Small Plymouth Goods in P4

[fender]

thanks for the kind comments everyone.

 

today I've been playing around with various weathering techniques on this buffer stop:

 

 

hopefully it'll look the part when it's in situ.

[johndon]

Watching with interest, good to see another small P4 layout taking shape.

 

John

[Siberian Snooper]

Very interesting and definitely one to watch! I remember there being an engineers depot in Valletort Road until comparatively recently...

Like everywhere else in Plymouth these days it now a housing estate.

 

SS

[cornish trains jez]

Hi,

 

Can't believe I've not seen this one yet! I'll be watching with interest. Great looking track work by the way!!

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

[fender]

taking a break from the seemingly endless addition of cosmetic chairs to the track I fashioned some point levers. they are the Dornaplas ones on some plasitcard bases:

 

 

in the background are the rail barriers for the weighbridge. these are just scrap bullhead rail but I've used flat-bottom for the actual weighbridge plate. I searched high and low for pics of rail weighbridges but the few I've found aren't very conclusive on how the rail was attached to the plate, so I've gone with flat-bottom as that was easier. pics of that after it's painted up.

[Jack00]

Those levers look great Fender. Nice work.

 

Cheers

Jack

[treggyman]

Hi

 

I think Coopercraft made a model of a weighbridge (or used to)

Whether prototypical or not I seem to remember the rails on the deck being modelled mounted in moulded chairs.....I think they took bullhead rail....

I bought one several years ago & I think it was a Coopercraft kit......

Someone on here will be able to confirm or otherwise my memory serves me right.....

 

As above.....Those levers certainly look the part....

 

Cheers Bill

[fender]

thanks guys

 

Hi

 

I think Coopercraft made a model of a weighbridge (or used to)

Whether prototypical or not I seem to remember the rails on the deck being modelled mounted in moulded chairs.....I think they took bullhead rail....

I bought one several years ago & I think it was a Coopercraft kit......

Someone on here will be able to confirm or otherwise my memory serves me right.....

 

As above.....Those levers certainly look the part....

 

Cheers Bill

 

this one? http://shop.cooper-craft.co.uk/images/2001.jpg

 

I had a look at that but it seems to be flat-bottomed. I thought the idea would have been to slide your own rail (taken from other track) through the mouldings, although I could be wrong.

 

there was a photo I saw on flickr of an old weighbride at Toton which appears to have the same track that is sometimes inset in hard surfaces (with kind of a check rail making a clear flangeway, but I don't know what this is called).

 

here, found it:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55938574@N03/10169463344/in/photolist-guDaZb-guEpdn-guDa9U-guEr6a-guDHv8-guDJcZ-guD8PE-guE5cu-guDGCX-guE6b3-guDJbB-guD8qy-guEnKT-guD7mj-guDG3t-guD7D3-guEnXr-bAuswt-gyFia4/

 

but that doesn't seem very easy to replicate and anyway I don't know if it was even commonly used, so I've taken the easy way out.

[Captain Kernow]

some point levers. they are the Dornaplas ones on some plasitcard bases:

 

I didn't even realise Dornaplas did point levers! They look very good. Are they etched?

[fender]

I didn't even realise Dornaplas did point levers! They look very good. Are they etched?

 

thanks. no, they are just plastic. I bought them at Gaugemaster.

 

edit: they are a little fragile but you get 18 in a pack which is much more than any of the other brands I looked in to, for a similar price.

 

-----------

 

on another issue, I should mention something regarding my method for connecting droppers to the track: it was stupid. in the unlikely event that anyone sees my post earlier on in the thread (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/73991-small-plymouth-goods-in-p4/?p=1175218) and decides to copy the idea, I have ditched this plan and the last few I did were wires with a short section bent through 90 degrees and soldered on to the bottom of the rail.

 

this gives vastly more surface area for the solder to hold everything together and they are nicely hidden under cosmetic chairs. I've had to resolder many of the original connections which has proved to be both a pain and an eyesore in some cases. I'm trying to work out a fix to cover them up or disguise them.

[fender]

the track is completely finished and tested. into the painting now:

 

 

I have also embarked on my first scratchbuilt building. here are some photos of it in various stages:

 

 

I tried to use the pre-shading technique but I'm not sure it will come through as I've already had to put on two coats of white and will have to do another as it doesn't look very good. I will also have to fix the door as I used the wrong paint to touch up part of it.....the corrugated roof has come out ok though I think.

 

nothing fancy I know but I'm just putting it all out here as hopefully there will be some kind of progress as I move up to the bigger buildings. this one is the small shed at the left of the picture earlier in the thread.

 

[BlackRat]

The point levers are great, but tend to disappear when enthusiastically cleaning track!

[marc smith]

Looking good Fender,
I much prefer your latest design to the first one you had
Although, I must say, I think it might just look better the first way around you drew it
i.e. loading dock and goods shed at the back, cattle dock & loop in the front....

My thoughts were that the goods shed may hide some of the detail and manouvres etc
whereas the loop, when not in use would normally be clear,
thus giving the onlooker a clearer view
Of course, these are just my thoughts and the final choice is entirely yours

The layout is looking great anyway

Cheers
Marc

[cornish trains jez]

Looking great Fender and I especially like the track work. Fantastic stuff and look forward to seeing more.

[fender]

Looking good Fender,

I much prefer your latest design to the first one you had

Although, I must say, I think it might just look better the first way around you drew it

i.e. loading dock and goods shed at the back, cattle dock & loop in the front....

 

My thoughts were that the goods shed may hide some of the detail and manouvres etc

whereas the loop, when not in use would normally be clear,

thus giving the onlooker a clearer view

Of course, these are just my thoughts and the final choice is entirely yours

The layout is looking great anyway

 

Cheers

Marc

 

thanks Marc.

 

I agree, it would seem more 'natural' to have the bigger buildings at the back but the backscene is much better facing south than north, at least assuming that I stick as close to the real site as possible. this way I can have a big couple of villas in the rear right corner, with some type of skyline to the left of them, whereas the backscene facing north would just be a road.

 

plus, this way combines other things I hope will add something to the layout. I can model the open front of the goods shed, whereas it would be hidden in a north-facing view, and also I kind of like not having the railway front and centre. there was an layout in one of the mags a few months ago which had the railway almost completely hidden in parts behind high-rise buildings and such. while I'm not going as far as that, I do like the idea that we have to work a little (i.e. move around) to see everything, as we would in real life.

 

edit: just realised that the position of the control panel may be causing some confusion. because this is only going to be a home layout, it will be operated from the front. the control panel will be in a cubby-hole under the bridge/roadway at the front.

[Miss Prism]

 

plus, this way combines other things I hope will add something to the layout. I can model the open front of the goods shed, whereas it would be hidden in a north-facing view, and also I kind of like not having the railway front and centre. there was an layout in one of the mags a few months ago which had the railway almost completely hidden in parts behind high-rise buildings and such. while I'm not going as far as that, I do like the idea that we have to work a little (i.e. move around) to see everything, as we would in real life.

 

Good thinking.

 

(But demands auto-couplers!)

[fender]

Good thinking.

 

(But demands auto-couplers!)

 

I'm still on the fence about which couplings to use.....some tests will be conducted in the future.

[marc smith]

I'm still on the fence about which couplings to use.....some tests will be conducted in the future.

Ah, the eternal question, to which there is no "right" answer!

I mainly use Sprat & Winkle, which are quite fiddly in 4mm scale

One important question though, is that of placing magnets

It can be a bit of a drag, cutting sleepers and digging up ballast at a later point

especially if you have buildings or delicate details nearby

so just beware of that....

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing this layout progress

It's got a nice balance to the design

and plenty of interest and potential

 

Cheers again

Marc

 

 

 

 

 

[fender]

finished painting the track. I might have to touch up in a few areas, but the final bit will be done after ballasting (if you're going to use ash is it called 'ashing'? )

 

 

one of the benefits of a small layout, painting with the layout in a comfortable position:

 

 

try doing that with Eastwood Town.  

[Portchullin Tatty]

scanned and posted with permission:

 

 

 

Agghh; someone who understands that there is a concept called Copyright.  How refreshing!!!

 

Enjoying the development of the layout.

[fender]

small update: I've made the cattle-dock drain area using DAS clay and a couple of items from the ratio kit I bought.

 

 

unfortunately my first attempt at painting then led to it being a little green. will fix with some washes and post a pic of that later. I have a lot to learn about mixing paint!

 

in the background you may just make out the weighbridge plate.

 

now experimenting with various ballasting methods.

[fender]

well the track is now completely ballasted. when I say "completely", I mean shy of numerous areas which have to be touched up, plus the areas adjacent to the loading dock and buildings, plus the final painting, weeding, weathering, and cleaning the tops of the rails, but, for now, it's done!

 

 

I have to say that I think the pics make it look better than it does in real life. not sure why that is, especially with the non-ballast ground cover that I've started on. I've had some issues with this, making successive areas blend into each other without looking like a new area of work.

 

the ballasting method I have used is as follows:

 

1. Carrs Ash Ballast sprinkled onto track.

2. Baseboard given a good shake to level the ballast and get it down to mostly uniform sleeper level (another unexpected bonus of using a small baseboard!)

3. A mix of water, PVA and surgical spirit (in approx 20% glue, 20% surgical spirit and 60% water, but that's a complete guess) applied to the dry ballast with an eye dropper. I found this works really well, the solution is pulled along by capillary action without disturbing the ballast and without needing to be wetted first. It takes time but also keeps the rails completely dry and the glue solution doesn't go anywhere near them. I'm not sure why wetting the ballast is done as it doesn't seem to be necessary. Maybe just the speed of application? anyway,

4. I also used some separate solutions of the same mix but with some grey or 'earth' paint added, so give some variety. I've had mixed results with this (no pun intended) but where it looks good it looks really good, imo. I'm trying to adapt the same method to the ground cover, which is mostly 'desert sand' bought from a pet store. the paint/glue/alcohol/water mix gives different shades. needs more work though.

 

edit: oh yes, I have taken off the buffer stop at the end of the left-hand siding. this will now (eventually) become an end-loading dock.

 

[cornish trains jez]

That's coming along really nicely and I'm enjoying the updates on this one. I like your method for ballasting and may well use it on my Par and Grantham layouts. I also like the cobbled effect you have engraved into the DAS, very nice! Look forward to more.

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

[fender]

I've touched up the ballasting where necessary, sprayed in some 'diesel grime' in appropriate areas (as this will straddle the steam/diesel era), cleaned the rails, painted the check rails and tested the track with my trusty Pannier tank. it works! the Pannier is not the world's greatest runner so I will have to attend to that at some stage; a little more filing to give better clearance for the wider wheel sets and making a further adjustment on the pickups.

 

 

very happy. this, I've felt, was the 'final exam' in terms of proving the validity of my experimenting in P4, so now I can really start thinking about what I want to have on the layout. drawing up a quick list of potential motive power I have the pannier, a 45XX which I need to buy a wheel set for, a Class 22 which I need to buy and modify wheels for (since they don't exist, to my knowledge), maybe a Class 08 or Class 03 (bit of a stretch as this was accessed via the main line), I still have a Castle and Hall but I doubt they would have accessed this yard. I think I could get away with a 43XX though, which would be a nice project as it would require a chassis build and then an ebay body on the top. I believe they were sometimes used to run up and down the line visiting various goods yards. I will have to check my 'Working with Steam in Cornwall' book.

 

anyway, first I need stock! I have numerous kits and many RTR vehicles I can convert. I'll be moving in a few months and, although this layout is designed to be portable, I don't want to add too much that may complicate the move, so I am going to pause on the actual baseboard till the summer and start concentrating on rolling stock and maybe a few buildings.

[marc smith]

Looking good fender,
I do like the tones in your ballasting & track colour
Looks nice a grimy, but subtle with it.....

Re the 22, I don't know if P4 wheels exist for that loco
I EM gauged one of my 22's quite easily,
using the existing wheels... and they look quite fine IMO
Perhaps you could "trim" the flanges down - if you'd need to

I've seen that some folk do this by inserting the axle into the chuck of a drill
doing one wheel at a time, grinding the flange down on an abrasive stone...
Just a suggestion...

As I say, the existing wheels seem to run fine on EM track

Re your other surfaces
I use quite a bit of emulsion paints for different surfaces
Matchpots being ideal here, because they're cheap
But most usefully, I find that it's easy to blend colours & tones

I paint the desired surface, then add a drop or 2 of other colours / darker shades
and simply "blend" the colours using my fingers, while the paint is still wet...

The beauty of this is, you can easily make adjustments or wash paint away if you're not happy with it

Cheers again
watching with great interest

Marc

EDIT: Re gauging the 22 will involve quite a bit of trimming the inside of the bogies to accommodate the wider gauge
But luckily, these unclip easily enough... good luck & let us know how you get on with the 22 wheels and conversion