Ron Heggs

Hi, Ian Never produced moulds/moulded parts before Only fourteen to make, I am not that desparate to reduce the production time, and I am sure the cost would be higher than plasticard, etc. Cheers Ron

Hi, Thanks, think I have had enough practice now, still another 14 piers to go after this one Cheers Ron

Hi, Tom Thanks for comments Cheers Ron

Onward and upward - Cut and laminate into two separate identical items 2 pieces - 40thou x 61mm x 23mm 6 pieces - 40thou x 53mm x 19mm 2 pieces - 20thou x 53mm x 19mm A fillet of moulding clay completes the two sections The two sections are fixed into position on the top of the pier Moving on to the lower castellated decoration - Three pieces of 20thou plasticard are cut with 5.75mm x 8.5mm castellations, and fixed at their edges 20thou x 3.5mm strips are fixed at the vertical edges of the castellations Two pieces of 40thou plasticard 62mm x 45mm and two pieces of 40thou x 52mm x 13mm are cut and fixed at their long vertical edges A further 62mm x 13mm strip is fixed centrally to prevent the assembly from warping The castellated assembly is fixed to the main vertical part of the upper part of the pier and then fixed to the top of the pier assembly The upper castellated section will be built next, before all the castellated decoration is added ... to be continued >>>>>

Hi, Norm Thanks for your comments The concave surfaces are produced using an old craft knife holder which is aluminium alloy and has a diameter of 8mm Repeated moves along the length of the clay moulding seems to work best, but it is a bit of trial and error To prevent the clay sticking to the tool, I had thought of wiping it with liquid soap or something similar, but reconsidered it because it could cause problems with painting later on The final cleaning up is usually reasonably easy. Brushing the moulding with diluted paint and using a craft knife to give it a final smoothing and edge cleaning ... and yes, all three viaducts, although the earliest one the MSJ&AR is mainly brick built with cast/wrought single bridge spans I have kept all my trial builds just to show myself, how much my modelling has improved Cheers Ron

Managed to restart the build this evening - ... So completing the top part of the fluted capitol to the pier - Cut a piece of plasticard 40thou x 53mm x 53mm with a hole 40.5mm dia Slip it over the top of the pipe/pier and then cut a strip plasticard 20thou x 127.5mm x 7mm wrap it around the pipe/pier, and fix it to the previous 53mm x 53mm square piece, being careful not fix to the pipe Remove the square with the strip in place from the pipe/pier, and mark using the previous template, and cut slits in the square plasticard Cut two pieces of plasticard 40thou x 51mm x 7mm, and two pieces 40thou x 49mm x 7mm. Using the template mark these strips with the corresponding spacings Using a hole punch cut 4mm dia holes out of the strips at the relevant postions as marked Cut the remaining marked plasticard to form three arches in each strip Fix the strips to the square plasticard, lining up the arches with the slits. The two 51mm strips on oppsite sides, and similarly the two 49mm strips, to form a 51mm square box Note the slits visible on the 53mm x 53mm square plasticard Remove the pieces of plasticard between the slits Cut small pieces of strip 7mm high, and fix to each edge/side of the openings to form the continuation of the flutes Fix the assembly in place on the pipe/pier, ensuring all the faces of the two corresponding squares are closely fixed Moulding clay is placed in the top of each arched flute, and moulded into the arched tops of the flutes The next part of the build is to construct the split moulded sections which locate the lower span beams, and build the lower castellated section ... to be continued >>>>>

HI, Bob The step by step helps me remember how I achieved the results My experience with DAS was that it hardens completely and becomes brittle and subject to cracking The product I have used is Lewis NewClay a type of plasticine, which hardens but doesn't embrittle or crack I purchased it a few years back at one Hobbycraft shops in Basildon , Essex for £1.50, it is now £2.99 They do have quite a few shops around the UK, and an online shop The online product link is Lewis NewClay Cheers Ron

Hi, Andy Just passed thro' Murcia this morning on the way back from Carzola in Andalucia, it was a bit wet and cool out there this week, but its back to the sunshine and warmth I will give a reasonable warning of all future tests, so that topping out of each span can be approached in a workmanlike manner ... and thanks for your comments Cheers Ron

Hi, Andi Thanks for your comments, much appreciated It does take a bit of thinking about, as always there is more than one way to acheive the result. But my aim is to take the simplest method whilst still being able to repeat it easily without trying to make it a one off work of art Cheers Ron

Hi, Larry Thanks for your comments There are a number of similarly designed bridge structures still around, The Midland Railway appear to have standardised around 1860-1900, on this particular type of structure The Irlam Deviation Viaduct, 1893 over the Manchester Ship Canal was one which springs to mind. The bridge was a single span of approx 365 metres, and tested using 10 MS&LR locomotives weighing a total of some 750 tons Not all the bridges have been recorded on photographs in accessible archives Cheers Ron

Hi, All Just back from my walking jaunt to Wet Southern Spain, will commence the modelling tomorrow once my feet have learnt to stop moving through the mud Thanks for all your jaw-dropping comments, very much appreciate the thoughts behind them all , I thought I was slugging through a continuous muddy trench Cheers

Thanks for all your much appreciated comments I am away now until Saturday Will be back with continuation of this first pier Ron

Two more photos showing the completed cut flutes ... and now for the arched fluted flat faced vertical top pieces (sounds worse than it really is) ... to be continued >>>>>

Will be away for the rest of the week, so will leave you with the some pictures, etc. of the modelling of the first pier XX, which is a single pier located on the south side and at the eastern end of the viaduct - A few photos provided by 65179 View of Piers BB Closer View of Piers BB View of upper part Piers AA to the left View of under bridge detail at Piers AA to the left © Copyright of the above photographs remains with 65179 Revised and updated drawing showing location of Piers - Whilst waiting for the bulk plastic delivery, I have started the build with the first of the piers, the single pier XX This will be used to establish a construction process for all the remaining piers The cutting list - 40mm OD PVC pipe 140mm long 20thou plasticard 127.5mm x 17mm 20thou plasticard 130.3mm x 17mm 20thou plasticard 142mm x 5mm 40thou plasticard 137mm x 6mm 40thou plasticard 55.5mm OD/40.5mm ID annulus First fixing the 20thou plasticard 127.5mm x 17mm strip .. then the 20thou plasticard 130.3mm x 17mm strip .. and the 20thou plasticard 142mm x 5mm strip and the 40thou plasticard 137mm x 6mm strip and finally the 40thou plasticard 55.5mm OD/40.5mm ID annulus The size of the common uPVC waste pipe is spot on at 40mm dia for a 10 foot dia pier, and the 3mm thickness makes it a substantial support and the weight enables a low centre of gravity for the structure To enable better adhesion of the styrene to the PVC, the pipe is treated with MEK (Butonone) to prime the surface by removing the PVC surface skin The first two 20thou strips are used to produce a 40thou lamination (easier to curve). One end is tacked to the pipe, and allowed to go off, and then the strip is brushed with Plastic Weld little by little as it is wound round the pipe, and finally the end held closed against the pipe with the back of the knife blade. To ensure the strip is firmly stuck a light wipe with PW around the top and bottom edges finishes the job The second strip is easier to fix following the same process, but with the joint slightly offset from the first The narrower 40thou strip ends are gentle pre-curved, and fixed using the same procedure as previously, with the joint offset again. When firmly fixed and dry any slight joint peaks which are apparent can be filed smooth The next step is to fill the area below the annulus with moulding clay and produce a concave fillet The modelling clay is similar to plasticene - 500g for £1.50 The grey discolouration is from the moulding tool (an old aluminium scalpel holder) The surface will by cleaned up after the clay has hardened Now for the second level of pier decoration - A 20thou x 7mm wide plasticard strip is fixed 16mm below the top of the pipe/pier then a 40thou plasticard square 51mm x 51mm with a 40.5 mm dia hole is fixed on top of the previous strip View of underside A fillet of modelling clay is moulded into position, and left to harden A template is made to enable the marking-off of the flutes, which pass vertically through each side of this upper level Using a fine saw blade (31 tpi) cutting from the plasticard face, the 3 flutes are produced Cleaning up the edges and faces with a narrow bladed craft knife The flutes on the three other faces will be cut in the same way Final cleaning up will be carried out before painting ... to be continued >>>>>

Hi, Jamie, Richard and Horsetan Thanks for your suggestions Have written to GMPTE, and enclosed a few pictures of my models. Will now wait for a response Cheers Ron

Hi, Jamie Thanks for the offer of the drawings, I can't think of a use of them to me at present I will take up your suggestion of contacting Metrolink Cheers Ron

Hi, Richard Not to worry, thank you for your photos which will come in handy, and your interest in my modelling I have had two offers of help so far so not all is lost Cheers Ron

Hi, Richard Thanks for your photos, a lot of interesting detail of the MSJ&AR viaduct, and the Castlefield Viaduct at the western end as it crosses the approach road from Salford to the A57M As you have indicated the access to the Cornbrook Viaduct from either the North and South sides is a bit of a problem, and the particular section I am interested in was probably not worthy of photographic expeditions, but is really a different structure in its own right Cheers Ron

It's a good job the tests will be on a span by span basis , otherwise it could be more expensive than the build You may have noticed that load tests can only be carried out before the overhead bracing beams are fixed in position because they restrict the placement of the loads Your comments are very much appreciated Ron

I wonder if anyone can help me with obtaining some photographic details of a section of the Cornbrook Viaduct which has escaped all available archives The viaduct/bridge section lies immediately adjacent to the western end of the Castlefield Viaduct and appears to be of steel/wrought iron construction Appears reasonably clearly in Google Maps Castlefield & Cornbrook Viaducts The Street Views show something of the support structures, but not clearly or in detail It is on the left and the middle track of the three, and appears light beige with grey parapets, and three overhead catenaries (Metrolink) From what I can gather it is supported on maybe four steel/wrought iron structures and one central brick built structure, and the ends are supported directly on brick built viaduct abutments Closest access is via Potato Wharf (North Side) and Blantyre Street (South Side) Any help would be much appreciated Cheers Ron

Hi, Richard Your comments are much appreciated I am glad to hear that viewing my work has given you the impetus to improve your modelling, and I wish you well in your endeavours Laser etching and photo etching all have their place, but couldn't achieve the detail which I was looking to model any better, even with their higher overall costs Cheers Ron

Hope all goes well for your move Cheers Ron

Hi, Colin Thanks for your continuing interest and comments The start up on this next bridge will be a bit prolonged, as the drawings and details will take a bit longer to prepare and check. Now awaiting delivery of all the plastic and solvent By the beginning of June I should be in a position to start the build proper Cheers Ron

Hi, Dave Hope you enjoyed the ride, and found something of interest This next bridge will be a long one Cheers Ron