McGomez Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 Just a quick update. The footbridge is nearly finished although it is still in 2 pieces which seems to be well disguised in the photo. It has had the original colours toned down with a grey wash. On a festive note...... to everyone who reads this and I hope you all have a healthy and prosperous 2015. Regards Andy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimleygrid Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Looking good. Merry Christmas Andy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Looking good merry Christmas to you too David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold fishytrains Posted December 26, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 26, 2014 The footbridge is looking great. A Happy New Year to you too. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 My wife had to go to Madrid yesterday for a meeting so being the chivalrous type, I accompanied her. It was the first time I´ve been on a Spanish AVE service and it was very efficient too. Infact it is only the second time Ive been on a higher (than 125mph) speed train in my life. The previous one being in France some 25 years ago!! Unfortunately it was dark when we boarded the train and arrival back at Albacete was 9 at night so no photos were taken. For those of a class 58 disposition, the 4 locos that I saw at the base just north of Albacete back in Febuary this year were still there. Hopefully they´ve been drained of coolant as it was bleedin´ freezing yesterday morning. Frost all the way to Madrid and fog too. Once in the Spanish capital, I headed up to Chamartín where they hold a model railway fair every last Saturday of the month above the station concourse. Secondhand stuff aswell as new. I don’t know if it was due to the closeness to Christmas but the place was packed. Amongst other purchases, I came across these 2 Transfesa wagons. Although they are not the exact type used on the onion and orange trains from Spain to the UK they are similar enough. As the prototype was built to the UK loading gauge it looks slightly small compared to the Spanish loco. Unfortunately that means it looks a bit undernourished sitting behind an OO gauge loco. Of course this makes me think I should now pre-order one of those blue class 71s of the DJM variety to haul them from Paddock Wood to Dover via Portland Grove? After a bite to eat I dropped in to the Railway museum at Delicias. It was just after 3 o´clock, so I was surprised to find it open. I had the place to myself for at least an hour. Some of the British related exhibits follow. The Yorkshire Engine Co. diesel hydraulic, Spanish class 306. A North British 4-6-0. A Sharpe & Stewart 2-4-0. A Warship in faded BR green!! Maybe not! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 I forgot to mention the footbridge. The steps and a bit of walling have been added behind the retaining wall. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 2015 has started rather strangely for me. I´ve actually finished something!!!! The station footbridge is now complete with the smoke (clag) deflector plates being the last items to install. Judging by the clearance between the roof of 58006 and the underside of the footbridge, any further purchases of overhead electrics will be a waste of money!! (Am I still looking for an excuse to buy a blue 71?). The roof has been weathered to hide any glue staining and some soot has been added to the sides as a few claggy diesels are known to pass through these parts. I´ve left the bridge in 2 pieces and this section slots into the retaining wall. Hopefully this will reduce the possibility of breakages if it gets a knock from one of my elbows. 2 tracks pass behind the retaining wall so it all needs to be removable - just in case. Due to the Christmas Network shutdown, the tarmac on the fastline platforms, 1 & 2 was relaid using the same colour of Vallejo acrilyc as the retaining walls although I only gave the platform a slight dusting. Just got to paint the yellow lines now which will probably be some yellow sticky vinyl that I seem to remember seeing at work. And to finish with, a video of a container train hauled by a Vossloh Euro4000 loco in Europorte colours. I found the body at the previously mentioned train fair in Madrid. The chassis has been swapped from my Spanish Continental Rail 335. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5115sDwXm_U&list=UU70ARPoklwVEnSLNyTlOtdw The platform canopies are the next job on the list. Happy New Year to all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridangel77 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Happy new year Andy......lots of work being done on the layout mate, the retaining wall looks fantastic and the station area as a whole. Terry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 Thanks Terry. Hope it´s a good one for you too. I made a start on the platform canopies yesterday evening. They are the Dapol version (old Airfix) and are quick to put together........once you´ve cleaned up all the flash from the edges. And here are 7 of them located in their intended position. I´m still debating on adding a couple more for the fast platform. The 3 canopies on top of the station buffet have been lengthened by adding an extra section to acheive the same width as the platform. And to keep you interested, Some BR Blue superpower. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 Only a quickie, but here is the Western accelerating away from Portland Grove a bit sharpish. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold fishytrains Posted January 6, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 6, 2015 Great videos. The canopies are looking good and I like what you have done with the footbridge. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Thanks Mike. Have you managed to get any work done on Park Road over the festive period? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold fishytrains Posted January 7, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 7, 2015 Apart from running in my new Class 128 and pretending to look intelligently at the work that needs to be done - no absolutely nothing! Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gromitdog Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Hi Andy Just read through your posts on Portland Grove what a great layout and highly detailed script of how the layout was designed and how it works in real time, I am in to steam and i was very interested in seeing your you tube video of your Hornby Standard 4 running up your helix pulling 20 wagons which looked great, From what I have read on the internet steam models don't have the pulling power as diesel models on a helix, May i ask you a couple of questions please, (1) How wide is the track bed on the helix. (2) How wide is ply at the support rods. ( (3) Would you know how many coaches the standard 4 would put pull there ?. Is the Standard 4 Loco a China made model ? I have just moved to France and have now got a room for a layout which hopefully will be about 12 x 8 to 13 x 9, I am still in the planning stage and after seeing your helix has me thinking if it would be possible to incorporate a helix into a Southern Steam Era layout using both Hornby and Bachmann steam locos Thank you for the great read and the inspiration Gromitdog Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Hi Andy Just read through your posts on Portland Grove what a great layout and highly detailed script of how the layout was designed and how it works in real time, I am in to steam and i was very interested in seeing your you tube video of your Hornby Standard 4 running up your helix pulling 20 wagons which looked great, From what I have read on the internet steam models don't have the pulling power as diesel models on a helix, May i ask you a couple of questions please, (1) How wide is the track bed on the helix. (2) How wide is ply at the support rods. ( (3) Would you know how many coaches the standard 4 would put pull there ?. Is the Standard 4 Loco a China made model ? I have just moved to France and have now got a room for a layout which hopefully will be about 12 x 8 to 13 x 9, I am still in the planning stage and after seeing your helix has me thinking if it would be possible to incorporate a helix into a Southern Steam Era layout using both Hornby and Bachmann steam locos Thank you for the great read and the inspiration Gromitdog Glad you enjoyed the read Gromitdog. I´ve put the measurements on these drawings. That should answer questions 1 & 2. If I was to start again I´d follow Poindexters lead and put a threaded rod every 45º. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/66572-millfield-a-helix-build-in-progress/ I added some simple supports on the outside of the helix only at 45º later. The Std 4 is a Chinese model. (Edit. The R number is 2715). I can´t answer question 3 as my Std 4 has departed these shores for maintenance although I´m pretty sure it wouldn´t be able to get 6 MK1s up the helix. There is a video of it spinning on the gradient leaving the station with 6 on and that isn´t as steep as the helix. It went back to the UK last Saturday with my sister with instructions to drop it into K&S in Stevenage the next time she is in the area. I don´t mind pulling diesel locos apart but the con rods and bits and pieces moving back and forth put the fear of God in me. When I get it back I´ll put it to the test. I have tried to find the videos I did at the time but can´t locate them. When I do I´ll see if I did some of it try to climb the helix. Obviously if you have the space, make the helix a larger diameter. My gradient could also be eased if I was to close the headroom between each turn. It is roughly 95-100mm and could be reduced by about 20mm but if there was ever a derailment in there, it would be a pig to sort. Saying that I don´t have many derailments thankfully. The other route I´d take is to use set track curves. Flexi-track is a pain to get a nice smooth join. Hope this answers your question. I look forward to seeing your progress. Regards Andy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gromitdog Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Hi Andy Thank you for your quick reply to my questions concerning your helix and thank you for the extra diamentions that you have kindly added which is a great help. I had the following plan in mind as I know that oo steam loco's are less able to cope with any gradients So I was going to make the inner line of the helix a 4th radius curve and use this as datum to lay flexi track on the out side of it and this should make it around a 5th radius curve and if I also make up a template to use on the outside edge of the helix to the sleeper's of the 5th radius it should hopefully be a fairly smooth curve as you say it will still be a pain to lay. I have a lot of white 9mm ply sheets that came with the 2nd hand baseboards so to keep the cost's down I was going to use this and for the vertical rods use 6mm Dia. As I have a load of 6mm washers and nuts left over from another project and bearing in mind what you said about adding extra supports at 45' so there would be 8 supports per complete circual. I have yet to measure the height of my highest loco chimmey on the track then add cork thickness and see where we are. As per your design starting at 100mm between levels of the helix and see if I can come down any ( even if its 5-8mm ) I will try and work out from your measurments what gradient of the up line ( 5th radius curve ) works out to be hopefully it come out around 2.5 %. Then I can rig up a trial gradient with straight track and a half curve then straight to see how it performs I know this is going to be max a 4th radius but it will give me some idea. As the price of ply here in France is as silly as it is in Spain and I don't want to waste what I have I am only looking for a max of a 5 coach Pullman train ( as Pullman cars are heaviest coach set I have and appox ten wagon trains. Regards Gromitdog Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 UPDATE TIME. You´ve not had many updates from me recently so here is a condensed “how I did my station canopies” posting. I didn´t use the supporting posts that came with the kits as they would have been too close to the platform edges so I used some 4mm “H” beams from Evergreen. These had some 1x2,5mm plasticard extensions added to the bottom few mm of H beam and are a push-fit into 3mm diameter holes drilled into the platform. The structure was a lot stronger than I thought it would be. Over on the slow line platforms I´ve glued 3 kits together with a “U” section in between. This will hopefully look like guttering once finished. This section has been given a coat of green. The supporting posts have been given a coat of “aged white” and will have the bottom third painted in green. The majority of the valencing was then fitted, primed and brush painted with Vallejo aged white acrylic. The cast iron posts have been drilled and a short length of wire inserted and these locate in some slightly larger holes in the platform surface. The idea being that if I knock it with my elbow, it should just pop out of the locating holes and not break. That´s the theory any way. The Airfix kits come with clear acetate sheet that would look far too clean and out of place so I srayed it with some 3M mounting adhesive and then a light blow over with some light grey acrylic paint to give the impression of streaking. It also hides some botching underneath the canopies. A picture of some “10 Commandment” BRUTES finally painted and in use on platform 3 along with some Bachmann platform tractors. Over Easter I got quite a bit done on the canopies.I thought they initially looked too one coloured so added a bit of beading along the edges. This also covered some gaps as well as breaking up the off-white valencing. I also added the remaining trussing between the 2 canopies over the bay platform. One from Google Earth showing some broken panes. Some name boards were added to the columns. And finally another “through the canopy “ shot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimleygrid Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Now that is how you model station canopies! Superb modelling, absolutely stunning. I now understand why you have not posted any updates, you have been seriously busy. I love the shots looking across under the canopies, the first one with the 105 and the last one with one of Stratford's finest, quality modelling, first class Sir. You must be over the moon with how it has turned out, I know that I would be! I cannot wait for your next update! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Stunning Andy, they really look the part. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Looking great David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Superb work there sir. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold fishytrains Posted April 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 25, 2015 Excellent work and very realistic. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Very nice modelling through out!!! cheers neil.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brush47337 Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Your layout is looking great Andy. It has come on in Leaps and bounds these past 2 years - I enjoyed a long slow catch up today. Not been near RMweb for 2 years - but you have certainly been very busy. Love the videos and the scenic stuff you have started to add. Stuart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hi Andy, Another one who has been absent for at least two years, sorry. It's most impressive to see how much you've done in that time, great stuff! Have you had to make any compromises with platform widths, canopy heights and so forth, with regard to running your lovely Iberian stock? Cheers, John E. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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