Kensington Olympia in n scale

[acg5324]

4 hours ago, Dtwo said:

Are those exhibtion coaches of pre-nationalisation vintage? The corridor connections look like they're Stanier.

 

David

Yes they are Stanier coaches. A set of exhibition coaches is on the to do list......but near the bottom.

[acg5324]

Not much done on the layout this week, the signal part arrived from Wizard Models, so I’ll probably get them started and then week.

Had an unexpected trip to Kwik Fit today after clipping a curb getting out of the way of an ambulance. Low tyre pressure alarm on the car went off straight away , managed to nurse the car to a lay-by by which time the tyre was completely flat. I might have only knocked the tyre off the rim, can’t get it fixed until Sunday morning so the 50mph spare will have to suffice until then.

[acg5324]

Well this has been an odd weekend.....found a nice gash in the side wall of the tyre......£250 later I have a replacement.......That’s what you get for have 19 inch wheels and a odd sized tyre!

At the M.I.L.s after a call from her sister to say she’d just had a very odd conversation with her. Whilst we there she had a stroke, ambulance called and the paramedic crew got her into hospital double quick where she had another one. 
Looks like a busy week in store.

[acg5324]

I found the missing ladder for the middle gantry.....it again drops down in the 6ft......The photo I found, shows it as painted black with a white bottom hence not picked out easily.

https://zenfolio.page.link/sxjkE
 

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by acg5324
Wrong photo added.

[acg5324]

Got the bracket signal for one of the Motorail terminal sidings built. The arm is moveable but won’t be working. Not impressed with Ratio signal kit......and even less so with their street lights four of which have been made up.

 

[Steven B]

Was the counter-weight attached to the upper post a Kensington Olympia thing?

 

I thought they were usually at the base of the main signal post.

 

Steven B.

[acg5324]

5 hours ago, Steven B said:

Was the counter-weight attached to the upper post a Kensington Olympia thing?

 

I thought they were usually at the base of the main signal post.

 

Steven B.

The instructions with the Ratio signal are basic in the extreme and show the weight going on the bracket arm.  I can’t see one on any picture of that signal as it invariably gets blocked by one of the others in photos. I won’t be surprised if it’s wrong.

[Ian Morgan]

The purpose of the counter weight is to return the signal arm to danger if the wire breaks (and to some extent reduce the effort required by the signalman). It would normally be placed at the end of the wire, and be connected to the arm by rods (which should not break). Looking at various images, the length of the rod is not standard, so the balance weight could be either near the top or the bottom of the signal. Bracket signals often have a series of rods and cranks allowing the balance weights to be fitted to the main post. However, there are also examples where the wire runs to the individual dolly posts, with the balance weights on the dolly posts.

 

So, a photo of the actual signal will be the only way to know for sure.

 

https://www.alamy.com/kensington-olympia-motorail-terminal-1-image330391800.html

 

This photo shows the main post  of the bracket signal does not have a balance weight on it, but is it on the dolly post and painted white?

 

The single post signals do appear to have balance weights near the bottom of the posts.

 

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

is it on the dolly post and painted white?

Looks like it to me.

[acg5324]

2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Looks like it to me.

That’s the photo I’ve been working from. I have one other from the front but again the signal is partially obscured in the critical area.

[acg5324]

...and M.I.L. news......much improved from Sunday but will be in hospital for a while more.

[acg5324]

Nothing done on the layout this week, but some supplies have arrived......some 3D figures from Modelu.

[acg5324]

.....a walk round the corner from work to Boyes in York to see if they had the Vallejo skin tone paint set in stock....to no avail.....however they did have this non PC set of skin tones which are more than adequate!

 

 

not sure I’ll find this kind of fairy on the streets of West London.......but then again......

Edited June 10, 2021 by acg5324

[St Enodoc]

4 hours ago, acg5324 said:

some 3D figures from Modelu

That "couple" don't look much like you and Debbie.

 

4 hours ago, acg5324 said:

however they did have this non PC set of skin tones which are more than adequate!

"Fantasy and Historical Figures" sounds just about right for model railways.

 

4 hours ago, acg5324 said:

not sure I’ll find this kind of fairy on the streets of West London.......but then again......

Worth a look though, I reckon.

[acg5324]

Quote

That "couple" don't look much like you and Debbie.

No they don’t do they.

[Steven B]

Do we need to get ModelU to come to a Yorkshire Area Group meeting? - you can have us all standing on the end of the platform train spotting (or in the cafe scoffing biscuits!).

 

The ModelU tail lamps are rather nice...

 

 

Steven B.

[grahame]

17 hours ago, acg5324 said:

 

not sure I’ll find this kind of fairy on the streets of West London.......

 

You're looking in the wrong places.

;-)

 

 

[LongRail]

Skin tones and blonde hair are the hardest colours to get right in my opinion

[acg5324]

Nothing done to the layout this week as I’ve been at work in the shop and have more or less completed a project for them. There is a new website and EPOS system coming…so to avoid having to use stock photos for the website an N gauge and OO gauge diorama are being made…….Guess who’s building the n gauge one!

 

This is progress so far. Chipboard shelf off-cut 47 cm x 23 cm, a scrap bit of battern used for the embankment and covered in papermache ( best thing to do with an old Sunday Express ). Ratio fencing and telegraph poles. Spare code 55 track. Woodland scenics for the greenery and finally a very much altered Metcalfe warehouse factory kit.

 

A bit more to do in the far corner.

[grahame]

And you knocked all that up in a spare 10 minutes? Impressive.

 

 

[acg5324]

2 minutes ago, grahame said:

And you knocked all that up in a spare 10 minutes? Impressive.

 

 

Thanks…….Maybe a little more than 10 mins…..

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, acg5324 said:

Nothing done to the layout this week as I’ve been at work in the shop and have more or less completed a project for them. There is a new website and EPOS system coming…so to avoid having to use stock photos for the website an N gauge and OO gauge diorama are being made…….Guess who’s building the n gauge one!

 

This is progress so far. Chipboard shelf off-cut 47 cm x 23 cm, a scrap bit of battern used for the embankment and covered in papermache ( best thing to do with an old Sunday Express ). Ratio fencing and telegraph poles. Spare code 55 track. Woodland scenics for the greenery and finally a very much altered Metcalfe warehouse factory kit.

 

A bit more to do in the far corner.

Looks good Andy but...

 

will the brewery background be a bit distracting for website photos?

[acg5324]

6 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Looks good Andy but...

 

will the brewery background be a bit distracting for website photos?

Hopefully not, I think most photos will be taken from a low angle……..and it’s a bit of advertising for the address…..OK we don’t do beer! The board will be powered so that DCC equipped stock can have its lights on etc.

[acg5324]

Another week of little progress on the layout. As I had some different coloured flock to do the display board some of this has been used on Olympia. 
The West London line book got some attention this week with the photos being rearranged into the correct orders…..about six more to scan then a start on the captions.

M.I.L. was sent home after her stroke yesterday, originally with minimal notice to the family, but later put back by 24 hrs so that things could get sorted at home….like food, hot water turned on, key safe and handrails fitted…..drilling holes late into the evening. Fun ahead.

 

Debbie and I met up with Keith Carter from the Brighton club in York last night. Nice meal out after I'd had a detour via the Station Tap for a pint or two before hand.

 

[acg5324]

This week we have mainly been away on our holidays. It was our 25th wedding anniversary yesterday…so we had a day out on the SVR!

 

We’ve also marked the aqueducts at Chirk and Pontcysyllte off in our ABC of bridges along with the Chain bridge at the Horseshoe falls and  Morris’ bridge on the Shropshire Union Canal as well as Ironbridge. At Ironbridge we also did a walk along the former railway line that includes these preserved level crossing gates and track. ( pics on the next post ).

Edited July 7, 2021 by acg5324