Lime Street Station

[Gravy Train]

Hi Les,

the buffer looks superb.

cheers

Peter A L

[Welly]

Great looking buffers! Are there springs in the barrels?

[Les Green]

Great looking buffers! Are there springs in the barrels?

Yes. Springs in barrel allowing full buffer travel.

[clecklewyke]

Great looking buffers! Are there springs in the barrels?

Will these be available commercially? Bradford North Western would like five, please! Maybe Lanarkshire Models could produce them from your master?

 

Ian

[Les Green]

Will these be available commercially? Bradford North Western would like five, please! Maybe Lanarkshire Models could produce them from your master?

 

Ian

Sounds like a good idea. 3D printing of 15 bufferstops will be the expensive route. I would probably need advice on how to break the model down to make a kit version. I may contact Lanarkshire Models. Thanks for the idea.

[Steve Hewitt]

John and his operating team for Blackburn (see http://www.belmrs.org/) at Accrington on September 7th & 8th are currently undertaking training / rehearsals.

 

The latest scenic additions to the layout are well worth seeing - platform detailing, point rodding etc and of course the now completed roof.

The roof is fully eight feet long and five feet wide! All made in Brass and Nickel Silver.

 

I'm sure Les, who is the Blackburn exhibition manager, will have that buffer stop on display, if not installed.

 

There are always members of John's team available to answer your questions at shows, and the occasional "Back Stage Tour" can be organised.

 

See you all there?

 

Steve.

[Brass0four]

Today, John and I have assembled the layout in preparation for the running sessions that will be starting shortly.

 

A number of things have been achieved since our trip to Watford.

The new roof sections have now been painted to blend in with the original sections many of you are familiar with.

 

Here is John putting the roof into place:

 

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S1730005.JPG

 

The last piece slots in:

 

S1730008.JPG

 

A final check:

 

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At eight feet long and five feet wide its a large structure:

 

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S1730015.JPG

 

Les, who designed and constructed it all, has produced a couple of manuals which record the whole production process for the station roof.

 

One deals with the pillars on which the roof stands. Each is a scale model of the prototype. 3-D CAD design, stereo-lithography, creation of moulds and casting of the final models and installation using jigs to ensure alignment etc. Its all in there.

 

The second manual deals with the roof structure itself, from 3-D CAD design to creation of the Nickel Silver etches - all 40-odd A3 sheets of them, to the use of the assembly jigs for the construction and erection processes.

 

These manuals will be available to read when we are at exhibitions - but don't run off with them! 

 

To transport the roof sections requires special facilities:

 

S1730012.JPG

 

The bottom box carries the larger North roof. It has casters on its base for easy moving.

The second box carries the smaller South roof. It fits onto the lower box and is clipped in place.

Originally Les didn't intend to built the centre sections of each roof, but having now done so, they are carried in the upper box, again fitted and clipped to the others. The stack is too tall to go through the rear door of a Luton box van, so the top box has to be added to the others once inside the van!

 

We have a number of other developments in hand which are scheduled to be in place when we take the layout to Germany next month.

I'll post details as and when .....

 

Steve.

The *craftsmanship/clever* button isn't sufficient for this magnificent piece of work. We need an "absolutely *****y awesome!" button.

[Les Green]

 

The painted version of our LNWR Buffer ready for John to inspect. It still needs four side stays. These will be etched at a future date. We still do not know how to break the model down into castable parts. Anybody help with that?

[Steve Hewitt]

Those of you who have seen the layout at exhibitions recently will be well aware of the difficulties of seeing the action in the station through the overall roof.

 

John has addressed this by installing a new video camera and large monitor.

The video camera is a super wide angle - "Fish Eye" - type and it is temporarily located on top of the Steam Plant roof, to the north side of the station.

 

The monitor is a full HD unit built into a display stand which will be positioned in front of the Cutting.

This will give you a good view of the trains arriving and departing through the cutting, but with an overall view of the station shown on the monitor.

 

The field of view of the camera is so wide that it covers the whole length of the station from the road bridges at the station throat to the buffer stops and beyond. A total of some ten feet or so.

Front to back, the scene runs from the small sidings by the Steam Plant across the whole breadth of the platforms to Platform 11, some five feet away.

 

This shakey little video clip gives an impression of what can be seen.

First a suburban train arrives in Platform 1, then we see a Newcastle train re-start in the Cutting and head for Platform 8.

Its subsequent arrival can be seen at the rear of the shot on the monitor.

 

If you get a chance to see this at the Blackburn show on September 7th & 8th, then let us know what you think.

 

Steve.

[artizen]

Any chance of recording what the camera sees and uploading to YouTube? Looks like a typical security camera view!

[ozzyo]

Buffer.jpg

 

The painted version of our LNWR Buffer ready for John to inspect. It still needs four side stays. These will be etched at a future date. We still do not know how to break the model down into castable parts. Anybody help with that?

 

Hello Les,

 

to cast the buffers I think that you would have to do the following moulds,

1] the two sides (one L/H and one R/H),

2] the base, if you could peg the sides into the base board this would not be required,

3] two cross beams,

4] one hydraulic cylinder (this may have to be in two parts, top and bottom),

 

The buffer rams I think would be better as turnings.

 

As you? have the CAD drawing for the buffer stop, if it could be broken down into these parts and then "printed" in resin it should give you the parts that you would need to make rubber moulds. You could then cast them in resin or white metal.

 

Or if you make the masters (I think that a lot of casters want the masters in metal) you could them farm the job out. Then you could sell some to get some of the cost back.

 

Just doing a quick count up of parts the are required on my break down for fifteen buffers

1] 15 of each 30

2] 15

3] 15 of each 30

4] 30 or if in two parts 60

 

So you would be looking at 135 parts for all fifteen buffers, not including the 30 buffer rams and springs. Then you would have to think about the etches, if you could put the etched parts on the masters it would help. But it may put the cost of the casting up.

 

HTH

 

OzzyO.

[Bob Reid]

At face value the video doesn't to me convey a great impression of the workings under the overall roof - as mentioned it looks a typical modern day security camera view - a lot to do with the quite unnatural fish eye effect.  Rather than trying to get everything in at once would it not be better with a (non wide-angle) of the arrivals & departures from the waiting passengers point of view - taken from back at the stops looking outwards?  Just a thought!

[micklner]

Camera doesnt look very good.

 

The other problem when I saw the lovely layout at Ally Pally is the operators sitting at the front of the layout , daft idea at best !!

[Enterprisingwestern]

Why not leave the layout set up at home, connect three cameras up to it and transmit the resulting images to screens at the exhibition? IMHO it will achieve the same effect.

This to me is the problem of doing a fantastic modelled to the n'th degree of accuracy, as real people we do not see the real thing from a helicopter.

 

Mike.

 

PS. None of the above intended as criticism of the layout or operators.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Enterprisingwestern

[kevinklein]

I find it interesting, trying ways of giving the viewing public new perspectives on a layout... if DCC enables one to operate the layout from the front without a spagghetti of wires, then maybe that gives people the feel of being involved, and allows contact with the operators, and surely better than noses hanging over the back of a backscene... video is surely an interesting tool to try out, again to give unusual views of a layout... my opinion, not having seen the "experiments" live...

 

KK

[Brass0four]

At face value the video doesn't to me convey a great impression of the workings under the overall roof - as mentioned it looks a typical modern day security camera view - a lot to do with the quite unnatural fish eye effect.  Rather than trying to get everything in at once would it not be better with a (non wide-angle) of the arrivals & departures from the waiting passengers point of view - taken from back at the stops looking outwards?  Just a thought!

 

Like everyone I'm a huge fan of this layout, but the video doesn't work for me - it was a while before I noticed the Newcastle train at the back. I'd rather have two more ordinary wide-angles - one at the throat, one at the buffers. I know, more expense and another monitor(sp?) And when the roof is glazed, assuming it will be, and weathered, the problem will be worse...

 

Respectfully,

 

Tony.

[artizen]

OK - I see the problem. What I meant was that the images direct from the TV screen are available on YouTube instead of a video of a video being put up on YouTube. However, the extreme wide angle of the camera means that there is no real information being given to the viewer. The first train goes right to the buffers and to all intents and purposes disappears from view at the far end of the platform. The second train is right at the back of the view and there is no real detail for the viewer to get any information from.

 

Perhaps a small video camera mounted on the front of a couple of locos showing the driver's view as the train approaches the buffers through the station under that magnificent roof?

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Special-Pen-Camera-1280-960-PEN-Video-Recorder-pen-DVR-Camcorder-Miniature-cameras-camera-usb/1019105699.html

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/USB-Borescope-Endoscope-5M-Waterproof-Inspection-Snake-Tube-Video-Camera-/320914986728?pt=AU_Gadgets&hash=item4ab80616e8&_uhb=1

[Les Green]

And when the roof is glazed, assuming it will be, and weathered, the problem will be worse...

 

Respectfully,

 

Tony.

 

That is one thing we have decided - not to glaze the roof. If we did there would be too much ambient light reflected by the glazing. The viewing public would see nothing at all.

[ozzyo]

Hello all,

 

I can see what the team are trying to do with the camera, but at the moment it just does not work for me.

 

If you could fit two cameras at the concourse end showing say platforms 1 - 6 & 6 -15 from under the roof, that may be better. You could then use the same monitor by the platfom ends (with a split screen?). To show the arrivels and any shunting that takes place.

 

OzzyO.

 

PS. why is the spell checker not working on this post? But works when I do a reply in the Status up dates? 

[ozzyo]

Why not leave the layout set up at home, connect three cameras up to it and transmit the resulting images to screens at the exhibition? IMHO it will achieve the same effect.

This to me is the problem of doing a fantastic modelled to the n'th degree of accuracy, as real people we do not see the real thing from a helicopter.

 

Mike.

 

PS. None of the above intended as criticism of the layout or operators.

 Why make a layout at all then, let someone just stand at the the side of the railway and take a vidio of it and then watch it on T.V.

 

OzzyO.

[Enterprisingwestern]

 Why make a layout at all then, let someone just stand at the the side of the railway and take a vidio of it and then watch it on T.V.

 

OzzyO.

Precisely.

 

Mike.

[Steve Hewitt]

Thanks for all the comments about the new camera and monitor.

Unfortunately, my low-res video doesn't do it justice.

 

The monitor has a large (22 inch) high resolution screen, showing full 1080 HD images.

John and I spent quite a while watching it during the training session on Wednesday, and you can certainly see the detail.

 

We'll wait and see the reaction from the visitors to the Blackburn show - Accrington Leisure Centre September 7th & 8th before any changes are considered.

 

Sorry we operate from the front, if that obstructs the view, it isn't intended.

The whole design of the layout precludes operating from the rear. We have to climb step ladders to see over the backscenes as it is.

In the forty-five feet length of the layout, only about seven or eight feet are taken up by operators, who are sat down as low as possible.

 

Steve.

 

 

[Michael Woolford]

Steve,

 

Is there a way you can get a recording from the actual video feed rather than recording the screen? That would allow us to see the images as close to how they actually look on the monitor. I definitely think that would enable us to get a better idea of how it looks and would allow us to make a better judgement and offer more constructive comments.

 

I personally think it is a great idea especially if there are a lot of people around the layout and you can't see past them. I won't comment on the quality of what can be seen in the video and will agree that video probably doesn't do it justice.

 

Michael

Edited August 15, 2013 by Michael Woolford

[Steve Hewitt]

Hi Michael,

 

I'll discuss the possibility of putting some of the real video on You-Tube with John, but it is not likely to be a high priority.

The real purpose of my posting was just to make people aware of what we are doing - trying to improve the viewing experience for visitors.

 

The real way to see what we are trying to do is to come and see the layout!

Two shows coming up soon:  Blackburn and Southport.

 

Steve.

[Michael Delamar]

I was due to come up and have a play with the layout tomorrow in preparation for the Blackburn show, but instead I am travelling from the real Lime street behind a duchess to Carlisle over the S&C.

But will be down next Saturday to operate the model Lime street