Physicsman

Ummmmm..... Just spent a very frustrating couple of hours marking-up the curved bases, ready for connecting (maybe tomorrow). My sketch measurements were correct, but b****r me if I didn't keep measuring incorrectly or marking out the wrong bits!! Done now. Will get some small screws, a new countersink and some more PVA tomorrow and - hopefully - move on to the next stage. Andy - maybe I should omit all the technical crap and just swing the hammer like you do!!!! I will draw up some of my sketched diagrams, with relevant dimensions, scan them and post them on here in case anyone finds them useful. Bear with me!! Jeff

Thanks 'CHARD. Fortunately, I've just got home from work and I'm heading into the bunker for a bit more woodwork and preparation. I need to make sure I get all the pier supports in the correct positions and plan out the mdf marking-up. Jeff

Thanks for the photo 'CHARD. Very nice. If you have any more, please post them. I'm hoping to get a fair bit done this weekend, so will keep you informed on progress. Your last point is a good one - I'm hoping to avoid in situ work. Are you using plasticard or clay? Jeff

Blimey, Andy...I didn't know you were so advanced in the woodwork department. A very direct, to the point method. Might give it a try - lump hammer at the ready!! Cheers, Jeff

Al, resistance is indeed futile - especially with all the ideas we end up discussing...you are quite a catalyst! I think you could even convince a Yorkshireman to part with his life savings!! How are the Templot turnouts coming along? Jeff

That would be good to see. I'll get a stash of 3mm and 6mm ply / mdf at the weekend and start doing the front and back. I've just looked at my comments from 5 days back. I'm not supposed to be doing this until August! Bloody hobby is addictive - or is it the smell of freshly cut timber?!! Cheers, Jeff

Two photos - take your pick which version you prefer! - to show the scale of the main viaduct. Base and top (need trimming at the ends for correct length) with relevant 29.3cm 12mm ply spacers - for 6 arches there will be 7 of these... Freshly cut, should be fun fitting them in the correct positions. Jeff

Hi Jason, Yes, I remember Iffley Road - though I've not lived in Oxford since 1986! I lived at the bottom of Botley Hill in the west of Oxford, but used to frequent the Headington area quite a bit. Was in Oxford from 1979 to 1986. Last visit was in 1999, to review old haunts! I was born in Barrow - so I'm technically a Lancastrian. However, we were booted into Cumbria in 1973. Westmorland - so you're a genuine Cumbrian! Cheers, Jeff

Hello Brian, I often find it's a very small world! Next, we will both be claiming credit for "discovering" the Higgs boson!! I'm afraid I couldn't stop myself, planned out the viaduct build, then cutting just seemed to happen automatically... lol. I need to get some 3mm MDF at the weekend, then heaven knows what'll happen! Btw, I always enjoyed my visits to Exeter, though I haven't been down there since the late 80s (I used to have relatives in Somerset). I did my Physics degree at Leeds, PhD with London, ended up working in Oxford then I'd had enough and went into teaching. Great subject Physics, though I like Chemistry just as much! Keep drinking from the mug and working in the double-garage!! Jeff ps My best friend came from Plymouth and we stayed at her dads in 1999 for the Total Eclipse ... cloudy, of course, during totality. Nice area of the country, but a 6 hour drive from "up north" in the barbarian wastes where I come from!

A typical S&C viaduct would come in at around 100 feet, or 40cm in OO. I can't quite manage that, so I've compromised at 75 feet. So the top of the baseboards will be set in line with the top of the viaduct trackbed at 30cm above the subframe (then there's another cm or so for the parapet on the top). I've a clear plan for building the structure, including typical S&C "wedged piers and non-semicircular arches,,,, I'm basing it on Ribblehead, with curvature! Cheers Andy! Jeff

Sounds good. A bit of graffiti, perhaps... "Sandside woz 'ere" or "I've got a lovely bunch of Coconuts" (seemed appropriate). Then, of course, you'll need a selection of weeds growing in front of the building - rampant Buddleia shrubs cause hell on the rails. Should look good when it's crapped up. Fun! (he says to the sound of dur-dur-dur,,,dur-dur-dur (Kashmir) pounding in the background). Jeff

Enclosed photos showing extent of main viaduct - lines on ply show extremities and objects placed to indicate scale. This piece has a "twin" which serves as the base, to sit on the subframe. Apologies for the not-quite-dynamic photos!! Jeff

I've just marked out, and cut, the base and trackbed top for the main curved viaduct, from 12mm ply. Inner radius = 127cm, outer radius = 139cm, arc = 48 degrees. Not a very neat job with the jigsaw, but it doesn't matter as you won't see any of it!! Jeff

That really doesn't look too bad, Jason, but it's difficult to judge the colour balance because of the way the light reflects off the surface in the photo - flash used? I'm guessing you are going to darken it a little? The texture looks good, so if the colour looks right to your unaided eye, I would run with it! Jeff

Obviously a lady of taste. Kashmir is my favourite Led Zep track, bar none! Btw, not a weirdy building - a building of character! Jeff

The last photos sum up what is good about the way you work: have a go, experiment and sod it if it doesn't work out right. Great approach, Jason. I think it will work and look very realistic once painted. In the past I'm sure I've been far too cautious about trying certain things - hence my reluctance to scratchbuild. Soon I'll have a lot more time on my hands, so it's worth having a go. Think I'll invent a small, second layout just to try out a few ideas. Keep the pics coming! Cheers, Jeff

Thanks Andy. Schubert's photo from Stockton MRC's "Stockburn" used 7mm plasticard and I may give it a try. How people do the arch stones so well has always puzzled me - my plasticard always deviates from the desired arc. I suppose practise makes perfect, and it looks like I'll have the opportunity to refine my technique with this project. When I get time I shall investigate the availability of 2 or 3mm ply/mdf. I used to use 2mm MDF, but it seems harder to find now. Anyway, plenty to look forward to in the months ahead. I suspect the large viaduct will be built by the end of August, though whether to an acceptable standard, we shall see. If it's not good enough, it will be modified until it is - as judged by you guys. Peer review on here is such an excellent thing! Cheers, Jeff

Well, that was an interesting exercise and has already prompted a change of mind re. baseboard height above subframe. So viaduct height now to be 30cm (75 feet), arch diameter = 13.5cm (34 feet), 6 arch viaduct curved inside length at 130cm radius of 105cm (261 feet), angular curve of viaduct = 47 degrees. Consequence? 12mm ply baseboard top now at 28cm above subframe...I may have to grow a few cm to reach across the boards!! This lot probably means very little to the casual reader, but documenting my thoughts should clarify matters and (possibly) expose potential errors! Jeff

Just in the process of drawing-out a trackbed 12cm wide (30 foot) based on inner track radius of 130cm. Viaduct height to be 25cm (63 feet), scaled in proportion to Ribblehead with arch diameter of 11.3cm (28.4 feet), maintaining typical S&C Arch: Height ratio of 0.44. (Ribblehead = 104 ft high, Arch diameter = 45 feet, 24 arches at 1320 feet). 6 arches on curved viaduct, inner length = 88cm. Just for interest at the mo - no cutting. YET. Jeff

An interesting post Andy! If all the layouts end up in magazines that'll be splendid. Not surprised, though. Let me know when you've had a go at making some rock moulds, and, as for George, I'll keep waiting for more pics... Jeff

OK lads, once you give me an idea I start to take it to extremes... Pictures of Ribblehead and Dent Viaducts will serve as my prototype. Dimensions: height, arch-span, taper have been noted. A couple of useful websites, showing viaduct construction in outline have been found - even curved ones! Preliminary plans already jotted down, including materials - if I can get 2mm ply for the viaduct facings, that will be ideal. DAS or plasticard? We will have to see. Timescale? I retire in 3 weeks. So from the start of August I expect cutting and experimentation to begin. Can't wait. All will be documented here - especially the cock-ups!! What a hobby this is! Jeff

Yes, I think plenty of practise has refined your technique, Jason. I'm starting to research the buiding of the curved viaducts. Not quite terraces, but I can see it may take a few attempts to get the details correct! Jeff

It's the area that Network Rail had flattened in preparation for HS2, due in 2312!! Yep, only a few yards more. Wish the electrics were as simple as in the photo! Jeff

Unfortunately I can't take the credit. It was a Bachmann pre-weathered model, Andy, and I have to say it's ok, but not up to the standard I've seen on RMweb from people like yourself. That aside, I've 3 Bachmann 9Fs and they are superb runners with terrific pulling power. Jeff

Speak for yourself!! Must say, I'm quite partial to a bottle of Sauvignon... If I might ask, have you built many layouts prior to this, and did any previous ones involve so much scratchbuilding? Or was Bacup an idea that came to mind, accepting that you were going to have to make a lot of buildings? My S&C is quite the opposite, with virtually no buildings, but the warehouses and rows of habitable dwellings have an equivalent effect - they make me want to have a go. Anyway, back to the Chardonnay. It's a tough life! Now, where's me Guinness? Jeff