Newgate Lane - Lessons in Modelling the Modern Railway

[St. Simon]

 

 

Lessons in Modeling the Modern Railway

 

Hi,

 

Well after what seems like forever without a decent working layout of my own, I've finally started on something to keep my modelling alive. However,as some of you know, I'm currently between jobs and with something on the horizon, I wanted to do something small and quick. The result is a small working diorama, Newgate Lane:

 

 

It is a 4ft x 1ft diorama based on Aylesbury Vale Parkway and has actually come about for a number of reasons. It's primary purpose is to have somewhere to show off some 3D Printed Products, which I have been producing, in their 'natural enviroment', secondly it will be place to display my collection of Modern Image Models (mostly a Connex Thumper I recently brought). Also it will serve as an experimentle layout that I can try out various baseboard, electronic and scenic techniques before I apply them to a future, larger, layout.

 

So, what have I come with, well, as you see from the plan above, it's pretty simple, it consists of a Single Line Terminus which comes off (the 'junction' is off scene) a Freight Line which can be seen passing behind the platform, just like at AVP. The plan has been left very generic so that I can show off a number of regions and eras, for both stock and 3D printing purposes, although the passenger line will be 'electrified' with third rail and it will be Diesel / Electric orientated. The layout will be DCC controlled and Fully lit, both by a lighting gantry and through lamp models on the platform, car park and in the station building.

 

I hope there will be several difference to this Modern Image diorama than others that are out there. Primary, the layout will be built as close as possible to 'scale' Railway Group Standards, as I have had Permanent Way Training with Network Rail, I want to try and get this layout as prototypical as possible, including the trackwork, signalling and interlocking. Also, the layout will have some scenic differences, the most obvious will be the presence of Axle Counters (which I 3D Print), which I have yet seen to be modelled, also I plan to model the Multi Aspect, Single Aperature 'Unipart Dorman' Signals, that I will again be 3D printing, again, something which I have only seen on one or two layouts.

 

With this Diorama, I hope to educate people in the Modern Railway and how it's built.

 

The start of the layout came a couple of days ago with the building of the main baseboard:

 

 

It is of a 9mm Plywood construction, a first for myself as I've always used the MDF top / Timber Frame style of board before. Here you see it before I screwed the top down finally, it has been given two coats of Primer before assembly to help prevent warping, again a lesson learnt from previous layouts.

 

In the next couple of days, I hope to get a final finish on the board, and cork down before I start thinking about track work. I have also just put a fairly large order from my friends at Kernow Model Rail Centre for some scenic items and the odd bit of trackwork.

 

Oh and if you're wandering about the name, it has a large close personal connection for me as part of my Network Rail Apprenticeship, but I can't reveal the full story!

 

Any Questions, please ask!

 

Simon

[ess1uk]

Nice idea.

Good luck.

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

There's been a bit of progress recently, not least in that most of the components for the layout have arrived, bar the track work, but that should be sort soon, so after that I'll start putting it all together.

 

But, while I'm doing that I'm going to be posted along side a series of Lessons on Modelling the Modern Railway, and they will be as follows (hopefully tying in with layout progress):

 

Lesson 1 - Trackwork

 

Lesson 2 - Third Rail

 

Lesson 3 - General Infrastructure before Ballasting

 

Lesson 4 - Platforms and Stations

 

Lesson 5 - Signalling Part 1 (Positioning)

 

Lesson 6 - Signalling Part 2 (On Track Safety Systems)

 

Lesson 7 - Signalling Part 3 (Interlocking and Wiring)

 

Lesson 8 - Ballasting

 

​Lesson 9 - Miscellaneous Stuff

 

Lesson 10 - Operation

 

Lesson 11 - Sounds

 

Hopefully, they should all end up giving you a basic heads up in Modern Image Modelling, and me something to work to!

 

Simon 

[Tase]

I'll be watching this thread with keen interest Simon.

 

Must get round to ordering some detailing bits from your site very soon.

[Tase]

Just placed an order for the axle counters and catch pits Simon. Roll on 3 weeks..

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

Well, some stuff has happened since the last update, but not as much as I would hope, as I'll explain in a minute, but here's the state of the layout as of 10 minutes ago:

 

 

 

As you can see, the Wood work is pretty much done, although some parts needs some primer and a coat of Black Paint. This woodwork includes some formers for the hill at the fiddle yard end of the layout.

 

Also, the lighting rig is done, part from a final coat of paint, the 'light bar' is actually from Dad's Loughborough Road Layout, which has since had a new lighting rig installed.

 

The Cork has been glued down and painted in an earthy colour (actually Dulux 'Cocoa Powder'), while the free rest top has been painted in a Road Colour (Dulux 'Bowler Hat'). This area has been changed from the plan, as a small area to the left hand end, where the Network Rail van is, will be a small NR compound and access point.

 

As you can see the Rest of it has been done as the Station Forecourt and Car Park. So far I've added the Paved areas, Scalescenes Pavement download on 3mm Mounting Card, and the markings for the parking bays. For this I used this Document https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223667/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-05.pdf to get the right dimensions. I've also drilled holes for the street lights (they are just test fitted at the moment and won't be fixed until later on).

 

The Gap you can see in the pavement is for the Station Building, which has been constructed out of a Scalescenes Kit. The platform has also been constructed off the board, however, I'm not showing you these as the construction will be covered in the 'Lessons on Modelling the Modern Railway' I mentioned earlier in the thread.

 

I'm now stuck until I get the track down, this hadn't happened so far as I'm waiting on a Sleeper Spacing tool from Pete Harvey and as yet this hasn't arrived, but when it does (hopefully next week), progress will be quick.

 

That's it for now, if you have any questions, just ask!

 

Simon

[Ian Smeeton]

Looks like Beeching has been at work.

 

Almost like a reverse history lesson-

 

the bare ground,

 

followed by the rationalised railway, and eventually reverting to the double slip and trailing crossover infested morass which is the transition period & before.

 

Please excuse my ramblings

 

It is already looking great.

 

Regards

 

Ian

[St. Simon]

Lessons on Modern Railway Modelling – Introduction

 

Hi,

 

Just before I start this mini series of Articles on Modern Image Modelling, there are a couple of things I should mention.

 

First of all, the way I do things is my personal way of doing things; it may not be the correct way, or the way you have to do it.  All this series is showing you what elements you should include in a Modern Image layout.

 

Next is that all the scaled down dimensions I use are for 4mm:ft 1:76 scale, although I have drawn up diagrams that show all the dimensions required in 2mm:ft and 7mm:ft scales, these will be posted up at the end of each ‘Lesson’

 

As said at the beginning of this thread, I will be using Railway Group Standards, which are available here:

 

A Railway Group Standard (RGS) is a standard that defines what must be done to achieve technical compatibility on the GB mainline network.  RGSs set out technical requirements applicable to vehicles and the infrastructure or processes applicable to transport operators.

 

I will be posting the titles and links to any relevant Standards that I use as I go along.

 

Simon

[St. Simon]

Lesson on Modern Railway Modelling No. 1 – Trackwork

Hi,

To start off this series in Modern Railway Modelling, I’m beginning with one of the fundamental’s, Trackwork.

Track work is the most basic of railway elements, but is not always modelled accurately by modellers in OO due to the ease of use and ready availability of PECO trackwork, which has incorrect sleeper spacing for 4mm:ft modelling (it does have the correct spacing for 3.5mm:ft ‘HO’ scale). In EM and P4 Gauges, where track is often built by laying individual sleepers, the correct sleeper spacing can be modelled. But what is the correct sleeper spacing?

Well, as I said at the start of this thread, I’m trying to build the layout as closely as possible to Railway Group Standards, so it is here that I turn to get the required information, well to be specific Standard GC/RT/5015 ‘Track Standards Manual – Section 5 Rail Support Systems’

For this layout, I’m only worrying about Plain Track, as I’m using PECO points for ease, so I go to section 5.12 which outlines the provision of sleepers and we can start to work out the correct sleeper spacing.

For Concrete Sleepers, there must be 26 sleepers to 18m of Continuously Welded Rail (CWR), now if you divide the length by the number of sleepers, you’ll get a Sleeper Centre to Sleeper Centre of 692 mm, and scaled down that equates to 9mm centre to centre in 1:76. Whereas for Wooden and Steel Sleepers, they are 28 sleepers to 18m of CWR, so that scales down to a centre to centre distance in 1:76 as 8.5 mm. All this is shown in the diagram below:



So, how do we rectify our sleeper spacing in ‘OO’, well you can buy sleepers from C&L Finescale in concrete through which you thread the track work, but these can get expensive and at the time of writing, are not in stock. So, this is how to change the sleeper spacing of PECO Code 75 Concrete Sleepered Track using the PH Design Sleeper Spacing Tool.

However, before I started correct the sleeper spacing, I painted all the rails in a rust colour.

First off, you cut the webbing between the sleepers off, to allow the sleepers to move individually.



Then, you position the tool over the track and move the sleepers so they fit into the slots in the tool, what I did was to add super glue to every 10th sleeper, so it wouldn't move when doing the next lot of sleepers, then you move along do the rest of the track:



Here’s how it looks once finished, compared with standard PECO Track (at the top).



At this point, I soldered on drops to the underside of the rail for the DCC Bus, this is done so you don’t see the feeds once the track is on the layout, remember to drill holes for the droppers before you glue down the track. Now, I applied some PVA Glue to the each sleeper and stuck the track in position on the cork underlay.

Once it’s in position, go along with the sleeper spacing tool to check the sleepers haven’t moved:



It took me around 3 hours to do both lines, and here's what they look like:



Oh and as a bit on the side although pretty irrelevant for this project is the Gauge, here I’m using Standard ‘OO’ gauge which is 16.5 mm, while there is also EM at 18.2mm and P4 at 18.83mm. However, it might surprise you to know that even P4 is still too narrow for standard gauge modern day track work, as todays track is split into two types:
 

· Vertical Track, which is perpendicular to the Sleepers and has a gauge of 1432 mm (scaling down to 18.84 mm),

· Inclined Track which is mounted at a 1:20 incline towards the 4 foot and to a gauge of 1435mm (scaling out at 18.88mm).

Although, actually this makes such an insignificant difference to P4 track work, you may as well forget about it, but it’s an interesting fact! But what is the ‘Gauge’, well the Gauge of the track is the distance between the inner, running, faces of the rail and is measured between points that are 15 mm from the Rail Crown.

Also, I may as well talk about the Rail itself, many times have there been discussions on use either Code 75 or Code 100 rail, but actually both are wrong! The current standard Rail profile used in the UK (although large parts of the network have other profiles) is CEN60 rail, the 60 standing for 60kg/metre. This profile has a height from Foot to Crown of 172 mm, scaling down to 2.26mm, while Code 75 has a height of 1.9mm and Code 100 has a height of 2.54mm, making the correct height somewhere in-between. However, I’ve used code 75, as its better looking than Code 100.

*Disclaimer* These comparisons are made for Modern Day Track work, Steam era track work will differ, so the comparisons here are not to be used in making decisions on track work of Steam era layouts.

Any Questions, Please ask!

Simon

[St. Simon]

Lessons on Modern Railway Modelling No. 2 – Third Rail

 

Hi,

 

You might have realised through both my avatar and my former layout, Hythe Parkway, I’m a Southern Region Third Rail Modeller and as with everything else on the Railway, there are standards to be met!

 

Although, for the bulk of the work on the Third rail, I used Russ Elliots fantastic website, as reference for everything ‘electrified rail’, but also I used RGS GM/RT1001 ‘Classic 750v DC 3^rd Rail Electrification System and T&RS Parameters to ensure Interworking’  (Catchy name eh?)

 

So, what do I use for Third Rail, well, I use the trusty old PECO Induvidulay Components, so the Insulating ‘Pots’ and Code 60 Rail.

 

The first thing to do is to Paint the rail rust coloured, remember, like the normal track work, leave the rail head clean, as it is very shiny in real life as the collector shoes on stock and arcing from them, removes any rust on the head. I don’t paint the Insulators as they are two small and there are too many of them, plus, as the real things are made from Ceramic, the white plastic is actually not that far off, although if you want to model the new Pots which are produced from a Grey Polymer, you could spray them in a Grey Primer, however, these Pots are actually a different shape to those modelled by PECO.

 

While you wait for the paint to dry, you can drill the holes for the insulators; this is where the standards come into play. First of you need to know where to drill the holes on the sleeper, well if you look Standard GM/RT1001, which gives you the distance of the centre of the third rail relative to the running edge of the running rail, which is 405mm, this scales down to 5.3mm, so to help me with keeping this distance, I made a little jig:

 

 

It’s simply a piece of plastic with a hole drilled into at the correct distance and another piece of plasticard the width of the track glued to the underside to sit it in the correct position against the rail. All you do is place it on the track, slide it along to the sleeper to be drilled and ensure the drill is in the centre of the sleeper.

But which sleepers are to be drilled, well, this is where we turn to Mr Elliots website, there should be three sleepers between insulators. I started mine just before the buffer stop finished and worked backwards along the platform. At Platforms, the Third Rail is placed on the side furthest from the Platform Edge; this is to ensure Passenger safety if anyone falls from the platform.

 

So, I drilled holes along the platform line and started to lay the third rail, first of all the required number of insulators were threaded onto the rail and roughly spaced out, then, the insulators were pushed into the holes; this can be fiddly as you have to line them up exactly, but you get the hang of it, if you drill the holes exactly the correct size (0.8mm), then they stay put fairly well.

 

But what about the rest of the line? At the end the platform, there are access points for track workers and drivers to access the line side cabinets and starting signal, so to make it safer for this purpose, the third rail changes sides, so there’s no third rail on the Cess side. For this there must be a changeover section, in Mr Elliot’s reference website, it states that this should be 12 bays long (the area between sleepers), so I included this:

 

 

This section does intrude into the Platform area, but it stops within an area that Passengers wouldn’t normally go, so it should be ok. Also note that I have left room for the Authorised Walking Route to cross the Track.

Finally, here’s what it looks like when finished:

 

 

Who and finally a little Joke I made up earlier:

 

 

*DISCLAIMER* I do not in anyway support the use of drugs and I wouldn't recommend trying to smoke a Third Rail Insulator!

 

Simon

[St. Simon]

Lessons on Modern Railway Modelling No. 3 – General Infrastructure before Ballasting.

 

Hi,

 

Now that I have the Track laid, wired up and tested, I can think about Ballasting, however, before I any place Ballast, there’s a few things I must put on the layout before.

 

There are several things that should be placed on the layout before Ballasting commences, so that they blend well into the ballast, as cutting away Ballast to put these on layout, won’t look good and be difficult to get right. Here’s a list of those things I need to install before moving on:

 

·         Location Cabinet Bases

·         Cable Trunking Routes

·         Catch pits

·         Authorised Walking Routes

 

I’m going to deal with each of these individually in sections in order in separate, so first up:

 

Location Cabinet Boxes

 

 

There’s a good reason as to the reason for installing these first, as they give you a guide as to where you’re to install your Cable Trunking Routes.

 

First of all, you need to establish the location of your Location Cabinets, well one of these Cabinets is needed for each Signal Post, each Point, each set of TPWS Grids that are placed far from the signal and one for each Block Section. If there are a number of signals on a Post, then these Cabinets are usually Double Size and if there’s a Gantry spanning a number of tracks, then a set of Cabinets is placed on either side of the Gantry, with one for signals in the Up Direction and one for the Down Direction. Otherwise, the Single Cabinet is installed.

 

But what their location in relation to these pieces of equipment, well, generally they are next to or very close to their associated Point / Signal.  Also, they are placed on the Cess Side of the Track far enough back so that a Technician Sitting working at the cabinet is in a position of safety (at least 1.25m from the nearest running rail). If there is enough clearance, then the Cabinet is placed with its back to the Line. In some cases where a number of cabinets would be in close together, such as where signals protect a cross over, they are sometimes placed together in area away from the track with a safety railing around them.

 

So, how you need how to model them, well the bases couldn’t be easier, just a simple rectangular piece of Plasticard slightly bigger than the Cabinets (Wills make a couple of different Sets, Codes SS85 and SS88):

 

 

Then paint them in a concrete colour before placing in position on the board:

 

 

Here what it looks like on the board with the Cabinet only sitting in place:

 

 

Simon

 

[ess1uk]

Nice work so far.

[d winpenny]

Great guide

 

David

[St. Simon]

Cable Trunking Routes

 

Cable Trunking is the Concrete Channels that can be seen running alongside the track, these carry Telecommunication, Signalling, Radio and Control Cables.

 

Cable Trunking is produced by a couple of companies, mainly Ten Commandments and Wills, and they can be installed as they come out of the packaging without painting.

 

When looked at on the railway, Cable Trunking can seem to be installed following seemly random routes, but there is some sense in it. Cables must connect between Various Location Cabinets and a central control point. So, if you have a signal box, control room or Lineside Relay room, then there should be a trunking route coming from it and spreading out in either direction with ‘tentacles’ coming off from that main route to each of the location cabinets. If you don’t have any of these, then there should be a main trunking route leading from one end of the layout to the other along, and following, the Cess (on a single line, this would be the most used Cess, and on a twin or more track layout, they would be along both Cess’)

 

 

Where the Cable Trunking branches off to location cabinets, they should be in line of them (unless there is an obstacle in the way) and branch off at 90 degrees to the main route, where cables have to cross running lines, they are passed through orange piping which placed underneath the rails between sleepers at 90 Degrees to the rails.

 

 

The Cable trunking should be placed around 2 metres from the nearest running rail, on the other side of the Cess, at no point should the cable trunking be causing a trip hazard in the Cess.

 

Simon

[St. Simon]

Catch Pits.

 

Catch pits are installed for two purposes; their primary purpose is to allow any water and sediment running off the surface of the formation to enter the drainage system and their secondary purpose is to provide an access point for maintenance and drain clearing using the ‘Drain Train’. In real life they look like this:

 

 

To Model these catch pits, I have designed a model to be 3D printed and you can find it here: https://www.shapeways.com/model/2294752/l-01-catch-pits-pack-of-12.html?modelId=2294752&materialId=61. This is how they come from Shapeways:

 

 

Now they have to be panted, first they are sprayed in Halfords Grey Primer and then once that’s dry, the top grate is painted in a light blue colour, don’t layer it on to thickly as the paint will block the holes. Then the frame is picked out in a grey colour for concrete.

 

 

Now they can be placed on the layout, if they it is a single track (or two tracks with a significant distance between them, as I have) they will be located in the Cess on both sides of the track. If your layout has a double or triple track layout, then they would be placed in both up and down Cess’s, while on Four Track formations, then there would be Catch Pits in the Cess’ and in the centre of the 6 Foot between the two pairs of running lines.

 

The only crucial dimensions here are that Cess Catch pits have to be placed with edge facing the track no less than 18mm from the running rail and all Catch pits must be placed a scale 30 metres apart. It doesn’t matter where you place the first Catch pit, as long as you follow these dimensions.

Here are the Catch pits installed on the layout

 

 

Simon

[newbryford]

Hi Simon,

I thought the latest standard for cabling when crossing the line was to clip it to the sleeper?

 

The orange tube is supposed to warn tamper operators not to slice through the cable, but over time, the orange trunking becomes dirty/weathered and effectively useless as a deterrent.

 

Some recent installations with minimal wiring don't use concrete trunking - they have a black flexible conduit about 150mm diameter. The line next to me has the conduit protecting fibre optic links, as well as electrical signalling cables. That was installed about 10 years ago!

 

Cheers,

Mick

[St. Simon]

Authorised Walking Routes (AWR)

 

These are basically prettier versions of Cess’ (which I will go into when I start Ballasting) and are usually paved or tarmacked and they safe walking routes that will see heavy traffic, the most common routes being Access Points, Barrow Crossings and routes between Carriage Sidings, Stabling Points, Yards and Station Platforms

 

I will have a couple of AWR’s on Newgate Lane, one from the Platform End and an Access point in the Car Park and one from the Access Point to the Platform Starting Signal and Associated Location Cabinets.

 

First of all I marked out the route, the actual path of these walkways hasn’t got a standard, as long as they are at least 1.3 metres away from the nearest running rail (or Electrified Rail), but where they must cross rails, they must do so at 90 Degrees to it.

 

 

There is, however, a standard on Path Width, as laid down in Railway Group Standard GC/RT/5203 ‘Infrastructure Requirements for Personal Safety in Respect of Clearances and Access’, which states that a AWR (and Cess) must be no narrower than 0.7 Metres. It also states that handrails should be provided at Access Points to prevent slipping and falling on the running lines, so at my Access Point, I will need to install a short section of Handrail.

 

So, once I have marked out the route, I cut out the route from some 2 mm thick mounting card, which I painted in Revel Aqua Colour No. 09 Matt Anthracite, which gives a nice tarmac like colour to it. I then glued it down onto the board:

 

 

Once I finish the Ballasting, I will add some handrails at my Access point from a PECO Station Stair kit  I had lying around.

That’s all the smaller infrastructure that needs to go down before Ballasting, but I still have to produce and install the Platform. Here’s a Diagram of all the positions of these pieces of infrastructure relative to the running rails

 

 

Simon

[St. Simon]

Hi Simon,

I thought the latest standard for cabling when crossing the line was to clip it to the sleeper?

 

The orange tube is supposed to warn tamper operators not to slice through the cable, but over time, the orange trunking becomes dirty/weathered and effectively useless as a deterrent.

 

Some recent installations with minimal wiring don't use concrete trunking - they have a black flexible conduit about 150mm diameter. The line next to me has the conduit protecting fibre optic links, as well as electrical signalling cables. That was installed about 10 years ago!

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

Hi Mike,

 

I knew about the cables being clipped into sleepers, but I like the orange tubing as it adds a bit of colour to the layout! I didn't know about the flexible conduit, I will have to have a look at that!

 

Thanks,

 

Simon

[newbryford]

Hi Mike,

 

I knew about the cables being clipped into sleepers, but I like the orange tubing as it adds a bit of colour to the layout! I didn't know about the flexible conduit, I will have to have a look at that!

 

Thanks,

 

Simon

 

Cable in orange trunking, cable clipped to sleepers and black flexible conduit. Standards - what standards?

 

 

I'll have a look at my pics for some better conduit runs

 

Cheers,

Mick

[St. Simon]

Lessons on Modern Railway Modelling No. 4 – Platforms and Stations

 

This lesson will be split between three posts, one dealing with construction of the Platform, one with detailing the platform, and one with the Station Building.

So, first of all:

 

Platform Construction.

 

First of all, you need to find the length of your platform, this is pretty easy to actually do, it’s just the length you want it to be, there are no standards on Platform Length, however, do make sure that you’re longest train you want to stop at the station has enough room on the platforms so that all the doors can open, or at least the doors on one unit open (if there are several multiple units connected together), do not have doors hanging of platforms, this looks silly!

 

Next you need to find you’re platforms width and height, well for this there are Standards, to be specific Standard GI/RT/7016 ‘Interface between Station Platforms, Track and Trains’ 

 

This lays down the height of platforms, which should be 12 mm ( a scale 915mm), however, for this platform, I’m using the PECO Southern Concrete Platform Edging to make it easier and so I can get the coping stones on the edge

 

The Width varies on the type of platform and line speed:

 

·         Standard Single Face Platform should be at least 33 mm wide

·         Single Face Platforms where the line speed is above 100 mph should be at least 39 mm wide

·         Standard Island Platforms should be at least 53 mm wide

·         Island Platforms where speeds on both lines is above 100 mph should be at least 79 mm

·         Island Platforms where speed is above 100 only on one line should be at least 72 mm wide

 

So, using all this information, you can start Platform construction, I did this off the Baseboard so it’s easier to paint, although if you have a long platform, then this is impractical. As  mentioned before, I’m using the PECO Platform Edging, but for the top and the bulk of the construction I used 1mm thick mounting card, one this can be cut and put together quickly and it gives a nice flat surface on which to paint the platform surface.

 

I started off by cutting out the platform top to the correct width (mine is actually a half a metre wider than the minimum) and length (although to get the length I had to use two pieces of card), I also added a jutting out section at the rear to accommodate a Platform Shelter, but I’ll tell you more about that in the second section, I also drilled any holes for lights and other details before assembly. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo at this stage, so I’ll move on.

 

To give the platform some structure and something to which I can glue the platform edging, I created a ‘Spin’ using a longitudinal piece and several cross members out of card which slotted together, be aware that you may have to cut pieces out of the card to fit around the Platform Edging, but this made the whole platform rigid, yet lightweight:

 

 

Once this was finished, I used contact adhesive to glue it to the platform top and then to glue the edging (which was already painted Railmatch Concrete) on to it, here’s how the platform looked before painting:

 

 

The gap you can see at the right hand end of the platform is where a piece of platform will go across the end of the terminus track and to the station building, I was unsure of the width of this piece, so I’ve left it for the moment.

 

Before you go on to painting, there’s almost certainly a join in your platform where you’ve had to use two pieces of card, so you will have to fill these in, I masked the area around the join and then applied Revell Model Filler into it, sanding it down when dry.

 

Now, I can go on to Painting the Platform, I started off with the Platform Surface, I masked off the Platform Edging Coping Stones and then proceeded to cover the platform top in Revel Aqua Colour No. 09 Matt Anthracite, this produces a nice dark grey / black colour to the surface, representing Tarmac:

 

 

Then I painted the Edging Coping Stones in Matt Mouse Grey (No. 47 again Revel Aqua Colour). This is where you need to start thinking about dimensions again. To get the right width for colour ‘bands’ I turned to RSSB Guidance Note GI/GN7616 ‘Guidance on Interface between Station Platforms, Track and Trains’ This gives a more detailed insight into Standard GI/RT/7016 (see above), including more detailed dimensions for platform surfaces. This states that coping stones should be a minimum of 500 mm deep (Scaled down that’s 6.6 mm). Unfortunately, the coping stones on the PECO Edging are only 5mm deep, however, I didn’t want to scribe another 1.5 mm of lines into the card, so I let this standard slip a little bit.

 

I applied the paint using a steady hand and patience to ensure a straight edge of paint, here’s how it looks when that’s finished:

 

 

The next task was to add in a Tactile Surface, every platform now has to have these in a ‘band’ to prevent partially sighted passengers from stepping off the platform edge. The Guidance Notes say that this surface must run the whole length of the platform and be a minimum of 400 mm wide (scaling down to 5 mm). I did plan to use a sheet of Granite Sets as my tactile surface, but I couldn’t cut it straight, so I reverted to just painting it on.

 

I used the edge of the coping stones as one of the edges and then marked out 5 mm back from that with a pencil and laid down masking tape along this line. I didn’t mask the other side as I opted to use a steady hand again. I used Silk Matt Beige Colour (314)

 

The final paint stage was the white warning line along the platform edge, in 4 mm scale this must be at least 1 mm wide, so I marked 1 mm from the Platform edge, masked it off and painted matt white along it. Don’t be too worried if the colour of the coping stones shows through under it as this happens in real life. Finally, a here’s how it looked once painting is finished:

 

 

Before I started fixing on Details, I glued down on to the baseboard:

 

 

 

Simon

[newbryford]

And then you can always clip the cables to the edge of the platform........

 

 

This is part of a recent installation of an intermediate block section using a mixture of conduit and trunking - the conduit was existing and was "broken into" to access the cabling and then trunking added for just the short section. The big unwrapped parcel is the loc box.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Simon, one thing puzzling me is why there is a trap point on your passenger line? I'm assuming the passenger track is the one with the 3rd rail.

 

Thanks.

[St. Simon]

Simon, one thing puzzling me is why there is a trap point on your passenger line? I'm assuming the passenger track is the one with the 3rd rail.Thanks.

Hi,

 

You assume correctly, the third rail line is the passenger line. The line joins the freight line 'off scene', after bridge, so, scene as that's the main line and the platform is the siding, their probably should be a Trap Point.

 

If it isn't meant to be there, there is another reason, as I said at the start, I'm building this to experiment for larger layout, so I've added in the trap point so I can try out Cobalt Point Motors and also to try out interlocking signals and points with relays. Plus it gives me an excuse to add a HW1000 point motor onto the top of the layout, which I have been trained in dismantling and assembling.

 

Simon

[St. Simon]

Platform Detailing

 

This is where you can let your imagination flow a bit, as there is only one crucial dimension, but first I would go out and do some research about average station facilities.

 

On my Platform, I would be using 3D Printed Models from my own designs:

 

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/sjpmodels?section=Station+Accessories&s=0

 

As I mentioned in the construction phase, I worked out all my detailing parts before I started assembling the platform, this was because it could be easier to drill holes for details through the card before it had a void underneath it and painting would cover up any damaged to the card during drilling.

 

First of all, I had to mark the distance of these details to the platform edge, again a quick look at Railway Group Standard GI/RT7016 (see above), revealed the answer, a scale 2500 mm. So I marked out a line long the platform at a scale 2500 mm from the edge, this was where all my details would be along. I drilled the various size holes for various details, again I don’t have photos of the process, but I will show you all the details that I used and where they can from:

 

 

The Biggest detail is my Platform Shelter, this was 3D Printed from my own designs, and this, because of how deep it is, I added a section on to the back of the platform to allow the front to sit on the 2500 mm line, this section also has some room around it to avoid the ‘cramped in look’:

 

 

The next big detail is the Driver Only Operation Mirror, again 3D Printed, this has been finished in a generic silver and black scheme with a piece of ‘Mirror’ Card representing the Mirror, now this was has to be placed in a specific location in relation to the Platform Starting Signal, Standard GI/RT/7016 states that any DOO Equipment or Stopping Markers should be placed within 25 metres (329 mm in ‘OO’) of the starting signal, so if you have a Platform Starter at the end of the platform, this equipment must be placed further down (therefore increasing the necessary length of platform). If you’ve built the platform before placing the signal, you don’t need to worry about it at the moment.

 

 

The Lamps are from Layouts4U and have actually come from my old exhibition layout Hythe Parkway; they have been placed at almost regular intervals along the platform. The Seats also have had a previous life on Hythe Parkway and are produced by Ten Commandments; they are a good representation of Modern Seats and are painted in a generic blue colour.

 

 

Lastly, the Passenger Information Displays, these, along with the Station Nameboards, will be interchangeable so that I can represent different eras and regions. These are also 3D Printed to my own designs and I have a set for the Southern Region and a Generic Set for other Regions

The Fencing along the rear of the platform is Ratio Southern Precast Concrete Fencing.

 

Here's what all those details look like when in place:

 

 

Finally a diagram of all the required dimensions:

 

 

Simon

[ess1uk]

Cable in orange trunking, cable clipped to sleepers and black flexible conduit. Standards - what standards?

 

trunking.jpg

 

I'll have a look at my pics for some better conduit runs

 

Cheers,

Mick

Trust me, there are all sorts of combinations out there.

It is usual to try and put all cables in new troughs when laid though where possible.

Under track crossings are now likely to be round pits or hollow sleepers as even clipping to the sleeper is still prone to tamper damage.