Train spotting at Finsbury Square

[JamieR4489]

I've used sand to build up the ground to the top of the rails. Just glue it like you normally would with ballast although I found it helpful to put a layer of PVA down before I layed the sand. This means it also has a nice texture, similar to that of ash.

This photo shows the effect nicely.

HTH,

Jamie

[thegreenhowards]

Steve,

 

I’ve just finished reading your thread through from the beginning. Finsbury Square is a very convincing back story and you have executed it beautifully. I love the semaphores you’ve built and look forward to seeing some more.  I shall be following from now on.

 

Andy

[31A]

1 hour ago, JamieR4489 said:

I've used sand to build up the ground to the top of the rails. Just glue it like you normally would with ballast although I found it helpful to put a layer of PVA down before I layed the sand. This means it also has a nice texture, similar to that of ash.

 

This photo shows the effect nicely.

HTH,

Jamie

 

Thank you Jamie, that does look very good.  I presume the sand must be sieved quite fine?  I did do some experiments using sand on scrap pieces but it came out more lumpy than that!

 

[31A]

1 hour ago, thegreenhowards said:

Steve,

 

I’ve just finished reading your thread through from the beginning. Finsbury Square is a very convincing back story and you have executed it beautifully. I love the semaphores you’ve built and look forward to seeing some more.  I shall be following from now on.

 

Andy

 

Thanks Andy; glad you like what you see!  Not much worth reporting lately, but hopefully there'll be more to show soon.

 

[JamieR4489]

2 minutes ago, 31A said:

 

Thank you Jamie, that does look very good.  I presume the sand must be sieved quite fine?  I did do some experiments using sand on scrap pieces but it came out more lumpy than that!

 

I didn't have to sieve it at all. I'm afraid I've no idea where it came from but I imagine it was children's play sand.

 

Jamie

[jwealleans]

Did you get it from the club, Jamie?   I know Keith used silver sand for the goods yard on Thurston and that was very fine indeed.

[JamieR4489]

No it was rescued from my grandparents' when they were going to chuck it out.

 

We'll have to reballast the goods yard on WM soon so I can ask then what sand we use

Edited January 6, 2020 by JamieR4489

[31A]

Having said I've not done much modelling lately, there has been some 'retail therapy' and the train spotters were surprised to see this machine in the station this afternoon:

 

 

One of them said he'd seen a row of them at Hornsey but had never seen them move.  They were intrigued by what looked like a steam loco shed plate on one of the cab sides which had '65A' on it.  According to the Ian Allan ABC this was a place called "Eastfield" but no one knew where that was (although there was a signal box of that name near Peterborough).

 

 

[Flying Fox 34F]

Eastfield Signalbox is still with us.  It still controls moves around the remains of Peterborough yard.

 

Paul

[caradoc]

And the other Eastfield, a bit further north, was at one time on its last legs but is now revitalised as EMU stabling !

 

[lezz01]

Try using Chinchilla dust instead of sand it's finer.

Regards Lez.

[All thumbs]

IMHO Hornby's publicity photo this morning for the A2/2 shows the effect to aim for i.e. dirt up to level of sleeper tops, chairs standing proud and daylight under the rails.

 

 

Of course, any of these A2/2s or /3s would be perfectly acceptable retail therapy!  Is there any cure for locoholism (but then again, why would anyone want to be cured...)?

[31A]

8 hours ago, All thumbs said:

IMHO Hornby's publicity photo this morning for the A2/2 shows the effect to aim for i.e. dirt up to level of sleeper tops, chairs standing proud and daylight under the rails.

 

 

Of course, any of these A2/2s or /3s would be perfectly acceptable retail therapy!  Is there any cure for locoholism (but then again, why would anyone want to be cured...)?

 

Yes, thank you, that's the kind of effect I had in mind.  Including the loco!

 

A cure for Locoholism - no I don't think so - next winter could be expensive!

[31A]

9 hours ago, lezz01 said:

Try using Chinchilla dust instead of sand it's finer.

Regards Lez.

 

Thanks Lez, I'll see if I can get hold of some.

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, 31A said:

 

Thanks Lez, I'll see if I can get hold of some.

You'll need to grind up an awful lot of chinchillas for a layout your size...

[31A]

31 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

You'll need to grind up an awful lot of chinchillas for a layout your size...

 

Oh dear, that sounds rather messy!  Perhaps I'll stick to sand ....

 

[Mallard60022]

11 hours ago, All thumbs said:

IMHO Hornby's publicity photo this morning for the A2/2 shows the effect to aim for i.e. dirt up to level of sleeper tops, chairs standing proud and daylight under the rails.

 

 

Of course, any of these A2/2s or /3s would be perfectly acceptable retail therapy!  Is there any cure for locoholism (but then again, why would anyone want to be cured...)?

Will that beast fit your turntable? I hope so.

[great northern]

11 hours ago, All thumbs said:

IMHO Hornby's publicity photo this morning for the A2/2 shows the effect to aim for i.e. dirt up to level of sleeper tops, chairs standing proud and daylight under the rails.

 

 

Of course, any of these A2/2s or /3s would be perfectly acceptable retail therapy!  Is there any cure for locoholism (but then again, why would anyone want to be cured...)?

To stave off bankruptcy?

[31A]

58 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

Will that beast fit your turntable? I hope so.

 

Unfortunately for my wallet, it will!

[31A]

46 minutes ago, great northern said:

To stave off bankruptcy?

 

Apart from that!

[Baby Deltic]

19 hours ago, 31A said:

Having said I've not done much modelling lately, there has been some 'retail therapy' and the train spotters were surprised to see this machine in the station this afternoon:

 

 

One of them said he'd seen a row of them at Hornsey but had never seen them move.  They were intrigued by what looked like a steam loco shed plate on one of the cab sides which had '65A' on it.  According to the Ian Allan ABC this was a place called "Eastfield" but no one knew where that was (although there was a signal box of that name near Peterborough).

 

 

I see you’ve renumbered it to a Hornsey one.

[lezz01]

Chinchilla dust/sand is widely available from pet shops or from both ebay and amazon. It's around £6 kg I brought a couple of kgs around 20 years ago and I still have loads left after using it on a couple of layouts for cinders in yards. Of course you have to colour it but that's true for almost everything we use as ground cover.

Regards Lez.  

Edited January 7, 2020 by lezz01

[31A]

1 hour ago, lezz01 said:

Chinchilla dust/sand is widely available from pet shops or from both ebay and amazon. It's around £6 kg I brought a couple of kgs around 20 years ago and I still have loads left after using it on a couple of layouts for cinders in yards. Of course you have to colour it but that's true for almost everything we use as ground cover.

Regards Lez.  

 

Thanks Lez, I have a shop in mind that I will look in when I go into town and see whether they sell it.  I was only joking about the mess!!

 

[31A]

1 hour ago, Baby Deltic said:

I see you’ve renumbered it to a Hornsey one.

 

Yes, I thought it ought to be done!  If it had been a Stratford one I might have left it alone, but decided Ipswich was a stretch too far.  The one I bought was D6121 so I thought I'd save effort and transfers by just substituting a '0' for the '2', hopefully that isn't too obvious!

 

I couldn't find many pictures of D6101 on the GN, but mindful of the discussion about the main grilles being altered, I did find this picture of it which to my mind does show the later version, as modelled:

 

https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p463703822/h84ADFA20#ha4617463

 

And if it doesn't, it's too late to worry about it now as I've done it anyway.

 

In "Diesels Around London" I found two pictures of D6102 on the GN, showing earlier and later pattern grilles.   The picture on p33 at Potters Bar shows the earlier type and the caption says was taken in June 1959; the other (on p29; says approaching Hadley Wood although looks more like south of Hatfield to me) shows the later type and the caption says was taken in August 1959.

 

Anyway I've taken that as confirmation that the grilles were changed before they went to Scotland.  As indeed @Clive Mortimore has pointed out elsewhere, which is good enough for me!

 

 

 

 

[Baby Deltic]

11 minutes ago, 31A said:

 

Yes, I thought it ought to be done!  If it had been a Stratford one I might have left it alone, but decided Ipswich was a stretch too far.  The one I bought was D6121 so I thought I'd save effort and transfers by just substituting a '0' for the '2', hopefully that isn't too obvious!

 

I couldn't find many pictures of D6101 on the GN, but mindful of the discussion about the main grilles being altered, I did find this picture of it which to my mind does show the later version, as modelled:

 

https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p463703822/h84ADFA20#ha4617463

 

And if it doesn't, it's too late to worry about it now as I've done it anyway.

 

In "Diesels Around London" I found two pictures of D6102 on the GN, showing earlier and later pattern grilles.   The picture on p33 at Potters Bar shows the earlier type and the caption says was taken in June 1959; the other (on p29; says approaching Hadley Wood although looks more like south of Hatfield to me) shows the later type and the caption says was taken in August 1959.

 

Anyway I've taken that as confirmation that the grilles were changed before they went to Scotland.  As indeed @Clive Mortimore has pointed out elsewhere, which is good enough for me!

 

 

 

 

The two piece cast grilles were very short lived because they caused overheating which in turn caused the engines to shut down causing havoc out on the GN mainline.