Fastdax

Thanks for the very kind words John!

Station Canopy Lots of peeling paint, moss and muck added, using the roof of an old motorbike repair shop for reference. I took advantage of the nice sunshine to assemble the station outdoors for a few pics:

Station Canopy The canopy has progressed, with wriggly asbestos and ironwork above the roof and timber cladding and laser-cut valence at the open end. The louvred vents are made of 3D printed sections with more asbestos (plasticard) roofing. I also put some guttering on the capstones of the supporting curtain wall, using gutter-section plastic rod and my own 3D printed brackets.

What's the difference between 121 and 122?

Station Canopy I'm pressing on with the last large structure on Offerston Quay - the overall station canopy roof. A simple girder with column legs supports the station side of the canopy and a brick curtain wall supports t'other. The idea is that the canopy was a later addition to the station and had to be retro-fitted, leading to the add-on ironwork and mismatched bricks: The canopy will have glass panels so the main structure is built from clear plastic sheet over laser-cut trusses:

Paul, @Giles Favell did this conversion and documented it on YouTube:

The trick would be to get the sound to change according to the engine speed (motor voltage).

Where can I get a bus sound chip Phil?

Loading Dock and Station Area Because the radio-controlled van has its load bed considerably lower than the warehouse platform, the clever BR warehouse chaps built a lowered platform from old sleepers: The van can open its rear doors over the new wooden platform now. The sleepers are real oak, stained, sanded, scuffed, shaded and no doubt several other operations beginning with 's'. The station area triangle has had the blank ground areas covered in tarmac (sandpaper sprayed with black and white primer): The last remaining bit of untouched land on Offerston Quay is the little triangle behind the signal box. I gave this a concrete finish rather than try to match the tarmac. It will be almost completely hidden behind the box. The servo connector labelled 'S' is actually the 9V lighting outlet for the signal box.

Thanks Giles, I will remember that.

Thanks Phil! I wish there was a sound chip available. The sound of straight-cut gears is very distinctive. I'm adapting a ModelU bus driver with drastic leg surgery to be "Stretch" Armstrong.

Thanks George. With the amount of effort that went into this (and it's not yet finished!) and my slow rate of work, I'd starve before making a living at it.

6V 150RPM, run from a 3.7V 1S LiPo. I could have gone for 100RPM but, in hindsight, it would have reduced the top speed to a crawl. These BR van drivers are impatient!

Thanks Ade! I made the doors open so that there's an excuse for the van to back up to the warehouse loading platform, while hiding that fact that there's no subsequent movement before it departs again. I did consider having the van push a small crate out through the doors but that's getting silly.

Thanks Joner!

Thanks Neil!

Thanks Giles. I do find that the N20 gearmotor needs to see a higher voltage to start than it needs to keep running, which can lead to a sudden take-off from stationary. Longer sticks may well help me here. I'm also experimenting with the throttle response curve in the Jumper T8SG transmitter that I'm using.

Austin K8 Test Run With Radio Control The radio gear arrived and was fitted to hook up the motor, steering servo and rear door servo. Then, of course, I had to take it for a test run:

Station Building The station has had most of the items mentioned above added:

Thanks Mark!

Lamp Hut The triangular area under the station building, in the back right-hand corner of the layout, is a removable insert and its top sits an inch or so above the high-level base plywood to make the station area level with the platforms. I started to plot out this area, which includes the station frontage, forecourt, and part of the platform. Here. you can see the insert with the station building footprint and some flagstones added: As you can't see round the back (er - the front) of the station, there's no need for any detail there and some square plastic section locates the station building in place. The rest of the flagstones line up with those already on the platform. To go round the back of the signal box, I knocked up this lamp hut from corrugated plasticard and foamboard. It uses a spare 3D-printed window left over from the stone office building and scratch-built door bolt and handle. In a Happy Accident, where some of the plasticard was very thin the contact adhesive deformed some of it. This had to become rusty damage, no doubt from someone leaning tools too heavily against the hut: It will fill in a corner behind the signal box. Fences are temporarily plonked to test out where the station forecourt is separated from the platform and the railway 'working' area: I just noticed Standard Joe is lying down on the job again!

Thanks Phil. It's very satisfying to see what started out as a toy move under its own power.

Engrossing build John. I've built turnouts but not a slip (yet!) so I'm watching with interest!

Station Building This sequence shows the next weathering steps and the almost-finished structure. 1. Painted with gloopy grey emulsion: 2. Emulsion mostly wiped off: 3. DAS white modelling clay rubbed into the mortar joints: 4. DAS mostly wiped off: 5. Dirty acrylic wash all over and gutters made up from plastic section: 6. Lead flashing (puree tube tinfoil) added the roof valleys and tiled roof sections started. I find it easier to build up separate sections on thin card, which can be trimmed to the exact right size, than to apply the tile strips to the roof itself: And finally, with roof sections on, chimneys in place, cills painted and windows added, gable grille installed and decorative barge boards in place. I also cut a bit of acrylic mirror to size to preview the optical delusion of an extended station building: There are a few details yet to add: - ridge tiles - downpipes - doors - chimney flashing, flaunching and pots - interior and lighting - more weathering Hmmm - more than I thought! I'm also playing with my radio controlled Austin K8 van over on my workbench thread but hopefully I'll find time to progress the station and environs soon.

Thanks Joner!