Pragmatic Pre-Grouping - Mikkel's Workbench

[PaternosterRow]

3 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

 

The macadam, as devised by John McAdam, relies on the interlocking of the stones in each layer to provide structural strength within the pavement's construction. A quick look a Wiki doesn't seem to mention how the stone should be graded - the graduated sizes of stone aid the "locking" as each smaller size fits in the gaps between the larger ones. The addition of tar and subsequently bitumen to the mix as a binder acts as stabiliser and keeps the structure intact (assuming no ingress of water and freeze-thaw!).

 

Its quite likely that the lower layer shown in the photograph is the original unbound macadam. Most minor roads in England consist either of an unbound macadam as per the photograph which has been overlaid by bitumenous materials, or they are simply layers of tar/bitumen and chipping accumulated over time.

 

In modern pavement construction there is an un-bound layer of coarse stone (sub-base) beneath the bound layers. There would also be a thick capping layer beneath the sub-base where ground is soft. Above the sub-base are three bound layers, the base, the base-course, and the surface course, all diminishing in thickness and aggregate size as they approach the surface.

 

For anyone who's interested in modern pavement design in the UK, I can do no better than recommend the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges 

We used to call the base layer of stone Scalpings back in the day.  They were anything from 6 to 8 inch long by 4 inches wide and were roughly cut shards of granite.  This layer could be up to 18 inches thick depending on the ground conditions.  They were a devil to dig out for road crossings (for services like water, electric or gas) afterward.  These were covered over by smaller stones we’d refer to as 40 mil Down (down simply meaning ever decreasing diameter down to dust).  All of this was compacted by vibrating rolling machines or compacting plates (these were awful machines to use as they had to be walked from behind - not the lovely current types that have seats etc.).  A base layer of tarmac with 10 to 20 mm stones was then laid and rolled followed by a fine grain topping layer.  All of this was for major/minor road construction - motorways were a different beast altogether and were deeper layered because of the heavier traffic use etc.  

[Mikkel]

Many thanks Mark and Mike for these insights - directly from the horse's mouth in both cases! (not thereby implying that you are as old as the Edwardians ).

 

If I seem obsessed with macadam it's because I've been trying to determine what kind of texture I should go for with my 1900s macadam road. A perusal of photos has been interesting but also highlighted the great diversity of the subject matter. However I now have an idea of what I'm going for, so will try to experiment.

 

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Mikkel

[2996 Victor]

2 hours ago, Mikkel said:

...directly from the horse's mouth...

 

Neigh problaemo!

 

Hat, coat, door.....

[Donw]

A lot of road resurfacing consists of a layer of bitumen/tar ( dependant on where and when it was done) into which a layer of chipping are rolled this gives a coarser surface than the original. After it has been laid dust dirt and probably wear from tyres oil etc all gets deposited .  My experience was mostly with reinstatements after telephone work. At 16 a hammer worked off the compressor was put into my hands and after a brief instruction I was told flatten the tarmac.  Afterwards one of the gang said did he tell you he lost half a foot using one of those. No I thought not he responded to my shocked look.  It was also a wierd experience comming out of a manhole at night to find a strange huge machine laying a base for the M54 in a continuous process moving along the graded path leaving a road behind like slug trail.

 

I presume in Edwardian times away from Major roads most roads would still have just been from stones and only main roads would have been properly graded country lanes would be dirt tracks where puddles might be infilled with stones. or were roads better looked after than that.

Don

[2996 Victor]

3 hours ago, Donw said:

A lot of road resurfacing consists of a layer of bitumen/tar ( dependant on where and when it was done) into which a layer of chipping are rolled this gives a coarser surface than the original.

 

This is known as surface dressing, associated with those signs saying "Beware Loose Chippings".

 

It's a cheap way for local authorities to eke a few more years out of their minor roads and improve the skid resistance of the surface.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Donw]

1 hour ago, 2996 Victor said:

 

This is known as surface dressing, associated with those signs saying "Beware Loose Chippings".

 

It's a cheap way for local authorities to eke a few more years out of their minor roads and improve the skid resistance of the surface.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

 

It would be a slightly rougher texture to model I think and you could always add one of those laybys full of chippings very helpful when you are looking for somewhere to pull over.

Don

[Kingzance]

On 09/06/2019 at 21:56, Mikkel said:

A follow-up on the experiments with setts. As mentioned earlier, so-called “blue foam” seems to be a popular material with diorama- and war gaming modellers, so I was curious to try it out.  This is extruded polystyrene (a.k.a. XPS), not to be confused with expanded polystyrene. In the UK, places like 4D models sell a Styrofoam variety in thin sheets, but the cost of shipping to Denmark was prohibitive. So I ended up with a thick but cheap slab from a local architects’ supplier. This is more dense than the Styrofoam I associate with food containers.

 

 

 

The modified brushes were tried again...

 

 

 

 

 

I had trouble getting used to just how soft the foam is. Slightly too much pressure and my DIY tools slipped too deep, giving a poor result as can be seen below. I’m sure practice would help, and my tools could be modified to reduce the problem. Even so, slip-ups seem very visible and not easy to redress.

 

 

 

Then I tried a roller from Green Stuff World, having seen suggestions that these work well on blue foam.
 

 

 

The lines are miscolouring in the foam and not a problem when painted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quick painting session again revealed how fragile the blue foam can be: I used a slightly too stiff brush for the drybrushing, and it left brush marks in the surface.

 

 

 

The rolling requires a bit of practice. When rolling it back and forth to emphasize the imprint (as recommended in one video) the pattern slipped in some places. I’m also not sure about the fully circular pattern that is moulded into some parts of the roller. Was such a pattern prototypical?

 

 

Eye-level views show potential though, if a quick solution is preferred. 

 

 

As for the blue foam itself, I am a bit sceptical whether it suits me, given how fragile it is. This may just be down to my inexperience with the material, or perhaps the particular variety I ended up with. Even so, I think I might go with either good old DAS or the harder “foamed PVC” instead.
 

 

Mention of Green Stuff World brought on a thought that I should share my experience of them with fellow modellers. I have a cutting leading to a tunnel on the layout and the cutting needed some trees and shrubs to look at least partially realistic.I had looked at various Seafoam suppliers and came across this one, offering bags of mixed height sprigs. I ordered some on Monday evening, paid for the normal delivery - nothing extra - and it was delivered today. The contents were just as I expected and so I can only recommend them. 

[Mikkel]

For those who don't visit the blogs, here a little update on the latest Farthing layout, by way of a short video.

 

 

There's more here.

Edited May 12, 2020 by Mikkel

[Mikkel]

In the early Jurassic era, long before the advent of man, fierce packs of Spratosaurus roamed the earth, preying on goods wagons...

 

 

 

Been fitting Sprat & Winkles to some neglected wagons. As a result the Stopping Goods has grown.

 

 

 

I need a longer desk. Longer layouts too!

 

 

 

Did you know that there is a special law of physics for 3-link couplings? It goes like this: “A gap in a link is always wide enough for the adjoining link to fall out, but never wide enough for the same link to be re-inserted.”

 

 

I’ve also made some loco lamps for the Dean Goods. In principle I need the pre-1903 “socket” type, but I don’t believe they’re available in 4mm. So I used the later GWR tail lamps from Model U, which are slimmer than the headlamps and better for my purposes. 

 

 

 

I painted them in the common pattern for the 1900s, i.e. diamond on the left and red S on the back (when seen from front). GWR lamp symbols is an interesting little subject. Below are some close crops. See also this thread.

 

Regarding headcodes, @Ian Smith kindly pointed me to Atkin’s GWR Goods Train working vol 1, which has a whole section on the topic. Below I've used the pre-1903 Stopping Goods headcode, following the 1897 instructions. Sounds grand but it’s just an unlighted lamp over left hand buffer (when seen from the front, see the above mentioned thread for the pitfalls of GWR headcode instructions). After  the 1903 changes, the same headcode now indicated Light Engine.
 

 

 

I’ve noticed in prototype photos that extra lamps stored along the side tended to be turned inwards, presumably to avoid damage. So fitted like this :

 

 

Frankly though, I think lamps will only feature on special occasions. My locos are forever going in and out of stockboxes, which I think the delicate ModelU lamps might not cope with.

 

The Dean Goods is finished by the way, here’s a link to a blog entry with more photos:

 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Mikkel

[Bluemonkey presents....]

Awesome Mikkel, love it. What a fantastic looking train you have there.

Love the comment regarding the couplings.

[ChrisN]

A very informative post, as ever.  I will be back to ask what a stopping passenger train headcode is.  Actually, no I will not as my loco is running on the Cambrian which had one lamp on the buffer beam, I think for everything. 

 

I think those wagons will fill up all of your layouts.  The train is impressive though.  I am not sure I have seen a whole train of red wagons before.

 

That is a beautiful locomotive, and a brilliant conversion, shame it is not in invisible green though.    (They are currently available in Ebay at fifty quid, not sure what they went for originally.  Also saw a Mainline one for about £25.00.)

[Mikkel]

Thanks Matt and Chris, it's the first time all my red wagons are in full running order at the same time. I have been converting some of the couplings from the 'underhung' style to the more horisontal style which I prefer, even if it means cutting a small gap for the hook.

 

I still need to add some outside framed vans though. And to balance them, more Opens!  I have a thing for the 3-planks that you are also building, Matt, although I suppose we ought to have more 2-planks also. And so on!  

 

Chris, when running on joint lines the GWR had some special headcodes - later in 1903 there were attempts to standardize between some companies. Not sure about the Cambrian, will check the Atkins book.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2020 by Mikkel
Companies, not countries!

[Nick Holliday]

5 hours ago, ChrisN said:

A very informative post, as ever.  I will be back to ask what a stopping passenger train headcode is.  Actually, no I will not as my loco is running on the Cambrian which had one lamp on the buffer beam, I think for everything. 

The Cambrian was very pragmatic when it came to headcodes on "visiting" locos. They simply listed the relevant code of the other companies that might appear, whilst their locos in normal service had one lamp above the right buffer (as seen by the enginemen ). So, in 1911 they listed the various RCH type codes for any GW, LNW and Midland Railways' visitors, and a couple of additional ones for Brecon & Merthyr and Great Central interlopers.

The GWR (RCH) code for a stopping goods was shown by the Cambrian, as per the pre-1903 GWR, as a lamp above the right buffer, as viewed by the enginemen, or the left as per the diagrams, exactly as modelled, and, incidentally, the same as the Cambrian's normal codes for all trains.  There seems to be a bit of confusion about the light engine code, shown by the Cambrian in 1911 as one lamp below the chimney and another in the middle of the buffer beam. Most lines, following the adoption of the RCH scheme, seem, around 1905-7, to have wanted light engines to show the one lamp over the left buffer as viewed by the signalmen, but by 1918 the light engine's lamp had moved to the centre of the buffer beam, where it remained until 1968.

Edited June 7, 2020 by Nick Holliday
Spelling

[Donw]

Lovely train Mikkel. REgarding the three llinks- when you try to close a link up end on it will always spring back a little so you never get it really tight. So instead of pulling them open I use two pliers holding the top and bottm half respectively and twist the link so the other links can be hooked over then twist back and because you can go slightly beyond the point where they are in line you canget it just right. I will take a phoo if that isn't clear.

 

Don

[Ian Smith]

21 minutes ago, Donw said:

Lovely train Mikkel. REgarding the three llinks- when you try to close a link up end on it will always spring back a little so you never get it really tight. So instead of pulling them open I use two pliers holding the top and bottm half respectively and twist the link so the other links can be hooked over then twist back and because you can go slightly beyond the point where they are in line you canget it just right. I will take a phoo if that isn't clear.

 

Don

Don, I don’t know what you meant To say but I’m glad you put a “h” in the word in the middle of that last sentence 
Ian

[Donw]

22 minutes ago, Ian Smith said:

Don, I don’t know what you meant To say but I’m glad you put a “h” in the word in the middle of that last sentence 
Ian

 

Keyboard getting dicky the 't' in the middle didn't register should have been photo.

 

Don

[Mikkel]

21 hours ago, Nick Holliday said:

 There seems to be a bit of confusion about the light engine code, shown by the Cambrian in 1911 as one lamp below the chimney and another in the middle of the buffer beam. Most lines, following the adoption of the RCH scheme, seem, around 1905-7, to have wanted light engines to show the one lamp over the left buffer as viewed by the signalmen, but by 1918 the light engine's lamp had moved to the centre of the buffer beam, where it remained until 1968.

 

Yes, that is also what can be seen in the Atkins volume about the GWR codes for light engine: 1905-1918 one lamp over left buffer (when seen from front), then from 1918 centre of buffer beam. I think I'll make a table or matrix of some sort to provide some clarity to the changing headcodes. 

 

Incidentally, Atkins (p24) also says:  "Despite the need to 'follow the rules', GW enginemen frequently put the single lamp representing an ordinary passenger engine (which should have been placed at the chimney) in the centre of the buffer beam instead." Great stuff!

 

[Mikkel]

1 hour ago, Donw said:

Lovely train Mikkel. REgarding the three llinks- when you try to close a link up end on it will always spring back a little so you never get it really tight. So instead of pulling them open I use two pliers holding the top and bottm half respectively and twist the link so the other links can be hooked over then twist back and because you can go slightly beyond the point where they are in line you canget it just right. I will take a phoo if that isn't clear.

 

Don

 

Thanks Don. That is also what I do, drawing on advice from here some years ago - quite possibly yours 

 

The trouble I have is closing them properly again when they are magnetic and you have one link on a S&W hook.  They'll do anything to avoid a proper grip with the tweezers 

[richbrummitt]

11 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

 

Thanks Don. That is also what I do, drawing on advice from here some years ago - quite possibly yours 

 

The trouble I have is closing them properly again when they are magnetic and you have one link on a S&W hook.  They'll do anything to avoid a proper grip with the tweezers 

 

I use small pliers rather than tweezers, but mine are not magnetic so that might not help you.

[Mikkel]

Pliers have the same effect I'm afraid. I think I need to come up with a jig of some sort. It would help save a lot of fiddling and untidy not-quite-closed links. 

[Guy Rixon]

1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

 

Thanks Don. That is also what I do, drawing on advice from here some years ago - quite possibly yours 

 

The trouble I have is closing them properly again when they are magnetic and you have one link on a S&W hook.  They'll do anything to avoid a proper grip with the tweezers 

I don't do 3-link couplings any more, but when I did, I used a variant of Don's method.

 

1. Open the top and middle links by bending one end only as per Don's post. Use small, round-jawed pliers in the bend that's being opened and flat-jawed pliers to grip the other end. Tweezers are not strong enough.

2. Fit the top link to the hook and close it up by the reverse process of step 1, using the two sets of pliers.

3. Repeat steps one and two for the middle link, taping both top and bottom links.

 

The crucial thing is to bend only one end of each link. If you bend both it's just too hard to bring them back to alignment. I suspect that's Don's technique, but his post doesn't make it quite clear.

 

If you use Exactoscale hooks and links, there's an actual gedge (sp?) slot in the hook. If you file a gedge into the top link then you only have to open the middle link. But it's actually easier to open two links than to file the gedge.

[AlfaZagato]

Use plastic tweezers?   The first-aid kit sort?

[Donw]

46 minutes ago, Guy Rixon said:

I don't do 3-link couplings any more, but when I did, I used a variant of Don's method.

 

1. Open the top and middle links by bending one end only as per Don's post. Use small, round-jawed pliers in the bend that's being opened and flat-jawed pliers to grip the other end. Tweezers are not strong enough.

2. Fit the top link to the hook and close it up by the reverse process of step 1, using the two sets of pliers.

3. Repeat steps one and two for the middle link, taping both top and bottom links.

 

The crucial thing is to bend only one end of each link. If you bend both it's just too hard to bring them back to alignment. I suspect that's Don's technique, but his post doesn't make it quite clear.

 

If you use Exactoscale hooks and links, there's an actual gedge (sp?) slot in the hook. If you file a gedge into the top link then you only have to open the middle link. But it's actually easier to open two links than to file the gedge.

 

I dont think it was quite clear where the two ends of the link meet rather than opening the link by moving either end outwards I twist the two ends apart. Holding the link verticl with the join facing you and then twist so the the top half rotates in the opposite direction to the bottom half it only needs to be enough to be able to slp a link over. Then twist back. 

Don

[Mikkel]

Thanks gents. I can manage with the strong tweezers but pliers are better. AlfaZagato, I think plastic tweezers wouldn't be strong enough.

 

8 hours ago, Guy Rixon said:

The crucial thing is to bend only one end of each link.

 

That might help.  I tend to twist both ends sideways.  Overall though my main problem is that they stick and curl as they are magnetic, so I can't work properly with them and it takes ages to get them right.  Anyway, got them done for now. Will experiment more next time I need to add some.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Mikkel

[Simond]

The key point is only to twist, not bend.  
 

prototype fidelity is improved by soldering up the gap in each of the links.  It’s amazing how it shows (I’m thinking 7mm, but I guess 4mm is the same but smaller!)

 

and, heaven forfend, but if the hook or links are brass, don’t let it show!  colour them!   Metal black or a spirit-based felt tip pen.

 

atb

Simon