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


john dew
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3 hours ago, john dew said:

The usual dilemma with head lamps..... front and back on at the same time! These locos will be running an intensive commutor service with rapid turnarounds. On balance, I prefer to always run with the correct head code and blame the fireman for not removing the one at the rear. 

John, Western locos woudl generally only carry two lamps as, unless they were on a shunting duty (one red and one white at each end) or hauling the Royal Train (four white at the front) they never needed more than that.

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43 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

John, Western locos woudl generally only carry two lamps as, unless they were on a shunting duty (one red and one white at each end) or hauling the Royal Train (four white at the front) they never needed more than that.

 

Hi John

 

I wondered about that and, of course, you are right.....a loco would never need to carry more than two lamps. The only time it would carry a rear light would be with a single head lamp: Light Engine. Easily sorted!

 

In GWR days this would also apply to shunters and pilots.....they carried a single red light centre of buffer beam front and back. I think you will find that red and white front and back was LMS practice which the Western Region adopted after nationalisation.

 

Best Wishes

 

John

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3 minutes ago, john dew said:

In GWR days this would also apply to shunters and pilots.....they carried a single red light centre of buffer beam front and back. I think you will find that red and white front and back was LMS practice which the Western Region adopted after nationalisation.

Didn't know that bit - thanks.

 

The red lamp was of course a normal white lamp with a red slide inserted.

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The Prairies look very much at home in those shots @john dew, lovely weathering, just right for post war.

 

Interesting that you mention the Dapol Prairie, I wonder if it will be quietly forgotten now. I too have the Mogul on order, I think they are on the waters at the moment with an eta of mid-November.

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  • john dew changed the title to GRANBY JUNCTION: Switching Frog polarity
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Hopefully I have fixed the troublesome electrics on the Down Storage entry/exit road using. It may be of interest to those wishing to switch polarity on surface mounted points or replace failed switches in inaccessible locations.

 

I am fortunate in having a number of followers with layouts where the wiring is perfect in every respect. I will quite understand if they choose to ignore this post.

The exit road consists of a five turnout ladder
 

35390847_.05intro.jpg.3b424c0bcbc930f44fdc8651f9ab22bc.jpg

The storage yard and branch line were the first boards I wired up back in 2008. Electro-frog points powered by Peco twin solenoid motors with frog polarity switched by Peco switches! A veritable museum piece for such a high traffic area which has caused me more grief over the years than any other part of the layout.

The contrast with the the rest of the layout (Tortoises) could not be more marked.

Over time I found the Peco switches unreliable and some actually failed. To solve the problem I bought some of the then newly introduced DCC Concepts ADFSX units which acted as both decoders and polarity switches.

In many ways these units solved the problem. The downside for the intial releases, like mine, was that when the power was disconnected,short or switch reason, the device reverted to the default polarity regardless of the actual turnout position! There were work arounds but it was clearly less than ideal!


Earlier this year I needed switches for two newly installed surface mounted motors. DCC Concepts were out of stock of their devices and I stumbled across this self latching relay :
 

839406383_1GMPack.jpg.8f83e82f704931a34e5137fa608dacd3.jpg
 



Its a very simple and inexpensive relay switch.......no decoder or CDU like the DCC Concepts unit but a fraction of the price

 

 

65127976_2FrontBack.jpg.b0007582fcb9cf6d011c4d3876ad6402.jpg
I suspect someone with a knowledge of electronics could knock these up for cents. But I know my limitations!

Here it is wired up:

 

219399889_4Solderpads.jpg.4b0082b78178835f5b5dcd080ca3b526.jpg


Bottom right clock wise:

Red      DCC Bus +ve
Black    DCC Bus Common
Brown   Frog Feed............this is the only wire that has to be connected directly to the turnout

Green/Red     Point Motor
Red/Green           " 
 
Orange          Point Motor Common

The three unused solder pads are for accessories....signals or switch board LEDS


Here are two in place on the edge of the baseboard

 

1339930350_5closeup.jpg.2f977d3764898c23e94c22af03923708.jpg


Here is a shot of the sub-assembly that controls the storage turntable and associated sidings

Apart from demonstrating its an urban myth that you only need two wires for DCC, it hopefully shows how easy the relays are to install

 

 

1407241267_6wiredup.jpg.252703cdd7219dfbc131bee86631c99f.jpg


Turnouts 85 and 86 are 6' away at the very back of the baseboard. The only wire that had to be fed directly to the turnout was the brown frog feed.

The DCC contacts and Point Common were fed to the chocblock for the sub assembly about 2' feet away (just in the picture extreme right)
The point motor wires from the relay joined the matching wires from the motor already in place in the point decoder (seen at the right.....#2 Storage 85-91)  If I used switch panels rather than decoders they would have been fed to the switch.

For anyone interested, the 5 units between the two Relays and the LS150 Point Decoder are occupancy detectors for 8 blocks in the turntable area......not part of this tale

Testing the relays was super easy......rather than leaning across the baseboard, displacing more chimneys,lamp posts etc, and trying to connect and read a multimeter while switching the turnout ..........I connected everything up except the frog feed. From the comfort of an armchair I was able to connect the multimeter to the frog dropper (brown wire from the the relay) and the Red DCC Bus.......throw the point......if I get a reading and the frog in the resultant position should be Black...GOOD NEWS......connect the meter to the Black bus, throw the point and check again.

If the polarity is being switched incorrectly eg Black when it should be Red simply change over the point wires from the relay. I guess you could re solder them....I just changed them over in the decoder.......Job done

I am not suggesting that these relays should be used when starting a layout but they are a very effective band aid for effecting repairs or add ons.........particularly for elderly modellers with bad backs and poor eye sight


Here are six more units......three of which have solved my ladder problem.

1300297132_7x6.jpg.dc16de8a6d200628aed37a4f003f47d2.jpg

 

959379940_18end.jpg.1627bf4c14d725046edeae6f8cbe28f8.jpg



1151298756_20Closeupend.jpg.d997e7482ed68d8199b4a3a5ecd2545c.jpg

Note........there are similar relays designed for DC units.......... GM 500
 


For DCC layouts you must use GM500D relays. GM500 without the D do not work. How do I know this? I have six such relays looking for a good home!

Regards from Vancouver

Edited by john dew
23/8/2022 Photos
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16 hours ago, john dew said:

Hopefully I have fixed the troublesome electrics on the Down Storage entry/exit road using. It may be of interest to those wishing to switch polarity on surface mounted points or replace failed switches in inaccessible locations.

 

I am fortunate in having a number of followers with layouts where the wiring is perfect in every respect. I will quite understand if they choose to ignore this post.

The exit road consists of a five turnout ladder

2068528187_.05intro.jpg.4b37b2126800c66619e78ebe1611d43d.jpg


The storage yard and branch line were the first boards I wired up back in 2008. Electro-frog points powered by Peco twin solenoid motors with frog polarity switched by Peco switches! A veritable museum piece for such a high traffic area which has caused me more grief over the years than any other part of the layout.

The contrast with the the rest of the layout (Tortoises) could not be more marked.

Over time I found the Peco switches unreliable and some actually failed. To solve the problem I bought some of the then newly introduced DCC Concepts ADFSX units which acted as both decoders and polarity switches.

In many ways these units solved the problem. The downside for the intial releases, like mine, was that when the power was disconnected,short or switch reason, the device reverted to the default polarity regardless of the actual turnout position! There were work arounds but it was clearly less than ideal!


Earlier this year I needed switches for two newly installed surface mounted motors. DCC Concepts were out of stock of their devices and I stumbled across this self latching relay :


213420772_1GMPack.jpg.aafea909fa96d616a1037de7f52bacf3.jpg


Its a very simple and inexpensive relay switch.......no decoder or CDU like the DCC Concepts unit but a fraction of the price

458534206_2FrontBack.jpg.d6db7d9f560520a2c34f904d994568e0.jpg

I suspect someone with a knowledge of electronics could knock these up for cents. But I know my limitations!

Here it is wired up:

1795065448_4Solderpads.jpg.eef28c1dcdc30032a8c8475489c18eca.jpg


Bottom right clock wise:

Red      DCC Bus +ve
Black    DCC Bus Common
Brown   Frog Feed............this is the only wire that has to be connected directly to the turnout

Green/Red     Point Motor
Red/Green           " 
 
Orange          Point Motor Common

The three unused solder pads are for accessories....signals or switch board LEDS


Here are two in place on the edge of the baseboard

1874618767_5closeup.jpg.2844dea3c0a5b3e77b9569377b805d60.jpg


Here is a shot of the sub-assembly that controls the storage turntable and associated sidings

Apart from demonstrating its an urban myth that you only need two wires for DCC, it hopefully shows how easy the relays are to install

791511272_6wiredup.jpg.84cd4b49cefc5c6669137550bb847d8c.jpg


Turnouts 85 and 86 are 6' away at the very back of the baseboard. The only wire that had to be fed directly to the turnout was the brown frog feed.

The DCC contacts and Point Common were fed to the chocblock for the sub assembly about 2' feet away (just in the picture extreme right)
The point motor wires from the relay joined the matching wires from the motor already in place in the point decoder (seen at the right.....#2 Storage 85-91)  If I used switch panels rather than decoders they would have been fed to the switch.

For anyone interested, the 5 units between the two Relays and the LS150 Point Decoder are occupancy detectors for 8 blocks in the turntable area......not part of this tale

Testing the relays was super easy......rather than leaning across the baseboard, displacing more chimneys,lamp posts etc, and trying to connect and read a multimeter while switching the turnout ..........I connected everything up except the frog feed. From the comfort of an armchair I was able to connect the multimeter to the frog dropper (brown wire from the the relay) and the Red DCC Bus.......throw the point......if I get a reading and the frog in the resultant position should be Black...GOOD NEWS......connect the meter to the Black bus, throw the point and check again.

If the polarity is being switched incorrectly eg Black when it should be Red simply change over the point wires from the relay. I guess you could re solder them....I just changed them over in the decoder.......Job done

I am not suggesting that these relays should be used when starting a layout but they are a very effective band aid for effecting repairs or add ons.........particularly for elderly modellers with bad backs and poor eye sight


Here are six more units......three of which have solved my ladder problem.


158345254_7x6.jpg.f204a6c242348f89927c6d852507e1e3.jpg
 
1833634961_18end.jpg.c2ed38b3bea9425f1b915d1a9c9e9d51.jpg


138932331_20Closeupend.jpg.757f89835b2c82ea56c0ce0ef309bffd.jpg



Note........there are similar relays designed for DC units.......... GM 500

For DCC layouts you must use GM500D relays. GM500 without the D do not work. How do I know this? I have six such relays looking for a good home!

Regards from Vancouver
 


Afternoon John, sunny greetings from Spain, where it’s 26 in the shade!

 

Your story was very interesting, on several levels..... mainly as all your stories are interesting!

Im glad your wiring looks like mine, I have cable running everywhere for this 2 wire system we call DCC :-)

I use the Guagemaster Autofrog on all my points, it works in a similar fashion, but only controls the frog. I think I have missed a trick in the fiddle yard by not using those autoswitches. I don’t have any point motors, but it would make life a bit easier if I did and had your switch.
Up until now I couldn’t work out how to test the autofrog, but I think you have given me an idea..... although I will need to use a set of wheels on the track as well. Thankfully all my points are accessible.

 

However, one thing I have done slightly different is that my auto frogs are on a different Power district, so if I have an issue with them it doesn’t affect the running.

 

Have a good day, Regards, Neal.

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  • john dew changed the title to GRANBY JUNCTION: Scalscene Hotel....the saga continues.
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Some more progress on the Scalescene Hotel.

Regular readers will recall that the plan is to convert the low relief kit and build a full three dimensional model. When complete, this will form the centre-piece of the square outside Granby Junction

Here is the first module on site in February

1847839150_1February.jpg.f71e266d07657d167d1d2b82cb01a36f.jpg


As you can see this is one of the more complex and intricate of John Wiffen's designs. It is certainly quite time consuming. Despite my best intentions I never quite managed to cut card in the morning and run trains in the afternoon. With the layout neglected, once this module was done I took a wee break.


Assorted electrical problems delayed my return to the project but eventually, in August, I completed a second module  

230880750_2August.jpg.1d3f46032de591ca8419d2205430cb1f.jpg

Card modelling with a glass of something cooling can be quite therapeutic in the summer.

You will have noticed that both units are without a roof. The low relief kit is finished off with a neat row of dormer gables.........I delayed installing them because I couldnt quite work out how to seamlessly incorporate them into a three dimensional model. So I took another little break and focussed on getting my new prairies running properly.

With some help from John Wiffen I think I may have solved the roof problem so last week I started on the third and final unit. I had intended to post when the unit was finished but the weather here has been quite wonderful so I couldnt resist taking the units outside for a photo shoot
 
 Here we are in November with unit 3 basking in the fall sunshine.

1071451597_3November.jpg.32f704863806098766c978acce36ee09.jpg

The three units as they will eventually appear in shape of a hollow square

1664035478_4Assembly.jpg.fb2a16227dea433e9fc5621c15743dd0.jpg

The building will be viewed from both front and back

 

903050679_6Rear.jpg.64a36f794bd425b1c3b4feed205e0ae1.jpg


The rear view will probably be seen the most as it backs on to the main line and directly faces the entrance to the Railway Room. It will be quite challenging creating a credible industrial look that will blend with John Wiffen's sophisticated design 

1901794642_7Rear2.jpg.e3aaeb999256bb09e584e8702297a005.jpg

I now have the semblance of a cunning plan which I hope to be able to reveal to you over the next few weeks months. Still need to run trains and there is a Mogul about to arrive. I doubt if it will all be done before March.

Hmm     February      August       November       ........and finally March

Doreen suggests I rename the hotel "The Four Seasons"

 

Regards from Vancouver where the weather seen above has changed somewhat A "Pineapple express" has arrived from Hawaii bringing 80mm of rain for today.

 

Keep well

 

8 Rear.jpg

Edited by john dew
23/08/2022 Photos
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That hotel is going to look great when it’s finished John. It will be a very imposing structure, which of course is the idea.

 

I understand the mogul is due this week... so in Spain next week at some point and Canada a couple of weeks later.... I look forward to exchanging views on it.

 

Keep up the work on the “Four Seasons” in those days would there have been the star rating system? Possibly not, but I don’t know when it was introduced.... just wondering if it needs a Bentley outside or an Austin :-)

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Hi Neal

 

Always good to hear from you.

 

Its almost too imposing! Its turning out to be somewhat larger than I originally intended.......but hopefully will complement the station and not look too out of place.

 

I do intend to create an image of it being the social hub of the town. A bit like the Grosvenor in Chester.......so yes there may well be a couple of Oxfords more exotic pre WWII cars outside. I have a Modelu Guard in an overcoat so a quick re paint may produce the all important Head Porter.

 

They didnt have a star classification as such but the AA had a rosette system in the late fifties which they published in the year book. I am trying to dig out the pre war logos for the RAC and AA ....they were of course more ornate.

 

I am really looking forward to the Mogul. I do hope it turns out to be a good performer....it should be a reliable indicator for the Manor and Prairie. I hope Dapol get the latter moving. There are aspects of Hornby's Prairie which I like but it can hardly be described as ultra reliable!

 

Best Wishes

 

 

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4 hours ago, john dew said:

Hi Neal

 

Always good to hear from you.

 

Its almost too imposing! Its turning out to be somewhat larger than I originally intended.......but hopefully will complement the station and not look too out of place.

 

I do intend to create an image of it being the social hub of the town. A bit like the Grosvenor in Chester.......so yes there may well be a couple of Oxfords more exotic pre WWII cars outside. I have a Modelu Guard in an overcoat so a quick re paint may produce the all important Head Porter.

 

They didnt have a star classification as such but the AA had a rosette system in the late fifties which they published in the year book. I am trying to dig out the pre war logos for the RAC and AA ....they were of course more ornate.

 

I am really looking forward to the Mogul. I do hope it turns out to be a good performer....it should be a reliable indicator for the Manor and Prairie. I hope Dapol get the latter moving. There are aspects of Hornby's Prairie which I like but it can hardly be described as ultra reliable!

 

Best Wishes

 

 


That all sounds good John, it’s great to see it coming together.

 

I can’t help but wonder if one of the product announcements this weekend might be a Bachmann Manor, as alluded by Mike aka @The Stationmaster in the recent Bachmann topic.... Maybe that’s Andy’s @AY Modmystery box! 
 

Good luck with the hotel. 

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This is from the AA website:

 

From 1912 we started inspecting and classifying hotels. Those receiving our famous AA star classification were included in subsequent editions of the Members' Handbook.

From the start hotel inspectors paid for themselves and accepted no favours. The star system was derived from one used to classify brandy – AA Secretary Stenson Cooke had once been a wine and spirit salesman – with a 3 star hotel being defined as a really decent, average middle class hotel.

 

Together with this photo. Apparently before 1939 all road signs were provided by the AA, with local authorities taking over control after that point. Presumably removing them all for the war. The photo shows the AA logo relevant for that time. This was dated  1935/1936


1FD60C01-C839-4B4A-B727-28DE4CF48707.jpeg.9ec543880fccebe5b5e6d64766afd060.jpeg

 

Will the four seasons be 3 or 4 star? 
 

https://www.theaa.com/about-us/aa-history/timeline#betweenthewars

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Prairie weathering and detailing is looking great John.  And your card modelling is exemplary.  

 

Looking forward to a few Dapol deliveries over the next 12 months.  Will we ever get to see the Bachmann 94XX?

 

Regards,

 

 

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Thanks for researching the AA Neal.......that was certainly news to me. I wonder where I got my rosettes from? The logo is exactly as I remember from when I fitted the badge on to my first UK car.....a slightly rusty 1947 Ford Prefect!

 

I think Granby's premier hotel would probably be 3 star because of old fashioned amenities and decor but with 4 star ambiances. That would tie in with my memory of the better provincial hotels in middle sized towns (mind you that was in the Sixties.

 

Keep Well

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You can show the Ford Prefect new then John. Dropping it’s owner off at the hotel.

 

Of course the hotel wouldn’t necessarily be old fashioned, just suited to the needs of Granby’s clientele. It’s only later that we think of things in that manner.
 

There can’t have been many station hotels that were 4 star. The Imperial opposite Henley station was probably only 3 star.

 

Looking on the AA website and the history of the classifications, one of the requirements for 4 star was parking. Not many station hotels would offer that in the 30’s or 40’s. Although it’s hard to work out what was required to get different stars when the scheme was first introduced.

 

Hotels of course didn’t always offer en-suite facilities and that is a requirement for 4 star status.

 

Anyway enough talk of the star, hows the building coming on?

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This weeks project is to finish the roof elements on the low relief Scalescene Hotel Modules. I am always worried that this type of post will be of little appeal to non card modellers. As previously I will try and keep it brief.

805716823_1Hotel.jpg.aa66cc01a4e64595a8fcaa8a3e523831.jpg

How many hand cut card and paper components do you think are needed to build three dormer windows and a plant room on this 7" x 1" space ?

1632356430_2TopFloor.jpg.16e748ece2e6e4dc1bd5a52509f0fffc.jpg

Quite a lot:

 

 

1002201914_3components.jpg.5f07af68ede8629b8e56434661dc16b1.jpg


 89 is the tally

I dont usually pre_cut everything like this, although its the method Scalescene suggests. I thought I would give it a try because as one gets to the end of a project the small components get scattered around several part cut sheets and its easy to miss something which later turns out to be vital!

Its actually turned out quite well. The cutting was a bit of a pain....took about three hours and I did have a slight moment of anxiety when Mrs D thought it was a good idea to open a window. However laying everything out in order makes assembly a breeze

So here is the first sub-assembly for the Chimneys
 

1456329508_4Chimneys1.jpg.20355c2561fb03200e8f0b56fe057cd1.jpg


The four identical shapes at the top are cut from 2mm card. Laminated together they form the base of a third chimney. Accurately cutting small, relatively intricate shapes like this requires patience and an abundant supply of new blades. Having scored all round the shape with a new blade, apply lots of shallow cuts a line at a time. I try very hard to keep the blade at 90o for every cut
 
Below are printed cover layers for this chimney and the two already in place, followed by multiple chimney cap  bases and covers.
 

274887296_5Chimney2.jpg.9dd459683dd9cab3772cc55d82821955.jpg


The side chimneys are now covered and capped. The centre is laminated and part wrapped. The sail-maker's needle casually leaning against the chimney?  Thats the tool I used to get the crisp edge you can hopefully see on the centre cover layer. Chubber, master Scalescene builder of this parish, gave me this tip:

"Before cutting out cover layers which are to be folded, prick the blue guide marks with a scalpel, flip the sheet over and with a ruler and blunt needle lightly scribe between the pricked marks". This results in a nice straight line on the correct side of the paper to achieve an accurate fold
 

1753439619_6Complete.jpg.8e0734eb3e0dbb7569e5e6d102f36dea.jpg


The chimney is now glued in place and we are on to the next stage with the plant room wall being test fitted.

I hope this may be of some use to aspiring Scalescene modellers.......More to come

Regards from Vancouver

Edited by john dew
23/8/2022 Photos
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Last week I continued to finish the top floors of two of the Hotel modules......picky, time consuming  and occasionally frustrating.

The plant rooms were pretty straight forward:
 

517691872_2Plantroom.jpg.1b32909e9ab2f5935e7d386e313b27a5.jpg

 The Dormer Windows less so!

I am always amazed by the ingenuity of John Wiffens designs. Not just for the attractive, three dimensional exteriors
 the creation of all manner of structural support elements using only card and paper.

Many of these structures are small, intricate and challenging.....Dormer Winows would be a good example

Here are the pieces needed for three windows............I will need  eighteen eventually

1523266293_3Components.jpg.e70b55ae021d096dbc76712f0a4bd484.jpg

 

The key elements are at the top....  18 pieces cut from 2mm card and measuring approx 1" x 1

There are three different shapes which are laminated together to form substantial 6mm frames for each window

All  three shapes, A B and C, do have one common feature.....the short angle cut at the top designed to support the upper dormer roof

411716054_4WindowFrames.jpg.95d945b84ced830a677b2acbb94ffc52.jpg

(A) Supports the lower dormer roof

(B) The actual window frame.....the leading edge is exposed hence the "xtome" cover.

(C) Is identical to (B) except the depth is reduced by 1/8". Thus when laminate together B and C form a rebate into
       which the window will fit.

The shot above and the next close up do
highlight the difficulty of achieving smooth uniformly accurate cuts with 1" material!
 

1001835525_5creep.jpg.61660b6458e54a1729bdfc0929c95d8d.jpg

The nominal 2mm card I use is actually 2.2mm.I have been caught before by  "thickness creep"  and thought I had made adequate allowance. Wrong!  The roof window openings requires a lot of fine trimming to accept the window sub assemblies

The window itself consists of a very thin, cutout frame mounted on light card and then backed with a film window print. This flimsy structure proved be very flexible when glued to the two unsecured 6.6 mm side frames.

As you can see:
 

2059624089_7dormers.jpg.86dedf8b777a175dffaf034b50be7a30.jpg

I was not a happy camper at this stage.

However after a lot of fettling and the addition of the individual dormer rooves I was able to secure the main roof and add the minute finials......which conveniently hide some unsightly gaps

I felt a bit better with this shot
 

563082994_8Dormers.jpg.f6a57599439fe95453f6c5bceb9ce2fd.jpg

This is actually a good example of vertical thickness creep.The balustrade cap should extend across the entire frontage including the end buttresses. The buttresses are the correct length. The addition of muliple internal floors and ledges has resulted in the building itself being 3mm taller than designed.
 
To conceal the gap I have made little caps from scrap for the buttresses......thinking about it, they will look better if I recover them with paper that matches the balustrade cap...........another job for the list!

All done except for chimney pots.......they go on right at the very end..........in March?
 

416587048_9Module1.jpg.7e57ea25b6d021ee1b8ffb52d943549f.jpg

Two down........one to go


2009965255_10trio.jpg.79e43356fb23c5857935a1b34a84427a.jpg

I am departing from the design for the centre module. Rather than fit a third plant room, I propose fitting a row of six dormer windows...I am nothing if not a glutton for punishment.

However these windows will feature the new improved Mark II sub assembly.......3 ply side frames of 2mm max mount board joined by a 3/8" floor and rear wall.......solid as a rock!

Now to finish with something completely different.

6818 Hardwick Grange, one of my sadly neglected 4-6-0s, leaving Granby Shed:

863014728_BWGrange.jpg.7288ada66ea6936cc837628e162be799.jpg

 

 

1023616018_grangeapproachesTT.jpg.6587747bcc3a09afabe5b056d636dee5.jpg

 

 

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Edited by john dew
23/8/22
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I can only agree with Neal. Really nice work John, and impressive results. I feel your pain with those dormer windows, but you clearly won the war.

 

I wouldn't mind spending a few nights in the Talbot, although I expect it will be a bit noisy!

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Thank you for all the likes guys....its always very encouraging particularly for something that is taking so long to complete.

 

First off this week a brief diversion:

 

Most days we take the dog for to the local park, just a few minutes walk away.

The snow line is now at 2000'  ......so at 600' we are getting lots of rain

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Fortunately the dog was bright enough not to attempt his morning paddle

When the sun does come out you can see some interesting effects with the steam rising

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Right....after that interlude back to the Hotel:

The target was to complete the centre module containing the main entrance. This entailed finishing and attaching the two corner sub-assemblies which will eventually be used to join the wing modules.

I wasnt looking forward to constrtucting the complex corner roof but , even in close up, they have actually turned out quite well.

 

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After the problems I had adding 3 dormer windows to each of the side wings, I was also a bit nervous about capping the centre unit with a row of 5 scratch built dormers.

One concern was the tiles. The printed elements in the kit use a small multi coloured tile not available in the scratch builders yard. However when I wrote to John Wiffen of Scalesenes about the issue, he very kindly sent me the pdf file along with some useful photos of another modellers build of a three dimensional hotel.
 

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 The individual units dont look much better than last week. However they are far more stable and consequently much easier to install. This was achieved by using thinner smoother card, scalpel rather than craft knife, more care(!) and mounting the flimsy window frames on double card.

 

This close up is rather cruel and exposes a few nasties but, overall, I am not unhappy with the end result

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It would have been easier to install the kit finish....plant room + 3 dormers but I think the continuous row of windows
more pleasing:

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There used to be a Talbot Hotel in Wrexham but it was nothing like the model........I was looking for a name with a local connection that would be appropriate for a hotel of this size......similar to the Grosvenor in Chester.

I am not totally convinced by either the font or colour of the fascia but Mrs D likes it.

The kit comes with a number of pre-printed names and styles......but all far too modern

 

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It took a while to track down the older style logos for the RAC and AA. The former is actually an image of one of the original RAC bumper badges. AA was scanned from the logo on top a sign post.

The Talbot is naturally home to the local Rotary Club........bottom left!
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One of the many aspects of the hobby that I enjoy is trying to dig out accurate facts about events that ocurred 70+ years ago........doesnt matter whether its trying to find out how the weather sheet is secured on a Dean Goods or, as in this case, the most likely names for the bars in a  WWII "poshish" provincial Hotel!

After that intro "Lounge" and "Bar" sound rather banal but based on what I have read they seem the most likely.......happy to hear of alternatives suggestions.  The bar at the the Talbot is not a spit and sawdust, the GPO workers from across the street would not go there ....definitely "Officers only " during WWII..... and probably women would not feel welcome. The lounge on the other hand is a place where unaccompanied young ladies would feel welcome......a trend that started during WWII and continued post -war. I read a fascinating paper based on data from the Ministry of Information on how WWII changed the drinking habits of young women!

So the three units are finished......I now have to design and build a robust structure that will secure them together and serve as a foundation for the rear of the hotel....the back stage.

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Next week.....a pause in construction......time for some locos....perhaps a Mogul?

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Edited by john dew
23/8/2022 Photos
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The Talbot is great John, can’t wait to see it in position.

 

Lounge and Public bars would be good. Of course other pubs would have the snug or the bottle and jug, but both are unlikely at the Talbot.

 

I wonder what the nightly rate is....

 

Excellent modelling, as ever.

 

Plus of course, good luck with the mogul.....

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