jonhinds

Overpass complete!

Wrong scale for me, but this looks fantastic!

The 156 has returned! Outstanding weathering work by @jonas

P.S. @njee20 your observations about building code 40 track earlier in the topic thread were really helpful on the rebuild!

Thanks! Looking forward to further developments with Rugby BTW.

Decided to bite the bullet and finally replace the last dodgy point. I opted to use continuous lengths of rail wherever possible, which also required replacing the dummy trap point. It gave me the opportunity to paint the turnouts black to represent wooden timbering. I finally have a smooth-running and completely functional turnout, perhaps the first bit of trackwork I’m genuinely proud of.

Definitely the 104! There’s a slim possibility the 105 could be produced under Farish given the OO Bachmann model.

Been racking my brain on how to model the chimney stack on the Red Star building. Finally, an idea 💡 Stuck two lengths of plastic tube together with MEK, then scribed panel lines on a piece of 10 thou plasticard to the same height. Then it was a case of using a hairdryer to slowly heat and bend the thin plastic around the sides of the tubing before sealing with another dab of MEK. Quite happy with the outcome. A wee bit of filler, then ready to prime and gently sand down any edges. Still loads to do before the building’s finished… Quick DMU bonus shot with the buffers now in position. Ah, what I wouldn’t give for a RTR 104 and / or Express Parcels 105!

Yes, it’s frustrating that the range of 1st generation DMUs is so limited! I’m holding out for Bachmann to apply the shrink ray to the 105, but it’s probably wishful thinking.

Hmm, having reread the page on LMR operations it’s not apparent which sets on Bradford diagrams were allocated to Derby as opposed to NH. So I might’ve been off the mark on both counts there!

You’re absolutely right; doesn’t look like the services were numerous. My wording ‘many’ implied something a bit misleading! I think what I meant was: “of the services that did run through Bradford, most units were based at Derby (and some at NH)”. In any case, not something that would have been seen on passenger workings during my modelling period & location. Over 70 pages you say… 🤯

It looks like many of the units that ran through Bradford until 1986 were based at Derby Etches Park, after which they were transferred to Ayr or converted to DPUs. Some NH sets were also allocated to routes via Bradford. The 110s on Calder Valley routes actually seem to have clung on longer than the 120s, until 1990, with the units’ reduced capacity during the 1980s coming as a result of cost-cutting. I’m not sure whether the 120s were allocated to the same services? The latter workings of 1st generation DMUs were certainly very storied!

Wondering if I could justify one of the upcoming Revolution 120s on the layout. They appear to have been relegated to parcels work in two-car sets by 1987 (the earliest date I’m modelling), but not sure whether they ever ran through Bradford at this time. Rule 1? 120 + 105 mixed set, 1987 A more common sight at the Interchange earlier in the decade, before replacement by the new Sprinters:

Quick test of the momentum function before I send the Sprinter off to Steve Jones Weathering for some late 1980s muck.

Nothing to add except I love these two photos of the line passing by the canal. So great seeing an ‘eye-level’ shot in N, particularly when the modelling is this good.

Apologies if this is already covered elsewhere on the thread, but where’s the 3D printed signal box from?

Things are a little quiet today… In other news, the 156 is chipped. I went down an obscure Flickr rabbit hole today in deciding whether to fit snow ploughs. They seemed to have been uncommon before 1990 apart from services through Scotland and some parts of northern England, and universal thereafter. These are the important decisions! Also, it’s noteworthy how different Dapol’s interpretation of Regional Railways blue is from Farish’s. Sort of annoying when running the 150 and 156 alongside one another. Here endeth the epistle.

They really are! How do you paint yours? Thinned Vallejo acrylics applied with fine brush seems to be a common recommendation.

After much procrastination, I’ve finally completed the hydraulic buffer stops. These are a distinctive visual feature of the Interchange, so I’ve attempted to replicate them reasonably closely.

Lovely model. Impressed that Farish has managed to get such a decent speaker in the 08 too!

Yeah, I was lucky to get the 156 Sprinter on eBay a year or so back; they do seem to be difficult to find these days. I think the Provincial 142 is among the more popular Pacers so glad to snap that up at RRP as well. Good luck with the ballasting! Not far off that stage myself.

My decoder budget has run out for the month, so the Dapol gang will have to wait their turn.

Finished up some new bits of scenic detail. First, the platform shelter. I used the ‘sticky label’ method to score the frames around the acetate windows, although the glue on the label paper was too strong and left some residue when peeling off the window sections. It does make it look sort of ‘grubby’, which actually fits in well with the era. Rest of the shelter is plasticard airbrushed with Tamiya XF-55. I also added details like the door handle and window partitions with microstrip. When the canopy is complete, the shelter will appear like so: The car park and part of the bus station road entrance have been added. The tarmac is textured paper sprayed with light grey, dark grey and black primer, with darker sections masked out as more recently patched. Parking bay lines and drainage channels still to be added. Barriers and road markings are Scale Model Scenery. The metal panelled sides of the overpass are also complete, with only the support columns still to do. The sides were painted Tamiya XF-19 and weathered with DCC concepts rust powders. So, with (almost) all necessary track relaid here’s the state of the layout. The sole turnout is still working okay, although I’ll probably replace it a few years down the road as stock does wobble a little over the frog due to some minuscule alignment issues. No stalling though, so I can overlook it for now. These Model U figures are amazing, and will be quite a challenge to paint!

Impressive stuff so far!

Absolutely stunning! Love the framing of the last two shots in particular.