Peasevern Yard - 7mm BR Blue shunting layout

[37114]

A few more from today, 03121 with its new bell, shunts the engineer wagons out of the way;

 

03382 and 37029 also got some use. They share a (very heavy) storage box with the DMU and 03121 whereas 08950 shares a box with the molasses tanks hence is seen less

[Rob Curnow]

Haven't looked in for a while.  Phenomenal weathering on that Grampus Rob.  That's just how I remember them.

Roy

[37114]

28 minutes ago, Rob Curnow said:

Haven't looked in for a while.  Phenomenal weathering on that Grampus Rob.  That's just how I remember them.

Roy

Thanks Roy. To be fair I owe a great debt to @hmrspaul for taking such great colour photos of wagons and sharing them so I have some decent reference material to follow.

[Nick G]

Layout and stock looking great. Maybe we can pose and run some of our stock on each others layouts at Crewe for some photos!

Edited February 17, 2023 by Nick G

[37114]

20 minutes ago, Nick G said:

Layout and stock looking great. Maybe we can pose and run some of our stock on each others layouts at Crewe for some photos!

Yep, I would be up for that Nick! I think we have both modelled the same brake van as well!

[37114]

More progress on the cement silo today although progress is now on hold due to a major problem being discovered with it....

 

I started the day applying the cladding to the vertical part of the silo. In cut individual sheets from very thin plasticard which were wrapped around the main barrel and glued with liquid poly. As per the real silo the joints are staggered. I also made a start on working out the ladder position on the side of the silo so I can make the platform that accesses inside the hopper building 

 

It was at this point my lovely wife came to have a look and mentioned how big the silo was compared to the 00 models I used to build. She also casually asked if it would fit on the layout to which I replied "yes it is for an extension". 

 

While we were having lunch it dawned on me that I had never actually checked the height of the silo vs the layout, although this should be easy to do as the new board will be the same dimensions as the existing layout. I am conscious that in a few places the silo is too tall compared to some of the pictures I have seen in both the main hopper body and to a lesser extent in the cladding area. After Lunch I measured the silo which was just over 16.5 inches, this is without the handrails and pipes on the top which would add an inch or 2. At this point my blood started to run cold as the outer dimensions of the layout are 18 inches tall but of course this doesn't allow for the framework or board itself. Sure enough I only have just over 15inches inside the layout...  Having worked for 25 years in Transport I have learnt some colourful words over the years and most were muttered on this discovery.

 

I have considered various options from making the second board a different height but that creates challenges in both storing the layout and fitting it in the car to using thinner framework for the baseboard but ended up deciding to modify the silo to bring the height down. I have managed to save half an inch by chopping down the bottom of the legs which were too tall and will modify the cladding area to save the other inch as I don't want to have to touch the main silo body . I will leave off the handrails etc from the top of the silo as well. To ensure I don't have to shorten the silo more than necessary I will wait on doing any more progress until the layout shell is built. 

 

To ensure there were no other mishaps from the shape or size of the silo I decided to test it on the board and also see where sidings etc will go. I am keen to work out the road space for my Leyland National etc so took the opportunity to lay out the points etc

 

Since the mock up on Page 19, I have had a bit of a rethink. The Hopper didn't fit at the front of the layout so have moved it to the back. The front siding will now become the platform for the bagged cement train and I will build part of a warehouse so it looks like the viewer is viewing the siding from inside the warehouse. 

 

In the absence of a blue circle tanker my Sunblest van has been used to help the positioning of the silo.

 

 

I will probably elevate the road slightly that the bus is on to provide some element of height on something which is otherwise a flat board.

 

[37114]

***Warning! This post contains images of mutilated LMS 20T Brake vans that some readers may find upsetting ****

 

With the silo on hold until the extension woodwork is complete, focus has switched to the LMS brake van which was recently acquired.  This was brought to model as a burnt out van and while my preference would have been for an Unmade kit the cheap price prevailed meaning some disassembly would be required. Dave came over for our fortnightly modelling session to give some moral support along with a few "it seems a shame.." comments...

 

Firstly the tail lamps were carefully removed for reuse followed by the removal of the roof which revealed a very detailed interior - result!. This was not really visible at all previously but the builder had obviously gone to some effort. The brake wheel and stove will be staying but the rest goes however some will be partially rebuilt in a burnt state

I tried to carefully remove the bulkheads with the side intact but this proved difficult so Dave and I both agreed removal of the sides with a disc cutter to then enable the release of the bulkheads was the way forward. I left the lower plank in place so the handrail can be reattached 

 

 

With sides gone the bulkheads can then be removed.  These will be reused but with the wood planking removed as my van will represent a reasonably burnt out specimen. I cut out the wood part carefully with a scalpel. While the mini drill was out I nibbled away at the wood on the veranda ends, more work is required but it meant the mini drill was finished with for now. The photo below shows one of the bulkheads temporarily back in place.

 

Next job is to modify the other bulkhead and then start building the steel framework. So far so good and with my good lady away with work a few nights next week I may make some rapid progress on this, with an outside chance it is finished for Crewe next month.

[Nick G]

Nice work but i'm concerned that your pint glass is empty!

Edited February 23, 2023 by Nick G

[37114]

6 minutes ago, Nick G said:

Nice work but i'm concered that your pint glass is empty!

Ha ha, I needed the first pint to pluck up courage to fire up the mini drill!

[37114]

The brake van is making rapid progress, with the destruction now completed and the rebuild now on full swing

 

My first job was to finish the second bulkhead and glue them both into position. The framework of the van being steel survives the  fire so I then got out the plastic strip stash and made the top beams between the bulkheads to get a datum point for the uprights.  The duckets being steel as well also survive remaining attached to their uprights so these were cut out of the previously removed side panel to be glued to new uprights 

 

The next job was to add the diagonals between the floor and bulkhead, these are made from L profile strip.

 

I also had to make 2 roof formers for over the veranda, made from 2 bits of plastic strip laminated together. I have 2 others for the centre by the duckets but they will get added after I have added debris to the floor etc.

[37114]

The Brake van is slowly progressing with the mind numbing job of adding the bolts used to secure the wooden cladding  on to the diagonal bracing. Basically I had to drill holes then thread brass rod through which was then cut to length. In hindsight it would have been easier to have drilled the holes before fitting. In 4mm I didn't bother with the bolts but for 7mm I thought it would look weird if they were missing.

 

I also noticed that there was a diagonal as part of the bulkhead so these were added. The new parts have then been painted brown ahead of the adding the burnt out debris.

[37114]

It is touch and go if I get the brake van done before Crewe, I have a fair bit of travelling with work over the next 3 weeks which means modelling time is in short supply but will give it a good shot.

 

I found this pic of the type of van I am modelling, this is much more burnt out than the ones I had found previously but is much closer to what I had modelled so far:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/153712773@N08/43918889682/in/photolist-LedqmP-29UXMMU-DrDCzf-2ghGVxJ-anJvp-2k2H7pw-X3typA-2nA5Xjk-g61bht-X3vQcd-2oa7bCe-p5ojQw-mnjc9g-pmAqjR-5VVcTC-k77Adx-bk2sTc-dMfZBV-2bbJczE-2m4b7oV-KusYa3

 

 

On the back of the above, I decided to remove the last bit of planking on the veranda, (I wasn't quite happy with how it was previously) so.out came the mini drill. I used some of the offcuts/waste to represent some bits of burnt waste on the floor of the van. I painted the floor black as the start of the process of adding detritus to the floor.

 

[37114]

I am really pleased to with how the brake van is turning out, key activity tonight was to put the handrails and roof parts back on as well as starting tonadd the floor debris. This is a mix of Ash and coal dust, the Ash coming from the Woodburner. The photos below don't really show it in the best light but in reality it looks very effective 

 

Still more to do on the metal parts and weathering the underframe but fingers crossed I can get this done for Crewe.

[Gilbert]

Looking good Rob. Fingers crossed I'll get to MIOG on the Sunday...

ChrisH

[37114]

1 minute ago, Gilbert said:

Looking good Rob. Fingers crossed I'll get to MIOG on the Sunday...

ChrisH

Thanks Chris, will be great to see you again

[37114]

Nearly done with the brake van, I did have my doubts at some points but I think it has turned out OK so far.

 

 

[37114]

It is less than 1 week until MIOG 2023, I have a hectic work week including a night away for our Mangers conference on Wednesday so probably won't get on here again before the show. Looking forward to meeting up with fellow RMwebbers and supporting the show.

[Nick G]

14 minutes ago, 37114 said:

It is less than 1 week until MIOG 2023, I have a hectic work week including a night away for our Mangers conference on Wednesday so probably won't get on here again before the show. Looking forward to meeting up with fellow RMwebbers and supporting the show.

 

See you there, been fettling my plank this afternoon ready for the show.

[37114]

All set up at Crewe, the Burnt out brakevan is ready for its debut

 

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by 37114
Typo

[Nick G]

Looking good, see you tomorrow.

[37114]

4 minutes ago, Nick G said:

Looking good, see you tomorrow.

Thanks Nick, look forward to meeting you tomorrow 

[Nick G]

Great to see Peasevern Yard in the flesh and Meet you today at the MIOG exhibition.

[37114]

54 minutes ago, Nick G said:

Great to see Peasevern Yard in the flesh and Meet you today at the MIOG exhibition.

Thanks Nick, great to meet you as well and see Cripple Corner, a lovely layout 

[37114]

So the dust has settled on another great show, only 3 weeks to Calne. Having seen Cripple Corner what struck me was how well Nick presented the non scenic bits so some cosmetic work is planned for Peasevern Yard before the next show.

 

 

[Rich_F]

36 minutes ago, 37114 said:

So the dust has settled on another great show, only 3 weeks to Calne. Having seen Cripple Corner what struck me was how well Nick presented the non scenic bits so some cosmetic work is planned for Peasevern Yard before the next show.

 

 

 

That scrap metal pile is amazing!