kirtleypete

The hardest thing is making a start Phil, but once you do there'll be no stopping you. The nice thing is that the materials are cheap so if something goes wrong you bin it and do it again and no one but you knows! Using printed papers speeds things up enormously, and of course those round corners aren't a problem. Speed doesn't matter if you're just building for yourself, take as long as it needs. Peter

I've added the huge girder that supports the signal box. The H beams are Plastruct - what would I do without it! With that in place I could add the basic shape of the signal box. I will straighten that upright! Peter

I was unclear about what the waiting rooms looked like in the 50's but my customer pointed out that the ones there now are the original structures, built with the signal box, and would originally have looked much like it. Armed with that knowledge I removed the ones I did yesterday and began again. I cut three sides from 2mm clear plastic and glued them in place with Plastruct corners, and then added pieces of 0.5mm plastic as overlays. The shape of the waiting rooms is right now, with much more rounded corners. Small pieces of plastic mark out the opening. The real thing has windows right on the rounded corner but I'm afraid I draw the line at that, it's more important that the structure keeps it's shape. The glazing bars were added from thin strip, glued directly to the glazing with solvent. The doors were cut out, glued in place and painted blue. The vertical strips of brick were added next. With the horizontal bands of brick and then the stone courses the waiting room looks the part. There is no roof as it will be directly under the canopy. Peter

I've begun work on the side walls that go along the far side of the train shed. The aluminium sheet, 0.9mm thick, has been shaped to sit on the platform surface so that all the structures can be built on it and then slid out of the way if necessary. The black dots mark the positions of the canopy supports. This is the inside face that goes inside the train shed. The height difference will be hidden inside the signal box. I need to complete the detailing of these areas before the canopy is attached. The clear plastic boxes will be waiting rooms. Peter

This information has been passed on to me by my customer to post on here: The track layout being modelled is captured on these two photos. One photo shows the modelled lines and platforms in the station itself and immediately north and south. Lines shaded in pink are not being modelled, the rest have already been or will be. The other photo shows the modelled lines heading north past the loco yard, North Shed, and the Clifton carriage sidings. Lines in green are those modelled within the yard, those in pink are Up and Down Main lines. For the North Shed, there is only room for a single roundhouse and a two road straight shed, and in any event the actual building is so massive it would dwarf the station and hotel, so its just the one. Which reflects Prosser’s vision for the trainshed roof that it should not dominate the York skyline and the Minster, which led him to the vaulted design we know so well. The shape of the room, essentially square, means that the main lines and loco yard can be curled round the back wall so that they end up running parallel to the line of the station which gives enough room for to include the yard at about 2/3rd scale length, reflecting the model as a whole. I haven’t got as far as drawing up the track plan to scale, either freehand, or with software as used by the model press. One day…... Although the layout cannot be exhibited there will certainly be more articles and hopefully video as well. Peter

I've been back to do more on the layout today. The big job was to plan the outside platform with it's canopy and waiting rooms. We put a long paper in place to mark out as a template which I have brought home. I had finished the inside faces of the side walls, and left the outside faces blank for the moment. The position of everything is clearly marked now. I have also done more work to the portico area which just needs some detailing now. Peter

Thinking ahead to later in the year, the roundhouse has been sketched out and is going to fit in full sized with 24 roads! The white rectangle on the left is a two road carriage shed. I might have to get a bigger car!! Peter

Second part: The Waterworks crossings were a challenge due to the wide crossing angles, around 1:3. The real crossings were constructed differently, which I wanted to replicate. The crossings over the lines into Platforms 12 and 13 where made conventionally, using DCC concepts timbers. The crossings over the Up and Down Main lines were made up of crossing Vs and Ks soldered up into units using flat bottomed rail and 0.5mm brass strip, then glued to a timber base cut from 0.8mm ply sheet, then cosmetic chairs cut from C&L pandrol clips added. Hopefully these photos tell the story. Other basics. Plain trackwork is C&L. Gauge is 16.5mm, reduced to 16.2 through crossing Vs. Trackwork is laid and ballasted at the same time, glued using cheap flexible PVA from B&Q. Each rail section has an individual dropper wire. Painted using Railmatch Track Dirt for the base colour, then weathered using a thinned mix of Precision paints weathered tarmac. Then thinned black between the rails in places where locos and stock would have stood. I’ve tended to use whatever 2mm or 4mm ballast is to hand from a variety of suppliers. It looks odd until painted and weathered. The variation grins through, breaking up the uniformity, but avoiding the look of track laid and painted in batches where I cannot remember the ‘recipe’ from one month to another. Peter

My customer has given me this to post about how he has done the track, with more to follow: I would describe the trackwork as ‘mass produced bespoke’ if that makes any sense. The construction technique is conventional, with a couple of ‘special features’ which I have found work really well for me. The geometry was drawn up using a combination of Templot, C&L slip templates, and hand drawn where needed to allow the trackwork to flow, all taped to mounting card. The timbering is made from a combination of 0.8mm ply sleepers and, special feature 1, a few DCC concepts 1.0 mm legacy pre-etched sleepers spread along the point or slip to give rigidity and strength. These need to have a small piece of 0.5mm brass strip as packing for the rail to sit on, to keep the rail head level across both timber types. I found the A5-A9 crossing packs have the most useful combination of timber sizes and positioning of the solder pads, and I could get 4-5 turnouts worth from each. Timbering, chairs, crossing Vs (almost all 1:8 or 1:9) switch blades etc from C&L, Exactoscale, Timber Tracks (no connection, just a satisfied customer). The photos attached show a pair of single slips, a double slip and what geometrically is a single slip with switched K crossing (but has a special name which I can’t remember), of which York has many, and the latter installed on the layout. And a photo of these lined up and the south end ready for installation. Special feature 2 is the tie bar arrangement. An offcut from the DCC Concepts sprue, 0.8mm holes drilled to the right gauge and recessed on the underside (as the pins have rounded internal corners), 0.75mm brass pins inserted from the underside, and soldered to the switch blades which have had notches cut into the bottom flange. The pins heads have been flattened so as not to foul the underlay. This allows the switch blade to pivot at the tie bar, minimising pressure on the soldered joints and allowing the blade to flex under spring pressure from slow action motor or servo and sit snugly against the stock rail. The photos show this arrangement from above and below. Please forgive the wonkiness. Double slips require the holes for the two pins closest to the centreline to be slotted, so as to allow the pin to move longitudinally as well as rotate. Otherwise the mechanism jams. Peter

My next job is the signal box... Does anyone have a picture of it looking the other way, before the modern windows were put it? A view under the canopy would be very useful too. Thanks, Peter

It's a private layout built in an outbuilding; it won't be possible to exhibit it. Peter

The idea is to have a camera on a wagon for one thing Jonathan, but I'm sure other ideas will come up as things progress. I took these picture with my phone, there's not a chance of getting a conventional camera in there. Peter

Look at the top of this page Richard! I've taken a load of still from the film, it's been invaluable. Peter

I've just got back from another day working on the layout, so here are some more pictures. This is the newly modelled area with the roof removed. Looking across the station, a view that won't be possible when the walls are in place on this side. The gap on the left has now been filled. There is more fencing to add in the foreground. This is the view looking through the entrance rom the booking hall onto the platform area. A view across the station showing how it is all beginning to blend together. I have built up the area around the portico with 2mm MDF so it is fixed in position with the passage from the booking hall matching the archway on the platform perfectly. The grey paint was still wet but I couldn't resist posing a car there. Perhaps it has been raining......... I'll surface the pavement properly next time. You may have noticed in the previous pictures that this building cut across an arch and round opening in the wall so I've covered these over which looks much better. I am going to redo the coping stones on top of the wall, that section looks awful. I had to join two sections of wall with a packing piece in between and it didin't line up perfectly at the top. A five minute job for next time. The next big job is the side walls on the far side with all the small buildings that are attached to them. Peter

I'm not too far out; we only had pictures of the booking hall side. Hopefully I can post some pictures of it all in place tomorrow. Many thanks for your help, those are the first pictures I've seen on the entrance. Peter

I had to get a move on, I'm delivering the model tomorrow! Peter

Yes! Just coming off shed to take the next train to Scarborough! Peter

Our 'sentry boxes' are wooden, long before the red ones. I've made the alterations to the model, hopefully it's accurate now and if it isn't I don't want to know! As before the wooden hut has had to be greatly reduced in size. I've backed the entrance with black card for the time being, but if by some miracle it lines up perfectly with the passage from the booking hall that can be cut away. It looks more like a garden shed than anything else! Peter

Great information, many thanks for your help. I think if I just put Waiting Room over the door that should be OK. I wasn't sure what the arch into the booking hall looks like because when I went to York to photograph that station it was being refurbished and was surrounded by screens. Do you have a picture of that area? I haven't been able to find anything so far, Peter

I've spent the last couple of days working on the inside of the area behind the booking hall, much reduced in size but hopefully still recognisable. Does anyone know what the building on the right was used for? I'd like to add some signs. This building is going to be outside the train shed joining onto the portico. Finally some of the smaller bits and pieces are also ready to be put in place. The clock goes above the footbridge steps in front of the signal box. All these models will be fixed in place on Saturday, so more pictures then. Peter

The trackwork has all been done by my customer and it's brilliant; I'll ask him to write something about it. Peter

Great pictures - keep them coming! Here are some I took today - it is finally looking like York station. The next visit is on Saturday when my aim is to finish the area around the booking office and entrance. Peter

Each section is 750mm wide and 500mm long, so the whole thing is 2m long. That's not full size, the model has been reduced! Peter

The roof is about complete and will be delivered tomorrow to put in place. The walkways had to be made in a series of straight sections, but most of the time the roof will be viewed from the side and it's much less obvious from that angle. I'll adjust the places where they don't meet perfectly tomorrow with the roof in place on the columns. Peter

That's two roof sections finished, two more to go: Peter