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

[9C85]

Hippo toys?... Possibly? I got a couple from eBay.  The one I am working on was from a supplier in Colwyn Bay.

I think I am going to get another two, including a double-width one, to cover up the access to/from the fiddle yard.  I  will have some ground signals in that area, so the low angle views should be 'atmospheric'.

Really nice bit of kit. Hardly needed gluing together as the laser cutting is so precise. 

[saxokid]

1 hour ago, 9C85 said:

I should clarify that the polyfilla is only used on the corner transition between the top of the ramp  (which is sandpaper) and the deck of the girder bridge, which is  laser-cut MDF.

I gave it another layer of filler and some sanding this morning. 

It currently looks like a bit of poorly laid concrete, which was not intentional, but I will settle for it.

I will try to blend the three surfaces together a bit better at the weathering stage

It looks prity good as rough road surface to me,ive done same road on my DRS depot...

[9C85]

I have just had my first experience with Slater's embossed Plasticard. I have made a start on the retaining wall for the access road down from the bridge to the yard 

I used 2mm thick plain plasticard for the base, then clad it with Flemish Bond brickwork to tie in with the arched retaining wall on the opposite side of the tracks.

I had to join three pieces together for the base and I am quite happy with how I have kept the slope constant and parallel to the road. 

I need to add coping stones and weather it. I have found a couple of excellent videos on YouTube covering the latter.

I hadn't expected the embossed Plasticard to be so 'thin', but I suppose it is intended as a cladding rather than a construction medium. Luckily I had some sheets of thicker plasticard from my Kadee plastic surgery exploits.

I was also surprised to find that Slater's is based just 'over the hill ' from me in Matlock. 

Edited May 12, 2020 by 9C85
Added last paragraph

[9C85]

I have now 'clad' the timber abutment for the central section bridges.

I think I am going to get a double width bridge to go alongside the one in the picture.

Not sure if I want another girder bridge or a bowstring one (a la Bristol Bath Road).

I have turned the wall around for the photos.  The clad side will be facing the track.  I may just paint the outer side or clad it if I am feeling extravagant 

Made some good progress in a new discipline (for me) today. Looking forward to having a go at weathering it.

[9C85]

Some more advice requested... as I have mentioned previously, I have found some excellent tutorial videos on weathering Slater's embossed Plasticard using Revell enamel paints (see the YouTube channel of Galgorm Hall).

The method involves painting a base coat and letting it dry, then applying a darker coat, but immediately removing some of it (and the base coat) with a paper towel before the second coat dries.

Then a dark wash is applied and removed in a similar way to create the mortar course weathering. 

The vast majority of my retaining wall is sections of plaster cast moulding, which was supplied pre-painted as shown in the photo. 

 

My question is whether I can use the weathering method described above on plaster as well as plasticard, or can anyone recommend another method?

I am looking for a pretty grimy, urban/industrial look.

Thanks again in advance.

 

[ColinK]

There are lots of ways of painting brick.  I paint plastic the opposite way,

 

1.  paint it all brick colour and let it dry.

2.  pick out individual bricks in very slightly different shades of brick (a dash of white, black, dark green and red added individually to the brick paint). Let it dry.

3. Apply a very thin wash of mortar colour which should run into the mortar courses and quickly wipe it off the bricks before it dries (easier with enamels).  Let it dry.

4. A quick waft of weathering from an airbrush.

 

It works for me, but there are plenty of other methods.  Pick the one you find most comfortable.

[9C85]

1 hour ago, ColinK said:

There are lots of ways of painting brick.  I paint plastic the opposite way,

 

1.  paint it all brick colour and let it dry.

2.  pick out individual bricks in very slightly different shades of brick (a dash of white, black, dark green and red added individually to the brick paint). Let it dry.

3. Apply a very thin wash of mortar colour which should run into the mortar courses and quickly wipe it off the bricks before it dries (easier with enamels).  Let it dry.

4. A quick waft of weathering from an airbrush.

 

It works for me, but there are plenty of other methods.  Pick the one you find most comfortable.

Thanks for that.

 

I am more concerned about the material i am going to be weathering in terms of how it absorbs and reacts to the moisture of the paint, and whether it can be lifted off after application. 

All of the plaster wall sections are already in place on the layout, so I can't really experiment .

[9C85]

Only a little bit of progress over the past few days.  I have filled in some gaps between the plastercast panels of the arched retaining wall and painted over the worst of the white joins with some bauxite railmatch paint i have had for years.  I should get the 'proper' paint in a day or so. Then, it will be time for my first dabble into the art of weathering. 

I have had a nice couple of evenings just shunting stock around and trying to find reasons for chopping and changing the order of the parcels stock. 

Just a couple of photos to keep the mood going 

 

[lezz01]

Hi.

You can paint the all morta colour first and wipe it of then paint the bricks or you can paint the bricks first and then "grout" it all with Das or simular air dried clay. Use pea sized balls and rub it into the brickwork with wet fingers and lots of water then wipe it off with a fine sponge while it's still wet. I like this method but you really have to do it flat and it's best to do it before you assemble things, but then you can say the same about dry brushing. Once that's all done if the morta colour is too white you can use either a weak wash of dark/light earth or use a transparent wood stain as a wash to tone it all down. 

Regards Lez.

Edited May 14, 2020 by lezz01

[Enterprisingwestern]

11 hours ago, 9C85 said:

I have had a nice couple of evenings just shunting stock around and trying to find reasons for chopping and changing the order of the parcels stock. 

 

To us outsiders, there never seemed a particular reason for shunting stock around, so go with whatever takes your fancy, at the end of the day rule 1 applies anyway!

If you could find the Red Bank cyclical diagrams, or a coach marshalling document if they existed for parcels stock, then that might give you an insight and reason?

 

Mike.

 

Mike.

[9C85]

4 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

To us outsiders, there never seemed a particular reason for shunting stock around, so go with whatever takes your fancy, at the end of the day rule 1 applies anyway!

If you could find the Red Bank cyclical diagrams, or a coach marshalling document if they existed for parcels stock, then that might give you an insight and reason?

 

Mike.

 

Mike.

Thank Mike

The scenario I have created at the moment is that the 6 coach parcels train will get split at somewhere like Leeds.  The two 'Express Parcels ' bogie vans need to run together, and the two CCTs plus the 50ft BG will form a mini train, serving the Calder (?) Valley.  The CCTs will be detached and shunted at separate stations en route so the BG needs to be 'behind' them in the train, as it will carry the guard. An added complication is the fact that the 50ft BG doesn't like running next to the other gangwayed stock, due to its own oversize gangway, so it has to go either on the end of the train, or next to the Express Parcels GUV.

All good fun.

Edited May 15, 2020 by 9C85
Typos

[rob D2]

TBh, in those days there were so many short and long versions of parcels trains you can get away with chopping and changing a lot.

 

It was only past about 95 it seems everything became fixed rakes with “ railnet “

[saxokid]

Nice to see class 08 at work shunting stock about 9c85...

[9C85]

47 minutes ago, saxokid said:

Nice to see class 08 at work shunting stock about 9c85...

Yes.  I used to see it quite a lot at Cardiff and remember 08 900 and its brakevan being busy at Bristol Temple Meads when I went there.

[saxokid]

3 minutes ago, 9C85 said:

Yes.  I used to see it quite a lot at Cardiff and remember 08 900 and its brakevan being busy at Bristol Temple Meads when I went there.

Very similar to my train spotting days at Stanlow refinery were you would see 08 and tatty brake van on shunting dutys...

Good old days...

[9C85]

3 hours ago, saxokid said:

Nice to see class 08 at work shunting stock about 9c85...

 

I have created a YouTube account to which I may upload a few videos of some shunting moves.

They will be simple stuff just off my phone. 

It's a shame I am off work as I would have access to top notch video editing software.

Can anyone recommend a free, simple video editing package?

Thanks

[9C85]

10 hours ago, saxokid said:

Nice to see class 08 at work shunting stock about 9c85...

This post must have jinxed things. I went to the garage for a quick shunting session tonight and the 08 was not happy at all.

It would run approx a loco length and just stop. I suspected the track cleanliness so went at that with a track rubber, but the 47 was fine on the same sections ( I realise it has more pickups) I also cleaned the loco wheels with Trackmagic but there was little improvement.  I decided to 'take a look inside' the loco - not that I would know what I was looking for, but something obvious like a loose wire or dirt would be something even I could spot.

I got to the point of having removed every little screw on the underside of the chassis and still being unable to get the body off. It did look like I could have prised it off with a small screwdriver, but I have a habit of 'fixing things beyond repair ' and when I unintentionally removed the 'secret compartment cover' on the bonnet of the loco, that's when I decided to just put the thing back together. 

The weird thing is that, when the loco was reassembled, it ran perfectly. I gave it a few blasts up and down the longest section of track on the layout and then had a shunt of the parcels stock.  All was good. All I had effectively done was to unscrew and refit about half a dozen screws.

I did notice some moisture on the chassis side of the NEM coupler pockets when I removed them.  I have been spraying a tiny amount of GT85 (via the straw on the can) onto the Kadees to keep them lubricated , so I wonder if some had got inside the body and was causing electrical problems? Perhaps removing the screws had drained it off?  it really wasn't that much liquid. 

Fingers crossed the 08 is OK now.

Edited May 15, 2020 by 9C85
Typos

[saxokid]

3 hours ago, 9C85 said:

This post must have jinxed things. I went to the garage for a quick shunting session tonight and the 08 was not happy at all.

It would run approx a loco length and just stop. I suspected the track cleanliness so went at that with a track rubber, but the 47 was fine on the same sections ( I realise it has more pickups) I also cleaned the loco wheels with Trackmagic but there was little improvement.  I decided to 'take a look inside' the loco - not that I would know what I was looking for, but something obvious like a loose wire or dirt would be something even I could spot.

I got to the point of having removed every little screw on the underside of the chassis and still being unable to get the body off. It did look like I could have prised it off with a small screwdriver, but I have a habit of 'fixing things beyond repair ' and when I unintentionally removed the 'secret compartment cover' on the bonnet of the loco, that's when I decided to just put the thing back together. 

The weird thing is that, when the loco was reassembled, it ran perfectly. I gave it a few blasts up and down the longest section of track on the layout and then had a shunt of the parcels stock.  All was good. All I had effectively done was to unscrew and refit about half a dozen screws.

I did notice some moisture on the chassis side of the NEM coupler pockets when I removed them.  I have been spraying a tiny amount of GT85 (via the straw on the can) onto the Kadees to keep them lubricated , so I wonder if some had got inside the body and was causing electrical problems? Perhaps removing the screws had drained it off?  it really wasn't that much liquid. 

Fingers crossed the 08 is OK now.

Always the way that 9c85,hope your shunter is ok now...

[Crisis Rail]

On 01/05/2020 at 20:19, 9C85 said:

I think I am going for 1982 as being the upper limit of my time frame.  I am not sure how far back I want to go yet, but I am getting more and more tempted by some 4 character headcode stuff.

 

‘82. I was out of work and spent most of that Summer visiting the Oxford Road music shops on the Preston to Man Vic DMU at least 4 times a week. Still remember the grot of Victoria and the expanse of what was Bolton. 

 

Ian

Edited May 16, 2020 by Crisis Rail

[Crisis Rail]

On 12/05/2020 at 18:01, 9C85 said:

Some more advice requested... as I have mentioned previously, I have found some excellent tutorial videos on weathering Slater's embossed Plasticard using Revell enamel paints (see the YouTube channel of Galgorm Hall).

The method involves painting a base coat and letting it dry, then applying a darker coat, but immediately removing some of it (and the base coat) with a paper towel before the second coat dries.

Then a dark wash is applied and removed in a similar way to create the mortar course weathering. 

The vast majority of my retaining wall is sections of plaster cast moulding, which was supplied pre-painted as shown in the photo. 

 

My question is whether I can use the weathering method described above on plaster as well as plasticard, or can anyone recommend another method?

I am looking for a pretty grimy, urban/industrial look.

Thanks again in advance.

 

 

A couple of dividing walls

Prime with Grey Primer. Spray with Light Rust. Dry off. Then lightly scuff with abrasive pads or wire wool fine(ish) sandpaper etc - this brings out the Primer underneath to break up the brickwork and give shade. I don’t bother with the mortar as in 00 the pointing gap in Plasticard is minimal but fair credit to those who can

Not everybody's way of construction but I find this the quickest and easiest.

 

Ian

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Crisis Rail

[Coach bogie]

On 01/05/2020 at 22:26, 9C85 said:

My 47 is plated over and I want it to be a Canton 'namer'.  I grew up in South Wales and spent far too much time at the western end of platform 4 at Cardiff Central. A bit of Googling revealed that my preferred choice of loco - 47 081 Odin - was renumbered in 1982, so that is my end point. I am coming round to having a 40 as I  would like a newspaper train, although I only ever saw a couple of 40s at Cardiff, and I want a Peak and either a 25 or 33 barking around the yard. I believe 1982 is a safe bet for all of these.

Here is Odin  a couple of miles away on Longsight in 1980. Plates on both sides.

Mike Wiltshire

[Crisis Rail]

On 12/05/2020 at 18:01, 9C85 said:

Some more advice requested... as I have mentioned previously, I have found some excellent tutorial videos on weathering Slater's embossed Plasticard using Revell enamel paints (see the YouTube channel of Galgorm Hall).

The method involves painting a base coat and letting it dry, then applying a darker coat, but immediately removing some of it (and the base coat) with a paper towel before the second coat dries.

Then a dark wash is applied and removed in a similar way to create the mortar course weathering. 

The vast majority of my retaining wall is sections of plaster cast moulding, which was supplied pre-painted as shown in the photo. 

 

My question is whether I can use the weathering method described above on plaster as well as plasticard, or can anyone recommend another method?

I am looking for a pretty grimy, urban/industrial look.

Thanks again in advance.

 

 

Try a test abrade on the brickwork - the original plastic will show through - I've had good results with Wills Sheet like yours follow by a light weathered thinners wash..

 

ian

[9C85]

2 hours ago, Coach bogie said:

Here is Odin  a couple of miles away on Longsight in 1980. Plates on both sides.

Mike Wiltshire

That is fantastic Mike. 

 

Here is a shot I took last week of what will be Odin on my layout. 

 

[Coach bogie]

Here is the other side taken at the same time.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[5BarVT]

Hope you don’t mind me asking a slightly OT question.  When did the WR namers plates go from black to red?  Was it when green went to blue, or sometime later in TOPS numbered days?

Paul.