Oswestry Works Diorama

[alanbuttler]

Courtesy of Reg, here are some of the images which inspired this project.

 

3846 outside the locomotive works entrance, the photo that started the original smaller diorama idea:

 

Foxcote Manor outside the works.  Note the stacked buffers, evidently these were a duff batch stored at Oswestry works in every spare inch of space!

 

A 4MT just about visible in the boiler shop between the stored buffers

 

Another 4MT and her tender. Note how tight space is! Something I've certainly struggled with in the model.

 

2 photos of a pair of 8F's receiving attention to their boilers showing some detail of the traverser.

 

 

Lastly, a pair of Hawksworth County class locos in the erecting shop. Some nice fitters bench detail here.

 

Other sources of photographs have been:

 

Oswestry Railways: A Collection of Pictures

Branch Lines Around Oswestry

The Cambrian Railways: a New History (Hardback)

Oswestry to Whitchurch: and the Wrexham Branch (Country Railway Routes)

 

 

For machinery such as the overhead cranes and the traverser, Grace's Guide to British Industrial History has PDF copies of The Engineer which have many drawings, including:

 

The Engineer 1899/02/10 - Rope-Pull Crane

The Engineer 1909/01/08 - Electric Traverser

Edited December 9, 2013 by alanbuttler

[alanbuttler]

And a few here from searches on Flickr:

 

V of R No 7 'Owain Glyndwr', a nice scene to recreate with a OO-9 model one day maybe!

 

W & L 823 'Countess' by Roger Smith

 

80098 by Chris Faircloth in the Boiler shop, view from the machine shop on the through road.

[Mikkel]

Note the stacked buffers, evidently these were a duff batch stored at Oswestry works in every spare inch of space!

 

That sounds just like a modeller: "Better keep these, they may come in handy." Prototype for everything :-)

 

Amazing how tight the space is, as you say. I can see how that could be tricky on a model because it could look wrong in a small scale. You've solved it jus right though, I think.

[alanbuttler]

Thanks Mikkel.  On a busy day the works must have been quite a challenge to navigate around!

 

These foamboard trial runs have been invaluable for getting things scaled correctly.  It will probably be the new year now before I get the walls laser cut, I'm trying to find someone local with a 900mm cutter bed so I can get them done one piece.  The Christmas project will be investigating the traverser mechanism which I'm kind of dreading/looking forward to in equal measure

Edited December 10, 2013 by alanbuttler

[DLT]

Hi Alan,

I'm getting an RSI from clicking the Like button, so I'll stop and simply say what a super project.

And I really like the way you are applying the current technology to it.  I'm wondering just what a job it would be using embossed plasticard!

All the best,

Dave.T

[5050]

Excellent thread, the work you have done in both modelling and research is to be congratulated.  In no way could I duplicate your digital artistry in creating the lazer cutting etc. files so I am in awe!

 

In 1970 I lived in Oswestry just behind the station and my employers had a store in the works, actually in the part you are modelling.  I went there a couple of times and was surprised to see how confined it seemed considering the scale of the work undertaken.  I seem to think that rails, pits etc. were still there.

 

It's great to see how this example of classic British industrial architecture now has a new lease of life.

[PaternosterRow]

Wow, this is firming up to be a real mouth watering model.

 

I'm interested in interior type layouts too and have had a go at a couple to date, but nothing to this standard - that brickwork via a laser cutter is inspirational.  Going to keep a eye on this with much interest. I'd wish you luck with it but I don't think you need it.  Brilliant stuff, Alan.

 

Much thanks to Mikkel for sending me the link.

 

Mike.

[alanbuttler]

Gentleman thank you for your very kind comments and encouragement.    I feel as though I don't fully deserve them yet as I've spent a long time on the computer and not that much time modelling! But I'm hoping the hours in Sketchup will really pay off when the laser cut model comes into life.

 

5050, thank you It's nice to know you were able to experience the real thing before it was converted, whilst steam was still a recent memory.   I hope I can do the building the justice it deserves in model form.  

 

Mike, thanks for stopping by to have a look at progress.  Along with Mikkel's Farthing layouts, your Barrow Hill roundhouse is another layout that has really stood out for me and changed my perception of modelling (hence why Craigfryn Wood and Moat Lane East are shelved!).  I'm really glad you like the brickwork. It's definitely worth the effort I think and seeing the Bristol Barrow Road shed layout progress really sealed it for me as a medium to work in.  

 

I only recently found your D Shop layout through a google search whilst researching 'on-stage' traversers (next time I'll just search on RMWeb first!).  Seeing your wonderfully atmospheric photographs really gave me a boost of inspiration, leading to the rethink in scope of the original smaller diorama.  

 

Unfortunately after the flurry of activity the last couple of weeks things will likely quieten down until January.  Work is very busy at the moment and I'd been using my lunch times to work in Sketchup, I now need to use that time for an actual break from the computer screen!  

 

Thanks again for taking time to stop by,

 

Cheers

Alan

[JeffP]

Those crane supports and the workbench are amazing, well worth showing off.

 

I wish I could draw in CAD.........

 

Just spotted the pics at the top of this page...why did railway works have so much atmosphere?

 

About fifteen to twenty years ago I wandered round the then derelict works at Arles in Provence. It just oozed atmosphere.

Edited December 11, 2013 by JeffP

[JeffP]

Hi Jeff, there are some track plans of Doncaster works in E Larkin's Illustrated History of British Railway Workshops if that helps

 

 

Thanks, found it on ebay for £2.89 delivered.

[peak experience]

Thanks, found it on ebay for £2.89 delivered.

thats a bargain..its a great book..i got mine for 4 pound!

[peak experience]

First cuts went really well tonight, primarily due to the advice and experience in the 3D/Laser Cutting forum.  Time wise I was only able to get the window frame and internal brickwork cut, the exterior work and supports will have to be in a few days.

 

First up the artwork is loaded on the laser cutting computer and power/speed are set:

 

Test Cut - Setup.jpg

 

Test Cut.jpg

 

Test Cut - Erecting Shop Entrance internal.jpg

 

This small section of wall took 1 hour to cut, though I might be able to improve on that by tweaking the settings.  I played safe and went for low speed and low power!

 

The simpler window frames took 8 minutes:

 

Test Cut - Window Frames.jpg

 

Test Cut - Window Frame.jpg

 

Overall I'm really pleased with the quality and precision - the window frames are 0.5mm thick and relatively resilient.

 

Test Cut - Scale.jpg

 

Test Cut - Erecting Shop Entrance internal with frames.jpg

 

Test Cut - Erecting Shop window.jpg

 

Test Cut - Erecting Shop window detail.jpg

may i ask, does the second pic show the cutter half way through a job or has there been a problem with the test cut missing parts out? 

[alanbuttler]

may i ask, does the second pic show the cutter half way through a job or has there been a problem with the test cut missing parts out? 

 

Hey there, yes it's about half way through strange as it looks.  This is down to the format of the lines in the drawing.  When exporting from Sketchup as a DXF all the lines are individual components, so the cutter cuts everyone separately and not in any particular order in this case.  

 

I tried combining them in inkscape on another cut to see if it would improve cut time and stop the head moving around so much, making all the horizontal lines one object instead of 50 short ones.  It did make a difference but I need to do some more tests to be sure it is worth the effort.  Although it saved time on the cutter, it took considerable time in inkscape to combine all the lines!

 

I think the majority of people do all their work in inkscape or illustrator in 2D, so may not run into this problem.  As it stands, the works 3D model is made up of approx 2 million lines at the moment!

[JeffP]

Looking at the photo, you can see the laser working.

 

I've only ever seen one at work, in the laser lab at Loughborough University, when my eldest, now studying engineering there, was give a tour round. The made him a coaster out of acrylic, with the laser labs and University coat of arms cut into it. Both sides done in under ten seconds.

Beautiful.

[alanbuttler]

When I get a few minutes I'll post up some info on how I put the 3D model together in Sketchup.  Once you get your head around the basics it is very intuitive. Even if you don't end up using it for laser cutting/3D printing its good for prototyping.   

If anyone would like a copy of the .SKP file I can upload it also.  The key tool has been making everything into a component, but I'll post a bit about that shortly

[Phil Copleston]

I'm also very lucky to have access to some excellent photos of the works exterior and interior taken by Reg Storer in the late 1950s early 1960s.  He has kindly given me permission to post a few on here which I'll do tomorrow, the ones in particular which inspired me to start this whole journey. 

 

Yes please, Alan. As a life-long Cambrian fan I'm most interested to see Reg Storer's 1950s/60s photos of Oswestry Works. Please post as many as you can (or provide a link to the rest). This reminds me that I really ought to do something with my own original research and survey of Oswestry Works and finally get it published. Your modelling project has pricked my conscience and inspired me to get moving on this!

[Rabs]

There have been a few challenges adapting the model for 2D, file and export capabilities being one.   The free version Sketchup has limited export capability and ideally you need a DXF file to import into Illustrator or Inkscape.  A workaround for this I've found is using the trail version of the paying Sketchup 2013 which has all the export options.  It's an 8 hour limited trial, but by only using it when I need to export to DXF I should get a few hundred uses out of it!  

 

I had the same problem with my laser cut baseboards that I designed in sketchup (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/72424-bath-spa-high-tech-modelling-bringing-1947-into-the-21st-century-3d-printed-scenery-cnc-milled-track-laser-cut-baseboards-and-computer-control/)

.  I eventually found this plugin for SketchUp:

https://code.google.com/p/sketchup-svg-outline-plugin/

This exports .svg files, which most vector grahpics programs can open and then, if needed, resave as .dxf for the laser cutter.

It's not very well documented, but it can do the job.

[alanbuttler]

I had the same problem with my laser cut baseboards that I designed in sketchup (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/72424-bath-spa-high-tech-modelling-bringing-1947-into-the-21st-century-3d-printed-scenery-cnc-milled-track-laser-cut-baseboards-and-computer-control/)

.  I eventually found this plugin for SketchUp:

https://code.google.com/p/sketchup-svg-outline-plugin/

This exports .svg files, which most vector grahpics programs can open and then, if needed, resave as .dxf for the laser cutter.

It's not very well documented, but it can do the job.

 

Thanks Rabs! I'll give that a go in the New Year.  Hoping to try out some 3D printing too after being inspired by your excellent results with the B9 Creator.  I've been keeping my eyes open for a S/H one, the level of detail really does seem to be way ahead of anything else in that price range. 

[alanbuttler]

Happy Christmas all! Thanks for your feedback and encouragement over the last few months, I appreciate the time you take to stop by to see progress.  Talking of progress, there hasn't been a great deal lately other than some sketches and conversations about the traverser mechanism.  But a bit about that after some photos.  I'm back in Wales for a few days and took the opportunity to get some more reference photos at Oswestry whilst the weather was holding.

 

Luckily I was able to find someone to let me into the residents only courtyard in what would have been the boiler shop.   Being able to walk through the old bays and appreciate the sheer size of the crane supports in person helped put things in some perspective.  Although the conversion isn't to everyone's tastes, we are very lucky this building still stands when so much of the surrounding railway history is gone.  I could just about block out daily life enough to imagine a Manor sitting there!

 

Before I got over to the works, some gents from the Cambrian Heritage Railway society were onsite working on connecting the works crossing up to the mainline.  They were able to let me into the museum before work started and inside I found a couple of original signs from the works:

 

The original GWR works sign

 

A staff notice regarding operation of the traverser in the restricted spaces

 

Outside now and some wide angle shots:

 

 

 

 

And a little fun comparing the test cut. Not too far off! 

 

 

Inside the former Boiler Shop, the light and shadow help generate some atmosphere:

 

 

Here showing the blocked up thru-road entrance into the machine shop

 

 

With this last set of photos I'll now be able to work out the length of the works and complete the NW walls.  The search for an (affordable) large bed laser cutter to use continues and I've hopefully got a new contact in Brighton that will be able to help out in the new year.

 

So in the mean time the traverser has been my focus and I think a plan is forming after a few chats with the electronics guys at the Brighton hackerspace.  The rough plan is create a mechanism based on a CNC router leadscrew table connected to an arduino controlled stepper motor.  As the traverser is 'on-stage', there will (in theory!) be no wires or connections above board, instead the plan is to use earth magnets on the leadscrew table and traverser table.  The traverser will be made with 8x 8mm brass wheels on 4 rails (as per Reg's photo).  The base of the traverser table should be max 5mm above the top of the leadscrew table, which I hope is close enough for the magnets to still be powerful enough to draw the traverser as the leadscrew moves below.

 

Plan is to make a small prototype, probably 250mm long with 4 bays to check the magnets are strong enough.  Power is the other concern, I'm thinking some kind of sprung pickups on the traverser wheels with power to the traverser rails.  I'm a complete newbie on this front so expect many first time errors...!  Diagram of sorts to follow.

 

Cheers and all the best for 2014, Al

[alanbuttler]

The traverser mechanical design is coming along, the plan being to make a shorter version first to trial the rare earth magnets.  I've based the design on  DIY CNC machine builds, opting for a lead screw with delrin nut and bearings, supported by 2x linear bearing supports on rails.  The gap between the magnets is about 8mm and I'm planning to use 15mm dia x 2mm magnets.

 

Part list so far looks like this:

 

1x M8 190mm Lead Screw with Delrin Nut & 2x Flange Bearings - £19 (Ebay) - note the full size traverser will need approx 750mm lead screw

2x M8 1000mm Steel Tube for the support shafts - £3 (B&Q)

4x M8 Linear Rail Shaft Supports SHF8 - £7.30 (Ebay)

2x M8 Linear Bearing Support Platform SC8UU - £6.99 (Ebay)

1x M8/M5 Motor Shaft Coupler - £1 (Ebay)

 

Motor/Electronics wise I'm still investigating, but from reading up on RMweb, an Arduino Uno , Pololu A4988 and a NEMA 17 Stepper motor seem like the best bet.  Then there are various home sensors, buttons, displays to think about.  For now though, here is the mechanical side of things:

 

The base components - 2x M8 steel shafts with linear bearing support platforms, flange bearings and the lead screw and delrin nut

 

The traverser bed, this has the first set of magnets laid under 1mm of lasercut MDF.

 

The traverser deck and rails.  The deck will have the second set of magnets recessed into the inner layer of lasercut mdf.  The wheels are brass 8mm dia pulley wheels, though these need to be bigger after taking a closer look at Reg's photographs.

A close up of the deck

 

 

And finally a couple of shots of the traverser in place in the sketchup model

 

 

 

I'm yet to properly look at the electrics, but my hope is that I can get power to the traverser deck via pickups on the brass wheels.  That could be a completely fanciful idea, I'm yet to find out!  Any advice on that front would be gratefully appreciated.

 

 

Happy new year folks, Al

Edited January 3, 2014 by alanbuttler

[Rabs]

I really like this layout.

I think that with 4 wheels for each of the two power lines you should be fine.  You could also add additional pickup skids under the middle of the traverser, between the wheels, if needed.  You may want to make the traverser easily removable for cleaning its wheels and the rails though.

[alanbuttler]

Thanks for your input Rabs, much appreciated.  I've got some magnets on order so I'll make the traverser deck first I think and test the magnet strength before ordering all the traverser table bearings etc.  I've refined the design a little today, correcting the rail height and recessing it into the traverser bed.   The wheels are now larger at 12mm dia, but could probably do with going up a size again I think to be prototypical.  I think I'll stick with this size for the trial run and see how things go

 

Now 4 layers of laser cut MDF, from the base up:

 

1mm Base

2mm with 6x recess for magnets and 8x recess for wheels

2mm with 8x recess for wheels and axles, 2x rails

1mm Top with recess for rails

 

Wiring/Pickups to be added

 

 

Edited January 4, 2014 by alanbuttler

[Rabs]

Can I suggest that you add some small holes in the corners of each layer? You can then put a bit of plastic or brass rod through to help you align the layers together neatly.

[alanbuttler]

Can I suggest that you add some small holes in the corners of each layer? You can then put a bit of plastic or brass rod through to help you align the layers together neatly.

 

Cheers Rabs, great idea!

[mjcampbell]

Looks like a neat design. I'll be interested to see how well the magnetic traction works, I can foresee possible jerkiness. I guess plan B would be some slots hidden by the traverser rails with brackets coming through from the mechanism to the deck, but magnets would be much neater!

 

Using the wheels for pickup should work fine, or if not some brass or p-b wipers on the rails hidden under the deck. I did that on a turntable once and it works fine.