Banbury in N scale - A great time at the Abingdon in March 2024

[big jim]

 

A trip to Banbury tomorrow to get some more detail photos and shots of freight traffic.

 

 

i stop there about 16.10ish heading to london, then i pass back through going north with the non stop 67 but its dark by then

[Gummy-Joe]

Looking at the photos here I am struck at how the sense of spaciousness that is possible in N is conveyed in the open spaces of your layout, rather than by running very long trains - the six or so carriages you have in your trains look convincingly "long" and in proportion to the environment that you've created. Really impressive stuff!

[beast66606]

Because of this the Scottish/Anglo sleeper is being dragged by a 67 via Banbury, running empty from Crewe - Wembley as 5M11, I think 67011 is at the head, another possible train for you.

[roundhouse]

Because of this the Scottish/Anglo sleeper is being dragged by a 67 via Banbury, running empty from Crewe - Wembley as 5M11, I think 67011 is at the head, another possible train for you.

 

Saw it as Leamington but as wasn expecting it didn't get the shots on the sunny side.

 

Big Jim - Departed at 15.38 on a not too crowded Chiltern set as need to be back home to meet some friends. Wish I had seen your posts earlier.

 

Ian

Edited February 5, 2012 by roundhouse

[roundhouse]

Took this video on 3 february at banbury. This loco can be seen in the much smaller version of Banbury at Eurotrack later this month!

 

[big jim]

Shame you left on the 15.38, my booked 168 was substituted with 67018 and stock, Basically the return working of the train in the video, arrived into banbury 30 mins after you left!!

Edited February 5, 2012 by big jim

[roundhouse]

Jim -There was an extra heading to Birmingham aswell which I think was the one I video'd but was htinking this was the normall one at the time till I saw the next Northbound loco hauled about 20 minutes alter!!

 

Would have stayed longer at Banbury but had to meet up with soem friends that evening back home.

 

Ian

[big jim]

The extra loco hauled was mine, the one in the video, it normally works the 15.55 from moor st however the 15.55 had the multi coloured 7 coach "banbury" set on it, the one that you saw going north 20 mins after mine

Edited February 6, 2012 by big jim

[roundhouse]

Jim - will try and give you more notice if I can when next visiting Banbury.

 

Did manage to get quite a few shots of frieght and in particular the Kineton to Didcot service in the morning and then the Theale to Lindsey tanks in the afternoon but they weren't very good shots as it came through a fewm inutes early just as the train we were about to catch came in.

 

I also notice htey have changed the big Banbury sign on the main building so the sign I fixed a few weeks ago is already out of date along with the other recent changes mentioned in previous posts.

 

Oh well, the layout is now definitely a period model set in 2011!!

 

Ian

[roundhouse]

Not a lot to report on the progress on the layout at the moment. However, I woke up earlier than normal this morning so sat at the PC and counted bricks on the photos I have of Banbury South box, ready to work out the dims lunchtime. Hope to start building this box tonight and should be ready in time for the Eurotrack show as its not a particularly difficult structure. I have the pantile type tiling the box now has on the roof along with the lever frame and insturment shelves to go inside, so this might be the first structure on Banbury to get interior lighting.

 

The Network Rail building is under construction but I need to be in the right frame of mind to cut the remaining windows out as one slip and I may have to start the sides again.

 

There are some portacabins right at the front of the layout to build. Did look at using the Knightwing kits but the windows are wrong in the kit so might aswell scratch build them.

 

WIll put some photos of the box on here when there is enough to see.

 

Meanwhile the rolling stock is being weathered with most now done. The Network Rail class 57 now has a decoder fitted so will be seen working on the layout at Eurotrack.

 

Ian

[roundhouse]

Last night I started building the South signal box. Main structure together with the brickwork in place.

 

Howeve,r when offering up the etched ratio windows I found that htey wont fit. So to make them fit I need to lengthen the box by 10mm. The box also looks too small when put on the layout and a loco postitioned on the track next ot it. I know I have counted the correct unmber of bricks then times the brick size with moretar joints at 225mm per brcik then divided by 148 to get the N scale dimension. Much the same for the height at 75mm per course.

 

So today I will ahev to think hard as to whether I scratch build my own windows or alter the box structure.

 

Any thoughts from anyone welcomed.

 

Ian

[beast66606]

Are you sure the brick sizes are as you state ? (Not doubting but that would explain the error)

 

To double check - can you scale the box from an alternate source ? a signal for example.

 

Maybe someone has the dimensions ?

[Kris]

Last night I started building the South signal box. Main structure together with the brickwork in place.

 

Howeve,r when offering up the etched ratio windows I found that htey wont fit. So to make them fit I need to lengthen the box by 10mm. The box also looks too small when put on the layout and a loco postitioned on the track next ot it. I know I have counted the correct unmber of bricks then times the brick size with moretar joints at 225mm per brcik then divided by 148 to get the N scale dimension. Much the same for the height at 75mm per course.

 

So today I will ahev to think hard as to whether I scratch build my own windows or alter the box structure.

 

 

Uneven mortar joints? Even only allowing an extra 5mm per joint you can soon gain a foot and if some are greater than this discrepancies would build even faster.

[Fat Controller]

Just measured the house-bricks on our outside wall: 245 mm x 80mm, including mortar. Dad used to use the dimensions (albeit Imperial) that you gave when estimating, but that was to allow spare bricks for cutting etc.

[The Stationmaster]

Last night I started building the South signal box. Main structure together with the brickwork in place.

 

Howeve,r when offering up the etched ratio windows I found that htey wont fit. So to make them fit I need to lengthen the box by 10mm. The box also looks too small when put on the layout and a loco postitioned on the track next ot it. I know I have counted the correct unmber of bricks then times the brick size with moretar joints at 225mm per brcik then divided by 148 to get the N scale dimension. Much the same for the height at 75mm per course.

 

So today I will ahev to think hard as to whether I scratch build my own windows or alter the box structure.

Any thoughts from anyone welcomed.

Ian

Ian, 225mm per brick including mortar sounds slightly too small to me. Traditional brick size was always quoted as '9 inches' (we'll come back to mortar in a moment) and you could always count '4 courses:1 ft' in the vertical although brick thickness was regarded as '3 inches'.

 

Now a problem comes with the mortar thickness - especially on the GWR which didn't always use ordinary mortar when constructing brick structures - because it would vary or even be varied in order to make the dimensions as required by the drawing. But I think that 9"x 3" is normally the accepted old standard for brick plus mortar (I have some Imperial size bricks outdoors but they are buried under the snow - I can check later if you wish).

 

BTW I am assuming that when you say the windows don't fit you do mean that they don't fit when overlapped?

[roundhouse]

Thanks for all your comments re brick sizes.

 

I am used to using modern day bricks but when I did a bit of a search last night on old brick sizes it just came up with 215 x 65 which is the modern day Uk brick size.

 

Mortar is normally 10mm but in some cases it can be less. Not normally more than that though and on thep hotos i have of the box the mortar joints dont look particularly large. However, the brick size is probably the issue but the only Victorian bricks I have been able to measure are the same as modern ones.

 

I think I will add about 8mm to the box length whichI can do by cutting it in the middle then overclad in more brick styrene, thus giving me a little bit more width.

 

WIll post some photos tonight if I get that far.

 

Ian

Edited February 10, 2012 by roundhouse

[Fat Controller]

9" long x 3" high X 4" deep is what I was taught was the size of an Imperial house-brick without mortar- a quick measure outside the back door (house built in 1911) suggests this is correct.

[roundhouse]

Are you sure the brick sizes are as you state ? (Not doubting but that would explain the error)

 

To double check - can you scale the box from an alternate source ? a signal for example.

 

Maybe someone has the dimensions ?

 

Nothing really around the box to scale apart form a door opening but they can vary.

 

The station buildings were easy aswell as the road bridge as they are accessible to measure but the boxes arent.

 

Ian

[roundhouse]

9" long x 3" high X 4" deep is what I was taught was the size of an Imperial house-brick without mortar- a quick measure outside the back door (house built in 1911) suggests this is correct.

 

9" is 225mm long so I need to add another 10mm per brick - gives me about naother 570mm / 148 = 4mm in N scale. Gets me closer on the length.

 

However a 3" high brick is equivalent to 65mm brick plus 10mm morter which is what I have used in workng the hieght out.

 

Thanks

 

Ian

[Revolution Ben]

Hello Ian,

 

I might be tempted to work backwards here. Play around with card offcuts and sellotape to make a box that "looks" the right length and width actually on the layout - and that has window sizes to suit your etched frames - then simply make the building that size using as many scaled brick courses as are required.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[roundhouse]

Ben

 

yes should have done that but the structure is made now and I thought I had got it right for the etched windows (with the overlap) but not sure where I went wrong!

 

I can do a few mods to save what has been built so far.

 

Ian

[Eggesford box]

Ben

 

yes should have done that but the structure is made now and I thought I had got it right for the etched windows (with the overlap) but not sure where I went wrong!

 

I can do a few mods to save what has been built so far.

 

Ian

Hi Ian,

 

bit late in the day but the measurements of the South box above the plinth are:-

Length 42' 1"

Widrth 12' 1"

Where the plinth is seven bricks the height is 23" and the splay bricks are 3"

Measured by tape measure single handed so there is a bit of room for error with tape sagging slightly no matter how hard you pull it and eyeballing the length at corners with bullnose bricks but should still be within two or three inches and more accurate than brick counting. Thinking about it I should have measured the window frames to see if the error was in the dimensions of the etches. Do you still need photos of the buffet?

 

David

Edited February 13, 2012 by Eggesford box

[roundhouse]

Thanks David

 

I was more or less spot on with my original dimensions thn. Oh well I have now made it a touch too big to make the etches fit so looks like it will have to be 96mm long instead of about 86mm long. On that basis the etches must be a bit over scale. I scaled the plinth much as you have measured so I will add that tonight when I get home (did the 06.15 Carlisle to Barrow In Furness loco hauled that finishes the end of the week). I have some photos of the buffet but any extra ones most welcome.

 

Thanks again for measuring.

 

Will post some photos of the box in next few days when I have Donne a bit more on it.

 

Ian

[roundhouse]

Acheived some work on the South Box last night. Window frame structure in place and the first two frames glued in this morning.

The Ration signal obx interioe kit has the etch included for these frames but only 4 are suitable for this box, so another few packs are on the way to me from Kernow Models. If they arrive today I will be able to complete the windows ready for painting then glazing.

 

Still quite a bit to do on the box but it should be ready with most of the cable trunking and relay boxes around it in place for Eurotrack in just under two weeks time.

 

Ian

[David Bigcheeseplant]

Have you thought about using the etched 2mm scale Churchward GWR signal box windows and doors avalible through Modelex, you can see the fret on there website.

 

David