Lancaster Green Ayre - The Barn Owls have returned.

[Dava]

Lights.....camera......action! Looking forward to seeing Lancaster Green Ayre for 3rd time at Guildex.

 

Dava

[jamie92208]

Another good day on the layout. Mainly carpentry in the morning. I put up a strut for the cable on the other side of the fiddleyard and then sorted out the extra length in the pelmet. That'd now been left tonight for the glue to dry. This afternoon there were quite a few visitors including a delightful 3 yr old and her 6 yr old brother. Once I got enough chairs sorted so that they could stand and see over the backscene they had a whale of a time running one line each. Their granny thought they would get bored quickly but they were there an hour and loved it. It enabled me to test the various tracks in the fiddle yard. After they'd gone I found a slack connection in a plug that was causing relays to drop out. That and another wire that needed refixing was all it took to sort the fiddle yard.

 

After tea I set to work to try and sort out the relays that hand over from one controller to another. I eventually realised that I'd got the logic wrong in some of the feeds. Some testing followed then 4 wires gor swopped and that got the down line working properly. The relays on the up yard weren't working either so I did some testing and will sort them tomorrow.

 

All in all a good days work.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Come back home for a break and to let my frazzled excuse for a brain cool down. However all four handover sections between the Fiddle Yard and the Main Line controllers are working fully after I found 2 dry joints, 2 wrongly wired relay connections and a wrongly wired resistor on a small circit board. All takes time but it all now works.

 

What odds would I get on it all working correctly at Telford.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Does anyone know a good paint colour for weathered copper, eg some sort of green.  I need to paint my overhead.  The three steel (NS on the model) wires will be weathered black but I need to do the contact wire in green.  Hopefully then it will stand out.

 

Jamie

[45156]

Come back home for a break and to let my frazzled excuse for a brain cool down. However all four handover sections between the Fiddle Yard and the Main Line controllers are working fully after I found 2 dry joints, 2 wrongly wired relay connections and a wrongly wired resistor on a small circit board. All takes time but it all now works.

 

What odds would I get on it all working correctly at Telford.

 

Jamie

Hope about even money Jamie - the handover to/from the fiddle yard was a bit hit and miss at Green Ayre rises, and now we know why.  However, with the fault diagnosed and rectified, I hope all will be well.  Sorry, not an expert on weathering colours - I'll leave it to the more experienced.

[Dava]

Does anyone know a good paint colour for weathered copper, eg some sort of green.  I need to paint my overhead.  The three steel (NS on the model) wires will be weathered black but I need to do the contact wire in green.  Hopefully then it will stand out.

 

Jamie

First thought was oxidize your copper contact wire but of course it's brass coated! So I'd get a colour sample either from t'Internet or oxidizing a bit of copper with white vinegar + salt or a local copper roofed building & mix some paint from mid green lightened with white + touch of blue?

 

Dava

[jamie92208]

First thought was oxidize your copper contact wire but of course it's brass coated! So I'd get a colour sample either from t'Internet or oxidizing a bit of copper with white vinegar + salt or a local copper roofed building & mix some paint from mid green lightened with white + touch of blue?

 

Dava

 

Thanks for that Dava, I'll try that on a bit of copper clad sleeper strip.  The other wire that I've painted weathered black look good and I've got a tin of mid green Humbrol.

 

Thanks again.

 

The layout is now down and packed away in the side rooms at church where it will live until Telford.  Sam and I started about 10am and got the lighting rig and backscenes packed away then got the difficult boards down by about 12.45.   I started again at 2pm and got all the boards down by 3.30 then tidied up, swept up and set the chairs out for the Community Choir whoa re practising tonight.   I'm off back up to do a bit of sorting of tools and odd and ends.  

 

We are planning to do a bit of work on certain boards over the next few days and the crates have been placed so that the requisite areas can be got at.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Evening all from a rather wet village as I listen to the rain on the window.  Things have been moving though.

 

Yesterday I did some work on the Fiddle Yard Panel and fitted the last two cancel switches to the handover sections.  These should make operation a lot easier at Telford and reduce the need to voice communication between the operators.  

 

Today I've been working on some platform fencing.   I have never been very happy with the Slaters plastic fencing as it is difficult to keep it straight.   At the Doncaster Guild event at the Dome  saw some of the Poppy Woodcraft laser cut Midland fencing and was very impressed by it.  I bought a couple of packs and a jig to see how it went together and have now finished the first   section.  This is for the western end of the Up platform and includes a ramp.  The jig is only set up for level lengths but I made a full size drawing of the section and then used that as a template to assemble the ramp end.

Here you can see the competed section and below it the jig in use for the next section that follows on from the baseboard joint.

Each pack contains enough parts for approx. 2' of fence.

 

I have been very impressed with how it looks and will certainly be buying some more.  I need to do about 4' including 2 right angle bends on the down platform.  The beauty of this way of making it is that the uprights can be placed where you want them.

 

 

I also put another coat of base colour onto the Stationmasters house.  I've made up all the windows.  I matched the colour from some fresh York sandstone on my church where a bit of spalling had taken place.  I've now got to weather it a bit which is the part that I hate.

.

 

Hopefully my next job after the fencing will be to put some slates on the locoshed roof.

 

Jamie

Edited July 25, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

morning all from a village that's getting sunny.   Yesterday I managed to get various tasks done.   I finished off the fencing for the Up platform then needed to colour it.   I wasn't happy with the uniform colour that Railmatch sleeper grime produces.  I had a look in the garage cupboard and found a rusty tin of Colron Wood dye.  I dread to think how many years ago I bought it but I experimented and it worked.  Here is the result together with the last windows for the SM's house.

I'm happy with the subtle differences in shade, many of which seem to be where there is excess PVA.

I have used a lot of slates and managed to get a lot of the front roof bay of the locoshed done.  It still needs the ridge tiles doing but they will come in due course.

I does look a lot better though.

Then I got some basecoat on the set of buildings that sit between the shed and the SM house.  I haven't had time to scribe the rest of the DAS.

The last of the slates will be used on part of this building.

The SM's house has now had a dark wash and is starting to look OK.  I've trial fitted some windows and am very happy with the result.

During all this Gavin decided that he had to inspect the shed to check that there was nothing inside that needed attention from his teeth and claws.

Now I need to clear the dining room table and get all these items up to the chapel to join the rest of the layout.  Divorce can be expensive.

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by jamie92208

[45156]

You and the team seem to be working very hard indeed to get the layout nearer to readiness for Telford - I'm just sorry that I'm otherwise engaged so won't be able to have a play and a look see at how it has progressed since Lancaster - clearly it has.

 

edit ps loving the SM's house, which really is starting to look the business.  This and the other work are proof if it were needed that there's a lot more to modelling than the trains.

Edited August 30, 2016 by 45156

[jamie92208]

You and the team seem to be working very hard indeed to get the layout nearer to readiness for Telford - I'm just sorry that I'm otherwise engaged so won't be able to have a play and a look see at how it has progressed since Lancaster - clearly it has.

 

edit ps loving the SM's house, which really is starting to look the business.  This and the other work are proof if it were needed that there's a lot more to modelling than the trains.

Only problem Stuart is that I'd be much happier sorting rolling stock, buildings are not in my comfort zone, but I am happy with the way that the SM's house is coming on.  It's a tribute to Tony

who did so much fine modelling on the layout.  I won't get it finished by Telford, nor will it be to his standard but It's front and centre on the layout and will look a lot better than the foam mock up.  I now need to find some dark red gloss paint for the chimbleys.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

The layout is now all packed ready for Telford after some last minute tweeking yesterday.  The Stationmasters house has nearly all it's windows installed and even has a green front door.  Various small sheds for the coal yard were made in mounting board.  The new fencing was installed on the up platform and various odds and ends attended to.  I've even updated all the wiring diagrams and printed out new sheets to go in the Book of Words.   Tonight I picked up the last of the stock so it's ready for the off.  If you are passing at Telford please come and say hello.

 

Jamie

[45156]

I do hope it goes well for you at Telford and that you and the crew have a great time.  You've worked hard and I hope that you get the result that you deserve.

[barry_yardley]

I've followed this from the beginning in 2009 and cannot wait to see it.

 

Very impressive piece of modelling.

 

Barry

Midland Carriage Works

[bbishop]

Jamie,

 

Best wishes for the weekend.  Sorry I can't be with you.

 

Bill

[45156]

I've followed this from the beginning in 2009 and cannot wait to see it.

 

Very impressive piece of modelling.

 

Barry

Midland Carriage Works

You will be impressed Barry

[two tone green]

Looking good at Telford. Very impressive

[jamie92208]

Just got in from takingthe lorry back.  Layout packed in the church.  All rather tired.  We got away from Telford at 6.35 but ahd had a great weekend.  It was nice to meet some RM Webbers and put faces to names, dave, Jazz come to mind.  We had some electrical gremlins on Saturday whuch I finally bottommed ths morning but after that we got a lot pf trains running and had some very nice things said about the layout.   Tuesday I'll ditribute the parts to their various storage locations and take some boards to the club.  We've got a programme of work over the coming months sorted.  I've also source someone to cast the smoke chimneys for the loco shed.   Lots to do so onwards and upwards as they say.  At least we don;t have to take ours as far as Arakoola, a fabulous layout that came in a container from Oz,   It included a lovely big garratt.

 

Jamie

[Dagworth]

Does anyone know a good paint colour for weathered copper, eg some sort of green.  I need to paint my overhead.  The three steel (NS on the model) wires will be weathered black but I need to do the contact wire in green.  Hopefully then it will stand out.

 

Jamie

If you've not already done it, Humbrol 120

 

Andi

[sir douglas]

sorry for the thread being being quiet, Jamies on holiday and i keep forgetting to take my camera with me down to the club.

 

im currently working on the slipway under the castle branch and the roadwork around it. the pavements that hadnt yet been scribed on the end of the goods yard and down Lune square under the bridge have now been down and repainted the cobbled surface of Lune Square and ive started scribing the cobbles down the slipway, about a quarter has been done now. areas on the underside of the slipway arches that werent DAS'ed have now been down and awaiting painting.

Edited September 27, 2016 by sir douglas

[jamie92208]

Though I am away in the sunny Charente Maritime I have been busy preparing the future home for the layout. Yesterday two of us put PVA sealant on about 100 sq. Metres of concrete floor. Hopefully tomorrow I may be able to get grey floor paint on some of that. A grid has been marked out and the plan s to mark the positions of the baseboards out on the floor so that I'll be able to put it up in the correct position. I also need to run a plug point to the centre of the layout that will hand from the ceiling.

 

Great to hear Sam's report of the work on the Goods Yard area.

 

Jamie

[sir douglas]

some more scribbing on the slipway last night and Paul put o the facia for that board

DSCN0865 by Sam, on Flickr

 

DSCN0864 by Sam, on Flickr

 

pic to show the work from last week. putting das on the underside of the arches

013 by Sam, on Flickr

 

lat week the pavement was scribed and painted

011 (2) by Sam, on Flickr

[45156]

Nice to see the progress, Sam - many thanks.

[jamie92208]

As promised here's an update on my modelling activities over the past 2 weeks.   In between various other tasks such as pollarding and crown lifting trees and making a start on a wood pile for winter I did get a large area of the shed floor painted.  Silly me hadn't noticed tat I'd got two different shades of grey paint but this time we sealed the concrete with dilute PVA (By the gallon bucketful.  This made one tin of floor paint cover 55 square metres rather than 26.   I've now done 81 sq metres and have got the area of the layout nearly all done.  I'm also doing an area 2 metres wide round where the layout will go to keep dust down.   This was the progress yesterday morning.

Just another tin and a bit to do in December.   At least there is progress. The layout will come out as far as the ladder on the floor in front of the Rover and to the end of the light grey area nearest the camera.   PVA has already been put down on much of the remaining area.

 

It's great to see the progress that Sam has made.

The boss is away next week so the mice will play.   The cunning plan is to set 4 fiddle yard boards up and try and commission the loco shuttle unit using MERG ATC boards.

 

Jamie

Edited July 25, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Since getting home from Telford and then France I've finally managed to open a CD of photos that were taken there.  Chris Byrom is the sister in law of one of my operators and lives nearby.  She came and operated for the weekend and also brought her camera.  She has never taken photos of  a model railway before but attracted quite a bit of attention from visitors due to the special mini tripod that she was using.  I think that the images are great though many of them show up all sorts of faults that I will have to correct such as bent bits of brass and bridge sides that I knew were loose and not in their correct position.   However I'm sharing some of them.   They are all copyright to Chris but shared with her permission.

 

 

Here is Il Dottore's yard office with the down Heysham boat express approaching.

John Patrick's superb railmotor climbs the Castle Branch past the goods yard that needs a lot more wagons in it.

 

Here 2716 plods through the station with an up goods.

 

A short transfer freight heads up towards Castle.

 

One of Ray Clasper's much modified Lima 4F's heads past Lancaster South box.

 

The Hellifield ploughs head back home on a summer test run.  No need for tender cabs today.

 

Jamie

Edited July 25, 2022 by jamie92208