Briganton - Change of plans...

[The Black Hat]

Hi... some news on whats still to be coming over the next few weeks. 

Firstly, I have been working on the scenic board for the junction again over the last few days. The railings are in place for the depot entrace and more are also in place for the far side of the loading yard headshunt. This week I am looking to make a start on the building that will go around the side of this area and create the backscene. 

The depot area still needs a little bit of attention but not much. This is mainly fixing buildings down so that they are in place and stopping light bleed from them given the LEDs are fixed into them. Signage is also needed for the area and buildings but this can happen towards the end. 

Extra fittings are now being put in for all the signal cabling, trunking, dummy point motors and boxes on the side. A lot of this is just being put as if its under the track, or over the ballast from trunking on the side. 

Secondly, plans are being looked at for the next board which will see the start of the station and its over roof begin. Originally, I had designed the roof to be lifted out in sections - so that the people watching could look through and see the inner workings of the station. The downside to this was that in doing so it might weaken the over all roof as the cross struts would bear the weight of the roof sections lifted and slot into areas marked where the brackets ontop of the columns met. 

The plan now is for the roof structs to be fixed in place so that the roof in its entirety is more a fixed structure and then brings more structural strength. The areas where the tiles for the roof will slit into slots that line up along the entire roof length meaning they can be pushed along and thus moved so as much of the station roof is open as you would like. This might be slightly more tricky to open up, but if the slots work fine then they should give good viewing. Other areas of the roof would still show through clear glass on top. Cleaning track might also be an issue, but the idea is that these are worth sorting if it means that the station itself and its over roof is a lot stronger and a lot more durable for transport. 

More photos and news on this as it slowly progresses. Thanks all. 

[The Black Hat]

Hello, 

 

A few photographs here from bringing the camera down to a lower level and trying to find vantage points that will soon prove to be popular. 
 

 

144012 arrives into platform 2 with the L4 New North Eastern Railway tank 67803 sat at the far end of platform 1. 



37424 aka 558 sits on the depot. Someone needs to have a look at those numbers applied to the front... 
 

68014 makes an appearance in the north east away from its Chiltern duties. It will be possible for 68s to be seen on passenger workings as there is a loco hauled duty either way on what will be a Durham Coast and county circuit. This will be by DRS for Northern or by EWS for Regional Railways when running in an earlier period. 

 

71000 Duke of Gloucester sits on the headshunt in front of platform 1. With the engine facing the station its presumed that the engine will have arrived on a charter that is booked into platform 3 and then uncoupled before making its way here to meet a tanker that will be placed on the road seen on the right. That will allow the engine to stand and take on water before then moving off layout to turn on the triangle at Norton. 

In order to get more interest and variety its expected that another engine could also be in this area facing the other way so that the steam engines would swap over, similar to what some do at York. 



Finally, 66780 a GBRf celeb is seen rounding the curve towards the station. There is a slight gap in the boards due to some of the scenery that has been added drying into place. 

Hope they are of interest. 

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

Update: 

Over the weekend the next board for scenery has been moved in, allowing work to continue. However, this now means that a start will really be made on the station. The board has had platforms placed on it to check the gauging of the track and the length of the station. On platform 1, the Black A2 is standing with two coaches to check that a locomotive plus 6 coaches will fit into the platform. The HST is sitting on platform 2 roughly where an HST of 2+5 could end up. 

 

The other units are placed to roughly guess where some stock might end up given the time table. Attention is being paid to platform 5 in case there are units there which force 6 to be brought into use if you were to run two sprinters together, or put in something like a Voyager. 

 

 

This photo also gives a view of how the station is expected to look as you then move out onto the main junction. The effect of seeing track done in its minimalist form following BR rationalisation has been well covered (thought I would say that). There should be a great deal of activity across the junction and the prospect of using the station as a means to stack trains ready to leave for the watching public should mean that it too gets the attention it should deserve. 

What will be interesting now is how the roof and station comes together. I will likely be doing updates soon on how the parts for construction are prepared for use, so hope that is something people will look forward too. 
 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

Hello, 

 

Finally an update with photos as to how the station roof is progressing. Firstly, the spans across the roof have been painted some months ago, but are now having the struts fitted to link one span to another. This is seeing them painted first and then glued into position. The plastic card girders used are cut to length and then attached. I have been using some peco roof kits as a source of parts for the build. Peco roof spans are in place along the sides with larger Evergreen girders at the centre of the spans. 

 

 

To start this, the spans are glued in place as shown above. 

 

 

 

After this, an additional span is then clamped into place and the girders and spans glued into place. This involves a lot of measuring and filing as this all needs to be about 1mm tolerance for the whole roof project. It does not give me much room for error but in essence does make the whole project simpler. If the parts are all cut to size and are the same size overall then it should all be easier to fit together. 

 

 

 

Even as the spans start to take shape, these are quite far from complete. Darlington's roof is indeed a master stroke, but so too is the way in which it then repeats across the structure. It means that although I am trying to replicate the roof and its build, the obvious compromises that result from it being done in model form show that I need to try and use the same parts repeatedly so that the roof shows the uniform and standard look when completed. 

However, because this is a model and the station is likely to be the centre piece of the layout, I am also including many different concepts to display the roof and thus allow access and view the centre of the station. This makes the build quite complex as it needs to accommodate these changes to show case the model, while still trying to capture the magnificence of William Bells prototype construction. 

Hopefully, this is a start in that process, with much more to follow. Comments and feedback on the build are most welcome. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

As work continues on building the various spans to cross the roof, more detail and attention is being paid to some areas that have had more work done. This is seeing glazing being placed onto structures and then glued into position so that it can be worked out how parts will fit together across the whole structure. 

One of the areas looking most complete from this is part of the station roof front. These are the iconic fronts that normally are photographed together viewed at the south of the station. The first has been painted into the correct colours and then had its glasswork attached. 

 

 

 

The glasswork itself has all been cut from peco over-roof parts as these give the correct three pain look needed for the front. On the back, plastic card has been cut and glued into place as the structure behind the glasswork is quite deep. Behind this another cut frontage has been attached, meaning I will need to order more. This creates a better finish and tidies up the whole strucutre. Viewed from the back it gives an excellent representation of the prototype. 

More work is still needed on this. Panels need to be cut and attached for the woodwork that goes around the roof frontage. But overall the structure is nearing completion. 
 

 

 

Here above, the frontage is placed alongside a strut that shows how it will start to look. It will need to be raised to the height the canopy will sit at and it also needs the retaining wall next to it constructing. 
 

 

Meanwhile the main area of glasswork that will be seen and noticed first, will be that within the roof itself. These pannels will allow some viewing of the station below, but again this is limited. To solve this parts of the roof will be able to be lifted clear. Some may notice that there are extra roof bars under where the glasswork is placed. This is as per the prototype so needed building onto the roof parts. Also just seen is more glasswork down the side of the roof. Parts are needing to be cut so that the spars holding this glasswork in place is all done and attached. This should be part of what is being worked on next. 

Finally, more glasswork and struts are then placed onto the frame and make up the centre part of the roof. These again are all cut and adapted from peco parts as they come in packs that make getting all these parts easier. The glasswork particularly matches the prototype well. 

Hope that is all of interest. More soon. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

Following in the footsteps of William Bell. 

The North Eastern Railway (for me at least) was a fantastic organisation, that far too often is overlooked in terms of all the writing and interest for all those others down south. When you look at model articles, models made in the past, studies of the prototype, engines in preservation, books on preserved engines today, the company often is given casual reference or no mention at all. Sadly, that could be due to the way events have worked out. Scrapping of engines in the north, left very few North Eastern or even Eastern region machines left. Only 3 classes of Eastern region designs on the whole, including pre-grouping companies actually have more than one example of the class existing, never-mind steaming and operational.  These being A4, B1 and Y7. Thank god for NELPG as they managed to preserve some later NER designs that are truly both brilliant and gorgeous - as the NER was almost punished for its foresight in preserving older designs for future generations, meaning when the NRM was founded a lot more later NER designs were left out to even out the numbers of other grouping companies. 

I understand the need to look back at history objectively, that to learn from the past means you need to remain as impartial as you can, but the achievements of NER are far too often overlooked compared with other areas down south, lavished with praise, are lucky to have surviving examples parked up for years to slowly buy and restore. The LNWR also shares this fate for me as well, but NER in terms of efficiency of its freight system, standardisation in terms of parts for locomotive design and buildings, as well as pushing forwards with technology and innovation puts NER firmly near the front in terms of a leading railway company. 

However, one thing that thankfully remains in some areas of NER territory, and a legacy to its brilliance are the engineering beauties that welcomed passengers to the network. It's stations. The NER was unusual in that it had a permanent architect on its books, although perhaps not so surprising when you consider the size of the company or the geography it covered. The man who would occupy this role and plant upon the company a style and image that would last for generations (and will do for more to come) was William Bell. 

Bell was a superb organiser and thanks to the company structure Bell was able to be involved in the decision processes to run the company. Yet, his work saw a great deal of foresight and thanks to Victorian heavy engineering, built structures that would be a testament to design, durability but also style and elegance. Articles have been written about his talents and career, but for me the fact that there was so much standardisation, even across a range of buildings such as goods sheds, stations of various sizes – is another master stroke. One such article is here:

http://www.railwayarchitecture.org.uk/People/architects/William Bell/William Bell.htm 

Bell was appointed right at the time when there were also larger stations to be designed and built. In doing this Bell has clearly used similar drawings, plans, materials and suppliers and in doing so got much closer to a company image even across the much bigger stations, complete with over-roofs. This saw expansions and builds at station such as Darlington, Stockton and Hull, as well as the building of the station on my layout, Briganton that was supposedly done between 1890-91.

My station is very much based upon Darlington, which has always been station that I have loved because of its appearance but also the environment that the building itself creates. It’s a massive area, but one that you know has seen the passage of history and that what has been before is linked to what you see today. Photographs of steam in the bays can be compared to the units there now and at the various ends of platforms 1 and 4 respectively, the background of the station has seen everything from steam to Deltics, to HST, 91’s and now Azumas.

Briganton though, is off-set from the main ECML route. Although its designed for some express services to be calling, much of what will run with be units terminating at the end of their respected routes. It will still give a massive vista for the trains to all be seen in and around. I am looking at getting cameras that will then show the inside of the station to those watching the layout.

Meanwhile the station on the layout itself continues to grow. A recent issue has been around the need to find a bar that would go between the trusses. This was sourced last week with the use of piano wire instead of the plastic that was bought and had no strength. These have been cut to length and fixed in place before being painted. They look great and really add to the depth of the roof, finishing off the missing visual piece when viewed from below.



Currently they are placed resting on the platform as they are yet to be lifted and attached to the pillars and walls, but already a start of the station itself can be seen compared to the original. Also another tie bar running the length of the roof is yet to be placed.

 

 

The above photograph compares with the actual image of the station below. I believe that the model is quite close to the prototype, with the girders and roof structure taking shape.

However, when building the front of the station, I have noticed a minor discrepancy.

 

On Darlington the station front is built with there being three separate pains of glass in the windows. On the model that I am making it will have four, as seen with the strips that go down through the glasswork. This is because the parts made were using the Peco glasswork and cut to size. I thought they were fine for it but have found this out when checking later. However, the ribs on the plastic for the glass are too close to the prototype and thus are far better than being able to make something more accurate from scratch.

The photo above shows Darlington from the south, looking north on platform 1. 

Thankfully, the station built at Hull, did have three, so I am using the fact that Briganton was done with this in mind and thus similar. I may need to move the build date of Briganton closer to Hull so that my station follows Darlington and Stockton which are the same and then places itself before Hull which was rebuilt to Bells’s design following expansion.
 

 

In any case, the photo above of Hull shows the roof and windows, which mirror mine, although the layout for the glasswork matches Darlington’s. To be honest I would expect few, if any, to actually notice the difference when looking at the model – how many people do you meet that are intricately involved or knowledgeable about the glasswork on Darlington station? Knowing my luck, probably about 4 or 5 in its first morning on the circuit.

However, the station itself is progressing and there is still a lot more to do, especially when following in the footsteps of William Bell. Comments and feedback most welcome. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

Build on the station continues, with work having been done on the platforms. The build is coming together but in doing so creates a number of problems in how best to get it all to fit together. I am coming to the conclusion that the roof needs to be build in its entirely before then being fit together at the last moment. 

 

Recent progress has seen platforms 1 to 3 ballasted with track, but this is taking much longer to dry during the winter temperatures. 

 

 

The photos above show the ballast down with track clearance and final checks on the platforms to be done so that parts fit nicely together. The Peco platforms have been used totally to avoid warping of thing wood, or expansions when stored in the garage. 

 

 

This was then followed by a first test of the roof lifted onto some pillars and stonework that will form the base of the truss. However, when compared to the prototype the cross supports are too low and this would get difficult in the event of a derailment in the station when the roof is fully fixed. So, the cross supports have been cut (again!) and then raised, to give better clearance and get them where they are supposed to be. 

 

There will be more photos soon on more of this build. Hope thats of interest. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

That station roof and the view from within the station  are superb.

[The Black Hat]

Meanwhile, as work continues on the layout downstairs, other developments have seen me working on some of the buildings. The main station building still takes the lead, although with this work on going, its now a case of seeing other kits being done in coming weeks. That way, when its better to work on the layout the buildings will be ready to put in place. 

The clocktower, which will be a focal point of the front of the layout is coming together nicely. The extra parts ordered from York have arrived and been painted. It means the middle part has been added and is complete, while the top where the clockface will show has been done but still needs some details. I am looking into ordering the roof as well as I think doing so will protect the overall structural appearance as lighter-weight plasti-card is probably going to be too thin for lighting and too prone to damage. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am looking forward to seeing the station in place as the tower added to the plastic kit does give it all a very imposing, if flamboyant approach for the station overall. In the final photograph only half the station building is showing, with another wing that is to be added to the main structure on the right so it will have a uniform appearance. 

 

More photos soon. 

 

Feedback is always welcome. 

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

17 hours ago, Powerhaul 70 Pey said:

That station roof and the view from within the station  are superb.

The way the station is going to be built means that viewing through the whole building might get quite tricky. While I do have some plans to ease that, theres another idea that I have which might be very interesting, if I can get the right parts to get all that to work. 

[The Black Hat]

Hello all, 

A brief written update for the progress of the layout, hampered by the darker nights, colder working area where the layout is being built and the fact that my fleet on World of Warships is doing quite well and active in the Clan Battle season! 

Another building has been purchased for the town scene, which is likely to be adapted for the local authority, as it should stand out like a sore thumb compared to others around it. I am looking forward to the town scene being done, but this is being planned while the station is being done. 

 

The station is still the main focus with the roof starting to finally come together. There has been more work done in making the cross struts and girders. Now, a span of the station roof has more or less being constructed and how the glasing is being added. The station wall has seen the stones placed to hold the trusses as they come across. That means that holes for lights into the roof of the station can be drilled into the walls and the lights started to be fixed to the roof structure. I am aiming for this to happen this weekend. 

With more of the struts of the roof having been done it means that another span is more or less there, but given how plans are there for the roof to be adapted to get better viewing, some of these need to be built ready for the third span so that those in the centre can be the correct size. The sizes differ because two of the spans of the roof that are made will need to sit alongside each other but that will make the girders different lengths. It will all be worth while when the plan is to be able to lift out sections of the centre span to let people look into the station. 

 

As, this is all being done the attention is now looking towards the rest of the station on the next board and I am looking to change one building so that is is more in keeping with the station that is being built. So as this is sourced it will then need to be adapted so that the brickwork can be added to hold the roof that will be built onto it. The station buildings may also have various extra's placed into or under them, but again I am working on which parts might be used for these 'extras', which will add to the experience of watching the layout when its in operation. 

The building of the station, with various parts made permament has also forced a need to think of how to maintain the track and as a result I am looking at getting a track cleaning unit as they will be able to be used on the rail head. 

More soon, hopefully with more photos.... 

 

 

[The Black Hat]

As promised, a photo of the build underway. The roof has had one span made in its full length for the roof of the station on this board. There is still some extra parts to be fitted to the boarding for the windows down the side, but the glasswork has been done on the roof. The girders along the roof length will be made in order to then take the cover on the top. The wire has also been added along most of the length under the roof as well. Overall the structure does look great and looking down the length of the platform does really start to look like the prototype but I shall need to get more photos of this. 
 

 

The next issue will be the wiring that is added, with the lights needing to be put onto girders and then the wiring thread through the struts and then ready to be pushed through the wall. I have tested two lights which were fixed into place but these then failed. Quickly they were removed before then having had another put in place after testing. It will then need this extending all the way down the span so that the roof has lights like the real thing. This is another reason why this span will be permanently fixed into place as it will have electrics as a key part of its features and use. Yet, this will be a tricky and complex part of the build mainly owing to the number of lights that need to be tested. 

 

Will give more updates as this progresses. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[GWRPhil]

On 17/01/2022 at 11:25, The Black Hat said:

As promised, a photo of the build underway. The roof has had one span made in its full length for the roof of the station on this board. There is still some extra parts to be fitted to the boarding for the windows down the side, but the glasswork has been done on the roof. The girders along the roof length will be made in order to then take the cover on the top. The wire has also been added along most of the length under the roof as well. Overall the structure does look great and looking down the length of the platform does really start to look like the prototype but I shall need to get more photos of this. 

 

The next issue will be the wiring that is added, with the lights needing to be put onto girders and then the wiring thread through the struts and then ready to be pushed through the wall. I have tested two lights which were fixed into place but these then failed. Quickly they were removed before then having had another put in place after testing. It will then need this extending all the way down the span so that the roof has lights like the real thing. This is another reason why this span will be permanently fixed into place as it will have electrics as a key part of its features and use. Yet, this will be a tricky and complex part of the build mainly owing to the number of lights that need to be tested. 

 

Will give more updates as this progresses. 

That a really great looking canopy. 

[The Black Hat]

12 hours ago, GWRPhil said:

That a really great looking canopy. 

Thanks very much! Thats just one third of the canopy for the station. The wires for the one above got added last night and threaded and taped into position. Started building on the next one as well as planning for the centre. The problem will be that when the tiles go on for the roof it will start to block the view of the interior so I am hoping to build the canopy with areas of the middle section that can be lifted out so you can see through. It does make it more of a complex build but I think the rewards will be much better. 

[The Black Hat]

On 18/01/2022 at 21:13, GWRPhil said:

That a really great looking canopy. 

 

There has been more work done on the canopy of the station, as the build for the area continues. The span over the southern end of what will be platforms 1 and 2 is the first one being done and then giving me a process for the rest of the build. Areas of frame have been done meaning that there can start to be a process of piecing together a second span that will go over platforms 5 and 6. Those in the centre road will be slightly more bespoke as it means that the roof can then be lifted out. At least that is the hope. 

 

The first area that had an area of roof applied fully was one span done for the centre (shown above). This was a template so that if things went wrong it would not wreck the larger one. Sadly, things did. In the process of the build the slaters plasticard tiling and boards are thin, despite the spray paint applied. The danger would be that with lights added the station would light up with light bleed. Given some wet and dry thin sandpaper was lying around the idea, was to try some of this. However, the PVA and glue used never really stuck meaning that even after 2 days it could be pulled apart. So, it was back to plan A and my original idea of using... tin foil, as the sandpaper was used as it was evening and I had no foil. 

 

The foil was much easier to use and could be cut into shape. Measurements were taken from the tiling that was due to be placed on the roof. Then glued into place. The superglue used worked very well, even more so given it £1 stuff from poundland and you get several little bottles that I am going through at quite a rate! 

 

 

One the tiling was fixed the excess was simply cut off. This gave a decent finish that was then completed by adding the 'wooden board' plasticard that goes underneath. 

 

 

 

Work over the next pieces then saw more of the roof being applied and held into place. Section after section have been added so that now there are several areas stuff to the roof. It will still need cutting so that it matches the exact size needed, as this has already been noticed to be an issue in placing the roof into its end position and then fixing all the extra parts into place. 

 

More news on all of that soon. Hope its of interest. 

David 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[GWRPhil]

5 hours ago, The Black Hat said:

 

There has been more work done on the canopy of the station, as the build for the area continues. The span over the southern end of what will be platforms 1 and 2 is the first one being done and then giving me a process for the rest of the build. Areas of frame have been done meaning that there can start to be a process of piecing together a second span that will go over platforms 5 and 6. Those in the centre road will be slightly more bespoke as it means that the roof can then be lifted out. At least that is the hope. 

 

 

The first area that had an area of roof applied fully was one span done for the centre (shown above). This was a template so that if things went wrong it would not wreck the larger one. Sadly, things did. In the process of the build the slaters plasticard tiling and boards are thin, despite the spray paint applied. The danger would be that with lights added the station would light up with light bleed. Given some wet and dry thin sandpaper was lying around the idea, was to try some of this. However, the PVA and glue used never really stuck meaning that even after 2 days it could be pulled apart. So, it was back to plan A and my original idea of using... tin foil, as the sandpaper was used as it was evening and I had no foil. 

 

The foil was much easier to use and could be cut into shape. Measurements were taken from the tiling that was due to be placed on the roof. Then glued into place. The superglue used worked very well, even more so given it £1 stuff from poundland and you get several little bottles that I am going through at quite a rate! 

 

 

One the tiling was fixed the excess was simply cut off. This gave a decent finish that was then completed by adding the 'wooden board' plasticard that goes underneath. 

 

 

Work over the next pieces then saw more of the roof being applied and held into place. Section after section have been added so that now there are several areas stuff to the roof. It will still need cutting so that it matches the exact size needed, as this has already been noticed to be an issue in placing the roof into its end position and then fixing all the extra parts into place. 

More news on all of that soon. Hope its of interest. 

David 

 

Looking really great. That’s going to be an epic canopy once completed. 

[The Black Hat]

Hello all, 

Update with the station canopy. One span is more or less completed. There have been parts stuck more together as the plastic has slightly warped from when its been attached. Cue lots more glue, clamps and fingers being stuck together. The photo below shows the roof up against the station wall and thus needs clamping more to make it true. This has been done so will try and get an updated photo. Some of it may need to be sanded away to bring the roof in line with the wall, probably using my Dremel which has been a great bit of kit. 

 

 

However, when looking at the station when lifted into position on the next photo I just knew something was not right. After looking over and over at the roof and liking that it was starting to look like the real thing - I noticed that compared with the engine at the front, the canopy overall was too low. I did think that this would be enough to leave it as it was, that this station could just be slightly lower. The main reason for justifying this was the wires from the light fitted into the roof were thought to be too short. Thus, with the lower station they could be taken through the station wall, to the baseboard underneath and wired into the electrics for power. However, measuring again found that the run from the wires from where they would join the wall was longer than expected. This was partly due to avoiding looping wires around the spans and instead threading them through the struts, again thanks to the dremel.

 

So, with that there was actually little wrong with attempting to raise the station roof higher to what it should be. Cue the next problem - how high should it be and which pillars would be used. After messaging a question to a regional Facebook group (The North Rail Scene) an answer came back with the right dimensions, taken from a drawing used for the possible refurb of Darlington in its forthcoming modernisation. The photo with that information is shown below. I replied being very grateful for the information. This saw the current pillars being roughly 1.5cm too low. 

 

 

Another part of this research raised the fact that my initial drawings used from the measuring of the station did not look much out of place. The shape and pattern of the roof span that was ordered and cut from York Model Works really looks good and true to the one done in the more accurate drawing. 

The next problem was sourcing pillars that looked like the prototype and this has started me looking at the direction of getting me my own 3d printer. Yet, the drawback to this is that I could then buy the kit and then have the layout done. At which point the outlay might not justify itself if not used continually. Contacting York Model Works again saw that the 00 gauge pillars were too short, but that instead the 0 gauge might be possible to cut it down to size that can be used, given the cap and pillar come in two separate parts. This would mean they can be the right size in height but then might be too broad. Thankfully, they are sending a sample - so that's excellent customer service. 

 

 

The photo above shows the roof resting more or less in place. The pillars that were to be used from the peco roofs are being used. The roof overall is sitting lower but this shows that even when the middle section is lifted clear (if that is possible to be build but likely) that you still would not be able to see through much. The advantage of raising the roof will give better views through the station for those watching. 

Work is continuing on a number of spans to be build for the next span on the far side. This can be progressed as then the canopy will come together ready for the pillars to then take the roof when it fits into place. 

Hope its of interest. 
 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

Meanwhile, work continues on things other than building the layout. With the probability of a class 50 being done for me ever on the increase - I noticed that the one I had done to be a GBRf 50 needed repairs to its louvers. A bodyshell was purchased as it was the only way to get parts, but instead donated itself to be the next engine done for a repaint instead and the GBRf 50 will be obtained when a new one is done. 

 

As a result, the Fragonset team have had another engine join the group operating on the layout (although the history tweaked for this is that Fragonset was bought by the New North Eastern railway company upon its collapse...). 

 

 

 

It still needs some finishing touches, such as hazard flashes and cantrail stripe... but overall is coming together. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

More of an update again;

 

Work has been carrying on lately, with the station roof still being done. Spans will come together and be joined up ready for the new pillars which are now on order. 

Attention has turned to the main station area and how best to go about viewing inside given the roof will cover a great deal of the area. I am planning to put cameras into the station buildings that will then view the areas of interest. To source the right kit I have bought a webcam and tested it with one design. The test, though crude, still gave good views when seen at home. Webcams also gave good frame per second and allow connections via USB so the cabling for them should be fairly easy. I will be needing software or a means to switch between the various camera inputs. It also will allow the feed from cameras to be put onto a screen that will fix onto the backboard so that viewers watching the layout also get to see easily into the station. 

Plans are to also focus on some minor detail work on the junction and depot end, before then being able to remove these boards for storage and focus on the full station area. 

[The Black Hat]

Another update again. This time more work done on the area around the loading area. The plan was for there to be a warehouse that was featured in this part of the layout. Large, so it warranted rail traffic to the site and then onward movement by road. With a kit arriving here, the building has been built and is placed here on a test siting. It will feature a number of kits from the Walthers and Pikestuff ranges that have been adapted (butchered) into making the whole complex. 

 

What seen here is one half of the area. The rest of it will be seen on the next board which is where the two inner tracks on the left lead to. This will include a run round loop beyond the loading area shed which is on the right above the track. 

This is the view of the building that creates the back scene. There is some slight fettling work to be done to level the boards. The Wagons in the front of the picture are there from having been shunted through the area for loading / unloading. It does mean that the main part of the building will be hidden from some angles from the front but that is because of the boards and back scenes needed to fix the whole layout together so is being seen as just being necessary. 

 

 

Hope those are of interest. More soon as work on the station continues. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

While looking at the area of the layout featuring the loading area there was a chance to grab a photo or two of other areas that were nearby or being worked on. 

 

 

Here a photograph of the shed area. Its likely that this will often be used by 'the New North Eastern Railway Company', which will be my fictitious railtour company running an awful lot of new build steam. To service this, former Fragonset engines were bought en masse to help run the operation, alongside other personal ones in the fleet such as 47833, 47535 and 31470, which is also fictitious too carrying BR Large Logo livery.   

 

 

As the new build engines are mentioned, two here of the fleet featuring 60541 Thunderchild with 64991 which has been done out in lined BR livery. The engine was chosen for this as it was done in LNER livery so ended up being non-standard given my fleet is done in BR liveries either real or not, so it leant itself to a conversion. Behind the engines is the start of the NNER Directors set - done out in British Racing Green and white livery, featuring a brake coach, Pullman with kitchen, one with a bar and a observation saloon. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by The Black Hat

[The Black Hat]

o all, 

An update on the layout again. The boards for the main junction have both been put into storage in the garage. That has allowed the one with the platforms being worked on and the main station board to both be brought out and put alongside each other for work to be started on the station proper. 

With one board having had its platforms placed into position, the other now has its put on so that the station can be measured and plans made for how the structure will be built visually seen for the first time. Some of the pillars have arrived from York model works and these are being drilled through so that they will be able to take the wiring needed for the station lights. These have been ordered as 0 gauge as they were the correct size and then had some height taken off the main column to match the height needed for the station. Its a task that needs a little patience to drill the columns as its being done using a Dremel by hand and line of sight. 

Photos show the station area coming together: 
 

 

As ever, I couldnt resist placing a few locomotives and coaches on to start to see what the station will look like when trains are in. Given where the building is in relation to the platform, the main services will all call at one end of the station, meaning a run to the north end of the trains heading that direction on platform 4 (seen with the 37 in place) and where the platforms get wider for southbound which is after the first coach on the HST. 
 

 

With the station building put onto the layout you can start to get an idea of the station approach. In fact the station needs to be onto the platform placed behind it so will stand higher than shown in the photo. This has created a problem in that the clock tower, based on Darlington will actually stand too high for the crate idea for transport. It will now see the town boards used to crate up to get around this problem - although this might need some protection made for transport. 

 

There is also to be another building on the far side for passengers accessing the station on the other side of the mainline. This has been purchased using a similar Faller kit to match the main building. The station clock tower has been added to the kit being a custom and scratch built plan so model one similar to the approach at Darlington's Victoria Road entrance. 

 

 

Here you start to get a look at the scale of the sets that will use Briganton as a station. HST's I think could be about 2+8, being some of the longest sets to take up the full platform space available. Other sets can be Voyagers, DRS / Regional Railways loco haulage and the regular units that will call here. The size and scale of the station will also demonstrate the need for cameras in the buildings which then allow operators and the public to view trains under the roof. 

 

 

In this view your starting to see the roof structures being tested for measuring and seeing how much is left to do. A Northern 144 has been placed showing how units will look in the station having arrived and waiting to head back to their next service. The fact that the timetable for the layout was done at the start of the build, allowed for most of the regular workings to be accommodated in the design, with a few alterations to the build only really effecting the likes of things like charters which will be the novelty trains anyway. 

 

 

Speaking of the novelty trains, the New North Eastern Railway Directors set is sat in platform 6. The signals protecting the platform are just off the photo. This has shown that this set, when in use will need to propel back into the station if the observation saloon is to face the platform and if engines are to be swapped, as in moving the signals together on platforms 5 and 6 there is not enough room to top and tail this set in and shunt release the engine. So, it will either have to use platform 1, propel back into 5 or 6 or use rule book instructions for starting a train past a signal, although that will technically foul the main junction. To be honest I can see propelling being the easier option, but this also leads me on to uncoupling and building them into the work currently underway. So more on that and other builds soon. 

Hope its of interest. Comments and feedback are most welcome. 

 

[The Black Hat]

Hello all, 

 

A further update on how things with this build are progressing. Over the last few weeks I have been busy on making many of the parts ordered for station build fit together in a way that will allow the station to be built up. Happily, that day has arrived, although there will be much more of what has happened to continue. 

In order for the columns to be ready to take the trainshed, they need to be first cut to size. The ones ordered needed to be 0 gauge to get the height. These then were cut down to be the same size as measured for the prototype. The good news is that these actually fit perfectly the right size overall once cut. They then need to be drilled through - no easy feat in of itsself, before then having a tube attached to the bottom that will then allow the column to be fixed through the platform and baseboard to be held in place. This too can allow the wiring from the lights to be pushed through meaning that they can be connected to the board later. 

The green brackets have also been painted and drilled on the joint to accept a metal rod that was cut from a paperclip! That being the perfect size when noticed sorting the stationary at work. 
The bulbs for the lights are then held on the bracket, which then has the wiring wrapt around the bracket and then down through the tube before then being stuck to a bar that goes across the top and joins the brackets together. With the columns sent to the end of the wire they are lowered into place before the brackets are then fixed in by pushing down the wiring. Finally the bar is added at the top. 

You then have the columns, in place and set as below. 

 

The bad news is that this is now past the point of no return. Should bulbs break or wiring to them fail, then they will be highly unlikely to be able to be replaced as it means opening up the whole station. The good news is that they are quite robust so should be ok once its all in. 

 

With the columns in place they are then clamped onto the roof. This then has them glued into position - even more past point of no return. The roof is now attached to the columns and seen for the first time resting in place. 

 

Finally, a photo of the roof being fixed down. The columns are being attached while the glue is being used as a weight to hold it all together. 

More news and updates soon as the station starts to be built up. Hopefully progress should be good. 

I was hoping to have the layout into exhibitions at Shildon in October, but having contacted organisers in advance they can not confirm its attendance, which is disappointing. I will see what can be done or if the layout can feature elsewhere - but for now it needs building so I am working on that. 

[The Black Hat]

Hello all, 

More updates on the layout. The magnets have been placed under the trackwork at the north ends of platforms 1, 2 and 3. This is because here the railtours needing to change engines or be shunted to platforms will be pathed and thus have engines needing to be removed. 



Here the magnets for the Kaydee couplings are placed under the boards. 

 

Testing underway for where the engines will be placed on the layout. One of the newer models to arrive and be repainted sees 5972 Olton Hall being used for testing after being worked on. 

 

 

The VGA wagon is used for ease just to test the coupling system in use. 

 

With these in place it has been time to then put down the platforms and ballast the trackwork. This has all been done, for platforms 1, 2 and 3 on the next board, meaning that slowly one wing of the station is heading towards completion. 

More on all that soon. 

[The Black Hat]

Some more photos of the work being done. The station over roof continues to expand. Actually the frames for most of it are done. The central span on the board with the platforms and no building is left to do, but I am hoping to build this in stages so that parts can be lifted clear. 

 

This shows the extenstion of the roof to cover the ends of platforms 1 and 2. The building shown is another new kit that has been painted and built to match the rest of the station that will be on the other side. 

 

Here is a rather crude but nonetheless effective way of adding the dirt to the walls. Matt black paint is added via cotton bud and then rubbed on to weather and darken the station walls. These are then glued to the wood, which will then form a part of the station retaining walls for the roof. 

Additional pillars and brackets have arrived and these are painted. Hopefully this weekend should see more of the station roof going up and into position on the main station building board.