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Gill Head: Kirkby Luneside's neighbour


Physicsman
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4 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

Your tiring me out just reading the Pictures and looking at the words.:mail:

 

Coming on well Jeff.:good: Really impressed.

 

Cheers Andy.

 

I'm impressed that you ARE taking it easy at your end, too.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Physicsman said:

I hope you're now fully recovered, Peter.

 

You must be, if you're up to stripping!

 

Amazing the things you get round to doing. What does Mrs K think about having partially stripped coach doors in her garden porch?

 

Jeff

Fortunately it's in the summerhouse, along with Derby Junction's Down Main starting signal arm.....

 

My maternal grandfather worked for the MR and the LMS. That's how he got the door.

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The first "appearance" of track on the stage today....

 

Reference to page 126 of KL2, and mention of curving the "straight bit" in the goods//station areas led me to dig out my photos of Kirkby Stephen and read through some of the writings/pics of the late David Jenkinson. Kirkby Stephen, which KL2 and GH use as a track "guide", has a slight curvature from beyond the goods shed access on the Settle end to beyond the platforms at the Carlisle end. The platforms themselves have a lovely gentle curve along their entire length, something I MUST incorporate in GH. Yes, I curved the North ends in KL2, but this will be done properly.

 

So, a little bit of calculation of arcs, chords etc and the first pic (kind of) shows the result. A very gentle curve, deviating by 4cm maximum in the middle of the 300cm section shown. I think the real curve was more pronounced, but this will do for me.

 

Then it was time to fill the Bunker with aromatic fragrances. Calvin Klein? Nah, solder and Evo-Stik! The first sections of cork have been fixed down - the black lines are the track centre lines for the 2 main lines and the peripheral line that links the cattle dock and goods shed (it will be apparent as track goes down).

 

Having cleaned the track of old dropper bits yesterday, time to solder-on new ones, so a start has been made.

 

It's perfectly possible I'll fit the left-hand turnout/single-slip and add in some Cobalts tomorrow. Maybe.

 

Jeff

 

 

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No, I haven't forgotten the viaduct.

 

A study of heaven-knows-how-many images of Arten Gill has given me a feeling of the size of the blocks involved.

 

"Quoin" blocks often come in at around 3' high by 4 wide, more often around 2' x 3'. So I'll set about making some DAS strips over the next week to produce the first batches of blocks.

 

The viaduct piers are all around 8-10mm under-width, front and rear, to allow for the extra width when the stones are fitted. The jig I'll use to make them will generate blocks about 4mm deep, so 4mm on either side and, hey - 8mm!

 

I took the "proper" camera into the Bunker today and couldn't resist another shot of my favourite view from underneath piers 6 and 7 - as if I'm stood in the Gill. So, here's a pic...

 

Jeff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 14/11/2020 at 03:24, Physicsman said:

The wit of the Lunesters - always makes me laugh!

 

Nothing major on the viaduct today. I might mark out the ground line onto each face so I can then see how much of the piers will be "underground" and not need "stoning".

 

Jeff

Good job really, wasn't that abolished in the 14th century. 

Had visions of the Monty Python cast trying in vein to destroy your hard work for a second there Jeff.

Fear not, we all know it's pretty much indestructible! Looking good mate!

 

Shaun

 

 

 

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Thanks Shaun.

 

I decided not to post as often as normal on here as it seems as if the layout build becomes a performance. But the set of photos above represents about 2 hours of the 30 hours work done since Monday. I'll give a proper update at the end of the weekend.

 

The last picture is the new jig to produce those stones you referred to. I'll start creating them in the next day or so. I'm going to need a LOT, even though many are the equivalent of 2' x 4'. At least the working conditions are a bit more pleasant than the Jericho-type shanties inhabited by the 19th century navvies.

 

Jeff

 

 

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It's the same on my thread at the moment.No less than 15 chimney breasts with tiny fire places for 15 waiting rooms with all the wood paneling etc.You only need to show one but the rest take up a whole week of late evenings! 

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I’ve only just caught up Jeff, you don’t hang about building the new layout. 
ive just bought a new house and hopefully it will be complete around February 2021. 
I will be building a big shed for my layout, I think I may kidnap you and get you to build it at your speed I would have it a week after moving into the house. 
On a serous note, cracking job on the layout keep up the good work. 

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17 hours ago, mark axlecounter said:

I’ve only just caught up Jeff, you don’t hang about building the new layout. 
ive just bought a new house and hopefully it will be complete around February 2021. 
I will be building a big shed for my layout, I think I may kidnap you and get you to build it at your speed I would have it a week after moving into the house. 
On a serous note, cracking job on the layout keep up the good work. 

 

Evening Mark.

 

Funny as it may seem, I'm trying to take my time with the layout build, though it is only about 3 weeks since I started the L girder tables.

 

Really good to hear about your house. I hope you are getting to see your kiddy and expect you to corrupt him into railways ASAP! Are you still working up at Hellifield?

 

And you definitely don't want me helping with the work in your shed. Why let somebody else do the good bit? I'll be delighted if it takes ages before I'm running locos - as long as I can be building something out there.

 

Jeff

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A brief update. I'll post a lot more pics with comments later this week. So, a few teasers....

 

Stone production has started. The widest strips here allow 2' wide blocks, 4mm deep, the middle ones allow 2 wide blocks, 3mm deep and the skinny ones are 1' blocks, 3mm deep. The length of the block, eg. 4' is just obtained by cutting a 16mm length off the strip etc. More DAS tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day and by the time I've enough to keep me going for a while I'll start fixing blocks onto the piers.

 

A fair bit of track is down. A few glimpses. Hoping to get the track bus under the station area by the weekend to test run a diesel.

 

Jeff

 

 

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On 22/11/2020 at 17:22, Physicsman said:

 

Evening Mark.

 

Funny as it may seem, I'm trying to take my time with the layout build, though it is only about 3 weeks since I started the L girder tables.

 

Really good to hear about your house. I hope you are getting to see your kiddy and expect you to corrupt him into railways ASAP! Are you still working up at Hellifield?

 

And you definitely don't want me helping with the work in your shed. Why let somebody else do the good bit? I'll be delighted if it takes ages before I'm running locos - as long as I can be building something out there.

 

Jeff

I feel a lot happier, me and Lisa have got back together so I see my little Emily everyday now. 
I go up to hellifield but I also go up to blea moor as I have got a new job as a mobile operations manager  ( mom for short ). 
the shed plan will be some time off as I need to sort out the house first for my little family. 
glad you are building the new layout and on here. 
stay safe Jeff 

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7 minutes ago, mark axlecounter said:

I feel a lot happier, me and Lisa have got back together so I see my little Emily everyday now. 
I go up to hellifield but I also go up to blea moor as I have got a new job as a mobile operations manager  ( mom for short ). 
the shed plan will be some time off as I need to sort out the house first for my little family. 
glad you are building the new layout and on here. 
stay safe Jeff 

 

Excellent, Mark. Really good news. Some things are much more important than model railways!

 

Blea Moor, eh? Legendary place.

 

Jeff

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It’s a swine when we have to clip points in the worst weather known to man. 

but when the sun shines it’s wonderful place to be. 
The job I am in now is amazing  and everyday is a learning curve. 
If it wasn’t for this new kick start I don’t know where I would be now. 
life is good I can get my models done when time is not limited so yea I’m over the moon. 
and I get to spend time with my family. 

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Fantastic progress, Jeff.

 

Your viaduct will be superb and I see track already!

 

" A fair bit of track is down. A few glimpses. Hoping to get the track bus under the station area by the weekend to test run a diesel".

 

More power to your elbow and the clay jigs.  Do you think you can please make it a Britannia, or perhaps a Crab or a 'Five' for that test run.  Even a 'flippin'4F, if your really stuck!

 

All the very best,

John

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A quick update.

 

The track bus cables have been fitted in place below the station/goods area/up to the viaduct - in other words, underneath all the track laid so far. I'll start connecting the turnouts and Cobalts to the bus tomorrow.

 

I've also made another batch of DAS strips. A rough estimate is that I need around 50,000 scale feet of stone blocks to cover the viaduct (exposed, non underground areas). This equates to around 500 DAS strips, so a few more to make (understatement, ha ha)!

 

Jeff

 

 

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The first pic shows the collection of DAS strips produced so far. This has taken about 5 hours and is predominantly 8mm wide stuff at 4mm and 3mm.

 

The goods shed (still only 90% complete) was built in 2017, using a ply shell and covered in about 3,000 DAS bricks. See the KL2 thread around page 170 for details. In principle, this is the technique I'll use on the viaduct, though the latter has a lot more stonework and the stones are a fair bit bigger.

 

The last 2 pics show some of the trackwork that's been put down. All the turnouts have Cobalts, polarity checked and - today - the first 5 (at the station end) connected to the track bus. I actually connected the bus to the control unit tonight, and despite having almost zero connection, one of my class 24s ran happily up and down the mainline section.

 

Jeff

 

 

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The track bus is now connected to all the currently-laid track,  except for 2 turnouts. The class 24 test vehicle has been run from the station end to the viaduct approaches. As usual, at this stage, little "annoyances" surface and a small section of track at one of the single slip exits has been removed. It will be replaced tomorrow, and hopefully the running at that point will be a bit smoother.

 

I've applied filler to 5 of the piers, as shown in the attached image. A lot of the space along the sides of the piers was filled-out with 6mm and 12mm ply, as you've seen in earlier photos. The present filler is not complete - a further layer needs applying when this stuff has set. At the temperatures in the Bunker this could take until Monday.

 

In the meantime, further DAS strips have been created. I've drawn out a whole set of sketches for the stone pattern I'll put onto the 2 King piers (numbers 2 and 5), with stone dimensions, quoins etc. Just for interest's sake, I'll take some photos of some of the sheets and stick them on here tomorrow. Then you'll see I'm even crazier than you already know is the case! Just remember, the sketches are working plans in progress - not neat, and subject to change (E & OE as the adverts used to say).

 

Jeff

 

 

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More viaduct-related stuff.

 

I haven't forgotten the sketches of the viaduct piers - just haven't had chance to photograph them yet.

 

The arch area at the top of the piers is always a thorny problem for viaduct builders. I thought I'd try a different approach to last time and the pics show the strange-looking beastie I've created. Basically, a small frame made from 3mm ply that will hold the arch-liner in the correct position.

 

The beastie took about 45 minutes to build, and the arch liner is a 20thou plastikard sheet, cut to size. It does hang a little low, but part of this is because I was just testing the idea and the beastie wasn't fixed in place to the bottom of the road deck. Any slight overhang can be hidden by the stones that are fitted on the arch-ring.

 

The advantage of this system is that I can apply a stone covering onto the liner while sat at my desk, then fit the thing in place.

 

It SEEMS to work. Just another 7 to build. Maybe one every couple of days!

 

Jeff

 

 

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48 minutes ago, Neilgue said:

It makes a lot of sense to clad the arches at your bench. Working under the arches in-situ would be very awkward - probably on your hands and knees.

 

Hi Neil.

 

Fitting the stones to the piers will be awkward enough, not only because of the time involved but because I'll have to manoeuvre the viaduct to get at its eastern (rear) side - and it's getting quite bulky/heavy.

 

The viaduct in KL/KL2 had arch liners that were simply painted grey. I think this one deserves something a bit better, but fitting lines of stones while twisting my head into awkward positions was going to be near-impossible. So it was kop out or come up with an alternative. Time will tell if this idea works!

 

Jeff

 

 

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I think you are going to find that it ends up with a train on the viaduct, and the camera aimed upwards, as being a fairly "favorite" photo of Gill Head.  I can see it in my mind, like the similar photos taken of Arten Gill.  If it was me, I think I'd take a camera/lens combo that will give good results, and see where it has to sit to enable such photos, to make sure that there will be enough/appropriate scenery from there.  

( like https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.artpal.com%2Fbuy%2F%3Fi%3D155757-3&psig=AOvVaw1sOOwmZG1SkxL4RPs8IpO6&ust=1606702600183000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCKjA3d_Xpu0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI ) but at 3/4ths would be close to what I have in my mind )

 

And yes, I know, it might mean an art board insert to be able to get the placement.  But I really do see this as being _the_ photo feature of Gill Head

 

James

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Hi James.

 

Just looking in before going to bed. My 3 hours reading time over for tonight - Brandon Sanderson's splendid Stormlight Archive book 4 being digested....

 

Anyway, wish I could give you more than one "Like" for your post.

 

EXCELLENT suggestion.

 

I'm really hoping the viaduct comes out well and provides a lot of photo opportunities.

 

Of course, as you certainly understand my philosophy, the real reasons I'm building it is because Arten Gill is a thing of great beauty and I enjoy the challenge of the build. If it ends up being photogenic it'll be a bonus.

 

Now where's the dratted camera?!!?!!??!

 

Jeff

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