Burchill Edge Sidings - BR Blue Carriage/NPCCS Sidings, with a nod to Manchester Red Bank & Bristol Malago Vale

[Enterprisingwestern]

17 hours ago, 9C85 said:

I found cocktail sticks are great for applying tiny amounts of superglue to the small nameplates.

 

Aaaaargh!!

You got away with it this time, but using varnish, left for ten minutes to go tacky, will give you a bit more wiggle room and be easier to remove if there's any seepage.

Other safer methods are also available on RMWeb.

 

Mike.

[5BarVT]

A suggestion I had from Clive M was double sided tape.  Stick nameplate to tape, trim round edge, apply to loco.

If (when?!) wrong, a sharp point can lift it off. Repeat as required.

Haven't tried it yet but it appeals to my skill set.

Paul.

[9C85]

I masked off horizontal and vertical lines with decorators' tape to mark the bottom and left edges of the nameplate, then dipped the cocktail stick in the top of the superglue tube to get the smallest amount I could and dabbed probably less than half of that onto the rear of the plate. I managed to turn the plate the right way round and placed it as near as possible to its final location.  When happy, I pressed down on the plate with another cocktail stick to fix the plate in place. Probably beginner's luck, but that's more or less what was on the fixing instructions from Fox Transfers. 

[9C85]

On 19/07/2020 at 12:38, 9C85 said:

 

Little job #1 for today.... I have given each if the three girder bridges a coat of Halfords grey primer from a rattle can.  I am yet to decide on what colour and how I am going to paint them.

 

I had a look on Google Street View at lunchtime for some prototypical inspiration for painting my bridges.  I looked at Bath Road bridge just outside Bristol Temple Meads and Ranelagh bridge just outside Paddington.  To my surprise, they are both a light grey colour, but both are showing quite a bit of rust.

I found an old tin of Phoenix Precision Red Oxide in my box of bits from previous failed attempts at building a layout. 

I thought I would have a try at dry-brushing the oxide colour onto the grey primer of the bridge, testing on one side only at first 

 

I think it looks OK for what it is - the bridges are quick-fix scenic items and add more atmosphere than detail. They are made from MDF so have no rivet or flange detail.  The oxide does tone the primer down and I think it adds to the urban grime vibe of the layout.  Plus it's one of those jobs I can dip in and out of quite quickly, and spend as much or as little time as I want to on it. I am open to other suggestions for weathering these bridges.  Thanks. 

[9C85]

I have dipped back into this mini project and given the side of the bridge a coat of Humbrol Black Wash, then dragged a cotton bud down through it to try and create a rain-streaked effect.  I will try dry-brushing the rust effect on top of this to see how that looks.

Apologies for the poor photos but I decided to do the wash at 11pm while I was locking up.

[9C85]

 

I have done the rest of the bridge by giving it a covering of Humbrol Black Wash first, then dry brushing with the red oxide. A combination of 'dry' wet wipes (recycled from the bin) and cotton buds was used to wipe down the excess. Again, I am not sure how it really looks because the light in the garage is poor, but I think it looks better than the first side I did which, to me, is too dark. 

[37Oban]

Hi,

I wouldn't worry about the sides of the bridge being a little different.  All the sides of bridges, buildings and other structures, varies due to the prevailing weather conditions. The side facing the prevailing weather will be different to the lee side, sometimes quite noticeably too.  The same applies to rolling stock, especially on vehicles used on fixed circuits, such as parcels and newspaper stock.

 

Roja

[Gilbert]

8 hours ago, 37Oban said:

Hi,

I wouldn't worry about the sides of the bridge being a little different.  All the sides of bridges, buildings and other structures, varies due to the prevailing weather conditions. The side facing the prevailing weather will be different to the lee side, sometimes quite noticeably too.  The same applies to rolling stock, especially on vehicles used on fixed circuits, such as parcels and newspaper stock.

 

Roja

and within a day or two you won't notice anyway as you move on to other bits of the project....

[9C85]

 

Both central bridges now weathered up.

[03060]

Algae growth and damp will always be an issue on the side of a fixed object where the Sun doesn't reach. 

[9C85]

10 hours ago, 03060 said:

Algae growth and damp will always be an issue on the side of a fixed object where the Sun doesn't reach. 

I am beginning to get conscious of there being no vegetation on the layout, but I think I will wait until all the major scenic items are in place  before adding greenery.

[rob D2]

One thing you may want to consider,

My bridge ( identical to yours ), jarred with me becuase of the obvious slot and tab construction which I don’t think real bridges have !

 

i cut sections of the joining for wills  Vari girder Bridge , which is basically a plastic strip with rivets and used bits of that to cover the tabs. Looks a bit more “ metal “ now 

[9C85]

 

I felt like having another go with the airbrush this afternoon and thought I would Sleeper Grime the underframes of the passenger stock, which is all 'new' Bachmann stock. I was sufficiently happy with how it went that I felt  brave enough to have a go at starting to weather the Class 25. 

I actually ran out of paint during the coaches but put some thinners in the 'empty' pots, put the lids back on, and shook them up. A perfect mix resulted 

The one problem I didn't plan for was getting paint on the wheel treads of the loco. Sure enough, it didn't run. I remedied by applying thinners via a cotton bud to half a wheel at a time (I don't have a rolling road and I am not confident enough to dismantle the bogies of a loco).

Next job is to Roof Dirt the coaches and perhaps add patches of dirt/oil to the 25'side roof and axles.

Edited July 25, 2020 by 9C85
Typo

[rob D2]

Looks pretty good that !

just need some grease on buffers now 

[9C85]

I wanted to airbrush the roof dirt onto my coaches and, when I felt confident enough, have a go at the Class 25.

I did two GUVS, then picked up the loco.

 

I am quite pleased with the result.  I will try to add some oil stains, streaks and buffer grease to finish ...also, notice Odin waiting nervously in the top right of the photo  

[Squirrel Rail]

On 20/07/2020 at 14:47, 9C85 said:

I masked off horizontal and vertical lines with decorators' tape to mark the bottom and left edges of the nameplate, then dipped the cocktail stick in the top of the superglue tube to get the smallest amount I could and dabbed probably less than half of that onto the rear of the plate. I managed to turn the plate the right way round and placed it as near as possible to its final location.  When happy, I pressed down on the plate with another cocktail stick to fix the plate in place. Probably beginner's luck, but that's more or less what was on the fixing instructions from Fox Transfers. 

Hi - Just reading your thread and great seeing the layout coming to life. I find the easiest and safest way to attach plates is with PVA - I use Formula 560 canopy glue. Plates can be moved around whilst it sets, excess cleaned off with water or a cocktail stick when dry and if you want to remove the plates they come off with a little persuasion and no damage. look forward to seeing it develop Cheers Jerry

[9C85]

[9C85]

21 hours ago, 9C85 said:

I wanted to airbrush the roof dirt onto my coaches and, when I felt confident enough, have a go at the Class 25.

I did two GUVS, then picked up the loco.

 

I am quite pleased with the result.  I will try to add some oil stains, streaks and buffer grease to finish ...also, notice Odin waiting nervously in the top right of the photo  

 

 

Finished.  I need to stop and walk away from it before I do too much. 

Edited July 28, 2020 by 9C85

[9C85]

Latest video...

 

 

[9C85]

On 02/06/2020 at 21:07, 9C85 said:

Possibly.  I had a 31 but it was in Dutch livery.  I wish I had kept it now and had a go at painting it. But it looked nice as it was.  I have never really been 'into' 40s, but I suppose the layout is screaming  (or whistling? ) out for one. 

 

I have just bought a 40 off ebay 

[9C85]

I have just installed the first signal on my layout. 

 

It's a Traintech ground signal and it controls the exit of the fuel point road. It's a nice piece of kit - a bit fiddly for my massive hands and I had a bit of a job gluing the front and back sections together.  I was happy with my soldering after the break since tracklaying.

I reckon I need another 3 similar signals to cover movements into and out of the yard sidings. 

 

[9C85]

My temporary signalling control panel 

 

[9C85]

23 hours ago, 9C85 said:

I have just installed the first signal on my layout. 

 

It's a Traintech ground signal and it controls the exit of the fuel point road. It's a nice piece of kit - a bit fiddly for my massive hands and I had a bit of a job gluing the front and back sections together.  I was happy with my soldering after the break since tracklaying.

I reckon I need another 3 similar signals to cover movements into and out of the yard sidings. 

 

I wasn't quite happy with the light as I thought it didn't look quite right and had a few 'light leaks '.

So this evening I contacted traintech and asked for some advice.  I tried refitting the front plate  ( with the apertures for the lights) but my clumsy gluing resulted in me melting the plastic of the plate.  I contacted Traintech to ask if I could get some more plates, and within half an hour I got this response...

 

 

 Absolutely fantastic customer service.  I will get the remainder of my signals from Traintech 

Edited August 11, 2020 by 9C85
Typo

[Gilbert]

2 minutes ago, 9C85 said:

I wasn't quite happy with the light as I thought it didn't look quite right and had a few 'light leaks '.

So this evening I contacted traintech and asked for some advice.  I tried refitting the front plate  ( with the apertures for the lights) but my clumsy gluing resulted in me melting the plastic of the plate.  I contacted Traintech to ask if I could get some more plates, and within half an hour I got this response...

 Absolutely fantastic customer service.  I will get the remainder of my signalsfrom Traintech 

Great stuff - and what a contrast with some suppliers....across the whole hobby - I have little experience of signal suppliers but poor experience of the highest order from some....but also great help from others.

Chris

[9C85]

On 09/08/2020 at 22:34, 9C85 said:

 

I have just bought a 40 off ebay 

 

And there it was.... gone.

 

A brief visitor the layout today. I had to return it as the Railroad spec wheels really don't like my finescale bullhead track, especially the turnouts.  The layout centres around the idea of watching type 4 locos negotiating the switchbacks from the arrivals road to the fuelling point.  There's 4 switchbacks just for a light engine arrival -  more if there's ECS to drop off. I counted worst case from storage yard to fuel point requires a light loco to cross a turnout eleven times. 

It's a shame because the 40 had custom lights and an improved speaker, but it would have had to spend most of its time whistling away at the end of the fuel point headshunt... lesson learned.

The seller was helpful, if a little reluctant to accept the return.  I always check that returns are accepted for loco purchases, for precisely the reasons outlined above.  I am still relatively new to modelling with finescale track and DCC Sound. 

For now, I have a couple of cheap GUVs that will need fettling into grimy Newspapers stock. I need to take a break from buying and get back to building and shunting.