St Albans LNWR/GNR

[Sithlord75]

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

 

Well, sometime in the late 1990s and in Australia (so it might as well be a galaxy far, far away really) I came across an article in the April 1988 Railway Modeller (I think at either the barber's or the dentist - either way, in keeping with the magazines in those establishments, it was well out of date and well read!) about the Ilford & West Essex Model Railway Club's N gauge layout of St Albans Abbey.  At the time I was looking for inspiration for an exhibition layout with the track plan having to fit a space of 4000 x 800 mm.  This was to include a 180d curve to the back.  The track plan looked feasible albeit with some modifications (double track through station rather than single track terminus) but the GNR bay, the yard and the main source of revenue, the gasworks were all placed where they should have been.  As an N gauge layout, St Alban's Priory made it to quite a few exhibitions from 2000-2008 when I moved to Longreach, Central Queensland, for work and the layout was stored.

 

When I got back to South-East Queensland in 2012, SAP was taken out of storage and cleaned up with a view to seeing about taking it back on the very small circuit Down Here.  I think it may have made it to one or two more shows before my modelling standards had increased to the point where it no longer satisfied me and I was left with either rebuilding it as an N gauge roundy roundy (with some changes more in keeping with the prototype) or doing it "properly" - that is, with finescale track, handbuilt points and minimal compromises with the track layout (so a terminus with only two platforms for example!).

 

I procrastinated about making a decision for some time - I purchased the necessary Peco points to do the revamped N gauge version, but generally felt a 2mm finescale version would be more satisfying in the long run.  All the while - from 1997 onwards - I kept researching and finding out bits and pieces about St Albans LNWR station (the Abbey bit was added by the LMS post grouping - there were once three stations in St Albans - the LNWR/GNR junction terminus which I am interested in, the Midland Railway one which became St Ablans City (and is still the main station in the city) and St Albans London Road, which was the GNR station first on the line out of the terminus and the original end of the GNR branch from Hatfield) its surrounds and the traffic which travelled on the branch.

 

One of the reasons the original layout was eventually consigned to the scrap heap was the more I knew about the prototype, the more I realised I had compromised on the model.  But equally the more I knew, the more I felt I didn't know which contributed to the lack of progress in replacing the model.

 

Eventually a number of events cojoined to get me to do something...

 

Firstly, my wife demanded I stopped building wagons and built something to run them on.  I have at it happens, three N gauge layouts in various states of completeness.  One needs the turnouts and turntable sorting, one needs the backscene sorting and one needs the last bit of track laid, the wiring completed and...  And then there is the 2mm layouts - both started at various points in my 2mm journey, one never beyond laying some hand-built track and finding I wasn't as good with the soldering iron as I thought and one which served it's purpose when it made it to Derby in June 2022.  The amount of 2mm wagons I have far outstripes the track to put them on.

 

Secondly, I received a lot of gentle encouragement from the NMAG group (and some fairly robust encouragement too!).  This prompted me to, perhaps rashly, say at the last NMAG Zoom meeting of 2022, that I would build a baseboard, lay some track and have a loco running by the first one this year...

 

That was this morning Brisbane time.

 

So...

 

I said to my wife, that weather permitting, I would do something about a layout to put the wagons on, and would build said layout during the Boxing Day Test.  With this in mind, I obtained some 70mm steel channel, typically used for stud framing houses where you don't want termites to have a buffet lunch.  This is nice and strong and unlike what passes for quality pine timber, doesn't decided to revert to wood when the humidity is too high.  I also obtained some 7mm ply to go on the frame I proposed to make out of the steel channel.  However, a couple of issues presented themselves.  I didn't know the geometry of the curve for the platform well enough to be confident in getting it "right" and I also wasn't entirely sure where all the turnouts would go.  Enter Bruce Cook (@VRBroadgauge) who volunteered to sort this out for me.  Fortunately I had found a Watford to St Albans branch group in Facebook which had as some of its members ex-BR staff who'd worked the branch and a question about the curve of the platform at St Albans resulted in the response that it hasn't changed since at least the 1960s.  On the basis this meant it hadn't changed at all, Bruce was able to combine OS maps with photos to come up with a decent plan of the whole area:

The grid is printed on A3 paper, which is trimmed to the margin and then taped together to give a full size 1:152.4mm drawing.  I printed 1A-6A, 1B-6B and trimmed and taped and this was enough to make me decided that the track contained therein would do for Stage 1.  And because I didn't want to have a base board join going through the turnouts in 4-6, nor through the platform (which incidentally I found out after Bruce did his drawings was 508ft long for the LNWR side and 345ft for the GNR face - Bruce's drawings were spot on) I resolved on a single board which is just on 7' long and 15" wide.

 

As my daughter was redecorating her room, I used up some of the ceiling paint to seal the ply and give me a blank canvas to start plotting out track positions.

 

Due to some inclement weather I was permitted to use the dining room table - it seats 10 (handy when we have 5 kids!) but a blanket had to be put down first.  Here you can see the station building, trainshed and platform have been plotted.  The OS map suggested the loco release was suitable only for small tank engines - at some point it was extended but obviously the Royal Engineers didn't see the point in doing all the work to add some extra track.  So the buffer stop was placed far enough down for an 0-6-0 tender loco to comfortably clear the turnout without hitting said buffers.   

 

Some 3mm dress ply was rescued from the skip at work at the end of the school year and cut down to 20mm wide strips to provide track beds.  The yard is generally all at the same height but this way some subtle dips and drains can be introduced between the lines - something which wouldn't be possible if the flat earth view prevailed.  The strip was able to be bent to match the plotted curve - the straight bit at the far end has been changed to a curve - I had thought about coming off centrally to a fiddle yard but on reflection decided to keep the curve going where it should - Stage 2 will require it to be curved so any short-term fiddle yard solution will have to fit the right geometry.

 

.

The shadows make it look like its embossed rather than added but this is the passenger side of it all, more or less standing where the home signals would be.  The GNR bay to the right, the LNWR platform and run around loop.  Access was made to the yard both from the far end of the run around loop and from a crossover just out of view at the bottom of the picture.  The black dots are holes drilled for the wires to the tie bars on the turnouts.  

 

The state of play as it currently stands - looking from the same position as the previous photo.  All track is Easitrac with Finetrax B7 points.  These are very easy to build - I suspect had they been around 10 years ago, I wouldn't be just starting now!  They don't always work for the prototype - I know the point which is missing on the LNWR run around side (left of the coaches) has some catch points entwined within it, but I am not yet at the point where I'm willing to give that a go.  The idea behind doing what I have done is to get something started.  As my skills develop and what compromises I'll tolerate change I will revisit things - that point is on the list, but a fair way down!

 

I have three more B7s to build - they'll fill in the gaps on both sides of the platform and get me started at the far end of the yard.  After that, the crossing which takes arriving goods trains into the yard at the bottom of the photo needs to be looked at and then the yard - with two tandems very much in evidence in the photos.

 

I haven't managed to get the track wired yet - that'll be next once the last couple of turnouts are constructed and built.  I've a working Jinty plus a Class 24 to use as test locos but so far, the few wagons I rolled around have all tracked nicely though the turnouts and haven't derailed at rail joins.  

 

Once this lot is working happily, I'll paint the rails, get it back working properly, ballast it, then get it back working properly (!) and then doing something about the platform, the station building and the trainshed which Bruce has had etched for me.

 

[Sithlord75]

The return to school following the summer holidays (and the heat wave which arrived to welcome us back to work) has spiked the guns a bit but now that the initial flurry of activity has subsided I have managed to get a few things finished.  The last of the Finetrax points I have have been built - so that's enough to finish the platform area and begin on the yard.  With the resumption of mail to outside of the UK I can order the next batch.  

 

I have also built another LNWR bufferstop to put in the yard and made a start on the next one.  I put a bit of wood as the buffing area on the principle that wood looks more like wood than etched metal does, no matter how I paint it.  

 

The blue wagon body is an experiment in a different resin to help with the structural integrity of opens - particularly when they have almost scale thickness sides.  So far, the jury is still out.  Seems to be ok however so I shall persevere.  This is likely to end up as an Empire lettered wagon.

 

[drduncan]

What’s the resin for the open wagon?

Duncan

[Sithlord75]

On 09/02/2023 at 23:56, drduncan said:

What’s the resin for the open wagon?

Duncan

It's a brand I got from my local Jaycar (electronics store down here - sells wire, plugs, switches and stuff for 3D printers) called Esun - the website is www.esun3d.net

 

I purchased on a whim because they didn't have my preferred Anycubic resin in stock when I called in.  It was little bit cheaper than the Anycubic black which I normally get and it was there so I thought I'd give it a go.  Ends up being a little more sticky and thus needs a little more cleaning with the cream cleaner and half a minute longer in the sun to harden than the black.  I suspect if similar circumstances apply in future I'll probably get some more, but on balance I'll get my normal resin if its available.

[Sithlord75]

A Tale of Two Goods Sheds.

 

St Albans doesn't have two I hasten to add (well the LNWR station doesn't although it would be reasonable to argue the City did given three stations!).  However I have had three versions of the Goods Shed over the journey from 1999 until now - but I've only built two.

 

The first one I had was given to me by a 7mm modeller who built it out of card from some plans he had found.  It was a bit over-scale being more akin to the Lima Deltic than the more recent Bachfar offering and didn't actually fit where it was supposed to go on the layout.  Still, I appreciated the effort Roger had gone to.

 

I used a Peco one for years as a placeholder and it wasn't until 2016 that I finally had a go myself.  The reason was I obtained in 2016 the Jack Nelson book "The LNWR Portrayed" (Peco Publications) and it has a plan for the St Albans shed - I presume this was the book Roger had although he was definately an LMS modeller rather than a pre-grouping one.  Utilising my CAD skills and the new fangled 3D printer I had (PLA not resin) I drew up the carcess and printed it, covering it was Scalescenes yellow brick (which turns out to be too dark now that I've seen some colour pictures of the station before demolishing - I presume the goods shed would have been the same colour as I haven't read anything to suggest it was built using a different type of brick or a different supplier).  I was never really happy with it - I know that brick work at 2mm scale is for all intents and purposes 2D not 3D but my eye always wants to "see" the mortar lines and so this one wasn't really good enough for me.

 

 

A few years later, I decided to redo it using Plastruct brick sheet.  I can't remember when I did it, but I'd guess 2019 as I'd by this stage seen Ross Balderson's architectural building work for Newcastle (NSW) and he'd used these sheets.  Very subtle 3D brickwork and a heck of a lot easier to work with than the Peco sheets.  However, when building it, I didn't pay as careful attention as I might have, and managed to get a section of bricks running vertical, not horizontal.  Now I suspect once painted, it wouldn't be noticed unless I pointed it out - afterall I managed to miss it and I was building it!  However, having noticed it, I said some words which I am sure Andy York wouldn't like on RMWeb and the model was consigned to a box.  This evening the box rose to the surface again...

 

 

It would appear, that not only has it go bricks running the wrong way, but it has also developed some bowing where I'd rather there wasn't any.  In any case, I think Mk 3 is likely to be forthcoming - I need to do something to fill in the time until a) the piggy bank refills from the more recent purchases and b) I can order from Shop 1 again.  I think I'll be back with the 3DP version, but put the Plastruct sheeting on it - this worked very well for my buildings on Ale Dock (the DJLC I brought to Derby last year) and besides, my Head of Department at work wants to see the 3D PLA printers being used - even for my train stuff he said.  Be rude not to - might do the Station Building while I'm at it, and the LNWR Stable Block.

 

 

[DavidLong]

Hi Kevin,

 

I've been interested in this Plastruct brick sheet before but it only seems to come up on the .com (US) site as there is no sign of it on the UK site. Did you get yours in Oz or did you have to order from the USA?

 

David

[Sithlord75]

1 hour ago, DavidLong said:

Hi Kevin,

 

I've been interested in this Plastruct brick sheet before but it only seems to come up on the .com (US) site as there is no sign of it on the UK site. Did you get yours in Oz or did you have to order from the USA?

 

David

I got mine from the US of A David, simply because it was more economical!  My local hobby shop didn't stock the sheets - although it does stock other Plastruct products.  When I enquired about getting some in, the price quoted was ridiculous, and when I looked at interstate shops for mail order it became apparent that it was going to be just as quick, and cheaper, to get it from the US.  There was a trader at the DJ Expo last year who stocked either Plastruct or similar - opposite Freshwater.  I'm sure someone will be able to remember which it was (I should, I purchased stuff from them!).

[St Enodoc]

Nice work. Look forward to seeing it in September.

[Sithlord75]

I had a couple of design classes today so showed them how to use the fancy CAD program we have (Autodesk Inventor 2023).  They can use any of the free ones - Fusion 360 is a good one, but there are others depending on what your looking for or comfortable using.  Naturally, as it was just a "this is how it works" lesson - 5-10 mins of me doing stuff before letting them go and play - I took the opportunity to do some stuff for me.

 

 

The good shed file - I've sent this to the Master of the Printers so we shall see how long before it comes back to me.

 

This is the file for the columns which hold up the train shed - there are 9 between the "mainline" and the return track and another 4 on the platform (which I don't have a diagram for nor decent pictures to see how different they are - I am presuming they are merely shortened to allow for the platform height).  This is the track side version.  I've put a 1/8" spigot on the bottom to allow a hole to be drilled in the board to glue it in.  I'll print this on the resin printer.  The square block ends up with the top of it being at the same height as the bottom of the rail (at least that's what it looks like in the pictures).  A bit above the sleepers anyway.  This may need adjusting in thickness to allow for it to rest on the ply baseboard and then be ballasted in.  Another class tomorrow - I'll make a start on the Station Building then I think.  

[John Brenchley]

Hi Kevin

Thats all looking really good.

A silly question perhaps - if you are 3D printing a carcass, could you not print the bricks on it as well rather than having to add a Plastruct layer over the top?

Best wishes

John

[Sithlord75]

I have given it a go on a freelance good shed which was a bit smaller than the St A one but drawing the bricks is a very time consuming exercise - and then it would have to be printed on the resin printer rather than the PLA one.  The volume of resin required renders the whole exercise as uneconomic compared with the alternative.   The PLA print is a much sturdier and less prone to warping etc than the resin.

[Laurie2mil]

David (Long)  - was it Gaugemaster?

Laurie A

[Ian Smith]

38 minutes ago, Laurie2mil said:

David (Long)  - was it Gaugemaster?

Laurie A

If opposite Freshwater then I think it was Hobby Holidays?

[Laurie2mil]

That was my first thought, Ian (or Wizard - my other go to source) - but I can’t remember their layout at Derby exactly now.  Hobby Holidays (Phil Atkinson in the next village to us) lists a lot of Plastruct sections but I think only plain sheet, but you’d find him very helpful if you asked him about it.  Would be worth asking him if he could order you what you want if he doesn’t stock it. 

Laurie A

[DavidLong]

I just don't think that it is imported into the UK. EMA are the official distributors of Plastruct products for the UK. Although they list a number of planked and corrugated sheets there is no listing for the brick sheet.

From Kevin's experience it does sound like Plastruct will ship direct to customers; this isn't always the case as you are often referred back to the the distributor for your region.

I'm always up for finding a decent N scale brick sheet but sometimes it can lead up blind alleys. A few years ago I found a seller in the US and ordered a couple of sheets. When it turned up it was the same type that can be bought from South Eastern Finecast!

Thanks for comments, chaps.

 

David

[VRBroadgauge]

Bricks and brick coursing have always been a problem in our scale. A brick is usually 3' (75mm) tall - well in this country anyways. A course is around 0.5' (10mm) which is negligible.  I've thought about this at length and I'm coming up empty.

Do we produce something that is as close as we can get within the parameters of reason that we can all live with?

As Kev will tell you I'm a bit of a scale tragic and don't take kindly to close enough is good enough.

I'm sure there's an answer out there if we all throw some ideas around. (I even thought about etching up a sheet to see how that worked).

I'll see what I can do.

[CF MRC]

Styrene sheet brickwork can be made to (near) scale, as we have on CF. 

This brickwork is made from heating 20thou styrene on a photo etched zinc plate and then pealing it off at the correct moment. It produces irregularities that can be used to good effect. It then comes down to how you paint it.  The printing plate dates from the 1970s and was made by Dave Hammersley, AKA Roxey Mouldings.  
 

Slaters brick sheets can also produce an effective result, but the bricks are poorly defined and rounded. The secret with this is to sand the surface down until the bricks effectively almost disappear. There are plenty of photos on the CF thread that show various  techniques in use: getting the colour and corners right is 90% of the battle: the majority of buildings on CF don’t have any brick relief. 
 

Tim
 

[bécasse]

A useful trick with Slaters' brickwork is to paint the sheet a suitable mortar colour ("mid-grey" is often more effective than "sand"), let it dry very thoroughly and then sand it with a side-to-side as opposed to up-and-down motion. If you dust it off regularly during the sanding process you will soon see when to stop.

[St Enodoc]

9 hours ago, CF MRC said:

The secret with this is to sand the surface down until the bricks effectively almost disappear.

9 hours ago, CF MRC said:

the majority of buildings on CF don’t have any brick relief. 

That's the reason I still use (Superquick 4mm scale) brick paper from time to time. Scaling down the relief on full-sized brickwork results in almost imperceptible grooves.

[Sithlord75]

I spent some time today whilst my Year 12s were doing their thing (Friday is self-directed study for Year 12 at my school - how much actual study does vary from student to student!) drawing up the St Albans station building from plans published in the July 1984 Railway Modeller.  The ten parts can be seen by the lines on the top of them - the spaces for the doors and windows are oversize to allow for models of each to be made (possibly on the resin printer) and then plugged in.  Essentially I am using the 3D Printer technology to make a kit - 10 wall pieces, 4 doors, 8x type one window, 2x type two, 2x type three and 2x type four.    There are square blocks at each end of the building which were the gents and a lamp store (I think) which I haven't put on here yet.  You can see the left hand end one here - the elevation facing you in the drawing is the platform side.

[Nick Mitchell]

On 16/02/2023 at 12:35, CF MRC said:

This brickwork is made from heating 20thou styrene on a photo etched zinc plate and then pealing it off at the correct moment. It produces irregularities that can be used to good effect. It then comes down to how you paint it.  The printing plate dates from the 1970s and was made by Dave Hammersley, AKA Roxey Mouldings.  

 

I've just remembered that David Eveleigh lists various etched "brick presses" which operate on this principle on his "small suppliers" page on the Association website.

[Sithlord75]

Set the parts for the building kit up for printing today - now just to await a slot for printing them!  (Or spend time sorting out mine at home....)  It's pretty easy to see how the building breaks down into the "kit".  The big piece at the bottom is the floor piece.  I'll build the rest around it - but probably won't glue this bit in - rather I'll use it to plot out where the building goes on the platform to allow it to "sink" into the surface.

 

[VRBroadgauge]

I always built a styrene (plasticard) foundation that the building proper sat on like a sleeve. This gives you a base to scenic up against and also allows the building to be removed for maintenance and access. Apart from over scale there's nothing worse than a structure sitting on top of the ground. You can also achieve a prototype ground line that doesn't look like a table top. Flexability.

[Caley Jim]

This type of approach also means that any gap between the scenery and the building is on the vertical plane and therefore much less noticeable. See the recent buildings in my Kirkallanmuir thread. 

 

Jim 

[bécasse]

Using the "built on a base" technique, I often incorporate two or more fixed bolts into the base (depending on its size and shape) which pass down through holes in the base board enabling the building(s) on the base to be bolted down firmly from underneath using nuts or wing-nuts, but still being capable of removal for maintenance (or even use elsewhere) if required.