Dock Green

[81A Oldoak]

Thanks for those comments Paul.

 

I have made the point in the past that the layout is not 100% - there are numerous compromises which I made for various reasons - not the least of which is that it's just too small. It should be at least three times as long and twice as wide to operate realistic train lengths. That was obviously out of the question and visually it wouldn't have gained anything - in fact it might well have lost some impact and I couldn't have got it finished!

 

I have been accused of hating the Great Western - I don't. What I don't like is what I call the RM GW BLT. There was a time when Railway Modeller's "Layout of the Month" was often a model of a model. A GW BLT which always seemed to have a platform with a run round loop, a bay, a siding with a goods shed etc etc because that's what you did - not very imaginative. All very cramped and bearing no resemblance to a real BLT - which are usually spacious. I'll shut up now.

 

Chaz

Chaz,

Someone should have warned the management of the Southern Railway that their proposed rebuilding of the station in the 1930s would result in an unrealistic layout. In mitigation, it is a decent length to accommodate long through trains from Waterloo, but otherwise it's a classic BLT. And dead straight too. 

 

Chris

[N15class]

I too will be guilty of build a BLT SR not GWR. I am or will be doing Bodmin north. Which the prototype is built in good old model railway style. Long an thin.

I agree about the number of GWR BLT's. Was that due to the predominance of GWR RTR stock?

[Simond]

Paul

 

I think one of the WT regulars is doing Holywell in 2mmFS, might be worth a look.

 

Best

Simon

[daifly]

Someone should have warned the management of the Southern Railway that their proposed rebuilding of the station in the 1930s would result in an unrealistic layout. In mitigation, it is a decent length to accommodate long through trains from Waterloo, but otherwise it's a classic BLT. And dead straight too. 

 

 

I think this might be Seaton but can't see a name reference in this thread. Can you identify it please, Chris?

Dave

[81A Oldoak]

I think this might be Seaton but can't see a name reference in this thread. Can you identify it please, Chris?

Dave

Yes, it's Seaton. I forgot to mention the name in my haste.

[chaz]

Chaz,

Someone should have warned the management of the Southern Railway that their proposed rebuilding of the station in the 1930s would result in an unrealistic layout. In mitigation, it is a decent length to accommodate long through trains from Waterloo, but otherwise it's a classic BLT. And dead straight too. 

 

Chris

 

 

Fair point BUT 

 

I never said unrealistic and didn't say that no such stations existed - they obviously did. Only that the endless repetition of identikit layouts seemed very unimaginative to me. And they all had the same blxxdy stock running on them. I remember saying to a friend of mine when we were visiting a show "If I see one more 14xx with an autocoach I might become homicidal".

 

ATB

 

Chaz

I too will be guilty of build a BLT SR not GWR. I am or will be doing Bodmin north. Which the prototype is built in good old model railway style. Long an thin.

I agree about the number of GWR BLT's. Was that due to the predominance of GWR RTR stock?

 

Chicken and egg?

[81A Oldoak]

Fair point BUT 

 

I never said unrealistic and didn't say that no such stations existed - they obviously did. Only that the endless repetition of identikit layouts seemed very unimaginative to me. And they all had the same blxxdy stock running on them. I remember saying to a friend of mine when we were visiting a show "If I see one more 14xx with an autocoach I might become homicidal".

 

ATB

 

Chaz

 

Chicken and egg?

That was a close shave. Good job the autocoach on Cwm Bach is moved by a  64XX 0-6-0PT.

[2ManySpams]

That was a close shave. Good job the autocoach on Cwm Bach is moved by a  64XX 0-6-0PT.

One of Chaz's favourite classes...

[Western Star]

Those oil drums deserve a post...  and then I can say how good are the dribbles, just like last time!

When are those drums and dribbles back from their holibobs?

[chaz]

When are those drums and dribbles back from their holibobs?

 

 

I'm working my way across the factory yard from left to right. You work it out....

Edited August 13, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

One of Chaz's favourite classes...

 

OH! Was there more than one? I always thought they were all the same.....  

[chaz]

Details around Dock Green 9

 

It was not unusual for a factory to have a “chippie” on the books, even if their production was not timber-based. So I decided that my factory yard should feature a circular saw in its own shelter.

 

 

I bought and assembled a simple white metal kit for a circular saw from the Duncan Models range. I had intended to detail this with a representation of an electric motor but never got round to it. Nobody ever notices (please don't tell them).

 

 

The shelter was made up from strip wood and the deck and floor planked with strips of my favourite 0.6mm ply’ (lovely stuff!).

 

 

I made up a tea-chest for the chippie to keep his timber offcuts in. I cut and folded ally’ cooking foil to represent the metal corners that usually hold the chests together with staples. These are a bit too wide but I had no success trying to get them to scale. They look acceptable to me.

 

 

The shelter in place. I stained the timber with thinned enamel and added a pinboard for jobs notes and a girly calendar (nothing too revealing in 1959!). I don’t think that shelter would offer much protection in winter.

 

Chaz

[Donw]

 

Details around Dock Green 9

 

It was not unusual for a factory to have a “chippie” on the books, even if their production was not timber-based. So I decided that my factory yard should feature a circular saw in its own shelter.

 

P1020446a-1.jpg

 

I bought and assembled a simple white metal kit for a circular saw from the Duncan Models range. I had intended to detail this with a representation of an electric motor but never got round to it. Nobody ever notices (please don't tell them).

 

P1020452-1.jpg

 

The shelter was made up from strip wood and the deck and floor planked with strips of my favourite 0.6mm ply’ (lovely stuff!).

 

P1020473-1.jpg

 

I made up a tea-chest for the chippie to keep his timber offcuts in. I cut and folded ally’ cooking foil to represent the metal corners that usually hold the chests together with staples. These are a bit too wide but I had no success trying to get them to scale. They look acceptable to me.

 

P1020682a-1.jpg

 

The shelter in place. I stained the timber with thinned enamel and added a pinboard for jobs notes and a girly calendar (nothing too revealing in 1959!). I don’t think that shelter would offer much protection in winter.

 

Chaz

 

 

My first thought was it would take a decent chippie long to add more walls to that shelter but of course it would then be too small to run timber through that saw. I sold my saw bench at taking a v cut out of my thumb nail too close for my liking. Looks very good. On a farm a saw bench like that would have been driven by a belt from a tractor a neighbour split his thumb down through the knuckle when a log jamming in his.

 

On the subject of BLTs I think the ER got off to a bad start with an A4 and the 0-6-2T (an N something I suspect) neither were much use for a BLT. For the WR you could get a Pannier and a Prairie ( although really the wrong prairie) which got you started which meant there was a ready market when Ks offered more GWR stuff. My good friend Fred Blackman was a GER modeller but offered a lot of GWR stuff when he started Mallard Models because the market was there. Of course the fact that the GWR served some of the most popular holiday places helped. As for the fact that most BLTs were quite spacious was ignored because most modellers just didn't have the space and a BLT could be squeezed down. There was Ashburton and St Ives as inspiration which appeared to be more cramped than they were.

I rather agree with your comments on the fact that although Dock Green is rather compressed it would not have be as practical three times the length. It looks quite big to the average viewer so doesn't give the impression that it is undersized. At a show it usually attracts a crowd so you don't get to see it all at once. Good value for the space taken in my view.

 

Don

[chaz]

My first thought was it would take a decent chippie long to add more walls to that shelter but of course it would then be too small to run timber through that saw. I sold my saw bench at taking a v cut out of my thumb nail too close for my liking. Looks very good. On a farm a saw bench like that would have been driven by a belt from a tractor... 

 

Yes Don. In fact if you look at the photo you can see the pulley on the blade spindle that would take the belt from the tractor. Circular saws are quite dangerous enough without the additional hazard of an unguarded belt. In fact I'm sure I have seen a photo somewhere of a farmer using a circular saw bench with no top guard or riving knife. total insanity - if the timber were to pinch the blade (the riving knife prevents this) it would shoot back off the saw at speed. Very nasty. 

 

Chaz

[chaz]

Details around Dock Green 10

 

To the right of the saw is the oil store.

 

 

On the right left are the oil-drums with "taps" fitted. In fact the taps are just short lengths of plastic rod curved by softening over a candle flame. Be ready to make several and then choose the best! The roof is Slater's corrugated plastic and the shelter and drum rack fashioned from strip wood and thin ply'. I could have made that out of plastic but then I would have to paint it to look like wood.

 

 

Finished and in place.

 

Chaz

Edited August 15, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

Details around Dock Green 11

 

Continuing the sweep along the factory yard we come to the last piece of detail - a brick built hut.

 

 

An early shot, before the timber hut was moved to a better place....

 

 

And lastly two snaps of the brick hut in place...

 

 

 

...adding some foreground detail; ordinary, run of the mill, a convincing addition and something for the trains to disappear behind.

 

That's all on the factory yard details. 

 

 

The photo above is the area that would become the factory yard before any of the details were added. I glued a piece of Kappa board down to raise the height slightly above the track. Chamfering the edges (easily down with a scalpel) made blending them in easier later. As you can see it's not a large area so my options were limited and nothing big would fit. 

 

Chaz

Edited August 15, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

Details around Dock Green 12

 

To the right of the factory yard is the canal. 

 

 

I scratchbuilt the bridge girders (from HIP), allowing them to be made to fit accurately. They didn’t have to take any weight, as the plywood baseboard top is continuous so that there are no problems with levels or alignments.

  

 

I thought that if the two bridges had been built at different times the girders might well be different shapes, so I made the second set with curved tops.

 

 

An early view showing a trial fit of three of the girders. I glued a “shelf” to the inside of the girders which could be glued to the underside of the ply’ baseboard top to fix them.

 

 

A helicopter shot of the bridges. It’s only from this high viewpoint that you can see the canal through the gap. I added railings from brass angle and wire to prevent unwary staff from a nasty fall. The boards along the side of Goods No. 2 siding provide a walkway but most of the staff probably walk in the four-foot.

 

 

Last snap is a view across the bridges, both of which support two tracks. Fortunately the two points of the crossover in the foreground have their blades off the bridge so there was no problem fitting the Tortoise point motors.

 

In the background 68891 sits on Goods No. 1 and waits for the next task as yard pilot. With no main-line run round loop a pilot is essential.

 

Chaz

Edited August 16, 2017 by chaz

[keefr2]

I may well have read it first time round Chaz, but could I ask how you did the water? Have to say the colour looks just right too - wouldn't want to take a dip in there!

 

Keith

[chaz]

I may well have read it first time round Chaz, but could I ask how you did the water? Have to say the colour looks just right too - wouldn't want to take a dip in there!

 

Keith

 

 

Nothing clever at all Keith. It's a piece of 6mm MDF first sprayed with white acrylic primer from a rattle-can and then painted that characteristic yellow (it was so universal I'm tempted to call it canal yellow) with artists' acrylics. Once the colour had dried I gave it a few coats of varnish. To avoid possible problems with warping every step of the paint processes were done on both sides. The result is not very shiny but then I think canal water looked pretty lifeless....

 

HTH

 

Chaz

[2ManySpams]

Great modelling but I still think that girder bridge could do with a spot of dirt and rust Chaz.

[chaz]

Details around Dock Green 13

 

Just a small detail this time.

 

 

A pile of sleepers.

 

 

A pile like this was a fairly common feature - this one has obviously been here a while judging by the growth around it.

 

Chaz

[sb67]

Love the small details. I am so looking forward to seeing this layout next year.

Steve

[Fettster42]

Nothing clever at all Keith. It's a piece of 6mm MDF first sprayed with white acrylic primer from a rattle-can and then painted that characteristic yellow (it was so universal I'm tempted to call it canal yellow) with artists' acrylics. Once the colour had dried I gave it a few coats of varnish. To avoid possible problems with warping every step of the paint processes were done on both sides. The result is not very shiny but then I think canal water looked pretty lifeless....

 

HTH

 

Chaz

 

Nothing clever, but a real artistic streak to get the look right.You underestimate your talent Chas.

[chaz]

Details around Dock Green 14

 

I had wanted a fire escape on one of Dock Green’s buildings for some time. When the layout was extended for the cassette handling baseboard I needed to screen the end of the scenic section to hide that area. A new factory facade would do the job and seemed an ideal opportunity for a fire escape.

I approached Peter Harvey again to see if he would design some etched brass parts for me. Having got agreement from him I needed to plan the model.

 

 

I put a piece of card in position and marked it up for size. I then used it to draw out the doors, windows and the profile of the escape. I then sent a drawing to Peter as a JPEG with the major dimensions marked up.

In due course he sent me JPEGs of the artwork he had prepared for the etches and some drawings showing how they should be assembled.

 

Peter's etches as they arrived, quite superb if rather daunting.

 

 

The etches for the decorative and very impressive support brackets.

 

 

These are frame pieces and side rails for the flights of stairs and landings. The "T" shaped half-etches accept the stair treads and stiffening plates. 

 

 

The stair treads and landings etched with chequer plate and (bottom left) parts to make the edging flanges for the support brackets.

 

 

This was by far the most delicate and demanding etched brass model I have ever assembled and taxed my abilities and ingenuity. I had to make a jig to get the flights of stairs to come up accurately and true.

 

By agreement the etched parts did not include any provision for the handrails. I made the uprights for these out of code 70 bullhead rail and the rails from 0.7mm nickel silver wire.

 

 

I brush painted the model after a thin waft of acrylic primer from a rattle-can. 

 

The last two photos are of the model in position on the layout.

 

 

There are no door handles as the fire doors would not be used for general access.

 

 

Some litter, a pile of timber stacked out of the way, weeds, oil drums - they all add to this obscure industrial corner.

 

Chaz

Edited August 18, 2017 by chaz

[Deano747]

The fire escape is a worthy topic for reposting. It's a clever piece of modelling. Thanks for showing us again Chaz.

 

We definitely need a 'WOW' button!

Quite an amazing addition. The small details really do add to the realism, even down to the litter!!

Fantastic work!!

 

Regards, Deano.