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hayfield

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  1. hayfield

    2 week break

    By hayfield,

    A quiet 2 weeks plus as I have been on my hols, walking in the peaks and a quiet week in Kent.
     
    Visited both the Peak rail centre which for me was good for photos of a few wagons and the coach preservation shed and The Midland Railway centre at Swawick. loved the Midland museum the shed with the Duchess and Princess along with the replica buildings being constructed.
     

     
    I have a couple of K's 6 wheelers to rebuild and seeing how the straps and rods fit together will assist
     

     
    Inside of the Royal carrage
     

     
    Someone out there is copying my modelling skills
     
    The second week we visited the KESR misses again that P class only got a view from the elevated viewing area at Rolvenden.
     
    And also the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch railway. At onetime if it were not full scale and GWR I would turn my nose up at it. But seeing they run over the past 2 yeard at Dungerness, New Romney and Hythe was very enyoyable, in fact they put some of the preserved railways to shame.
     
     
    I used to think of them as models, but am realising they are engins in their own right
     

  2. hayfield

    2018

    By hayfield,

    Nearly 2 years have past since I started the plan to build a layout at our new home, initially I was to be banished to a large shed in the garden, however this evolved into part of an extension we decided to build. After a good start this time last year the builder became a bit erratic ending up with us parting, we then had to arrange for contractors to do the work beyond my capabilities. Most of the work was done by Christmas with a few bits to be completed at leasure, still I had my work shop/ railway room to fit out, then it was found out I had a medical issue which meant I could do nothing for 3 months, thankfully this has passed and all is OK now
     
    This year I have joined a local model railway club, seemed to have been co opted on to the 0 gauge section and being a bit sidetracked with the senior gauge
     
    What has happened, basically just a lot of thinking and acquiring items
     
    Track
     
    Well I was always going to build my own track, which was going to be to 00SF gauge, as most of the stock will be kitbuilt I decided to change to EM gauge, it does look better and the main cost will be Markit EM gauge axles
     
    Secondly ditched the idea of using ply timbers, why? Well as the plain track will be flexi track with plastic bases it just seemed natural
     
    Baseboards
     
    Well I have a 12' run of kitchen base units plus an extra 2.5 foot available, at the moment this space is required for the skirting board painting for the other down stairs room, plus will temporarily be used for an 0 gauge test track. Once I get round to painting and fitting the skirting boards I can then start on the base boards
     
    Buildings
     
    I have started buying Ratio and Wills kits which will form the basis of the buildings as will be kit bashed as required
     
    Stock
     
    I have been having a major slim down of stock, but also been stocking up on locos and loco parts (mainly in the chassis department) as locos will be on etched chassis with can motors and High Level gearboxes. A nicely built K's Adams Radial tank is being converted (temporarily using the K's chassis) to EM and just got a slimline gearbox to fit it. Also just bought an unmade Southeastern Finecast Collet goods kit for £60 as I wanted the etched chassis, Gibson wheels and gears and Mashima motor, these parts alone would cost more than the £60 I paid
     
    Also just bought an unmade K's 42/72xx kit (spot on for Bodmin) wondering if a 28xx chassis will fit it? otherwise a set of Gibson frames will be needed (at least I have a full st of Gibson wheels for it. Again £50 a good price
     
    Hoping to start Bodmin in earnest in the autumn just because there is still lots to do with the house
  3. hayfield
    Holidays, DIY on the house, a couple of turnouts and finishing off a couple of other locos have got in the way of the Atlantic lately but I have done a bit more on it over the weekend.
     

     
    The tender needs a bit more filler where the top plate fits the body, I need to make a new air vent and find some buffers.
     
    I have fitted the cylinder block casting, as its a butt joint I not too certain how well it has stuck, the cylinders need filling and I need to replace the cross heads / rods as they are soft whitemetal castings and I broke one.
     
    Also the front bogie fouls the chassis, I will try and alter the hole in the bogie and move it 2 or 3 mm forward.
     
    Still it runs well on the straight track, and its a lot better than I thought it would be a few weeks ago.
     
    The other locos I repaired are 2 Wills 1864 Pannier tanks, one which I painted some months ago and needed the chassis building, and another which came off Ebay with the pickups mangled, both now work and I also fitted some pickups to a K's Terrier another Ebay buy, this now needs some footsteps and the side air compresser.
  4. hayfield
    As the roof grows the structure stiffens up (thankfully)I have enough roof pannels to complete 3 out of the 5 tripple spans. I have also started the capping on both the roof tops and brickwork over the entrances. I will carry on with the foofs until I use up the pannels. I will then order some more along woth some 1mm microstrip to make the north lights with.
     
    I will fit again the barge boards to hide the join where the roof meets the walls. Before fitting the downpipes I will see if a brick pelmet looks any good at the bottom of the walls. I will need to build the chimneys/ smoke jacks. I will try the ones in the kit to see what they look like
     
    I will also try and contact Wills to see if they will sell me some extra sprues for the capping and the smoke jacks if they have the look I am after, I have the capping they sell with the chimney/roof packs and will see if it matches first.
     

     
    I am still wondering about the inspection pits, I guess in the end I will put them in but it will be a pain cutting through the 9mm MDF. I will use brick sheets at each entrance for the floor covering, however as it will be dark inside the shed I will use plain plasticard further in then blend the two together.
  6. hayfield
    It seems like I have had nothing but turnouts on my work benck for the past 2 months, thought I would share what has been on the bench over the past 2 weeks
     

     
    Earlier this week I finished a set of 4 EM turnouts using ply sleepers and C&L rail and chairs.
     

     
    Today I have completed a pair of EM copperclad turnouts again using C&L parts
     
    Both sets of turnouts were a pleasure to make, the copperclad one made a change as they were quite quick to build and see working, where as the Ply and chair ones took much longer and the crossings had to be made as a stand alone item.
     
    I now have 8 common crossings to build as stand alone units, at least 3 are 3/4 built.
  7. hayfield
    With the cast part of the chassis unglued, the first (cast) part now fits flush with the footplate when glued to the main part of the chassis. With no cylinders it still looks a bit high, but it now matches up with the tender buffer height as well as other locos buffer heights
     

     
    The 4 sides of the tender have been stuck together and I have just used Milliput to fill the gaps and rebuild a broken corner of the sides. Hopefully I will not make as many mistakes on this part of the build
     

     
    These are the parts of the cylinders, the front parts of the cylinders have been stuck to the chassis block. This was the easy part as it was only in 2 bits. The rear one which is in 3 bits will take a bit more effort in gluing to the block in lineing them up.
     
    Recently I have not had much spare time to model, however when driving to and from work and other spare moments I have been able to think about the problems and come up with a solution. Much better than thinking on your feet with the items in front of you.
     
    Nice to have a session that has all gone well, normally its 2 steps forward and one back.
  8. hayfield

    BEC LNER J52

    By hayfield,

    I have started to rebuild a BEC LNER J52 I got off Ebay quite cheaply,the paint job was not very good. So a soak in Nitromores last night and a wash clean, all there was then to do was picking off the odd bit of paint and glue.
     
    Tonight I have stuck the two body sides/tops to the bunker casting, smoke box and footplate.
     

     
    I noticed that where the 2 body halves joined, the joins was not very good (the builder had put some filler on them). So I decided to do likewise and will leave the filler for 24 hours to set completely
     

     
    I am re-building this loco as a thank you for a friend who did me a good turn. I have 2 other of these. One I built 2 years ago from an unstarted kit, and have a body built by someone else (another Ebay item which no one was bidding on) neither of these show the same problems, either I forgot that I had to do a bit of filling or the castings were better.
     
    Also won another Wills 2 road engine shed off Ebay tonight (see layout blog) got it a couple of pounds cheaper than the Ebay shops and hopefully it will arrive quicker that the one I brought a couple of months ago as I had to wait nearly 2 weeks.
  9. hayfield
    Looking at the old plan I was sent whilst the details are different I am assuming both the running line and the engine shed positions are the same
     

     
    I have altered the size of turnouts and added a coupe of trap rails, I guess I should extend a couple of the timbers which the outer catch point is on
     

     
    Overall shot of the area, will try and see if this matches with the photos of the actual turnout
  10. hayfield
    As it happens I do have a few scrap bits of wood in the shed and found a suitable scrap piece of ply (old draw side which happens to be of high quality wood),a nice wide strip of pine beading was stuck to it, then a slot with a razor saw was cut at right angles
     

     
    A start was made on cutting the timbers, as it happened I had to stain a few timbers as several lengths of thicker ply had got mixed up with some thinner ones. Anyway a few mins work and all will be cut
     
    A new etched chassis for the Southeastern Finecast 02 arrived today along with a few parts which were missing on the loco. Looks like the kit is of the Isle of Wight version with the larger bunker, still modellers licence may occur. Another thing is that it needs 19 mm drivers, I have 18 & 20 mm Romford wheels, so the former will be used.
     
    For those modelling the GWR, the Nucast Partnership has the 16xx kit (is this the old Stephen Poole kit?) available with a new etched chassis, if so I will get a chassis for my kit. The prices are £97.50 for the full kit, £65 body only, £34.50 for the etched chassis. They are offering on limited availability (till stocks last) a body with the old style Autocom brass chassis at £80
  11. hayfield
    Just had a play with Templot using a Bing map as a rough guide
     

     
    Nothing in stone, may need compressing. Do I keep the 2 road shed or go for a single road shed. I have used B8's except for the curved turnout, though I may just vary the sizes just to be echonimical with the common crossing packs
     
    As I plan in in a preservation era, as I can use locos from both GWR and SR, also varied liveries and use locos which perhaps would never had been used.
     
    As for the slip (which is a diamond just for speed of design) do I have a single, double or perhaps a Barry slip ? or just build the turnout as is with 2 catch points in built. Still the idea will be to build the trackwork between the signal box and engine shed
     
    The plan is about 10' in length, this I may need to compress though
  12. hayfield
    Those who read my track building thread will know earlier this year we moved to Essex, a nice house in a nice village and space for a railway shed. Well that was the plan, but the more we looked into it for many reasons building a wrap around extension seemed a much better idea.
     
    For some time I have wanted to build a small demonstration piece which will have the full scenic treatment, the turnouts into the engine shed at Bodmin General looked a good candidate, and the track could be extended at first to incorporate the shed later. If this went well I could when space permitted include the station and goods area. Still if only a cameo it will be something I could use to run a loco or two
     
    I have plenty of unused C&L and Exactoscale GWR chairs and plenty of pre-cut sleepers and timber strip
     


     
    After seeing Mikkel's latest project and as the first phase is for 2 turnouts I decided to hand build the turnouts and track on ply sleepers and timbers. First thoughts were to 00SF standards, but if I was going to build the plain track (I want it not only fully chaired but have keys in the chairs) why not do it to EM gauge
     
    Looking at the first photo the turnout into the shed has 2 trap points built in
     



     
    I could quite easily build this turnout, but for demonstration purposes a slip would be better and would give a little added interest as a layout. As I said Bodmin(ish). I fancy altering the shed, either going back to a single shed or one that looks a bit tidier. Plus have ash pits outside and inspection pit inside.
     
    The first step is to start the Blog, and perhaps get some input into the project
  13. hayfield
    Should be going to B&Q but decided to take another look at the track plan, I think I have something which looks about right. It's never going to be an exact replica as the real turnout has a smattering of non GWR chairs. I have decided to build the engine shed to a slightly different style, more like the original but 2 roads and the signal box will be from a suitable kit.
     
    Anyway it will keep me on track so to speak to at least cut some timbers tomorrow
  14. hayfield
    Far too little to report as I have not achieved mu goal. As the loft is a little cooler I managed to retrieve the plain sleepers and some rail, I also bought down some loco kits and went through my chassis box, the latter failing to realise what I need for a G6. On the plus side I have a Southeastern Finecast M7 kit which can be rebuilt to EM standards. I really need to get my kits out of the boxes and find some GWR locos
     

     
    Packets of plain sleepers, mostly 8'6" but I also have some 9'. I have seen many remark how painful it is to stain individual sleepers, I will get a sheet of cardboard put some double sided tape on it and just put a line either side of the tape and it will take seconds to do, none of this messy soaking the timbers etc.
     
    I have a box of PSM code 75 bullhead nickle-silver which I got off eBay ages ago as were the sleepers, following BGJohn in using up items I had for some time.
     
    Went to B&Q last week and looked at their ply, all I could see was thin stuff which was warping and was called exterior !!. At the moment I have no room to buy an 8 x 4 sheet and cut it into 4 x 2 sheets, will look at Wicks and see what they have, I need a couple of 4 x 1 sheets for storage purposes and put a simple frame work under it
     
    This Thursdays goal is a couple of common crossings (fitted)
  15. hayfield
    Not much going on other than I will model the engine shed area as it is now. The turnout to the shed needs a bit of alteration, as the length of the switch is fine but the crossing needs to be a smaller angle which in turn will then need to be curved slightly. Have been too busy to work on it.
     
    I have found both some stained turnout timbers in thin ply to match some EM gauge Society 8'6" sleepers along with plenty of Exactoscale and C&L 2 bolt chairs.
     
    I bought a Southeastern Finecast part built 02 loco, 00 gauge with Gibson type wheels and small open frame motor. The build quality is not good and was in a M7 box with the remains of a M7 chassis etch and not the 02. As I am building to EM gauge I ordered a new chassis etch, steps, and roof which were either broken or missing. I have a couple more Wills 02's so one may get the 00 gauge chassis and I have a box-less M7.
     
    By coincidence I won a lot off eBay with lots of spare parts including a set of Gibson Milled mainframes and etched hornblocks, so I may end up with a pair for the layout !!
  16. hayfield
    Been given a copy of Bodmin (historic) station plan, which is a great help
     

     
    Obviously similar but not quite the same as today's layout, but then I am not copying it. Thrown a spanner in the works as I was going to start the right hand turnout, still have visitors coming to see us tomorrow so my plan of having Thursday as my modelling day has not even lasted the first week
     

     
    Close up of the engine shed area, the trap points are after the turnout not in it. However the I have the area the track is in. Will go for the modern layout with double engine shed rather than a single one with a carriage siding
     
    Looking at the plan getting from the station building to the bridge is between 12' and 13', that will be the length of my railway room, so there will need to be some form of compression, part of the station building low relief, shorten the gap between the turnouts and shed. Also shorten the distance between the end of the shed and the junction, bring the bridge a bit closer, curve the track more on the Parkway route, loose 6" on the platform length. Still none of this alters the cameo
  17. hayfield
    I have made a start on my interpretation of the station building at Bodmin General, I am using the Ratio station kit for the kit bash

     
    The first job was to look at what parts (from 2 kits) could be used in making each elevation, top to bottom :- station front, station front platform side, platform building rear, platform building front.
    I knew I needed an additional canopy and I managed to buy on eBay a third station building kit for the price of a canopy kit. This have given me more options to be closer to the original 

    I started to build the platform building front from the left hand side, the double window and door part was made from splicing two of the double window and door ( top item) parts leavinga spare window and door section (middle). Carefull splicing of the 2 slit windows made a large window

     
    A window and door section was selected, the left hand end was trimmed. The second photo shows it joined and another of the same section was selected
     

     
    This third section was added and a fourth part selected and joined to the previous sections. This should complete the platform face, its 10 mm too long but final trimming will take place once all 4 elevations have been completed  
     

     
    The station front may be a bit harder to create, starting by joining a window section to a window and door section
     

     
    2 end sections will be added once the final size is established, I am missing a window in the centre section, but I can live with this. The left hand gable should horizontal slit window and the right hand one should have a larger door. I may try and splice in these parts if I am brave enough
    Its about 3 mm too long, but the platform side needs building first so I have a bit of a leeway
     
     
     
  18. hayfield
    I noticed that I had made an error with the station forecourt elevation
     

     
    There should be a window one window on the right of the door, there also should be 2 windows  on the left of it as well, so if I alter the gable end window I might  cut up the left hand half of the centre section with several splices to alter the configuration and positions of all the windows and doors
     

     
    This is the platfor8 side of the same building, 8 splices in all, the centre two windows started out as 4 slit windows. Gives me hope to alter the front elevation
     

     
    This is an initial mockup of the rear elevation, it has no doors just all windows, as it will not bee seen I may just take a simple option or add in the odd door.
     

     
    The platform elevation in the wrong place on the first photo, both roughly in place in the second, simply tacked together
     
    The next issue will be the platform canopy's. I needed then 2.5" wide but they are 2" wideI was going to put end on behind the buffers (but its 5" wide) and also have a canopy over the second platform mirroring the other platform. (bought a Canopy kit for £2 + postage today so have the best part of 40" of canopy to play with
  19. hayfield
    The rear of the station wall is next up,  on the left the selection of wall pieces from the kits available/suitable. On the right the pieces have been trimmed so they all but up together
     

     
     
    The rear of the station wall after being stuck together. I have altered the left hand end gabel from a large window to a slit window, a bit of filler and paint should hide the join
     

     
    On the left the station forecourt elevation with the revised left hand gable end, I decided not to alter either the center section or right hand gable end. The doors line up with each other in the centre section, adding a second window would mean them being too close to each other ,the door and the wall end. As for the right hand gable, adding a second door would have caused issues with the door frames and as they will not be seenI will not bother
     

     
    The station roughly placed into position, its in approximately where it is on the plan, but the canopy will dictate the final positioning. I will follow the instructions regarding painting the walls, window frames and doors before fitting them
     
    I am now letting everything dry out completely before I get out both the filler and primer. Next up I need to start one of the platform canopies, this will allow me to see how they will fit into the scheme of things
  20. hayfield
    The station walls have been primed ready for painting, these two photos show the forecourt and rear of the building
     

     
    This is the platform area and the primer hides the joins and the small amount of filling. Next up will be my laughable efforts in painting the walls.
     

     
    Half of a standard canopy kit has been built, I was worried that being 1/2" narrower than I expected would make the platform too shallow, as it happens its not too bad. I have 4 kits to play with so I may extend the canopy down the platform a bit.
     
    Thoughts about the roof will also have to be firmed up, I was going to use tiles, but I might give the kit roof a try first
     
     
  21. hayfield
    Made a start on the roof, thought I would first try using the parts in the kit, if this fails I will move on to tile or slate plasticard sheets
     
     
     
    The station forcourt elevation roof will be quite tricky to form with all the gables and roof lengths
     
    Also made a start on the painting, base coat of mid stone on the walls, sand around the doors, windows and corners, tomorrow will start picking out stones in differing shades 
     
  22. hayfield
    I have done some more on the roof, the sections are in place and before I get the filler out it needs to dry out first, think I have enough chimney stacks, but I guess they are in the wrong position
     
    I have carried on with the painting adding colour to the stones. Again the paint needs to harden then I will start to apply some weathering.
     

     
    The station forecourt roof was the last to be cut and fitted, again waiting for the solvent to harden before the filler comes out. I will fit the Ratio canopy which entails splicing two together. They are 28mm deep and I am thinking that's a bit too deep, I may trim then down a bit. I am also planning to have the doors open, so the floor will need modelling.
  23. hayfield
    The platforms have been extended windows and doors being fitted, a small amount of extra work has been done on the roof.
     
    The canopy hs been in my thoughts, I have 3 from the station kits and one free standing one. It will be a U shape and will extend past the buildings, keeping them in the air is the next issue. Each station kit comes with one very substantial casting and the free standing kit has 6 much slender single posts, I may try buying spares from Ratio
     
    The other thing is a wall on the rear of the new platform, the goods shed rear wall will be part of it, certainly 6' above the platform surface, again the canopy height may dictate the height
  24. hayfield
    A few more doors and windows fitted, the chimney stacks are in the process of being fitted and the canopy at the front has been made by cutting and splicing two kits parts together
     

     
    Stink pipes fitted but gutters and down pipes will have to wait for the roof to be finished. Also other thing like posters and various boxes still need fitting
     
    I am still putting off the canopy roofs which need quite a lot of kit bashing, they are not the easiest things to build anyway, let alone making them into a U shape
  25. hayfield
    December since I last posted about Bodminish, the run up to Christmas was busy and with retirement looming due to the hours my shifts were I was getting too tired to do much else, plus I had a few jobs outstanding prior to the carpenter coming to fit new doors downstairs. I had a weeks holiday the week before last and supposedly another 6 weeks until retirement. That was the plan before Boris stepped in, now on furlow till the 1st of May when I retire
     
    Well the past 2 weeks I have been converting a Wills E1 and E2 to EM gauge plus finishing off a second E2, one E2 is primed the second is waiting for the steps to be fitted so it can be primed, The E1 is waiting for a couple of gears from High Level and has one of their new coreless motors powering it. Now I need a better test bed for both what better than start laying track for Bodmin
     

     
    The track is in place, now needs fishplates, wiring and I have fitted temporary tiebars, the E2 in the photo supports a Comet Jinty chassis (the Wills E2 is designed to take the Triang Hornby Jinty chassis) and is powered by a High Level Kits coreless motor, the Kirk coaches are waiting for either EM wheels or whitemetal EM bogies (still undecided). The E2 was part built but off Ebay. The second photo was another part built (to EM gauge) buy from Ebay, primed today.
     
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