Buckjumper Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Barely notice the flangeway from that angle! How many? Well, from the baseboard edge to the rail where the cobbles finish is equivalent to a row of exactly 100 (what are the chances of that?). There are nine rows to an inch. And the area is about 31 inches long. So that's 9 x 31 x 100 So about 28 thousand setts..... Blimey, now you've worried me. In my time period all of the roads in East London were laid with setts, Macadam was only laid in parts of the City and more upmarket streets. I could be looking at scribing millions of setts over the next couple of decades... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 Barely notice the flangeway from that angle! Blimey, now you've worried me. In my time period all of the roads in East London were laid with setts, Macadam was only laid in parts of the City and more upmarket streets. I could be looking at scribing millions of setts over the next couple of decades... I'm guessing that like me you're layout is/will be set in the fifties? I was brought up in Hertford Road, off the Kingsland Road, some distance north of Shoreditch and a mile or so south of Dalston Junction. I remember that when I was about six (so 1955) the tarred wooden blocks that formed the road surface were lifted and replaced with tarmac. You would not have described Hertford Road as an upmarket street. A tatty terrace on one side and a woodyard (which Googlemap suggests is still there!) on a canal spur on the other! Incidentally I particularly remember the work being done as it was fascinating for a six year old to watch - and because our share of the blocks were stacked in the garden and consumed on the house fires. My grandfather loved a "good blaze". So you might be able to reduce the area you have to cobble......otherwise you might well scribe yourself to arthritis...... Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckjumper Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I'm guessing that like me you're layout is/will be set in the fifties? A bit earlier...1890s. See here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 A bit earlier...1890s. See here. Hmmm. I see your problem. Maybe you should go for a heavier snowfall? or would you look on that as cheating? Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckjumper Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I don't want to blanket the place in snow, but contemporary commentators and photos often describe/show very muddy main streets - 'mud' being the Victorian euphemism for horse dung, so that may help a little. I think I'll have to resort to little and often over a protracted period to keep sane. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 I don't want to blanket the place in snow, but contemporary commentators and photos often describe/show very muddy main streets - 'mud' being the Victorian euphemism for horse dung, so that may help a little. I think I'll have to resort to little and often over a protracted period to keep sane. Yes Adrian. As I said to Sue when she saw me scribing up the first tiny patch and was stunned when I confirmed just how big an area I was going to cover: "How would you eat an elephant?" Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alant Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Ah, yes, a friend of mine has a static grass applicator with which he has had very good results. I think I will persuade him to lend it to me (he has my loco chassis assembly jig so it will be fair dos! ). Grass clumps sound good - can I ask which brand? Have you got any photos of the results? Chaz Hi Chaz, I bought some grass clumps from a supplier I found online called Fields of Glory Models. They appear to sell wargame type things mostly but their grass clumps are advertised as 1/35th scale. Link to them below: http://www.fieldsofg...s&Category=7481 They do a couple of different lengths and bought both long and short, but the longer ones seemed to suit my purposes better. I have attached a photo below (not the best quality) but you can see the longer clumps on the corner and at the end of the track on my end loading dock. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Hi Chaz, I bought some grass clumps from a supplier I found online called Fields of Glory Models. They appear to sell wargame type things mostly but their grass clumps are advertised as 1/35th scale. Link to them below: http://www.fieldsofg...s&Category=7481 They do a couple of different lengths and bought both long and short, but the longer ones seemed to suit my purposes better. I have attached a photo below (not the best quality) but you can see the longer clumps on the corner and at the end of the track on my end loading dock. Thanks for the photo and the link, I will follow this up. Did a bit more work on the setts. Where they looked a bit light I added more grey acrylic as a wash. Once this had dried I had another look. Some of the setts looked a bit dark, and there were patches where the detail didn't show too well, the colour of the tops matching that in the joints. Some very gentle work with a fibreglass brush had the effect of lightening the tops of the setts slightly. Chaz 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc smith Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Ah, the ever useful fibreglass brush / pen... A useful tip Looking good Chaz - you don't want them looking too even Just nice & grubby, with some lighter and darker patches.... PS. As you seem to enjoy it - do you want to scribe a few thousand setts for me? Only kidding Cheers again Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alant Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Ah, the ever useful fibreglass brush / pen... A useful tip Any tips on how to remove fibres from your fingers though? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckjumper Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Disposable gloves are a good preventative, but if you've got them stuck in your fingers then light, a magnifier and some of SWMBO's best tweezers from Boots will remove them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Ah, the ever useful fibreglass brush / pen... A useful tip Looking good Chaz - you don't want them looking too even Just nice & grubby, with some lighter and darker patches.... PS. As you seem to enjoy it - do you want to scribe a few thousand setts for me? Only kidding Cheers again Thanks Marc. I have a feeling that cobbles would in fact be very evenly coloured, however the patchy effect seems to work fine (at least you and I think so) on the model. "do you want to scribe a few thousand setts for me?" Yes OK. How about 10p per sett? 5% Discount on every thousand..... Chaz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Any tips on how to remove fibres from your fingers though? You can minimise the risk by only using the type of refill that has been "glued-up". This seems to stop longer strands from breaking off. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Siddall Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Any tips on how to remove fibres from your fingers though? Errr... one of my first jobs (about three and a bit decades ago and therefore not as well covered by 'elf and safety' as it is today) was GRP lay-up using chopped-strand mat for a boat-builder in Dartmouth... only did it for a while but I suspect I still have shards of the stuff embedded in the fleshy bits of the palms of my hands. Doesn't stop me using a glass-fibre brush though, they're one of my favourite weathering tools. Nowadays though, being older and (allegedly) wiser I do wear light-weight disposable gloves. Have no desire to add to the subcutaneous collection :-/ David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Any tips on how to remove fibres from your fingers though? Wrap the affected area in good sticky tape for a minute or two, then remove (the tape, that is). Seems to get most splinters out. Fortunately MrsB keeps industrial quantities of good quality parcel tape around so I'm never short. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted November 29, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 29, 2012 I worked for a firm making heating devices mostly sewn into glass fibre tapes or mats you itched like crazy for a couple of weeks then it went off. However although I left 33 years ago I seem very sensitive to fibreglass (as in loft insulation) these days. Also I left London when quie young I stayed often with various cousins in particular some in Bethnal Green. I can remember kicking about in cobbled 'play streets' and lots of railway bridges. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 (edited) While I have been working on the cobbled area I had time to take stock and to regret that I didn't do something about the Peco points, specifically that horrid box in the four foot over the tie-bar. I decided to experiment on one of the points to see what could be done. First step was to pull off the top of the box and then to cut away the switch housing using an end-mill style burr in my Dremel. When I was cutting away the housing at the toe end of the point I wedged the point blades with card packing so that I could work without damaging the plastic tie-bar. I used that sad old screwdriver (which has seen service as a paint stirrer) to scrape away some of the ballast. I didn't think granite chippings would do the burr much good. Once I had cut the housing away I decided to try and slim down the tie bar. Whilst conceeding that it will never look much like a prototype stretcher bar, cutting away the central bulge should improve the look. I'm not worried about weakening the bar as the action of the servos I use is very gentle. I put a piece of brass under the tie bar to support it and shaved the edges to a straighter line with a chisel blade. And the picture above shows where I've got to. The switch housing as been cut away, I have cut the sleepers back to the ends of the chairs as this will help to disguise the join when I pop in some replacement sleeper sections. The black section of plastic between the two white areas is the base of the housing. I have left this in place as it adds a little strength. The tie-bar has been pared down but there is a little more work to do to get this looking even and parallel. I did think that this bodgery would have been better done before the track was laid - but on reflection I'm not so sure. With the point laid and held firmly in position and well supported by the ballast it can be worked on safely - you just need a steady pair of hands with that Dremel! I will post again when I have got a bit further with this point. I'm a bit daunted by the thought that I have another seven to do...... Chaz Edited November 30, 2012 by chaz 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted November 30, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2012 Hi Chaz Some sort of jig might help to hold the turnout whilst setting about making the changes. Cheers SS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alant Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Hi Chaz, I've not bought any new Peco points for some years as I had a stock which I used for my layout. So are the ones you are using a newer design as the box seems to be quite a bit longer than my types and it sounds as though a microswitch is contained, is that correct? Alan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 Hi Chaz Some sort of jig might help to hold the turnout whilst setting about making the changes. Cheers SS It might well SS, but all the turnouts on Dock Green are glued down, wired and ballasted so I must vandalise them in situ but if I was taking a new one out of the box..... Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Hi Chaz, I've not bought any new Peco points for some years as I had a stock which I used for my layout. So are the ones you are using a newer design as the box seems to be quite a bit longer than my types and it sounds as though a microswitch is contained, is that correct? Alan. Yes Alan. Right on both counts. The points are a new, "improved" version. As you say the original points had a much more discrete and acceptable arrangement. The box is for a microswitch which I think has to be bought and fitted by the user (I can't be certain as I didn't lay the track). Certainly none of the points on Dock Green have, or need, a switch on the tie-bar. The polarity of the crossing is switched at a DPCO switch which also controls the servo. Chaz Edited November 30, 2012 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Siddall Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Grief... if those with the gurt box are the 'new, improved' version from Peco I'm glad I chose to toil along the pothole strewn path road to building my own! And they've still got hinged blades even after the extensive modification you're undertaking down at the push-me-pull-you end! OK, I know (as someone will no doubt point out if I don't acknowledge it) hinged blades are fine if you're happy to model 'heel switches'. None the less... 1) I'm sure they'll blend infinitely more sympathetically into your superb scenic modelling after the makeover, and 2) you'll be unlikely to end up to be cursing them to quite the extent I did my first handmade attempt when it defied the passage of my Heljan Hymek (fortunately now resolved ;-) Bon voyage... David Edited November 30, 2012 by David Siddall Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Grief... if those with the gurt box are the 'new, improved' version from Peco I'm glad I chose to toil along the pothole strewn path road to building my own! And they've still got hinged blades even after the extensive modification you're undertaking down at the push-me-pull-you end! OK, I know (as someone will no doubt point out if I don't acknowledge it) hinged blades are fine if you're happy to model 'heel switches'. I sympathise with your sentiment. I wish I had the motivation to make my own points (I certainly wouldn't bother to make plain track - the Peco stuff looks fine to me) but it was a compromise I felt I had to make for time reasons. I'm not sure I would characterise what I'm doing as an "extensive modification" David - being entirely superficial. I'm not touching any of the rail. ........I'm sure they'll blend infinitely more sympathetically into your superb scenic modelling after the makeover....... Thanks for that - blending is what I am hoping for...... Photo above shows this first point with the changes completed. As the servo is not powered in this picture the blades have relaxed to an indeterminate mid-position. I used three short pieces of Peco Individulay plastic point timbering to replace the missing sections. Unfortunately I haven't managed to make the joints invisible - the point is laid on cork, which has militated against getting a totally level "bodge". However I think the result compares favourably with Peco's nastiness in this area..... The second photo compares before and after. On the left is an untouched point with the switch housing intact. On the right is the modified point, with the ballast restored. I will try to get a better match with the sleeper inserts on future modifications. Possible a thin plate over the cork to level it? - although this will make it necessary to slim down the timbers slightly. Now for the other seven...... Chaz Edited November 30, 2012 by chaz 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warspite Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Chaz I've followed this latest development with interest as I would also like to get rid of the unsightly box. Your remedy is very impressive and I will certainly give it a try. Like you, I will have to make the changes in situ as the points are well set in lots of 'yard gunge'! Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckjumper Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 If you were able to remove this piece and backfill with ballast the ruse would be even more complete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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