GRANBY JUNCTION - Shunting Siphons for the Up Parcels with a Manor!

[john dew]

7 hours ago, M.I.B said:

Great work and detail as ever John.

 

You'll find the plate for the ex -Adderley Hall when it shorts out a section,

 

I have noted what you say about footplate staff cap tops - I have put that n my list of "catch up" jobs.

 

All of your photos and videos have been great, but the milk passing the afternoon papers has got to be a favorite of mine now.

 

 

Thanks Tinker

 

I think I would rather the plate remained lost than caused a short like that.......it would be a horror story trying to find it. Like most I get the occasional short but the PSX are great at highlighting the area .......apart from the odd screwdriver its almost invariably a loco in the storage yard stopping just beyond the block and then the turnout gets thrown......so its quite quick, albeit frustrating/shaming, to find it. A random piece of brass would be quite another story.

 

The caps story was a little bit of trivia that stuck in my memory. A driver and fireman were being interviewed in 1948. No doubt GWR servants (as they were called ) man and boy they were asked how nationalisation had affected them. A hundred years of proud independent history wiped out and their one comment...they didnt like the LMS style caps they had to wear. Keep calm and carry on!

 

Glad you liked the photos. I think they were taken with the iphone which I am using more frequently now.......actually requires less editing than with the SLR. I do envy the camera angles on my three favourite layouts ANTB, Little Muddle and Stoke Courtenay. I really didnt pay enough attention to creating clear lines of sight as I positioned all the buildings............despite all the advice John Flann used to give me. Something to remember for North Cranford  perhaps?

 

Best wishes

 

 

John

I

 

[gwrrob]

If it's any consolation John, I never had a camera when I started the build of ANTB.

[john dew]

18 minutes ago, gwrrob said:

If it's any consolation John, I never had a camera when I started the build of ANTB.

 

 

Not even a Box Brownie?

 

Well it sure worked out well......you achieve much more variety than I.

 

John

 

 

[gwrrob]

14 minutes ago, john dew said:

 

 

Not even a Box Brownie?

 

 

 

 

I'm not that old.

[81C]

22 minutes ago, gwrrob said:

 

I'm not that old.

Don't kid yourself. 

[toboldlygo]

On 24/04/2019 at 19:27, john dew said:

"Next week something completely different"


Well I suppose nothing is different    I am afraid Easter got in the way.....my apologies.

Short post today but definitely different from the Milk Saga.

A people painting factory:

 

This is a recent delivery of 3D printed figures from Modelu being prepared for painting..........ideal summer job.

I have mentioned them previously (usual Disclaimer). Like Robin of ANTB, when I need more figures they are now my first port of call. I think you may lose a little fine detail definition but the overall effect is, I think, very realistic. Because they are scanned from real life the postures seem more natural......these guys are mostly Drivers and Fireman set up for GWR right hand drive. I like to use them on open cab locos like the Dean Goods but I am hoping the leaning figures will work in the large Prairies many of us are looking forward too. 




Alan has changed the resin he uses.....it used to be a very bright red!  So I am experimenting without undercoat.....its very easy to clog the detail with acrylic paint build up.

I generally spread the painting over a couple of weeks using only one or two colours per session. I started with the extremities.......hats, boots and flesh!  On reflection the footplate crew caps caps should have Navy tops and  only black (shiny) peaks. I vaguely remember a DVD about the early days of nationalisation when one of the main complaints of the two GWR drivers was being issued with LMS type caps with black shiny tops!




Ultra close up. The two figures in the foreground are not signalmen (despite being bobbies). I have found it quite difficult to get policemen for the immediate post war period. Lapelled tunics with shirt and tie were not introduced for Constables and Sergeants until the fifties. These guys have collared tunics but somehow there is a Victorian look to them......it may be the belt is a bit obvious and I am sure truncheons were not carried outside the tunic in 1947.

The right hand  PC, with a notebook, is not leaning on pointed sticks......this is how they come out of the box with the printing supports still attached.The attachment point is minute and very easy to cut with a scalpel leaving no trace.

The guy at the back is a Goods train guard all ready to lean on the rail of one of my Toads. He does demonstrate rather too well a minor downside of using figures recently scanned in real life, on a 1947 layout. I can only assume that Dai Jones was a cook sergeant during the war......how else could he acquire that much weight?
 
Regards from Vancouver

John

 

And  I thought painting 6 Modelu figures at a time was good going 

 

Or are your's going to be a Subbuteo football team?  

[john dew]

 

After the figures and tiny lamps .....time to report some historic heavy construction.

Here is a reminder of a project I started last summer when I was relaying the Engine Shed area.
 

We live on the North Shore mountainside. The train room is on the lower floor .....15' above street level at the front, 10' underground  at the back. The windows are let into the concrete house foundations hence the thick walls.

The resulting deep window sills have always been a challenge particularly as they are, in places, a 4' stretch across the layout.

I constructed a raised shelf which will eventually have some form of permanent street scene. Note the tacky unconvincing Townscene cut out on the pillar
 

 

The twin tracks on the left climb from the lower level on a 1:40 gradient. I wanted to cover them by extending the new shelf and adding a retaining wall to link in with the coaling stage ramp. For obvious reasons this structure had to be removeable.

Hidden sidings, on an incline, 4 feet away......what could possibly go wrong!
 

 

 

I rather like this still life......anything heavy I could grab without it being noticed to hold down a card extension while the glue sets. This provides a fixed point for the removeable section to notch into


A Scalescene Tunnel mouth provides the fixed point at the other end:

 

 

 

This shot illustrates the challenge of setting up the Scalescene wall so that the base matches the ramp angle and the top is horizontal and lines up with both the fixed wall running off the Coaling Stage and the tunnel parapet ......all measurements done while standing on a stool stretched out over the station forecourt.....not fun at all
 

This attempt was not entirely successful!

 

Start again..... but this time complete the tunnel parapets first
 

 

 

 

 

There are issues with the tunnel roof which rises above the street level datum but hopefully I can conceal it with a custom designed building

 

 

Second time lucky........some of the angles/lines are a little suspect but will be hidden to some extent by the station roof.
 

The grass at the base conceals the gaps where it rests on the ramp.

 

Look closely at the far buttress (just in front of the emerging wagons). The buttress is glued to the tunnel mouth. The removeable wall slots in behind it.

Somewhere in my trash bin is a shot of the unit removed but for now you will have to take my word it works, albeit without a lot of hassle. For starters part of the station roof and attached buildings have to be removed first .
 

The buildings, mostly from the old brewery are just plonked for now......eventually they will be glued to a lift off base. I am taking my time deciding what will be the most effective grouping. I want to link the scenes on the two window sills with some credible ultra low relief on the cream foundation pillar........now bereft of the tacky back scene........I have a wild idea of doing something with the Scalescenes Castle Folly !





Regards from Vancouver

Edited August 31, 2022 by john dew
Photos 18/8/22

[Martin S-C]

39 minutes ago, john dew said:

Olives stuffed with feta. I like your style, sir.

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

Olives stuffed with feta. I like your style, sir.

I'll stick with the beanz.

[Mikkel]

I'm quite taken with these shots, especially the last two. The old brewery - even if not fixed in place yet - works really well there.

 

The baked beans still life is great. Has anyone ever done a coffee table book featuring baked beans tins in strange places? I bet it could become quite a thing.

[Bogie]

8 hours ago, Mikkel said:

The baked beans still life is great. Has anyone ever done a coffee table book featuring baked beans tins in strange places? I bet it could become quite a thing.

 

Mmmm . . . let me know how the pitch goes to an editor and I will see if I can rustle up some old photos. 

[john dew]

18 hours ago, Mikkel said:

I'm quite taken with these shots, especially the last two. The old brewery - even if not fixed in place yet - works really well there.

 

The baked beans still life is great. Has anyone ever done a coffee table book featuring baked beans tins in strange places? I bet it could become quite a thing.

 

Thanks Mikkel

 

I am glad you liked the finished shots. It took me a while to get my head around the way the Scalescene wall is constructed but once the penny dropped the kit is extremely adaptable and you can make realistic back drops quite quickly..........if you dont have to lean too far.

 

The baked beans shot really appealed .....I dont know whether it was the clarity, the lighting or the random nature of the objects.....it just reminded me of some of those Dutch paintings......hardly the same standard of course!

 

Best wishes

 

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

[Martin S-C]

John, Please don't take offence at this observation but I am concerned that the abutments are inverted. Should they not be thicker at the base rather than the top?

[5BarVT]

4 minutes ago, Martin S-C said:

 I am concerned that the abutments are inverted. Should they not be thicker at the base rather than the top?

That seems to be the design of the scalescenes retaining wall.  It doesn’t feel right to me either, but not being a structures engineer I can’t comment on the suitability of the design.  I think the main thing is that the main wall leans into the ground which it supports, which the scalescenes does.  (I know of a number of GWR retaining walls which are plain unbuttressed, some quite high.)

Paul.

[john dew]

52 minutes ago, Martin S-C said:

John, Please don't take offence at this observation but I am concerned that the abutments are inverted. Should they not be thicker at the base rather than the top?

 

Hi Martin

 

No offence at all. I think I get a surprisingly easy ride on this thread, riddled as it is with Rule 1 and 3' Rule exceptions!

 

As Paul remarked.......its the Scalescene design.  Its essentially a retaining wall, rather than a separating wall. The wall itself is set back at an angle of about 15o and the front face of the buttress is vertical.  It was explained to me by someone who understands these things.......I believe "reverse batter" or similar was mentioned.  From a modelling perspective its a concept that I found difficult to understand....hence my remarks in my reply to Mikkel........initially I was always glueing the buttresses the wrong way round despite John Wiffen helpfully labelling FRONT on each former!

 

Regards

 

John

[Martin S-C]

Thanks for explaining. I can see now that you've built the wall following the kit design. I just have this nagging feeling it's been designed wrong! I'm aware many tall retaining walls do not require buttresses due to the nature of the ground being faced. Sometimes it is rock and the wall is just a cladding and not a supporting structure. Or the strengthening is within the wall such as a cantilever or anchoring. It could be argued that this wall isn't a supporting structure either and therefore these are not buttresses but artistic embellishments. I'm no engineer either but I feel sure that they are not adding anything to the strength of the structure unless of course we are not seeing all of them and their bases are in fact much deeper than their tops - but that would require a very odd form of construction. If that isn't the case you've got tons of brick pillar perched on top of almost nothing and very little of the mass is putting force against the wall - its almost all vertically down.

 

It would be good to find out what structure inspired the kit. Maybe such a structure does exist in reality and I'm missing something - it has been known!

Edited May 3, 2019 by Martin S-C

[Martin S-C]

I've had another thought which is they might not be buttresses at all, but merely semi-decorative pillars separating the bays.

[john dew]

1 hour ago, Martin S-C said:

I've had another thought which is they might not be buttresses at all, but merely semi-decorative pillars separating the bays.

 

I see I have acquired a bauble since my last post!

 

I think you may well be correct that they were mostly decorative in the prototype. In model form the designer, John Wiffen, calls them buttresses and they do serve two important functions. Firstly Structurally.........., they are made of 4 pieces each of 2mm card laminated together, there is a similar structure  in the rear. These vertical pillars/buttresses front and rear in combination with horizontal base walls and parapets make the wall itself (single sheet of 2mm card) a very robust structure. Secondly Cosmetically......the brick cladding paper is printed on conventional 81/2 x 11 sheets of paper (A1?)  The panels can be no wider than 7 1/2". The buttresses hide the joins.

 

An interesting discussion.....particularly as I am currently building another wall 3' long on the other side of the layout........thank you for bringing it up.

 

Regards

 

John

[M.I.B]

On 30/04/2019 at 17:33, john dew said:

 

. I really didnt pay enough attention to creating clear lines of sight as I positioned all the buildings............despite all the advice John Flann used to give me. Something to remember for North Cranford  perhaps?

 

 

I have put some thought to that already John, and also some into hiding the exit from my brewery and furniture warehouse area.  

 

The start of my coal drop ramp is also deliberately hidden by the sheds (the GWR shed and the private shed for the brewery which are adjacent).  This is because the coal drop will  operate as a separate single track layout.

[john dew]

7 hours ago, M.I.B said:

 

The start of my coal drop ramp is also deliberately hidden by the sheds (the GWR shed and the private shed for the brewery which are adjacent).  This is because the coal drop will  operate as a separate single track layout.

 

Great idea.....wish I had done that. My ramp is part of the main layout but its very difficult to run trains on.

[john dew]

 

Another week..........another wall!

 

By way of introduction:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the spring of 2017 I spent a few months building this quite substantial Scalescene Warehouse. It was designed to mask the end of the storage yard as one entered the train room.

Aesthetically its great and visitors are suitably impressed. Operationally,however, it has proved to be somewhat impractical.

 

Its designed to lift off in the event of a stall which is fine when most of the operation is roundy roundy. Its not so good now that I am focussing more on end to end operation with increased use of the storage turntable.

If I am honest I will admit to being pretty happy with a 95% success rate when automatic uncoupling kadees. This means that 1 in 20 schedules require a swift touch of the hand of god. Again fine when reaching over low relief terraced housing. Less so removing a very large warehouse and all its supports. When testing and developing new schedules or even running intensively I found the warehouse and tunnel were spending more time off the layout than in place!

 

 

Time to think again:




Regular followers will know ,despite carefull cropping, its been like this since February


Stage 1............How about another wall?

 

 

Close of play last Thursday.

This is the wall I referred to when I replied to Martin. Unlike the one on the other side of the room this is quite straightforward.......and quite long......almost 3'


Buttresses are the most tedious and time consuming task

 

 

 

Clockwise from top left......Template glues to 2mm card
                                          Cut out each individual segement
                                          Laminate in pairs..................best like this to get a smooth matching front surface
                                          Finally into fours
                                          Scribe and cut out cover layer
                                          Sandpaper
                                          Wrap and Glue


Buttresses glued to wall along with plinth wall at base

 

 

Rear wall and supports   The rear wall adds rigidity and doubles the width of the base for the main wall capping.

 

 

Yesterday I added the Main Wall capping, Buttress capping, Parapet wall and capping.
 

 

 

Only capping is provided in the print out for the parapet wall. I add mock pillars from scrap to match the buttresses.

Like all John Wiffen's designs the added elements, both vertical and horizontal, create an attractive structure but also one that is surprisingly robust.

It still needs weathering and bedding in but first I have to build a low relief Warehouse to go alongside the Townscene Cutout............otherwise job done

I am getting quite used to making these walls......even so it probably took about 15 hours of modelling.Typically I do between 1 and two hours morning and afternoon. Breaking it up makes it less tedious and allows the glue to dry properly!

Regards from a very sunny and warm Vancouver
 

Edited August 31, 2022 by john dew
Photos 31/8/22

[john dew]

Last week, I left you with a 3' retaining wall, to be bedded in and weathered,  surmounted by a rather blank canvas.



The main feature above the wall was to be a low relief Factory/Warehouse. Scalescenes offer a low relief warehouse but I preferred to try and modify their standard Warehouse as I wanted to create a sense of depth despite the narrowness of the platform

Here are the main components........standard Scalescene construction......templates glued to 1mm board followed by printed cover sheets:

 

 

Lots of cutting.....say two hours




Add windows, laminate the two 1mm boards together plus a third backing sheet.  Then add vertical columns, and horizontal plinths and ledges.........another three-four hours :

 

 

Its almost impossible to seamlessly insert a building like this next to an established and rather dated back scene. These Townscene cutouts have been in place now for almost a decade. If I were to start from scratch I would, of course use the super  photographic back scenes that are now available.
 

 

 

 

I deliberately went for a heavily detailed building to complement the large Scalescene Warehouse at the entrance to the room and the low relief Workshop next to it  (the latter was scratch built from assorted Ratio kits)

 

Here is a before and after..... viewed from the Train room doorway :

 

 

 

 

Regards from a damp and muggy Vancouver.....good growing weather though.

 

 

John

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by john dew
5/9/22 Photos

[danstercivicman]

Nice work  

[trw1089]

Just been enjoying catching up on your thread after being AWOL for the last few months (silly work...).  Really liked the explanations of the milk train and your recent modifications.  It was hard dealing with all the Panniers between my last viewing and today, but I suffered it so I could enjoy the amazing townscapes and computer control descriptions.

 

Hopefully it won’t be so long between viewings next time.

 

Cheers

Tony

[john dew]

On 25/05/2019 at 03:54, trw1089 said:

Just been enjoying catching up on your thread after being AWOL for the last few months (silly work...).  Really liked the explanations of the milk train and your recent modifications.  It was hard dealing with all the Panniers between my last viewing and today, but I suffered it so I could enjoy the amazing townscapes and computer control descriptions.

 

Hopefully it won’t be so long between viewings next time.

 

Cheers

Tony

 

Thanks Tony.......you have been missed!   I have to say that I never post a pannier shot without thinking of you!

 

Cheers

 

John