Highland embankment

[aberdare]

<p>You seem a lot happier with this now Andy and it should look good once it is complete, I look forward to seeing you fit the brickwork on and it all coming together. As you know I like working in plastic so it is the right way to go as far as I'm concerned though like you I will try other methods depending on what I can lay my hands on.

 

Hope to see it progress soon.

 

Jim

 

edit, I meant 'with' plastic as 'in' sounds so wrong

[uax6]

Now I'm working with a material I get on with the progress has been quite rapid. The formers have now been stuck to a backing sheet of 30thou. The effect looking at it is quite good, although you lot will have to wait till tomorrow when I can put some photos up. I've decided to wait until the stone sheet turns up before marking the courses, so then I can get them all to match up correctly.

 

I've enjoyed myself this afternoon!

 

Andy G

[uax6]

As promised so pictures of the engineering progress.

 

Look at the curve on that:

 

Showing the stiffeners to help keep it all where it should be:

 

And to get the feel of the shape of the finished item:

 

No more progress until the stonework appears (hopefully Mrs Postman will bring them before I go to work)

 

Andy g

[emt_911]

Andy G

 

Lucky it isn't the real thing. That would certainly be some heavy duty engineering.

 

Duncan

[uax6]

And if Jeff had made it, no-one would be able to lift it!

 

Sadly no sign of postie...

 

Andy

[billyb_imp]

Andy

 

Some serious strengthening there are you expecting an earthquake or something near the layout

 

Looks engineered to last 

[uax6]

The main reason for the over engineering is that the wing walls curve in two plains, both vertically and horizontally. I don't want any distorsion in the consturction before I fit it, and also it looked the easiest way to get the shape!

 

Mind you the fact that the diorama will be opened, closed, lugged up the stairs, and generally bashed about, it's probably no bad thing that its built like a brick outhouse!

 

Andy G

[emt_911]

And if Jeff had made it, no-one would be able to lift it!

If Jeff had built it, he'd have made it from 4 x 2

 

Duncan

[uax6]

If Jeff had built it, he'd have made it from 4 x 2

 

Duncan

and the worlds supply of plywood to form the slope!

 

Andy G

[uax6]

The Slaters 7mm dressed stone sheets arrived yesterday, but I've only just had an hour to play with them. The result was one arch course:

 

It's very closely based on <that> image, infact I cut the stones on top of a copy of the picture so that they would fit. The curve of the inside of the arch will be corrected when the solvent has gone off.

 

Thats all for tonight, but if I can do an hour a night (I'll probably go mad if I do longer!) I reckon it should only take about 4 weeks to do the whole lot! ;-)

 

Andy

[southern42]

Hi Andy

 

Re your clay modelling on previous page.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67329-highland-embankment/page-3&do=findComment&comment=946589

 

Here's a method you can try to keep your card flat as it dries.  I know this works when painting so I don't see why it shouldn't work with a layer of wet clay/pva.

 

Place a piece of card on a sheet of flat plywood and tape it down with brown sticky tape (drag required length through a pot of water and pull tape through your fingers to get most of the water off before laying down on the paper - no need to lick. Yuk!).

 

Draw out your shape and stick the clay to it.  Leave to dry and the card should dry flat.  Cut round the edge of the card to remove from the board and cut out your clay shape and sculpt as necessary.

 

If you try this and it works, do let me know!!!

 

Love your venture.  Must pop back again.

 

Polly

[Andrew P]

Great bit on engineering there Andy, I wish I had the patience to construct things like that as it makes all the difference in the long run.

I am looking forward to starting Glenfinick and seeing my 26 / 27 37s quietly running around, NO SOUND?

 

Andy, Old Lune, Bodgit Lunester 3rd

[uax6]

Having been busy over on my other thread for a bit (see my signature for a link) I thought it was about time that I did something on this one. The truth be told that I've been knackered with the shift pattern this week, so instead of doing an hour a night, I've done nothing, but tonight I've managed to get two hours done to the creep and the transformation is large!

 

The first thing I did was finish the arch panel, trim and stick it to the former. I then drilled holes in the back of the former for each of the 'boxes' that I had made with the strengthening pieces (to allow the solvent to vent off). Then the wing wall bits were secured in place (after I had drawn the course markings on them).

Finally I started putting the stones on.

 

On the arch piece, each stone was cut out individually and stuck on, for the wing walls I cut out each course and stuck it on. The courses aren't equal widths so this allows for the courses to be consistant across the structure like on the original.

 

I've finished one wing wall and the arch tonight.

 

 

 

I hope you agree that it's coming on well.

 

Andy G

Edited for spelling!

[emt_911]

Andy G

 

That's looking good for a couple of hours work. Looking forward to it progressing.

 

Duncan

[aberdare]

Hi Andy

 

It is coming on well, shame that work got in the way and slowed things down a bit but I know what shifts can do as I used to work them many years ago.

 

Are you going to fill the small gaps around the cut stones with some fine filler or just paint them mortar colour, I must admit to just painting some of the gaps on one of my models but it seemed Ok and no-ones ever noticed either.

 

I look forward to seeing it grow a bit more.

 

Jim

[uax6]

I was going to use a very thin wash of polyfilla to fill the gaps... Hopefully it would do what I want it to do!

 

Andy

[uax6]

Finished the other wing wall tonight. That means that this side now needs to harden, and then I can do a bit of filling and then it will be on with the other side.

 

 

 

Andy G

[aberdare]

That is looking good now Andy, the detail is lost in the shadow but the shape and form is clear to see, the second side should be easy now you've done it once before.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing it in the embankment now.

 

Jim

[uax6]

Yes not the best shot, but it is looking really nice. I'll try and take a better shot later on. I've still got to make the coping stones, these will have to be made of laminations of plasticard, and will probably be put on once it is located in the embankment.

 

I'm not looking forward to doing the archway, I think that will be a real challenge!

 

Andy

[uax6]

Well tonight I have dug out the embankment bits again and made up the other side of the bridge, this leaves me with the arkward bits left to do, which will have to be done in situ, so will have to wait until the sides are glued to the embankment former, hopefully a job for tomorrow night.

 

 

Need to wait for things to harden up before trimming down.

 

On another front I have conducted some experiments in my Laboratory*, whoa, ha, ha!

I managed to find a supplier of old fashioned lint, which I intend to use the same way as hanging basket liner, or perhaps just stck down, to make the grass. As it needs to be coloured I raided the cupboards and found some food colouring. Dug out the green and yellows and put them in two pots and did some trials:

 

Green and yellow, just diluted:

 

And then green first and then into the yellow:

attachment=267290:DSC05153.JPG]

 

Then yellow first then into the green:

 

Then mixing the green with the yellow and then dipping the lint in:

 

They are presently drying on the rail of the rayburn, so will see what they look like on the morrow.

 

Meanwhile I have been investigating what I will be doing at the other end of the embankment. Those of you that have been daft enough to be with me from the beginning may remember the photos of the bridge that I naughtily put on here. One showed a Castle coming of a lattice bridge. Well as at some point I want to have a model of the Aberfieldy branch, I thought that I might as well make a bridge that I could use for that too. So the Tay/Tummel bridge it is. Now I have been thinking about making a fully load bearing bridge out of plasticard for years (about 10 I think!) and then I stumbled on this thread :http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/28293-manchester-central-castlefield-viaducts/

which proves that it can be done. So now all I needed was the drawing of the bridge. A bit of hunting and research has produced the original drawings!! Sadly they are very faded, and incomplete, but there appears to be enough detail to allow the work to progress.

 

As the whole bridge will be over 3 feet long, it may well take a very long time to make, but hopefully I will be able to use my early turns in work to produce the individual girders, and I'll take you along for the ride while I do it. Don't expect fast progress as there won't be any, this is a slow burner!

 

Andy G

 

 

* Ok the kitchen, but my 4 and a half year old asked what I was doing and I said I was testing colours, she replied 'thats real science daddy'.

 

(editied to put the footnote on)

 

 

 

[uax6]

Tonights work has centered around cutting out for the bridge. Lots of foam and polyfilla has been hacked around to give space for them to sit in. I haven't glued them just yet, as I might want to be able to get at them to make the arch and internal walls.

 

This view gives an impression on how much the wing walls bend out.

 

How it is cut into the landscape.

 

Side view.

 

The lint has dried and I'm going to try to stick some bits down tonight, results in a couple of days!

 

Andy

[Portchullin Tatty]

Andy,

 

I assume you remain interests in the Tilt Viaduct at Blair Atholl?

 

Some photographs for you......................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Could I warn that the outriggers are an obvious modern addition.  If you look at the old man's Highland Miscellany book there is quite a good picture of the bridge being tested prior to the running of the Rivers over the line.

 

I assume you have found the CANMORE site too - it includes some photographs and a drawing of the original construction?

 

 

 

[uax6]

Mark,

 

What a fantastic set of pictures of the bridge, many thanks. Although it would appear that nothing has happen on this for some time (which indeed it hasn't!) I have been casting around for information on the HR lattice viaducts, and have got the original drawings for the Tummel viaduct, which, looking at your photos above, there is a marked similarity between the two, and so with a few tweaks, I should be able to manufacture a span out of plasticard for the Tilt bridge.

 

The modifications for taking more weight seem a little odd, I'm guessing that the outriggers help to prevent the main girders from twisting outwards at the top, and also help to move some weight directly to the top span without going via the lattice?

 

Many thanks again Mark, and I hope you enjoyed your visit 'up north', it certainly seems that you had good weather for it.

 

Andy G

[Londontram]

Just found this thread and have read the lot and learnt a lot keep up the good work. Steve

[Alister_G]

Hi Andy, only just found this thread, so sorry I haven't seen it before.

 

I think you've made a lovely job so far, especially the sheep creep and walling.

 

That viaduct looks like it's going to be a challenge when you get round to it, especially the masonry on the towers, and all the joys of lattice work as well!

 

Nice one mate, I'll be following with interest.

 

Al.