Balley-yn-Eas

[Chris Williamson]

To put the record straight (Spoiler Alert - as they say these days) :  I placed the signal box roof back-to-front when I set up the photo.  It'll be a while before it actually gets stuck down, so no panic!

[Chris Williamson]

At least a couple of years ago I bought an Expo airbrush set from a well know retailer on Merseyside.  I've only recently acquired the other bits I felt I needed to go with it: a proper moisture trap and pressure gauge combined and just as importantly, a Spray Out Pot for trapping the waste when flushing through after use. Once I'd got all the bits I realised I'd been stupid and failed to get the additional hose that was needed to link all this together.  That came in the post on Thursday.  So, today, a first attempt at using it.  I thought I'd start by having a go at 'pre-shading' the various wagons I've just primed.  The end result hasn't turned out quite as I'd expected, but I'm hopeful it will serve the purpose intended.  There's a lot to master yet, and it may be a while before I dare tackle the Dundas 4 Wheelers.

 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

1 hour ago, Chris Williamson said:

To put the record straight (Spoiler Alert - as they say these days) :  I placed the signal box roof back-to-front when I set up the photo.  It'll be a while before it actually gets stuck down, so no panic!

Hi Chris - now you mention it, it’s obvious - wasn’t looking that closely.  I’ve usually stuck bits like that firmly in place before I realise, of course, Keith.

[Chris Williamson]

The clocks are soon to go back an hour.  The days get shorter.  It's almost time to get started indoors again.  First, an experiment in attempting to persuade Wills corrugated iron sheets to form a curve.

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by Chris Williamson

[Mike Buttell]

Nice to see you back in action. It’s inspired me to venture to the bottom of the garden to make sure my little empire is still intact after a very busy season in the real world 

[Chris Williamson]

@Mike ButtellHope all is well with you too.  This month's Modeller reports that 62,000 visitors went to Chester to see Making Tracks III.  Of course that should have been 61,995 plus Five Go Mad in Chester sponsored by the IoMSPCo!  Making Tracks IV is scheduled for 2025.  Perhaps we'll combine that with a U-Boat hunt in Birkenhead?

[Chris Williamson]

Ad(d)it-ional Scenery -

 

Quite a while back I think I mentioned the idea of incorporating an Adit into the mine.  I've been mulling this over for far too long and the time has come to do something.  But what?  Revisiting Andrew Scarff's wonderful book, The Great Laxey Mine, I settled on an idea based on the entrance to the Cross Cut Adit and adjacent changing rooms.  There's just one photograph of the original building.

 

 

Not having room to recreate the complete building and anyway adding it to a fictional scene I've been sketching potential representations and got as far as this cardboard mock-up.

 

 

 

More work is needed to finalise the design.  The pitch of the roof here is too steep for my liking.  There's a set of compromises in the geometry of the building's front-to-back dimensions to make it fit the space and allow sufficient clearance and height at the rear without the front elevation being too tall or advancing too far out into the river at the front.  Anyway, the good news is that I do appear to be able to fabricate a curved corrugated iron roof although the technique employed requires further thought and improvement.  The stress lines from scoring the back of the sheet will be invisible once painted.

 

 

 

[Chris Williamson]

Something from earlier in the year;

 

Experimental spray painting kit built wagons didn't quite go to plan.  The initial coat on top of the pre-shading was too dark.  Attempting to rescue the situation with lighter shades stopped when it became apparent that I was in danger of loosing the crisp kit detail under an excess of paint.  The result was acceptable, but darker than hoped for and with slightly more paint applied than I was really happy with.  Lesson learned!

 

Followed, another experiment to spray black onto the strap-work and similar fittings.  Applying the tape accurately took an eternity and required a good degree of patience and concentration.

 

 

Here's the result, though not the best light or focus:

 

 

[Chris Williamson]

Any imperfections are hard to see once running. 🙂 

 

Arriving into Balley yn Eas:

 

 

Passing through Balley yn Eas:

 

 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Very impressive smooth running - those 1 plank bolster wagons are very light and wouldn't be easy to add weight to (I don't find they need much: just the load seems to be enough for mine).

 

Even more impressive however is the signal in the second video - nice 'bounce' as well as smooth operating and clear lighting.  Excellent, Keith.

[Chris Williamson]

@Keith AddenbrookeThanks Keith.  The smooth running is helped, in part, by the use of the brass axle bearings I fitted, but also by the maximum size possible of lead sheet ballast fitted between the frames.  Actually, as you suggest, the maximum possible isn't very much, but it does make a difference.

 

The Signal is a Dapol GWR lower quadrant.  In this case mounted full height.  There are four other Dapol single post signals on the layout.  As supplied, they're far too tall for narrow gauge use but the operating mechanism precludes them being cut-down.  I hit on the idea of fitting them on brackets that allow them to be mounted below baseboard 'ground-level'.  Currently, they 'sprout' through holes in the ground so that they're set to be the required height.  Ultimately, the holes will be filled around the post and ladder to hide the unwanted lower parts.

[Chris Williamson]

Railway activity has mostly been outdoors over the last few days.  Last week and weekend being taken up with preparation and running seasonal trains for the Hop-tu-naa festivities.  It's unusual to see the Lhen Coan shed almost empty during the hours of darkness.

 

 

Research and the quest for modelling inspiration has also been underway with a couple of trips to Laxey.  First, the remains of the Cross Cut Adit.  This was the point of entry and exit the miners used to access the 'New' adit level at the start and end of each shift.  The Changing House was immediately to the right of the adit entrance.  The main adit, providing tramway access, is a little further down the valley.  Sadly, I don't have room to include a direct representation of the main adit.  I've alluded to the like with a line out of a corrugated-clad shaft-head / adit combined; the view of the entrance being obscured by an open-sided shed / awning.

 

 

It's always good to remind ourselves of the context for historical photographs and time was taken to get a sense of the layout of the old Mines Yard with reference to the identifiable buildings that remain.  I'm still struggling to picture how I'm going to build the village in the adjacent space that's available on the layout.  However, after much thought, I think I've found a way to include a representation of Dumbell's Row aka Ham & Egg Terrace.

 

 

For a while, I've been in a particular dilemma regarding the station approach.  Rather 'Up the Creek' you might say.  However that phrase sparked an idea I'm currently working on.  After all, every significant station I can think of has a nearby hotel or hostelry!

 

And, finally, for those in need of inspiration for a smaller station, noting I might use the idea on my far platform, here's a picture taken while waiting for a train home from Minorca!  That's Minorca in Laxey, not the Balearic one; we do go on some very exotic days out here.

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Chris Williamson

[Chris Williamson]

Copious quantities of cut-out paper templates have filled a large part of the last couple of days as well as the waste-paper recycling bin.  For the environmentally and cost-conscious among you, fear not, these were, in turn, made from correspondence kept for such purposes.  Junk mail, old bills and final tax demands have their uses.  Eventually, for now at any rate, the wrestling to make it all fit subsided and the struggle is over.  The biggest casualty in all this was the signal box I'd planned on having, placed on the site of the prospective shop & P.O.  Alas, it may now be banished entirely, demoted to a much smaller cabin or completely relegated to a ground frame which is far more likely in the real world at a station of this size.  Or, of course, I may just find a way of relocating it to the other side of the line.  I have a thing about signal boxes!  The relocation may well be less logical in one sense - from the perspective of point rodding and signal cables - but more logical in terms of sightlines and the ability of the signalman to see what's coming and going.  And, anyway, I have a thing about signal boxes, in case I haven't already mentioned that.

 

So, here we are:

 

 

Next up will be some carboard mock-ups to check all this will work the way I'm currently visualising it in my head.  That will also allow me to check that the final build is realistic and achievable.  Fingers-crossed.

 

You may be able to spot one mock-up already in situ.  Something I made when I first thought the original was a good candidate for the village and that's now turning brown with age, being nearly as old as this thread....  My take on one of the former shops down in Old Laxey.

 

 

 

Also, just over the other side of the river bridge, this cottage makes an interesting basis for filling an awkwardly shaped plot.  I really do fancy the challenge of trying to capture the essence of its quirkiness and all those awkward acute and oblique angles to contend with.  Doubtless a roofer's nightmare with a geometry to make my head hurt. 

 

 

 

Finally, work has commenced on scaling Dumbell's to fit the site.  My final interpretation may leave the occupants with less floor space than the original inhabitants had.  But that's the way with modern property developers, forever trying to squeeze more and more houses onto smaller and smaller plots.  First, broadly to scale; then squeezed to fit a bit more in:

 

 

A pause now, over the weekend, while GGR go on tour to visit the RH&DR.  All we have to do is get there.

 

[Chris Williamson]

One flight, one hotel, two taxis, two long train rides, three pedestrian excursions and we finally got there. The 60th Narrow Gauge Get Together, at the RH&DR, that is.  We survived the constant biblical downpour that submerged Saturday; but to say, Very Well Done, to our hosts for keeping the trains running through the floods anyway!  A sumptuous dinner was served on Saturday evening.  A sunny Sunday was thoroughly enjoyed by all; mostly in the  Bar Car and the Royal Saloon.  Monday disappeared in an exhausted haze as we made the long journey home. 

 

So a couple of quiet days drawing breath have followed, with an opportunity to start the village mock-up in earnest.  Here's Dumbell's part-one in flat-pack format:

 

[Chris Williamson]

First Dumbell's Row mock-up cottages completed.  Having checked on one of the estate agents websites, I'm tempted to put both of these up for sale:  Offers in the region of £300,000. Two bedroom cosy Manx cottage situated in a sought after village location within walking distance to all local amenities including narrow gauge railway station, promenade and beach.  Any takers?  We'll overlook the working lead mine up the hill to the rear of the property as well as the spoil heaps that are threatening to slide and block the river or even engulf the houses below!

 

 

[Mike Buttell]

That’s captured the essence of those cottages completely Chris :-)

[Chris Williamson]

1 hour ago, Mike Buttell said:

That’s captured the essence of those cottages completely Chris :-)

Thanks @Mike Buttell that's a great compliment.  Interestingly, I shared the photos with a friend who's a resident of the row.  He thought the model was: "...actually better proportioned than the real properties which are slightly unbalanced."  I'd always been put off modelling them and hesitated about including them for just that reason.  So, a win all round!

Edited November 10, 2023 by Chris Williamson

[Chris Williamson]

Working at GGR on Sunday saw us, briefly, outdoors in "Debbie's" precursor.  The task being to collect some rail for next year's track relaying efforts.  That sea was rather bigger than it looks in the photo and the foam was blowing over our heads up on the headland, while the beach resembled a white water boiling cauldron.  It was, in fact, a little bit fresh!

 

 

Heavy work and a battering in the wind and rain has given me the excuse to recuperate for a couple of days.  Having completed the 'proof-of-concept' mock-up to check proportions, it's now on to stage-two of Dumbell's Row and a full mock-up to check angles and to ensure I really can construct a complex roof.

 

 

[Chris Williamson]

So, here we are.  Dumbell's Row or, as here, perhaps, Dumbell's Crescent:

 

 

One good thing about creating a mock-up is the ability to play with ideas.  I doubt the backs of the real cottages are in their original state.  Anyway, with one exception, that I know has been extended at the rear, there's no easy sight to be had of them.  So, I've tried a few ideas out based on other rows of Manx cottages elsewhere in the Island.  Here's my interpretation. With the backs of the three left-hand cottages being very close to the river the Thie Beg will have to abut the house; on reflection the occupants of the right-hand two cottages will have their 'facilities' at the bottom of the garden / yard:

 

 

Finally, for fun, though I don't have room for this on the layout, a row of seven cottages made by abutting the original two:

 

[Chris Williamson]

Having second thoughts is one of the, possibly dubious, benefits of starting with cardboard mock-ups.  The adit changing rooms have been increasing troubling me.  They're not right.  I've always thought I'd made the pitch of the roof too steep.  I've now decided there's too much glass and not enough wall.  Then there are two additional photographs of the original that I've identified.

 

The first, a tantalising close-up from my go-to reference by Andrew Scarff.  It took me a while to realise what I was looking at.

 

 

The striking miners pictured in the mines yard are lined up on the riverbank wall. To the right of the dog is a gap leading onto the bridge.  The men at the back of the group appear to be stood on the river bridge.  Behind them, on the far side of the river on the left, the top of the adit entrance is visible and to the right is the end of the changing rooms also known as the Long Dry.  The curved wall is very interesting as, although not readily discernible in my reproduction here, the lower part of the curved corner appears to be undercut - at the bottom of the staining that ends level with the two curious horizontal timbers.  What are these for?  And what purpose the few vertical boards attached to them?  Why the curve , why the undercut and what's obscured by the group of men at the adit entrance and what details are tucked away on this most peculiar gable end?

 

Then I came across this iMuseum photo:

 

Mines Road, Laxey, Isle of Man - Photographic Archive - iMuseum

 

More detail becomes apparent.  The mystery timbers probably form part of a gate to allow the adit entrance to be closed.  The cut-out in the left-hand corner of the building is quite distinct unless my eyes are deceiving me.  Most of all, all the apertures in the wall appear to be windows?  I can only assume the doorway(s) were in the gable-end(s)?  It would certainly make sense for there to be a door immediately adjacent to the adit.  But there's still so much that's tantalisingly out of sight and, now, beyond knowing.

 

So, omitting for now the rounded corner, a quick rethink in stiff scrap paper.

 

 

Absolute dimensions still to be finalised as is the position of the door(s).  But I now feel a lot less bothered and have a sense of being on the right track at last.

 

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Chris Williamson

[Chris Williamson]

At last, 5mm Foamboard carcase underway for the Long Dry.

 

 

[Chris Williamson]

The primary element of the Long Dry carcase is now complete.  A picture to follow in due course.  Meanwhile this afternoon provided an opportunity to get the corrugated extension underway.  The PVA needs 24 hours to cure.  The clamps and right angles will be removed shortly,  prior to them becoming irrecoverable fixtures.

 

[Chris Williamson]

And here is the completed Long Dry main building carcase.

 

 

The 'complex' gable end is intended to support the curved wall and the undercut.  The lower door will be recessed.

 

A simple carcase for the corrugated extension.

 

 

The two placed together in their intended destination.

 

 

Next, to stick the two together and start work on the 'cladding'.

[Chris Williamson]

A relaxed Monday after two long and hectic days of Santa Trains at GGR.  So time to figure out the supports for the curved wall.  Something of substance needed to which curved Wills sheets might be attached.  60 thou laminations for the upper part.  A two pence piece turned out to be about the right diameter to cut around.  The lower part is 30 thou laminations to an approximate curve.  A PVA (foamboard side) / Polly Cement (plasticard side) mix to used attach to the foamboard structure.

 

[Chris Williamson]

All of Tuesday spent producing the first significant piece of  Wills Limewashed Stone cladding.  The curved element of the structure was always going to be challenging and proved just as problematic as I suspected it might.  However, after much careful checking and trimming, I'm happy to report a satisfactory outcome.  The two issues were: fit to the baseboard structure and fit around the curved framework such that all the edges of the cladding aligned as they should.  Stress lines from the scoring for the curve will need fettling once everything has completely hardened.  This build is going to take some time, with the lower gable-end wall and doorway being no less complex.

 

Reverse components:

 

 

 

Front components:

 

 

 

Assembled:

 

 

 

Fitted: