Shedmaster

Hi All, Just a quick update on 'Clan Line' before I get back to the main 'entertainment' of the evening... Black backed nameplates have now been prepared and fitted : ...and I've also gone to the trouble of 'allocating' to Stew. Lane with etched '73A' plaques to go with the etched smoke box number plate: What a shame about that join line along the middle of the boiler though ? The 'Winged Thistle' is not there for any particular reason, just the spare one I kept back from Manor Lane when we had a 'Deltic' on the books ! Right......hope the shed has cooled down a bit now, as its time to get back out to the girders. Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi, It looks like this is going to work out after all.... I have managed to put three 'bays' together this evening, which go from the top of the red stairs across to the 'yellow painted' bay seen here... This has just been a fairly simple job to plug the tops and bottom girders into the holes and glue them, before adding the next main girder. It's going to be a long building but when the sides and roofs go on, this should brace it all together perfectly. That's all for now, Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi Peter, What fascinating stuff in this thread......I'm hoping to place an order soon for some traction motors and then an 8LDA engine for a Stewarts Lane 33..... Great stuff, Thank you for making these available...... Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi, Good Morning..... It's fair to say I had some proper playtime with the layout yesterday, with two Class 33's and a 58 shuttling around with some engineers stock, including the star of the show......a brand new twin jib crane which is currently being built, but alas, no photo's..... The whole lot was looking pretty good, however, lacking one small detail..........the main BUILDING ! Never mind, this is most definitely in hand with the arrival of the main girder frames : There are eighteen of these required, although I added two extra to the order for practising etc. I had a brainwave whilst browsing the 'Boxenby depot' thread, in that for the horizontal 'I' beams, I would have the shape cut out for these to pass through the legs of each frame, thus being perfectly straight and level ! You'll see four of these in each of the frames pictured. Small details to note are the fact that the lower left 'I' shape is HIGHER than the lower right one, this is because on the real building this is done to take account of the doorways for the workshops etc. Also, I have added the corner supports at the top of each leg to represent the prototype, without having to cut and add these later individually ! When this girder frame 'cage' is all together and sitting as intended, this will be braced together in the same way as the crane bay, with acrylic sheet side and roof panels faced with corrugated asbestos sheet, with internal walls and details added afterwards........well......that's the plan. Kindest Regards, Shed.

Yes please Peter... Kindest Regards, Shed.

129' is missing isn't it, City Of Winchester ??? Kindest Regards, Shed

Hi, Just a very quick picture showing the roof panels a little better..... Thanks, Shed.

Hi, I've looked at this whole idea of how to make it work visually, my inspiration being 'Worcester Road', but without simply copying the way that was done, looking through the whole side of the building. I love to see architectural models and especially the illuminated Perspex ones, as they are so clinical, but this wouldn't be appropriate for displaying my stock. So, I'll be doing this where the building will feature as much internal detail as I can get in and to see inside, I will be leaving a section in the middle 'open', possibly the piece directly behind the crane bay building, to be confirmed. One side of the roof apex will remain in place above the workshops but not the other or the side wall nearest the viewing side. This will allow the inside to be seen normally but also a camera can be placed inside for the all important 'staged' photo's. The main girders will be laser cut but modified where the building is left 'open'.... ....that's the plan anyway. Kindest Regards, Shed.

I'd have to agree......the cladding will hide all of my 'perfectly straight' and 'perfectly true' lines and corners, and after all the effort to make them just so ! Of all things, it did cross my mind to just build the thing in clear Perspex as some architectural models are, but thought better of it. Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi Mr G, Thanks for your post, although I was actually going to PM you and ask you to take a few years off from your project, so that I could catch up ! I've fallen way behind because of the floor not going right perfectly but feel this says a lot about my personality.........either I have OCD for perfection or I am just a very committed kinda guy ? lol's.... Anyways, I do feel that I'm making progress now finally...........and yes, laser cutting is definitely my new best friend ! I went back and tried to do my own CAD drawings as I have an interest in this, but even with the instruction manual next to me............it didn't work out ! I'm able to work in VISIO but that's as far as I can understand. My next step now is to draw up the ends of the building and either have them laser cut or do it myself from 2mm HIPS ( Plasticard ). Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi, Good afternoon, I'm now able to post a couple of progress pics, delayed due to an uploading issue....sorry for deleting the test post and cancelling off the 'likes' etc. Many Thanks to Andy Y for helping with this...... So.............. Surprise, surprise, I failed my practice attempt at the ELS building sidewalls as they came out warped and too flimsy once glued together. The plan is that the building must withstand being plugged in and out for transit. I went back to the drawing board and decided on the pre-formed approach, whereby the main side and roof girders would be laser cut and then faced with laser cut side and roof panels, sized from measurements taken on site visits. Thanks to some valuable help with the CAD work, the side and roof girders were laser cut from 3mm white acrylic, to the correct roof pitch... I then specified two roof panels with window cut outs and two side wall panels with window cut outs, to be laser cut from 2mm clear acrylic... This structure has gone together very, very well and is super strong, although I wouldnt' want to be dropping this and shattering the acrylic panels ! There are various careless splashes of glue that you can see, however, these will all be covered anyway with the cladding sheets and paintwork etc. This technique will now be used for the rest of the building, where the girders will be laser cut along with the roofs and sides for strength and accuracy. That's all for now, Kindest Regards, Shed.

I'd most definitely HAVE to agree with this post #1841.......what a superb photo ! I notice that your cut outs for the I-beams are actually shaped for these as opposed to a rectangular hole as I have done........these will look bloody fantastic mate, well done. Just so you know, I have three 60's waiting at the peg as 0Z60 SL-TO for wheelset attention.......I can bell them out whenever you're ready Mr G ? They've been sitting around so long they have flat spots in the wheels that need profiling out please ? Kindest Regards, Shed. edited as unable to directly quote post #1841 for some reason........

Hi Graham, Many Thanks to you for taking the time to go away and find this out on my behalf......this particular snippet has eluded me for all these years and yet I never would have thought it related to something so important, Thank you both again. It was only a few weeks ago that a friend was asking me about a certain 'rail-over-road' bridge just on the country side of Orpington Station, whereby injured 'troops' were transferred from trains, down the embankment on stretchers and into waiting ambulances ! ? EDITED AS JUST FOUND OUT : VICTORY BRIDGE OVER THE SEVENOAKS ROAD I'm sorry to say I know nothing of the significance of this railway line in wartime but I suspect there is a massive and historically important story here ? One thing I do know is that at Orpington ( and Hither Green for that matter ), there are actually staff subways that are still in situ under the platforms, and in the case of Orpington, these were used by the Carriage cleaning staff to cross the mainline, although my memory is hazy on whether they were actually still in use when I was there... Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi Keith, Thanks for your interest.....However...I think the two screens either side of the panel were train describers as I remember typing numbers into berths and then pressing an 'interpose' button ? Is that what you mean by train describer ? Also, the black radio sitting on the bottom left of the panel was the direct comms with the shunters in those days. A neat trick I did learn whilst there was that dragging my heels around on the floor as I walked, would result in my ability to ZAP! The next unfortunate soul to annoy me with a most excellent and very visible static charge... That's all for now, Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi Lyddrail, I'm glad you like these and thought when I posted them that they may appeal to you ! I've scanned some more, just for detail sake and also the fact that they aren't too terrible.......: Firstly......The Main Man and his panel : On top of the right hand screen are a pair of binoculars........a MOST useful piece of kit indeed ! Then, 'Box Boy'.......this guy had his own desk and phones too : ...and see that Train Register ? I have several mint, unused copies of these in secure storage, now, how hard would it be to dig them out I wonder.....? Finally, 'The Switchboard'.....every point, signal, platform and yard phone all came into here...: Right, that's definitely it for now, Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi, I'd just like to make some photo scans available, from my time in Orpington Signal Box in 1991, for the RMWeb community.... My time in the box was as a BR Trainee and this was a most unusual posting - I was effectively an assistant to the resident 'box boy' ! The original pics were taken on a 110 camera, the silver rectangle things where you pulled the end out to open the flash and lens ? The quality is pretty poor as they were my first on the job photo's and I used to just point and click without any real thought, I've not seen any similar pics anywhere else....yet. I can't think of the make of the camera now, so onto those pics.......: Firstly, Orpington signalling panel... Orpington Station : Up 60's This is the name used by the Signaller and Shunters/Drivers to describe what were actually the DOWN sidings right outside the office building where I started my career all those years ago. Does anybody know why they were called this ? I have never been able to find out..... Carriage Shed Carriage Washing Machine and finally.......... Freight One of the most 'interesting' freights that I saw come by the box, was this international thing conveying tank wagons that I thought contained Dangerous Goods, I didn't know any different. Well, one of em' had something hanging down that it shouldn't and it had a row with the conductor rail right outside the open Signalbox window ! Lets just say I've never seen an explosion or noise like that since, or at such close range ! Yes, yes, I've never forgotten it ! Anyways, hope you like the pics.........of course, any decent ones that you'd like to add would be more than welcome ! Kindest Regards, Shed.

Good Evening, Just thought I'd show something that wasn't building related for a change, although that might come later at around 3am when I'm back in from the shed ! For now, I have a picture of the first Loco. to actually receive works attention here at 'The Lane'......that being #98828 'Clan Line'...alright, alright, #35028 : This example of '28 is the current Margate offering and has been modified a little to remove the toy-like appearance found straight from the shop, although, the model is actually a very good, accurate, representation. The long wheelbase tender has been swapped out for the incorrect 'short' wheelbase version as this incorporates the more accurate tender top detail and has an empty coal space, i.e.....no moulded coal here so I can fill it with the real thing. This is a safe compromise as it would normally be the 'face' of the Loco. that is photographed and so the tender shortcoming can be 'overlooked' for now. The motion, buffers and drawgear have been picked out in silver and the wheels polished. I'm not keen on the factory applied 'tint' to the motion on many models now, I prefer the silvered look as per the real thing, which I believe the volunteer crews work very hard to achieve and maintain. The front bogie has had 4mm of metal 'disc cut' away, which is the bit that the tension lock coupler originally screwed to. A scale tension lock coupling has been fitted to the front, air, vacuum and steam pipes will follow, along with cylinder drain cocks. The gold paint pen has been busy, lining in the window frames, the front lamp casings, the centre wheelset motion pin and the tender spyglass surrounds. Finally, I'm not keen on the red backed nameplates and prefer the black version instead. The nameplates have therefore been prepared for replacement black versions to be fitted at a later date. All I need now is the current 'yellow' OHLE warning stickers and a 'BRITISH PULLMAN' headboard for the front, along with two white route discs, so any suggestion here would be most welcome ? Many Thanks, Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi Alex, I have already looked at these curtains for Stew. Lane and have a solution........I think, although it is untested / not proven yet. Maybe there's a better way ? Are you familiar with A4 clear plastic document wallets that you place inside a ring binder/folder ? There are various holes down the margin on one side. These wallets have a front and a back and you place a sheet of paper inside, between these. There is a proper join around three edges, the two sides and the bottom. Now, I'm thinking that you could feed one of these wallets into a paper shredding machine until just before the join goes in and through the blades. Select 'reverse' to remove your newly made 'curtains' ? Obviously, you would need to trim these to the correct size for the location and then paint / weather them ? Edited to add...when fixing these curtains in position, the aforementioned 'join' would be fixed at the top to the roof / beam and the loose flappy ends would be down at the floor level. My thinking is that you would have uniformly spaced curtains without resorting to the ruler and sharp knife method. Finally, my shredder is ancient and has one set of circular blades, this idea just wont work on the newer ones that have multiple blade patterns and make you a cuppa while you're waiting. Hope this helps........? Kindest Regards, Shed.

F.A.O - Depot Foreman, Boxenby Depot Dear Mr Grimley, I'm sorry to report that I am experiencing problems with your layout thread and this has been on going for some time now. Well, you see, I'm having problems deciphering whether your pictures are of the real thing, or, your model ! Your making such a good job of this that I'm having to look REALLY closely at your pics, such as the ones in your post, just to be sure what I'm looking at. Well done mate and keep up the good excellent work please, Kindest Regards, Shedmaster Stewarts Lane Depot London

Hi, I was just going to jump back and say no, no, no, they're full length doors as in the photo ! Maybe I need to look at my own photo's a bit more closely....lol..... Many Thanks..... Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi PhilJ W, Definitely no bottom flaps on this one... Just realised that there is ! So, come on own up! Who's had the makers plates away ? Anyone ?????? No, thought not... Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi PhilJ W, I'm not familiar with these things but was curious to see if there was a model, from this I reckoned it was a 'Parcels Miscellaneous Van' because of the vents in the end doors ? Is that the same thing as a Southern Utility Van ? The makers plate has been 'had away with' and so I'm unable to offer the number....... Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi, Good Morning...... I would like to share these pics with you, as I'm not sure if this particular vehicle has been 'recorded' anywhere ? It's there now and has been for many years, and it is accompanied by a chassis-less Brake Van body, also in the bushes but actually sitting on the floor ! Anybody else recognise this one ? If you can't quite work out what or where this one is......I'm happy to help with a clue..... Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi, As I seem to have worked out the 'best practice' for assembling the side wall sections, work continues apace... Here's a pic just to demonstrate the interior walling and the representation of the panel joins......with a real one for reference ! Okay......back to work, one more module to make and then these remaining three can be fitted out with I-beams and wall sections.... Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi, Just a quick update to show some progress here... This is the rear 'side' of the Crane Bay : As far as I can tell, the dimensions are spot on, the horizontal I-beams being set prototypically at 6' 2" from the floor, or 24.667mm rounded up ! The yellow crane tool stand and buffer stops will fit exactly in their correct position in line with the second I-beam from rear.... Because of it's size and the size of the plasticard sheets that I'm using, I have opted for the 'modular' approach. I will be making up four 'side' sections of three bay's, as shown, and then join them together with two middle bays to make eight bays on each side. It doesn't show in the photo but the plasticard sheets are the Evergreen type with the indented 'grooves'......representing the cladding 'joins' as seen from inside. The whole 'process' of making these up is something I'm learning as I go, and the same will apply when I come to the 'front' and 'rear' ends. If things work out here, and they seem to be at the moment, it shouldn't be long before the asbestos cladding can be fitted and the building given it's identity. That's all for now, Kindest Regards, Shed.