Upper Hembury, East Devon - a GWR / SR Branch line

[BWsTrains]

Upper Hembury Station Plans - (1) Platform Elevation

 

Returning to the various photos, maps and plans I have for Portesham and Kingsbridge I've been able to piece together a complete plan of the station.

 

In the main body of the building from L to R we have doors to the Ladies Waiting Room, General Waiting room with access to the Booking Office, Station Masters Office and Porter / Baggage with the station entrance then immediately to the right (off plan)

 

On this track side of the extension, I've shown double doors to a small Parcels Office. The evidence for this larger module and its primary use (24' vs the normal 14' 8" at small stations) comes from photos of Kingsbridge in 1920s. The OS 25in map of the time confirms the 80ft length of the entire building, the canopy covering the 56' of the main section. It seems reasonable that this would be the same for Upper Hembury.

 

The 7 canopy supports can be seen, spaced 9' apart along the building front.

 

 

We can get some sense of how the station appeared in the 1930s from this postcard of unknown provenance, believed to be of Upper Hembury. If correct, the photo has been taken from the direction of the Engine Shed, looking to the SE. The unmistakable William Clarke design features are evident.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by BWsTrains
Revised drawing

[BWsTrains]

Tracklaying reached a milestone this morning with all the remaining sections in place.

 

 

 

 

Provisional at present while I attach droppers and motors but the end is in sight now!

[St Enodoc]

10 minutes ago, BWsTrains said:

Tracklaying reached a milestone this morning with all the remaining sections in place.

 

 

 

 

Provisional at present while I attach droppers and motors but the end is in sight now!

That has a nice flow, Colin.

[BWsTrains]

My "End of Month" self-imposed deadline did the job as I got the last of the track and turnouts fully installed and painted on target. It's a gratifying feeling now to be putting things away into more permanent storage rather than aside for later use.

 

More recently I fitted the last two Cobalt motors and them wired back to the control panel. Next up are the remaining uncoupler builds and installs. I also need to check the nine already in place.

 

Nothing much here rating a new photo, just a fair bit of plodding along knocking off all the under the bonnet jobs for now.

 

 

[sjrixon]

You've made some really nice progress. Looking forward to seeing some movement.. 

 

 

[BWsTrains]

On 05/05/2023 at 05:22, sjrixon said:

You've made some really nice progress. Looking forward to seeing some movement.. 

 

 

 

Thx Scott,

 

With all the turnouts operational it seemed a good idea to test out everything. The system and rolling stock have lain idle for far too long now but 9728 duly trundled down to the station, stalled (dirty wheels I suspect) and with a nudge went back. TBH any more running right now will have to wait while I've outstanding jobs on track-work and various installations.

 

At least all the frog switching is all correctly aligned and functioning. I need to draw up a "Pull list" because setting the various directions correctly still causes me some teething problems, weaned as I was on a diet of insulfrogs.

 

All of which brings me to the most recent steps. The NCE PowerCab interface and the short circuit alarm system (recently getting some use!) have been installed about midway, nestled under the forward section of the future river bank. Easy to access but out of view.  I'm less sure where to locate the Traverser control panel but at least it has a very long lead!  The turnout control panel is basic and needs labels and routes but is functional

 

 

All control lines going out to Cobalt Omegas have a JST connector so that the Control board can be removed if/when required. A much simpler affair now that it lacks any CDUs!

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

As a diversion from more routine activities today, we went into central Melbourne to see a mini-exhibition, with just one modern masterpiece. A modeller's paradise because it was built from totally interlocking untreated cypress. It draws on the skills of Japanese shrine builders. The detail and the beauty of the Reflection model of Itsukushima can only be expressed in pictures

 

 

It models a Tori gate and Temple reflecting in the still waters around the island. This is a shrine to the West of Hiroshima which we were lucky to visit in 2019. Here the model hangs totally suspended in mid air, measuring a little under 8m from side to side and about 1.5m deep. As with the prototype the Torii gate stands well in front of the temple immersed in the shallow water.

 

 

I've take the liberty of darkening out the peripherals to enhance the impact of the mirror image effect. One very humbled modeller was left awestruck by the craftsmanship on display.

Edited May 12, 2023 by BWsTrains
addns

[BWsTrains]

Last weekend's stay in the city was most productive on a whole range of activities and I also found time to do some minor refinements to various Railway signage, for platform, the Station building and surrounds which I'd been assembling / constructing. Also a pleasant surprise came with the arrival of the PDF from The Pattern Shop for my "UPPER HEMBURY SIGNAL BOX". Thx @Harlequin.

 

First to the Running In Board.

 

Armed with the correct GWR Font for the job, I drew on some helpful input from @Harlequin and @Andy Keane who have been discussing 3D Prints and representing the deep lettering of the 12" Cast Iron letters used. I decided to forge ahead and produce my own faux 3D version using the default font and appropriate spacing.

 

This was the end result up close,

 

 

Printing

My default is to get my work printed at Officeworks, which is very convenient as it opened early and was just down the street 2 min from our Hotel. I could pop out while SWMBO was getting up and be back before she was done. It also allowed for some test printing before finalising and the 1200dpi printing on A4 300gsm paper cost me ~$1.00 a sheet. A bargain in my book.

 

The station signs, Running In Boards and Signal Box signs were duly printed. Probably minor errors of spacing and positioning in the first of these but I was not unduly concerned as mostly they face away from the viewer and only seen in side on viewing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andy Keane]

I can definitely recommend using 3D water slide transfers for doing all this as supplied by https://www.railtec-models.com/3dtransfers.php

They are dead easy to use and nice and crisp with just sufficient depth to look convincing.

I am sure he would be happy to work from your own fonts if you wanted

Andy

[BWsTrains]

Not quite the Brocken

 

This week has provided ample further diversions from any progress on UH.  While I cannot offer anything near the quality of interest reported by @LNER4479 on their group's recent Harzbahn travels, our own intrepid band headed off from home and came across quite a range of fascinating railway items.

 

In keeping with other travellers' reports (not forgetting @St Enodoc in NZ) I post this little challenge for you. Where might this intriguing signal gantry be found?  

 

 

Once I've sorted thru my selection of photos I'll put them up on a link so that interested folk can browse thru. It seems OTT to put them all here.

 

A fine time was had by all and many interesting discoveries were made. Our travelling companions who included Traverser Graham as I shall now christen him, had a keen interest in markets and Op shops, as we know them here. Consequently I was fortunate to land many opportunities in search of a need. These included the complete Hillary Mantel Thomas Cromwell trilogy starting with Wolf Hall, and now I keenly anticipate reading all about the devious First Earl of Southampton. He was rewarded for his contributions to Henry VIII's causes with extensive land in East Devon.

 

It was of course the much later 7th Earl (see my post of 25 April) who in my world, as owner of Dunkeswell Grange, granted the GWR railway rights to Upper Hembury across his lands and who features significantly in my story.

 

TBC

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

Our trip took us to central Victoria, in the heart of the Goldfields.

 

We were staying in Castlemaine, a place I knew little about and it was surprising how much of the architecture from the gold mining era remained intact. This included the fine mainline station built in 1862. Virtually unchanged regarding all its major features, it was there I spotted the unusual signal gantry. A large Goods Shed (far right) is currently under renovation.  A regular service runs between here and Melbourne taking 1hr 40m and costing a princely $3.35 return for us seniors!

 

 

The branch line to Maldon is operated by a heritage steam service twice weekly and the latter station (1884) is a superb and fully intact building with interior configuration very similar to those I plan. I could almost feel myself standing on Upper Hembury station platform.

 

 

I've attached a link to some more railway photos and others of historic Maldon which remains largely intact from its mining days. The small town centre was a delight to walk around.

 

Catlemaine was the birthplace of Robert O'Hara Burke of Burke & Wills fame. They led the ill-fated expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria (1861) so fittingly there was a fine monument to them overlooking the town.

 

Link

https://1drv.ms/f/s!Au252AreD6BYqSWMXB-glKzxDnsv?e=Q4o3ge

 

The area is well worth exploring if anyone is visiting these parts.

Edited May 21, 2023 by BWsTrains
typo

[St Enodoc]

2 minutes ago, BWsTrains said:

Our trip took us to central Victoria, in the heart of the Goldfields.

 

We were staying in Castlemaine, a place I knew little about and it was surprising how much of the architecture from the gold mining era remained intact. This included the fine mainline station built in 1862. Virtually unchanged regarding all it's major features, it was there I spotted the unusual signal gantry. A large Goods Shed (far right) is currently under renovation.  A regular service runs between here and Melbourne taking 1hr 40m and costing a princely $3.35 return for us seniors!

 

 

The branch line to Maldon is operated by a heritage steam service twice weekly and the latter station (1884) is a superb and fully intact building with interior configuration very similar to those I plan. I could almost feel myself standing on Upper Hembury station platform.

 

 

I've attached a link to some more railway photos and others of historic Maldon which remains largely intact from its mining days. The small town centre was a delight to walk around.

 

Catlemaine was the birthplace of Robert O'Hara Burke of Burke & Wills fame. They led the ill-fated expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria (1861) so fittingly there was a fine monument to them overlooking the town.

 

Link

https://1drv.ms/f/s!Au252AreD6BYqSWMXB-glKzxDnsv?e=Q4o3ge

 

well worth a visit if anyone is visiting these parts.

Worth breaking the journey at Woodend for lunch, etc. at the Holgate Brewhouse.

[BWsTrains]

On 21/05/2023 at 03:56, St Enodoc said:

Worth breaking the journey at Woodend for lunch, etc. at the Holgate Brewhouse.

 

The real find of our trip was in Castlemaine.

 

There Das Kaffehaus is a little corner of Vienna in Central Victoria. Run by a relative of one of the famous cafe families of Vienna, it captures the essence and quality of those establishments, much nearer to home. So good we went back for a second lunch then cakes before heading home.

 

Back to matters of Uncoupling Stock

 

Now back at home I got around to checking the 10 uncoupling positions I've installed and was pleased to find all were working very well. So, I fixed down the track firmly at each position for more serious testing ahead. Work to this point had all been done with RTR stock and locos.

 

Next I ran one of my completed Slater's 3-Plank wagon kits across an uncoupler. To my horror it went "pt-chang!" being magnetically ripped back over the magnets in no uncertain matter. At first I though it was the very light unloaded wagon to blame but then discovered (more horror) that the Alan Gibson wheels which I'd bought and fitted are steel rimmed. These being down at track level are ripe for the picking. Worse, all the wheels supplied with my Parkside kits also are from the same source.  So to Plan B, I've swapped out a load of RTR 12mm wagon wheels from my xs stock, replacing them with the Gibson wheels. More RTR axles can be purchased to supplement these. Too bad that I'd just cleared out my Hattons Trunk ahead of their June deadline.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by BWsTrains
tidying

[BWsTrains]

I should be getting on with constructing and laying the remaining uncouplers but the magnetic wheels saga drew me to my various kits so I could work out what extra axles I'll need in lieu of the Gibsons supplied.

 

One kit needing attention was the very first I built a few years back; being #1 it's sort of special so a few details follow. Plastic kit building was something I'd last done nearly 60 years ago - Airfix Model aircraft and PS cement. Having discovered Parkside Wagon kits I bought the GWR Beetle Prize Cattle wagon 1927 (PC64) and set forth. It is an impressive collection of components, here seen partly cut out before assembly.

 

 

There is an excellent report on completing this project at Phil’s Blog so no need to repeat details of the build.

 

http://workbench157.rssing.com/browser.php?indx=6700792&item=448

 

 

Seen above it's still missing the final detail parts and TBH I find these so fragile I'm forever gluing them back on. The central steps have been rebuilt because the PS ones  were impossible. For a first build I was very happy with the outcome.

 

[Graham T]

Nice work Colin.  I built one myself and didn't find it the simplest of kits to make.

 

[BWsTrains]

Next cab off the rank was the first of five Loco Coal wagons (Cambrian) where all the hard work was done by @john dew and kindly donated to Upper Hembury along with the Engine Shed. The 10T wagons were undersized for Granby but will suit my setting perfectly.

 

The long sea journey took its toll despite the most careful of packaging so my main task has been the necessary repairs plus adding some internal weight.

 

 

This photo has some lighting issues so the rusty edges etc have come out too yellow, in reality they look spot on. Nice coal load on board as well so lots for me to learn from studying these completed kits. Thanks again John, much appreciated. They'll be seen as regular attendees with their coal loads for the Engine shed coal stage. 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by BWsTrains

[sjrixon]

That Beetle wagon is really nice. Feel like I need one :)

[BWsTrains]

Cordon Gas Wagon DD5

 

Some discussion over on ANTB about the Cordon Gas Wagons and specifically those produced by "Bygone Wagons" prompted me to get out my DD5 kit for inspection.

 

DD5 photo - Bygone wagons

 

I was overdue to do a more detailed examination beyond the cursory once over I gave it on arrival. Generally I was happy with the appearance when sitting on the layout as you'd view it.  Closer in there was much to be satisfied with but then a few areas requiring attention.

 

The 3D print appears to be made at about 0.1mm resolution, estimated from counting the barely visible bands on the cylinders in the direction of printing. This is fine for the majority of the model but the limitation becomes clear on the cylinders' rounded ends where even 0.1mm layers produce a distinct terraced effect. (Note: This is visible in an end-on photo of the model provided on the website so the purchaser is pre-warned!)

 

The other limitation is in some ultra-fine detail. 0.7mm curved piping is represented on the cylinder ends printed in PLA but at this thickness it is neither robust or at all accurate. PS kits suffer the same problem with tiny add-on bits like door hangers which break if you just look at them. TBH it would have been better to have used brass piping as at the other end of the model. I'll be replacing all mine in brass.

 

The model was mostly free from any flash or stringy floss from the printing and I'm in broad agreement with @St Enodoc regarding the overall success of the product.

 

In the first steps to completing this kit I removed the brass piping at one end and the PLA printed pipes at the other. This freed up access to the cylinder ends for me to smooth them down. I found the best way was rather like pealing new potatoes, lightly scraping over the surface with, in this case, the tip edge of a #26 scalpel blade. This has more flex than shorter blades and easily scrapes off the thin ridges of the printing. Then a light filing with a fine flat diamond file finished the job.

 

 

[BWsTrains]

Pushing ahead with the Cordon, there's very little available on line to help with the detail aspects. Working from photos as best I could, it struck me that the heavy half-circle tubing and one end is probably an early version of the protective collar around a cylinder valve. In this case presumably the charging port.

 

At the other end the best photo I have is this from a Dutch Blog

 

 

https://www.blokpost-nul.nl/Project_GWR_Cordon_CDJ/Project_GWR_Cordon_cdj.htm

 

which very much looks to be the business for gas output with various regulators feeding to small gauge piping. None of this is represented by my kit.

 

So to work, 1mm brass rod for the input guards and 0.5mm for the output stages. Finally I added the missing support straps which contain the cylinders against their support blocks. These were fabricated from thin Al sheet ( ex soft drink can). Overall I've very happy with how the Cordon has scrubbed up. Just a few little items like the brake control, end rail and access steps needed on the base section.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

The Cordon has been progressed to a late painted stage following the addition of a pillar style hand brake (ex a Toad Brake) and railing.

 

Following the advice of "Chippedblade" who has described a detailed 7mm build of this model:

https://chippedblade.wordpress.com/index/cordon-9/

 

I started off the tanks at very dark grey (Vallejo Black grey 70.862) as seen last time, then progressively built up to lighter grey towards the top. The reticulation piping was painted with a red-brown mix to emulate aged copper. I used Vallejo - 2 parts Leather Brown 70.871 1 part Flat Red 70.957. On a small scale it proved to be very effective.

 

Remaining work to be completed are the transfers and access steps which I need to run up from brass or copper strip. It now stands suitably poised at the end of the bay platform, I've a number of important tasks for it once traffic starts flowing.

 

PS: the harsh eye of the camera shows up the need for more work on the tanks. Strangely, this is barely visible to the naked eye!

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by BWsTrains
PS

[BWsTrains]

The Early Siphons

 

Milk transport to/from Upper Hembury was on a relatively modest scale with the local creamery processing milk from the surrounding areas. There was of course a competing Creamery at Hemyock not too far to the North.

 

Milk was transported in 17 Gall. conical churns, much larger volumes were needed to justify switching to milk tankers in the 1930s and so the vehicles of choice remained the Siphon series of Vans. Dating back to the earliest 4 wheel type (Diagram 01) these were simple covered wagons with open sides to allow adequate ventilation and the later 6-wheeled Siphons, Diagram 02 to 04 dominated milk transport until the 1930s. Milk might be brought to the creamery with local freight but outbound milk shipments for the cities was loaded onto a Siphon, taken to Cullompton for attachment to an ongoing milk train.

 

It seemed appropriate for the branch line to have later Siphons from this series in daily duty and after some research it became clear that Diagrams 01(2) and 04 were ideal for the period being modeled, most early Diag. 02s have been retired by 1930.

 

I was attracted to the models produced by Diagram3D which are from laser cut MDF / card + 3D printed PLA. Since buying these kits, others have reported their own builds but I think there is still some merit in reporting my progress as some new aspects will be covered.

 

Three separate Kits are available from Diagram3D

• Diagram 01
• Diagrams 01, 02, 03 (in fact this "01" was a later variant of Diag.02) and
• Diagram 04.

 

For others who might fall into the trap, the original Diag.01 was 4-wheel; all had been retired by 1914.

Then followed Diag.02 types - 6-wheel, then a small change confusingly called Dia. 01(2). These points would be academic except that the correct parts of the kit required to build every variant are included!

 

The internal differences to note when tackling the second kit are:

• Single arc roof - Diag. 02 (high and low arc variants);
• Three arc roof - Diag. 01(2), 03
• End panel "V" braces- to cornice level - Diag. 02, Diag. 01(2)
• End panel "V" braces- to roof level -  03

Enough of research, on to the kits!  

Edited June 3, 2023 by BWsTrains
typo + correction

[BWsTrains]

The Early Siphons - Continued

Siphon Diagram. 01(2)

 

Overall I found the design of the upper body of the kit to be excellent, but I had issues with the 3D printed bogies supplied, particularly after I'd looked at a Hattons Genesis 6-wheel coach. I could see no reason for my needing an all bogie solution so set to thinking about something better to deploy.

 

Fortunately, thanks to my dabbling in Ratio Kit bashing (WC&PR Coach builds), I had some supplies of excess sole bars and roofing material which proved to be almost identical to the length required for this chassis.

 

First up was the simple task of assembling the core of the body, MDF laser-cut, it took a few minutes to pop these out and glue together, (using the 3 arc roof supports)

 

 

supporting with angles help hold it dead true while the PVA set on the first stage.

 

 

Normally the sole bars insert in the visible floor lugs, and suspend down. However I'll be using Ratio Sole bars so the inserts will be inserted to close the gaps in the flooring edges but not hang down below floor level. A quick check confirmed that this change will be concealed behind the side paneling module.

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

The Early Siphons - Continued

Siphon Diagram. 01(2)

 

Next to the sides and end panels. These are built up from four thicknesses of 0.2mm card, laser cut and detailed on the surface. The kit includes clear instructions which have been thoroughly validated elsewhere.

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/100542-diagram3d-gnr-4-comp-3rd-class-brake-dia-281/

 

I chose not to paint each layer before assembly and once done I reckon it would have still left me further painting to be done. However, sealing each layer of card with a fixative is essential!

 

This photo shows the jig with the four assembled layers, if you zoom in you can just see the top surface detail of all the door hinges and corner stays, they must be ~0.05mm above the body of the top layer.

 

Once the PVA is brushed along all the edges, I wiped off the excess, checked everything was aligned, wrapped the removed layers in baking paper and pressed flat with my default heavy acrylic photo block.

 

Then the cards were hand painted using quality artists acrylic as this seemed most appropriate for the medium. My default dark brown shade is Van Dyke Brown which is too biased to red to suit GWR NPCCS vehicles. To offset this I blended in 1 part Deep Green to 6 parts Brown to produce a satisfactory neutral dark brown.

 

 

Door handles were attached and we're ready to add the exterior veneer to the main bodywork structure. But perhaps adding the transfers first would be easier.

 

My next task was attending to the undersides and addressing the issue of the middle axle.  TBC...

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by BWsTrains
corrections and typos

[BWsTrains]

The Early Siphons - Continued

Siphon Diagram. 01(2)

 

Turning to the sub-chassis, I have the remnants of two Ratio 4-wheel coaches which were to become donors for sole bars / the front / rear axles and the three arc roof. All I needed was a solution for the middle axle and right on cue @Coach bogie was reporting on his preferred approach on ANTB.

 

A length of 2.mm brass tube, some stiff 0.7mm brass rod and voilà.

 

With a test axle

 

 

And fully assembled

 

 

This works superbly and the fully weighted model runs, almost floats, effortlessly across the layout. 

 

 

[BWsTrains]

Meanwhile over in the signwriters' office things have also been busy