sigtech

Well, the operating lever mechanisms for the two Ratio lower quadrant semaphore signals that I have spent loads of time fitting to the layout have just broken - they lasted all of TWO days!!!( I have already had to use the only spare available,after an earlier breakage). So, reverting to just pulling the strings now to operate them - I do hope Dapol bring out a decent motorized W.R round post bracket signal sometime soon..as I certainly won't be wasting any money on ratio replacements!!. Has anyone else had this problem?? the plastic cam on the lever tail just breaks off, and you are left with a signal failure to deal with?? Must say that the quality of some of ratio's products is very poor ,- pity there is no viable alternative, apart from scatchbuilding which is beyond me. As an ex aircraft/AFV/ boat modeller, I have noticed that the products of kit manufactures such as Tamiya/Airfix/Monogram/Revell all have superior and more comprehensive ( AND READABLE ) instuctions along with better made components, than the companies that make model railway kits, and I wonder why?? The only reason I can come up with is that railway modellers are easily pleased; and will happily spent time scratchbuilding/modifying/replacing components to achieve a decent model, - so there is little incentive for a manufacturer to bother to improve or update his products to the trade. Sigtech.

Forgot to include this signalling diagram in the last entry- should hopefully make a lot more sense now ! Regards. The frame has 25 levers, There is no 26!! a mistake on my part Sigtech.

Have had a very trying week, attempting to install two Ratio lower quadrant (cat:460/1) signals as the platform starters at Sproston, - and then getting them to work... To say they were fiddly would be an understatement, the instructions were very poor and towards the end I was almost tempted to replace one with a strictly unprototypical - but nevertheless working colourlight!! However after dogged perseverance,and some very choice expletives,( and lots of tea..) success, although I did have to source several replacement parts from a similar unmade Ratio distant signal kit - ( which fortunately had been accquired at the same time ) as I managed to break some of the original components during the construction of the main platform starting signal. As I have insufficient main line run to require a distant signal anyway, this suddenly became a happy coincidence.... Finally I managed to complete the painting, assembly and testing of them, along with seven ground disc signals ( again Ratio- but non working this time). The two platform starters are only a temporary measure,- both being on single posts, and one is on the 'wrong' side of the line, ( positioned for sighting..) - what I really wanted to install was a two - doll balanced bracket at the end of the platforms. Of course I am hoping that Dapol will (eventually ) oblige and bring out a motorised version to compliment their single post ones, of which I have three - and very good they are too!.) The shunt signals were much easier, but I have "rung the changes" by mounting one of them on a raised platform fixed to the left hand side of the inner homes three - doll bracket signal main post.( Hornby upper quadrant - wrong, but it works and is better than nothing, I console myself by saying that it is a very modern B.R. replacement for the original lower quadrant one ). The elevated disc reads (shunt) down main to parcels dock. The signal for exit from the parcels dock reads two ways -1. (shunt) to up main advanced starter, or 2. (shunt) to loco depot, so I have 'modified' it as a stacked double disc. The rest are all single independant discs, controlling the loco - release and run-round loop, exit from the loco depot into the parcels dock and exit from the creamery/headshunt into the goods loop. On a different note, have just ordered two new items from Hattons, both in B.R. Maroon. Hawksworth brake third and a 1st/3rd composite, as I feel the need to strengthen the coaching stock.!

No new work done on layout - as I've been on a week of night shifts (yeuch!). However, have taken a few more pics to see if it is starting to feel "real" - which I think is the 'acid test' for any layout. More photos showing the little details that I am trying to add, to make up for the layouts small size! Next task will be adding two more starting signals, ( and hopefully making them work...) and all the ground discs. Regards Sigtech.

Managed to make more substantial progress with the scenery last week - bought 12 trees (woodland scenics)to make up and install. Had a disaster with the first attempt,- I used hairspray to attach the clump foilage, next day when I came to handle the trees guess what? Yup, most of the green stuff fell off!! Second attempt at tree making, and this time taking no chances- using uhu clear adhesive, result - success!! Obviously 'Tesco' hairspray is not quite as "firm hold" as they like to believe...Three of the trees were adapted to become 'Silver Birches'. Along with all the tree making has gone a spell of detailing, with street/road names, pre 1967 roadsigns, a bus stop sign,period advertisments,enamel wall signs, road drains and manhole covers, various fences, bushes and a nice brick wall behind "The Kings Arms". The station building has received similar treatment, with BR.(WR) door plates, along with a re-arrangement of the small buildings situated on the parcels dock.The goods shed has now an approach of stone setts. Most of the signs came from 'Sankey Scenics' and were a free insert with the 'Railway Modeller', as was the parcels lock-up building ( ex Arley station platform waiting-room) and the small hut next to the temporary signalbox. All Saints Church now has a vicar, according to the new sign next to the Lych gate - along with a Parish notice board on the other side. The two sets of goods depot gates also now sport BR.(WR) signs. The Sproston Creamery now has a clock - which keeps good time, unlike the church clock, some two hours slow...needs looking at!! The Station Garage has also had the "treatment", with new advertising signs, and the proprietor's name on a new board fixed to the twin roofspans. The farmshop is run by a Mr. Hodge, who has tidied up the area of land previously occupied during WW2. by a searchlight battery stationed in Sproston, now only the overgrown earth revetment where the light was mounted and the battery HQ , an old Nissen hut remain. The eagle-eyed amongst you have probably spotted that some cows have appeared in the cattle dock, there are also a couple in the field next to the church, but these are lying down - there must be rain on the way. Next task will be to install some more semaphore signals, and add the groundsignals - it will look better when the new box is finally constructed! With regard to the latter, I am now awaiting the new Ratio lever frame detailing kit to appear. I have partly made up the Wills whitemetal one(SSAM103) , but this has not come out very good- and is sufferering from a wonky frame!..(very poor casting, required lots of filing, and superglue - not working very well...) On the "to do" list are:the rod-run and leadaway from the yet to be built signalbox to the points, platform canopies (Wills), GWR platform seats, and more platform furniture, oh yes! and also more "little people".. Regards. Sigtech

Hi, I have used oo scale "Redutex" dark grey stone setts, to surface the yard of the creamery on 'Sproston', and have found it to be very realistic and easy to cut and fit - am just waiting for them to bring out the same coloured filler, that is in their future product production plan. Regards Sigtech.

Hi there, this is very easy on the eyes! it's good to see trains moving at sensible speeds through some impressive scenery - would be nice to be able to achieve this sort of standard on my own layout! Regards Steve.

Hi there, I would also like to join in on this topic, as I am wondering how a small branch terminus such as Sproston would have been shunted, - especially as the traffic to the creamery would require the loco to propel back into the siding from the runround loop, again, there seems to be nothing written down to follow, but there must have been common local operating proceedures for dealing with each set of circumstances- can anyone shed any light on this?

Some more photos that I have taken of the layout, must say that overall I am pleased with the way it is progressing,- only trouble is that work gets in the way!! Regards sigtech.

Thanks for the positive comment - the weathering will I hope come later, although I am also well aware that the road vehicles will all need toning down - much too shiny, need to wear shades!! At present I am concentrating on finishing the main scenic details( fencing, walls hedges, platform canopy and seats, running signals, ground discs, and the rod-run from the replacement signalbox ( which is under construction, on hold whilst awaiting the new Ratio lever frame kit....) along with telegraph poles and lineside fencing. Regards Sigtech

Here are some more pictures of progress at Sproston, any comments are welcome!

Carrying on with more progress on Sproston, the next task was to paint all the landscape with Windsor and Newton 'dark umber' poster paint -,for no other reason than I had two tins of the stuff!! This at least put an end to all the dreaded "snow"... The road surfaces were painted with thinned Humbrol hs209 'tarmac' enamel paint, and Jarvis 'rough pasture' scatter was applied to the hillsides on top of diluted pva glue, I found that this needed more than one application, to achieve a satisfactory coverage. The ground level has been stepped around the church to provide more visual interest. Small pieces of dark green lichen ( again from Jarvis ) were glued in place to represent bushes, small trees and scrub vegetation, mainly around the backscene, - which is photographic ("entering town") and much cut about to fit the profile required... - If I were to do this again, I would put the backscene in BEFORE the scenery contruction began in earnest!!! The area behind the goods yard is still not complete - hence the 'sky' backscene, also the road exit through the backscene beside the church is still to be tackled - I tend to leave the difficult areas till last!! The churchyard and back garden lawns were again Jarvis - 'premier turf' mid green scatter. As work progressed and plans were finalised, so other finishes were applied.'Natural scenics' dark brown earth scatter for gardens, and Jarvis dark brown for lineside and the goods yard. Fine sawdust was used ontop of pva glue to represent a sandy road surface around the area of the disused searchlight battery/farm shop. The surface of the coal yard area and around the loco shed was made using the spent activated charcoal from a product called "Little Hotties", - which is used to keep your hands warm...this was first crushed to make the lumps finer, and then scattered over a coating of pva glue. I am quite pleased with the effect, the only downside being you have to be careful you don't scrape your knuckles on it when brushing around the area, as the iron filings in it act like a cheese grater on skin.... More greenery has since been added - the trees (12 to date ) are "woodland scenics" - these are very good, three have been 'converted' ( if thats the correct term! ) to represent Silver Birches. Bushes and hedges have sprung up along the roadside (Peco and Jarvis again), along with Ratio and Peco fencing . I have tried to create an sense of decay around the WW2 searchlight battery, - but this is still a 'work in progress' ( not enough greenery ). As far as the buildings are concerned, I have tried to arrange them in a convincing realistic manner, - five of them are 'ready to plant' structures, and all except one ( the pillbox - which is Hornby 'skaledale' ) are from Bachmann 'scenecraft' range, the rest being card or plastic kits. Well, thats all for the time being, any comments are always welcome.

The creamery is the major industry in Sproston, and has been in existence since 1929 - before that the buildings were in use as a cider factory, opened in 1881, and closing in 1926. To construct the original site a large area of the hillside was removed, and the yard is flanked on two sides by a high retaining wall of brown stone. Around 75 people, working 2 shifts keep production going 24 hours a day. The milk is collected from the surrounding farms and transported in churns by lorries to the creamery, where it is unloaded.The empty churns ( known as 'kits' ) are then passed though a rotary steam cleaner, inside on the ground floor, before being loaded back onto the lorries again for the return journey to the farms. The milk is then treated,stored and then pumped into the empty - and previously washed out 6 wheel railtanks that are waiting in the loading bay siding. When full these are marshalled as the return milk train, bound for the capital. The top floor of the building contains the steam processing plant, for pasteurisation and a storage tank. The middle floor has coagulation and drying tanks, and the ground floor contains a freezing and butter processing plant,The basement contains more storage tanks. The single storey building with the northlight pattern roof, has plant and pipework for pumping the milk into the cleaned milk tanks and dealing with milk churn arrivals and unloading by rail. The creamery is run by United Dairies,and has its own gated private siding which will hold 3-4 six wheeled milk tanks, or a bogie syphon g for churn traffic.The goods yard headshunt is used to hold any traffic awaiting access to the loading platform, the full brake or stove R from the train is also shunted out of the way here. The loading platform also receives insulated vans for butter or cheese. Buildings are Metcalfe with the exceptions of the cycle shed (Ratio) and main water tower (Dapol) which is used to supply the water for processing inside the creamery, and the large amounts required for tank washing. The main administration is situated on the top floor of the main office block - with the offices of the creamery manager and his deputy located on the other side of the entrance (under the tower). The reception office is on the ground floor - immediately next to the arched entrance. The creamery has its own boilerhouse, which has a second water tower and stores building adjacent. The yard itself is paved with grey stone setts (Redutex) which are self adhesive very thin sheets. This is the first time I have used these, and must say they are excellent, easy to cut with scissors or a knife, and you can lift and move it until the necessary position is achieved. They were obtained from "Model Textures", who import them from Spain, where they are produced for architects models, planning, etc The name of the creamery is displayed vertically on two of the faces of the 80' chimney, this was done using slaters 8mm letters, as was the United Dairies sign on the outside wall of the creamery. Eventually I hope to fit lights inside some of the buildings, along with more staff and some pipework, fans etc.

Hi there, thanks for your comment- have looked at your blog - very good, is your layout in a garage?,looks a fair size, wish I could run trains of 5x mk1 coaches!...Maximum I can get away with is 3x 60' coaches, even then it needs a pilot to release the train engine, its too long for the runround loop!! I still have the Dapol turntable, - will keep it in a box in case someone else needs a smaller one,- as it is cut down to 60' length. Sarahh posted an interesting article on here, combining an old Hornby turntable with the Dapol one, using the deck, sides, and wheels from the latter and the gears,foundation ring, and base of the former- and adding a walkway with railings - looks good, you end up with a smaller turntable that works,but needs the same amout of space as a 72', as it uses the Hornby base mounting ring.

Here we go again; it was about this time last year, that my Son and myself went to a local model railway exhibition held at a school in Dereham,Norfolk, looking for some inspiration and ideas. We came upon a very realistic layout with a nice (small) working turntable, and my curiosity was aroused - I had begun to realise that the non - motorised, kitbashed Dapol turntable on Sproston had many shortcomings, and that something more refined would be needed.I had contemplated the Peco one - too big; (72') and would not fit in the allotted space - or having a small one made by "Metalsmiths" ( mega money...): this was not really a sensible option at the time, given the layouts early stage of construction. I enquired about this turntable, and was informed it was made by Heljan and was to ho scale, also that it was no longer available, - the person operating it informed me that he purchased it several years ago, and in his words"it cost a packet".... After talking with him further about said turntable, and having its operation demonstrated - I became aware that this was exactly what was needed, all we needed to do was to find one.... When we returned home, I got to work on the internet- and so it proved, that this turntable was as rare as the proverbial hen's teeth! No one had any, as it had only a short production run - there seemed to be no secondhand examples about, so in desperation I put a classified advert in the Railway Modeller "wanted" section,- all to no avail... Things carried on as normal, with the Dapol turntable in position albeit only surface mounted with a slight ramp up to the table- but it worked! Then suddenly out of the blue, I received an email from Ebay, with whom I had left a request for them to search for this item for me, (with no real hope that one would actually become available). They had found one! it was with "Rails of Sheffield", was in mint condition and boxed ( it must have been laying in a pile of railway stuff in one of their storerooms... Brand new this item had retailed for about £190-£200, but Rails of Sheffield were happy to let me have this one for £160.50 including postage and packing - sorted...!! They were true to their word,it arrived a couple of days later, in its original box, all sealed and with all the bits present- result!! Within a day it was fully assembled and the hole for the deck was carefully cut in the surface of the board ( with a heavy duty Stanley knife and blade). The whole assembly was fitted, wired up and tested, it worked perfectly, Sproston now has a 60' well type turntable, with an accuracy in alignment of the rails of 0.003mm!! I hope you like the result...i am well pleased with it.

Now the that the scenery had been started in earnest, I decided that any changes would only be cosmetic.I had a plan, and was going to stick too it...(famous last words!!) More items were being added to the layout, which resembled a winter wonderland- everywhere was all white!! The yard crane on the loading bank in the goods yard made an appearance ( Wills),also the GWR water crane next to the loco-release at the main platform, followed by a grounded van body (both Ratio) The signalbox however was a temporay structure, a rather battered Hornby WR timbered affair with internal staircase. Peco bufferstops also made an appearance - removing the need at last for the large red pins at the end of each siding.!! The location of the layout had now to be considered- with regard to the rolling stock, architecture, industry and period modelled.Various options were explored - the real Sproston is a small hamlet in Cheshire, just west of the M6 motorway near Holmes Chapel, and does not posess a station. The West Midlands,Shropshire, Worcestershire Somerset and Cheshire were all proposed, anywhere really that has mostly red brick buildings, a dairy industry, and WR/LMS locos and rolling stock...as of yet no firm decision has been made. The period was chosen as I was born in 1956, enjoy 60's music, prefer steam - but don't mind the early (green) diesels and railcars, and have an affinity for the ex GWR, with a passing interest in the LMS. ( even though I hail originally from East Kent- what a traitor!!..) .I also liked the idea of a mix of Blood and Custard/Maroon coaching stock, and locos in black or WR green, with either the "ferret and a dartboard" or "lion on a unicycle" totem on them...(Pure selfishness!!) The layout remained in this 'snowscape' for some time as I pondered over the next stage of scenery, eventually I suffered from "snow blindness" and painted all the area with artists 'Burnt Sienna' poster paint which made things much more bearable... The final new item at this stage was the Ratio GWR cattledock, a lovely model, but a pig to fit all the fine wire railings on! still I think it has turned out o.k - just needs some obedient cows to populate it!

Hi again,- updating progress rapidly, to bring the story to where we are now, as I decided to start this blog at what some would say is a late stage in the development of Sproston. ( Truth is - I was not sure the layout would actually come to fruition). After much tinkering with the non-railway buildings and road layout, the final plan was produced, I was trying to achieve a sense of openness (very difficult in a space 6'6"x5'0"!) with the placement of the structures.The layout is meant to represent the outskirts of the market town,- an area where railway companies so often seemed to place their stations... The original plan was much too crowded - it had too many buildings, so a bit of 'pruning' was carried out, and I hope the result is a more natural flowing design. The next structures to appear on the layout were the Parish Church - Metcalfe kit, with much internal strengthening and a flagpole on the roof.( was originally to have been "St. Margarets, named after my long suffering wife - but of necessity altered to "All Saints" as I had the nameboard available at the time!!.) This was quickly followed by "The Kings Arms" Coaching Inn (again Metcalfe) as every layout needs a pub!! The hidden sidings (4) were simply left as Peco track fixed onto the cork underlay, each has a loco isolating section 9" from the stops, these are worked by push to make buttons, and are also very useful in preventing a train being driven into the bufferstops by the controller round at the station side of the layout- who cannot see this part of it. ( unfortunately it doesn't work with a Hornby class 121 'bubblecar', how do I know -trust me....!!) The amount of rolling stock for the layout has now grown - to the extent that a seperate 4' length of track, with buffers at each end has been positioned ontop of the hidden sidings area to clear one of the roads for temporay storage... The entry to these sidings is via a short cutting running into a tunnel with the road crossing above the entrance, not very prototypicaI I suppose, but it seemed the best way forward (excuse the play on words) at the time. Next a start was made on the scenery, I used foam blocks cut to shape ( very messy business! ) for the hillside, the roadway is a very thin plank of ply- the rest of the road network is made off thick card painted with Humbrol tarmac enamel. once satisfied with the contours of the landscape 'modroc' plaster bandage was applied, and it was at this point that disaster struck! the original tunnel mouth a Metcalfe card kit - water and card do not go well together, and I was too enthusiastic on my application of the former in the modroc!!! After much cursing and swearing, - and a sudden trip to my local model shop, a replacement (Peco) appeared and has faired much better. On reflection it was probably a good thing as the original tunnel mouth was a very lofty grand affair, its replacement is more subtle and importantly, it enabled me to drop the road level by 1", making the road gradient less steep.

This is the continuing story of a small branchline terminus-fiddle yard layout in my loft. The next stage saw frenetic kit building activity- the goods shed (Metcalfe, with the office portion repositioned, and a Ratio 'coaling stage'wooden hoist fitted inside on the loading platform) was quickly followed by coal cells, coal office (ratio), weghbridge and weigh house (Metcalfe again). Then came platelayers hut, two lamprooms, WR/LMS loading gauge and pagoda shelter (all ratio). By now I had decided that the layout would represent a BR (WR) scene, with ex LMS 'visitors' during the period 1956-1963. More buildings followed- the barn, the station garage (Wills), the station building with stationmasters house attached and signalmans house( Peco 'Manyways') The layouts name is a tribute to a work collegue who was also a model railway enthusiast - Terry Sproston, at work he was always saying that when he shortly retired he would get around to building his dream model railway. He retired at 62 and within 6 months was diagnosed with cancer, 6 months later He was gone.... it was a salutory lesson for me - don't put off till tomorrow that which you can do today! It is to his memory that I dedicate my layout Slowly the detailed shape of the layout emerged,as I began to plan the non-railway buildings that make up the outskirts of the town. The main industry of Sproston- and the "raison d'etre" for the branch remaining busy and open still, - the creamery with its private siding was tackled next. The buildings, in an imposing red brick are all Metcalfe, the 'small factory and 'factory entrance' have been adapted.It is assumed that this was a cider factory previously, but closed during the mid 1920's depression, it reopened as a creamery in 1929. It is the largest employer in the town, (around 75 staff ) Next came the locoshed (Dapol) and then the loco coalstage and water tower (Ratio yet again), other small buildings followed, the creamery water tower (Dapol) the idea copied from another WR branchline layout that has a blog on here.....Penhydd?? The creamery also gained a cycle store (Wills), while the loco depot gained an unusual bothy (Dornerplas) and an inspection pit in the loco shed, with ashpit alongside on the road to the turntable. Ahh!, the turntable, this was seen as a problem- I wanted a 55' (9") table, nothing was available that size, so I bought a Dapol one- which is GWR style, over girder with a shallow pit. but 72'... too big. After some thinking, decided to reduce it to 60' by removing each end girder section and cutting down the deck, also strengthend the deck and added some weight under it to make it bear down on the rollers and run on the (plastic) rail. Painted it in WR colours and removed all the vacumn operating equipment, - small branchline turntable uses man power to turn... The first signal arrived at about the same time from the scrapbox - yes I know it is upper quadrant and overscale ( and Hornby ) but it works, has 3 dolls, the arrangement needed for Sproston, it will have to do for now...

It all started approximately 12 months ago, when our 33 year old central heating system was finally condemned by the Corgi gas fitter who serviced it,- unable to get the parts! So we spent a small fortune on an all singing, all dancing, new 'government approved' pressurized system - and out went the water tank in the loft, we were left with a large partly boarded and well lit loft, access via a built in loft-ladder and with very little in it, except two flush pannelled wood doors... It was at this point that the seeds for the idea of "Sproston" were born. The layout is an almost exact copy of the terminus in C.J Freezers plan s31, in that famous book "60 plans for small railways, ( I have the 1971 edition, in very thumbed and dog-eared condition ) The original design was for a 7 ftx 5ft garden shed, with a complex three level continous run/ fiddle yard plan, the operator being in the hole in the middle. This was simplified to a u shaped terminus-fiddle yard layout, on the aformentioned two doors ( screwed together with further edging strips to make a llight solid layout 6'6" x 5,0") I have always wanted to build this layout - the tracks seem to flow in a very attractive and realistic manner, so,after "obtaining" some more scrap lengths of timber, and using the original supports for the old water tank, the basebord was constructed. The layout is 00, conventional DC using Peco live frog points and code 100 rail. The trackplan was reproduced using "Anyrail" software- it is free off the net, if you do not use more than 50 pieces of trackwork to construct the plan. This was printed out at 1:1 and stuck onto the new board. Track was layed on thin 1/16th" cork to give a slight ballast shoulder, the points were wired up using 'seep' motors under the board inside apertures cut in the door panel. small miniature switches were mounted on a panel with the track layout fixed on the top. The layout has cab control - a second handheld controller is provided for the fiddle yard. The track is ballasted in time honoured fashion with oo ballast applied dry and carefully coaxed into position! Then well diluted pva glue with a drop of washing up liquid to relieve the surface tension was applied using a small syringe- this stage seemed to take forever... Next the trackwork was carefully airbrused with diluted Humbol matt 113 rust. The platform/loading dock is Metcalfe, carefully cut to shape, using a 60ft coach for conducting clearance tests, and with much extra card reinforcement added. TBC.