  

 

On the Up passenger line a 2-Bil unit calls at Waddlemarsh Halt.  The driver appears to have overlooked removal of the headcode from what is now the rear of the train. That was not uncommon in the 1960s when these were metal stencil plates but not the end-of-train marker as were the later red roller blinds.  

 

 

[St Enodoc]

6 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

The driver

Motorman surely?

 

Looks good either way!

[Gwiwer]

2 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Motorman surely?

 

Looks good either way!

Motorman is correct.  The Southern Railway, and later BR Southern Region, despite relying heavily on electric multiple units for traction, always considered the term "driver" was reserved for a member of steam crew.  It was grudgingly applied to those in charge of diesels when they arrived.  Electrics were driven by "Motormen" for whom the years of training and working up through the ranks was not necessarily as long nor as arduous.  It was certainly not as dirty a job as being on a steam footplate so was regarded in more lowly terms.  At least in the early years it also meant trundling around London's suburbs but increasingly as electrification spread Motormen were required to fulfil "top link" duties on such routes as the Brighton main line.  

 

For many years there was something of a "class divide" between drivers and motormen.  The former would look down upon the latter who had "only to switch on and go".  Whilst there was and is some truth in that they still require the same route knowledge, train preparation and relevant fault-finding skills.  The job isn't as simple as simply "plug-and-play" to use today's jargon but is not as complex as preparing and driving a steam locomotive.  

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

Motorman is correct.  The Southern Railway, and later BR Southern Region, despite relying heavily on electric multiple units for traction, always considered the term "driver" was reserved for a member of steam crew.  It was grudgingly applied to those in charge of diesels when they arrived.  Electrics were driven by "Motormen" for whom the years of training and working up through the ranks was not necessarily as long nor as arduous.  It was certainly not as dirty a job as being on a steam footplate so was regarded in more lowly terms.  At least in the early years it also meant trundling around London's suburbs but increasingly as electrification spread Motormen were required to fulfil "top link" duties on such routes as the Brighton main line.  

 

For many years there was something of a "class divide" between drivers and motormen.  The former would look down upon the latter who had "only to switch on and go".  Whilst there was and is some truth in that they still require the same route knowledge, train preparation and relevant fault-finding skills.  The job isn't as simple as simply "plug-and-play" to use today's jargon but is not as complex as preparing and driving a steam locomotive.  

Quite correct Rick. As little as 30 years ago, and possibly still, there was a clear distinction between the EMU drivers and what had become the "mixed traction" (i.e. locos - DE and ED of course - and EMUs) drivers. By that time though it seemed that each group regarded themselves as superior to the other.

[Gwiwer]

The next little project is the construction of the corrugated waiting shelter for the down platform. The style is taken from the Sussex coastal halts. The construction is scale corrugated sheets located through a wargames supplier and braced with scrap foamboard which was to have been used as the platform surfaces. 
 

 

[Gwiwer]

Today sees the final session of fitting “pots” to conductor rails. I shall be glad to have that vehind me. It’s not a job which suits large fingers! 
 

[Ramblin Rich]

On 28/10/2020 at 13:45, Gwiwer said:

Testing colours and opacity. 
 

Woodland Scenics black and slate grey acrylics mixed with dark rust weathering powder in the running rails. Black with “grimy black” powder on the con-rails. Those two blended fir the con-rail run-on ramps. 
 

Rick, I'm a bit 'late to the party' here. I do like what you've managed to fit into the small space you have. The platform work is impressive.

Can I ask, did you need to prime the rails before using the Woodlands Scenics paints? I have some rail colours but they seem not to work well unless the metal is primed first.

[Gwiwer]

The rails were not pre-primed although this might have helped.  I found that two coats of the black paint were sufficient on the conductor rails and likewise two of the rail grime inside the running rails is fine.  I also tried running a laundry marker over the top of the con-rails to see if it would leave a slightly shiny finish but it does not.  

 

The small corrugated hut is fully assembled and awaits finishing and painting.  It also awaits my constructing four brick supports for its corners which will be simple blocks of scrap wood covered with Scalescenes brick print paper.  Once done I have to be careful not to spray too much water-based PVA in the area as I know that causes the printer ink to run on printouts.  

[37Oban]

10 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

The small corrugated hut is fully assembled and awaits finishing and painting.  It also awaits my constructing four brick supports for its corners which will be simple blocks of scrap wood covered with Scalescenes brick print paper.  Once done I have to be careful not to spray too much water-based PVA in the area as I know that causes the printer ink to run on printouts.  

Hi,

 

before using Scalescenes papers I give them a good spray of inkjet fixative,  It's not entirely 100% effective in stopping ink runs but it does help.

 

Roja

[37Oban]

Following on from my previous post I've had a thought!  A very dangerous thing to have on a Sunday!  Anyway, my idea is this; treat the brick, stone or whatever papers in a similar way to homemade waterslide transfers.  I would use the fixative then, when dry, give a coat of matt or satin varnish.  You'd probably need to experiment a bit, and it may turn out that you need to use gloss varnish, or spray the reverse as well, to make them fully waterproof, and if glossed then a spray of matt on top would help.  

 

I don't know if this would work, but it could be worth a go!

 

Roja