DRS Engineering Works

[SteveyDee68]

Maybe a little presumptuous but I am excited at the prospect of a celebrity locomotive joining my collection!

 

Or, rather, a locomotive that (hopefully) I will be able to purchase from an RMWeb “celebrity”…

 

Ooooh! Excited!! 😁

 

It won’t look out of place at DRS Engineering!

 

Stop it!! 🤫🤐

 

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by SteveyDee68
Missing word!

[SteveyDee68]

Aforementioned locomotive will be with me next week! 😁

 

And will be booking tickets to meet aforementioned RMWeb “celebrity” modeller and see one of his layouts at a show later in the year. 😁

 

Just got a few months to turn down the dial on “fanboy” status to something less than “nutter” 🤣

 

HOURS OF FUN!

[SteveyDee68]

And in other news L-Cut Creative have custom cut* a double track modular engine shed with square windows/doors for a more ‘industrial’ look for me. This may replace the Scalescenes diesel shed in my plan.

 

Or maybe another, more rural micro (seeing as this one has reverted back to the urban setting originally envisaged)?

 

HOURS OF FUN!

 

 

* Actually, the only custom cutting is of one door gable to allow it to be joined by a central pillar to create the double width shed!

[SteveyDee68]

On another thread, I have discussed about creating a running in loop to allow my engines to be tested (or given an occasional extended bit of running) and quite a few folk have suggested using a rolling road instead. I already have the necessary saddles, but I commented that I always worry about locos falling off if I’m not watching all the time.

 

Just woken up (from another night of coughing and sneezing interspersed with weird dreams … or was it the other way around?) and had this clear idea to use the longer rear road of the running shed to create a “pit” for the saddles to sit inside - basically like an over wide inspection pit. If the shed is removable, I then have a space for my rollers which should (might?) accommodate my longer tender locos as well as my short industrials to run in on, as tenders will sit on the siding space usually outside the shed. The whole point being that the rollers are at the same height as the running rails of the micro.

 

A bit of in situ stock placement and a bit of a think required.

 

HOURS OF FUN!

[SteveyDee68]

Purchase of a second hand and slightly battered Hornby diesel maintenance shed from eBay and subsequent tinkering have prompted another rethink of the plan; forget the cradle pit and make life easier!

 

Keep it simple, stupid!!

 

HOURS OF FUN!

[SteveyDee68]

An article by George Dent about improving the Hornby diesel maintenance shed was the catalyst for its purchase; upon enquiry, the etched windows George used can be had for £50 (almost four times the amount I paid for the second hand kit off eBay). Loath to splash that much, I have set to (as others have suggested elsewhere) with creating window frames from plasticard micro strip.

 

As I still haven’t mastered Inkscape, I’ve used PowerPoint to draw up and print scaled window drawings for the replacement windows, as was suggested by another RMWebber in a totally unrelated thread about drawing up prototype buildings using easily available (and usable) software! Of course, there are limits … such as the program’s apparent inability to measure any more accurately than 1mm! And of course the window spaces on the model are 34.5mm rather than 34mm or 35mm, of course they are. 😠

 

So far, I have managed to cut/glue two large window frames, so only another six to go! I was planning on the thinner vertical glazing bars to be added with superfine plasticard strip, but have had difficulty to get it to lay flat (let alone straight); even employing tricks like using overlong lengths pinned down with tape - if anyone has any tips for future attempts, I would be grateful to hear but for the moment my new plan is to score/paint the glazing material for the vertical bars.

 

I have four additional windows to replace on the gable end, too - the other end has been made solid as it is against the backscene - although (poor planning) the overhang of the shed roof means it cannot be hard up against it! The shed also has eight (8, count them!) skylights so I am going to be busy making those too.

 

It would probably have been a lot easier just to buy the etched window frames, but doing it myself is cheaper and, let’s be honest, gives me …

 

HOURS OF FUN!

Edited April 26, 2023 by SteveyDee68
End of sentence missing mid paragraph!

[simonmcp]

I know I may be a little late with this advice but if you could find someone with an FDM 3d printer, windows are a doddle to make on them. I would offer but mine is out of action at the moment.

Simon 

[SteveyDee68]

4 hours ago, simonmcp said:

I know I may be a little late with this advice but if you could find someone with an FDM 3d printer, windows are a doddle to make on them. I would offer but mine is out of action at the moment.

Simon 

I did approach an ex colleague about cutting them on the laser cutters in her design technology department but - guess what?! - they too are out of action (and likely to remain so, given school budget cuts!)

[simonmcp]

I don't know how much they would charge but Scale Model Scenery do laser cutting and maybe if you could draw up in CAD they would cut them for you at a reasonable price.

[SteveyDee68]

49 minutes ago, simonmcp said:

I don't know how much they would charge but Scale Model Scenery do laser cutting and maybe if you could draw up in CAD they would cut them for you at a reasonable price.

Great suggestion and I did contact them about it (also suggested as a possible upgrade kit with some of their other items such as caged ladders etc) but they are currently so behind on their long list of planned items to develop that they aren’t adding anything or taking on any bespoke cutting for the time being!

[SteveyDee68]

Further to @simonmcp’s suggestion, I’ve been searching eBay for sellers of 3D printed windows and stumbled upon someone doing exactly that for the old Hornby engine shed and goods shed (the ones with identical footprints and near identical parts!) Messaged him about George Dent’s article and how feasible would replacement windows be for that, and he is looking into it!

 

So, further squinting at, cutting of, searching for (stray pieces of) and glueing together short pieces of plasticard strip on hold, as I am sure he will achieve better results than I can using a 3D printer!

 

If (hopefully when) he makes them available on eBay for purchase I shall alert one and all to them, as I can confidently predict they will be cheaper than the etched brass versions currently available as a special order.

 

Meanwhile, having purchased some proper track cutters (the ones I was using turn out not to be what I thought they were!) I shall finish trimming track to correct lengths and hopefully get power feeds soldered on!

 

HOURS OF FUN!

Edited May 2, 2023 by SteveyDee68

[SteveyDee68]

Well, best laid plans…

 

Not cut any track, but I have been messing about re-spacing sleepers as has been suggested in various places. Seems that 7mm between each sleeper is the gap that looks best (seeing as the sleepers themselves are slightly undernourished and under length) so have managed to do several lengths of plain and curved track, using either a template printed off using PowerPoint or a length of thick plasticard strip for ends of sleepers on outer curves.

 

So far, so good… but the superglue I intended to use appears to have gone off, so nothing permanently fixed until I get some more.

 

Of course, that needs putting on hold whilst I find my bl**dy passport! 🤬

 

Annoying thing is that I usually have it in my work bag with my enhanced DBS certificate (in case any school I get sent to suddenly want proof of who I am) but have obviously pulled it out for something else and put it somewhere “safe”…

 

Too d*mned safe!! 🙄

 

HOURS OF FUN!

 

PS

Will get around to posting some pictures showing the little progress I’ve made with the layout.

 

PPS

I’ve decided to “upgrade” the ladders to the roof on the maintenance shed with caged ladders from Scale Model Scenery , together with some extractor fan cowls. West Hill Wagon Works and AnyScale Models both have various resin/3D printed machinery/accessories for the shed and so I find myself pondering whether those would be seen in a light maintenance shed or be in the larger works on site - any suggestions?

Edited May 2, 2023 by SteveyDee68

[SteveyDee68]

As threatened promised, a couple of pictures of ‘progress’ taken on my desk (away from the baseboard)

 

Firstly, the wider sleeper spacing trick … doesn’t look three bad, remembering that nothing is being held in place due to a current lack of superglue!!

 

 

There’s more than just those bits done, honest!!

 

Next, the Hornby depot on its new baseplate (which it will be affixed to in due course) 

 

 

I used plasticard L shaped strips to form an outer edge against which to position the side walls - will save me a bit of filling in of holes! Plus a larger area to glue the walls to the base with.

 

My original intention for the base plate was to allow the entire building to life off for when the far road was being used with rolling road cradles to run in locos… let’s just say that the penny eventually dropped that in order to strengthen the front edge the baseplate would run under the track so wouldn’t allow it to be lifted off! Doh! Revised plan now is to have a separate length of track outside the shed as a “running in” track, maybe disguised as an old kickback siding from the shed?

 

Taken out the fuel pumps and built the first maintenance platform from some chequer plate plasticard on strip risers - another two to do!

 

The next photo shows the view into the shed, with the upper windows blanked off with plasticard sheet. The track is set into the base to keep it level with the rest of the baseboard. Decided to forgo inspection pits … maybe … haven’t quite decided!!

 

I think I’ve reached my 10MB limit for photos on this post!!

[SteveyDee68]

So, the shed was planned to be hard up against the left hand backscene, so I decided to block up the rear exit with a plasticard wall. More strip and some rod used to mimic the internal mouldings in the shed - turned out a bit pointless (the rod) as the rounded mouldings it lined up with are hidden by the side pillars!

 

Here’s a view with the wall in place …

 

 

There are some horizontal rounded mouldings on the side pillars, which I have wondered about “joining” with plasticard rod when the building is nearer completion (tie bars?) but have also been considering scratch building an overhead gantry crane to service the tracks and enable items to be lifted from wagons/locos in the shed. Would one be there? Or would suchlike be more likely in the actual works building itself?

 

Of course, a crane would preclude tie bars… 🤔

 

With the roof in place, the side pillars can be seen to “join” with the overhead beams … mostly! There are a few annoying gaps but hopefully glue will help marry those parts together at an appropriate point.

 

Colourwise, I am thinking of a darkish blue on all the steelwork, with Scalescenes brick paper on the lower walls and whitewashed inner walls. Yet to decide whether to use a Scalescenes paper inside, as there is moulded details on the inner walls.

 

I’ll wait for 3D printed windows in due course, as well as access ladders and vents. For now, the whole lot needs putting back onto the baseboard to check for clearances!

 

HOURS OF FUN!

[TechnicArrow]

Coming in nicely now, clearly a well thought-out layout. I just wish I'd done the sleeper spacing trick on my current layout, bit late now!

 

Your back wall blends in very nicely too. Which probably means you won't like me for suggesting you replace it with a mirror to double the apparent length of your shed... which is a shame, because with the vertical, linear structure ot would be very easy to hide...

 

Considering the walls, I think for the inner walls a whitewashed brickwork or breeze blocks would look best, but you might need to sacrifice some of the smaller, nondescript details to achieve it with paper.

 

Looking forward to the windows, and of course seeing some locos on shed!

[SteveyDee68]

On 05/05/2023 at 13:57, TechnicArrow said:

Your back wall blends in very nicely too. Which probably means you won't like me for suggesting you replace it with a mirror to double the apparent length of your shed... which is a shame, because with the vertical, linear structure ot would be very easy to hide...

Well, that thought never occurred to me, despite following at least one layout that uses mirrors to great effect. However, I am quite pleased with how the rear wall turned out so will go with my original plan.

 

Meanwhile, have stumbled across an eBay seller doing a 3D print for an overhead crane for a very reasonable sum, and it happens to be the right width for the shed. Would need to modify the ends so that it has rollers/motors to enable it to move horizontally, but that might be easier than building it all from scratch.

 

However, visiting my sister for the Coronation weekend so all work stopped for now!

 

HOURS OF TV COVERAGE FUN!

[SteveyDee68]

On 30/04/2023 at 17:40, SteveyDee68 said:

Further to @simonmcp’s suggestion, I’ve been searching eBay for sellers of 3D printed windows and stumbled upon someone doing exactly that for the old Hornby engine shed and goods shed (the ones with identical footprints and near identical parts!) Messaged him about George Dent’s article and how feasible would replacement windows be for that, and he is looking into it!

And the good news is that I get to improve my window making skills after all.

 

Unfortunately, the eBay 3D printer guy reckoned the windows would take too long to print and would therefore work out too expensive to sell, so he’s not doing them. So back to square one with the replacement windows.

 

I may experiment with cutting out panes from a solid sheet and see if that is any easier than assembling frames from microstrip. In any case, it’s going to be a long and fiddly job!

 

HOURS OF FUN!

Edited July 16, 2023 by SteveyDee68

[SteveyDee68]

On 05/05/2023 at 13:57, TechnicArrow said:

Considering the walls, I think for the inner walls a whitewashed brickwork or breeze blocks would look best, but you might need to sacrifice some of the smaller, nondescript details to achieve it with paper.

I am thinking this is the way forward for the interior! Need to get the “Dremel” fired up on low speed to avoid melting anything!

 

Steve S

[James Hilton]

On 19/02/2023 at 13:51, SteveyDee68 said:

Have been reading (and re-reading) the book by James Hilton (of Planet Industrials fame) “Small Layout Design” and it has made me reconsider my current designs for layouts.

 

 

It doesn’t help that one of his plans is a better interpretation of High Peak Wharf than my own (Blackford Wharf) which is making me rethink that plan/layout (!)

 

However, his thoughts on layout design and particularly his own Pont-y-Dulais layout got me massively rethinking DRS Engineering to the point of starting over to try to use his ideas of scene blockers etc…

 

So here it is, slightly (ever so slightly) progressed as there is now cork covering the entire baseboard area. Paper cut outs of Scalescenes buildings together with indications of area coverage are helping me visualise the yard area…

I’m really pleased to read how people have enjoyed my book and taken some of the ideas to their own work in their own hand. This seems a great little project with a lot of opportunities for learning and enjoyment along the way. I notice you’ve been making steady progress, good luck. Don’t worry about traditional completion either… you’ll know when it has taught you all it can, and that’s the time to move on to the next thing.

[SteveyDee68]

On 02/05/2023 at 23:17, SteveyDee68 said:

With the roof in place, the side pillars can be seen to “join” with the overhead beams … mostly! There are a few annoying gaps but hopefully glue will help marry those parts together at an appropriate point.

Erm … what was I thinking, and why did nobody call me out on it?! Have literally just realised that fixing the roof to the walls with glue will effectively make doing any interior detail a RRPITA*

 

New idea is to create plasticard “welding plates” to go each side of the wall pillar at the join with the roof, so that the section attached to the roof slides down in between in order to hide the join.

 

The roof will then be able to be removed - carefully - probably with a lot of difficulty and many dubious words of Anglo Saxon parentage.

 

1 hour ago, James Hilton said:

Don’t worry about traditional completion either… you’ll know when it has taught you all it can, and that’s the time to move on to the next thing.

Your book has been, together with various books by Ian Rice amongst others, a real thought-provoker @James Hilton about the way I put together this micro layout; most recently, I’ve purchased sets of LED lights from IKEA to experiment with lighting it, and when “completed” it will get a “frame” around the front to further aid view blocks etc.

 

And you are so right about it being a test bed for techniques - I am still shying away from soldering but have to master that to get power to the rails to make this anything other than a static diorama; I am currently experimenting with the respaced sleepers trick; I will attempt inlaid track using a variety of different methods; ballasting will be a new experience; weathering different materials consistently - now there’s yet another challenge!

 

So it may never be “finished” as I may return to it to try different techniques; it is, however, extremely lightweight (thank you, foam board) and is small enough that it can easily be lifted off the shelf and down to a workable height… photos will follow in due course (when I’ve done some more shifting about/tidying up!)

 

Steve S

[SteveyDee68]

Crikey - is it really so long ago that I did anything at all with DRS Engineering?!

 

Actually, I purchased a second Hornby Diesel Maintenance Shed kit from eBay (paying slightly more than my original purchase but still way less than half the current RRP) and sent it to a local(ish) producer of lasercut building kits and parts (such as doors and windows) in the hopes that he might produce some lasercut replacement windows to upgrade the kit.

 

That was actually some months ago, and I’ve heard nothing, so …

 

Admiring the micro layouts at the York show at Easter, I took another look at my existing trackplan and decided that having a siding running behind the maintenance shed might be a tad tricky to shunt, given that the intention is to operate the layout from the front at eye height. Cue a rethink to move the depot building to the rear of the board.

 

Using the existing points makes for some unprototypical wiggles through the pointwork but it means the building is at a slight angle across the board, with a kickback siding into a loco shed to act as a view blocker to the exit/fiddle stick extension at the front.

 

Annoyingly, after heavily modifying a Scale Model Scenery low relief modern office block to turn it into a 3D building, I spotted that I had glued a set of windows on upside down! 🫢 The building fits well with the maintenance depot building, but now a scratch built version will be required (having b*gg*r*d up this version - far too well glued together to be able to rescue it).

 

What was it James said earlier about such micro layouts being opportunities to learn by making mistakes (or something similar)?

 

Called in at the LocoShed yesterday and purchased a PECO inspection pit kit. Yes, I know it isn’t really deep enough but there’s enough there to provide a long pit in the wagon maintenance shed and also in the loco shed siding - result!!

 

Looking forward to progressing the layout - the plan is to be able to take it over to my mate’s next time I visit (so a self imposed deadline!)

 

HOURS OF FUN!

Edited April 18 by SteveyDee68
Corrected typos

[SteveyDee68]

A few days later and I’m not seeing anything that offends me, so this track plan may be the final one.

 

What was to be a siding running into a shed (with a closed door across the tracks) has now transformed into a loco shed at the front right of the board, acting as a sight blocker for the exit to the fiddle stick. The original plan was to use a cut down version of the Scalescenes modern industrial unit as a maintenance shed, but now thinking that the Diesel loco shed would work better (and provide a different roof level to the Hornby maintenance shed or the Scalescenes Loco Works low relief building I am using at the rear). 
 

Wondering whether a vertical fuel storage tank might work on the other side of the “hole in the sky” to act as a view blocker - and could a pipe bridge run across the top edge of the “hole” from the shed to the tank?

 

Answers on a postcard or better yet, here! 
 

HOURS OF FUN!

 

 

Edited Saturday at 21:17 by SteveyDee68
Removed a redundant £

[bazzer42]

I'd say yes to the vertical tank and the pipe run. I have part of the gaugemaster fuelling set and plan to do something similar on a future build. Not enough room on my clay build but one day...