Gurney Slade. Over the Mendips.

[sp1]

Just a quick non-update.

 

Nothing to add since previous post. Changing cars, very early starts and a few thing to do about the house, together with a pub crawl around the Black Country and an aborted attempt to get to Warley, means I haven't even set foot in the shed since last Sunday. An assessment to do tomorrow followed by early lates(does that make sense) means little will get done now until Saturday at the earliest. Then it's late earlies the following week.

No better place for a pub crawl...

(When I do it I can walk home afterwards!)

[JZ]

Three weeks since the last update. Well, I haven't lost my mojo, but some of my shifts haven't been conducive to getting things done. I don't like working out there all wrapped up and I don't see the point of putting the heater on to boost the temperature and then only having a half hour or so to work with. And, when I have had a day off, I have been dusting off the address book and visiting relatives that I probably won't see again until next Christmas.

So............doing things that can be done indoors and then taken out. Using the Will's point rodding kits, I have been assembling the runs from the signal box down to the pointwork, blimey the cost of this adds up. Once in, maybe tomorrow, I can put in the cable runs for the signals, shan't bother about the cables themselves, just the pulley posts, though maybe later.......

I have done a running test on the track that is down and was surprised to get a short straight away. Much head scratching until I noticed that I'd left a Jinty sitting across the single slip with the point not set for it.. Doh....

Anyways, two day completely to myself, so out there first thing in the morning to get the place warmed up and a plan of action in place. Who knows, maybe even some photo's.

[JZ]

Spent this afternoon ripping up track. But don't worry, only the fiddleyard of Tolmouth. Or at least part of it, some of it will be re-used. Fitting point motors on the high level fiddleyard is a pain in the arse as they need to be in before the baseboard for it can be put in.

[JZ]

Yesterday was spent laying the track into the lower fiddle yard and fettling the first board that carries the upper. Will get a few hour out on it today as the family will be over Boxing Day this year.

 

Anyway. Spent a while searching the net for a suitable scene for Christmas and the best I could find was at Shepton Mallett.

From the Ashwick Parish website. http://www.ashwickparish.org/

[JZ]

Driving of the Golden Spike later today. Well maybe a rather grand term, perhaps it should be the fitting of the last nickel silver rail joiner. Intend to leave the track to dry overnight and wire up in the morning. First train will be an Ivatt 2MT pushing the inspection saloon. Still much more to do before trains can run properly. Much track to lay in the fiddle yards and the point motors all need power. And then the line to the colliery needs putting in. I keep promising a photo or two, but to be honest you can see track being laid on a 101 other threads. Once all has been tested, I can ballast the track and then get on with the scenics. Then there will be photo updates.

[JZ]

Wiring done and checked. Still haven't run a train around, too much crap on the layout for that, must have a tidy up before scenic work starts. But I did get a photo.

Inspection saloon being propelled by Ivatt 2MT 46440 passing a short coal train for Shepton Mallett.

The bridge in the background is the scenic break for the upper fiddleyard. This area will be a cutting and is also the duck under for entry.

Edited December 28, 2014 by JZ

[JZ]

Went to run a complete circuit today and found a short section I'd forgotten. Doh. Oh well, all but 3ft works. Will probably leave this until I wire the fiddle yards. FWIW, I did run a couple of trains for load testing on the steep gradient between the levels.

Jinty on a short freight to Shepton. Pretty sure that Ivatt 2MTs never ran on the S&D, but in my world............

[JZ]

Did a little scenic work today. The duck under section form a cutting up to the bridge that forms the scenic break. I had to compromise a bit here, leaving enough room behind to be able to reach the door handle, yet get the track around without increasing the radius too much. So the cutting will have a rock wall on one side and a grass bank on the other. Used some Woodland Scenics moulds to cast some rocks. Stuck them down onto some brick sheet to look like brick infill/re-enforcement, but it didn't achieve the effect I hoped, so I will probably cut some rock pieces to fit the gaps.

 

Fireman of the Jinty doesn't seem impressed either.

 

For the cess I have used Tamiya Soil Effect Dark Earth, a tad more than GreenScene textured paint, but in my opinion, better.

Edited January 2, 2015 by JZ

[JZ]

Had a mull over the rock face. Some of the gaps will be filled with filler and for others I have some SEF brick sheet that can be easily cut to the right shape.

[JZ]

Had another go at the rock face today. Much happier with the results. Another thing that grated was the straight edge along the back against the curve of the track, this too has been overcome.

The drystone wall, Hornby, gives it a softer edge I think. Much infilling has be done and when dry will be tackled with a screwdriver. The only ballasting done is the shoulders and the 6 foot and then the excess need vacuuming away, when the vacuum has recharged.

 

The drystone wall is yet to be fixed. This will be done after painting the rocks.

Edited January 3, 2015 by JZ

[JZ]

Noticed in the photo's that it looks like the rock comes right up the the track. There is a cess along that side as well and just looks like that because of the cant raising the level up. Better photo's today.

[JZ]

Slapped a bit of paint on the rockface, it will need some weathering, subtle colouring and some clumps of vegetation. Without the wall on top it looks a bit odd, but this will be replaced later. Posed a coach in the cutting, it looks rather closer than it actually is, have to get the K30 out for better pictures. Also toned down the sleepers, rails will be painted tomorrow, or maybe tonight.

[JZ]

Forgot to add that the transition from wooden to concrete sleepers on the down will also see a transition from old to new ballast, while the steel sleepered section will be somewhere in between.

[JZ]

Work continues on the scenic side of things.

 

 

 

 

All confined the the cutting at the top of the layout. The dry-stone wall is now fixed in place. As it may be prone to knocks, it has been fixed in place using hot glue. The distant signal is a Ratio SR rail built kit with MSE arm. Only temporarily put together at the moment, it will be operated using the Ratio system. I have another of these kits and this will be used for the home signal at this end of the station. Other signals will be MSE. The brown area will be covered with static grass, certainly on the railway side of a boundary fence, the other side with either have some dairy cattle, or I may plant a crop. It also needs a new lineside hut as this one was built with the windows on the wrong side for this location.

 

Question: Should I place a telegraph pole both sides of the road ?

Edited January 11, 2015 by JZ

[JZ]

Spent a few hours in the cutting. Boundary fence has been installed, well the posts are up anyway. I will be using 38swg copper wire between the posts. PW hut replaced with one with the windows on the right side for it's location. Static grass has been used within the boundary fence, Woodland Scenics scatter outside. The pill box has yet to be bedded in, this will wait until the fence is wired and also a few bushes will be added then. The distant signal seen in a previous photo is out for finishing, I've also used a Chiltern Modelling Services transfer on the arm, much tidier than my painting.

 

With a bit of luck, the wire for the fence will be here tomorrow, so the tedious job of installing this to look forward to.

[JZ]

A 04:59 start put paid to any modelling yesterday. Far too knackered when I got home. But the wire did arrive. So this afternoon after work I put it in.

Cheated a bit at the ends. To hide the wire wrapped around the end post and the fact that it should have bracing, I've hidden all the ends in bushes.

 

Also did a mock-up of the area behind the goods yard, as this will be the next area to be worked on.

The church and church hall. The church is somewhat different from the one in Binegar, I like this one as it modelled on St.Boniface's at Bonchurch, IoW, and being a Boniface myself, it is the only choice. The 'tin tab' is Wills and being used here as the church hall. Somewhere I have a Hornby Nissen hut to be used as a scout hut. This will go the other side of the church lane. In the Somerset Coalfield there are quite a few Methodist chapels and one of these will go at the other end of the layout near the colliery.

Edited January 18, 2015 by JZ

[JZ]

Could only spare a few minutes on Gurney today. The wire in the fence needed toning down a bit, so I used some weathering paint for military models that I had. It's enamel, so will have to wait until the morning to see if it is enough. If not, I will give it a wash of thin matt varnish with a little grey added.

 

 

The Grassy Knoll

A few day ago, a work colleague asked me how I managed to get plaster to stick to Kingspan™. Well the answer is that I give it a liberal coat of PVA and leave it for 24h. This will soak into the Kingspan™. Then I give it another coat and only leave it for a few hours before applying the plaster. For convenience I use ready mixed, in 10Kg tubs available from builders merchants or DiY store, mine's from Homebase. I find at this time of year it needs at least 48h to dry before giving it a coat of paint, despite having a radiator in the shed. Oh, the PVA I use is also from a builders merchants and is thicker than the run-of-the-mill stuff.

 

Once The Grassy Knoll, the area with the church, is done, I will get the point motors powered, knock up some MSE ground signals and get the main signals at this end of the layout finished. The churchyard will be done with Woodland Scenics ready grass mat as I want it to look fairly well maintained. Once this is done, I can move on and do the main station and goods yard area.

 

So far, in building this layout, I have tried to be more focused. Get one area at a time finished before moving on to the next. With Somercombe and Tolmouth, I tended to get distracted and do a bit here and a bit there. This time 'a bit there' only gets done if I need to wait for something to dry.

 

A couple of posts ago I had the obligatory 'bus on bridge' shot. I suppose with a Somerset & Dorset layout this should be Ivo Peters' Bentley.(currently sat in a box somewhere)

Edited January 18, 2015 by JZ

[JZ]

Also, just bought some Comet Bulleid coach side to convert some Bachmann Bulleids. Looking through posts on the subject, people seem to recommend shortening the sides. Has anyone extended the Bachmann body ?

[JZ]

Been pottering about with working semaphores. Using two Ratio kits I have put together for the down distant shown above and the up home signal, just out of shot. Piccies tomorrow, maybe.

[JZ]

First signals finished and installed. 

Home signal for Gurney Slade. Both this and the next are Ratio kits with MSE arms.

 

Distant for Masbury. With one of Radstocks Jinties returning wrong road after banking duties.

 

Not the best photo's, using my phone for a couple of grabs before going to work.

[JZ]

Jinty banks a freight up to the summit as a return excursion passes.

[JZ]

BURNT FINGERS

 

Built the first of the ground signals last night from a MSE kit. Too damn fiddly to make them work, but they will be poseable. Just out to knock up another.

[JZ]

Decided to cook dinner instead.

 

Another job that needed doing was to raise the height of the signal box. Unfortunately I had put it together too well so ended with two slightly different styles of stonework.To excuse this I use the premise that the height was raised when the Southern region installed the footbridge in the early 1950s. Using the steps from the Highley Ratio box done to stone steps for a right angled short bottom flight.

 

Must get back to the cooker.

[JZ]

Trying to get a bit done every day now. The area around the church is now plastered and painted. This time I've used a, mostly, green base coat to make the grass look lusher. The fence is fixed in place using hot glue. Have decided not to put the Scout hut here now and instead will be used for dairy cattle, Friesian or Hereford, that is the question.

[JZ]

Previous photo converted to black and white.