Virney Junction - Scenery ongoing

[Ray H]

I made the mistake of having vertical wing walls when I first built the bridge shown in the first image. The voids behind the wing walls weren't too great but they increased slightly when I re-fitted the wing walls with a slight backward slant (whatever the correct terminology for that is!).

 

 

It came to pass that several months later I got round to covering the foam board with Scalescenes brick paper and filling the voids, covering the crumpled paper that I'd used to fill the voids with plaster cloth and then painting said plaster. The first two pictures were taken and all the work was done from a position in front of the layout and slightly to the right of the bridge - there was a bandsaw that I've just sold and which I was too stupid to move, stopping me from working at right angles to the front side of the bridge.

 

 

I had reason to move said bandsaw today and this is what I saw! Ugh. :-) Obviously I've gone a bit overboard with the packing. It looks like its all got to come out and be re-done but this time I'll put a wedge under the bridge to stop the walls moving inwards.

 

[Andrew P]

Oh dear Ray, I hope you get it sorted mate.

[Ray H]

Thanks Andy. Let's hope the dodgy structure doesn't give the Good Doctor an excuse to close the line !

 

Meanwhile round at the junction station there is now photographic evidence of my thoughts for the future of the bridge that marks the scenic break.

 

The road on the left hand side of the bridge slopes down to outside the station (as shown below, although the station area is just off-scene on the left of the image). The ground will drop down to track level on the railway side of the road with a wing wall extending a short way from the bridge to restrain the "land". The foam-board road currently hugs the backscene as can be seen. However, I'm not too sure whether I can simply have the road edge hard against the backscene or whether I need to separate the two, possibly with a wire and post fence. Should there be a gap between the road edge and the backscene or will the fence (or hedge) look OK all but leaning against the backscene?

 

The road on the right of the bridge was going to remain reasonably level but I'm struggling with the access to the goods yard so I've decided that here again the road needs to slope down towards the baseboard although it won't quite make that low level before the board width runs out. I've marked the foam-board bridge wall to show how I currently envisage the road level will be. Here again there will be a wing wall extending a short way from the bridge.

 

(For information, the raised plywood area at the front of the baseboard covers all the wiring, the servos that operate the points and the electronics to control the servos. Therefore it needs to be removable and can't really have any scenery on it.)

 

 

But herein lies a problem that is more clearly seen in the second image

 

 

There is already precious little space between the two siding tracks for road vehicles, so much so that I think the only place for the coal merchants stacks are at the end of the shorter siding as shown. His office will probably end up shaking hands with the coal stacks with its back to and not far from the nearby railway track - the office will be rotated 90º anti-clockwise so that the door is on the side of the building furthest from the track.

 

Somehow I need to provide for the ground to fall down from the road level to the ground level in the yard before it reaches the little building. I also need to leave enough space for a vehicle to turn around and ensure that there is access for road vehicles to get alongside the wagons in the longer siding - the shorter siding isn't used for loading/unloading.

 

I could possible move the long siding a little nearer the baseboard edge at the end nearest the bridge to open up the vehicle area between the two tracks but I've no idea how I would then disguise the (effectively) raised front edge of the baseboard which would be little more than a few millimetres from the sleeper end. I don't think I can afford to shorten the long siding - there's probably less than a wagon length clear of the end of the shorter siding by the time the buffer stop has been added.

 

And while all this is gong on I have to start the ground level rising from the yard to give the impression that the entry/exit roadway will connect with the road just off the edge of the baseboard. As I said earlier, "I wish I could get enthusiastic about scenery!"

[Chimer]

Been there, failed to sort it.  The problem is the real world is oblately spherical* so doesn't have edges.  This aspect of life would be so much easier if track could be kept at least 6" away from the baseboard edges, but it will keep edging out to fill the space available ......... Only offering sympathy, not solutions!

 

* I would have said "round" but someone would have been bound to pick me up on it  

[Ray H]

Removing the right hand abutment/wing wall assembly wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. I then managed to remove most of the paper packing and trim the plaster cloth back a bit on the right hand side and am temporarily wedging the two abutments apart.

 

 

I now need to re-visit the left hand abutment because I thought that was and had remained vertical but the image above seems to show otherwise.

 

On the other hand it may simply be the angle the picture was taken from.

 

The other challenge is to decide whether to stick with the Scalescenes brick papers or to revert back to embossed plastic card option. I had sprayed the brick paper on the wing walls & abutments of the bridge seen above with a matt varnish but the glue and paint have still disfigured that brick paper. Maybe I need to spray the papers with a bit more gusto if I am to replace the brick papers with the same again..

[Ray H]

The damp had obviously gotten to the Scalescenes brick paper on the old abutments and wing walls so I tried to remove same. I can't remember what I'd used to glue the paper with but it was going to be hard work to remove it. In addition, the previous construction had been modified fairly recently so that the wing walls weren't vertical. I hadn't made a terrific job of that nor of patching up the brickwork so I decided to make new ones.

 

 

A day or so later and the brickies had been around. The engine and brake van on the bridge are there to protect the workforce. The driver's oiling the motion on the far side and the fireman's gone to the signal box to remind the bobby that the loco & van are still in section - at least that's my story.

 

 

I've recently taken delivery of a WWS static grass applicator having seen one in use at the club. I need to get to work using that to hide the scorched earth!

[Ray H]

I realised as I finished wiring up the lever frame at the junction station that I'm proposing to use the lay of points 4 and 6 to determine whether the Main or the shunt signal responds to the operation of signal levers 14 - the down starter - and 16 - the up home - respectively.

 

The S.H.A.G lever frame only has provision for a single (large) micro-switch to be operated by each lever. I'm not aware of double pole double throw micro-switches of the same size and as I'd wired all the other micro-switches up before I fully realised the consequences of my error I couldn't juggle the main micro-switch spacings to add a second for the relevant levers (although I think it might be possible to do so as part of the initial frame build).

 

I didn't want to have to introduce relays so I've glued a sub micro-switch above the main one as shown and will need to do some re-wiring in due course to incorporate the new switches.

 

 

Despite rumours to the contrary the apparent spider's web looking "silk" is in fact the remains of the small dabs of adhesive that I'd use originally to affix the front onto the frame.

[Andrew P]

Bridge embankment looks much better now Ray, yet another excellent job. The Lever Frame looks really impressive as well.

[Ray H]

I was a bit too enthusiastic with the rattle can of acrylic varnish when I sprayed the brick papers on the abutments and wings walls on the left hand side of the road under bridge. I had to remove the brick paper from that side, cut and fix new and then be a little less vicious when spraying. Hopefully there is still sufficient varnish on there to keep the damp from glues and the like out so that the ink doesn't run when I get round to adding foliage and static grass.

 

Meanwhile there have been some minor developments round at the junction station. The bridge at the far end of the station - there is only one bridge there! - has seen some modification. The "wall" on the right hand side of the tracks has been removed as indicated previously. The supports for the road have been added on the left and the wing walls have been cut and shaped although they have yet to be fixed in position.

 

There are now roofs over the track under the bridge although the right hand wall under the bridge won't be added as it can't be seen from the layout's normal viewing area.

 

 

Looking at the picture I appear to need to check the regularity of the arc that forms the curve in the brickwork over the track. The left hand side looks straight rather than curved although I'm sure it isn't in reality.

[Andrew P]

The Bridge is looking better Ray, but as you say the left Arch looks like it needs a we tweak.  Excellent modelling mate.

[Ray H]

Thanks Andy.

 

A closer study of the bridge arches revealed that I hadn't pared the cuts back to the drawn line, something I have now done. I've also added a few other adornments although in doing so I've probably made it a lot harder for myself to make a passable job with the Scalescenes brick papers.

 

 

I went to Wycrail with a colleague today. I commented on the way home that the Cumbrian and Cotswold stones have a lot going for them. I'm almost tempted to try using modelling clay and carving stones in it rather than face the complexities of using brick paper on the bridge. The only problem with that is Virney Junction is too remote from the Cotswolds (and Cumbria for that matter).

[Richard Mawer]

Thanks Andy.

 

A closer study of the bridge arches revealed that I hadn't pared the cuts back to the drawn line, something I have now done. I've also added a few other adornments although in doing so I've probably made it a lot harder for myself to make a passable job with the Scalescenes brick papers.

 

051116_1.jpg

 

I went to Wycrail with a colleague today. I commented on the way home that the Cumbrian and Cotswold stones have a lot going for them. I'm almost tempted to try using modelling clay and carving stones in it rather than face the complexities of using brick paper on the bridge. The only problem with that is Virney Junction is too remote from the Cotswolds (and Cumbria for that matter).

 

Ray,

 

What a pity that I didn't know you were going to Wycrail. I was Hall Manager for the ground floor hall. One of the two guys in that hall standing around wearing yellow jackets and praying for 8pm when we would finally be able to sit down! It would have been good to introduce ourselves to each other. A missed opportunity. I hope you enjoyed the show.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

[Ray H]

Ray,

 

What a pity that I didn't know you were going to Wycrail. I was Hall Manager for the ground floor hall. One of the two guys in that hall standing around wearing yellow jackets and praying for 8pm when we would finally be able to sit down! It would have been good to introduce ourselves to each other. A missed opportunity. I hope you enjoyed the show.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

Indeed. I did wonder if you were there as I had a vague recollection that you were associated with the Wycombe club. We were one of the first through the door - we managed to squeeze inside and wait in the warm until it opened - so you were probably quite busy at that time. I'll let you know a bit nearer the time if I aim to go next year and we haven't previously hooked up.

[Ray H]

Meanwhile, back at home the builders have been in.

 

 

They knocked off early without finishing the job. I'm hopeful that they'll be back later in the week if not later today! (A bt of weathering will cover the odd areas of exposed paper edge).

[Ray H]

Bob the builder has returned and managed to get a bit more done to the overbridge.

 

 

There's probably another day's work to keep him busy. The capping across the bridge itself needs fitting as does the wall on the other side of the road.

 

Then we can call the parks and gardens people in to tend to the embankment either side of the bridge (but only after we've sprayed the brick papers with some acrylic varnish to stop the ink running if it gets wet).

 

I hope they hurry up because the passengers on the distant Class 108 are desperate to complete their journey!

Edited November 9, 2016 by Ray H

[john flann]

Ray, long time since I looked in last. Very impressed with the progress. My regards.

[Ray H]

With a bit of luck basic work on the bridge at the end of the platform at the junction station will be finished within the next couple of days. It needs a coating of acrylic varnish to stop the ink running on the printed brick papers and it'll also need a bit of weathering to disguise some of the white of the paper edges that I haven't managed to hide.

 

I've been pondering yet again about the overall "layout" of the goods yard in front of the bridge. The scheme that I've come up with involves slewing the siding track nearest to the baseboard edge towards the adjacent siding by about 25mm towards the end of the siding. This reduces the space between the two sidings but enhances the space on the outside of the two sidings.

 

I'll also reduce the length of the other (shorter) siding by about 50mm. This will provide a little more room for the coalman to store his products once he has removed it from the wagons but more importantly provides room on the outside of the yard (nearest the baseboard edge) for lorries to go alongside the longer siding to load/unload. There will also just be enough space for a token grassy bank at the baseboard edge. This will go some way towards hiding the edge of the plywood strips that cover the electronics.

 

I'll then cut into the existing green/grassed area further away from the buffer stop to provide a lorry turning space.

 

I may also cut the longer siding's length back by up to 75mm to make it easier to portray the transition from the flat baseboard to the exit route for lorries from the goods yard.

 

The following picture gives an idea of the proposed arrangements

 

 

I'm wondering what to do about buffer stops at the siding ends. Rail built ones are generally designed for code 100 rail not code 75. They also consume half a wagon's length of siding space. That's not a problem in that respect but it does mean that both sidings could lose about 10cms off their existing length if I also cut the sidings back by 5cms.

Edited November 15, 2016 by Ray H

[Ray H]

I've also been giving some more thought to the freight movement scheme.

 

The latest thinking is to utilise the wagon waybill holder on the wagon's solebar instead of having a paper tag stuck to the wagon body side. Obviously I can't have a proper waybill but I think I can put two colour dots in the holder's position, one above the other. The upper colour will determine the destination of the wagon whilst the lower colour will indicate the wagon's local "destination" (where appropriate - e.g. private siding 1, goods shed, etc.).

 

A third mark is required to indicate the "day" the wagon is to be moved.

 

All the colours need to be reasonably vivid and compatible with each other (because there'll be two marks adjacent to each other on the waybill holder). On the other hand placement of the third colour needs to be such that it will minimise any impact of the wagon's future sale price.

 

Furthermore I've decided to simplify the coding system. The simplification means that it is only necessary to worry about the wagon's placement colour at its destination instead of having distinct code for siding R at station 1 and another code for siding T at the same station, so one colour will generally suffice until the destination is reached.

 

The dedicated Aylesbury code will go with the long siding from the junction station being regarded as that station's private siding. The lower colour on the waybill will be irrelevant in the (small) Banbury fiddle yard. I'm undecided about Banbury's dedicated code. I'd like to retain it to add variety to the train consist by using it for wagons that would not be seen in the two (scenic) station yards. However, that requires persons marshalling trains to have to worry about a further colour translation when positioning wagons in trains.

 

But first I need to work out where the third colour will go.

[Andrew P]

Hi Ray, the coding idea sounds really good mate, as for the Buffers, I simply sliced the fixings off the bottom. I like the way the sidings are looking.

[Ray H]

Almost a case of no sooner said than done.

 

 

The relocated siding hasn't been ballasted yet for two reasons. Firstly I plan to apply a layer of modelling clay to the goods yard ground area - which would hide the ballast. More importantly my remnant supply of ash ballast seems to have vanished!

 

The area to the right of the chalked line adjacent to the lorry will be a shallow grassed bank. The turning circle will be further back, below the bottom right of the picture.

 

The length of both sidings has been cut back by around 5cms. This will still only leave room for a single coal wagon alongside the coal bins. The trouble with reducing the length of the shorter siding any further is that the dropper wires are soldered to what is now the very end of that siding. They can be moved but would then need to be soldered to the rail sides rather than the rail bottoms as now.

 

The bridge's basic construction is also complete. There was either a heavy frost last night (which is why the bridge looks pale) or the colour changed when I sprayed the acrylic matt varnish on it to seal the paperwork. I'll leave you to guess which.

 

Talking of which, I shall have to darken the colour quite a bit. I've heard of people using washes to do that but I'm not completely convinced that the spray varnish reached every inch of the printed brick papers and I don't want the ink to run. I know there is dry brushing but is there something akin to (almost) dry painting? I ask because I think I'll need to apply something that's got a bit more body than dry brushing - or is it simply a case of dry brushing more than once?

 

I've had a closer look at the solebar area on the (4mm) wagons. There's less room than I thought - too much working with 7mm stock at a colleague's layout and at the club - and the waybill clip is not as easily visible on some OO wagons as I thought. I was also wondering how I could apply the most basic mark consistently without over-painting an adjacent mark. It was time for yet another rethink.

 

For some reason Excel came to mind - with apologies to those who are unaware of this piece of computer software.

 

Set the fill colour of 4 consecutive cells in a row to black and apply a (different) colour right vertical border to each of the three leftmost cells - the fourth cell is only there to provide a background at the right of the tag. I reduced the cell size to 6 pixels deep and 8 pixels wide - the left and right most cells can be half that width.

 

The resultant "artwork" is printed onto an adhesive label and cut into strips to give a 7mm long by 1.5mm deep tag which can be affixed to the lower body side of each wagon. There's an added bonus in using the black fill colour (aside from it normally matching the wagon number panel). The right margin colour options can now include white (assuming that's the colour of the unprinted label)!

 

That's the theory, all I have to do now is try it in practice.

[Ray H]

 

Here are the first three wagons to be adorned with the latest tag idea. The tags are at the bottom of the body, above the left-hand wheel. The hardest task is separating the tag from the label's backing sheet.

 

As indicated before there is one colour that will identify the wagon's destination, another will indicate which siding it is to be left in at the said destination whilst the third colour will indicate the day of the week the vehicle is to be moved (or is not available to move).

 

I can see some form of logic in all the various combinations of colour ordering.

 

The (generally) least important colour - let's call it colour P - is the one that identifies where the wagon is to be left when it arrives at its destination - it has no meaning in either of the two smaller fiddle yards nor at any location where the wagon remains in the train.

 

The day of movement (or otherwise) colour - colour M - is important at one location per movement because it determines whether or not a wagon should be added to the next train to be marshalled. However, once the wagon is on the train this colour no longer has any relevance except at Buckinhum where the this colour is used to indicate that the wagon is from the junction station and is to be returned to the fiddle yard - all wagons from the junction station are routed to the fiddle yard via Buckinhum.

 

The destination of the wagon colour - colour D - is important at virtually every location as it tells the main fiddle yard where to marshal the wagon in the train. The destination (colour) code is also important to the two scenic stations because they need to know whether to detach the wagon at their station and, at Buckinhum, whether the wagon is to be worked forward to Banbury or shunted somewhere at the station.

 

Colour P could be the third colour (from the left) on the tag as it is referenced the least. However, there is a case to say that it should be the middle colour to leave the more important colours at the extremes of the tag where they might be considered as being more readily noticeable.

 

Is colour M more important than colour D because M is the first colour that needs to be read or is M less important than D because it only needs to be read once?

 

Thoughts on the tag colour ordering would be welcomed as I can't decide which option is the best.

[Chimer]

In my opinion, if there has to be an answer ....... the most important moment for an operator at an intermediate station is when a train arrives.  The first unknown thing (for him) is which wagons are coming off the train (D), the second is where they are going to be parked (P).  What's to be done with wagons which are already in the yard could/should have been worked out in advance.  So as we (most of us anyway) read from left to right, I would say DPM.

 

But my first thought was that it doesn't actually matter a carrot, as the codes are all together, so you're going to read them as a single string anyway, e.g. red red green, and then, having put down the magnifying glass, consult a codebook to find out what red red green means - especially if the colours are still going to mean different things on different days (I can't remember if that's still part of the plan).

 

I reckon Virney Junction's freight ops, Eastwood Town's woodwork, and Peterborough North's photoshopping are the three most angst-ridden sections of RMWeb.  I love them all!!

 

Cheers

 

Chris

Edited November 17, 2016 by Chimer

[Ray H]

Thanks Chris, I'm flattered to be in the same league as Gordon & Gilbert.

 

Amazingly - although I haven't gotten others to check yet - the tags seem quite clear without (excessive) reading aids.

 

I have a friend coming round over the weekend, I'll see what he says.

 

I'll run with your DPM order suggestion and see how it goes. That option was probably the highest on my list.

 

Thanks again.

[Andrew P]

Hi Ray, I do like your idea mate, just need to get my head around its usability, but I recon it will work well.

[BobM]

161116_3.jpg

161116_4.jpg

161116_5.jpg

 

Here are the first three wagons to be adorned with the latest tag idea. The tags are at the bottom of the body, above the left-hand wheel. The hardest task is separating the tag from the label's backing sheet.

 

As indicated before there is one colour that will identify the wagon's destination, another will indicate which siding it is to be left in at the said destination whilst the third colour will indicate the day of the week the vehicle is to be moved (or is not available to move).

 

I can see some form of logic in all the various combinations of colour ordering.

 

The (generally) least important colour - let's call it colour P - is the one that identifies where the wagon is to be left when it arrives at its destination - it has no meaning in either of the two smaller fiddle yards nor at any location where the wagon remains in the train.

 

The day of movement (or otherwise) colour - colour M - is important at one location per movement because it determines whether or not a wagon should be added to the next train to be marshalled. However, once the wagon is on the train this colour no longer has any relevance except at Buckinhum where the this colour is used to indicate that the wagon is from the junction station and is to be returned to the fiddle yard - all wagons from the junction station are routed to the fiddle yard via Buckinhum.

 

The destination of the wagon colour - colour D - is important at virtually every location as it tells the main fiddle yard where to marshal the wagon in the train. The destination (colour) code is also important to the two scenic stations because they need to know whether to detach the wagon at their station and, at Buckinhum, whether the wagon is to be worked forward to Banbury or shunted somewhere at the station.

 

Colour P could be the third colour (from the left) on the tag as it is referenced the least. However, there is a case to say that it should be the middle colour to leave the more important colours at the extremes of the tag where they might be considered as being more readily noticeable.

 

Is colour M more important than colour D because M is the first colour that needs to be read or is M less important than D because it only needs to be read once?

 

Thoughts on the tag colour ordering would be welcomed as I can't decide which option is the best.

Wolverhampton.....Stourport.....super wagons........my back yard.....want one of each!

Edited November 17, 2016 by BobM