Ark Royal

Couldn't agree more, that's is what i intend to do Thanks Justin for the wall thickness information.

A little about me firstly. I'm a complete novice when it comes to 3D printers of any description. Like may whom finally venture into purchasing a 3D printer I have been using CAD to produce 3D printed models via a printing company with satisfying results. For sometime i have been considering this purchase and the time is right, prices have fallen significantly in the entry level machines costs at printing companies and shipping all add up. Whilst not my ultimate machine i decided to purchase the Elegoo Mars to get my feet wet. I love this hobby and along my way have self taught myself a wide variety of skills from electronics and programming to producing etched artwork, 3D CAD, PCB making, resin molding and the like so my theory is it can't be that hard. The information on this machine and the resins are sketchy to say the least so I start with an open mind. Having said all that I am under no illusion that along the way there will be failures and hopefully from them failures which hopefully I will gain more experience. This topic is for designed to share those experiences and maybe help others to make the decision they are contemplating. Success or Failure i will post it. My machine arrived yesterday and sat quietly in the corner until this morning when at 5:00 am i unboxed it and started the journey. After doing the set up procedure as instructed i started the 1st ever print, the test file it comes with. As i type this post the machine is whirring away in the background. The first thing to say is the machine is well built, many of the reviews on this machine slate the positioning of the USB port and On/Off switch which are at the rear of the machine, whilst not ideal it doesn't bother me that much. It could be extended with a simple plug in lead and enclosure (printed of course) and put under the machine so it is at the front. What drew me to this machine was the Tank cover which is a one piece acrylic lift-off design. Of the machines i looked at the Anycubic Photon and Photon S had hinged lids and i thought this a possible weakness in design maybe not so much on the Photon which is mainly metal which cannot be said of the newer Photon S machine. As i don't have either model i cannot and probably will not ever confirm this. One thing to note is that the machine does not come with any resin supplied. I plumped for the makers own brand Water Washable Photopolymer Resin (Ceramic Grey) which is more expensive due to the water washable part but probably safer to use. This of course does not mean you can wash your parts in the sink! The file has now printed 91% but i must admit that up until 47% i could not see if the print had stuck to the build plate. Nerve racking times as there are plenty of post out there on the web that say sand the build plate, wipe it with PTFE etc. Thankfully mine has adherred to the build plate sucessfully without any alterations to the print file or the machine settings, so i guess the lesson there is to trust the manufacturer. I will however admit to wiping the build plate with Isopropyl alcohol before filling the resin into the tank, allowing time for it to flash off and comke back to room temeperature. Whilst i'm waiting for the final 9% to print i will take the oppertunity to mention that i had thought that the Resin would have come with some data about the minimum wall thickness, embossed and engraved surface detail thicknesses but it did not. As a designer i have worked with these guidelines for many years and so the next print will need to be something that determines these guidelines. The print has finished and in due course, once cleaned i will post the results.

It's been 2 years since last we posted an update on the progress of the club layout. Progress is visible although at a moderate pace but then we only have 5 members and we try to meet every Thursday evening so time progressing the layout is limited. You can visit our early blog Here So the progress thus far Trackwork Painstaking work mainly by Mike has gone into this area to ensure smooth faultless running especially in reverse running out of the bay platforms to the headshunt and the down line bay platform to up line via the crossover. We are now confident with reverse propelling over the entire layout which allows the push-pull movements needed for the timetable. This is obviously hard to show and often taken for granted at exhibitions. The trackbed has now received a covering of the normal dirt and grime. Monuments have been added to the trackbed in the appropriate places. These were evident on the real location and used to check the alignment of the track. These were 3D printed as they are incredibly tiny, but their presence definately worth the effort. Scenery With the exception of the station road all of the layout topography foundations are in place. Work in covering the foundations with a variety of methods including static grass has been started by Richard and Chris. In the foreground are another new addition. The railway land was seperated along its entire length by Southern Region style concrete fencing posts with 7 wires between each post. As far as we are aware no one makes this style of fencing so once again this was produced by 3D Printing. Whilst a wide range of 3D printing materials were available for this model , the cheaper variety was chosen for textured surface finish. Holes were drilled into the landscape and then the posts potted into them. The holes in the post never came out on the printed version we purchased, they were only 0.3mm diameter! However since then and with the use of and alternative material I have had one sucess story with them, although i'm unsure whether the person who purchased them is now certified as insane! Our preferred if not prototypical approach is to attempt to "string" these using "EZ line" a fine flexible polymer elastic. This in itself may prove very challenging so a dispenser was developed to hopefully assist in achieving this. My Version Richards Version Both along the same lines but Richards is completed and as the picture shows primed ready to go so watch this space ......... Buildings and Structures 3 Arch Bridge The original bridge was looking somewhat tired and so Mike has constructed a replacement for this. The archways are finer and altogether it makes for a very nice model expertly painted by Richard. Before : After : Girder Bridge Simon has been busy building all of the bridges across the river most of which are in various stages of painting again by Richards Brushwork. The river has also been completed by Richard and looks stunning. Station Canopies Mike has done an excellent at building the station canopy structure from brass. So much so that it seems a shame to roof them. However both Mike and Chris have been busy adding the roof to these and progress is nearly complete. When the layout is complete the views through the station area will hopefully provide some stunning photograph oppertunities . Station Bridge This has been my achillies heal for way too long i'm afraid to say. The original rebuild here Here and Here did not stand the test of time and started to warp. Added to which there construction did not make for having them removable in case of track repairs. Eventually i decided to have them Laser Cut from MDF however due to the shape of the pillars this was not so easy either. However progress has now been made and i'm looking forward to moving on shortly from this build as it is hindering progress on the landscape build in this area. Some shots of the underside roof of the bridge Viewed from the station platforms: Down Line Bay Platform: Up Line Bay Platform: Trees Richard with some assistance from MIke have been starting the new tree collection. A few of which are pictured below in various stages of build. These look fantastic IMHO. Lighting and Pelments The lighting is in the form of LED strips that run the length of the layout including the fiddleyards, a combination of warm white and cool white diodes have been used . They are already encased in a rubber sleeve but they were then stuck into som cable trunking cut to straddle the support frames for the lighting. A 1ft gap has been left between each of trunking was left to allow them to be folded up for transportation to exhibitions. The Pelment obscures the viewing public from these lights and is clipped over the support frames. As can be seen in the last picture , more work is needed on the unsupported sections of this system to keep the LED strips from sagging but overall the setup works. Well i think that's most of the updates dealt with, i apologise if i have left anything out. There are plenty more projects ongoing that i will post when they come up. We plan to have another informal open day again this year, not an exhibition more a cuppa and slice of cake, play with the layout and chat. Will post more details when the dates have been finalised.

God Bless Him (Colin Parks) , A very talented man indeed and a loss to our fraternity. Wish i had some of his talent in plastikard construction LMAO Know that feeling rather well

Thanks to Wicckham Green and Ceptic. That's a step closer, much more Mk1 stock available to measure. Ceptic : I note from your posts a long while ago that you were doing some quite extensive work into measurements of stock. Was this in relation to a future publication ?

Well they don't look 25 years old and a testament to your skills as a modeller and ingenuity when it came to the quaterlight windows. A plethera of quite stunning photography and modelling. Love the "North end of Watford Junction" and the canal scenes. I'd never be out of my loft with a layout like that

Thanks again for all the replies Wickham Green - hadn't thought of it like that and certainly worth further investigation. Cracking job Andy , they certainly look the part, are they 3D printed, etched or plastikard construction ? Like to see them in person , do you exhibit the layout ? The book is out of print so the chances of finding one are slim i have added it to my list Mark

Thanks for the response and positive feed back Muddy Waters I have general dimensions and indeed used the dimensions in this book for the Trailer First Class Corridor Bulkhead positions, it was more the window dimensions and door window dimensions i needed. I can get them in 2020 via a HDL railtours but am keen to crack on. I'm kicking myself now as i used to travel on these weekly in the late 70's early 80's up to London , avoiding slam door electics like the plague, but never once thought i'd want to build a scale model.... When scaling them from photos i couldnt get a consistent dimension due to photograph angles, which left me with this dilemma. For any young railway enthusiast out there that may read this post, i urge you to take note and take down dimensions etc , you never know what you may want to do in the future . Mark

Hi Does anyone one have dimensions to any feature, such as passenger windows, door widths and windows, on the sides of Hastings DEMU's. I have scaled mine from photographs but i am now trying to confirm these dimensions with actual dimensions taken from the real thing. Any assistance will be invaluable. Many Thanks in advance

Heres a lower quadrant from Eridge which shows the position of the lever compared to the post

Hi Ruston, Whilst no expert in semaphore signals other than having built some (not saxby & farmer), i'm willing to assist I concur with Gordon that my understanding is the purpose of the weight is to return the signal to danger if a break in the input cable should occur and assist when the input cable tension is released during normal operation of the signal box lever to allow the signal arm to return under gravity assisted by the lever arm weight. Tensioning of the input cable is undertaken by compensator bellcranks along the run of the cable back to the signal box. The output drive would actually be an adjustable fork ended rod to set the correct length. In the picture you posted , the weighted lever is at its lowest position and thus the signal must be at "Danger". You are correct in saying that the output drive wire from the lever to the signal needs to go in the LH hole of the lever, as per the drawing below Here is evidence that this was common practice, Greenford Lower Quadrant - You Tube This the only set up that would achieve lower quadrant workings. If the output drive rod was swapped to the input cable hole then as the lever was raised the output rod would move downwards toward the post bottom and that would make the signal arm move upwards. The issue of the lever arm hitting the signal arm when in the "Clear" position, i would assume, is due to the lever arm assembly being too close to the signal arm. The dimple in the post may well just be a sprue mark. So the lever assembly can be moved further down the post. Remember there is likely to be a bellcrank or pulley at the base of the signal post for the input cable to change the run direction. There seems to be no mention of any set distance the lever has to be from the base of the post and again i am only assuming that local features will dictate the actual position. I have also seen pictures in "A Pictorial Record of Southern Signals Illustrated edition by G.A. Pryer (ISBN: 9780902888814) " that show that the lever assembly has been offset from the post centreline. (In the above picture towards the semaphore signal lenses side". This would help offset the severity of the joggle in the output drive rod as would lowering the positon of the lever assembly. Hope this helps. Happy Building Mark

Thanks for the swift response. I assumed that access to rail fixings would have been facilitated during construction thus preventing the need to dig up the concrete slab for rail replacement and therefore would be visible. I was obviously wrong. Thankyou again for clearing that up.

Hi Does anyone have any information or idea as to what type of chair/fixing would be used when rails were filled in with concrete slabs at the entrance to depots ? Finsbury Park is the depot in 1980's but any info would be welcome Mark

More on the printed footbridge http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/35/entry-19441-eridge-station-footbridge-update/

Well its been a long time since i posted any updates on the progress of this topic , mainly down to the New Premises Issues, which can be found here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/35/entry-19433-eridge-mk-2-update-new-premises/. In September 2016 i took the plunge to have the footbridge printed as one piece, with the plynths and luggage shute as seperate parts, originally the gallery and each staircase were also going to be seperate parts, At the time i thought this the best route and now i think maybe not. However it shows the technology and what should be thought about when having parts printed. So why the doubt ? Well the plynths and luggage shute are fantastic. The level of detail is hard to match when scratch building. They are delicate but strong and I have absolutely no issues with these parts. They will find there place as part of the final Eridge Station Complex, However the Complete Footbridge is not so strong in one area and this lets the model down. Originally i had planned to have the footbridge gallery walkway made from brass with additional supports in the form of I beams to support it between the 2 rear plynths. Having seen the beautiful delicate luggage shute i decided to add the hatchway for this to the footbridge structure, this ultimately led to my downfall. After i'd made the design changes to incorporate the hatch i followed with the walkway structure made to a thickness of 1mm. This allowed the footbridge to still lock into the rear plynths and maintained the staircase height. This alone probably may have been substantial enough but then i added some relief to both upper and lower surfaces of the walkway to represent the floor planking. I have no idea what was going through my mind as no-one in the exhibition circuit would see this level of detail. Thus ultimately led to the decision to have the footbridge printed as one piece. Clearly this was never ever going to be substantial enough to support the weight. Added to that there was no direct structure between the gallery front and the rear roof member to the floor (as per the prototype) apart from the gallery side rear posts. With all this in mind whilst printing it must have warped and the results are that the floor sags in the middle and this in turn causes the gallery sides to bow and twist. All is not lost with this part of the build. My intention is to still use the stair sections with the gallery sides still connected. This will be mounted onto a brass section as originally intended, probably now with the gallery front structure being made from brass. The lesson learnt - whilst trying to keep to prototypical design , allowances have to be made to ensure the structure you are making is strong enough to support itself. Also whilst this technology allows for the finest of detail, this in itself can lead to complications in the structures strength. Prehaps when designing structures that span a distance unsupported the addition of some temporary bracing whilst the item is being manufactured would have kept this structure square and true.

Unfortunately we had to vacate our "shared" clubhouse at Cobdown and so in March 2014 we became a club with a large layout and no premises - not a good combination ! Hence the lack of posts.... but that has now changed. The entire layout was stored Thanks to Richard in his garage while a new clubhouse was found. Anyone having gone through this experience will know that this is easier said than done. Ideally we were looking for a site that was central to our membership, secure, cost effective and hopefully able to accomodate the entire 36ft layout. Many of the more traditional village halls or community centres require that the room be left empty and storage would once again be an issue. Finding a suiteable accomodation was a nightmare but finally we stumbled on old railway buildings. For many people this may be a route you wish to explore if faced with a similar situation. During the searching process, we were offered Eridge Station as a potential site for our new clubroom, the attraction of modelling Eridge at Eridge with all the possible research on your doorstep being a big advantage. However the distance between members and the site and the disadvantage of not being able to errect the entire layout swiftly crossed this off the list. We looked at several Network South East Old disused Stations along the Medway line. Each had a draw back but any room was better than none. Finally we came across Yalding Station, after an intital survey we found it best suited our requirements but had one hurdle to overcome. Another party was already interested as a commercial "going concern" in the form of a coffee house. This put us firmly at the bottom of the list. I remember this as being a frustrating time, when we all would have moved Eridge in immediately. What followed seemed to take an eternity but finally after waiting for the other party to fall by the wayside and legal contracts to be exchanged we finally took possesion of Yalding Station in March 2016. The station building had been un-occupied for quite a length of time and it was decided to take some time to brighten the environment up with a splash of paint etc. In total this took 3 months, largely down to plastering walls and It was at times a labour of love but thankfully the club rooms were complete and a delightful environment to have as a clubroom. The building also has one major advantage over others we looked at in that it allows the entire layout 24 ft plus two 6ft fiddle yards to be left permantely erect. Added as a bonus is that we have the ability now to house a seperate area to work on items "off the layout" with adequate workbench and lighting. Some Pictures of The Building The Day We Got The Keys "Good Things Come To Those That Wait." Pictures Post Refurbishment In June 2016 after 2 years in "storage" we finally moved Eridge Layout into Yalding Station - Happy Times. To all our amazements the layout had remained very stable and had sustained very little storage damage. Several Running sessions later and we are now back to meeting on a Thursday evening. The P4 Kent Area Group also opened the doors to the Scalefour Society for a Mini Exhibition/Running Day which was a landmark achievement given the circumstances. We thank all those that attended. Now that we are back up and running I hope to keep the modelling fraternity on RMWeb up to date with our Progress, this post is merely here to show we have not vanished off the face of the earth

Wow now that is an answer from an EWS source !! Dare i enquire the provenance of that material? Extremely Grateful

Thanks Jo I searched high and low on Goggle (other search engines available) but couldn't find the answer Makes sense i guess And an added bonus i now know about 45ft container Now i can position the 4 unidentified white spigots to accomodate 20ft containers I knew this was the place to find the answer... Many Thanks ALL

Good Evening All, Whilst doing a CAD design for a project i have stumbled into a conundrum. I cannot correctly identify all the container combination positions on an FCA Bogie Wagon. Without identifying the last 4 positions i cannot correctly position them for the container lock holes. I have drawings that show them to be located in these positions and hope someone from the RMWeb community will be able to assist So what i do know: Black Container Lugs = 3x 20ft Containers Wagon End Black Container Lugs and Red Lugs = 2 x 30ft Containers Green Lugs = 1 x 40 ft Container But What are the White Lugs used for ? Any Assistance Would Be Gratefully Received Mark

Now why doesn't that surprise me, expanding projects with greater detailing = pre-requiste for Colins Masterpiece Been a long time but glad you've taken the leap into the black hole of P4. Nice work thus far

More Progress On Station Road Bridge (16/03/2014) After a lengthy delay I am pleased to announce some progress on the road bridge build. Part of the delay was determining the height of the station building above the tracks. The only known measurements were those taken from the footbridge. These were used to determine the floor level of the station by means of a 3D CAD Drawing. Once this was produced i got slightly side tracked in producing this, however this will feature in another topic but thought it worthy of a mention as it will be seen a few times featured in pictures posted on this thread OK Back to this topic. The pillars in various states of completion. Many may notice that the pillar ends in previous posts have had to be extended. This was due to a slight error on my part, assuming the pillars sat on the gravel bed on the layout... actually they sat on the wood structure and so had to be extended. Just when you think you are making progress another unknown comes to light. This time via Rod ( of this parish - 10800) !! in the form of Retaining Walls. These are obviously now overgrown with vegetation or in the case of the one on the platform side removed. Fortunately not too much rework is needed to incorporate these into OUR model Edit: Photo removed due to copywright issue Work on the support structure for the road bridge roof can now start in earnest Mark

I have stuck with Shapeways http://www.shapeways.com as my preferred printer for 3D work but there are others around. The material used to print these was "frosted detail" but that was chosen only because of the finish required. I initially designed just the steps and had them printed in "white strong and flexible choosing the polished variety" BUT whilst the polishing gave a fairly good smoothness it also rounded the corners to all the 90 degree surfaces so hence reverting back to "frosted detail" A word of caution ....Some find it frustrating when they have adhered to the minimum wall criteria etc to find that their models are rejected prior to print having already passed the upload inspection process..Shapeways will not print a model if they feel it will not stand a certain amount of handling...I find this IMHO a positive for Shapeways and have had a few items rejected because whilst it met there minimum criteria in wall thickness etc it would not "in their opinion" stand the test of time..They will however notify you of the reason why your model has been rejected and give you a resolution to make it work which may be as simple as making certain parts thicker or in the case of the staircases above adding the lattice work between the handrails and stairs to strengthen the model... The CAD package i used was turbocad because i had it .... there are once again plenty on the market and even a freebie from Shapeways.. If you think the detail on this is impressive then i urge you to take a look at their website and search model trains or even model figures ...there is a wealth of parts out there waiting to be snapped up... and if you can't find what you want have a go Mark

Thanks Guys for the comments I will be adding a post as i progress this part of the build. The footbridge will consist of 4 parts... the gallery and roof structure will form the second part, the footbridge pillars and luggage shute the third and finally the window frames and detailing the last part. Hopefully this will alll be covered in one blog. The CAD design was done to get the correct height for thebuild the road bridge which has its own separate post and that is still very much in progress. Mark

With work on wiring the layout now complete until the installation of the signal servo motors,Mike a I can turn our attention can turn to something that will be seen by the General public apart from the trackwork.. For Mike this will probably been the progression of his fantastic work on the Station Canopies and I hope to report his progress on this as it happens. For Myself I am employed on the Road Bridge Rebuild. Eridge Station from platform level Erisge Station from A21 A quick bit of history, The station was originally down at platform level and presumably the road bridge existed at some point in Eridge history. When the station was moved to its present day location straddling the tracks, the old road bridge was incorporated into this design. However the new part of the bridge was raised and the old part left unchanged. From either side at track level this fact is not apparent and only studying photos has this been highlighted. The aforementioned step This has throughout the design stage of the model proved to be a bit of a nightmare as no detailed plans are available and the step is in the darkest depths of the bridge where it is hard to determine its exact position. It is however clear that the step needs to be incorporated as this will have an impact on the height of the footbridge that butts up against the station/road bridge structure and indeed the gradient of the steps from the footbridge to the platform. This fact has greatly influenced the approach to this build. So my intention is to build the known factors first and hopefully use them to determine the position (if not totally precise) of the step and incorporate that. Some debate was made at club level to the amount of under bridge detail needed. I have concluded however that " if it exists, it exist to be modeled and therefore i will attempt to faithfully recreate it in its entirety (famous last words!). In my belief from previous photos taken of the layout this view will show a lot of details and will enhance the photo 10 fold. The Southern End of the Road Bridge The LH side of the Bridge giving entry to Up Bay Platform The Centre of the Bridge giving entry to up and down main lines The RH side of the Bridge giving entry to the Down Bay Platform The Model This is built using Slaters brick Plastikard and varying thicknesses of plain plastikard. All thats left to do on this part of the model is to add the capping stones on top of the wall (these will be 3D printed) these will be added on final build of the project prior to painting and weathering.Two rows of slate capping ineed to be added to the lower part of the recesses, i may attempt to make these from extremely fine plastikard. The model acrow props have proved very useful for determining the height on the layout The rear of this wall has been built to the same level as the front , this will need building up to the road form and will hide the platform that it sits on. More Modelling Needed More Progress (17/12/2013) The Pillars for the Southern End of the Road Bridge have been made. I need a visit to the club room to assess the exact location of these with the track plan and photos Meanwhile I-Beam Busy (sorry couldn't help myself). Busy making the beams for the underside of the bridge, cost saving measures The curved I beams, using a piece of copper pipe to form the curved plastikard The foremost beam is the one for the front on the platform side of the bridge , these need rivet detail adding and cutting to length as the pillars do not run parallel to the bridge. After the height transition these beams are just plain I-beams and there are 9 of them to build I found it easier to build them as a "T" then cut the web on them before preceeding to an "I", thus concentrating on them being upright rather than upright and the correct distance for the web The other web can then be cut to the required distance when the glue is cured More Progress On Station Road Bridge (16/03/2014) After a lengthy delay I am pleased to announce some progress on the road bridge build. Part of the delay was determining the height of the station building above the tracks. The only known measurements were those taken from the footbridge. These were used to determine the floor level of the station by means of a 3D CAD Drawing. Once this was produced i got slightly side tracked in producing this, however this will feature in another topic but thought it worthy of a mention as it will be seen a few times featured in pictures posted on this thread OK Back to this topic. The pillars in various states of completion. Many may notice that the pillar ends in previous posts have had to be extended. This was due to a slight error on my part, assuming the pillars sat on the gravel bed on the layout... actually they sat on the wood structure and so had to be extended. Just when you think you are making progress another unknown comes to light. This time via Rod ( of this parish - 10800) !! in the form of Retaining Walls. These are obviously now overgrown with vegetation or in the case of the one on the platform side removed. Fortunately not too much rework is needed to incorporate these into OUR model Edit: Photo removed copywright issue Work on the support structure for the road bridge roof can now start in earnest Mark