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THE RAMCHESTER CHRONICLES


HSB
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Well Paul here it is.

 

The mock up shown in the post above was not quite how Howard liked it. Earlier this week he turned up with a reprint and proceeded to paint over some of the foliage and today he actually glued it to the back scene. There is a little space to the left just behind the station and he plans to print and paste "The Railway Inn" another picture alongside the terraced row. He needed to alter the back scene slightly as it was not quite right and next time he comes round he will install the above mentioned Inn. I feel that the improvement that he has made is way and beyond what was there before but I am perhaps biased, I will rely on your judgement.

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Please note that the station has been more or less cleared of passenger, luggage and barrows, etc to make it easier for him to work on the backscene. These will be replaced when all is done.

 

Rod

 

 

 

 

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Rod

 

I am really impressed with the sense of depth this gives the backscene. Howard has really pulled this one off. Do you have any more photos of the area from further back?

 

Paul R

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Hello Paul.

 

Thanks for your kind comments.

 

I will post another shot as soon as I can get around to taking some more photos. I have to repeat that the alterations that have been made are a massive improvement on what was there before. Watch this space.

 

 Rod

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On 15/07/2020 at 20:54, HSB said:

And this is what will go on the end of the row of shops (largely hidden behind the station building!)

 

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Does a Free House mean that the beer doesn't cost anything?

 

I have the same issue with eggs. When you ask for some Range Eggs you shouldn't have to pay for them as it says free on the box!

 

Ha ha

 

Paul R

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Howard and I met up this afternoon for another session on the layout.He concentrated on the Railway Inn (free house - no Paul not the beer) and has now glued it into position. From most angles it is barely visible but when looking along the platform it comes into view. We nay need to add a light behind the station as the station building casts a shadow over it but this will come in time. I believe that Howard will still do a little more work on the area before he is completely satisfied.

The first photo was taken from across the room and gives a general idea as to what the whole scene looks like. you will notice that from thisangle the Railway Inn is totally hidden.

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The next one shows the view looking along the platform towards the station building. Here you will see the Inn tucked away behind the station. It could be that the shadow is because it is behind the North Western Hotel which is immediately behind the the SB.

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Please ignore the broken station lamp which Howard caught as he was woking behind the station. He was very annoyed with himself for breaking this but has promised to put it right

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The last picture is a close up of the area.

 

In the meantime I made a start on getting TL couplings on my banana wagons and have screwed the couplings to their respective plastic mounts. Next time I will hopefully fit them to the outer ends of the vans and leave the 3 links in place between them as I intend to run them together.

 

All for now.

 

Rod

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

With all this lovely weather we have been having just lately nothing much has happened on the layout. Today Howard and I had a session down in Platform 2 in an effort to rectify this situation but as luck would have it we did not really manage very much at all. My intention was to fit the TL couplings to my banana vans and I set out with much enthusiasm hoping to get the job done. By the time we had had a chat and a cup of tea it was getting on well into the afternoon but undaunted I took up my tools and began. Checking where I needed to drill a hole for the bolt which secures the coupling/block to the underside of the van I started to use a pin chuck to make a pilot hole. It was almost through when the two halves of the block separated and as a result had to be re cemented together using liquid poly which meant that nothing more could be done on the coupling until the cement had hardened (tomorrow). Somewhat daunted I put this to one side and started on the second coupling/block and this time all went well until I had to shorten the block so that it would fit properly. To cut a long story short on the last few strokes of the razor saw the two pieces also separated and these too had to be re cemented and put to one side to harden. To sum up I did practically nothing so have put today down to experience.

 

Meanwhile Howard was titivating the area of the back scene to hide the joint where the two pictures meet. After this he set about repairing one of the station lamps which had got broken during his work on the backscene after which he attached the second side of the BG to the chassis. He had a good day and I hope he was well pleased.

 

Strange how some days go but ah well there is always tomorrow.

 

Rod

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Rod

 

Your new backscene reminds me of Harrogate.  Perhaps Ramchester is a spa town after all. You could run trains of bottled mineral water - Ramchester Spring!

 

You are right about how some days go. I often sit down in the modelling room planning to get something done and either end up doing something else or achieving very little. Often I need to think about how to engineer a solution so need to put something down for a few days until it comes to me. My current LNER wagon project is like that but I am very nearly done now and looking forward to paining it.

 

Paul R

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Hi Paul.

 

I like your idea of running "water" trains into Ramchester even on wet days lol. Thanks for your encouraging words re non progress days I feel better now that I know this is not an uncommon occurrence. I really must take a look at your thread as soon as I can find a little time.

 

Rod

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I do feel your pain Rod on the banana vans. So frustrating. Still got two of mine with defects to rectify. One to attach the coupling and one missing wheel bearing that Dapol can't supply! I am still hopeful it might be in the box although when I did a quick look I couldn't see anything.

 

Paul R

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Hi Paul. Sorry to hear that you have had problems with your vans. I must have been lucky with my banana vans as they are all OK with no missing parts. Too nice to be cooped up in the shed today so nothing done. Last night was so hot that I hardly had any sleep so I reckon that tonight I might go to bed a bit earlier.

 

Rod

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I am very fortunate to have air conditioned bedrooms and other rooms in the house and this has improved my sleep no end. Modern houses act like a storage radiator and simply pump out the heat overnight and it gets unbearable. 

 

Paul R

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Had a good day yesterday and managed to fit TL couplings to the outer ends of my banana vans leaving the three links between the vehicles. This is a good compromised I think as I will run them as a "train" rather than individual wagons. Howard did a little more work on my BG as well as consuming cups of tea and chocolate biscuits.

 

Rod

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

It is a while since I last posted so I feel that an update is needed.

 

Yesterday Howard and I had a session down in Platform 2 to embark upon a little bit of modelling. Last time we met I completed the task of fitting TL couplings to my banana vans so yesterday I removed them and painted the mounting block matt black and when dry re screwed them back in place. Howard continued doing jobs on my BG which is now showing signs of real progress.

 

Below are two pictures of my vans before the coupling block had been painted. They now need some weathering before they enter service officially.

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More anon.

Rod

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Howard and I got together this afternoon while Maggie was out with her friends. He sat down, had a cuppa and a chocy biscuit, then picked up the instructions to carry out the next stage on the construction of the BG. Here he is "working" - well he had been prior to this photo being taken. Over the last two sessions he had cut and cemented the upper foot boards on both sides of the body (5 each side).

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This is what he has achieved so far.

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While he was busy with this I decided to have a running session to ensure that all was well for the pending visit of Peter Crichton (Savoyard) who is coming to Torquay on Sunday to "inspect" Ramchester. If you read this Peter I hope you have a pleasant journey down here and that you will enjoy your visit (hope you received my instructions). Below are a few photos of the testing being done.

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The Black 5 has brought the stock to form the train to London into The station and has pulled into the release road ready to run round its train.

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Having taken on water the station pilot is ready to do a "test" run around the whole station.

 

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At this point 47361 has almost completed it run save for the goods yard adjacent to the station.

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A couple of minor glitches showed up but these were soon put right - I am pleased to say.

 

Rod

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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28 minutes ago, Hal Nail said:

I was about ask the same as unless I've missed the start, it randomly appeared a few posts back! I'm assuming Easy Build?

 

That's what I thought but would love to know!  I am  building  an Easybuild Mk1 SK - not been without problems but getting there. I started it  rather too long ago, got held up for transfers but when they arrived I was on to something else. I've got a couple of Dapol MK1's on order as a comparison but different liveries.

 

Paul R

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The BG is indeed an Easybuild which Rod half-built a couple of years and which I'm now going to complete for him. I found etches in the kit for the lower guard's steps which I am now in the process of modifying. On the left is the original etch with just the step folded up and reinforced with a fillet of solder. The other one has ben cut to the right length and had new closer-to-scale, brackets soldered on at the right spacing. The picture's not very sharp I'm afraid as I have no macro facility on my phone

 

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And after Rod took that sneaky picture of me yesterday here's one of him playing trains today! :mosking:

 

IMG_20200827_163043.jpg.2096681092e3defd45e6cd32a45464ba.jpg

 

Edited by HSB
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While Howard was working on my BG (yes an Easibuild kit) I gave some more of my stock a run in readiness for Peter C's visit tomorrow. Here are a few more pictures that I took which I hope you will enjoy.

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4F No 44360 arrives in Ramchester light engine. After the station pilot has sorted out the wagons this loco will proceed towards Carlisle with the afternoon freight.

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Later the Type 1 Bo-Bo (later class 20) arrives with the late running mail train. The delay was caused by a failed loco at Carlisle so the Scottish based Class 20 had to be pressed into service.

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Another "Jinty" No 47357 gets the disc signal to move onto the main line. This is a local arrangement which was introduced some years ago but would probably have been frowned upon by the BR rule book.

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D2227 a class 04 pokes its nose into Ramchester ready to pick up a train of oil tankers later in the day.

 

All for now but hopefully more soon.

 

Rod

 

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