Sheffield Exchange, Toy trains, music and fun!

[Clive Mortimore]

Regarding the station buildings Clive, I'd go for a very down-at-heel look. Sheffield was very badly bombed in December 1940, so maybe Sheffield Exchange wouldn't have been on the top of BRs rebuilding list.

 

Get inspiration from Manchester Victoria and Bradford Exchange.

 

The gloomy station would make a nice contrast to sparkling new DMUs and Class 31s.

Hi Peter

 

I have two problems regarding the station building. The first one is that the manshed is not long enough. Most terminus stations have the buildings on the end of them, to achieve this I would either have to make the track work shorter or knock a hole in the manshed wall, so by having the just the back wall of the old station in "very" low relief at the end of the layout hopefully will show how it once was. The new station buildings are a 1930s design and were built on the side of the station as not to interfere with the working of the station while the construction was taking place.

 

This leads me to my other problem, I like 1930s buildings.

 

From a practical side of operating the layout I can keep the canopies shortish therefore see the trains and to be able to couple/uncouple in the station. With it already being in a cutting the viewing of the trains needs to be kept to a maximum, hence the low station building on the cutting edge. A Victorian design would either have an overall roof or longish canopies with lots of ironwork. The ironwork would have to be modelled because it would be seen where the glazing had not been replaced. I could opt for a Cannon Street or Moorgate where the roof was not replaced until a lot later.

 

I have a small area where I intend to place some prefabs a reminder of the bombing of Sheffield.

 

As for gloom, I am building it what more gloom is needed.

 

Edit ....whoops forgot to say thank you as I find suggestion, even if I don't go along with them help me think about what I am doing.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Clive Mortimore

[Clive Mortimore]

Update 22-2-15

 

I have now made all the point rodding runs. Until it is all fixed in place I have not joined up all the runs.

 

While working on the layout I had a thought about its name. To try and make it part of Sheffield that never existed poses challenges. Now if I was to call it Hallam Exchange, it keeps it within the same geographical area without so many limitations. Downside of calling it Hallam is the DMU destination rollers, so that the units always faced the correct way round one end would be displaying Sheffield, which is prototypical where Hallam is not.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Personally I'd leave it as Sheffield (Exchange) Clive. Sounds more authentic and railwaylike, even if it's not.

[Clive Mortimore]

A couple of photos of the point rodding in its cut to size but not fixed yet state.

 

 

 

And some action, a DMU substitute in the form of a K3 with a set of LNER coaches arrives from Doncaster, while a Crab removes the empty stock of the Sheffield through portion of the Paignton to Leeds train.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter Kazmierczak]

All coming together nicely Clive.

 

Before rationalisation, would there have been a siding between the running lines and the signalbox? Very effective touch to set the signalbox back like that.

[Andrew P]

Evening Clive, nice work on the Points Rodding Mate, very professional.

 

Nice Loco pics as well.

[Clive Mortimore]

All coming together nicely Clive.

 

Before rationalisation, would there have been a siding between the running lines and the signalbox? Very effective touch to set the signalbox back like that.

Hi Peter

 

In true Minories fashion there would have been a siding but it was lifted a few months before the model protrays. The idea came from this photo http://www.blackrod.railpic.net/displayimage.php?album=13&pid=398#top_display_media In front of the railway over bridge I am going to place a buffer stop where the siding finished. I might even have a few bits of rail and some sleepers neatly piled up awaiting collection.

 

The point rodding has the rollers that carried the rodding for the point and its lock for the siding.

 

It is all Sataionmaster Mike's fault. I had managed to keep the signalling within a 25 lever framed box with one spare lever, until he suggested an outer home. The choice was to have a box with no spare levers, usally there was one or two. Or did I go up a size and have a 30 lever box, with 5 spare which seemed too many so after seeing the photo of Horwich Loco Junction box I thought of the idea of a lifted siding and four spare levers come form the missing signals, points and faceing lock.

[Clive Mortimore]

Evening Clive, nice work on the Points Rodding Mate, very professional.

 

Nice Loco pics as well.

Hi Andy

 

It is the Wills rodding, it is a tad fiddly. I think it could have been made with easier with assembly in mind. Little things like the cranks and their baseplates, these are butt cemented together. A small hole in the crank and a shouldered fulcrum would have made life easier. As for butt gluing the lengths of rodding I gave up on that idea and used some 10 x 30 thou microstrip to support the joints from underneath. In each pack there is only two compensator cranks, a couple more per pack would have been helpful. There are no rods for going under the tracks. What I done was to cut away the bases of the rollers to get the low height rollers for where the rods go from one side of the running lines to the other.

 

It was fun to do, I mean it was interesting, fulfilling, educational, entertaining, satisfying, constructive, and worthwhile.

[Clive Mortimore]

I am liking these work-a-day steam locomotives, nearly came home with a LMS 2P 4-4-0 on Saturday. May be one day. Also on the one day list are a 2MT 2-6-0 and a 2-6-2T, a K1 (it do look nice) and a possibly a N2. :yes:

[Clive Mortimore]

I think I have found my low relief goods shed, http://www.scalescenes.com/products/T027-Low-Relief%C2%A0Factory A small area in front with some parked up Scarabs.

[richard i]

Looking good Clive, i would keep the name as sheffield exchange it has an authentic ring about it. Liking the fact it is becoming more and more steamy.

[Clive Mortimore]

I must be growing up, two school teachers telling me something and I am going to do as they say......it will stay as Sheffield Exchange :imsohappy:

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Common sense prevails.....

[emt_911]

I must be growing up, two school teachers telling me something and I am going to do as they say......it will stay as Sheffield Exchange :imsohappy:

I had to give the funny for the growing up comment.

[richard i]

I had to give the funny for the growing up comment.

Now if you are a good boy you will be allowed out for your break.

[Clive Mortimore]

This week’s update. Nothing much, one more steam loco, a LMS 2P 4-4-0, like the K3 just squeezes into my time period. I cut the cork trenches for the Peco platform edging for platforms 2 and 3. Any more work on the platforms will have to wait until I paint the track and sleepers.

 

Network Rail have sent me copies of the LMS drawings for Hoylake and Meols stations, work will start on the station drawings using them as a basis.

 

I have resurrected a Hornby 110 conversion in to a Derby 108 I done many moons before Bachmann introduced their wonderful model. It was in a box with some other DMUs that fell off a shelf and were badly damaged. All put to one side as I had no need for them on Hanging Hill. The Derby 108, my Derby 127 and the Cravens converted from Tri-ang Mk1s all still need repairing, something I might undertake. They missed the downsizing of my stock that happened when Hanging Hill was in full swing unlike my other DMUs that I waved bye-bye to.

 

Most import thing I done on the layout this weekend was to have a drive of the trains, just watching them passing the signals etc. is enough to give my MoJo a boost.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Clive Mortimore

[Clive Mortimore]

Anothder big :yahoo: this weekend was finding a Dapol LMS BSK in BR maroon livery kit. I brought it for the bogies, it was the cheapest option of LMS bogies for a diesel brake tender. I thought I had disposed of the rest of the kit.

 

Well for the last few weeks I have been looking for a LMS BSK for my through coaches train. No one has a Hornby one, the Bachmann one has been sent back to China and even the big box shifters do not have the Dapol model. guess who was a happy bunny when he discovered the kit, less its bogies. I have some spare bogies from my LMS non corridor conversions.

[class"66"]

Some nice modelling work Clive

[richard i]

You are making my progress look positively pedestrian I am looking forward to seeing it in the summer

[Clive Mortimore]

On Sunday I done a trial with the idea of street ends on the top of the retaining wall as a change from house backs or fronts. As you can see from the first picture there is a lot of sky.

 

With the rear of the houses I can add things like garden trees, outhouses and/or extensions.

 

Trouble is with house fronts there is a lot of nothingness, pavements are about 6 feet wide, the road needs to be wide enough for two horse and carts to pass each other. A low relief road vehicle would need to be a tallish one, I cannot have the front or rear of a double decker on each road.

 

So this idea has failed, house backs it is and flats behind the stations, thanks to Scalescenes.

 

 

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Often at the end of a row might be a shop / pub. There might be some painted adverts on the gable ends too, though don't overdo it.

 

Try to find some pictures of old Sheffield to give you ideas / inspiration.

 

Regards,

P

[delticman]

"Trouble is with house fronts there is a lot of nothingness"

 

Hello Clive, you could fill that space by putting in the street lamps the design of which could help identify the location as Sheffield, even gas lamps could be used, and dont forget telephone poles and wires strung across the street. You could have a lit sign sticking out of the front of one house  as possibly the local chippy!

 

Geoff.

[Colin]

Only just picked up on this layout thread - Clive, it's really looking good! Hope to see it in the flesh before too long.

I suppose the appearance of one of my rebuilt Bulleids might be pushing the steam envelope a bit too far?

[aac]

On Sunday I done a trial with the idea of street ends on the top of the retaining wall as a change from house backs or fronts. As you can see from the first picture there is a lot of sky.

back 1.jpg

 

With the rear of the houses I can add things like garden trees, outhouses and/or extensions.

back 2.jpg

 

Trouble is with house fronts there is a lot of nothingness, pavements are about 6 feet wide, the road needs to be wide enough for two horse and carts to pass each other. A low relief road vehicle would need to be a tallish one, I cannot have the front or rear of a double decker on each road.

back 3.jpg

 

So this idea has failed, house backs it is and flats behind the stations, thanks to Scalescenes.

How about a blocked in area between the houses to suggest buildings in the misty, smoke-laden distance? Try painting, or fixing card, onto the sky in a single mid to pale bluey-grey tone, running across the back, about half the height of the houses' wall verticals. Then intersperse that with some vertical objects such as factory chimneys, a church spire, etc. You don't need any detail as the air in industrial towns wasn't clear like we see these days.  See "Navigation Street - 2/2/5" in this link of a useful Birmingham archive.     http://www.photobydjnorton.com/GTC/CityCentre.html. You will see that the detail and the intensity of the buildings' dark tones reduce with distance. You could try aiming for something like that.

[Clive Mortimore]

Hi Peter, Geoff and aac

 

Thanks for the comments, there is some food for thought. I will have a bash at some if not all the ideas to see if including your ideas I can get my first thoughts to work.

 

The rationale behind my idea is that I want to give the impression of the station being in a built up area without having to model to much over the other side of the railway boundary. Too many layouts have house backs or fronts overlooking the railway, I just thought having the ends of the streets at right angles to the railway would make a change.