37114 Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 I have seen this done and can be quite effective. Of course fully protects the layout when stored or transported. The "top" lid can also be used to support the info board, tucked back at an angle and secured to the supporting legs. I think that this how Eldavo has done this on Cramdin Yard (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/1207-cramdin-yard/) Thanks for the link Richard, it is very effective, I wish I had done something similar for Pallet Lane. The top cover for Peafore Yard is going to be fixed in place as due to the height of the board off the ground and the fact the layout is front operated means I don't need to to get at it from above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 Well done ! Especially for persevering with the ratio fence , I didn't find it a relaxing modelling experience ! Totally agree, I needed to remind myself it is supposed to be fun when I was burning my fingers soldering up the signal gantry last night! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Yep, mines wonky as hell. I've kind of given up cutting the mesh straight......there's only so much modelling time I can devote to each task..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 As alluded to earlier I have been burning my fingers soldering up some Brass to make the signal gantry. Kevin (Rivercider) kindly posted earlier some pictures of the Bristol East gantry which makes a perfect scenic break and handily will be located roughly where the real gantry would have been. For durability I decided to make the basic framework out of some Brass square section that had been at the bottom of the materials box for the last 15 years. I made the end A frame first, the first picture shows the frame with a picture of the real gantry on the tablet in the background. The dimensions were guestimated from the photos, I am not great at drawing plans! Having made the end I then needed to work out how wide to make the cross pieces. To do this I unscrewed the end of the layout which needs a touch up of paint anyway. It also gave the opportunity to take some photos shot in the other direction. I have made 2 vertical legs for the backscene end of the gantry, this will be painted black to blend in with the backscene, I will probably modify the picture on the backscene to incorporate the other half of the gantry, I have not fathomed it out yet. The cross pieces were then soldered in with Low Melt solder to stop the whole ensemble falling apart. I have also ordered today the signal heads from CR Signals to mount on the gantry, hopefully I can fit these over the Xmas period. Other work has included starting work on the point for the upper level and blocking out the back of the arches so daylight can't be seen behind. 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
angell328 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 The more I look at the layout the more little details jump out at me, really enjoying the build. Oh do you have the contact number for the scrap yard? That poor Series one keeps tugging at the heart strings and needs saving Matt 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) Hi Matt, Funnily enough the scrapyard is still in business, it might be at the bottom of the pile still! When Avon Street was redeveloped they appear to have moved to the other side of the mainline. www.habgood-scrapmetal-bristol.co.uk Edited December 9, 2014 by 37114 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EHertsGER Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Terrific layout Rob - looks very Bristolian 1970s, I especially like Bath roads finest, 03 121/382. Those were the days. Neil Quite so - I'd swear I walked or drove down there looking for a scapyard or builders merchant (big Magnet & Southern place around there somewhere? Vauxhall parts place too? Memory a bit faded...) or just to satisfy my curiosity. I remember some cobbled streets all shiny with rainwater and that same shiny black greasiness you found in the yards themselves - the yards all along the Bath Road as it curved around and away from the road up to Brislington? Seem to recall a pub at the far end...itself a rather forboding place. Walking? Sure why not. Left my bike for a service at Fowlers (well, I knew his kid...) and took a wander across (under) the road for a bit... Wonderful...both memory and model, which are blurring together a bit, so all credit to you! Best, Marcus 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel.Richardson Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Great looking little layout, love the wasteland Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steaming_chris Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Hi Rob this is developing nicely. Just need the "Redscaff Bedford HA van" near the crossing and it will be picture perfect Regards, Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 Quite so - I'd swear I walked or drove down there looking for a scapyard or builders merchant (big Magnet & Southern place around there somewhere? Vauxhall parts place too? Memory a bit faded...) or just to satisfy my curiosity. I remember some cobbled streets all shiny with rainwater and that same shiny black greasiness you found in the yards themselves - the yards all along the Bath Road as it curved around and away from the road up to Brislington? Seem to recall a pub at the far end...itself a rather forboding place. Walking? Sure why not. Left my bike for a service at Fowlers (well, I knew his kid...) and took a wander across (under) the road for a bit... Wonderful...both memory and model, which are blurring together a bit, so all credit to you! Best, Marcus Great post Marcus, thanks for the comments. I remember being dragged into that Vauxhall dealer at the tender age of 7 for my Dad to look around the new Cavalier SRi he was getting as a company car, the area has changed so much since 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 Hi Rob this is developing nicely. Just need the "Redscaff Bedford HA van" near the crossing and it will be picture perfect Regards, Chris Don't worry It is in the pipeline Chris, it should just fit! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EHertsGER Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Great post Marcus, thanks for the comments. I remember being dragged into that Vauxhall dealer at the tender age of 7 for my Dad to look around the new Cavalier SRi he was getting as a company car, the area has changed so much since Mine was a white SRi - H875HLB! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 My signal heads turned up today from CR signals so have been spurred onto some more action on the signal gantry. The CR heads are fantastic pieces of work, I have got a standard 3 aspect head and a 3 aspect with junction feather, as per the ones in Kevin's (Rivercider) pictures on page 7 and 8. I haven't plucked up the courage to read the instructions yet but I will definitely be attempting to get them fully working. I have made the walkways for the gantry and started on the cross members on the top of the framework which will like the real gantry carry the wires to the power box. I have also done some further work on the backscene, having found a pretty much square on photo of a MK1 BG, to fill in the gap between the pictures and the trackbed. In reality there will be a train in front of them so they will only be visible through windows and gaps between buffers but at least I know they are there. Kevin has also kindly let me use a modified version of one of his pictures taken under the real Bristol East signal gantry. I need to reprint it and reposition lower down as the tracks and the parcel stock don't quite line up with the backscene to the rear. I have included a couple of other photos to replicate as best I can some of the original photos from the Bristol Rail website which I intend to display on the fold down cover at the front of the layout. The class 08 in the pictures will get renumbered 08951 before April, I also need to add the missing air compressor compartment on one side. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold mudmagnet Posted December 15, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 15, 2014 Ooh i like the coaches to the rear....very neat idea indeed! Fooled me! Had to look twice before realising that there are printed! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
angell328 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Very effective way of creating depth, and bloody convincing too! Like the others there was several are they aren't they moments. CR signals are little works of art, when I saw the price for all the ones I needed for Sodem I did worry for my life when my finacial advisor (Mrs) saw the bank statement, but when I opened the box I thought I had been under charged, the colour seems spot on too. Matt 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Looking forward to your aspect signal gantry... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 Very effective way of creating depth, and bloody convincing too! Like the others there was several are they aren't they moments. CR signals are little works of art, when I saw the price for all the ones I needed for Sodem I did worry for my life when my finacial advisor (Mrs) saw the bank statement, but when I opened the box I thought I had been under charged, the colour seems spot on too. Matt Hi Matt, I had a heart stopper last night when I got home and found my good lady wife had opened the jiffy bag accidentally, luckily I don't think she had got to the receipt. I have already pre warned her about the imminent arrival of a rather large box from Liverpool with 4 of the Hornby MK2e's and the aforementioned Bedford HA van.... Having been brought up on a diet of Eckon signals, I didn't expect the CR version to be fully assembled and painted, I think they are incredibly good value. It is also useful that the tails to the LED's are so long as they should just about reach under the baseboard. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 (edited) Fooled me! Had to look twice before realising that there are printed! Thanks Richard and others who have mentioned it, finding the right picture is the hardest bit. I have used the same picture for all the coaches but I had to a do a bit of doctoring on the original image to remove a brick column and replaced the open Guards door with a closed one to make the rake look less uniform. Edited December 16, 2014 by 37114 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
angell328 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Hi Matt, I had a heart stopper last night when I got home and found my good lady wife had opened the jiffy bag accidentally, luckily I don't think she had got to the receipt. I have already pre warned her about the imminent arrival of a rather large box from Liverpool with 4 of the Hornby MK2e's and the aforementioned Bedford HA van.... Having been brought up on a diet of Eckon signals, I didn't expect the CR version to be fully assembled and painted, I think they are incredibly good value. It is also useful that the tails to the LED's are so long as they should just about reach under the baseboard. Ohhhh That can be dangerous, one of my mates has all his purchases delivered to the hanger, they can then be brough into the house under the cover of darkness! Very impressed with the build quality, and the fact they will build any signal in any configuration for you. It is the little details that make the differance, the fact they colour code the tails with little heatshrink sleeves to aid wiring and as you said they are not shy about putting a good length of wire on either. More I think about the more of a bargin they seem, just need to convince the Mrs now! Matt 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel.Richardson Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 I really like the effect of the stone work, I'm trying to get the same effect, just finding it hard to highlight the mortar joints. Overall your work is excellent and find the detail really good Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 The class 08 in the pictures will get renumbered 08951 before April, I also need to add the missing air compressor compartment on one side. The high level part does look very effective. Are you going to give 08951 a CAR brake van for the shunters to ride in? cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
angell328 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 I really like the effect of the stone work, I'm trying to get the same effect, just finding it hard to highlight the mortar joints. Overall your work is excellent and find the detail really good Easiest way I find to get the mortar highlighted is to paint the wall in the mortar colour and then dry brush the stone colour over the top. Using a few different shades of the stone colour helps break up the stark nature of the stone. Cheers Matt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.C.M Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Backscene looks great Rob, I like your Coles crane I really need to weather mine up. Cheers Peter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 I really like the effect of the stone work, I'm trying to get the same effect, just finding it hard to highlight the mortar joints. Overall your work is excellent and find the detail really good Hi Axel, The best bit about the motar is it is not painted, it is actually the self coloured plastic of the stone sheets. I apply the stone colour using a flat brush, lightly loaded with paint, and brush over the stone work holding the brush at about a 30 degree angle to the sheet. I then pick out individual stones in about 5 or 6 different colours through dry brushing. I will try and do a step by step picture post of how to do it over the next few weeks. It is simpler to do than the describe, the golden rule is less paint is more if you see what I mean. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 The high level part does look very effective. Are you going to give 08951 a CAR brake van for the shunters to ride in? cheers That is the plan Kevin, I have the van in stock just un weathered and it needs new couplings. I also plan to get a parkside kit for the 5 plank wagons to run with the 03's 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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