Mount Pleasant

[L49]

Mount Pleasant is the new 00 finescale layout under construction by the Mile End Methodist church finescale group. We have been meeting on a Thursday evening for the past few weeks, and I thought it was about time I posted some progress shots on RMweb.

 

 

We are modelling a section of the Metropolitan Widened Lines between Farringdon and Kings Cross, close the the site of the fantastically named 'Granville' Box.

 

 

As you can see, the trackplan includes some of the features from Farringdon, chiefly the long single track crossover with single slips between the Inner Circle and Widened lines tracks, and a siding on the up side for a banker.

 

 

This is a first for all of us, as we have never attempted anything using handmade pointwork before, but the good news is that it all seems to work pretty well. I did a very scrappy wiring job the other morning, and there are no shorts, and that awful Hornby Jinty chassis runs quite sweetly. The N7 is only there for clearance testing, and to see how a kitbuilt chassis copes with the trackwork.

 

We will get more photos uploaded as soon as we have made some more progress. If anyone is interested in joining the group, we meet on a Thursday evening in Mile End Methodist Church, Nayland Road, Colchester. Anyone is welcome to come along and get involved.

[Oldddudders]

Trackwork looks lovely, so good news for a first try. I am used to thinking that when seeing pics of O, P4 or EM track, so it's nice to be able to say it when it's OO, too!

[Baby Deltic]

Looks like you've been busy Charlie. I'll try and find the C&L's for tomorrow.

Edited November 23, 2011 by Baby Deltic

[Baby Deltic]

Good progress was made this evening. We got the C&L board joiners in and laid a lot more cork and track. The layout was test run and all appears OK.

Edited November 25, 2011 by Baby Deltic

[L49]

We have been getting a few more jobs done on the layout recently, although the progress seems to have been pretty slow since Christmas. However it picked up during the week, so hopefully this evening will see some more work done on the scenic side, while hopefully Baby Deltic may be able to get some work done on the wiring side.

 

 

The first shot is just a general view looking south-east (towards Farringdon) through the cutting, showing the extent of trackwork and ballasting.

 

 

Second is a shot looking the other way (towards Kings Cross) The station area is in the foreground, with the start of the timber framing for the platform sections which aren't under the roof in the foreground. The ballast has been left rough along the edges here until the platform facing walls go in to ensure they fit snugly and there is clearance before everything is firmly bedded in.

 

 

I just laid some stock out on the layout last night to get a feel for how it might look when everything is up and running. The 3F is in the up MWL siding, whilst the met electric is on the westbound Met. My namesake is disappearing through the bridge heading east with a brake van.

 

 

The 3F heads east on the up MWL side. Both the Met lines and the up MWL will be electrified, as for a few years the up Widened Line was used as a relief route for electric services terminating at Moorgate, to alleviate the problem of crossing them over into the bay roads.

 

 

Finally a close up of the framework for the timber platform on the westbound Met side. The framing has been based on a photo of St Johns Wood Road. This is the third go at getting this bit right. I finally ended up making a jig to ensure that all the framing parts were square and level, and have been making up standard components to complete the job. It won't help me too much once we get to the point where the westbound side narrows to allow space for the feed into the headshunt.

[L49]

Thursday evening saw quite a bit of work done on the layout. Peter has finished the framework for the overall roof, while Jim got on with making more platform sections using the jig. Yours truly got started on the bridge plates to go over the Met line tracks.

 

 

Colin brought his Bachmann L89 along, so we posed s couple of shots of her with L49.

 

 

L89 is in the postal sidings, awhile L49 is crossing over from the headshunt onto the westbound Met.

 

 

Lloyd turned up with his latest purchases, so we couldn't resist getting some pictures of them on the layout. L49 gets Baby Deltic out of trouble!!

 

 

Finally, we took Shoreditch to Chesham on Saturday. It was a fantastic day, and really showed us the benefits of having a small layout. It took half an hour at most to set up and get it running. We were on the way home 15 minutes after the show closed. Now that's what I call slick!!!

[Joseph_Pestell]

Looking really good. I think this will be a real crowd-puller at exhibitions.

[L49]

Here are just a couple of more recent shots of progress on the layout. I will try to fill in some of the blanks later!

 

 

First is a general shot along the platforms with the retaining walls in position, although not yet properly bedded in. the back wall has only been propped up quikly to see how the finished result will look, likewise the back of the street level building is propped up on a tea canister to see how the levels work.

 

 

Next is a view from the stairs end towards Kings Cross, again the walls are only propped up to see how it all looks.

 

 

Finally a shot of the little bit of work I managed to get done yesterday afternoon. The flimsy bridge across the platform ends has finally gained some reinforcement, and a little detail under the main arch. I think it makes quite a big difference now you can't see sky through the brick vaults along the beam.

[L49]

A couple of pics of the progress last week. Most of the above board work has been going on in the station area, with Peter, Dad and yours truly, getting ready to test fit the roof. The main station walls are almost complete, except for some of the relief detailing. I was hoping to be able to include the name frieze in the line colour along the top of the poster boards, but although I've read it was first introduced in the 50s, it doesn't appear to have reached the Inner Circle until much later. The tiling scheme I have copied is therefore rather more archaic. It is based on some LT officials which we picked up at an LT museum sale a few years back, which show patterned tile panelling along both side platforms at Aldersgate, obviously pre war as it still had a roof!

 

Below baseboard level, Ron had been hard at work sorting out point motors, and checking that everything runs freely through the pointwork, which is a job that should have been done long ago, but none of us had any enthusiasm to get on and do it. I think I for one will revert back to Peco trackwork for any future projects! SMP looks great, but it is an awful pain to make it all work properly.

 

 

 

This is our version of the tile-work. It is hard to tell what colour the prototype was from the photos, but we had already used some 1920s tiling from Euston Square in part of the design for the street level building, so we decided to continue the same colour scheme down to platform level.

 

 

However utterly improbable it might be, I couldn't resist the temptation to leave one very dirty Met diamond nameboard in situ under the stairs on the westbound, alongside an equally vintage poster for the Finsbury Park Empire. I will have to think about reprinting the newer 'LPTB' nameboards, as the printing on them was very indistinct and hard to read.

 

 

Finally, a shot looking north along the westbound platform. The opposite wall is slightly different, as the stairs come down behind the main wall, which is more typical for a station on the Circle line, I hoped we could do the same on both sides, but the presence of the headshunt behind the w/b platform put a stop to that. I have included the picture below just because it shows the tiling and the arch where the stairs will come out, but I'm afraid it's a terrible shot!

 

 

I suppose we'd better start tacking those 3rd and 4th rails fairly soon!

[rob D2]

I'm not familiar with the prototype, but that's lovely modelling .

[Baby Deltic]

Its coming on nicely Charlie.

[ChrisM]

Nice work guys, this screams London to me already, I look forward to seeing it evolve - once everything is weathered it should be something special!

 

I admire the pace at which you work as well, I had missed this one until today...

[Joseph_Pestell]

Agreed. They have done a lot in the last few days. Full of character.

[L49]

I thought it was about time I posted an update on Mount Pleasant. This is how the layout looked after we finished last night. under board work is coming along well, and hopefully we will be able to run some trains again in the next couple of weeks.

 

Above board, we have all been working on different bits around the station area. After some rejigging of the stairway on the westbound platform (where yours truly forgot that it had to fit under the overall roof!) the booking office building is starting to take shape. The Midland 3F is on gauging trials after I noticed just how tight the clearance is behind the eastbound stairway building, it's not as tight as it looks, but it is still pretty close!

 

 

The new outline of the footbridge stairways is show on the back of the building

 

 

and shoving the camera right in under the arch, you get this view along the platforms. The roof is only temporarily propped in for the time being, as there is still plenty of work needing to be done at platform level.

 

 

From the other end, this is the view looking south. Peter and Dad have been working on installing the platform fence on the eastbound side. The westbound will be done next Thursday.

 

 

 

Last but by no means least Shelly has finished the first stage of the low relief town-houses to go behind the station. (not on the up MWL as pictured here!)

 

 

That's it for now. Hopefully next week will see some more work done on the stairways and the platform fencing. I feel a signal cabin coming on next!

[pointstaken]

Those abutment walls are superbly done - you've really caught the atmosphere. I shall be back for further viewings.It just shows how a small layout and/or diorama can give such an excellent reproduction of a given scene.

 

Dennis

[pwr]

Really atmospheric guys. What will you be using for the underground stock? A60 units would feel right a lonside those baby Deltics

 

Paul R

[trisonic]

You can tell it works if it makes me feel home-sick, and it does.

 

I bet by the time of the proposed GEAG of RMWeb meeting in the Fall you lot will have started a new layout!

 

Thanks for sharing, your work does mean a lot to me, really.

 

Best, Pete.

[L49]

Thank you for all the positive comments guys. Sorry to be making you homesick Pete! I think from my own perspective this whole project (and most of the modelling I do) is about trying to recreate a past scene which I am too young to have ever really known, so it is really encouraging to hear positive comments (and criticism too!) both are really helpful to us.

 

last night was a bit of a catching up evening, not helped by the fact that I was stuck in a meeting on the floor below the clubroom discussing the pros and cons of replacing guttering on the Church Hall, while upstairs, unknown to me, the exciting drama of the missing extension lead was being played out! The upshot was that Ron had no power to get on with the soldering, so the end board is still covered with point motors waiting to be installed. Dad had to fix some of my mistakes from last week on the back of the building, and Peter was sorting out the fencing on the westbound side. I finally managed to make an appearance just in time for tea break, soon after which we decided to repair to the Brickies for some liquid inspiration.

 

Anyway, I sneaked back in this morning on my way to work (joys of being self employed!) and got a little bit more work done on the main building, particularly getting a floor in to give it some strength, and trimming 2.5mm of the bottom of the back wall of the stairway building to ensure that everything was sitting flush at platform level and square to the roof.

 

I snapped a few more pictures to give an idea how things are looking, although to be honest they are very similar to the last set...

 

 

First is a pigeon's eye view looking down through the roof. Sorry about the flash, it was a bit dingy in the clubroom this morning.

 

 

Second is a general view of the booking office building with it's floor and the back walls of the extension now in place. Considering the work of CW Clark is considered to be classic Met architecture, he really didn't spend much time embellishing the back of his rebuilt stations. I was slightly underwhelmed with the elevations overlooking the roof of the original station building! I guess on reflection that as modellers we always want to recreate interesting structures, when in reality what we see around us is 80+% mundane.

 

 

I shoved the camera under the roof, really just to see if there was anything needed doing or tidying up, and I think this is quite an impressive angle, and one which no-one will ever really be able to see.

 

 

One of the great benefits of digital photography is that it gives us the means to inspect our work from as many angles and in far greater detail within it's context than is possible just working by eye. Sometimes this an lead to depressing revelations though, like last week when I realised that the tilework on the stairs didn't quite match up. It is better now, but still not quite perfect!

 

 

 

Finally a couple of views of my trusty old Met electric on a set of Street Level dreadnoughts posed in the station. I couldn't resist the urge to do some photosohop on the black and white one! I have just finished detailing the roofs of the stock with some whitemetal vents and rainstrips, and I think it is quite an improvement.

Edited June 15, 2012 by L49

[Southernboy]

Wonderfully atmospheric, you've captured that slightly claustrophobic, subterranean feel superbly and I love it.

 

In the picture below: I've just realised the tiles in front of the booking office mark the line of the stairs - when complete they are going to lend to the sense of confinement even more evocatively, especially down the right-hand wall. I'll be looking forward to that ...

 

 

 

 

I was wondering how the roof was made (etches? / Plasticard?) ... and also wondering what period you are modelling (like a particular year? or broadly a decade or so?)

 

Thanks

[Baby Deltic]

Those pictures look good Charlie.

[ChrisN]

I have been to that station, I am sure of it. What a fabulous model!

[Baby Deltic]

You can tell it works if it makes me feel home-sick, and it does.

 

I bet by the time of the proposed GEAG of RMWeb meeting in the Fall you lot will have started a new layout!

 

Thanks for sharing, your work does mean a lot to me, really.

 

Best, Pete.

 

We don't have enough room to start another layout Pete. We've got my layout (Harford Street) down one side of the room and Mount Pleasant down the other, with Shoreditch in the middle.

[gordon s]

Just stumbled on this one early this morning and must say you have created one beautiful model. It all looks so right on every level and like others, immediately brought back memories of travelling into York Road from North London and down into the widened lines to Moorgate. I'll always remember the smell of Platform 16 at Kings Cross. A heady mix of creosote and pitch plus years of steam workings through the tunnel. Add to that a complete covering of dirt and grime, some N2's and sets of Quad Arts and the picture was complete.

 

Thanks for showing us such a thought provoking build.

 

Any chance you could show us a bit more constructional detail of those beautiful retaining walls? They look very precise indeed. Have they been laser cut or is that the work of another card master craftsman?

[L49]

Wonderfully atmospheric, you've captured that slightly claustrophobic, subterranean feel superbly and I love it.

 

In the picture below: I've just realised the tiles in front of the booking office mark the line of the stairs - when complete they are going to lend to the sense of confinement even more evocatively, especially down the right-hand wall. I'll be looking forward to that .

 

I was wondering how the roof was made (etches? / Plasticard?) ... and also wondering what period you are modelling (like a particular year? or broadly a decade or so?)

 

Thanks

 

Thanks Southernboy. That's exactly the feel we are going for. It will be even more confined once the bridges and tunnels are in further along the line. The idea is that the Met will go into tunnel before the widened lines at the north end, to give some of that impression that you get between Farringdon and Kings Cross where you catch glimpses through gaps in the retaining wall from one line to the other.

 

The overall roof is an out of the box Peco kit, just without the glazing sheets in. We are agonising over the best and simplest way to complete this, as we really don't want to use the moulded plastic glazing from the original kit, and we want to replicate the post war look with odd panes missing. I think we are going to have to go the long way round and glue individual glazing bars in place and glaze it one sheet at a time.

 

I have been playing with the CNC cutter over the weekend getting ready to do the stairs. As a test I have produced the frames to go round the nameboards on the platform ends, I will try to get some photos posted later. Hopefully now we know the thinnest cut that the machine can do, I can get the stairway handrails cut out by Thursday. Peter is casting the stairs themselves in resin, so on Thursday evening we are hoping to get them installed. I need to get the other bits of the street level building done then before the whole lot can be fixed permanently......

 

...And someone still needs to install the conductor rail (Well volunteered BD!!!!!....

[L49]

 

Any chance you could show us a bit more constructional detail of those beautiful retaining walls? They look very precise indeed. Have they been laser cut or is that the work of another card master craftsman?

 

I don't know how to answer that one... I don't know whether any of us count as master craftsmen! The retaining walls along the back of the cutting were built by Peter as a first go in card kit building, and they have come out really nicely. The only problem we encountered during construction was finding a way to strengthen them sufficiently to work on an exhibition layout. Peter ended up cutting wedges out of timber to fill in the void behind each buttress, and the back of the parapet was mounted on 1/16" obechi. We did have to add some extra buttressing to cover the joins between each sheet before they were weathered, and the stone mouldings at the base of the parapet was added in grey card which was used as packing material where I used to work.

 

I built the station walls were essentially built the same way, although to save time I did cut the thin card arches out on the CraftRobo cnc cutting machine. They are built up in three main layers. Each face is a layer of printed thin card laminated onto a layer of 1.5mm mountboard with Craftmount, which is then cut through and the edges are painted. The core of each wall is a sheet of mountboard with a printed card face laminated onto both sides. The cut out sheets were then glued on front and back to give the nice deep recesses between the buttresses. The details were then built up with strips of printed card and grey board.

 

The tiled sections are another layer of printed card on a base of mountboard to support it and hold it clear of the brickwork.

 

I know it is contentious point, but I really believe that if card is well designed, well cut and glued neatly, and as long as the edges are properly treated so there is no white showing, it gives a far more realisitic impression of brickwork than the equivalent in plasticard; and it's less likely to warp!

 

I'll get some more details shots of the walls later and upload them as soon as I get a chance.