A twig off a Southern branch

[CaseyJ]

Please excuse the length of this my first post on this site. I have been at this model since June but due to a big mess with Sky I have only just got an internet connection working at home that I can contact the forum. Sky still isn't reliable and this is my fourth attempt at posting.

Having modelled American N gauge for the last 15 years I was pleasantly suprised to receive a OO Southern Schools Class for Christmas 2010. I was impressed by the way that the British ready to run models have been improved, the main reason for modelling American was the poor standards that existed 15 years ago with British outline in general.

I started planning a small layout based on the old Westerham Valley branch in Kent not far from where I lived as a child. Before everybody tells me that a Schools never ran on the branch I do intend to model Dunton Green with a piece of the main line eventually because I would like to run some of the new EMUs that are now appearing.

I started researching on the internet and I bought a few magazines and came across the Diorama Challenge. I was thinking about my new layout and the need to practice some British layout pieces so I have started on the 20" x11" twig of the branch. I needed to get back into laying OO track and I've used Peco code 100. I know it isn't politically or prototypically correct but I would like to build something reliable and simple and I know if I go down the rivet counting route I know it will never get finished.

I built the baseboard with a 2" x 1" frame and a 6mm ply top, I then put a layer of insulation board on top to get a little height for a contour for the embankment.

The track is partly laid on cork strips which I cut with a chamfered edge to give the ballast a shoulder, however it doesn't really show. I positioned the simple track plan and drilled holes for 4 wires to connect to the main line. I had a bit of a problem soldering wires to the track. I think because the new solder I have is lead free and doesn't seem to work as well, that's my excuse anyway. Any tips would be helpful but I have soldered N gauge years ago without this problem.

I laid the track and held it in position with map pins while I ballasted it. I didn't use track pins because I don't like the way they either distort the track or leave visible heads. Another problem I have is with the ballast. The original line was built in 1880-1881 by the South east and Chatham Railway, like the other railways in the south east at that time they saved their brass and laid track on shingle that they obtained free from the seaside. Unfortunately shingle is rounded and doesn't hold sleepers very well and follwing some accidents they were forced to use proper crushed stone.

My layout is to be based between 1933 and 1938 but the diorama is as the track was following closure in 1961. I have been unable to get a proper idea of the ballast but I know that by the time the line closed it was in a poor state and had a lot of cinders mixed with it. I have used medium brown, and dark brown, fine white because there is some limestone in the area and black mixed with some real ground soil. It looks ok and when I have finished with the vegetation that grew between and around the tracks it will do fine.

I am only building a small part of the station so there will be a small piece of the end of the platform, the signal box and a lavatory.

I bought my first Ratio Southern rail built signal and have had great fun, fiddly, bendy white metal bits, building it. I have used superglue to put it together and deviated from the instructions and followed some pictures of the prototype. The proper signal for my layout will be a SECR wooden one but it rotted away and was replaced sometime in the 1940s hence the Ratio one is correct for the diorama.

The diorama will have a functioning track and this will be connected through a shuttle unit to run my special "train" more on that to follow. I hope the first pictures have loaded properly, I hope I've worked out how to position them on this page.

[Stubby47]

A great first post, welcome to the forum and good luck with your Challenge entry. ( If your woodwork skills are representitive of your modelling, it should be very impressive !)

 

Stu

[Donw]

Good start. Regarding the lead free solder. In my experience it doesn't flow as well. Use some leaded solder if you can still get it.

Don

[CaseyJ]

Thanks for your kind comments. I am having major trouble with my ISP at home and can't get a connection long enough to upload any text let alone pictures.

Writing from work without access to photos now.

I have completed the track laying, wired up the main running line and connected the shuttle unit. It has been tested for continuity but requires the the two N4001 diodes connecting and the power supply. I hope to include the proper circuit diagram if I can. I have cut the track to isolate the ends and filled the gaps with epoxy to prevent the rails moving and joining the circuit inadvertantly. I didn't realise how difficult it would be to profile the epoxy to the track section. I have painted most of the track in a rusty orange/brown acrylic mixture and polished the running track but left the other two lines with rust on the rail tops. The line would have been quite neglected by the time I am portraying in spite of the efforts of the Westerham Valley Railway Association to re open the line and run a passenger service. There were weeds and grass growing between the rails as well as alongside the tracks.

I had a small disaster with the SR rail built signal when it refused to come out of the 1/2" hole I had drilled for it. It has taken a lot of gentle persuasion to get it anywhere near straight again and the acrylic paint has come off. I haven't time to build or locate a new one before the deadline. I have a timetable set to allow me to complete the signal box, lavatory and the motive power and having to stay at work late tonight wasn't in the plan.

The motive power is definitely unique and innovative so I'm desperate to get some pictures on here.

[CaseyJ]

A few pictures to show the progress

 

A quick glance with the ballast and scenery started.attachment=126949:DSCF1126.jpg]

 

A view showing my card mock up signal box to get an idea of the space required. attachment=126950:DSCF1128.jpg]

 

A view of the partly completed scratchbuild signal box, much to do yet. attachment=126952:DSCF1112.jpg]

[CaseyJ]

Still having problems uploading pictures. I have nearly completed the base and scenery and will try again tonight to load the pictures.

The signalbox is almost finished but I have a problem with the steps. I copied the drawings from David Gould's book "The Westerham Valley Railway" and drew them onto card, I have moved "lost" the book and I can't interpret my own drawing of the steps. All of the pictures I have seen online are of little help either.

The outside toilet just needs the door hanging and fixing to the base.

 

The Motive Power is really the unique and innovative part of this diorama. Although the line closed officially nearly 50 years ago October 1961, the following year saw a strange locomotive use the line. Forget Messrs Clarkson, May and Hammond on Top gear with their car based trains. A certain Mr Prescott, not the the Hull based boxer with two Jags, but an inventor patented his Railmobile.

I saw a clip on You Tube while researching the line and thought it might make a humourous addition to a layout so I have set out to build a OO scale version. More To follow.

[CaseyJ]

A view of the wiring, note that only the main running line is connected. The diodes required for the shuttle unit are just visible on the terminal block.

 

The circuit diagram.

[CaseyJ]

The Prescott Patent Railmobile

Although the Westerham Valley Branch line was officially closed in October 1961 just 50 years ago a group of people tried to keep the line alive and run a passenger service. It wasn’t to be and through a devious series of political events not only was the line closed but it was ensured that it couldn’t be reopened.

The Westerham Valley Passenger Association did manage to tidy up the station area and set about buying an engine and some rolling stock but none of it reached the line.

The last “Thing” to run on the track was actually the Railmobile.

I first discovered the Railmobile while researching the Westerham Valley Branch on the internet. There are two short films at www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsit-g18GSg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvBgfzsDIHo

 

The first clip shows a Hillman Imp on the Railmobile in 1962, the second a Ford Consul MkII. The Railmobile was powered by the driven wheels of the car running on rollers attached to a chain driven axle and could reach a speed of 30mph. According to David Gould the very last thing to use the track was a Landrover on the Railmobile in 1964 but I can’t find any pictures of it. The Landrover might have been the easiest to model but I managed to find a 1/76 Hillman Imp on Ebay.

I found a second hand Colgate truck to butcher for the chassis, in hindsight I might have made a better job with a scratchbuilt chassis.

I looked at installing a motor in the car until it arrived and I discovered exactly how small it is. I removed the plastic wheels and fitted a set of Bachmann metal spoked ones. Again with hindsight I should have bought some plain disc wheels as it looks like they were plain on the real thing but I had these in my toolbox.

The motor did come from a car, A Hornby micro Scalextric model that I retrieved from a bonfire. It is a little fast with the gearing as it is but with some weight I managed to get the chassis to run.

I cut the truck base to fit the motor and originally tried some fine brass wire for electrical pick-ups to all four wheels. The brass wire proved too stiff and prevented the wheels from turning freely.

Component parts

After much trial and many errors I found that I could fit the motor into the truck and use its own contacts directly onto two of the wheels. At first it was intermittent, the commutator was full of ash from the bonfire but a blast of compressed air and some lubrication freed it up and with some weight it worked. I had a problem getting the driven axle off the Scalextric chassis and then had to drill the main gear to fit on the Bachmann axle. The motor is tilted at an angle and with some plasticard I managed to secure it and align the gears.

A piece of plasticard was cut for the deck and glued on. I then discovered there wasn’t enough weight to keep the truck electrically connected to the track. I cut the deck off and tried a weight from an old tender. This worked but prevented the deck from fitting. I cut the weight into four and glued the pieces into place over the wheels and under the chassis and painted them matt black along with the motor to hide everything underneath. I then cut a new deck, cut a slot for the rollers. The rollers are fixed plastic tube recessed into the slot and painted black.

[CaseyJ]

I don't know what happened with the second URL but her it is

 

I wasn’t happy with the side frames of the truck so I trimmed as much of the detail off and made some new frames that look the prototype from plasticard and superglued them on.

 

These were very awkward to cut accurately but look reasonable now. I would have liked the time to try to build a brass chassis as that is a skill I need to try. I painted the body light grey at first but it looked wrong so I have repainted it light blue. Probably not the correct colour but the films are black and white.

The car looked wrong on the truck without a driver so I dismantled the car and with much cutting, painting, cutting and repainting I managed to get a driver to fit behind the wheel. Then his head prevented the body fitting properly so I had to remove the top of it. It can’t be seen through the car windows now but he looks OK. I haven’t tried to repaint the car or alter the registration plate.

[CaseyJ]

II have nearly finished the ballast and scenery and did some work on the signal box and the small piece of the platform last night.

The platform is made from a piece of wood suitably planed to height, faced with plastic brick and 1200 grade wet and dry paper for the surface. The edging stones are very thin plasticard cut to 3' lengths glued into a small rebate on the platform edge and painted dirty white. Just visible in this picture to the rear.

 

While waiting at Huddersfield station yesterday I found the October copy of Steam Days magazine which has an article about the 50th anniversary of the closure of the line. I was looking at one of the photos and decided to have a go and scratchbuild a lamp for the platform end while the scenery was drying.

I twisted a piece of square plastic rod into a suitable length for the barleycorn twist. I then bent a piece of plastic coated wire into a swan neck.

 

I cut some rings from plasic tube and glued them to the wire with a mixture of small plastic offcuts dissolved in some solvent glue. I keep a bottle mixed up to use as a liquid filler.

 

I then started to build up the base with some box section and tube and glued this to the barleycorn twist piece and the wire section to the top.

 

I next put a blob of Humbrol clearfix on the wire end to begin to form the light glass. I built this up with several layers and left it to dry overnight.

 

I hope to file it and get the contours right and paint it tonight.

[CaseyJ]

Finally able to post the next pictures and a final view. I there is something missing as there always is something that you can add to the detail. I know there is no rubbish lying around, the Volunteers made a good job of clearing the station area for real.

 

Following on from the scratchbuilt lamp post I added some point rodding made from sections of microstrip. Not perfect by any means but it does convey the appearance of the side of the track:

 

I took a few shots to show the overal view against a blue sheet. I haven't made a backscene as I intend viewing from all sides

 

 

People who knew the line or those that have studied it since, will notice the name plate is missing from the signal box. It is missing in the films so I assume it had been removed for safe keeping. I have tried to convey a small image of a part of the staion and include a unique but ill fated mode of transport on an ill fated line. 27 days from now will be the 50th anniversay of its closure.

[Wheeltapper]

If nothing else this ought to get an award for originality.

 

Thats absolutely brilliant - very very well done.

[Matador]

All I can say is a Dovetail Joint warms my heart that someone can take the time for a little bit of craftsmanship even if only on a Model Railway.

DC Snr

A Brit in the USA

[ChrisB]

Somehow, this seems to capture the spirit of modelling. Well done.