Balmoral Road - Ready for GBTS

[brossard]

More or less finished rewiring my second board.

 

 

This is probably the busiest of the 4 boards.  It still looks a mess but is much tidier than it was.  Next job is to do the inter board connectors.

 

John

[brossard]

Board 3 is complete.  Pretty much the same story as the previous two.

 

 

The thing to note here is the power distribution board below the empty square hole (these holes are a legacy of the track changes that have taken place).  I'm quite impressed with it.  DCC comes in from the right (green/black wires).  There's a 3 position switch which permits the output of 12VDC or 3VDC (I forget the other, probably DCC).  This board powers the LED lamps rated for 3VDC.

 

I have actually distributed the power this time, trying to keep the number of lamps connected to a single power output to a reasonable amount, 3 or 4.  Therefore there are lots of red/black wires.

 

Previously I had connected ALL the lamps to a single power output and they were pretty dim.  My thought was that there might be too much line resistance.  I don't know if this arrangement will be any better, just have to try it.

 

Still have to connect the interboard connectors on the right.  They're done.

 

John

[brossard]

Got this picture today:

 

 

Credit D. Finch

 

Good overall view of the layout.  You can see one of the operators using a torch to do some coupling.

 

John

Edited September 8, 2023 by brossard

[brossard]

I finished board 4 today:

 

 

The simplest of the lot.  About half of the wiring is devoted to lamps, these are black/red pairs.

 

Now I can get on with other things.  Layout should be erected Friday when I meet with the team.

 

Submitted my application to exhibit at GBTS (Great British Train Show) in the Spring in Brampton ON.  Lots of incentive to make the layout shine.

 

John

[brossard]

In keeping with my occasional postings of club layout activity, here is a video taken last Sunday.  This a test run of the fiddle yard:

 

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1060709741946473

 

Obviously a great deal more work to be done.

 

John

[brossard]

A condition of exhibiting the layout at GBTS is a track plan.  One of our younger club members kindly agreed to do that:

 

A lot of tedious structural and wiring work has been going on.  Still a week or so before the layout can be erected.  Then on to the fun stuff.

 

John

[brossard]

Wow, a long time since I posted.

 

I haven't been entirely idle, the layout has been effectively rewired.  Delays came about because of newbie mistakes that had to be chased down.  That's all done now so things should operate well.

 

I have decided on a couple or three side projects.  These will be low and ultra low relief buildings from Scalescenes.

 

I completed the first one:

 

 

This based on Scalescenes T002b, Low Relief Warehouse ( https://scalescenes.com/product/t002b-low-relief-warehouse/).  My original intent was to build it as shown, with sliding doors.  I plan a wall to separate the industry from the railway.  However, I got shouted at because there wouldn't be room.  Instead, I imagined that this is the back of the warehouse with the sliding doors at the front.  Windows are Lcut, downspouts are ModelU hoppers and brass tube.  Brackets from 0.9mm wire were soldered on and inserted.  (Walls are 3.5mm foam core so very easy to work with).

 

I am in the planning/preparation phase of the large warehouse T026a (https://scalescenes.com/product/t026a-factory-warehouse/).

 

A huge building but don't panic, I plan to do the ultra low relief version.  I got myself some Lcut windows to replace those in the kit.  Not exact but I think I can work with them.  I did have to scratch build the ground floor large windows so we'll see how those look.

 

John

Edited January 29 by brossard

[brossard]

I'm of a mind to make a tutorial for the construction of Scalescenes kits in 0 gauge.  Honestly, the only real difference between 4mm and 7mm is the size.

 

First off, the basics - card.  I get mine from an art store.  The kits call for heavy, medium and light.  This translates in 4mm to 2mm, 1mm and 0.5mm thickness.  For 7mm, I scale this up as best I can.  Now, you can get 3.5mm card and I have some, but it is absolutely exhausting to cut.  Instead, I use either 3.5mm foam board or, if I can't find that, 5mm foam board works fine.  Light and easy to cut.  For medium I use 2mm card and for light, 1mm card.

 

Tools:

 

 

Some obviousness here, steel rule and heavy knife with renewable blades.  Sanding stick to remove cusps after cutting.  Worn out Xacto knife.  Use the back of the blade to score paper before folding.  Glue stick for adhering the paper print to the base layer.  There will be times when the card edge is exposed, this can be remedied by the use of felt marker.  The one show is ancient from Letraset.  These were replaced by Winsor & Newton but now they're gone too, sigh.  Check your purveyor of felt markers.

 

I spent some time gluing the templates to the base layers and I've been cutting those out:

 

 

I left this half done to illustrate the steps.  On the right is the base layer with the template glued on.  Because the area is quite large I used spray adhesive and a roller.  Card is medium so 2mm thick.  The apertures needed a fair bit of sanding.  Cutting these out is extremely tedious.

 

On the left is after the cover layer was glued on with the glue stick.

 

Finally, windows.  I have finished these:

 

 

On the left are Lcut windows.  These need some assembly because there' a surround and a representation of window opening.

 

The large windows are scratch built from various sizes of Evergreen strip.  A tedious job requiring patience.  At the bottom, is one of the jigs I made to aid in building the windows.  Note that the arch radius differs from the Scalescenes arch and is the same as Lcut.

 

John

 

 

[brossard]

Progress report.

 

Windows have been glazed:

 

 

I used canopy glue.  I also applied black pigment to give them a weathered look.  Somewhere along the line one of the small windows has gone adrift.  That's OK, I will make a bricked up window.

 

I have started covering the walls.

 

 

This is the ground floor.  I did half to illustrate the steps.  Note the upper arch has been coloured.  Also note the arches need a lintel.  I have a plan for that.  There will be sills as well.

 

The upper windows turned a bit problematic.

 

 

I found that the lower windows were off relative to the upper windows.  My solution was to cut out notches and glue in some 5mm foam board.  You can see I've traced the window shape.

 

Here's the outer wall over the inner:

 

 

This shows that the windows are better aligned inside the apertures.

 

After cutting out the unneeded foam board, I started covering:

 

 

So, I'll finish covering these walls and get on.

 

One other thing, you may require extra brick paper as I did. Download TX02, Brown Brick to match.
 

John

[brossard]

I didn't do anything on the warehouse today as I had our weekly meeting of MBOGS (Montreal British O Gauge Society).  Tea, coffee and banana bread plus a good natter.  Upshot is I agreed to upgrade the layout with DCC Concepts levers, encoder and snubbers.

 

Yesterday, I progressed the walls:

 

 

You can see it scrubbed up right nice and looks a lot better than the disaster above.  I show one of the buttresses of which there are five.  These will hold the walls together along with ledges between the buttresses.  Note the blank wall at the corner.  Consistent with Sod's Law, I found the prodigal window after I had done that.

 

One of the issues with the windows are the arch lintel.

 

My dodge was to obtain just one wall section from Lcut:

 

 

This was scanned to PDF (for some reason the JPG wouldn't scale properly).  These are printed, cut out and glued to self adhesive label.  I used artists felt markers to colour the bricks.

 

John

[brossard]

I got the main wall done:

 

 

The vertical buttresses were harder to get right than you might think.  I had to redo three because they got askew.  Requires some repair to the walls using brick patches and totally recovering the buttress.

 

I was struck with an epiphany today.  The kit I am building in the T026, which it turns out is the original.  I realized today that the kit has been upgraded and is not T026a.  It looks quite a bit more refined than the original.

 

 

I shall do the upper parapet for mine.  I sure wish I had realized this earlier.

 

John

 

[brossard]

I've been busy making parts for the parapet and buttress caps.  One thing that dawned on me was the lack of complete corners.  The older kit doesn't consider these as far as I can tell.

 

 

This shows the incomplete corner and it needs beefing up.

 

Some quick sums and I produced a new partial buttress.

 

 

Double thick 3.5mm foam core.  This is covered with brick paper leaving a flap in order to cover the join.

 

 

This is one I did earlier.  The buttress is fully square.

 

A piece of sad news, I visited my art store last week looking for additional 3.5mm foam core.  The sales guy did some checking and announced that it appeared to have been discontinued.  I don't know if the manufacturer has stopped making it or whether the store chain just stopped carrying it.  These things are sent to try us.

 

John

[brossard]

The building is as good as done:

 

 

Parapets from the T026a kit have been added.  Windows were fixed from the back with canopy glue.  Note the base.

 

The back really looked nasty so I made a back plate and painted it black.  Note the shadowy interior.

 

I have been preparing some chain link fencing, so I'll do that next.

 

John

[brossard]

I added some 3d printed chain link fence that I got at a show.  A disappointment really.  Very fragile and it broke in several places.  I'll probably replace with brick wall.

 

I cut out an indent on the board and added the factory:

 

 

I put the BG in the bay to prove that there is clearance.  Quite impressive I think.  Shame about the Sharpie.

 

John

[brossard]

I've been busy titivating the layout and continuing with the industrial building project.

 

 

First off, I finally got around to making gates for the Goods Yard.  These are only installed loosely at the moment.  Construction was Evergreen.  Main structure is 0.040" sheet, scribed for planks and sandpapered to get the grain.  Framing is also plastic strip.  Bent 0.090" wire for hinges along with split pins.  I applied Tamiya Panel Liner enamel wash and when that was dry rubbed most of it off with white spirit.

 

Still need to straighten my lamp posts.

 

 

A representation of a boiler house using Scalesenes Workshop from the factory set.  It was made more challenging because I had to change the brick finish.  Chimney is tricky to get right and I had to face it twice.

 

 

Ultra low relief workshop.  Same kit but the other end essentially without doors.  I did try to make the window from the print provided but I'm pretty useless at that.  I made it from scratch with Evergreen strip.

 

Next phase of the project is to construct walls to frame everything and separate the railway from the industries.

 

John

[brossard]

 

Two weeks on and I have been manically trying to get stuff done.  The show (GBTS) is a month away but the deadline seems to be approaching at express train speed.

 

 

The street again, this time with the gates open and a J50 going through - iconic.  I made the gates openable to extend the shunt from the end of the crossover.

 

 

I have been wafting paint on my buildings with an airbrush.  Very simple, a layer of earth to start, then a layer of black.

 

 

View of the factory/warehouse towering over everything.  To the left is the boilerhouse.

 

 

I mentioned last time that I was making walls to frame the railway.  You can see these here.  My wall construction is pretty simple, 5mm foam core with brick paper glued.  Posts from double thickness foam core.  Capping is from various Scalescenes kits.

 

 

More walls to complete the framing job.

 

 

Finally a grotty engine shed.

 

John

[Schooner]

4 hours ago, brossard said:

More walls to complete the framing job.

 

That's really effective, and works very well to set the scene. Taking notes... :)

[Hal Nail]

On 28/03/2024 at 23:59, Schooner said:

That's really effective, and works very well to set the scene

I was going to say the same. The wall has really made the buildings look like they belong there and added depth.

Edited April 1 by Hal Nail

[brossard]

Thanks Hal and Schooner.  That was the vision I had.

 

John

[Nick01]

I've stumbled across this wonderful layout while looking for inspiration for my own. Namely, I particularly like the the houses/corner shop. I do realise that you started some time ago on the layout but do you recall where the corner shop came from?

Nick

[Nick01]

RE My comment about the shop, I've found the answer on the thread. I'll see if I can "upscale" the Scalescenes print out to "O".

 

Nick

[brossard]

1 hour ago, Nick01 said:

RE My comment about the shop, I've found the answer on the thread. I'll see if I can "upscale" the Scalescenes print out to "O".

 

Nick

Good, I really like Scalescenes for the variety and cost.  I'd be interested to see how you get on and can answer any questions.

 

I don't know anything about your experience but I would suggest you try something small first.  There are a couple of freebies.

 

John

[Nick01]

I've a Canon laser printer and I'll be experimenting printing parts  on A4 card. Obviously, it'll be trial and error on my part, but I'm looking forward to having buildings as good looking as Balmoral Rd (hopefully) 🤞

[brossard]

Here are some pics I shot of the layout in GBTS condition:

 

 

Now the street is populated.  Figure painting is not one of my superpowers so I think if I'm generous they are impressionistic.  Rats!  Forgot to reposition the house.

 

 

 

I scratchbuilt some hoardings and you can see the adverts here.

 

 

It's not obvious but I did refresh some of the ballast and wafted my airbrush over the ground cover and track to try and tone things down as well as blend.

 

 

Overall long shot of the entire layout.  I put a gang of kids at the end of the platform who are trainspotting.

 

John

[brossard]

I got the layout packed up ready for it's journey to Brampton.  We'll have a convoy of 4 cars - 2 SUV's with 2 boards each, 1 SUV with fiddleyard, legs and screen for the fiddleyard, and 1 SUV with stock, backscenes etc.  All are chock a block.

 

Leaving early in the morning Friday and should arrive around 1500.

 

John