tjf4375

Hello and seasons greetings to you everyone! Apologies for the lack of updates but this part of the build process has really been slow and agonising, and it's only now that I've got anything that looks like progress to show. Following on from last month's update I've now been able to complete the centre section of the footbridge, and also completed most of the cladding and basic detailing for the two piers. It's been very fiddly and tedious work but today I finally got to the point where I could assemble the three main sections, ready for the next build stages. Lots of work still to do but I was pleased to see the station taking another step towards looking more like Sevenoaks ! There will be lighting to the stairs and landings so that all needs to be threaded and tucked away somewhere, and that's why the ceilings aren't yet fitted to the stairways, but that's the next job on the list! Anyway here are the pics from today - hope they're of interest and as always comments, criticisms and feedback all welcome. The central footbridge section awaiting joining with the piers Looking down the inside of the central bridge section Looking down from the other end Overall view of the assembled structure looking northeast Every time I take a shot from this angle I notice the missing 3rd rail on the down side! Close up view of the platform 1/2 pier. The section joining the western end to the season ticket carpark is yet to be installed but will close all this in.

Congratulations and well earned recognition for this great layout!

The layout is looking great mate :) That inspection saloon really looks the part behind the 97 - there's something fascinating about departmental stock and the variety of different coaches and wagons seems endless!

Yeh I guess a heated waiting room is something of a luxury these days! :) I will make a point of keeping that door open on the layout - keep an eye out for further updates! 😉

Thanks Adam! Appreciate the kind comments and glad you feel I've managed to capture the essence of it! You're right - it's not a particularly idyllic location and downright miserable this time of year. Not quite as miserable as Orpington though 😂

Thanks mate! They were a real pain to do as in reality they're straight and parallel, but had to be curved on the layout to match the platforms. They do look a bit strange on their own but hopefully it will make sense when the central bit is in place :)

Hi all and firstly thanks loads to everyone who commented on the previous posts - the feedback and kind comments were all really appreciated! It feels a great deal colder and wetter than it was when I last posted - hope everyone's dealing with the weather ok. This is just a quick update for this evening. Admittedly not a huge amount of progress since the last post, but I am working slowly and steadily on the footbridge structure of the main station. Anyone who's followed from the beginning will know that I started this part of the station way back in 2016. That, along with everything else, fell by the wayside when I stopped work on the layout in May 2017, but I put the structures aside until I had time to return to them. I didn't realise that would be 6.5 years later! The footbridge piers that sit on the platforms were made using mount card, and I'm really pleased that in all that time, they were still intact and pretty much just as I'd left them. What had happened is the corrugated metal siding (Evergreen styrene sheet) had warped and mostly peeled away from the base, so almost all of that had to be removed. The last couple of weeks have been spent carefully cutting and remounting those corrugated panels to the piers, this time using CA instead of the bostik I used last time. Although it's a laborious process, it has kept my mind occupied and been a welcome distraction! Here's a few pics showing how things are looking this evening. Lots and lots of work to be done, but it gives an idea of how everything will eventually fit together. As always comments, questions, criticism and feedback are all very welcome! Looking across from Platform 1 - the platform surface on 3-4 has warped slightly in 7 years! Another view looking across from Platform 1 Closer view of the piers as they sit on the platforms. This is modelled on SEV as it was a few years ago, before the flush panelling was applied! View looking south from the bridge - in the next few weeks hopefully I'll have time to complete the central section of the footbridge as well View looking up the stairway of the up-north staircase. The footbride pier on the down platforms (3-4) An overall view looking from the season ticket holder's carpark on the upside of the station. The building nearest to the camera is around 6 years old and will be partially replaced! Thanks for looking - comments and feedback welcome as always

Inspiring and impressive as always James, nice one!

Thanks Graham. I totally agree with you - those budget figures are eye wateringly awful in every possible way. When I get time I will certainly swap them over for some nicer 3d printed ones. I am in process of getting some circuitry installed to regulate the brightness levels so hopefully that will help!

Many thanks! Yes the BT building is certainly not to everyone's taste! Seems to be in rather a sorry state these days or at least it was when I visited earlier in the summer. I'm guessing very little of it is occupied, and noticed there is a proposal to convert it into flats which seems like a good idea. I didn't realise Railtrack were responsible for it but that makes sense. I take it the old coal office is that shed on stilts that used to be a taxi rank? I did wonder how it came to be there - it's rather nice that it's been kept for so long. Again in a very poor state of repair these days and probably won't be there much longer!

absolutely phenomenal painting skills 😲

Some cracking modelling going on here - I love Underground layouts but there aren't many that focus on the older cut and cover stations. Looking forward to see how this progresses :)

Thanks mate, they look really handy, I've ordered a bag to see how I get on with them. The wiring for Sevenoaks is a horrendous mess and long overdue an overhaul!

I quite like those T connectors you have there, where do they come from? I like WAGOs but they are a bit on the pricey side.

Good evening to all and hope you've had a peaceful and enjoyable weekend. I'm pleased to report the booking hall has made its way onto the baseboard - even if only temporarily as there are bits and bobs still to do such as painting the plinth and pelmet panels. It feels like it's taken an age to get to this point and although it's kept me busy I do think I'm going to take a break from this area for a bit and come back to it when the inspiration has 'recharged'! The lighting does all still work but to be honest, I'm not convinced by how it looks from outside. For the interior shots it seemed to work really well but it's far too bright for external shots and just seems to blow out all of the detail. There are also the usual problems with light bleed at various edges which are easy to sort out but hopefully when it's not so bright, the overall effect will be much better. For the time being I'm much more convinced by the non-lit shots. I'd welcome any thoughts on this! The building itself is heavy enough that it sits quite happily on the ground floor block and I won't be gluing it down. This means the interior will remain accessible even though some of the roof is glued in place. As always welcome any feedback, criticism or suggestions - thanks for looking and following! :)

Looking good mate - you've got a lovely sweeping curve there that blends nicely with the straight section. I share your hate for sharp corners and kinks - it's hard to avoid them sometimes when you're pressed for space but definitely the fewer the better :)

How bizarre! It looks like the 'slug-slime' is acidic and eating away at the paper and ink. I agree with others your best bet is to make sure everything is well sealed with a matt varnish or similar. If it wasn't for the colour fading I'd say it gives quite a nice random weathering effect, but probably not what you had in mind! 😂

Agreed - the faded blue buffer beams and shanks look superb!

Just spent a good while catching up with your thread this evo! Really lovely work on those KFAs mate, particularly the buffer beams :) I must admit I'm not too clued up on freight wagon denominations, particularly the flats which seem to come in a bewildering array of flavours!

Thanks Rich. Yes I think that was a poster about engineering works somewhere on the network, so I figured it wouldn't look out of place at any time! The last time I went to Sevenoaks the toilets weren't working, and neither were the lifts 😂

Thank you mate, I really appreciate that. It has been an aim from the outset to include the interiors of the station, so it's really encouraging that people are enjoying the pics!

Thanks Lez, that's really kind of you to say. I must admit I am pleased with how it's turned out so far, even though it has taken an age to get here! I think I will take a break from the station buildings after this bit's safely on the board, I feel embankments and trees are calling me 😂

Yes I had a similar thought - I have a few of those and they are very handy 👍

Cheers mate, much appreciated as always! 👍

Thanks Nick! You actually have a very good point there. I was going down the road of gluing purely because the roof panels don't sit absolutely flat of their own accord, but I think I will investigate leaving them as removeable. Another benefit of that is that I had thought about placing a go-pro in there to try and capture some video across the carpark!