Westerham, + Weald. Tarmac surface for the platform

[jcredfer]

The spray cap seems be "Holding" the water tank well up in the hair.  

 

J

 

 

I know   ........   head, sick, go see trick cyclist soon   ......

[westerhamstation]

A few finishing toches to the water tower and softener, the hatch was made from plasticard, and the water outlet pipe was a bit of plastic sprue with the knobbles filed off, the little platforms, brackets and ladder are from a Ratio signal kit. For the handrails a piece of copper earth wire was used, to straighten it I rolled it underneath a wooden block on top of the kitchen table. Next up will be to get it all together in it's proper location and finish weathering it all. Pictures of progress so far. All the best Adrian.

[sb67]

Stunning work Adrian, especially like the soldered handrail, absolutley loving this thread, so inspirational.

Steve.

[SouthernBlue80s]

Great stuff

[westerhamstation]

How it looked before the turntable and water facilities moved in, and the bits in between.

   I wanted something to finish off the end wall without showing a view into the distance, and a extension to the building on the left hand side in the form of a wall seemed to suit and with the addition of a sign helps to break up the brickwork, one of the many different smells of the area was the vinegar factory. the other was the Courage Brewery, I was going to use The Take Courage sign on the wall, but will use that somewhere else on the layout.  Next was to add some ash, coal and cinders and to bed the buildings in. for this real coal was used, this was smashed up with a club hammer or lump hammer depending which part of the country you come from, this took ages to do as I wanted it to be a powder with just small pieces of coal in it, all of this powder was mixed with some fire coals from a living flame gas fire, which when rubbed together didn't produce a flame but a rather nice fine cream coloured powder, this was mixed with the coal powder to soften the harsh black of the coal dust, all this mix was layed onto a thin layer of cheap Acrylic No Nails. pressed in with a wooden block and left to dry, when it had dryed it was all sprayed with matt varnish to hold the dust down. Quite a few pictures to show progress so far. All the best from Sooty of Westerham.

[Buckingham]

Adrian

 

I am always impressed with such fantastic results from such basic materials which I don’t think would ever come to my mind. Always seems to capture a reality so well.

 

David

[Sasquatch]

Where's the superb button!

[john flann]

Adrian, I haven't looked in for a long time. I should do so more often. I've missed a lot.

 

Stunning work it is. There is so much originality.

 

My regards,

Edited October 28, 2017 by john flann

[Bogie]

That is insanely good!

[Tony Teague]

Adrian

 

This is just wonderful - and all made from such basic materials!

Your skills seem endless.

 

Tony

[Alister_G]

You've done it again mate, brilliant bit of modelling, you capture the scene so well.

 

There's one thing, the local workers aren't going to run out of vinegar on their chips for a while, with a whole vat of it...

 

Can you do a salt hopper as well?

 

Al.

[The Great Bear]

To add to the chorus: bloody brilliant!

[CME and Bottlewasher]

How it looked before the turntable and water facilities moved in, and the bits in between.

   I wanted something to finish off the end wall without showing a view into the distance, and a extension to the building on the left hand side in the form of a wall seemed to suit and with the addition of a sign helps to break up the brickwork, one of the many different smells of the area was the vinegar factory. the other was the Courage Brewery, I was going to use The Take Courage sign on the wall, but will use that somewhere else on the layout.  Next was to add some ash, coal and cinders and to bed the buildings in. for this real coal was used, this was smashed up with a club hammer or lump hammer depending which part of the country you come from, this took ages to do as I wanted it to be a powder with just small pieces of coal in it, all of this powder was mixed with some fire coals from a living flame gas fire, which when rubbed together didn't produce a flame but a rather nice fine cream coloured powder, this was mixed with the coal powder to soften the harsh black of the coal dust, all this mix was layed onto a thin layer of cheap Acrylic No Nails. pressed in with a wooden block and left to dry, when it had dryed it was all sprayed with matt varnish to hold the dust down. Quite a few pictures to show progress so far. All the best from Sooty of Westerham.

Lovely to see it all come together....what a dirty, filthy.......&$% hole, just like the real thing! Fantastic modelling from basic materials, WOW!

 

A few years later and Id half expect to see Reagan and Carter chasing tea-leaves across that MPD!

Edited October 28, 2017 by CME and Bottlewasher

[sb67]

Great stuff Adrian, love the groundwork that looks so good, Cant wait to see what's next!

Steve.

[Welly]

I love the atmosphere of the turntable yard! It looks so real.

 

I noticed the loco coal wagon in the stub - how did it get there in real life? Very short loco and wagon or capstan and ropes?

[westerhamstation]

Hi, first off thank you all for your kind comments and clicks. Next in answer to Wellys question how did the coal wagon get where it is, so would I.

  Some extracts taken from an article in the RM Magazine by Bernard Wright, Titled Bazzing Around,  Ewer Street The Hell -Hole of Southwark, might shed some light on the subject, it also shows a difference in the trackplan as shown on the os map, on Bernhards drawing one stub siding leading to the water tower and softener is not shown. Mention is made of the crane, coal wagons and half ton coal tubs. I have shown a sketch that was with the article which shows a wagon in one of the stub sidings and the crane, as the crane is shown on the os map I am presuming that it was a fixed structure on a plinth. Any thought or comments would be of help about the coaling loading or how the coal was stored would be most helpful. All The Best Adrian.

[Oldddudders]

Hawkins & Reeve, in OPC's Southern Sheds, have a diagram which shows the coaling crane as having a circular orbit, and thus being able to serve the two adjacent roads, one of which could indeed hold a wagon full of loco coal. This fits with the tale of swinging out over Ewer St. A water column was provided that served both the turntable access road and the parallel avoiding line. To the left of the TT on your drawing, Adrian, are two structures, and the one half cut by the edge of the drawing is identified as a coal stage, but the two structures are shown as meeting in an L-shape. This coal stage was clearly independent of, and unable to be used by, the coaling crane. Odd. 

[westerhamstation]

Thanks for that information Ian, the site is so small and cramped hardly bigger than the actual turntable, I am surprised that they could swing a shovel let alone a crane, I think that the jib must be of the fixed type otherwise it could pose a danger 

if swung over the parallel avoiding line in the lowered position, or indeed anywhere else on the site. I am assuming that the coal was just shoveled out of the wagons onto the ground, or onto some type of raised wooden platform, and then using the crane swung over to the waiting loco in the half ton bucket/tub. So next on the things to do list is to build a crane that can rotate but not knock anybodys head off. All the best Adrian.

[Fishplate]

Totally brilliant modelling Adrian

[westerhamstation]

Just started making the coaling crane for Ewer Street, I have no pictures or plans to work from so apologies if i get it wrong, it will be loosely based on the steam crane that was at Nine Elms,

 the one at Ewer Street will not be a rail mounted effort, but will be mounted as the prototype on a base and will be able to swing round 360 degrees. Materials that will be used for the base are 2mm grey board, the spindle from the Dapol turntable that got chucked in the drawer after I gave up trying to use it for the turntable build, a spacer washer, and a bit of swearing to help things along. So without further ado let us begin.

All the best Adrian. 

[Benbow]

Just started making the coaling crane for Ewer Street, I have no pictures or plans to work from so apologies if i get it wrong, it will be loosely based on the steam crane that was at Nine Elms,

 the one at Ewer Street will not be a rail mounted effort, but will be mounted as the prototype on a base and will be able to swing round 360 degrees. Materials that will be used for the base are 2mm grey board, the spindle from the Dapol turntable that got chucked in the drawer after I gave up trying to use it for the turntable build, a spacer washer, and a bit of swearing to help things along. So without further ado let us begin.

All the best Adrian. 

 

Another masterpiece in the making 

Edited November 7, 2017 by Benbow

[sb67]

Adrian, can you tell me how you've painted your balsa wood or the coffee stirrers in some of your earlier posts please? I've been reading through some earlier bits of the topic but cant find it.

Thanks.

Steve.

[westerhamstation]

Hi Steve, I always use Humbrol enamel or similar white spirit based paint, it depends what I am painting as to the method I use if it is something that in real life would have a undercoat and topcoat that's the way I paint it then rub away some of the topcoat when it is still drying with a cotton bud or scrape bits off with a bit of emery board. For timber that has no paint on it, I just use a very watery mix thats been  diluted with white spirit of grey, brown and Nato Green paint which just soaks in, and is then sanded when dry.

   All the best Adrian. 

Edited November 9, 2017 by westerhamstation

[sb67]

Thanks Adrian, I havent been undercoating stuff which probably explains why I cant get the look I'm after. What about unpainted timber as wooden platforms etc do you treat the balsa with washes? 

Steve.

[westerhamstation]

Hi Steve, in answer to your question about painting balsa wood, I just basically colour white spirit with a mix of grey with a touch of brown and build up the layers some parts are sanded to remove a bit of the stain, and others are built up with a bit thicker mix to represent where dirt  has collected. One thing I forgot to mention is coffee stirers sometimes need to be sanded before use to remove any wax coating thats used in manufacture this also helps any glue to stick better. All the best Adrian.