RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted June 26, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 26, 2018 I think they look better like that Bob. Regards Lez. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 I think they look better like that Bob. Regards Lez. Evening.... I'll go with this orientation happily....will update when they've been fixed down.... Regards always.... Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted June 26, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 26, 2018 Make sure you get each bit matched up as close as possible Bob. Use plenty of weight mate and get some DAS or other air dried clay cos what you need to do is "grout" it all with DAS once its down. This will help with the over scale appearance and hide the joins. Don't worry about it as I will talk you through as you go along. Regards Lez. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 Make sure you get each bit matched up as close as possible Bob. Use plenty of weight mate and get some DAS or other air dried clay cos what you need to do is "grout" it all with DAS once its down. This will help with the over scale appearance and hide the joins. Don't worry about it as I will talk you through as you go along. Regards Lez. Hi... Just filing some of the edges as we 'speak'..... Regards always..... Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted June 27, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 27, 2018 It might be a good idea to seal the base board top before you start sticking the setts down as well Bob. Just paint the whole surface with 50/50 PVA and water mix and let it dry for a couple of days. Then you can test fit it all properly with a blob of blutack till you're happy with it then stick it all down with Evostick rather than UHU and weight it all down at least overnight. Then you can blend it all together with DAS and then paint it all and weather it in one hit. Have you got the office buildings and any other bits and bobs you might want to plant ready to go Bob? If not now is the time mate as you will want to cut the setts to fit the buildings before you fix them down. It'll be a total mare to cut them in afterwards. Also it you want any sunken or uneven areas plan them out now and then you can do it all as you go. They will be a bit of a faff but well worth the effort. Have you thought about drains? Once again now is the time mate as you won't be able to retro fit them without a hammer and chisel. Regards Lez. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 (edited) It might be a good idea to seal the base board top before you start sticking the setts down as well Bob. Just paint the whole surface with 50/50 PVA and water mix and let it dry for a couple of days. Then you can test fit it all properly with a blob of blutack till you're happy with it then stick it all down with Evostick rather than UHU and weight it all down at least overnight. Then you can blend it all together with DAS and then paint it all and weather it in one hit. Have you got the office buildings and any other bits and bobs you might want to plant ready to go Bob? If not now is the time mate as you will want to cut the setts to fit the buildings before you fix them down. It'll be a total mare to cut them in afterwards. Also it you want any sunken or uneven areas plan them out now and then you can do it all as you go. They will be a bit of a faff but well worth the effort. Have you thought about drains? Once again now is the time mate as you won't be able to retro fit them without a hammer and chisel. Regards Lez. Hi Lez.... Once again thanks for the informative and kind advice..... Yep...I have a plan to have the coal bins and a small office in one area incorporating another larger office / weighbridge in the larger main area......these I intend to inset into the setts..so would need to cut into them so that they wrap around rather than standing on the surface..so timely advice thank you.... I'd also have the notion to 'distress' the surface in one or two spots to give an impression of wear and tear, along with disrepair for this 'working area'.....so have some planning to do and building of kits stage by stage, unless I come across some 'off the shelf' buildings that are suitable.....will probably tentatively also begin incorporating the nearby goods shed and yard.... Cheers and regards always.... Bob Can you make it rain please as the 'fun' has gone out of being constantly on the end of a hose pipe in blazing sunshine at the nursery...! Edited June 27, 2018 by BobM 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted June 27, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 27, 2018 Right then Bob. The first thing you need to do is make a scale ground plan of the coal yard. Draw in all the bins and buildings that will encroach upon the area of granite setts, Given the size of the yard I'm tempted to suggest it needs a weigh bridge and office. It will need a yard office and as it both a railway coal yard and a private coal yard it will need two offices. As it is also quite a large area you need to think about drainage. I would represent that by having four courses of stretcher bond running down the center of the area under setts parallel to the track. Leave gaps in it to place etched drain grids in and have a manhole cover at some point in it as well. You are going to paint the brickwork to represent blue engineering brick so don't worry that they are a red colour. This will be the lowest point of the scene so I would carve out this area from the base board covering. If you don't have anything fixed to the baseboard top here cover it with cork first. After you have dug out the drain courses you now need to sand the cork so that the drain is the lowest point and the parallel edges are the highest point. When you are happy with this and the placement of the buildings and anything else that encroaches upon the setts cut the setts to shape and fix down with blutack. Now you can draw in the distressed areas on your plan and once you are happy with that transfer these areas onto the setts. You will have to decide how you are going to distress the setts and mark out and remove missing setts and also depressed areas. Now because of the nature of the material depressions are going to be a bit of a faff. There are two ways to do this. One is using heat and the other is cutting them out. Heat is a problem as you risk losing detail, it's also risky because of the thickness of the sheets you need quite a lot of it. So that leaves cutting. First of all work out how deep the depression is to be and what shape and make out the setts that will be at the bottom and draw around them. Then using a drill drill a small hole at each change of direction and then cut it out with a piecing saw. There's no getting away from it you will need a piecing saw so if you don't have one then buy one and a good selection of blades. Having cut out the bottom of the depression clean it up and make good any bits of holes it has so all the setts are complete. now go back to the sheet of setts you have just cut and again with a saw remove all of the "pointing" that leads to the hole so each of the setts are only connected to the sheet by the pointing course farthest away from the hole. Place the sheet in place and draw around the hole then dig that area out of the cork and sand the edges of this so that the you have a slope one or two setts wide around the hole. Now work around the hole in the sett sheet so that all the setts around the hole slope in towards the hole as the are only held at the rear you can use a pair of needle nose pliers. You can now glue down the setts at the bottom of the hole and then glue down the whole sheet afterwards. If you bend the setts so that the angle is a bit sharper than you need when you fix down the sheet and weight it down the setts around the hole will follow the slope of the edges of the hole and fix to the correct angle of the sanded base. Once you have all of the setts fixed down you can "grout" the whole lot with DAS to blend it all together. Start at the joins and using a wet pea-sized piece of clay push the clay into the setts in a circular motion and then rub it into the setts. Once you have a 3-4" area done rub it over with a wet sponge until you're happy with it and repeat until you have the whole thing covered then let it dry. Where setts are missing just let the holes fill up with DAS and when you smooth it over with the sponge make sure the area is depressed below the height of the surrounding sets. Then it's just a case of painting and fitting drains and anything else that's going into the scene. Don't panic It's much harder to write down than do. Regards Lez. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 (edited) Right then Bob. The first thing you need to do is make a scale ground plan of the coal yard. Draw in all the bins and buildings that will encroach upon the area of granite setts, Given the size of the yard I'm tempted to suggest it needs a weigh bridge and office. It will need a yard office and as it both a railway coal yard and a private coal yard it will need two offices. As it is also quite a large area you need to think about drainage. I would represent that by having four courses of stretcher bond running down the center of the area under setts parallel to the track. Leave gaps in it to place etched drain grids in and have a manhole cover at some point in it as well. You are going to paint the brickwork to represent blue engineering brick so don't worry that they are a red colour. This will be the lowest point of the scene so I would carve out this area from the base board covering. If you don't have anything fixed to the baseboard top here cover it with cork first. After you have dug out the drain courses you now need to sand the cork so that the drain is the lowest point and the parallel edges are the highest point. When you are happy with this and the placement of the buildings and anything else that encroaches upon the setts cut the setts to shape and fix down with blutack. Now you can draw in the distressed areas on your plan and once you are happy with that transfer these areas onto the setts. You will have to decide how you are going to distress the setts and mark out and remove missing setts and also depressed areas. Now because of the nature of the material depressions are going to be a bit of a faff. There are two ways to do this. One is using heat and the other is cutting them out. Heat is a problem as you risk losing detail, it's also risky because of the thickness of the sheets you need quite a lot of it. So that leaves cutting. First of all work out how deep the depression is to be and what shape and make out the setts that will be at the bottom and draw around them. Then using a drill drill a small hole at each change of direction and then cut it out with a piecing saw. There's no getting away from it you will need a piecing saw so if you don't have one then buy one and a good selection of blades. Having cut out the bottom of the depression clean it up and make good any bits of holes it has so all the setts are complete. now go back to the sheet of setts you have just cut and again with a saw remove all of the "pointing" that leads to the hole so each of the setts are only connected to the sheet by the pointing course farthest away from the hole. Place the sheet in place and draw around the hole then dig that area out of the cork and sand the edges of this so that the you have a slope one or two setts wide around the hole. Now work around the hole in the sett sheet so that all the setts around the hole slope in towards the hole as the are only held at the rear you can use a pair of needle nose pliers. You can now glue down the setts at the bottom of the hole and then glue down the whole sheet afterwards. If you bend the setts so that the angle is a bit sharper than you need when you fix down the sheet and weight it down the setts around the hole will follow the slope of the edges of the hole and fix to the correct angle of the sanded base. Once you have all of the setts fixed down you can "grout" the whole lot with DAS to blend it all together. Start at the joins and using a wet pea-sized piece of clay push the clay into the setts in a circular motion and then rub it into the setts. Once you have a 3-4" area done rub it over with a wet sponge until you're happy with it and repeat until you have the whole thing covered then let it dry. Where setts are missing just let the holes fill up with DAS and when you smooth it over with the sponge make sure the area is depressed below the height of the surrounding sets. Then it's just a case of painting and fitting drains and anything else that's going into the scene. Don't panic It's much harder to write down than do. Regards Lez. Thanks Lez.... A good deal for me to take in here, never worry though I never start really to panic until I hear 'the chimes of midnight'....! Regards always,,,, Bob Edited June 27, 2018 by BobM 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 (edited) Hi... Just a message to send my apologies for the lack of updates on the layout....... These currently hot and dry conditions are really stretching my stamina and patience, seriously limiting my free time, we are constantly watering everything both during the working day at the nursery and then for me zooming off down the station to water plants down there so they do not become 'stressed'.......I am not getting home until after 10pm most evenings after a 40 mile round trip after work...(took an evening off tonight though as I am absolutely shattered.....can't keep this up for much longer).... What you do eh to keep things looking good for your passengers and visitors....? I am hoping for rain (sorry if you love this weather) sometime soon.... Regards always,,,, Bob Edited July 2, 2018 by BobM 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted July 2, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 2, 2018 Hi Bob. Yes I too am suffering in the heat mate. I had to come home from work early tonight. It felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest and I also had the start of a migraine as well. Fortunately the migraine didn't develop so I missed a bullet there but I still feel like c**p. I have a ratio signal kit on the way mate once it arrives I'm gonna see if I can turn it into working route indicator for you mate. Regards Lez. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 (edited) Hi Bob. Yes I too am suffering in the heat mate. I had to come home from work early tonight. It felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest and I also had the start of a migraine as well. Fortunately the migraine didn't develop so I missed a bullet there but I still feel like c**p. I have a ratio signal kit on the way mate once it arrives I'm gonna see if I can turn it into working route indicator for you mate. Regards Lez. Hi Lez Hope you'll be feeling better soon, this weather is all very well and 'lovely' but it is a real headache in more ways than one as you've sadly experienced......the dry weather is crippling trade and watering is taking up an inordinate amount of time, but has to be done..... There'll be news on the final signalling of Cambrian Street shortly, Station Master and Harlequin have taken me under their respective wings and are producing a signal box diagram and we have rationalised the operation of the station somewhat to simplify matters and 'open the sky up' a bit....the passenger traffic will be restricted to the main line, using platforms 1 / 2 / 3/ 4 the 'relief' now a goods reception line...so as soon as it is available and finalised it'll be posted...there will still be a route indicator requirement for the main line...exciting stuff...! Take care matey.... I have seem a similar forecast chart for this on the last three runs of the model...so perhaps the weather alters around the 13th / 14th....hope so....! Regards always Bob Edited July 2, 2018 by BobM 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 (edited) Hi This is way off topic but I came across this and it made me cry.....! I just adored this aircraft (flew on it supersonic once), saw it and heard it many times, in my plane spotting days....miss it so greatly Regards always Bob Edited July 4, 2018 by BobM 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted July 2, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 2, 2018 Looks so much like a Vulcan don't you think Bob? Regards Lez. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 3, 2018 Author Share Posted July 3, 2018 Hi.... I do hope that the developing trend in the GFS model that's underway continues to be true...and a scenario similar to this proves to be correct I really want it to rain....can't keep up this constant watering regime.... Regards always.... Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 Hi.... I think I am about to burst into tears as there is no sign of appreciable rain until after the weekend of 14th /15th at the earliebst......oh dear....! Regards always.... Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted July 7, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2018 I feel your pain mate. I'm so sick of watering Bob and I don't do it as part of my work duties so you must be going nuts by now. Regards Lez. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 Hi.... Trade here is just grinding to a halt, as understandably it is too dry to sensibly plant anything at the moment.....I have also been scuttling off down to Arley after work most if not every evening after a day here at the nursery.....a round trip of some 40 miles, spending nearly three hours watering and then not getting home until after 10pm....I am shattered and absolutely fed up of folks saying isn't this weather lovely...aye..... it is if you can sit on the proverbial in the shade after work.....for one I'll be pleased when it buckets down....! .....even established shrubs and trees are exhibiting signs of stress now and there is no way you can get anything on these to provide any benefit....they need proper, steady rainfall....makes me mad also to see people watering brown grass with precious water...it'll bounce back rapidly when it does eventually rain.... Folks will soon moan when the effects of this hits their wallets and purses as prices of food starts to rise.....anyone got a cold compress..! Thanks Lez... Regards always Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 7, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2018 We popped down to local garden centre/nursery on Thursday for herself to seek some advice about the tomatoes which I reckoned were suffering from blossom end rot (they were, she was given some excellent advice on how to best deal with the problem and it added to what I had already told her!). The place was almost deserted and the busiest part was the café, quite amazing in this sort of weather although local events are currently probably discouraging people from driving down there because of the likely queues to get back through the town. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 We popped down to local garden centre/nursery on Thursday for herself to seek some advice about the tomatoes which I reckoned were suffering from blossom end rot (they were, she was given some excellent advice on how to best deal with the problem and it added to what I had already told her!). The place was almost deserted and the busiest part was the café, quite amazing in this sort of weather although local events are currently probably discouraging people from driving down there because of the likely queues to get back through the town. Hi.... At least if the heat eases away a tad it'd help with the soil evaporation..... I have studied the weather for nearly 45 years now and although the current scenario is nothing out of the ordinary.....horticulturally speaking after the cold winter, late indifferent spring and such a promising normal start to summer this bright sunshine has really caused difficulties.....but that said it is nature's way of showing us all who is in control..... Take care guys, give is a week to ten days...hopefully the blocked pattern will have altered to a more mobile westerly.....? Fingers crossed..... Regards always, Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 HI.... Still watering....some (only a few spots really) rain this morning at the station and at home this evening but nothing of any benefit....another late arrival at home..gone 9pm so no further progress on the layout....sorry guys....this weather is driving me nuts, even though I've studied and been an amateur meteorologist for 45 years now....maybe it is because I'm getting old and grumpy, come to think of it I was grumpy since I was about 13...! At least it looks as if we may get some rain within the next five days.....hopefully it won't all come in one go..... Temperatures look as they may come down a notch too after peaking this week.... Regards always... Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 Hi.... Thankfully it rained here this afternoon, not too extensively but welcome and certainly will check some of the damage and stress within both the station gardens and here at home, also won't have to travel down to the station for an after work watering session.......may even mean that I can have the diversion of preparative work on the layout....? Will sketch out the area of the setts....maybe roughly to scale at this stage...? Regards always guys.... Bob 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted July 13, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 13, 2018 Hi Bob. I would do it full size mate then you can do all the fettling off the layout first. Regards Lez.Z. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 (edited) Hi Just seen your kind posting Lez as I was about to post this rough sketch which I'll do for reference... the smaller private yard is to be separated from the large yard by an entrance which encompasses of 2 panels... measuring (to 4mm scale) 38' x 38'..... the smaller private coal yard comprises of 4 panels scale measures 73' x 32'....the larger area being 6 x panels in total = 110' x 32'.... the street side of the layout having a wall and the entrance yard having a fence or low wall to protect the trackside perhaps...? Will source the relevant kits / off the shelf offices etc for sizes ( I do have the coal bins / stathies)....and update as and when... Regards always guys.... Bob Edited July 13, 2018 by BobM 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 18, 2018 Author Share Posted July 18, 2018 Hi Guys.... Just to say that I remain in 'watering mode', travelling down to Arley every other evening...so no chance to undertake anything further on Cambrian Street.....sorry...this warm and dry weather is stretching my stamina to the limits at the moment..... Regards always... Bob 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 (edited) Hi Guys... Thankfully we received some rain today, albeit a small amount and a 'drop in the ocean' in respect of what is required....the evaporation rates are something akin to 14mm a day at the moment, so we desperately need persistent and steady rainfall.....nothing remotely like that can be seen on any of the latest forecast run of any of the global models, but perhaps less settled....potential for heat in the SE....hopefully not too excessive here in South Staffs next week..... So taking the chance this evening to put my feet up, have a glass of Shiraz and catch up with you kind guys and postings on this fine web forum..... Have a great weekend... Regards always...Bob Edited July 20, 2018 by BobM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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