Johndc120

This week we have continued our efforts on the platform, we have now added the section around the end of the platform tracks and built the section for the cattle dock to go on. finally we can start to see how the catch pit will look, previously I've felt it doesn't really make sense. We have also put the first piece of the ramp coming down to the yard level, this is a bit of trial and we're not quite sure if the angle is right yet. We do however like how it confines the coal yard area. on the bay platform we have now added the first layer of brick, this is now ready for the bull nose stones and 2 more layers of brick to build out the overhang. At the end of the cattle dock line we are having an end loading dock, I've been doing some research for it and came across this lovely shot by Mike Black, it shows 2 metal ramps fitted to the wall above the buffers, I really like this feature so with a bit of 3D design we are now planning to do the same!

Indeed, that was one of 2 routes we decided to drop out to make life more interesting, the other being to run wrong road from the main platform to the mainline. We didn’t want to crowd it with signals and we felt it would add extra interest not including these. also the wrong direction move felt unprototypical. The bay line is more or less only used by branchline autos although there is enough length to shunt in a B-set for starting from the bay. Starting from the bay you can of course go either way anyway

Hi all, sorry for the last of progress over the couple of months, just seen now the last progress post was the back end of February! the big news is that Elmore was featured as part of this years EM gauge expo, we did quite a bit of filming while the layout was up in full and this served as quite a good workout for the layout. A few gremlins had to be sorted but otherwise it ran very well. Since the show has now passed we can post the video publicly so if you would like to see it, please follow this link the video firstly describes the building of the layout and then runs through a few sequences to demonstrate how it will be run, hopefully we’ll be able to keep it as busy as this at an exhibition. finally we’ve also pushed on and got some work done on the layout. Firstly the station platform shell is slowly being constructed, this shell is from slaters plasticard and will than be clad with brick finish on the sides but also various different top finishes. On the main platform face we are looking at having paving slabs edges with 1 or 2 rows of paving slabs laid lengthways along the platform, infront of the building we will changed to fully paved laid widthways. For the bay we are looking at producing bull nose blocks which have the diamonds cut into the top surface, the gap then between the blocks on the bay and the paving on the main will then be a gravel infill. this is one of our trials with the bull nose blocks, ignore the brick platform that is likely to be the finish for the cattle dock also completed over the last week has been the station ground frame and the associated point rodding, this is the last bit of rodding to go in, hooray!!!! I am very proud how the rodding has come out but it’s never easy to do! the frame is parts taken from an old springside signal box interior kit, I have then built the base up using plasticard and a Ground frame cupboard which I have printed myself. The inspiration for this was Aberthaw GF, I just now need a set over over the top steps (see last photo by Adrian Vaughan)

Not a great deal to show on the layout at the moment, however we have been asked to be part of the EMGS EM expo virtual show on May 22nd. This puts a bit of emphasis on ensuring the layout can run and get some more stock converted. here’s the highlights of the testing so far One of my favourites is the Pway train with the ballast plough brake on the station end we’ve always wanted to try a bit of banking seen as we have a 1:50 coming out of Elmore so there’s a couple of attempts at it as well.

you can’t see it on the first pic but yes they are spiked, you can just about see it on this point

We did it on Shwt for one of the old points. Crossing plain lined, the switch and closure rail removes plus the old stock rail. Makes for a nice interesting section

The advise I would give to anyone is to put in your drive and lock cranks where they need to go because they are fixed positions. Then starting at the signal box end put your first roller 18mm from the lead off bench and then have a roller every 36mm. Where you have cranks in the way of where the rollers should go just shift that roller to one side and then continue the pattern of 36mm. once all the rollers are in then put your compensators in half way between the points and the box just in between a set of rollers, don’t move the rollers for a comp as you have 5 yards of tolerance either way of it’s correct position. hope that makes sense

Thanks again Paul indeed. it's bad enough on the full size stuff, it's one of those things that's fascinating and I understand it well, just it's always hard work and you know somewhere along the lines someone has bodged something up to make it work. so yes We've gone for the round rodding being ex-GWR and in 1955 I doubt any would have been replaced. even now there's sections of it at Park Junction!

Thanks Will, I'm sure you're going to need some on Motts lane soon! let me know if you want some of he 3D printed cranks etc John

Thank you, there's a few different ways, some ballast and then dig out which I never understand. another way is just to put in the concretes, then ballast before adding the rodding, rollers and cranks. I'm not convinced on this as I like to airbrush the rodding, I think you'll end up with with a hairy stick nightmare trying to hand paint it all by hand. So I do it all and then when I prime and paint the track I also do the point rodding. it's the same shade of dirty brown!

Right them, finally time for a progress report on the rodding. unfortunately point rodding is one of the items I deal with in my profession, that means there really is no get outs or excuses! I enjoy the thought of doing much more that actually doing it as it’s so small. So progress. the lead off bench which is outside the box is now in place with all the cranks and pulleys in place and all the rods. I had to move the box in the end as it was just too close, luckily that’s not an issue the point on the departure line has been connected up with all of the FPL parts, for the first section of rodding run it’s 5 rods wide and the modelu rodding rollers really do look good. The closest thing to scale I’ve come across. If it was Wills it would be at least twice as wide The 3 compensators on the run down the hill are also now connected up finally the easy bit of straight rodding down the hill to the other points is now in, I had previously done the bottom end so that means we now have a completed roddding run The only section now left to do is on the other side of the track going from the box up to the incoming point. I just stuck down the stools and marked the positions of the cranks, hopefully will complete that next week

Thanks Guys for all the kind comments. There’s been a little bit of progress on the point rodding this week but not enough to make a post about it yet so believe. Also on the go at the moment, the EMGS has asked us to do a 20min video presentation on the construction of the layout but also to show they layout running. this was a trial shot on the phone following a complete freight train sequence to see what works abs what doesn’t plus how long it actually takes to go through a whole sequence

Hi All, Progress on the signals has continued since the last post so I thought it was about time I updated everyone on here. The signals have now all been painted in Vallejo acrylics and the lenses then attached using Matt varnish The arms were then attached to the posts by soldering on the backlight blinders to the bearing shafts All of the signals were then fixed to the layout and I took this sequence of photos to show how they were attached to the operating servo so firstly after the signal is attached to the layout and a hole drilled in the correct place for the operating wire the servo is then attached in a mount underneath the hole, it’s important that the servo is in the neutral position before the servo arm is attached. A U-shaped link is then put through the inner most hole on the servo the push rod can then be fixed to the signal and the signal put to the half way position if everything is lined up correctly the push wire should come through and run close to the link this can then be soldered and the excess cut back once all the signals were fitted like this we then programmed them all up and this was the result

Signal arms now primed and painted in white, ready for their top coat before assembly

Well we finally had a break in the weather a few days ago to get some etch primer on the signals This allowed to add some of the smaller details like the finals and lamp cases, these are by modelu and I didn’t fancy clogging them up with rattle can primer. All of the signals have now had a coat of metallic silver grey (not the white they would have been in GWR). We can now do the hand painting to bring them to life Our only ground signal hasn’t gone into silver as it will be black but we have attached it to the concrete legs which have been painted in concrete stone grey

Work cassette development! over the last week we have working on the handles for the longer cassettes, being 4ft in length makes them quite cumbersome. This is the first design which was to approve the overall shape of the handle and ensure it cleared the stock sufficiently enough to get fingers above Although we were happy with the overall shape, one point we noted was how awkward the cassettes would have been to transport if they don’t stack together. So we thinned the top of the handle so it would fit between a cassette that was put upside down on top of it. Also bolt holes and a recess for a Hex nut was added to the design This is the version 2 shown placed in upside down to prove the top fits inside another cassette the recess for the hex works well with handles placed in position on 2 cassettes (not bolted yet) this is how they rack together

This week we have assembled the Cassettes for the F/Y, these are made using 9mm plywood as the base. We had the 68mm strips cut on the panel saw at B&Q so they are at least nice and straight and correct width. for the running rails we chosen to use 25mm x 25mm x 1.6mm aluminium angle The first job was to cut the aluminium angle into the correct lengths, cutting them in pairs ensures each pair is exactly the same length for each cassette Next these were all drilled for the securing bolts at 15mm in for the running edge note each piece is numbered to ensure it stays with it’s correct pair Clamping one side to the plywood so the aluminium is flush with the edge, the bolt holes can be drilled into the plywood using the aluminium as a guide the underneath of the plywood can then be countersunk and the aluminium bolted on using M3 x 16mm countersunk bolts The second aluminium strip can now be clamped onto the plywood, we have had some aluminium blocks made up to ensure the track gauge is correct. It’s also important to ensure the ends are square with each other the same process of countersinking and bolting can then be followed for the second side Copying from Shwt we are using the same 3D printed end stops which needed the pivot holes drilled. We have now made 4 x 4ft and 4 x 3ft cassettes and we can borrow 5 x 2ft6 cassettes from Shwt so that should be plenty for us

No problem, As long as you can print abs plastic, you can glue plasticard straight to it and it makes for a really stable base structure

After finishing the water tower, the next building to start is the goods shed. As with all of the others it starts with a 3D printed shell this is then clad on the outside with slaters plasticard The next step is to add the brick reveals to the windows and doors, once these are glued in the window openings can be cut out of the brickwork The internal brickwork can now be added and the window openings then cut on the inside the next bits to do are all the detail bits of brickwork which is the same as the engine shed and water tower The last bit complete at the moment is to add the sills and lintels to all the windows and doors and we’ve started the support for the platform on the front wall

Now the layout is up and running we now need some signals, they were one of the very first things we did as it was important to have something to place on the layout to get a rough idea on how they look. I never got any further with them however because frankly it’s one of those job I hate! however they have to be done so I’ve now got them to the point where they all need painting once painted I can then add the signal arms and attach the push rods for them to operate

Afternoon all, hope we all had the best Christmas possible under the circumstances. Most of the progress on the layout over the past month has been with the buildings. The last update we had moved onto the water tower, we had painted the tank but there was a few bits missing. One of which was a water crane, I wasn’t quite sure on whether to have a standard floor mounted one or have something custom made. A bit of research shows a crane on the side of the tank was a common sight, a quick 3D design later and this is what we came up with. also note the scratch built doors are built but not painted. painting in progress The water tower is now complete with the exception of the brass ladder which goes to the top of the tank I’m still not completely convinced with the painting of the door on the water tower, I wonder if it looks too fussy and it would look better just in plain chocolate

Yesterday was a good day for us, that feeling of accomplishment when it all comes together The first job was to fit all of the tie/stretcher bars to operate the points, we are using the C&L ones which have a black tube in the centre and the brass wire ends. we then shape one end into a loop for receiving the operating wire these are then soldered to the rails so the loop is in the right place The servo can the be installed underneath, the mounts were put in quite early on in the build before the cork and track went down after fitting all 11 which was quicker than expected, we could then program their movements and the direction they operated in. So at last the layout is fully operational and we could hook it up to the panel to test it as well upside down because this is the scenic side. The stock is Elmore’s milk train with the loco borrowed from Shwt again. I must get on with converting some steam stock!

Having finished the engine shed, this is it in location. We can now turn or attention onto the water tower, first job has been to complete the painting of the tank which I had just sprayed into cream and a grey roof We now need to sort out doors, windows and an access ladder to fix onto the wire sticking out from the side of the tank

It seems like ages since we last did anything on the engine shed, finally we’ve got back onto it and apart from weathering we can now call it finished! one of the jobs we were avoiding was the glazing which I always believe in doing with real glass, we use microscope cover slips which are 0.13mm (can’t be far off scale thickness!) but I always think nothing looks like glass apart from real glass we were also waiting for some guttering and a chimney pot from modelu so these bits have been added and painted plus the main doors have finally been fixed in place

A bit of progress with the stock this week, here we have one of the more unusual ‘freight’ services on Elmore, this is the delivery of a Camping coach to one of the more attractive stations along the branchline. The camping coach being one of a couple of items which still bears resemblance to the GWR livery. the coach is a slaters kit of an all 3rd diagram C28. There’s been a fair bit of modification to the ends and underframe as all non essential parts were removed. Also bits like the end steps were removed to prevent easy access to the roof it’s still WIP, glazing and transfers to be added and some more interior bits