Sedbergh, as a preserved railway

[Firecracker]

A bit more work, some remedial!  First up, let’s offer a figure up to that door.  Yes, it’s an HO door.  How that ended up in my bits box, lord alone knows, but there you are.

 

 

So with it removed and the opening enlarged, that’s better.  The pencil marks are for how far the valance will come down (scaled off photos).  It’s about right.

 

The goods shed has acquired the base for a roof, a temporary door and a few little bits.  The hole it sits into needs a slight enlargement, hence why it’s sitting pissed, but it’s getting there.  That provendor store is a page holder, it’s too short by 4 bays, so kitbashing one of those is the next job.

 

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

Right.  I think it’s Fairlie obvious where I’ve been on holiday.

 

Ba-DUM.....Tish....

 

But I did pick up a few souvenirs.  Because they’d had it in stock for a while, we haggled and the price came down a bit.

 

Then on the way home I diverted via Clwyd Models (mostly secondhand, lovely owner, rummage boxes of goodies galore, was I not parked in the Aldi car park opposite I could have stayed and  nattered all day) and Rhuddlan models (another Aladdin’s cave, only went in for a 21 pin decoder and came out with a bag full of goodies ).  Should keep me out of trouble for a while.

 

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

And for a bit of light entertainment, Hornby, what the @&?£ is this supposed to be?

But despair ye not!  The botching will rise to the occasion.  This is just a jury rig to get a feeling for length and height , something more suited to the load of a 4 car train will follow (the Kaydee tails are just trapped under the screw head)

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

And some more, mostly featuring the latest additions.  The bodging seen above seems to have worked, with the latest addition to the diner rake.  As mentioned earlier, in my mind the BG has been fitted out as  a kitchen/pantry whilst retaining the guards box and handbrake (the Bluebell have done similar with IIRC, a stove R).  So the new addition, being a parlour, gets coupled on the opposite end to the met-cams.

The DMU has been chipped, run in and a driver plus passengers inserted into the trailer car.  Because I can’t  ever see it being coupled to anythinge else, the full bufferbeam details have been fitted.

 

First impressions, lovely model (I know there’s bodyside dimensional issues, but they don’t jump out at me.  It’s a lot better than I could do from a kit, so I can live with it),  nice runner and not too bad to get into.   However, the gap between the cars.  What’s the point of fitting a close coupling mechanism and leaving this gap?  So, two questions.  First up, sorting the gap.  I know the coupling needs the electrical connections for the lights, so a) is there an alternative coupling bar or b) has anyone shortened the coupling bar supplied (of which mine has two.  I’ve got an idea for shortening one, but no point reinventing the wheel and all that).  Second, what’s the best bet for altering the destination blinds on these (and also how does the 2 character headcode work?  On the Shrewsbury -Aberystwyth run it’s (assuming it’s correct) B2, I’ve got photographic evidence of a ramblers special carring A2 running into Sedbergh).

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

A few more bits, some bolster wagons.  There’s a BDA for the pway lads and a bobol C for the goods rake.  Job is to make the decks look a bit more like wood and make them a bit more tatty.

 

Wood effects are humbrol enamels, first a base coat of a light tan (121), then given a coat of their grey wash.  Dry brush with grey 28 and brown 29 in the direction of the grain (ie side to side on the wagon).  Just needs a coat of Matt varnish because the wash decided to dry glossy for no reason.  Rust effects are good ‘ol Typhus corrosion and Ryza Rust from Games workshop, steel highlights are Leadbelter (again GW).

Owain

[Firecracker]

And a bit more.  The airbrush has been broken out again, with a bit more shading being applied to the yard.  Trying to get the effect of dry-er ash and ground here, think it’s an improvement from the 100 shades of black, so I’ll carry on playing.

 

It was also used to attack the road surface, aiming for a bit of a less uniform texture plus the traces of mud tracked out of the field gateway.  The retaining wall also got a working over, the idea here is that a bit of that foam above the wall is going to be hacked out and some bushes added, then ground foam above it up onto the other board, to create the impression the ground slopes a bit more than it actually does (due to the presence of the frame of the second board).

 

Billy Armstrong’s (I grew up on a Cumbrian fell farm just over the hill from Sedbergh, we used Armstrong’s on occasion, known as Billy Armstrong locally, so when Oxford released this, I had to have one) cattle wagon also got a light coating of muck and road dirt blown over it, with some attacked with cotton wool buds to suggest cleaning or use of the trailer lockers.

 

Finally, for something completely different, I picked this kit up for a grand total of £1 at a recent car boot junk fest (in Porthmadog, of all places, the places you wander into whilst waiting for a bus), so I’ve got a new desk tidy.

Owain

 

 

Edited July 15, 2019 by Firecracker

[Firecracker]

And finally, because moving pictures seem to go down well (plus following a row with BT, I can now upload to my YouTube account in minutes rather than hours), here’s the Westmorland Pullman departing Sedbergh.  That loco is due a renumbering to 75024, which survived at Tebay until 1967 and in my fevered imagination entered preservation via someone with slightly more money than sense, Carnforth and the fledging L&HR scheme.  With the exception of the match board sided Pullman (which at the price it was, I wasn’t leaving behind) the rake is mostly mk 1’s and met-cams (as per most preserved Pullman dining rakes).  The LMS inspection saloon is there a) as a tribute to the GWR saloon the NYMR use, b) because I saw one and really liked it and c) as a translator vehicle between the first Pullman and the loco, because the coupling on the Pullman is too high and I wasn’t having them uncoupling on camera.  Enjoy.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

Another quick one, attacking an Oxford Toad.  The idea is based on several vehicles that had been sat for a while under trees and acquired that green patina.  At some stage the van has also been damaged (at a guess, dropped) and instead of repairing the damage (bent handrails and roof corner  bent) decided to make it a feature, as if the vehicle has been clobbered in a shunt.  I’ll have another look in the morning and see what it looks like in daylight, but pleased so far.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

I realised earlier this week that it’s exactaly 1 year today since I got this nonsense to move under power and control.  Wow.  Where did that go?  

 

Anyway, to prove I’m still committed (or possibly should be) work has started on the fourth baseboard.  This will go on the north (Lowgill) end and will feature the north crossover (an end to shunt releasing with the cl 25 during testing and development sessions!).  The single running line will continue north under an occupation bridge (to give the scenic break) just before the bridge there will be a ballast loading siding on the line of the second running line.  Said siding will disappear under the bridge, with this toad (having studied photos, I decided to go greener) sat at the end of the board, to further obstruct the view into the fiddle yard and suggest that in best preserved railway traditions, there’s further derelicts beyond it.

Anyway, a baseboard needs a frame.  So put suitable timber through the horizontal bandsaw (a square cut every time!) 

And we’ve got a kit of parts.

With appropriate gluing and screwing, they become a frame.

Once that’s dry, it’ll get legs and a top.  Then there’s the exercise to get it into place (which is being combined with a major tidy of the front and several other moves (a large surface plate, for a start).  (If this is ever finished, it is intended to be exhibitable or at least portable, so it’s being designed with dismantling and reassembly in mind)

 

Next up, I acquired a new enclosure for the control gear (if anyone here knows or is related to this chap, who I understand was ex. Doncaster or York).

As I said, if this circus ever reaches the stage it can go on tour, the idea is this box will also carry tools and the other 101 cosmetics of the layout beautiful.  For the moment, it’s a lot tidier than it’s predecesor.

For the curious, here’s how to bolt down a Lenz DCC system.  Remove two of the case screws, and replace with longer screws through a joining block.  Screw the block down.

 

Owain

 

 

[Vecchio]

Nice idea. I did it in the past much more complicated with 2 metal strips clamping it down.

20160822_223954 by Gerhard Novak, on Flickr

Edited July 21, 2019 by Vecchio
added photo

[Firecracker]

I had the exact same idea.  Then I realised that the case is an extrusion with the ends screwed on, with the screws threading into a groove.

 

You know that moment in the cartoons when the lightbulb comes on above someone’s head?  Just like that.

 

Anyway, just thought I’d show it, might be of use to someone, there’s got to be another of those systems in use somewhere, surely....Here all it’s doing is stopping the unit sliding about in the box, but I would have thought it would be man enough to support it.  Just have to make sure it’s supported at both ends.

 

Owain

Edited July 21, 2019 by Firecracker

[Firecracker]

Another week, another bit more!  New legs with adjustable feet have appeared for the new board.

 

The new board is also seen here with the ply track bed down and the basic layout mocked up (the bit of ply that JCB’s stood on will become a longer loading bank).  Also there’s a trap point to go in between the crossover and the sea lions.

 

Finally, with the fiddle yard removed to give us some fighting room, I’ve been able to take these views looking down the layout.  

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

And a few more bits!  First up, the control box received an internal makeover.

Second, a start has been made on the wiring of the new board, along with the cork going onto the track bed.  Due to the way my boards are daisy-chained, there’s a main cable (1.5mm2 mains cable) that runs the full length of each board with the individual track feeds in parallel on the DCC side.  A second 16VAC feed supplies the point motors.  So here’s the end connection box with the two supplies (DCC on the left).

 

The underside of the board, 3 way choc blocks are for points, 2 way ones are track feeds.

An overview, showing the point control box as well.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

And it’s still coming along!  First up, the wiring on the board is now finished (just connections to make to the track and point motors as they go in (the third point supply is for the trap point on the siding).  Also the inter board connectors have been fitted.

Holes for the coach bolts that hold the boards together are drilled with a jig, to ensure alignment.

Finally, with its legs fitted, the new board is slotted into place and the track layout mocked up.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

Peco points and their modification.  To get a true 6’ cess between the two running lines, (rail centres are the sharpie lines) the crossover points need a minor modification.  Trim one set of rails with a dremel, tidy up and fit rail joiners.   Some minor tweaking of the sleepers, and it’s a wrap.

Here it is with the track cut to length and trialed, showing (IMHO) how it looks better.

Also there’s been a session in the point control box with a soldering iron, however there’s another two switches to go in there for the trap point (which Monk Bar models didn’t have in code 75 in stock when I attended at the weekend, so they ordered on Monday and rang today to say it’s arrived.  Remember folks, support your local model shop).

 

Owain

[Northmoor]

Looking very good, I'm following this with interest.

I like your logic in selecting stock for a hypothetical preserved railway, fictional but still plausible.  Rather handy that Airfix/Dapol kits include types scrapped at Barry such as 4156 and 92085 scrapped in 1980 - you mention 76080, scrapped with 92232 in 1973 - so locos "awaiting restoration" is easily achievable.   For a Std 4 4-6-0, 75048 could be a good candidate.  It must have been intended for preservation, or perhaps hung around at Carnforth the longest, because it is listed under Preserved Locomotives in the 1968 Ian Allan ABC!

[Firecracker]

Glad you like it, there’s a lot more to come!

 

Here’s a ‘what if’ for you to try for size.  Acccording to Wikipedia, Peter Beet (of Leander fame) visited Tebay shed in the mid sixties,where he was allowed to clean locos by the staff, whilst at medical school.  In ‘64, he starts as a GP in Morcambe.   Suppose he comes into contact with someone who wants to preserve something and they revisit his old haunts at Tebay (where being known to the staff, they’re allowed to wander round of a weekend).  A shabby standard 4 in green catches their attention.....and finds its way to Carnforth when Tebay closes in ‘67.

 

Dai Woodham gets a glut of 16t mineral wagons in ‘73, so the mogul and the 9f aren’t cut up.  The only people affected are the group buying 92134, because they’re warned off taking parts off 92232.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

From ‘what-might-have-been’, to modifying Peco track, pt.2!  The ballast siding is being laid in flat bottom rail on concrete sleepers (to give a bit of variety and reflect what a preserved railway might lay).  The only problem is that as bought Peco track has a sleeper spacing that’s nearer HO than OO.  I got the idea for this (and an appreciation for the visual difference it makes) whilst browsing YouTube, so take no credit for the idea.

 

Trial and error showed that increasing the spacing to 6mm (or 1/4” for the metrically impaired) produced something that looked ‘right’.  Fortionately, I’ve got some 1/4” wide stripwood, so a brief attack with the chopper gives us some gauges.

 

First job, work along the length, cutting and removing all the webs.  It’s also a good idea to remove some of the surplus sleepers at this stage (a rough estimate is you’ll use 12 sleepers per 100mm of track).  Then, using the gauges, start to space the sleepers.  Yes, they will move and twist.  At this stage, that’s not too bad a problem, so the spacing and alignment will take a little tweak yet.

Here’s the result, compared to the original.

Now to lay it.  We’ve already marked out the line of one rail with a sharpie, so coat the cork with suitable glue, plop it down and working from one end, tweak the alignment (working left to right in this photo) with the gauges.  As soon as you’re happy, weights are added whilst the glue dries.

 

Owain

 

[Firecracker]

And a bit more!  The rest of the track has been glued down, then a start made on the scenics (using my ‘Kryten’ approach with a hot glue gun and foam core board) to give us the PWay yard, car park and the cutting side.  The dust has been blown off this ratio signalbox (built sometime around ‘95-‘96) and a rummage in a box of junk yielded some ancient Cooper Craft signal box nameplates, so they had to be added.  A quick blast of paint (plasticote Stone textured paint, over Payne’s grey acrylic in the car park area, to suggest tarmac) to define the areas (and as dictated by the law of sod, the board decided that this time the paper would lift and crease.  Hopefully it’ll dry flat.).  Vehicles and containers have been added to get a feel for a layout that looks right.

Finally, track power was hooked up, rails cleaned and test trains run.  This is actually a shunting test, there’s one delayed action kadee magnet buried under the track at the far end of the platform, so can you propel a brace of sea lions the full length of the platform and drop them in the siding?  You can, so a) there’s no need for a second magnet and b) the trap point can be finally laid. (because if it was required, that was where the magnet was going)

 

Point motors next...

 

Owain

Edited August 11, 2019 by Firecracker

[Firecracker]

Right.  Apologies for the radio silence, it’s been the busy period at work, plus the annual pilgrimage to Dorset, for GDSF.

 

Anyway, a bit more progress.  A start has been made on features in the pway yard, with a bunker for railway ballast.  Based on several prototypes built from RSJ’s and concrete sleepers, plasticard and c&l sleepers have started to yield the outer wall.  The ballast mound inside will be scatter over a foam core.

 

Waiting hoppers (two ex DBS sea lions) will be loaded by telehandler (justified by the one used at Grosmont).  A rather nice effort from Oxford diecast, here trialled to check it can do the job.

 

Next up, a coat of acrylic on the scenic areas, plus plasticote chocolate on the timber sleepered track (it’s a good base for weathering, the concrete sleepers on the siding will be treated separately).  Add some fencing (ratio) and pop the vehicles back to get a feel for how it looks.  To be added is a board crossing between the crossover and the platform end, in lieu of a footbridge and under the windows of the box.  Also an occupation bridge, in low relief over the cutting above the derelict toad.

 

 

The wynns diamond T is a tribute to the one ex Hudson’s of arnside that used to be resident (if anyone’s got a recent photo, I’d like to see it) at L&HR (and may still be for all I know).  Random personal connection, many moons ago my parents had an unexpected visitor in the form of a tyre services pickup land (literally) in one of their fields, that diamond T arrived (before its retirement) to recover the offending item, crewed by a young lad who was ready to drag it out by himself and an older gaffer who saw no need to rush, Rome wasn’t built in a day, now calm down and put the kettle on.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

Right.  Yesterdays adventure was Shipley show, with amongst others, the rather nice Conistone.  

Also showing that that with a little paint, a merit sheep will become a Herdwick.  So there’s a job lined up.

Picked up a Bachman warflat with the intention of replicating one of the ones in this photo.  

As I posted on the  warflat thread, I suspect the date in the caption is wrong, I think it’s late 40’s early 50’s at most.  There’s a family connection, my father knew the bloke on the left in civvies who reckons this is the first delivery of Ferguson TE20 tractors to Kendal (hence the posing).  As someone who rebuilt three of them, those look like either the TE20 with the continental petrol engine, or the TE-A20 with the standard motor co.’s petrol engine (they’re definitely not the  TE-D or TE-F).  The petrol engined fergies went out of production in 1948 and 1956 respectively, so it must be before that.  Anyway, here’s the wagon

And with two fergies posed (Oxford and Springside)

Also bought this PO wagon, purely because I liked the livery.

Owain

[Firecracker]

Just a quick photo, whilst getting shots for a spotters guide to the grey fergie and breathing on the Oxford diecast  model.  Rather like this, but I do need to sort a back scene to hide all the background crap.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

A few more bits.  The track on the new board has been weathered a bit more and ballasted.

The running lines are due more black crud, due to having dirty steam engines run over them on a regular basis.  Gaps in the ballast on the running lines are for point rodding runs and the barrow crossing.  The sparse ballast on the siding will get the gaps filled in with static grass, particularly around the demic toad.

 

Whilst the airbrush was out, a little rust was blown over the roofs of the containers and on any flat surfaces water can gather on.

Finally, a testing and development session with the rail bus and the DMU, to verify the points have survived being doused in ballast and glue.

 

Owain

[Melyn]

On 11/09/2018 at 21:25, Firecracker said:

And for those of you who can’t stay away (or suffering from insomnia)

That bit in brackets is me! It's currently half past four in the morning and I'm on RMWeb having given up trying to doze off.

Anyway, this is some excellent modelling, I really think you've captured the feel of a preserved line and you've given me a few ideas/inspiration for a similar project I have planned.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Melyn

[Firecracker]

On 24/09/2019 at 04:43, Melyn said:

That bit in brackets is me! It's currently half past four in the morning and I'm on RMWeb having given up trying to doze off.

Anyway, this is some excellent modelling, I really think you've captured the feel of a preserved line and you've given me a few ideas/inspiration for a similar project I have planned.

Well thank’ee, too kind!  Glad you like it and I’m capped with having provided inspiration.  Feel free to share your plans.  This project (and my return to the hobby after a 10 year gap) has just passed its first anniversary.  I’ve learned an incredible amount, discovered how much fun it is when you’ve got the funds to buy the toys you fancy (I’ve been yearning after a decent airbrush since my teens).  It’s nowhere near finished, so there’s a lot more to come, so stay tuned!

 

Owain

Edited September 25, 2019 by Firecracker