micklner Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I think that the fact that images re-appear at 9.40 pm on a Friday evening bears testament to just how hard Andy must have worked to restore the RMWeb service to 100%; and for that we should all be very grateful. Anyway, here's another picture of this 'uge great signallin' structure (oh but the red wine has taken its toll on me ability with the words). Its now all soldered up and just awaiting the final touches to the lattice work. Mike Bizarre ????? all the pictures are working other than the last one Great work Mike Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 So the final additions have been made to the lattice, with the sixteen 'supplementary' verticals which were formed from 2 and 1/4" 'L' angle and the brackets which supported the landing extension, plus the cross bracings on the bottom members - all forty odd of them. So this lattice structure is now complete. I know I've said this before but, for me, these things purely functional as they were, represented some of the best aesthetics of functional design that I have ever seen. Has anyone noticed that the newer road signs are now supported on latticed posts - perhaps those Victorian and Edwardian engineers knew a thing or two about design! Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
10800 Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Great stuff Mike - it must be very fulfilling to scratchbuild and get a result like that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Great stuff Mike - it must be very fulfilling to scratchbuild and get a result like that! Rod, Many thanks for the comments. I have to confess that even though the gantry turned out reasonably well, I really didn't know how this thing would turn out and it has exceeded my expectations. I can't pretend that these things are a 'doddle' but they are now becoming much easier to build (tis the jigs what does it!) so, once this is done, then it's another cantilevered gantry with all sorts of radii on it. Cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davknigh Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Very impressive Mike, I get the impression that your gantry will be sturdier than its etched equivalent (if such a creature could be found) yet it still has the visual lightness associated with etched product. Have you ever made any tests for comparative strength? Cheers, David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Very impressive Mike, I get the impression that your gantry will be sturdier than its etched equivalent (if such a creature could be found) yet it still has the visual lightness associated with etched product. Have you ever made any tests for comparative strength? Cheers, David Oh I daren't for fear that the converse is true. Certainly because this model structure has much more of a 3-d composition than an etched equivalent, by virtue of the 'L' angle, then I would hope that it is stronger. The key thing is that the girders remain absolutely straight under the loads of the equipped dolls - and these loads are very small, so they should. The visual lightness, by which you so kindly describe the model, is really achieved by using metal sections as close to scale as possible. So the struts are .75 mm (2.25") x .010" (which is an overscale 3/4") or .005" (which is a dead scale 3/8"). Similarly the 'L' sections were 3" for the main members (1.0 mm) or 2.25" for the vertical stiffeners (0.75 mm) and the corner 'wrapping' of the posts. Cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 So now it's time to 'raid' the S&T store. The lamp brackets, fitted to the dolls, and signal arms I made earlier, as part of a batch for the gantry. The fifty five handrail stanchions I cut while I tried out some new reds, finishing them as I found a Cabernet-Shiraz which really did hit the spot (my reward for perseverance?). And those dolls will just sit there, totally free standing but not fixed, so something must be right! Yes, I am a bit of a fiend for organisation, though I used to be a member of the 'where the hell has that gone' brigade. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 There is still a little work to do on the gantry, all of which is incredibly 'fiddling' so taking a day off from the signal bridge, let's revisit the gantry. This prototype had rotary circuit breakers on all arms to allow an indication to be made, within the signal box, that the arm had pulled off correctly. So the circuit breaker is just a 2.5 mm x 2.0 mm x 1.5 mm block of plasticard, suitably rounded at its edges. The linkage is .2 mm wire, bent up in a jig, so that all six are the same length and have the same angle on the bend. The tiny circular housing, on the circuit breaker is just a square of .010" plasticard fixed onto a .3 mm axle and then turned circular in a pin chuck, after which the resulting 'washer' is removed from its axle and fixed to the end of the .2 mm wire. I know, a hell of a lot of effort but my mate, and signalling expert, Mick Nicholson, will remind me, constantly, if these are not on. So this is the prototype installation; just another five to do. And before anyone asks, no this doesn't work, it is not fixed to the arm so remains in the same position when the arm raises. These close up photos are not too kind to the workmanship. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 OK I know this thread is principally around building the ex-NER signal bridge but the gantry now has its full complement of rotary circuit breakers and linkages, so before I add the final assemblies, here's the gantry. This is very much the 'prototype' for all of these various techniques and approaches; hence the time it has taken. Was it worth it? I think so but you'll make up your own minds. Cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 That must surely be up there with Peter Squibb's work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted November 6, 2009 Author Share Posted November 6, 2009 One of the final things to go onto the gantry and which will go onto the signal bridge and the cantilevered gantry, when that is built, will be this. Somehow I need to get these etched, as finely and as legibly as I can. This will be the final touch to all of them and will serve as the reminder of the company who created these magnificent structures. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Dear Mike, I no longer have the maker's plate so can't supply dimensions, but I do know where it is. If you do an etch please let me know. Mick. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 Dear Mike, I no longer have the maker's plate so can't supply dimensions, but I do know where it is. If you do an etch please let me know. Mick. Mick, Two ways to skin that cat :- 1) Locate the builder's plate and measure it or 2) Locate that wallpaper and measure the pattern; then scale from that. Option 1) is probably easier. Many thanks for your help. Cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 ....2) Locate that wallpaper and measure the pattern; then scale from that..... If said wallpaper - is it flock-lined? - is no longer in place, then local curry house might have similar sample, allowing you to eat and do research simultaneously. Who said we couldn't multitask? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Hi Mike. Continuing the great work I see. Well done, its looking good! I can't back this up, as I've been out of the loop for some time, but I was thinking if the semaphores are still up at Scarborough, would one of them not yeild a plate? I used to work Bridlington south box in a past life and don't recall seeing any of the plates. Just a thought though. Cheers, Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lewis Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Signals are looking absolutely stunning Mike. I don't have need for any large gantries on my layout, (largest is a three-doll bracket), but I'll certainly be returning to this thread for tips as and when I get round to building them. Keep posting! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 If said wallpaper - is it flock-lined? - is no longer in place, then local curry house might have similar sample, allowing you to eat and do research simultaneously. Who said we couldn't multitask? A man after my own heart. This is the kind of multitasking which appeals and we can add drinking lager concurrent with the research and the eating; almost everything (almost!) in the one pursuit of prototype authenticity. I live quite close to Pickering (North York Moors Railway) so you never know, the local curry house may even have the Mckenzie & Holland plate - perhaps a long shot! Cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 ....we can add drinking lager concurrent with the research and the eating; .... Cobra and Kingfisher are quite good. Better when chilled / ice cold, obviously. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Cobra and Kingfisher are quite good. Better when chilled / ice cold, obviously. I'm sorry, but I think you're sadly mistaken. Doesn't matter what you're eating, my opinion is, round here, a Black Sheep'll go with any meal....... Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 I'm sorry, but I think you're sadly mistaken. Doesn't matter what you're eating, my opinion is, round here, a Black Sheep'll go with any meal....... Sean. Sean, Living, as I now do, in North Yorkshire not a million miles from Masham (perhaps thirty) I could hardly disagree with you. Thanks for all of the encouraging comments; it's much appreciated. Cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 The last major items to add to the gantry are the SYX Route Indicators, the motors on the distants and the main ladder. So starting with the SYX route indicators. These were mechanical devices and were an LNER standard, though the design predates the LNER by some years and was certainly used by some of the LNER's constituent companies. The fronts have a 6.5 mm hole drilled/reamed in the plasticard front sheets. Behind this is placed a brass 'shim' with a 6.0 mm hole in it (the left hand front piece shows the brass backing) such that when the two parts are glued together, there is a .010" brass collar around the glass of the indicator display. The backs are exactly the same shape but without the cutout for the display. Now just to pack them out to 3 mm deep and add the overall wrapper. The inside edge of the hole in the plasticard has been painted black, prior to assembly with the brass shim, to avoid touching the lens glass and brass collar, when this is finally assembled and painted. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 Both of the SYX electro-mechanical route indicators are now made, though they both still need their spectacle glass hoods (Because this gantry faced west I am assuming that both would have had hoods to deal with the glare from the afternoon sun) and still need painting. The first has just been placed on the decking to check if it 'looks right'. These are non-working; trying to build the mechanism to display one of four different route indications is just beyond me - there's a limit to how much detail can be added if this model is ever to be finished. The brass collar, around the glass, certainly works well and was well worth the effort. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted November 25, 2009 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2009 An impressive structure - nice job Mike B) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemeg Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 An impressive structure - nice job Mike B) David, Many thanks for the comments. So the first of the SYX's is now complete, with its hood, fastening clips and fixing brackets. So a quick photo and then it can be fixed to the gantry. Now to finish the second one and then the motors for the distants and the main ladder and we're there, at least on the gantry, then it's back to finishing the signal bridge. Just by way of sizing datum, this assembly is 13.5 mm high, 12.5 mm wide and 3 mm deep. A lot of work for such a small detail? Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
10800 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Just by way of sizing datum, this assembly is 13.5 mm high, 12.5 mm wide and 3 mm deep. A lot of work for such a small detail? Worth it though Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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