Train spotting at Finsbury Square

[31A]

2 hours ago, Neil said:

Apologies for injecting an unannounced video into your thread Steve but I rather think you'll like it.

 

 

The railway stuff really comes into full focus after about three minutes but there's plenty to like in the first section too.

 

Thank you Neil; it's a brilliant bit of video isn't it!  Surprising how so much of interest is condensed into such a short bit of film.  Everything must have been really filthy in those days!

 

[31A]

1 hour ago, 2750Papyrus said:

What a great video, I particularly liked the shots of the goods station.

 

Also noted the mess of the "Indian village" in front of the passenger station, little traffic with pedestrians walking between moving vehicles, and room to park!

 

It is a great video, isn't it.  I can barely remember what the front of the station looked like before the 1970s concourse was built at the front; I suppose if I went to London in those days I probably went straight down to the Tube rather than out into the street.  In the end the 1970s concourse was somewhat derided (and in truth it was barely fit for purpose by then) but by then people had forgotten what was there before it was built.

[31A]

1 hour ago, 45568 said:

Like the N2 Steve, I did one some years ago to represent 69552, which was at Colwick for a while in the 1950s.

Removal of the condensing pipes totally changes the appearance.

Cheers from Oz,

Peter C.

 

Thanks Peter, glad you like it.  Yes, it's surprising what a difference taking the pipes off makes.  We are so accustomed to seeing them.  It's actually quite a neat looking loco when you take it back to its basics.  Mine is far too clean at the moment, but will end up looking more like yours!

 

[31A]

I have now touched in the added bits and covered the blemishes with Humbrol Satin Black (no. 85) which is a good match for the Hornby finish.  A last minute alteration was when I realised the whistle should also be on the Driver's side; if I'd left it nobody would have noticed except me but I swapped it over anyway.

 

In the earlier pictures I had only removed the last two digits of the numbers, thinking I would be able to get away with just replacing those with transfers, which I've been able to do in the past.  This time however the difference was too great to go unnoticed, even with weathering, so I ended up taking off the complete numbers and replacing the whole lot with Methfix transfers.

 

In order to seal the transfers (which didn't seem to have a lot of stick!) and as a start on the weathering process, I've given the tank and bunkers sides, boiler cladding etc. a coat of Johnson's Klear.  It's not easy to take photos of shiny black engines, but it won't stay that way for long!

 

 

 

 

[Chas Levin]

Lovely job Steve; I noticed where you said in an earlier post that you hadn't intended to take things to quite these lengths of alteration - it gets you that way though, doesn't it, and you end up doing more than you intended...

[31A]

2 hours ago, Chas Levin said:

Lovely job Steve; I noticed where you said in an earlier post that you hadn't intended to take things to quite these lengths of alteration - it gets you that way though, doesn't it, and you end up doing more than you intended...

 

Thanks Chas, glad you like it!  Yes it has run away with itself a bit!  Never mind, it's been fun to do.

[31A]

69560 is just about finished now; here's some pictures of her in the loco yard.

 

 

 

The smoke box number plate was from a printed sheet by Pacific Models, which fortunately included the right number.  Crew figures help t disguise the cab full of motor!

 

And here she is next to a 'standard' model; as @45568 said earlier, taking the condensing pipes off does make a difference to the 'look' of the loco.  Also shows, I think it was worth replacing the handrail knobs with scale ones!

 

[Barry Johnson]

Great work. Does anyone know a supplier of coal rails for the bunker?

 

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

Nice job on the N2. Another N2 69515, a Hitchin loco, was devoid of condensing gear, and was also devoid of lining, it went to the scrappers in 1959 in plain black.

 

manna

[Chas Levin]

Superb job Steve and it looks excellent next to the 'standard' one - the comparison only enhances the work you've done. Contrasting the black of the smokebox and the rest of a black loco isn't something RTR manufacturers are very big on, is it?

[31A]

49 minutes ago, Barry Johnson said:

Great work. Does anyone know a supplier of coal rails for the bunker?

 

 

Thank you, Barry - glad you like it!  As you can see, I didn't do anything about the coal rails but if I had, I would have just made them from brass wire.  I believe they were backed on the sides and only open at the back (I think for rearward visibility reasons) so if I was to do something about them I would probably cut away the rear completely and shave the moulded rails away from the sides.  Then glue new brass wire rails to the sides, continuing unsupported round the back.

 

I've got another one to do....

[31A]

39 minutes ago, manna said:

G'Day Folks

 

Nice job on the N2. Another N2 69515, a Hitchin loco, was devoid of condensing gear, and was also devoid of lining, it went to the scrappers in 1959 in plain black.

 

manna

Thanks Manna!  I think 69515 would have been RH drive, which would have made the job a bit easier, as would the lack of lining.  My late Uncle was a fitter at Top Shed and I remember him being uncomplimentary of the paintwork of their locos that were overhauled at Stratford, not even putting lining on.  You can certainly see in pictures from the 50s that quite a lot of locos turned out from Stratford in the early '50s (both GN ones and their 'own') didn't have lining.

[31A]

39 minutes ago, Chas Levin said:

Superb job Steve and it looks excellent next to the 'standard' one - the comparison only enhances the work you've done. Contrasting the black of the smokebox and the rest of a black loco isn't something RTR manufacturers are very big on, is it?

 

Thanks Chas!  Yes I like to make the black of the smokebox different to that of the cleaned bits; usually this includes the cab roof and tender top as well, although that doesn't work so well with locos with GN style cabs.  I paint those bits with Humbrol Matt Black with a dash of Gunmetal (no. 53) added.  Actually this loco ended up a bit cleaner than I'd originally intended!

[5BarVT]

13 hours ago, 31A said:

My late Uncle was a fitter at Top Shed

No wonder you have a good understanding of ‘things railway’. It sort of infuses during contact with those ‘inside’.

Paul.

[31A]

21 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

No wonder you have a good understanding of ‘things railway’. It sort of infuses during contact with those ‘inside’.

Paul.

Thank you Paul, nice of you to say so - glad it shows!  Several railwaymen ancestors in my family, and I did 35 years on it myself, in a variety of roles but none connected with locos.

[Flying Pig]

On 01/12/2022 at 12:29, 31A said:

Also shows, I think it was worth replacing the handrail knobs with scale ones!

 

You're right of course, but particularly ones on the smokebox door.  Just that bit closer to the prototype but it makes all the difference.  Hurrah for old school superdetailing and isn't it remarkable how some of  the Mainline and Airfix generation scrub up all these years on (albeit with better mechanisms).

[31A]

2 hours ago, Flying Pig said:

 

You're right of course, but particularly ones on the smokebox door.  Just that bit closer to the prototype but it makes all the difference.  Hurrah for old school superdetailing and isn't it remarkable how some of  the Mainline and Airfix generation scrub up all these years on (albeit with better mechanisms).

 

Thanks Simon, yes I was pleased by the improvement in appearance.  Quite a few of these older models are basically accurate and cann be improved with a bit of detailing etc.

 

It's a good runner too, as are the others I've got which were produced by Hornby.  Surprising really, as the mechanism is mainly plastic apart from a die cast block which only adds weight but is not the axle bearings!  Whereas I don't think I ever had any Mainline ones which ran well, the wheels never seemed to be quartered properly and the motors were rough.  I've got a couple of those where I've replaced the mechanism with Comet frames and Romford wheels, which I might have done with this one as well if I'd been able to get the right Romford wheels!

[31A]

After that enjoyable excursion into locomotive land, I got back to the serious stuff and the signal gantry.

 

Firstly, the structure painted with a coat of etching primer followed by a coat of white primer, and details picked out in black.

 

 

Temporarily in position to see what it looks like; three arms in position and a start made on the connections to them.

 

 

Finished item, all arms installed and connected up.  The structure now weathered; in fact the photos make it seem less weathered than it looks in real life - I thought I'd overdone it!

 

 

 

And now in place on the layout; still not fixed down though, pending making the underground actuators / gubbins to make it work.

 

 

 

It looks as though it'll make a nice frame for pictures of locos!

 

A benefit of the signal growing out of the platform is that the above ground connections (levers at the foot of the post) can be over scale as they will eventually be hidden beneath the platform surface.  Down side is, I'll have to make good the platform!  I think there will be some boarding, as if covering the signal wires.

 

The spectacles are glazed with Deluxe Materials Glue n Glaze.  I haven't used this before but it was very easy to do.  The glasses were then coloured with Tamiya Clear Paint, red and blue.  Evidently the Clear Paint isn't a very big range, and the only blue available is possibly a bit on the dark / purple side, but I think it'll do.

 

I usually make the 'pull wires' from 5 amp fuse wire, which I leave unpainted as it is naturally 'wire colour' and soon tarnishes.  But on this signal, the fuse wire drooped too much on the cross wires to work properly, so I used 0.31mm N/S wire (from the late lamented Eileen's) which was the thinnest 'stiff' wire I could find.  I've left that unpainted too and hope in the fullness of time it will also tarnish.

 

Anyway, so far so good and all the arms now work by finger pushing on the weight bars, so now there's just the actuators to make.

 

[Chas Levin]

Magnificent! 😎

[Mallard60022]

Oooof. What a beautiful piece Steve.

Phil

[Tony Wright]

22 hours ago, 31A said:

After that enjoyable excursion into locomotive land, I got back to the serious stuff and the signal gantry.

 

Firstly, the structure painted with a coat of etching primer followed by a coat of white primer, and details picked out in black.

 

 

Temporarily in position to see what it looks like; three arms in position and a start made on the connections to them.

 

 

Finished item, all arms installed and connected up.  The structure now weathered; in fact the photos make it seem less weathered than it looks in real life - I thought I'd overdone it!

 

 

 

And now in place on the layout; still not fixed down though, pending making the underground actuators / gubbins to make it work.

 

 

 

It looks as though it'll make a nice frame for pictures of locos!

 

A benefit of the signal growing out of the platform is that the above ground connections (levers at the foot of the post) can be over scale as they will eventually be hidden beneath the platform surface.  Down side is, I'll have to make good the platform!  I think there will be some boarding, as if covering the signal wires.

 

The spectacles are glazed with Deluxe Materials Glue n Glaze.  I haven't used this before but it was very easy to do.  The glasses were then coloured with Tamiya Clear Paint, red and blue.  Evidently the Clear Paint isn't a very big range, and the only blue available is possibly a bit on the dark / purple side, but I think it'll do.

 

I usually make the 'pull wires' from 5 amp fuse wire, which I leave unpainted as it is naturally 'wire colour' and soon tarnishes.  But on this signal, the fuse wire drooped too much on the cross wires to work properly, so I used 0.31mm N/S wire (from the late lamented Eileen's) which was the thinnest 'stiff' wire I could find.  I've left that unpainted too and hope in the fullness of time it will also tarnish.

 

Anyway, so far so good and all the arms now work by finger pushing on the weight bars, so now there's just the actuators to make.

 

Beautiful work Steve,

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[31A]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Beautiful work Steve,

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Thank you Tony, most kind of you to say so!

 

[31A]

2 hours ago, Chas Levin said:

Magnificent! 😎

Thank you Chas, glad you like it!

[31A]

1 hour ago, Mallard60022 said:

Oooof. What a beautiful piece Steve.

Phil

 

Cheers Phil!

[lezz01]

That's a great piece of work as usual Steve. Well done mate.

Regards Lez.