kirtleypete

The first job this morning was the finish off the entrance to the shed. Then I began work on the roof, with the central section which rests on the black girders. The twenty two spans were cut in 2mm acrylic by York Modelmaking. I made up lengths of square section Plastruct to rest on the girders, concrete beams in the real shed, and the spans were attached to these with Superglue, an L shaped bracket on each side giving a locating position. I decided to attach the narrower section of roof on the right to the main span rather than leaving it separate. The first thing was to glue a length of 'concrete' beam to the inside of the wall for it to rest on. Then the framework on 'concrete' beams to built up from Plastruct. It will be spray painted in due course before the glazing is added. With the roof this far on I can now complete the tops of the walls which will be the next job. Peter

I have painted the two finished girders and stuck them in place, with the third half built. This has enabled me to stand the roof spans in place to see how they look, For obvious reasons the roof will be made to lift off, in three sections. Peter

One problem I have is that I can't put the loco shed in my workshop; if I did I wouldn't have room to do anything. Instead i have been assembling sections such as the inner wall and then gluing them in place as finished items. The wall was cut out of 40 thou/12mm plastic and the openings cut out, the idea being that this wall is part of the original shed that was incorporated in the 1958 rebuilding. Photo's suggest that the walls were painted white inside the shed so after painting the edges of the openings in grey I began adding printed papers representing the painted brick. This is the finished wall ready to glue in place. The various openings and the pipes add interest to what is basically just a blank rectangle. The concrete pillars correspond to the positions of the metal girders. I have also tidied up the other side of the shed: On the outside wall I have used different coloured brick to suggest the original and new structure. The porch will be standing the right way up! Yes, it is sitting on the kitchen table! Peter

My first job today was to paint the base after filling in the missing sections on the corners with plastic card. First I gave it two good coats of grey primer. When that as dry I sprayed the pits black, and then misted on layers of light brown, black and grey to vary the surface. Finally the uprights were brush painted and the rails scraped and burnished. Despite being a loco shed I kept the colours fairly light. With the base back indoors I was able to begin assembling the structure around it. I can't make the third girder until more materials arrive. The internal walls will all match the one on the left for height etc. The gaps around the bases of the offices need filling in. It might have been better to keep these separate until the walls were in place. The length of wood keeps the far wall rigid and will be covered in brick in due course. It's quite a structure! Peter

The building was erected in 1877 as a hydraulic power house Ian, which originally had a tall accumulator tower, and a tall chimney. Which is why we refer to it as the power station. We think the building was repurposed and the hydraulic tower and chimney reduced in height about the same time as the conversion of roundhouses 1 & 2 into a straight shed and repair workshop in 1958, when the whole shed received its new roof. The North Eastern Railway Association publication ‘North Eastern Railway Engine Sheds’ published in 2020, edited by John F Addyman is our main source for this, should that be of interest to you. Peter

Yes, I couldn't find anything the right size ready made. It's a sheet of 2mm clear plastic the full size of the wall with the glazing bars stuck in place one at a time. The bright white is going to need toning down in due course. The clear plastic is very rigid so it adds strength to the wall which is useful while it's not glued in place. Peter

I've begin detailing the first wall; I'll do each one before assembling them around the base. Peter

I've made a start on the shed walls; they may need to be higher, I'm not sure at the moment. The gap in the back wall is where the straight shed will be. Peter

I know but I thought it was more important to get the colour right. Hopefully once it's reduced to 4mm it won't be too obvious. Peter

Make a great train for the layout, wouldn't it. I've been putting together the long girders that span the shed and support the roof. The roof will sit on these but be removable to give access to the shed. The starting point was Plastruct girders. I had three packs and will need three more to complete the shed. Two more to make! Peter

I have spent the last couple of days getting everything clear in my hear before starting work, as well as ordering the laser cut roof girders. The shed was rebuilt in the late 50's in a very pale brick which it is important to copy, particularly as it wouldn't have had time to get dirty. The photo below suggests that the power station that was adjacent to the shed was partly rebuilt at the same time, and in the same brick.....very useful as it is still there. Look on the left; the difference between the original wall and the new section is really clear. The engine shed is behind the power station. This colour picture shows the new structure nicely and the brick is clearly lighter than the old part of the power station. I did a screen cap from Google street view of Leeman Road: The power station is on the left. Below is the best image I could get of the brick wall - unfortunately it was taken on a really bright day and there is too much glare. I used the image to produce this brick paper but i don't think it's useable. I found two other images of similar brick walls as in the sample below and I think the bottom one will be OK to use. It can be lightened a bit and then should look fine. Peter

Excellent David, it's full of atmosphere. Peter

Next the boards either side were built, again removeable to allow access to the boards behind. Altogether three more pieces in this giant jigsaw puzzle The Leeman Road section, which lifts out easily, ties the shed to the coal yard. The coal drops have glued in position, and rails fitted. A few photos of my customers work on the permanent way that has progressed in parallel. The loco yard is starting to take shape. I'll be posting regularly again now that I'm working on the layout again. Peter

I've just got back from 'York' with a large baseboard on which the roundhouse loco shed will be built over the next month or so. This is how my customer has brought it to the stage where I can begin work on it. Thanks everyone for your interest, and your patience. After nearly 4 months away we have planned the next phase, which is the North Shed and loco yard. My customer has been busy designing a scheme that captures the spirit of the shed in the 1950’s but at a scale appropriate to the rest of the about and the space available. The base drawing was provided by York City Council planning department, and comes from a planning application in the early 1980’s to incorporate the diesel servicing depot into the National Railway Museum after purchasing from British Rail. At this time, the structure of the building around and over the display area, which was originally Roundhouses 3 & 4, was built in 1958 when the shed was modernised using a BR standard ‘nave and aisle’ design, and so fits the period we have modelled. We simply didn’t have room for both roundhouses, so we have opted just for No 4, with its 70’ turntable and 24 stable roads. This allows more generous space for some of the roads than a pure scale model would allow, so that most roads can take the longest pacific locos, and the shortest ones a K1 or D20. We didn’t have room for the diesel servicing depot, so have gone for a representation in the form of a short, 2 road straight shed. The planning application drawings include elevation drawings showing the form of the concrete beams running transverse to the two naves and aisles, and the massive longitudinal trusses. The next few pictures show the sequence of construction for the 4’ x 3’ board on which the ADM turntable, stable roads and main shed building sit. The baseboard itself, which sits on its own trolley, is removeable so as to give access to the boards behind. The shed floor and inspection pits are constructed from a 6mm ply base, 3mm mdf with laser cut inspection pits, 2mm mdf packing, 2mm laser cut wedges between the roads, topped with 1/8” ply laser cut wedges which sit in the web of the rails, leaving the rail head proud so that they can be cleaned easily. Laser cut parts were used to achieve a precise alignment of the 24 roads around the clock, and to save a great deal of time cutting out the inspection pits. At this point, my customer realised that the board would be too heavy to lift, and set about removing as much material as possible. With 4 lightweight ply beams glued to the underside, the resulting structure is light, rigid, and lifts easily off its trolley to fit in my car. The turntable can be removed from the underside by releasing 4 bolts. The shed board was now ready.

I have made the decision to close my business once the current batch of models is complete so I will not be accepting any further commissions. I would like to thank my customers - it has been a pleasure working with you over the last twenty years. If anyone is interested in taking over my range of printed products please send me a PM or e-mail me. My books will remain available from Amazon. Peter

I forgot to add this link to a video of the layout: SALTDEAN LBSCR IN 1888 MODEL RAILWAY VIDEO 1 - YouTube Peter

I have decided to sell my 0 gauge layout 'Saltdean' as well as all the loco's and stock. For full information please e-mail me at peter.smith5547@gmail.com . Peter

Apparently there is a small ad in the Continental Modeller saying the show is cancelled - their communication skills could do with a bit of work! Peter

Does anyone know if the ERA is still functioning? The website doesn't see to have been updated since last Summer and I get no response to e-mails sent to the officers from it. I was asked to take a layout to the 2020 exhibition that was cancelled and assumed the invitation will apply to the 2021 show in September but I'd appreciate some information if the invitation still stands, and if not to be told that is the case. Peter

Thanks Mike, I've really enjoyed building it. Some of you might remember the 0 gauge model of the station built by David White and Bill Hudson the best part of 40 years ago (!) that was in the old Slater's factory. I don't think it was ever fully finished, but the viaduct section is supposed to be at Butterley, though not on display. The station was scrapped because the boards had woodworm! Peter

I've finished off the models this morning. The framework for the canopy was built up using Plastruct. I bought some Ratio gas lamps but I've chucked them in the bin; eight pieces for a lamp an inch high! My 0 gauge fingers can't cope with that. I'm delivering the models tomorrow, Peter

The Plastruct for the platforms still hasn't come so I'm a bit limited in what I can do, but the buildings are coming on nicely. At this stage I'm making it all fit the platform templates rather than copying the real station exactly. Those chimney pots will have to go! Peter

I've added the canopy along Platform 1. The whole shape was cut out of 1mm plastic card. The holes were cut where the glazed sections would be. This is the underside with the beams of square section Plastruct and the Slater's valencing added. The canopy was painted cream underneath, glued to the building and left overnight to harden off. This morning I added the ribs on the top from 30 thou strip. The pillars are 1mm brass wire pushed through a hole in the platform from below and glued in place. It is very difficult to tell if Millers Dale had pillars on this section, but the model certainly needs their support. The finished canopy before being painted. Now I came across a problem; the openings are where the real thing was glazed and i ordered a pack of glazing material from Slater's as the 2mm thick sheet I normally use would be no good in this scale. However, when it arrived the sheet turned out to be acrylic, not Polystyrene, so it wouldn't be possible to use solvent to fix the glazing bars. I had a re-think. In the end I made the glazed sections from paper, doing the artwork on the computer. It's not ideal, but I hope they look like they are reflecting the blue sky. This section is pretty much complete now, two more to go. Peter

I've completed one platform apart from the canopy, which I'm going to do next while I wait for more Plastruct to arrive. The 'U' shaped item is the top of the subway. It will be pretty much hidden under the canopy so I haven't modelled the steps. Peter

The shells of the buildings are complete and I know they fit, so the next job is to build the platforms using these card templates. Peter