MrSimon

[First hour]

Not really an hours work but a lot of progress all the same:


I added some card bracing to the back of the station entrance which should hopefully stop it bowing inwards.


I layed some strips of card to help form the cant in the road and I unscrewed the trackbed, it raises high enough to hopefully fit the bridges under... hopefully.

Lots to do

Simon

Ladies and Gentlemen today is bridge fitting day.

It'll either be a quick job where everything fits first time or it will take forever with things needing cutting and filing and painting...


The obligatory before shot


The bits to fit. I've got some people to go under the bridge, but they'll be stuck to the pavement just before its glued down and will be one of the last things to do.

Time for breakfast then its go go go.

Lots to do

Simon

I sat, I looked, I weathered... I messed up. Booo weathering, yay clean clean world! If only I'd modelled somewhere clean...

I quite like weathering rolling stock - especially other peoples rolling stock - but I've discovered that my mind freezes when confronted with a piece of scenery and I apply weathering powder like royal icing. I had to repaint one of the bridge piers and start again, but it looks ok now; but I won't be sure until I see it in the cold light of day!

In other news I scraped away a bit more of the white lines and I think they look about right now. I also nipped down to Newark Castle and took some photos of the notice boards and printed them out (8mm high) to go with the route maps I found online to make up the boards outside the station:


This isn't the side I weathered too much. I've still not been able to get the camera to focus on the hydrant, and the cable box is drying, but I'll get photo's of them both tomorrow when I am ready to install the pavements. Tomorro's going to be a busy day for me!

Lots to do!

Simon

Hi,

Thank you for your replies and the links to Direct Gov (I'd forgotten all the highway code was online!) I'm going to scratch a bit more off the centre lines off but not too much because I still want it to be a hazard line - theres a bus stop, short stay parking, station entrance and a staggered junction. I've never noticed before but on the directgov PDF and on google maps around Newark the length of the white line for the standard centre line is the same length as the length of gap on the hazard warning line, and viceversa...

I've had a few weeks spare so I thought I'd cram as much modelling in as possible - I'm not normally this fast at modelling

I've still not started the cable box or the weathering but the fire hydrant thing is drying and I finished off half of the bridge pier by the station entrance.


Just needs a spot of varnish on the sign and some weathering on the sign (I'll weather when I do the rest of the side) I seem to have nailed my colours to the mast and gone for a Central Trains managed station, at the northern end of the Robin Hood line - but not on the actual line, on the sheffield to Lincoln bit so the line branding might be wrong...

Must start weathering!

Simon

Hi,

Thank you for your kind comments, posting on here has really been spurring me on to model as well as I can

I didn't get much done yesterday on account of the "Rodfather" coming to sort out my drains, but work has been continuing on all the bits I need finished before fitting the bridge tomorrow. Everything is drying at the moment so I thought I'd come and post progress!


The road! Its thin card, painted in grey primer and sanded smooth (pesky brush marks!) the bus stop and road markings were done by masking them all and dabbing neat humbrol on with a cotton bud. I've got a few more markings to put down (bus stop lettering and double yellow lines for a start) and then I can start patching and weathering the road as detailed in Nspirations2.


Close up of the bus stop. I nearly got run over measuring the length of the yellow lines, so I went home and checked my measurements against the google maps view. I'm a bit suspicious of my measurements for the white lines - they were 17ft long with a 3ft gap, so thats what I painted last night and they looked wrong to me so this morning I scraped 1 16th of an inch off each line and they look better but still a bit long - do I shorten them a bit more?

As a break from doing the bridge bits I decided to give making window frames a go and dug out the sides of the building next to the station. They turned out better than I expected.  I've not done the (ex) shop front yet and I think I'll wait until I get the bridge area sorted out before I start. I can't paint the sides until I've seen Phoenix at Leammington on Saturday but I'm not sure whether to paint before or after I stick it together. I was most pleased with the central arched window because I'd gone slightly wrong opening out the hole for the arch and I was worried I was going to have to replace the whole side but I managed to save it with a few extra bits of plasticard.

 
Before and after. Note the square top to the actual window frame in the arched window just as it is on the original building I copied. I was quite glad about this because I didn't fancy cutting and filing out another arch.

Currently drying are a bill board and notice-cases for the wall outside the station and just about to be filed into shape are a cable tv relay box and one of those yellow water hydrant things - I'm doing all the little jobs to put off weathering the bridge sections!

Lots to do and thanks again!

Simon

Hello everybody!

So far today I did a spot of weathering of the bridge sides ready for fitting, I've not taken a photo of them yet because I need to track down the weathering powders and get them looking right before I put them on here. I also added the blue to the Ferodo lettering and it looked absolutely rubbish! The D and second O looked wrong and I didn't like the colour, so rather than re-mask it and try again I waited for it to dry and then attacked it with some wet'n'dry and rusty coloured paint:


It looks a bit Cuban but I can tone it down slightly when I do the other sides...

Later today I need to paint in the road markings and then I should be ready to fit everything later in the week - which should be fun!

Lots to do!

Simon

Hello everybody!

I'm back after a right old week getting stock ready for Grantham Model Rail show and not been able to do any of my own modelling - but now the show has passed its full steam ahead on Gresby.


I started the day by masking off and painting the first part of the Ferodo sign on the bridge girder. I know they're usually black and white but I'm sure there was a red, blue and yellow one in Manchester (Near the new TPE depot) which seems to have been painted over before the streetview car made it round - but I might be completely wrong! I've just got the blue and all the weathering to go and the bridges and street will be ready to install, but if it looks rubbish when Its done I might paint it over in grey...

Tonight I decided I had better give the bridges one final test fit so I don't have any nasty surprises when I come to fit them and before they're finished. Good thing I did because they seem to have warped a touch since I made them and the trackbed required filing away a bit and the bridge needed opening out slighty so I could get stock into the station. I took the picture above while all the adjusted sides were setting in situ.

Hopefully the bridge will be installed by the end of this week - I'll keep posting progress up here

Lots to do

Simon

Hi Ben,

Glad you like the work so far - its good to get fresh eyes on it if that makes sense?!

I've just been using Phoenix Paints P954 Engineers Blue Brick for the blue, I've not weathered it yet but when I do I'm going to try and do it like P4 New Street on here...

cheers

Simon

Morning everybody!

The end of the bit under the bridge is finally in sight All that remains for me to do is cut out and paint the road, paint the pavement on the station entrance side, finish off the paint on the bridges and touch up the station entrance and it'll all be ready to fit and i can move onto a different part of the layout!


I painted the departures monitor which gave my camera something to focus on, I'm pleased with how it came out, especially as despite my earlier post it turns out that it can be seen from the usual viewing angle (I'd forgotten about people looking down on the layout haha)


Here is the monitor in situ, I made the light out of two bits of plasticard I filed into shape. I need to touch up the paint where I cemented the entrace bit to the bridge pier and add the station signs and a spot of weathering... but not too much!

Lots to do!

Simon

Hello everybody!

I think I've finally gone insane:

The monitor is 3mm x 3mm x 3mm made of three strips of plasticard laminated together and filed to shape, just needs painting now... maybe then I'll be able to get a more in-focus shot of it! Also, I've just realised that only actual N gauge people will be able to see it which sort makes me wonder why I made it that way!

Next layout will definately be O Gauge trams haha!

Simon

Definately and excuse I'll be using - just need to get me some cabinets!

I've done a bit of work this morning, I cut the door to the station - I'm not sure why I'd put it off for so long! I thought the entrance might have been a bit ornate, so I did a bit of research on the disused stations website (Braunston, Finmere and Lutterworth were the closest match to the layout of Gresby) and found the entrances to be quite plain arches... which suited me just fine!


This morning I masked and painted bridge piers, so now all needs doing is detailing and weathering.


I spent a bit of time last night preparing some posters and signs to use on the entrance, I wasn't sure what size text I'd need so I did a selection - I found network maps on a project mapping website and the BR logo on google images. I'm not sure which network map to put up. In my mind Gresby is mainly served by Central Trains and Northern Rail, but I can't work out in my head which company would manage the station... maybe both maps would be shown but only one company provide the station staff?

So much to think about and even more to do!

Simon

Hi James,

Thanks for posting, I didn't realise that they'd started putting them at right angles - do you know when the change was made at all? Also, would it be feasible to have a mixture of older ones bein parrallel and newer ones being at right angles at the same location?

I've not been doing much modelling this week due to spending two days in a farm shed wiring up the fiddle yard to Farndon Road (Bingham MRC available for exhibitions from mid 2011 plug plug) but I made it to the model shop today and got the dummy point motors today, so I'll try and get some pics up when they're fitted... and then I belive I'll be ready to ballast

Lots to do!

Simon

Hello!

I think I've maybe inhaled too much Contacta Proffessional.


This afternoon I finished off one of the bridges and the room is sort of spinning... and it still needs painting

Time to sit outside for a bit I think!

Simon

Hello!

I made a start on the false bottoms of the girder bridges yesterday, I was very organised and made paper templates of the trackbed so they could be done away from the baseboard.


Its made of plasticard, with [ shaped channel on the edges and then plain plasticard strips in the middle made to look like girders, unfortunately when I test fitted it on the board with the bridge piers it was 5mm too short and the wrong shape - so much for the templates!


Here is the second attempt, and the one I'll be using when its finished. I put the cross bracing in after some sort of mental episode, its going to be a pain to paint and I doubt it will ever be seen... but I know its there! I've just got the side girders to make now.


Test fit of the bridge bottoms.

Lots to do!

Simon

Hi Graham,

I've been looking for the Liddle End cabinets for a couple weeks now and there seems to be a Nottinghamshire wide shortage of them, I've seen some at N Brass and Langly though so they might come from one of them. I didn't realise Peco did the dummy motors too - I've got a choice of three manufacturers now so I'm going to investigate them all a bit more closely.

Just seen Long Meg, it looks really good - 60040 is one of my favourites and I'd love a basement like that

Thanks for your help

Simon

Hello Everybody!

I've spent another two days fettling steam engines for my dad (which can be seen on "Parnhams" at Grantham Model Rail show 4th & 5th September) but I managed to get a bit of work on my own layout done this afternoon. I've almost finished one of the bridge pier:


As far as I can tell, it just needs some bridge plates, some graffitti/fly posters, a wheelie bin infront of the fire exit and some rust streaking down from the bridge girders. I tried to make some bridge plates but I couldn't get them to print right so I'll have a look out for some etches and the weathering can wait until I've finished the other bridge pier.


Here is the view from street level, the underside of the bridge is the next thing on my list and of course the road surface. The pavement is only blutaked in place at the moment but will be stuck down onto the road (I'll stick some people on it before I glue it down)


Here is the view from the end of the station platform; the door way is the fire escape from the workshops etc in the viaduct. I found the fire escape sign online. I also need to neaten up the line between the blue brick and white tiles.

Lots to do!

Simon

Aww thanks! I've not even thought of a backscene yet; I'm a bit bogged down on the station, bridges and road - but it really should go on my list. I've got all the power feeds in and connected to them terminal block things but no panel or switches started yet

Thanks for the suggestion BernardTPM, I'll have a look at them

Hello everybody

I've had a bit of a busy afternoon today putting in some (cosmetic) cable ducting on the track bed. They run from the relay cabinets to approximately where the signals and point motors are. I need to given them their base colour before ballasting and then when the trackbed has been sprayed, touch them up and weather them.


The flat card bits at the back are where the relay cabinets will go, with space for the Network Rail vans to park up close. The stub of ducting that comes out towards the front of the layout is for a ground signal to control trains exciting the kickback sidings. I was going to put the ducting straight onto the trackbed, but I'd forgotten about the depth of the peco track, so I raised it up slightly with plasticard, but that will be covered with ballast. I've still got to add the orange pipes under the tracks and fill in the gaps in the sleepers (I might do that tonight) also I need to find some relay cabinets and dummy point motors... n brass?

Lots to do

Simon

Hello everybody!

Today I stuck down the first bit of viaduct to its final position, a momentous occasion indeed. Now that it has een stuck down I can get to work bedding it in at ground level and on the trackbed (its amazing how not having any PVA has held me up so much)


Its not a very glamorous or interesting bit of viaduct, and will probably never be seen under normal circumstances, but I'll know its there - and it forms the main wall of the pub beer garden which might be photogenic when its done... but its the first bit stuck down and I'm pretty chuffed hehe

Also finished today are all the window sills and lintels for the shop next to the station. All I need to do before gluing it together is the window frames and doors and filing and shaping the curved front window arch thing; I'm a bit worried I might have made the hole too big, in which case I might have to do a spot of surgety on the front wall before calling it finished.

Here are the bits all laid out - I carved the lintels on the two sides that face the street but I'm not sure if I like them


Here are all the bits with the mounting board skeleton. I'm in two minds about adding basic interiors... normally I wouldn't bother but the building is right at the front of the layout and has pretty large windows.

I might make a bit more progress tonight, and if I do I'll put it up tomorrow!

Simon

Hi Mark,

I wish I'd used a T-Girder to support the viaduct, but I didn't think of it to specify it in my plan and my friend built the viaduct as a sort of box! I'll have to think about whether to make any extensions the same way or more open for repairs...

I didn't get much done yesterday despite there being no RMwebbish distractions, but I did get the Thompson O1 mostly finished (which is good because my Dad is back today) so here is the threatened picture of it passing through Gresby on some coal empties. The class is right for what would have run on the line in steam days but there would have been a lot more track at Gresby back then


I got the pavement painted but not stuck down yet and I started on the inner structure for the shop but most of the day went on taking the coal load out of the Union Mills tender which was about 6mm thick of solid metal. There is no coal to replace it yet because after all that drilling and cutting and filing I found I don't have any dilute-able glue! The number will go on next week and I'm making the cab steps/floor tonight and then its disappearing off into my Dad's loco box until Whatton show next March/April.

I've still got plenty to do so I'd best get cracking!

Simon

Hi Southern Boy,

The point motor is sort of sandwiched but its definitely attached to the board! Its screwed onto the bottom of the trackbed (using a peco mounting plate) with a hole in the wooden viaduct wall to fit the motor in and a big hole in the main baseboard inside the viaduct so the motor can be unscrewed and removed/replaced from underneath in case of failure. I took a clearer photo because its not clear on the pic with the class 20s!

Before I put the plasticard brick wall on I'd like to open out the hole a bit more and make a hole in the baseboard large enough to properly remove the motor should it need replacing, the point serves the kick-back sidings so it won't be used as much as the other points which I'm hoping will lessen the liklihood of failure...

Cutting holes in the supports wasn't an ideal solution but its a problem when making viaduct layouts - also I completely forgot about the point motors when I designed the layout! Did you have the same problems fitting point motors on Frankland?

Thanks Porkie, I'm loving Milton Grove - whens the next update?

I've not managed to get any more done tonight, I remembered I was supposed to do some work on an engine for my Dad and he gets back on Friday and I'd not even started... but hopefully there should be some progress on Gresby tomorrow, maybe even with a Thompson O1 on it

Thank you for your comments everyone!

Simon

Hello,

Here is the picture of the other thing I did yesterday:

Its the pavement! I just need to paint it pavement coloured and pick out the odd slab and then weather the bridge pier and pavement as one unit. I've not made the road/gutter yet but when I will I'll be cracking on with sticking it down (it makes sense to me to get the road down before putting the pavement on top - but do correct me if I'm wrong!) In the foreground of this shot will go a converted shop at the start of a terrace, with access to the yard outside the arches passing behind the it. I thought it would just be a normal terraced house but then I went to Total N Gauge on Friday and saw the perfect building just down the road from it (but I'm making mine in Brick instead of stone)

Here is the plan; the original building is on Annesley Road in Hucknall but I've altered it slightly so its the other way on the corner and I've made the corner a right angle to fit the space available. I've copied the drawing onto plasticard and cut out all of the window apertures except the round one (I couldn't find a compass) and I'm going to start work on the mounting board skeleton later today.

This afternoon's work was the plasticard platform faces.

Here is my 66 checking the clearance coming off the loop. It looks a bit tight so i might thin it down slightly more before fixing it into place (or just using smaller engines in the loop). I need to fill in the gaps in the sleepers too!

Does anyone know if MS&L/Great Central platform walls were done in blue or red bricks?

Simon

Hello! I've been a very busy boy this weekend and actually got a lot done on the layout... well not much at all but its taken a long time so it must be a lot!

first off I painted all the rail sides that will be hard to reach when I'd built the platform, and then I built the inner frame for the platform out of mounting board.


Here is the entrance end of the platform, with spaces left for the stairs down and a square to anchor a derelic station building. I'm going to make a start on the platform faces later today but first I need to work out exactly where the platform mounted signals/gantries will go and put some K&S in so these can also be removable. I'm not sure about the colour I've painted the rails, but the whole trackbed will be given a spray when I've ballasted.

I seem to have gone slightly out of order in the build of the layout, because yesterday I made some billboards, but I need to get the bridge piers detailed before I can paint and fit the pavement and road under the bridge. I found a really good website which has loads of adverts on (www.advertolog.com) and selected some adverts from late 2003/early 2004 that were suited to the sorted area I'm modelling. I whipped up some plasticard billboards and printed out the posters to the right size using MS Word and put the two together.

Here are the nearly finished billboards showing adverts for the New Series of Footballers Wives on ITV, the Silk Cut Fat Lady Sings advert, Boddingtons and Mastercard. All that I need to do is put the identifying marks on the poster housing. I'll try and get this done later and then put them up on the bridge pier (and get it all weathered) I'm not sure if I like the Boddingtons and Mastercard ads sharing a hoarding like that and might put a new advert over them.

Incidentally, are there any rules about tobacco advertising on models if I were to exhibit the layout? The Fat Lady advert doesn't give any brand names and is now seven years old, and will be under a bridge, but I'm not going to fall foul of any rules am I? Its not that much different to all the Capstan etc adverts that are on models is it?

I did some other bits yesterday too but I've not photo'd them yet, but I'll see if I can do that later.

Thanks

Simon

Hello!

I started to do a bit of scenic work last night; I did some research on Great Central station entrances on disused-stations.org.uk and today I decided to get cracking with the road outside the station after reading the bit about roads in the second 'n'spirations. I've marked out the pavements on thick-ish card and I have card for the road surface etc, but I can't work out how to make the cobbley-bit in the gutter - biro lines in card?


Here is the mock-up I made, and 51mm looks about right for the road outside my station (with a parking bay and a built-out kassel kerbed bus stop)

I might even cut it out later!

Simon

Hello! I've had a busy week working on Gresby amoungst other things and today I screwed down the trackbed after finishing all the work on adding droppers and installing point motors. Today I installed the three point motors on the sector plate board which I had been putting off because of the large ammount of wood work required to fit one of the motors in.

This shows how close the point motor is to the edge before the sector plate. I should have made the sector plate 3 inches shorter, and I can't remember the reason its the length it is, but it works OK! If (when) I extend the layout the sector plate will be removed and replaced with a section of mainline.


Here is my lovely neat wiring; I just need to wire it all to D Plugs and make a control panel, so it won't be fully operational for a while it does mean that I can start to permanently fix down the arches and start on the platforms and trackbed details though!

Watch this space

Simon