Manchester Central, CLC & GN Warehouses & Castlefield Viaducts

[Ron Heggs]

The opening closure is complete, now the upper part has been bricked-up and skimmed, and the sliding sloping waterproof dam installed -

 

 

The garden wall now needs scraping, cleaning and painting

[woodenhead]

I presume the track bed falls away as it leaves the inside?

[Ron Heggs]

I presume the track bed falls away as it leaves the inside?

 

The trench slopes away from the opening, falling 20mm in 2.5m

 

The track bed running on the viaducts is approx 115mm above the bottom of the trench

 

-

 

Have noticed that the 6mm ply covering the open baseboard is warping - the temperature in the railway room has risen to 28 deg C over the last few weeks, and the humidity has also risen - probably causing the warping

 

I could have a couple of dehumidifiers running but would prefer to leave this as a last resort

 

As I have to replace all the plywood - some 23m²  @ €8.4 per m² - I thought a better solution would be T&G foamboards - 2600mm x 600mm x 30mm - no warping, and only €3.45 per m² - These are the same boards that will line the railway room walls

 

This would raise the layout by approx. 24mm, and reduce the difference between the inside and outside levels by the same amount, which would be helpful

 

I have checked out a number of threads on RMWeb covering the pros and cons of foamboard use, and I am happy that this is the way forward

 

Cheers

 

Ron

[Ron Heggs]

The scraping and painting of the 1:1 modelling completed -

 

 

- now it's back to 1:76.2 modelling

[artizen]

Check with your insurance company about the use of foam boards. The material gives off toxic fumes when burnt. A local club here was refused insurance because of the amount of foam being used for landscaping on their club layout. Other than that, it's a brilliant choice in humid conditions as it isn't affected by temperature and water. I am currently using extruded polystyrene foam board for my new layout and it makes the transportable boards manageable by one man now (the wife and kids aren't interested in helping lift anything).

[Ron Heggs]

Have managed to check the proposed relative positions of the Castlefield & Cornbrook Viaducts in relation to the opening into the garden from the railway room

 

The viaducts pass through the opening at an included angle of approx.43^o

 

Using the first buttress on the eastern end and on the northern side of the Castlefield Viaduct as the datum point, the distance to the inside face of the opening along the viaduct centre line is 1220mm, and to the external face is 1490mm

 

The second pair of pillars fall 320mm and 540mm from the inside face - which is ok

 

The third pair of pillars are 690mm further on - which puts both pillars within the opening - the solution is to make this span 850mm long instead of 690mm - good job that it hasn't been constructed yet

 

The corresponding distances on the Cornbrook Viaduct which runs parallel to the Castlefield at approx. 160-170mm centres are :

 

Bridge #1 is wholly within the railway room - so no problem

 

Eastern end of Bridge #2 from datum is 800mm and 270mm from the inside face of the opening along the viaduct centre line. This first bridge span which is 596mm long has the main support pillars with the second span 60mm beyond the outside face of the opening - that's close, but ok

 

The western end of this viaduct bridge is built in card, and will have to be rebuilt in styrene

 

So it appears that very little needs to be rebuilt

[Ron Heggs]

Have finally resolved the problem of the location of the carriage sidings and the loco shed, and how to access them from the return track after traversing the garden loop

 

 

The MSJ&AR tracks run parallel to the Castlefield & Cornbrook Viaducts. The Salford branch runs off in a westerly direction at the start of the two CLC Viaducts, and it is the Altrincham/Chester branch which parallels the two viaducts. The eastern section via Oxford Street and Piccadilly stations cannot be modelled as it too far off the layout

 

The middle track of the three which run on the Castlefield Viaduct gave access to the Cornbrook Carriage sidings and the Trafford Park loco shed. My original intention was that this track returned from the garden at a lower level, and ran under the baseboard to two separate boards at the far end of the railway room. It is impractical to run this track from the opening and under the baseboard as the gradient would be too severe

 

The resolution is that the track will return from the garden via a model of the MSJ&AR two lines trackwork and viaduct parallel to the Castlefield & Cornbrook Viaducts, and continue at baseboard level bearing right into the loco shed board (approx. 3 metres long). Turnouts, etc. will then allow access under the two viaducts to the Carriage sidings baseboard (approx. 4 metres long)

 

So with the exception of the two additional baseboards and their usage, the actual trackwork parallel and adjacent to the viaducts will be as the prototype

 

The MSJ&AR viaduct is in the foreground and is at a much lower level (Altrincham & Chester Branch)

 

The MSJ&AR viaduct (Salford Branch) runs under the Cornbrook and Castlefield viaducts

 

The MSJ&AR viaduct (Salford Branch) as it runs from under the Castlefield viaduct

 

 

 

 

[Kenokie]

Ron

 

Am I misunderstanding the plan or have you had to reverse the curvature of the viaducts compared to the real thing?

 

Chris

[Ron Heggs]

Ron

 

Am I misunderstanding the plan or have you had to reverse the curvature of the viaducts compared to the real thing?

 

Chris

Hi, Chris

 

You are quite right. After the first two spans of the Castlefield Viaduct and the first bridge on the Cornbrook Viaduct the remainder is a mirror image of the prototype, which luckily the curvature brings it to the right location in the garden. I believe this is the only compromise on the layout. So from inside every will look as per the prototype, then just through the opening into the garden it will run the reverse of the prototype, otherwise it would run dead-end into the front garden wall

 

Of course there will be a collection of bridges and viaducts, which are non-Manchester, around the garden tracks

 

Cheers

 

Ron

Edited August 5, 2013 by Ron Heggs

[Kenokie]

Ron

 

Thanks for the explanation, it all makes sense now.

 

You are actually a victim of your own abilities to recreate the prototype. Everything I have followed so far in this thread has been so accurate that it never crossed my mind the real world might actually impinge and get in the way, so I assumed it was me and that I was misreading the plan 

 

Your progress still amazes me so whatever form the collection of bridges and viaducts in the garden may take, if you keep posting I will keep following and being astounded at what can be built with little bits of plastic. It will be interesting to see what ingenious methods/materials/ ways you will use to overcome the "outside world" when you get there

 

Chris

[Ron Heggs]

Ron

 

Thanks for the explanation, it all makes sense now.

 

You are actually a victim of your own abilities to recreate the prototype. Everything I have followed so far in this thread has been so accurate that it never crossed my mind the real world might actually impinge and get in the way, so I assumed it was me and that I was misreading the plan 

 

Your progress still amazes me so whatever form the collection of bridges and viaducts in the garden may take, if you keep posting I will keep following and being astounded at what can be built with little bits of plastic. It will be interesting to see what ingenious methods/materials/ ways you will use to overcome the "outside world" when you get there

 

Chris

Hi, Chris

 

We can make all kinds of attempts to make our modelling work as we would like, such as time, space, cash & skill, but the real world is the final arbiter , and compromise reigns supreme

 

Ron

[Dagworth]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-23618382

 

First image here may be of interest.

 

Andi

[Ron Heggs]

SWMBO persuaded me to paint the adjacent garden wall to match the newly painted section

 

The updated progress on the GNR Warehouse is here -

 

All the windows fitted, and the hoist housings and canopy fitted

 

 

 

 

To be done -

  The large openings buttresses, and all the window sandstone cills and headerstones to be completed

  The canopy awning to be fitted

  The access doorways to be completed

  The cornices, etc. to be added to the top of the facade

  The lower wall brick skirting

 

Rainwater downpipes will be fixed to both this facade and the opposite facade when the roof is under construction

[Horsetan]

Superlatives are inadequate.

[Ron Heggs]

The canopy awning fitted temporarily to check fit before painting

 

One or two glazing bars need re-attaching

 

The method used to create a gutter from an I  beam, and fit the awning to the canopy is detailed below

 

 

The canopy support trusses attach to the back of awning to provide horizontal bracing

[Ron Heggs]

The canopy awning has been painted and fixed -

 

 

Whilst the paint was drying on the canopy awning, the structure for the upper part of the cartway has been built -

 

 

The structure awaits the plating, stone bedding and cobblestone paving, with brick walling to each side

 

The near side has been fitted a temporary spacing strip. The beams will be fitted to the rear wall of the shops on Deansgate

[Ron Heggs]

To enable the Cartway structure to be built (whilst the Sandstone Window cills & headers are being added to the GNR warehouse west facade - just a bit tedious), the Deansgate Facade is being prepared

 

For those of you who want a present day view of the facade use the Google link

 

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Deansgate%2FA56&daddr=Deansgate%2FA56&hl=en&ll=53.478078,-2.249712&spn=0.000684,0.001778&sll=53.478335,-2.24894&sspn=0.000684,0.001778&geocode=FbkCMAMdKqzd_w%3BFcICMAMdL6zd_w&oq=Deansgate,+Manchester&t=k&mra=dme&mrsp=0&sz=20&z=20

 

- place the Street View Man just South of the Cross Roads, and rotate view to South East

 

The facade is being constructed from card, strip styrene and printed brickpaper. It will be approx. 750mm long and 180mm high. When completed the Cartway structure can be fixed to the rear of this facade

 

A general view of most of the components cut ready for assembly

 

The first buttress (3 + 2 x 1.3mm mount card thicknesses) and arch (2 x 1.3mm + 2 x 0.7mm card thicknesses) assembled with brickpaper fixed

 

All the white areas await the painted styrene strips and detail representing the sandstone blocks to be cut, etc.

 

The curved styrene strip (20thou x 80thou + 20thou x 40 thou) represents the outer arch sandstone detail

 

The strip detail in place - not fixed

 

Four more identical assemblies to build, and the sandstone detailing can then be added

[Ron Heggs]

A couple of pictures showing progress on the Deansgate Arches -

 

The three arches at the right hand end of the facade

 

A side view showing the depth of the brick structure

 

The lower part of each arch has a shop frontage which will be built separately before fixing in their respective positions

 

Two more large arches and one small arch to go before the large gated opening into the GNR Warehouse is constructed at the extreme left of the facade

[Mikeym]

Hi Ron top work as per , I wonder , when finished are you going to take bookings as I wouldn't mind sittin in the sun with a San Miguel watching the trains pass by hehe

[28XX]

Hi Ron top work as per , I wonder , when finished are you going to take bookings as I wouldn't mind sittin in the sun with a San Miguel watching the trains pass by hehe

I can't imagine it would be cheap....

[Brass0four]

I can't imagine it would be cheap....

Just kidding from my perspective, nice though the idea is. (I clicked *agree* to the initial post)

 

Tony.

[Horsetan]

I can't imagine it would be cheap....

 

 

Oh I dunno....what with the state of the Spanish economy at the moment....

[Ron Heggs]

Hi, All

 

For those who want to spend what little money they have on a trip to a highly taxed eurozone country to take a few hours out to view first hand a reasonable scale model of a northern UK city railway station and its immediate environs, sorry but your wait will be just a little longer - say 2 years at least

 

Your welcome otherwise

 

Cheers

 

Ron

[Ron Heggs]

A few more pictures of progress -

 

Brickwork over Entrance Arch requires completing

 

Supporting beam to be fixed to the opening, and lettering on the Entrance Arch requires adding

 

Shop frontages, etc. to be built

[GJChurchward]

Ron

 

Great work as always.  I notice that on the original, all that lettering is slightly raised.  Have you decided that it would not be noticeable in 4mm scale, and that therefore the effort involved isn't justified?  (I would take that view, I think.)  Or do you intend to apply another layer over the lettering?

 

Andy