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

[BWsTrains]

Thanks for the various encouraging feedback which is greatly appreciated.

 

I'm conscious, perhaps overly so, of making very slow progress on the overall project, with this topic approaching 1 year old in less than two weeks. The reasons are varied but I do have an increasing sense now that everything will crystallise fairly soon. This was spurred today by an overdue arrival at my mailbox; perhaps the snail took time climbing up to complete delivery but the contents once opened were a delight. One picture.......... these are superb products making my own built ones look decidedly second rate .....

 

 

 

[BWsTrains]

Meanwhile, progress has been ongoing behind the scenes on the outbuilding.

 

Windows, doors etc now completed and the roof remains the biggest job outstanding. First up, some robust roof trusses in the section which will be visible thru the skylight. Minimalist approach here as internals are mostly out of sight.

 

[BWsTrains]

Back to the main building it was time to finish off the canopy structure now I had the valance in stock.

 

The canopy structure and dimensions are well documented for Portesham, Upper Hembury's is just longer and with a four bay skylight rather than the usual two. The canopy pitch is back towards the building, dropping 6" across the 15' width. This was achieved in the model simply by attaching a narrow strip of wood 3mm * 5mm * 218mm rebated in by 1mm along the front of the canopy supports. This gave the 2mm (6" full size") rise which I required at the front.

 

 

 

Next I added 1mm thick supports half way in on each main beam.

 

The canopy proper with space for the future skylight (early trial)

 

 

Next up the valance and the front section of the upper canopy edging. A tad short but will be fixed later during final assembly.

 

 

 

[BWsTrains]

One more view point. Gaps will be filled before painting!

 

 

[Graham T]

Looks somewhat familiar Colin!

[BWsTrains]

59 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Looks somewhat familiar Colin!

 

Main difference, you won't see any Black locos pulling up at Upper Hembury any time soon 🤣

 

Maybe the odd one in SR Olive green though.

[BWsTrains]

The Skylight

 

The evidence is far from definitive but my best photo of Kingsbridge with its 4 bay canopy strongly suggests a flat ended skylight, unlike those on the smaller stations. So it will be.

My challenge was to build something not over scale given the skylight is only 6ft wide; my solution so far is work in progress which I feel I can best judge once assembled.

 

Stage one a solid template, ex Venetian blind strip of course. Spot on for the 4mm (1ft) depth of the side support frame. The centre strip being 2.5mm thick to define/ support the top beam of the structure, here seen in situ.

 

 

Next up 0.75mm PS strip as the sides, 2in timber for this seems to be appropriate. These were glued to the timber former with UHU glue stick which should come free at the end on immersion in water (hopes!). By then the entire structure's rigidity should make up for the flimsy side timbers.

 

Next a strip of 1*2mm PS strip, inset 0.5mm at the ends for the solid top section bearing the load of the frame and panes. That's it for today.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

brief mostly photo update.

 

Skylight built and primed. Next up I need to build the guttering which surrounds it.

 

 

The station outbuilding progressing nicely

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

Pushing ahead report on a truly miserable late winter's day here.

 

Spring is near, the blossom is out on plums and apricots, early leaf buds have burst on early peaches and the roses which I've pruned (mistake with hindsight) are already shooting, some 2-3cm long now, and covered in aphids. I take heart in this event as an unseasonal early burst of the little green ba$tard$ means I can blitz them with K-Soap and break many life cycles (hopes).

 

Sadly someone forgot to tell the weather today so K-soap (home made of course) will have to wait a day and modelling gets an unexpected innings. SWMBO was amused that I looked so cheerful on announcing that "Play was Off" in the the garden. 

 

Activities on multiple fronts.

 

The Station outbuilding.

 

The @KNP type roofing strips are fitted; the more I use this the easier it becomes and the more I like it. This shows the roof after fitting and painting out all the lines of "half tiles" at row ends.

 

There will be two skylights as per Kingsbridge. I realised late in the piece that that the 9' toilet zone would be a dark place in more ways than one if I didn't have a skylight, as you can see at Kingsbridge.

 

The roof cutouts from the skylight areas were retained, they will be useful.

 

 

The Skylights

 

Exploring the history of the Kingsbridge station over its life has been a fascinating journey, new discoveries adding to the story as my own build evolves. The skylights are a case in point.

 

Many of the best, most useful, and also saddest photos come from 1969 after the station was closed and in disrepair - Disused Stations - Kingsbridge.  This adjusted extract shows the skylight added during the upgrade / extension of the outbuilding

 

 

To build something similar, I used the roof out-cuts to build a template as a support for the frame of the fitting. TBC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

A lot has been achieved since my last post but with limited time this is an update of the full station build. The how I got to here will follow in due course when time permits.

 

The main features of the outbuilding after its rebuild (circa 1910) are now all in place, with all the inevitable minor finishing off jobs like gutters, downpipes, end boards, lintels, quoins etc. etc. still on the pending list but at least it now looks the part.

 

 

 

[BWsTrains]

Some notes on my paint resources for the Station build (revised 29 Oct)

 

Buying paint from the UK directly is not an option for me and so I set about the DIY approach. With modern technologies it's not that hard to match paint shades (up to a point) and the known variability of the GWR shades gave me some wriggle room anyway.

 

GWR Stone #1 and #3-

My go-to reference source (HT @john dew ) was the trusty GWR.ORG site  GWR building and structure colours where useful colour swatches and RGB references for the two shades were available.

 

My standard materials are Reeves IntroTM Acrylics.

 

GWR Stone #3 (RGB 167,104,87) is essentially Orange biased slightly to red then blended with Grey. The Reeves orange (revision note) has a mild red bias, but not enough for my needs without adding further red. Hence an updated formula since the original post. (original formula used no extra red)

 

 

My formula for The #3 Stone shade (revised) is

2.5 Parts Titanium White : 1 Part Orange : 0.1 Part Mars Black (all Reeves INTROTM Acrylic): 0.2 parts Warm Red (Chromacryl)

 

GWR #1 Stone is then achieved simply by adding further white (3 parts) to the mixture.

 

Unfortunately my indoor photography skills do not do justice to the end result where both shades in fact have the most subtle pinkish tint. What I see, I'm very happy with!

 

Roof Slates

The shades were covered in my post of July 13th, my bluish grey shades were achieved using white and Chromacryl Black (has a distinct blue bias).

Darkest "Highlight" tiles (1:1 ratio);  general cover (60:40) and lighter over-brushing and dry brush for lead flashing streaks (80:20)

 

Stone surfaces

I used a similar approach to painting the tiles. Single stones highlighted in a much darker mix of the core shade, then over-painted with the latter and then smaller areas over-brushed in an even lighter shade.

 

Generic inexpensive acrylics were used here,  (HT to the late John Flann on this point, he swore by them for wall surfaces). I think their merit lies in the relatively poor covering power of cheap paint which means early layers continue to show thru better than with more opaque coverings

 

The Highlight Blend was 2:1 White to Burnt Umber, then carefully titrated with tiny incremental additions of yellow to reduce the impact of the distinct reddish tint of the umber (enough to bring the base shade to orange / hence brown).

The core Blend, add two further parts white to give 4:1 ratio.

 

NOTE added 29th Oct 23 I've updated the formula I use for the GWR Stone Shades

 

 

Edited October 29, 2023 by BWsTrains
Revised Formula for GWR Shades

[BWsTrains]

Going back to the skylights on the Outbuilding, I've shown these installed but my photos have all been from the platform side. Seen from the other side I found I had an annoying misalignment which needed fixing.

 

The only upside is that I now have a photo of the modified build, throwing away my template I assembled the two halves separately.

 

 

Conveniently, it allows me to show how I assembled the panes, recycling them from the Metcalfe GWR Platform Canopy (PO340). Careful cutting allowed me to join multiple sections. "You can't see the join(s)". The two halves were brought together on attaching to the roof; much easier to control.

[BWsTrains]

Meanwhile, I've been busy on the rest of my platform surface.

 

Mark I was a disaster, I'd hoped to paint the card surface with my thick exterior acrylic but I'd not reckoned with the porosity of the card I'd used. Ended up cutting it all out back down to the plywood base.

 

For Mark II I decided to use some EVA foam board which I'd found at Daiso, this is superior to the PS foamboard I'd used previously when creating the paved section for the platform. This shows the white EVA with #60 grit sandpaper cut to shape for the surface layer. The hope was to have a fairly impervious top with some texture to take the paint.

 

 

The sandpaper spray primed (grey) then glued to the EVA with thick PVA adhesive and weighted down overnight to fully dry.

 

After painting with a thinned acrylic wash,  <0.5mm gypsum was sprinkled thinly over the surface while still wet. Having much less paint meant less gypsum stuck and the surplus was easily brushed off once dry.

 

 

Repeat treatments were made to get the desired texture and "look"

 

Next the section at the end of the Bay platform was added. The photo shows the process at an earlier stage while the excess gypsum is still present.

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by BWsTrains
tidying up

[Graham T]

That looks good Colin, I like the texture.  How are you planning to deal with the joins?

 

[BWsTrains]

1 hour ago, Graham T said:

That looks good Colin, I like the texture.  How are you planning to deal with the joins?

 

 

Thx Graham, good question.

 

There are quite a few "boundary issues" lurking here. Regarding sections of abutting sandpaper sheet, my plan is to get everything firmly fitted down and then apply a fine bead of acrylic sealer along the join line then paint and add more gypsum over a somewhat wider join area.

 

Acrylic filler retains some flexibility on setting, hopefully this will work out and not crack.

 

Between the edging pavers and the central areas is another question.

[Tim Dubya]

34 minutes ago, BWsTrains said:

Acrylic filler retains some flexibility on setting, hopefully this will work out and not crack.

 

I've always found bog standard filler mixed with 50/50 water/PVA to do what it's meant to and not crack.  Of course this is for DIY not train sets but it might work for what you want it for 👍

[BWsTrains]

Today, I continued on with the surface around into the forecourt area which will also be Macadam up to the main entrance.

 

First some terraforming to give a gentle fall away from the building towards the river. It was later widened (photo #2,#3) some more to lessen the steepness of the fall.

 

Next, provision for the down ramp to have the approach levelling off near the boundary of the layout. First some cuts ~5mm deep at the edge to enable chiselling out of the ramp.

 

 

Then a few swift mallet blows and some more careful hand force removed the bulk before a final Surform shaving.

 

 

Finally, the 2.5 mm EVA sheet cut and fitted to the forecourt area.

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by BWsTrains
add'n

[BWsTrains]

Having made some satisfactory progress with the macadam on flat surfaces of the platform I’ve moved on to tackling the area of the station approaches where the land falls gently way from the main building towards the river. This threw up a few issues, mainly because my card sub-structure was stepped, albeit gently at 0.3mm per step but this gave me problems when attaching the EVA and top layers.

 

After one troublesome attempt + rescue, I’ve yet to decide if I can mask the remaining imperfections or need to start over. Hence the delay with any reports.

 

Also, other matters at this time of year have drawn me away from modelling for some time so reports will be rather thin on the ground. Normal service will be resumed as soon as the present distortion of the Space -Time continuum around here returns to normal #

 

 

# In an idle moment, it did occur to me that many bizarre but everyday occurrences can readily be explained thanks to Special Relativity (thx @einstein). Those of us with SWMBOs will be familiar with the all too common situation walking thru a shopping centre or High Street when suddenly SWMBO is drawn by a powerful, irresistible force towards a shop window, offering fashion, jewellery etc. In reality this is simply a local +ve distortion in Space-Time, creating a powerful gravitational pull on the susceptible. Strangely, Space-Time distorts in exactly the opposite sense for SWMBOs should a hardware (or worse, Model shop) be encountered.

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by BWsTrains

[Andrew P]

Hi Colin, My last visit to this project was Aug 2022, so back on page 1, and I must say, it is looking good, I skipped a few pages to get here, but loving the Buildings and Track plan.

All the best,

Andy.

[BWsTrains]

1 hour ago, Andrew P said:

Hi Colin, My last visit to this project was Aug 2022, so back on page 1, and I must say, it is looking good, I skipped a few pages to get here, but loving the Buildings and Track plan.

All the best,

Andy.

 

Thx Andy, and also for your help.

 

I only wish I could emulate your pace of work, my own feels like it's crawling along

 

Best wishes,

 

Colin

[BWsTrains]

Seeing @gwrrob's recent post on Weymouth Quay prompts me to provide an update or two on my MIA period over recent weeks due to local disruptions in the Space-Time continuum. Not quite Tardis travel but it sure felt like it after 4.5 years anchored under the "sun drenched splendour" of home as we headed North for our first OS trip.

 

First up, having flown into Munich we travelled ~20km to a small insignificant local suburban station on the S-Bahn. There was little remaining evidence of the branch line spur leading to what must be the most tragic disused BLT station of all time. The more so that it was easy to miss this as we arrived at the memorial gates.

 

 

This is all that remains of the disembarkation platform and tracks at Dachau. It was a sombre reminder of events at the Camp which should never have happened; dating from the early thirties and being the prototype for the larger and many hundreds to follow.

 

We came away deeply moved by the descriptions and seeing the key buildings where the various terrors were inflicted. Accepted its somewhat OT but I feel important enough to be worth sharing all the same.

 

[BWsTrains]

Was MIA - but now back home.

 

As with any OS trip, many memorable things of interest were seen / encountered. Just a brief summary of a few miscellaneous railway items.....

 

1) Germany. Our trip was short, Munich Flughaven into the city on a local S-Bahn. Could barely believe my eyes as we neared the Hauptbahnhof when I spotted a DB loco which had apparently been driven right into the middle of a meadow. Sadly no camera to hand to record this bizarre event! Take-two, weed control not high priority as they ranged from 600-900mm tall throughout the stabling yards. So high no rails were visible.
 

2) Munich again - total chaos the night before our scheduled journey to Salzberg and beyond. Someone brought down a main power gantry (it seems) and shut down the entire mainline and S-Bahn system around the Hbh. We wondered why our tram was jam packed at 3pm, only finding out later. Disruptions were expected for two days and I'm thinking hire car? In the end they fixed it all up and we had a 90 min delay. Station was total chaos but a local told me that was pretty usual situation.
 

3) Salzkammergut Region - for anyone who's not been here, I strongly recommend adding to the bucket list. My highlights included the ride up the Schafbergbahn to 1800m elevation (HT to @Mr Portillo's GCRJ Series 1 #2). We had a superb day and steam was in operation. For anyone interested there's lots of info on Wikipedia which I wont repeat except for a photo of the unique light oil fired steam locos. Other days were filled with some excellent walks.

 

 

During COVID times I was given a fine book on Lost Railway Journeys of the World and the very first chapter is devoted to the Lokalbahn of this region, running from Salzburg to Bad Ischl. This has been replaced by a highly efficient bus service which we used, 7 Euro for the 31km. Sadly no traces remained of the lokalbahn in St Gilgen where we stayed, other than the old route now turned into laneways and streets. I tried!

 

4) a brief detour to the realm of Chuffnell Regis and a most enjoyable dinner spent with @Graham T. The time flew away but we did find space to discuss CRII issues and options in some depth. It was not possible with our schedule to see Mark I in the flesh but I didn't mind as the many fine images we have here let us see everything in great detail.

 

5) Bologna to Milan - aside the normal state of "fretta" prevailing, travelling by Frecciarossa is generally efficient and the stations well set up. Bologna high speed lines sit directly below the main station, about 5 levels down but unlike the topside there are comfortable spaces and plenty of seats to await your train. It takes about 67min to cover the 201km with a top speed of 300kph reached. Not as smooth as the Shinkansen by quite a way but better than I've had on UK lines. Good value at 44Euro pp., you could pay that much for a taxi from airport to city in many places. 

 

Now back to reality.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

Some more at the top of the Schafberg

 

https://youtu.be/STzeX5Vh55g

 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5sYw3Hw47lU

 

Wonderful scenic views, all 360 degrees as well. The first to the SW, is that the Berghof some 30km away?

 

 

The second to the North

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

 

Before leaving the topic of MIA, I've got to report that both Heds (SWMBO) and I were taken aback, even shocked, on arriving at Munich Airport and duly joining the immigration queue for non-EU travellers.

What could trigger this reaction but a VERY prominent sign directed only to UK passport holders. Not those from the Middle East, Africa or other remote and troubled places, but only citizens of Old Blighty were singled out for special attention.

 

They were warned to hold:

A Valid passport. (doh!)

Health insurance (such as private travel insurance or an EHIC/GHIC).

Enough money to cover your stay in the EU.

Return or onward travel ticket.

 

and AFAIR, also proof of accommodation arrangements for all the time while in the EU.

 

This struck us as being distinctly OTT.

 

Edited September 30, 2023 by BWsTrains
tidied up and shortened

[BWsTrains]

Returning to the Platform, my next task was the bay loading platform, which I will model based on the one at Kingsbridge. This Peter Gray / Great Western Trust photo has many fine details useful for my project and provided much help with resolving the main station dimensions and structure.

 

 

This close up extract of the bay platform shows that the loading side surface has a different structure, and possibly was totally paved (for heavier traffic) like the area in front of the station building. Any thoughts?

 

 

I noted that the trade side platform has a square profile, no overhang and longer but narrower edge slabs. It also sits closer to the tracks.

 

Progress has been made at Upper Hembury on building the base structure and platform edging, seen sitting a little high here as its not yet fixed down.

 

Additionally I've had a mark II effort on the forecourt area, resorting to strengthened Plaster of Paris as the base to manage the sloping profile (down L -> R). Needs some dirtying up and traffic marks to complete but from this angle it looks rather lighter than as seen by the observer. The top coating of <0.5mm gypsum was lightly sprinkled onto the surface which had been painted with 1:1:1 mixute of my muddy brown household paint, PVA and water. Left to dry completely, the excess is lightly brushed off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by BWsTrains
improved photo