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On 15/12/2020 at 07:42, dessire_luvals said:

Hi Pete,

 

It still amazes me that it’s possible to find threads on RMweb that I have completely missed. Looks like you are doing some great work here.

 

I’m also doing a bit of a representation of Ilfracombe as part of my layout and wondered whether you’d be interested in coming to some sort of commercial agreement to replicate some of the pieces you've designed such as the wind break and canopy columns?

 

Rgds

 

Russell Davies

 

Hi Russel its good to see you back at it with your project I had taken a look at your thread many years ago and had feared the project stalled like many on RMWEB. Feel free to send me a PM and we can speak further.

 

10 hours ago, landscapes said:

Hi Pete

 

Have a look at the latest addition of the Back Track magazine?

 

There is a great article on Ilfracombe Station with many coloured photos.

 

Not sure if it’s available in a digital version I saw it in my local WH Smith’s store yesterday.

 

Regards

 

David

Cheers David I was made aware of the article on the Ilfracombe facebook site and have got myself a digital copy on pocketmags. I've yet to give it a good read and believe there is a part two coming up in the next mag.

 

Although I haven't updated in a while due to moving back to my parents among other things, there has been progress on Ilfracombe. A lot of time has been spent recently organising stock, practice running my timetables (playing trains) as well as wiring up my control panel for LEDS which took a long time I will update with some photos soon. 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete 

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I have been hard at work throughout January wiring up the LED's to the mimic panel. This proved to be a bigger job than expected as again I had to account for the mix of cobalt IP anolog and IP digital motors. A further complication came from the double slips needing to have wires run from the frogs and the 3 way point being wired to show the route set. All in all this meant that a considerable amount of wiring had to be run from the motors back to control panel. I had previously chosen not to do this job as I had feared it was going to be this extensive. But now it is all done and working after a couple of calls to DCC concepts who were very helpful when I had a few head scratching moments.  After all was wired up I only had one short after playing around with the frog wires so I was pretty impressed. All I would say is that the control box is now very stuffed full of wires. I ended up moving the switches for the doubles slips around as well as the opposite end of the point sets the route and this was becoming confusing when the LED was the other side. 

 

 

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I have also started work on the dock on the short spur in the goods yard. This was made from pieces of my old mega cattle dock from the previous layout. This will need some more fettling and then painting before gluing into place. At the moment it has a habit of getting knocked off the board. Across from here will be the goods yard crane which I have had a few more thoughts about and will probably 3d print something closer to the real thing as the various kits available cut it close in my opinion. 

 

 

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Today I set about getting the goods in advanced store mostly complete as it has sat without a roof for a while in primer. I added in the last two asbestos roof panels then used plasticard scored and glued down for the ridge tiles. the building was then giving a wash of thinned down paint and some dry brushing to the roof to add some green mossy tones as well as other dirt. I also decided to add a LED inside which will eventually light up the building this has been left as a job to do another time.  To finish the store I need to find some SR spear fencing to go along the edge. Add some posters on the walls and put the signage on the doors.  Its now looking much more complete than before anyways.

 

 

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Another project I have been working on is dropping the carriage head shunt. Although Ilfracombe is on a plateau so it lends itself to flat baseboards there is still a slope at the station end and of course the real site is the start of the steep gradient up to Morthoe bank. I decided when I first started this would be too much of an ask to put the gradient in as it was already a tight curve into the fiddle yard. However I have dropped the headshunt line down to create  the illusion of a height change. Many photos of the real location look as if the headshunt slopes down but the reality is the running lines are on the way up. Lots of messing about with different height shims and gradients have taken place in order to ensure that locos can still get up and down the slope. The only locos I am now having trouble with are my M7's which of course in model form have no where near as much power as their real counterparts. Even with the DCC concepts plates and magnets installed there is wheel slip galore once we get up to 4 coach trains. Fortunately that just means checking which locos are shunting what stock.  I have also added the celotex to the middle board sloping section at the back and will soon add some to the section I have just completed before bringing out the plaster bandages again.  

 

 

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So there has been some progress I promise and tonight I've decided to sit down and build some scale model scenery kits which should be nice and therapeutic.  

 

Cheers 

 

Pete

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  • PeteN92 changed the title to Ilfracombe in 00 - Progress continues...

Hi Keith. 

Yes, I've seen those photos, and many others, but I was hoping there were some plans somewhere out there. In the meantime I'll have to put some together based on the photos and the known length. 

I have drawings for the station buildings, luggage store, signal box and loco shed. Please let me know if any of these (except obviously the luggage store) would be of use to you. 

Regards, 

Nigel

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18 hours ago, Nigel Wright said:

Hi Keith. 

Yes, I've seen those photos, and many others, but I was hoping there were some plans somewhere out there. In the meantime I'll have to put some together based on the photos and the known length. 

I have drawings for the station buildings, luggage store, signal box and loco shed. Please let me know if any of these (except obviously the luggage store) would be of use to you. 

Regards, 

Nigel

Cheers Nigel any drawings you have would be great to take a look at and compare. 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete

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Today has involved the return of jigsaw. After having a look where the signal box will go it hit me that the original reason I had added the slope was because I had decided to build the signal box as per real life where the front of the box sits higher than the back. This meant that I need to cut a further slither of baseboard out essentially leaving the gradient as a bridge until the gaps are filled in with celotex. 

 

 

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After cutting I was left with this precarious section I also decided at this point to create a fixing point at the end of the gradient rather than having it hanging in the air and eventually relying on the scenery to hold it in place.

 

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I used an offcut of timber and put it up flush against the side of the boards and the top left leg. I then marked where the ramp section would come to and cut a slot out creating a bracket. This was then screwed into both the top baseboard and the gradient baseboard from above to make everything solid. 

 

 

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This photo gives you an idea of how the side of the box works with the landscape. Next I will cut a strip of celotex to go in the gap I've newly made and will carved into a slope. A section will also be created for the box to sit into. 

 

 

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You can see I have also been working out where my rodding runs will be going and also recording on the final box placement. Due to size restraints I have had to move some of the rodding runs about and have realised that actually I could have left my self a little more space by the side of the rails near the main point work and leading to the carriage sidings. This is where a large amount of rodding seemed to continue. This will be rectified once I've added the plaster bandage and used  sculptamold for the first time to rebuild the area up.

 

So next up is adding the last of the celotex base for the embankments and then it's time to break out the plaster bandage.

 

Cheers 

 

Pete

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Celotex was cut to fit the spaces in the baseboard and where then glued in place and left to set overnight. I then gave it a layer of plaster bandage to create a solid smoother surface and am waiting for it to go hard and fully dry. This will then have another layer of sculptamold ontop to create the final surface before painting then adding  ground cover, grass ect. To the embankments.

 

 

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Looking down the carriage headshunt.

 

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Towards the station ( the end of the platform had been moved for access)

 

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Cheers 

 

Pete

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On 18/02/2021 at 18:00, MrWolf said:

Looking good, I do like the way that you have some of your reference material pinned up around the layout. Information and inspiration without having to go hunting around for it, very practical.

It's funny you say that as today a lot of the mood board has been removed in order to paint the backscene white. 

 

 

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Sculptamold was also added to the embankments and used to build up along the sides of the carriage siding entrance. This is in order to give me space to add the point rodding and walk ways.

 

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If almost looks like a terrible blizzard has hit Ilfracombe which reminds me of a picture I have of Blackmore vale caught in a snow drift on morthoe bank.

 

Once all is dry I'll paint the ground a base coat of brown and then we shall look at adding scatter / flock and static grass. 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete

 

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Next up was some cheap burnt umber paint to go down as a base layer.

 

 

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Neat PVA was then put down all over the surface. 

 

 

 

I then used my mix of dried soil and coffee grains and applied it through my shaker to ensure that only the finer particles were to fall through.

 

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This left me with a nice surface to add static grass onto. My next steps involved following some of the tips given when static grassing in one of the lastest topley dale videos from the Hornby magazine.

 

 

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Neat PVA was put down again and then watered down with a pot of water and a brush in order to get everything covered. The first layer of 2mm fibres where then put down. 

 

 

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Next up I gave the whole surface a blast of cheap and nasty hair spray as it's extra sticky you can also use Matt varnish spray but my can had given up the ghost.

 

 

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I then added some longer straw fibres mixed with some of the original colours I had put down and layered them ontop. 

 

 

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Finally I used some of my coloured foam/scatter material and sprinkled it in some places to create the look of flowers and give further variation. I'm pretty happy with how it's come out especially compared to my first attempt at the other end. I'll use some woodland scenics materials to add some bushes and some clumps of foliage to finish off. I've taken a few photos and am happy with the final results. I've purposely left the area where the box will sit just as dirt for now in case I need to further change things.  Now I've got to do the rest of the embankment further down. Hopefully I won't run out of static grass. And then maybe a little bit of ballasting to follow.

 

 

Cheers

 

Pete

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This morning I repeated the process on the last of the embankment and just had enough of my 2mm grass to finish everything.

 

 

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I then used some woodland scenics clump foliage to add some bushes and glued them down with neat PVA. I then diluted some PVA and coated the bushes with this mixture then added various colour flocks to create variety and the impression of some flowers.

 

 

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While I had everything out I have my previous efforts a spruce up and they look much better.

 

 

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Now onto the unenviable task of ballasting and laying das in the yard. 

 

 

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Cheers 

 

Pete

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My final Job I completed today was to paint the Dapol telegraph poles which I have had lying about for ages. I then drilled some pilot holes for the poles to go in and have used photos to get a rough idea where they stood in real life.

 

 

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Overview of the station.

 

 

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The embankment pretty much complete and dry. 

 

 

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Looking towards the end of the line from the turntable. 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete

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I still think that the old (1960?) Airfix / Dapol telephone poles are some of the best you can get for the money. I always liked the detail of the cut out for extra transoms. The Ratio ones have much finer climbing pegs but the insulators are just blobs.

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After mocking up the signal box in cardboard I've been trying to work out the rodding runs leading away from it. I've got all the locking table and signalling diagrams and am trying to compare with photos of where stuff went. 

 

 

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What is throwing me is that there seems to be concrete trunking. Would it be safe to assume that the trunking most likely contained the signal wires and then the rodding which looks to be much thicker would no doubt run along the perimeter of the site which I think is what this photo that I've annotated shows. At first I thought the trunking contained some of the rodding but now I'm thinking differently just wanted to check others thoughts before committing?

 

 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete

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11 minutes ago, RailWest said:

I would very much doubt that the trunking contained signal wires, and certainly not the point or FPL rodding, more likely IMHO to be cabling for the track-circuits.

Hmm that's a possibility but as far as I am aware the only track circuit provided was on approach to Ilfracombe between the distant and home signals. 

 

I'm happy to be proven wrong of course.

 

Pete

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30 minutes ago, PeteN92 said:

Hmm that's a possibility but as far as I am aware the only track circuit provided was on approach to Ilfracombe between the distant and home signals. 

 

I'm happy to be proven wrong of course.

 

Pete

Actually, I think you may be right :-) The only TC in BR days (unless any were added quite late and have not been recorded) extended from the Inner Home back as far as 250 yards in rear of the Outer Home.

 

However, from what I can deduce from the Electrical Locking table (without benefit of sighting any notes on the actual box diagram), there was electrical detection on some of the points and FPLs in the station throat , so it may well be for the associated cabling for those detectors.

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2 hours ago, RailWest said:

Actually, I think you may be right :-) The only TC in BR days (unless any were added quite late and have not been recorded) extended from the Inner Home back as far as 250 yards in rear of the Outer Home.

 

However, from what I can deduce from the Electrical Locking table (without benefit of sighting any notes on the actual box diagram), there was electrical detection on some of the points and FPLs in the station throat , so it may well be for the associated cabling for those detectors.

That could be it as the conduits seem to run towards the points rather than signals. Especially the ones near the scissor like point work. And in some photos the concrete channelling seems to have been covered completely. 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete

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I've been working on some of the rodding runs using a mix of wills point rodding kits some MSE crank etches and also modifying my PECO points and using parts that are left over. 

 

On all the points that do not have facing point locks I remove the molding that used to hold the the clips. These have been removed due to using the cobalt motors.

 

I also cut out the molding and will replace the hole with a sleeper to match where there are the ends of already on the moulding.

 

 

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On the points with FPL's I replace the removable moulding with the parts from the wills point rodding kit as I personally believe these are a better representation. 

 

I have cut down the spare parts of the original point locks and glued them onto the double slips as these come from PECO with no obvious FPL's moulded on. Again using parts from the wills kit I cut down and extend the rodding out from the locking bar. 

 

 

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Between using the book I mentioned previously, my copy of the signalling engineers standards on point rodding, the guidance given with the kits and reference photos.  I am not trying to get an exactly perfect representation of the rodding but close enough for me to be happy with it. 

 

There is still a lot more to do but as you can see it's starting to get there in the station throat. I've run my Dapol mogul over the rodding detail that is already complete and nothing is catching which is a good sign. 

 

 

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Cheers 

 

Pete

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