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Fen End Pit

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  1. Fen End Pit
    So, this one is a bit detailed and has a few ramblings.... Sorry
     
    Some modellers are very clever, they come out with perfectly formed designs, work tirelessly to bring them to fruition and produce superb pieces of work first time. Some practice 'slow modelling', being superbly organized, only getting out the tools and materials needed to for the job in hand and breathing deeply while wielding their scalpels. Much respect it due to these folks, if you feel you fit into these categories then good for you. I'm afraid that I have neither the skill nor the patience.
     
    I tend to build things the best I can at the time and have no qualms about 'going back and having another go'. One of the great benefit of the automated tools I have at my disposal is that a lot of the grunt work of redoing something can be done in CAD and on the lasercutter/3D printer. Sometimes I waste a bit of raw material but if can make something better in increments then I'm happy. Perhaps I should coin this 'Agile' modelling after the current trend in software development. I guess I work on the principle that sometimes it is better to build something, even if it turns out to be wrong or could be made better, than not to make anything - 'slow modelling' can risk becoming 'no modelling'  if all you ever do is sit in your armchair. Even if all I do is learn how to make a better one then I feel that is a gain.
     
    Anyway to the case in hand.
     
    I've had a few iterations now of cassette design for my fiddleyard which I thought I'd share.
     
    The original design had two low ply sides and a curved handle. The end has a tongue and a slot which aligns the cassette.
     

     
    I realized that these would fit nicely in the 3 larger drawers of my Ikea drawer unit but not the 3 slightly shorter drawers, the handle over the top of the cassette was unnecessarily high and could be cut down a lot without impacting the strength of the unit. I also found that if I flatten out the top of the handle it would be possible to stack one cassette on top of another and they wouldn't slip off which could aid handling and storage.
     

     
    Both these designs though had a common flaw, the sides of the cassette, even though they were only 25mm high, made getting stock onto the rails very difficult if not impossible. As you can see there is no way to get your fingers into the align wheels with the rail particularly with bogie stock.
     

     
    So we come to the third iteration. By extending the sides up to the top of the handle and cutting large holes in the side the unit keeps its strength, still stacks, if anything better than before and you can get the sides of bogies.
     

     

     
    A pile of cassettes can be made without the risk of them slipping off each other.
     
    The other change I made was on the arrangement for current collection on each cassette. On the original version I had made a sort of 'side scraper' design with a phosphor-bronze wiper mounted to engage with the side of the adjacent cassette, this worked from an electrical point of few but I found it could introduce a slight sideways force on the cassette.  The original arrangement looked like this.
     

    As the cassettes are held in compression by the sliding end clamps I realized that this was unnecessarily complicated and that just a sprung upstand on end of the cassette would press against an identical upstand on the next cassette. These are very much simpler to make and easy to clean and tweak to give a good connection.
     
    So in the end I got the cassettes converted to this new arrangement and built another four long and two short cassettes. All this cassette work obviously lead to running a few trains around and it was very satisfying get some stock out of the drawers again. The Class 15 made an appearance with a very mixed bag on a parcels train.
     

     
    There is a Mk1 full brake, a ex-LMS full brake, a GUV, a Gresley full brake and a couple of CCTs on the rear.
     

     
    The station building now has the roof on, I was pleased with the way the various pieces went together, trying to draw up the hipped sections strained the brain a little! I've also had a first short at the toilet block.
     
    So I hope you liked this longer than usual entry and please enjoy you modelling, at whatever speed or style works for you.
     
    David
  2. Fen End Pit
    After many hours in TurboCAD I've finally made some physical progress on the main station building for Clare. There has been much counting of bricks and much studying of an April 1986 copy of Practical Model Railways which features some drawings of Lavenham by Jas Millham. Clare was a 1865 'medium' design but I have been able to incorporate what I've learnt in my building of the platform 2 waiting shelter and, even further ago, my station based on the GERS drawing of Takeley, an 1865 'small' design.
     
    I've drawn the parts of the building in a single TurboCAD drawing with the base brick work on one layer and the raised quoins on a separate  layer. This makes the drawing show things in context but makes it easy to just copy the base and the quoin overlays into different cutting files for the laser cutter.
     
    I managed to get almost all the parts on a single piece of 3mm MDF 500mm x 245mm from the Model Shop in London. As usual the Lasercut software got its estimate of cut time wildly out, estimating 24 minutes for a job which actually took nearer an hour! I think it can't cope with calculating hundreds of 1.1mm cuts.
     

     
    The little tabs and sockets which align the parts are hidden behind the quoins so should be invisible. They do ensure that all the parts fit together straight and square.
     
    I got as far as a dry assembly to see how the parts go together, apart from one tab which was 1mm too big which could be cut down easily, it all fitted well.
     
    This is the road side, there is a glass canopy over the middle section.
     

     
    The platform face has a brick built shelter in the centre section. The brick section is low and is topped with windows in the same way as the waiting shelter opposite.
     

     
    I tried the building in place and it looks pretty good.
     

     


    I'll let you know how it progresses.
     
    David
  3. Fen End Pit
    The S&T team were out again today, taking advantage of the reduced Sunday service to install a ground disk at the exit of the down goods lay-by. This signal was built from some etches which I believe were produced by D&S in the last century. It is f**tingly small!, the disk being about 5mm in diameter and the total height only being about 11mm.
     
    Normal/Danger:-
     

     
    and when cleared

     
    The wire linkage through the baseboard also drives the balance weight..
     
    Normal/Danger
     

     
    and cleared.

     
     
     
    Hours of fun to be had....
     
    David
  4. Fen End Pit
    I managed to make some more progress on the signals for Clare and now have the down home and up advanced starter in position, if not properly bedded in. Both have 3d printed tapered 'timber' posts and lamps with the rest of the details, arms, ladders etc being from Model Signal Engineering. The taller home signal was printed on the Anycubic photon but I reverted to my new Ender 5 to print the shorted starter. Both have a length of brass rod running up the inside for strength.
     
    The advanced starter has a patch of white paint on the bridge to aid sighting, the signal still needs some colour in the spectacles. Yes, I did have to have two attempts to place it which is why the hole in the ground is bigger than it ought to be!
     

     
    The home is taller and the arm is visible over the bring parapet so that the signalman can see it. The track on the left is the goods lay-by, the signal reads for the running line on the right.
     

     
    Both signals are driven by servos and a MERG Servo4 board running the 'Sema4' firmware. This means that the servo can be set with on and off positions, the speed of the movement and optional values for 'bounce'. This last one is going to take a bit of adjustment to get right, but it is fun playing.
     
    https://youtu.be/KFD-4s0eeVY
     
    Also over Christmas and the New year period I was able to get some thin ply (thanks Michael) added to the front of the layout. This allowed me to tidy up the contours, hide the polystyrene and generally make things look more pleasing on the eye. I am still undecided as to the final finish, I think it is too light at the moment but don't know whether to vanish/stain it as wood or paint a suitable colour. I've still got to apply some more static grass to the section nearest the camera.
     

     
    Happy New Year and hope 2020 goes well for you.
     
    David
  5. Fen End Pit
    Thanks to some encouragement from one of my friends this week I got around to trying to layer some additional grass textures on the cutting sides. I used Peco Scene Layering Spray which worked pretty well, it doesn't seem to colour the existing grass but holds the next layer of static grass securely. Getting different lengths and colours of grass fibres makes quite a difference to the overall look.
     

     
    The pickup goods approaches the overbridge on its way from Clare to Cavendish.
     

     
    Cambridge bound Cravens DMU crosses over into the loop and heads over the small girder bridge.
     

     
    The same train pictured from the overbridge, I think the cutting sides look a lot better now we have some additional layers of static grass.

    I also managed to get some work done on the coal siding, adding some coal pens and sacks of coal (3d printed from the thingyverse). I need to make some coal scales and a suitable shed.
     
    David
     
  6. Fen End Pit
    For a bit of silliness this evening I thought I'd try to recreate an original photograph. DisusedStations.org has this rather nice picture from 1965.
     
     

     
    I know it is the wrong sort of DMU but I think you can get an idea of what I'm going for.
     

     
    Now I've got the other platform built I'm not long of being able to ballast this section.
     
    David
     
     
  7. Fen End Pit
    Last week I finally managed to get back on to doing some scenic work on the main layout, I was waiting until I had both platforms cut and assembled and that was waiting on getting the platform 2 building built. I managed to get the track through the platforms painted and ballasted and then the basic ground works cut in polystyrene, scupltamolded  and painted.
     
    This evening I drove a few trains around to celebrate. The Brush Type 2 arrives with the pickup goods while the Cravens DMU waits in platform 2 for token.
     
    I need to do something about the platform surfaces, platform 1 is much too dark and platform 2 is just unpainted MDF at the moment (it is still removable). The ground behind platform 2 is very uneven as it included some of the earthworks associated with the castle bailey. The ground is obviously also quite unstable judging by the state of the current platforms and the fact that by the 1960's the original platform walls had been trimmed back and replaced with a fence in a couple of places.
     

     
    The photographs also show that the station garden had a serious fence between it and the coal siding. I still need to drill some holes to bed the fence posts in which is why it is so tall at the moment.

     
    The view down the whole length of the layout is getting quite impressive now.

     
    I see this is blog entry 300 after 10 years of blogging on RMWeb. I must admit it is interesting to go back and read through some of them, some projects have come and gone, some things didn't work out as intended but I can look back and be quite pleased with the content of the blog over that time. I hope you've enjoyed reading them.
     
    David
     
  9. Fen End Pit
    I've managed to get the platform for platform 2 made and cut in the position of the platform building and platform walls. The building now has a roof, with slates cut from sticky labels and ridge tiles and guttering 3D printed on the Anycubic Photon. This shot along the platform gives a pretty nice view to compare against prototype photographs. The main station building is still the '1865 small' based on Takeley (but with the colours reversed) which I built a few years back, the platform cutout on platform 1 was for the 'medium' building.
     

     
    The platform wall was cut in 4 pieces. Top is the coping stone, middle the main wall with a front of 1mm MDF and a back of 2mm and bottom is the fancy brickwork which is on the platform face only. I've found that flooding a little Roket Hot superglue onto the very fine bits of brickwork helps prevent damage while I'm painting. I've found that painting and applying 'cement' in the form of Wilko fine surface filler works best prior to sticking the layers together. Once assembled I wash with Vallejo Model wash grey.
     

     
    Really the gap under the roof isn't that noticeable!
     
     
     

     
    In fact, you can see hardly any of this from the usual operating position as it all has its back to you!
     
    A quick edit to add a photo with the chimneys..
     

    David
  10. Fen End Pit
    This weekend is the annual Ploughing festival  near Ely. The farmer behind the drainage engine museum lets lots of vintage tractors plough his field for him. There was a good crowd on Saturday morning, unfortunately I'm not sure the weather is going to be as kind tomorrow. I hope you'll forgive some shameless photographs of vintage vehicles.
     
    First up are Archie and Arthur, a beautiful pair of shire horses who seemed to really know what they were doing. I was amazed when the drive just said (and I mean said rather than called) 'Arthur to your right' and Arthur just side stepped to his right while Archie stood still.
     

     
    Next in age terms there were three traction engines and a steam roller. Lovely to see them trundling down the farm track and getting their wheels dirty.
     

     

     
    The variety of tractors was extensive, the usual collection of little grey Fergusons but lots more obscure too.
     


     
    And not everything had wheels either.
     

     
    All in all a good morning out. There's more pictures if anyone is interested..
     
    David
     
    Now I wonder is RMWeb censors Prickwillow ?
  11. Fen End Pit
    More drawing and laser cutting and the Platform 2 building is coming along nicely.
     
    I've now cut the complete building in 3mm MDF and painted it the base brick colours. The best approach to keep the quoins clean and crisp seems to be to 'grout' the main shell with the fine filler I use in the mortar before applying them. The cream coloured quoins don't show the white mortar much anyway and the Vallejo grey wash I add afterwards seems to blend things together nicely.
     

     
    I also cut the parts for the roof from 3mm and 1mm MDF. The hip roof looks ok, it is currently held with tape while the glue dries.

     
    The brick quoins have been cut in postcard thickness card, I've tried giving these a drip of 'Roket Hot' super glue as this makes the card go pretty rock-hard . I'll stick these in place later.
     

     
    The most satisfying bit was the windows.  I cut these from 1mm MDF and was able to get some ridiculously fine cuts for the glazing bars. I also 'engraved' the MDF in places to get the recess for the sash area. I was very pleased with how these came out.
     

     
    Looking forward to putting this lot together.
     
    David
  12. Fen End Pit
    The station waiting shelter on platform at Clare is an attractive '1865 style' medium building. The building currently has a sign in the window which says 'coming soon - model railway' but I don't know what is planned or who is building it. Platform 1 by the way is a now a very pleasant little cafe which does a damn good bacon roll.
     
    I've been trying to refine my technique for making these because I felt that the quions (the raised brickwork) on the previous attempt was a little too much relieve.
     
    The prototype building detail looks like this..
     

     
    You'll notice that the quion brickwork is only raised by less than an inch and that, in this particular builders' version, the brickwork is yellow brick down the whole corner and not just in the raised areas.
     
    My previous model of a GER station building was based on the drawings of Takeley but in the primarily red brick colours.
     
     

     
    I used very thin ply for the quions in the past but thought I'd try a couple of tests with  thin card. Seeing Alpha Mill at Scaleforum on Saturday encouraged me to have a go. The first attempt was a bit rough and ready, this really is a cruel enlargement.
     

     
    Second go I took a bit more trouble over putting together and I'm happier with the outcome.
     
    I've got the drawings done for the brickwork of the whole building so I'll try and get the complete building cut and see how we go.
     
    David
     
  14. Fen End Pit
    The second test etch for the Easichas for the Hornby J15 arrived via Brassmasters. Once again a superb etching job by PPD. Most of the mistakes from the first etch were corrected, though there are a couple of minor changes to be made based on actually putting this together. I've also been putting together the instructions and one of the other Brassmasters has been attempting to follow them! I'm really happy with the way the basic chassis goes together and very pleased with the fold-up brake gear design which makes the brake hangers and brake blocks very easy to assemble.
     

     
    The chassis, coupling rods and brake gear went together well, I need to allow a gnat's* more clearance between the brake shoes and the wheels but that is easily corrected on the etch. The half-etch detail parts for the brake pull rods worked well to. The tender chassis needs some changes but I was able to make these physically with a piecing saw and virtually on the CAD drawing so that at least I was able to put it together to track down any other problems.
     
    The main loco chassis can be assembled and tested for rolling away from the Hornby body which is great for checking wheel quartering, clearances etc. The rods across the chassis for the brake gear get removed later allowing the brake gear to be removed and the wheels to be dropped out.
     

     
    The tender chassis is sprung with 'Continuous Springy Beams' and runs very nicely. I need to adjust the spring support points as the unit currently runs about .5mm low, but that is an easy fix on the drawing.
     

     
    The chassis disassembled nicely for priming and painting and all went back together again afterwards.  I'm very pleased with the result which will be on the Brassmasters' stand at Scaleforum on Saturday.
     

     

    David
     
     
    * that is a British Standard Gnat, a little more than a smidgen  but less than a bit.
  15. Fen End Pit
    A day trip out in Norfolk culminated in sitting by the River Yare at Reedham with a beverage of choice. The swing bridge was open to river traffic and it was a quiet and peaceful evening with nothing to disturb of peace except bird song, the clink of boats in their moorings and a rather unremarkable band setting up for their gig in the pub. The bridge started to close and maybe ten minutes later an even more unremarkable 158 or such unit trundled over heading to Norwich from Lowestoft.
     
    Finishing my drink we strolled down towards the bridge which stayed closed waiting for the Lowestoft bound service in the opposite direction (where would we be without OpenTrainTimes). A few minutes later and our ears were full of the full blown thrash of a pair of 37s - ah bliss! what trains ought to sound like..
     

     
    Who needs a Flirt with a strange power/gubbins wagon in the middle when you can have 3 coaches with English Electrics finest on either end?
     

     
    Of course, knowing that this wonderful sight had gone to Lowestoft meant that we could reasonably expect it to come back and so we settled in to enjoy the sunset. The bridge opened for part of the wait too. Network Rail really need a new red flag it was looking decidedly tattered.
     

     
    Then at the appointed time we could once again hear the distant roar of the pair of locomotives which sounded as if they were revving up to climb over the bridge.
     

     
    And then once more there was silence..
     
    What I wonderful way to spend an evening.
     
    David
  16. Fen End Pit
    The prototype J15 had  15 spoke 4'11" wheels. Unfortunately the nearest available from Alan Gibson in a 4'11" 16 spoke wheel or a 4'7" 15 spoke. Gibson sells a pack of the 4'11" 16 spoke wheels with 2mm axles as a conversion set for the Hornby J15 (which has 2mm axles) and on reflection the 4'7" really does look noticeably too small to me. The Brassmasters' sprung hornblocks come available as 1/8" or 3mm bore so my decision to use the conversion pack wheels meant I also had to use Gibson's 1/8 to 2mm bushes (part # 4M68). These soldered into the Brassmasters' hornblocks without difficulty and were a good tight fit.
     
    The Gibson wheels were of the design which doesn't have the crankpin hole fully molded/drilled - you just get a small dimple. The chassis will only run smoothly if all the crankpins are vertical to the wheels and the same distance from the centre of the axle. This is something which is pretty hard to achieve with just a drill in a pin vice and not much easier with a pillar drill unless you make some kind of jig. The jig just consists of a stub to mount the wheel on, this needs to be sliding fit so slightly smaller than the final axle size and an arm which has a hole through which the crankpin hole can be drilled. Using a bit of square tube means that the drill has two points held in place and will therefore drill at the same angle each time.
     

     
    Not very original or pretty, but functional. The shim on the right supports the wheel on its flange rather than it being supported on the plastic boss.
     

     
    Having made the jig I got 6 wheels fitted with crankpins. They may not be perfect, but if they are all equally imperfect things should at least run!
     
    I managed to get the wheels, bearing, extra washes to reduce sideplay and the original Hornby drive gear into the GW wheel quartering press and squeezed together. This is always a job I loath and it seems to always have a high 'F' factor but to my amazement I ended up with only slightly wobbly wheels. I've got to say that this is one of my least favourite jobs in locomotive construction!
     
    The coupling rods assembled together nicely with the joint being made using little rivets from Markits. The final rod pivoted easily but had no play in the joint. With the wheels in the chassis the crankpin holes in the rods were opened up with a broach to be just a fit for the Gibson crankpin bushes and amazingly the rods slid onto the crankpins and aligned well. One of the advantages of this type of chassis design is that you can assemble the whole unit as a rolling chassis and check for binds before fitting back over the original chassis block.
     

     
    I'm afraid I lost count of the number of crankpin nuts I Iost on the floor!
     
    The unit fitted nicely over the chassis block and because the Hornby tender can work temporarily with just a set of P4 wheels dropped in I was able to provide pickup to the motor via the tender to test the chassis.
     

     
    There are a few corrections to be made to the etch, at the moment the frames foul the footplate at one end so the body won't fit on quite correctly but getting something to move under its own power is always good for the motivation.
     
    There is a little clip on Youtube at https://youtu.be/QbPApw3bIyQ
     
    David
     
  17. Fen End Pit
    Well over a couple of years ago I asked my friends at Brassmasters about the possibility of them producing one of their EasiChas range of kits to fit the Hornby J15. These chassis utilize the original motor and chassis block put provide a method to fit EM or P4 wheels with some springing. The design has now covered a range of prototypes including various LMS, GWR and LNER locomotives. I have produced artwork for some of the Brassmasters range in the past (point rodding components and the original etched windows for the Scalescenes building range). These friendly 'non-commercial' arrangements have been great, I get the etches I want for my modeling and Brassmasters get an additional item to add to their range. I should probably have expected the response I got - 'go on and produce some artwork then'.
     
    I got a fair way through the design process with the help of the prototype drawings from the Great Eastern Railway Society, the CAD drawings for the 4F EasiChas from Brassmasters and a set of digital calipers run over the Hornby model. Progress was going quite well but was stalled somewhat (phantom understatement here) by a cancer diagnosis and eight cycles of chemotherapy. As a result I told Brassmasters not to expect anything from me. Fortunately the chemo did a good job and I was able to pick the project back up again, albeit slowly, to the point where the first test was produced last week.
     

     
    As with all test etches (the clue is in the name) there were a number of 'oh you idiot' moments where I realize that my drawing wasn't exactly what was in my head! This explains the strange missing bits of the brake assembly! Also, sometimes when you start to put things together, you find that some ideas were over-complex and/or difficult to build. In this case the reverse folds on the chassis etch were just too hard to bend. Still there were enough good parts to be able to start assembly on the locomotive chassis and I have now got as far as making the main chassis with the hornblocks and axles in place.
     

     
    I'd included a couple of two different designs for the coupling rods on the etch so I could see which was easiest to assemble. I think the version with just two thickness of nickel-silver will probably be what I go with. I like the fact that you can leave the tabs in place and bend them together which means that they stay put while you solder them together.
     

     
    Hopefully I should be able to get some P4 wheels into the chassis over the next day or two. A revised drawing for test2 is almost ready incorporating lots of changes based on what I've learnt so far. Thanks to the Brassmasters guys for their support and encouragement, particular to David Burton who has been having to deal with an email inbox full of dumb questions.
     
    I'll post more as the building progresses and announcements about the availability will be made via the Brassmasters website http://www.brassmasters.co.uk/index.html
     
    David
     
  18. Fen End Pit
    Ok, so I have made some signals before, but these have always been 'modern' ones with tubular posts. Clare has lots of upper quadrant signals but most of these were just replacement of the old GER lower quadrant signals and reused the existing tapered timber posts. These posts are available from various suppliers in white metal but I've always had a nightmare reliably sticking on the various fittings and soldering white metal is for those more skilled than me.
     
    I decided to see if I could draw up and 3D print a post with most of the fittings already attached. I've modeled this in a 3D CAD package which allows 'parametric modelling' and assemblies so that I can easily change the height of the post or add additional lamps and fittings for additional arms. I was concerned about the strength and stability of the resin, while I can get away with a slightly bent post but didn't want anything that the S&T department would worry about. I decided to try adding a 1mm hole in the model vertically down the post into which a length of wire could be inserted after printing but before the final curing. I tested this out on a test print and the result was surprisingly strong. I can deflect the post by about 20mm in any direction (with a reasonable force) and it will spring back to the vertical.
     
    The wire is extended through a brass base and then onto a tube which can be used to mount the signal in the baseboard. The brass base gives something sold to solder the bottom of the ladder to.
     

     
    The brass fittings are from Model Signal Engineering. The 3D print has a 1mm hole where the arm pivots which is sleeved with a short length of thin brass tube. The balance weight arm is pivoted on a length of .45 nickel silver wire which passes through some holes in the 3D printed bracket.
     

     
    Because of the wire passing through the post I printed the finials separately. The original GER spikes seem to have been replace by simpler cabs by the 1950's. ( and my first attempt at modelling them make them look a bit to fat.
     

     
    I've used a modified version of my 3D printed servo mount for uncoupling magnets to drive the operating wire. The signal wire has a tiny magnet on the end which is attracted to a magnet on the plunger on the servo mount. The result means that I can detach the signal from the board and the linkage will re-establish itself when put back. Currently the servo is being driven by a MERG 'Pocket Money Kit' which means that the operation isn't quite as smooth as it might be. I'll replace this with a MERG Sema4 (the same board as the Servo4 but with different firmware which allows bouncing) at a later date.
     
    I've put a short clip on Youtube.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL25V_41VDE
     
    This ~120mm tall signal is getting near the limit of what my Anycubic photo can print. I should be able to do the starter and slotted distant signal the same way.
     
    David
  19. Fen End Pit
    This is one for those of you who fancy building potato or sugar beet railways, or maybe a drainage board line taking clay to strengthen a bank. I took these pictures a good few years back during an afternoon driving around the fen. Some of these magnificent buildings are still standing though most of the engines inside them have long since gone.
     
    First up is Hundred foot bank, near Welney.
     

     
    Like several of the engine houses you have a tall central section which originally housed a large beam engine. The lower brick section nearest the camera held the scoop wheel while the section on the other side was a boiler house. The extension at the end with the large door is later addition which would have housed the diesel replacement for the steam engine. Stretham Old Engine is very similar and still contains the preserved beam engine.
     

     
    The end of the extension needed a fair bit of buttressing to stop it from falling over!
     

     
    The rear of the extension is distinctly more utilitarian than the original building.
     

     

     
    I think it is fair to say that the modern replacement station which is adjacent to it doesn't quite have the same presence and the automated weed rake doesn't quite have the same attraction as the Ruston 10RB drag-line it would have replaced.
     

     
    Again at the other end of the spectrum is this tiny pump which I'm afraid I don't have a record of the location of. It contained a single electric centrifuge pump.
     

     
    On the A10 just north of Brandon creek are this pair of engine houses. One had been converted into a house at this time but the other still contained an engine and pump.
     

     
    I used the other engine house at this location as the basis for a building on my 7mm narrow gauge layout 'The Works' several decades ago.
     



     
    Along the old bank between Littleport and Ely was this old engine house. The road had a distinct bump where it went over the main water pipe. The chimney had long since been taken down and capped but the building still housed a pump.
     


     
    On the River Lark near Prickwillow is this little group of buildings
     

     
    At this site there was still an old boiler.
     

     
    Last of the pumping station photographs is this one of the engine house at 'The Overfall' on the road from Ely to Queen Adelaide along the river, this was where the original route of the River Ouse turned towards Prickwillow before the new cut direct between Ely and Littleport cut off the corner. This engine house has now been demolished but there is still a modern pump at this location. 
     

     
    Finally there is a wonderful collection of farm buildings behind the museum at Prickwillow. This is the one I based the new engine shed on Fen End Pit on.
     

     

     
    The curved end has this wonderful lattice beam structure.
     

     
    I hope you enjoyed that quick drive around the fens.
     
    David
  20. Fen End Pit
    One of the photographs I have of Clare shows a row of bee hives on the bank next to the line. I modeled a bee hive up and printed them out on my Anycubic photon. Bear in mind that these are 6mm x 8mm, so pretty damn tiny.
     

     

     
    I need to paint them but the row looks the part I think.
     

     
    No I am NOT going to produce 4mm scales bees!
     
    David
  21. Fen End Pit
    More soldering  of tiny little cranks, lengths of .45mm wire, given last week's heat a fair amount of sweat and the occasional tear. As I've said in a few posting the rodding routes were rather interesting and changed during the station's life, so they jump backwards and forwards across the tracks in quite an interesting way.
     
    At the end of the platform the route jumps from the platform face to in between the lines of the loop. This involves four rodding runs turning through 90 degrees. A take-off leads to the catch points on the coal siding.
     

     
    The rodding run follows the middle of the loop all the way to far side of the river crossing. Just before the bridge one rod connects to the coal siding point so only three rods cross the bridge.
     

     
    One rod drives one end of the loop before jumping across to the other side of the tracks. The other two runs follow. The rodding then follows the far side of what was the original siding which has since been removed.
     

     
    I'd like to weather the ballast line of the old route of track to show the ghostly remains of old sleepers.
     

     
    Still a lot more to do, I need to connect up the points and work out the best way to construct the facing point lock. That is going to be a new level of fiddliness.
     
    David
     
     
     
  22. Fen End Pit
    I've made a start on the point rodding for Clare. Before anyone asks this is NOT functional! It has been great fun trying to work out the rodding runs from photographs as they changed over time at the Cavendish end when the coal siding was realigned. The prototype was built using round rod rather than the more modern square section - typically I had bought a load of .5mm square brass wire from Eileen!
     
    I've used cranks from Brassmasters and rodding stools from DCC concepts. These rodding stools are hand-cut in purest platinum by a zen hermit hiding in a cave in the Himalayas* and cost an appropriate amount.

     
    The lead-out from the signal box was made up as one unit and sits in the hole in the platform face. I've still got to put in the wire runs for the signals but most of these just go straight across to the face of the opposite platform.

     
    The platform isn't stuck down yet so there is still a bit of a gap.

     
    Just as the run gets to the baseboard joint it takes a 90 degree angle to jump to between the tracks in the loop, however one of the rods also goes straight on as it operators the catch point on the coal siding.  The run then continues between the tracks until just after the river bridge where it jumps back to the far side of the original siding's alignment. This will mean in my timescale that there is a space between the running line and the rodding where the siding used to be.
     

     
    Please bear in mind these photos are pretty cruel enlargements!
     
    * actually I think they are molded in Delrin or a particularly hard plastic. It has been quite easy to cut out one of the central wheels to make a 1-rod and 2-rod stool.
     
    I have also purchased some of the Woodland Scenics static grass which seems to be quite a bit less 'shiny' than some of the other brands (I'm looking at you Peco). I've tried adding some using a layering glue aerosol. The result is better but I obviously still need to do a lot more varieties of texture before I'm done.
     

     
    You can see the difference between the area on the far side of the track and that nearest the camera.
     

     
    Must get the hoover on the track again - I just used the little dust buster with a sock over the end to pick up most of the loose fibres.
     
    I've found one nice photograph which shows a row of beehives along the bank where the track is. These were obviously only positioned there once the siding had fallen into disuse. I wonder whether they were tended by a railway man?
     
    David
     
     
     
  23. Fen End Pit
    I designed and printed a servo operated uncoupling magnet for the Alex Jackson couplings I'm using on my P4 layout. Many people just use an electromagnet to do this but I don't really like the current these draw and get worried about them burning themselves out if left on for too long while you shunt wagons over them. One solution is to use a permanent magnet and move it up and down so it that it attracts the coupling (or doesn't).
    As usual there were a few iterations in the design to get the sizes right but I managed to get a design that worked in the end. I used a short length of styrene  tube in the design as this is smoother than trying to print a tube and results in less friction.
    As I already have all the infrastructure to control servos under the layout fitting the device was very simple.
    The operation can be seen in this Youtube clip
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11sM5U8yVQs
     
    Now I can waste hours shunting in and out of the coal siding.
     
    David
     
  24. Fen End Pit
    Not much happened on the Stour Valley over the past couple of weeks as I slowly prepared for the East Anglia Model Railway show in Kettering. I was invited at comparatively short notice to fill in for another layout. Several of my usual crew weren't available but I was luckily able to persuade (press-gang) KH1 and Nawty Quay to come and help out to bolster the team. Thanks also due to John and Michael for their help too.
     
    Over the period of a couple of weeks I was able to work through each baseboard and check things were working ok and I also took the time to finally complete the Ruston LAT which I began about 3 years ago! The LBT had been finished off way back when, but the LAT had sat taunting me with its unpainted plastic for several years! The chassis block was painted with a black and the body work with a mix of red (matt 60) with a touch of brick red (matt 70). I painted a rust and a primer layer and masked these before painting the top coat and then peeled back the masking to give the somewhat battered paint finish.
     

     
    The 'after-market' exhaust was 3D printed, quite a lot of these locomotives were fitted with external exhausts as the original silencers rusted away or just to get the exhaust up and away from the driver. I also 3D printed some engine covers, complete with some rather nice louvers. It makes a nice contrast with the yellow LBT.
     

     
    Entering revenue earning service at Fen End Pit the loco proved to be reliable and was a welcome addition to the roster. The rather laid back driver was a 3D print off the Thingiverse, I tried a white metal 'Perfect People' person but he was so heavy that the springs on the chassis bottomed out!
     

     
    The layout worked well all weekend, very few issues and, with a crack team of operators (!) we seemed to entertain the crowd.
     

     
    Thanks to the St Neot's club for the invitation and for putting on such a good show. The organization and venue were excellent and I would thoroughly recommend the event as both an exhibitor and visitor. Thanks again to the operating crew, I couldn't have done this without you, hope you enjoyed yourselves.
     
    David
  25. Fen End Pit
    I managed to get the lever frame I'd printed painted (as per posting on the Anycubic photon thread) but additional furniture was required.
     

     
    I found a website which had photographs of the tokens for the sections either side of Clare. These showed that the token apparatus was of two different types. A Tyer number 6 and a Tyer number 9, the web also furnished pictures of each type which I tried to model up in CAD. The results came out rather well, even the details of the pile of tokens in the number 9 machine came out.
     

     
    Any Bobby needs a stove and a decent chair so I went to the Thingyverse  and found a few other bits of furniture, I still need a desk for the train register. To be honest you really can't see much of this once the roof is on but you get enough of an idea that there is something going on.
     

     

     
    Must get around to adding the drain pipes and stove chimney, I'm not convinced by the 'H' shaped chimney in the kit. If anyone has any ideas how it should look I'd love to hear.
     
    David
     
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