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Fen End Pit

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  1. Fen End Pit
    I sprayed the box with cream (Humbrol Matt 103) and then picked out selected timbers in green (Matt 105). Meanwhile I realized that I'd made a complete mess of the station platform. I'd tried to paint it with Greenscene's textured 'tarmac' paint, I don't know if the issue was age of the paint (I'd had it for years) but the resulting mess needed to be covered with thinners and scraped off. Fortunately this process didn't completely mess up the work I'd done so far. The resulting texture, with a fresh coat of Railmatch Weathered Black looks much better.
     

     
    I have also started to draw out the lead-off for the point rodding runs. All I have to do now is work out which cranks need to be at what height and where 'accommodation cranks' fit in the equation.
     

     
    I was quite pleased with the way the platform face came out. My method of painting the laser cut brickwork worked pretty well, painting with Humbrol brick red (Matt 70) and then the mortar filled with Wilko fine surface interior filler. Finally a light wash of Vallejo grey model wash. I masked off the platform edge and painted the white line, some of the paint leeched under the tape but, when you see photographs of white lines on platforms they were definitely far from perfect.
     

     
    The signalbox name plate came out well, the relief is probably slightly overdone but isn't too bad at anything like a normal viewing distance.
     

     
    So more progress, next up is what is best described as a 'speculative' 3D print job. Let's see what the Anycubic photon makes of this.
     

     
    Thanks for looking.
     
    David
  2. Fen End Pit
    At the end of the last blog I said I was going to try and 3D print a lever frame. I knew that this was probably going to be at the extreme end of what the printer could handle. The results were promising with a few issues.
     

     
    There seem to be a couple of issue, firstly the levers appear to have been attracted to each other by the surface tension of the resin. In most cases the bulk of the lever was actually printed correctly but as they came out of the printer the levers were stuck together. Secondly the very tops of the lever appear to have lost the plot slightly, on several of the levers there was a distinct step where half way up the handle of the lever.
     
    I can see a couple of options, I could try and add some support between the levers but I think this would be a pain remove, possibly almost impossible. The other option would be to print the levers separately and make the base with some holes to glue them into.
     

     
    I tried to break and re-seat the handles on the worst offending, the result wasn't too bad.  I tried the frame in the box, this photograph is greatly magnified.
     
    I did a couple of other prints at the same time, the platform face includes a number of tie-bars to stop it falling down. I was able to draw these up, they are about 5mm in diameter.
     

     
    Finally I also printed a sack of potatoes off the Thingiverse,
     

     
    While all this was going on I went into the arboriculture business and finished off some trees and bushes. I have quite a thicket to plant now.
     

     
    David
  3. Fen End Pit
    I've made some more progress on converting the Wills signalbox to match the one at Clare. This little section of a photograph of the box shows the rather nice cast iron brackets which supported the gangway. I didn't think the flat piece of plastic supplied in kit quite cut it so had a go at drawing up a model and 3D printing it. I also made up some nameboards to be attached after the box is painted.
     

     
    I made a couple extra just in case some didn't come out or broken as I tried to finish them. Hot off the printer the parts looked like this.
     

     
    and comparing the kit part and the 3D printed replacement the result looks pretty good.
     

     
    So I got the stairs and gangway on the box with the stairs shortened to match the lower site in the platform. To match the prototype I also had to shorten the locking room windows. The box can now be placed in the platform along with the rather decorative platform wall.
     

     
    Still lots to do but I'm pleased with the progress.
     
    David
     
  4. Fen End Pit
    A major milestone has been the starting of buildings for my layout. The first major structure is obviously the platform which has the station building and the signalbox sitting on (or more accurately in)  it.
     
    The prototype platform has had a lot of work on it since closure and there is quite a lot of subsidence along the length now. Over the length of the platform the brickwork is no longer consistent in terms of the construction, I'm working on what I think is a logical design - hopefully it is close to what was originally there.
     
    So, the main platform wall is clearly Flemish English bond, above that is a course of headers which is slightly proud of the lower courses, then a row of stretchers directly below the final large bricks which form the platform edge.
     
    To represent this I've cut the base layer and the rows immediately below the top surface separately, by inserting a slip of card behind the top courses I get the ~.5mm of relief I wanted.
     

     
    From left to right we have:-
    The slip of card which provides the relief.
    The top rows of bricks which will be slightly proud of the base.
    The structural base for the wall.
    The base bottom layer of Flemish bond brickwork.
     
    Sticking them together and we get the front face of a platform.
     

     
    The top surface of the platform was also cut in 1mm MDF and included the brickwork for the edge and holes for the buildings. Once put together the finished platform looks quite satisfying. (Currently the side and top aren't stuck together)
     

     
    Just to get some idea of how things will look I put in place my previously model of a GER 1865 'small' station building (based on Takeley but painted in the style of Clare) and also my shortened GER style signalbox (which is the wrong orientation for Clare). Yes, I know this is a pointless exercise but it was fun!
     

     
    You'll notice the hole in the platform wall in front of the signalbox which allows the point rodding and signal wires out of the box. The platform surface has the hole cut for the size of the new signalbox including a hole for the stairs down from platform level to the locking room.
     

     
    I never properly completed the single storey part of the station building and the roof needs a bit of a dust but even so the effect isn't too bad.
     

     
    All of this is rather good for the motivation as it gives a sense of progress.
     
    David
  5. Fen End Pit
    I followed up making the first side for my reversed Wills kit signalbox by drawing up and printing the opposite end. I printed this at a different orientation to the first side which meant I was able to clean off the uncured resin from both sides of the part much more easily.
     
    I took this picture of the part just after the printer had finished the job, you can see the orientation and the support structure.
     

     
    The part was removed from the build platform and  washed in IPA. I have two tanks (plastic lunchboxes), I keep one with with fresher IPA and one with 'dirtier' IPA. When the fresher IPA gets too dirty I get rid of the old dirty stuff and the cleaner pot becomes the dirty one...
     

     
    I find a brush handy to clean off the uncured resin. At this stage the resin is still slightly soft which means it is easier to remove the support structure before the final curing. Curing can be achieved either using the sun (when/where it is available) or under a artificial UV light source. I use an old ice-cream container with a strip of UV-LEDs wrapped around it.
     

     
    Again, while this was going on I got on with some more 'proper' modelling, trying 'layering' static grass for the first time.
     
    I used some 4 and 6mm 'dead grass' and 'wild meadow' to add some extra texture to the first layer. I used paper to mask the fence and then sprayed Peco 'Layering Spray'. A hoover with a sock over the end sucks up the excess.
     

     
    Work was completed just in time to catch the morning DMU to Cambridge.
     

     
    Obviously there is lots more to do but the progress is quite pleasing.
     
    David
  6. Fen End Pit
    As the next baseboard to work on contains the station platforms I started studying photographs and plans to work out the exact size the buildings on the platforms. This includes the main station building and also the timber build signalbox.
     
    I'd already bought a Wills kit because it matches, or so I thought....
     

     
    It turns out that the kit is for a building of the opposite hand to that on the platform at Clare and is not manufactured in a manner which allows you to swap the ends around.
     
    Clare Signalbox
     
    So, faced with the issue of how to reverse the kit I looked at Eileen's Emporium 'Extreme Products' section. Unfortunately, even there I couldn't find the Matter Reversing tool so I had to make one of my own. It turns out that these are complicated to make!
     
    So instead I opted to model up the signalbox end in CAD and then try to print it on my Anycubic Photon. The result wasn't too shabby, there are a number of issues but none of them insurmountable. In order to print the part I orientated it to about 75 degrees. This has the effect of limiting how much resin has to get peeled off flexible film which forms the base of the resin tank on each layer. I could have printed it almost vertically, this would probably have been better but would have taken about 4 times longer. The down side of this was that some of the detail on the underside of the part (the inside of the building) was covered with uncured resin when the part came off the machine. I did not remove the support material before final curing because I wanted the part to have the best chance not to warp at all. Again, in retrospect it might have been been best to take that risk, remove the support material while the part was still 'soft' and wash off the uncured resin in the alcohol bath before final curing.
     
    So, here is the original molded end.
     

     
    And here is my 3D printed, reserved, reversion. ( there are also a couple of minor changes to the bracing to match the photographs.
     

     
    While all this was printing I spent sometime on more traditional modelling, making the first of a load of bushes. I used some string to form the basic bush and spread PVA over the bottom 20mm to stick the fibres together, once that first layer of glue has dried I tease out the 5 or 6 large pieces of the string and then cover the lower part of each of these parts in more PVA. Once dried again I tease out the individual fibres of the string.
     

     
    I sprayed with Woodland Scenics 'Scenic Cement' from a tiny cosmetics spray bottle I purchased from the pharmacy in Sainsbury's (sold with the transparent bottles for taking liquids on aircraft). Once dried I coloured the bush with a quick burst of brown from the airbrush. More Scenic Cement is then sprayed on and then the bush dunked it Woodland Scenics foliage material. Another quick blast of Scenic Cement and the bushes are finished ready for planting.
     

     
    It is very interesting looking at the aerial photographs of the station site I have from the 1950's. Anyone who has visited the Country Park which now includes the station will be aware of the trees and dense undergrowth that forms the sides of the old cutting. The 1950's photographs show a very different picture with only small amounts of growth on the site.
     
    Batch building the bushes has been quite therapeutic.
     
    David
     
  7. Fen End Pit
    I wanted to make a 5-bar gate to go at the top of the track down to the disused loading dock. I drew up a 2D cutting plan and wondered about cutting it from .8mm ply and laminating multiple pieces together but in the end I thought I'd have a go at a 3D model and print on my Anycubic Photon. This was my first print using Anycubic's grey resin (the printer came with a translucent green).
     
    Printed at .05mm layer height I printed four on the build plate at a time and the job took about 1 1/4 hours.
     
    One of the 4 failed and 3 out of 4 seemed not bad for a first attempt.
     

     
    To give a sense of how it will look I've just positioned it at the top of the track, it still needs a gate post(s).
     

     
    I'm very pleased with the performance of the grey resin, the look of the part off the build-plate is so nice compared to the translucent resin.
     
    I also had some fun (?) pouring some Woodland Scenics' 'Deep Pour' water into the river. I think I got away with it but I had a bit of a disaster  with leakage, I really thought I had sealed the area but the resin managed to fine some gabs and  drips were rather too prolific! Fortunately the resin started to set and sealed the holes before the entire river had drained onto the floor. I'll get some pictures once it has completely set (24 hours).
     
    David
     
     
     

  8. Fen End Pit
    I wanted to make some fencing to start defining the field boundaries. The fencing I choose was concrete posts and wire.  I felt the route of the fence should include the side of the old track down to the now disused loading dock, there will be a gate at the top of the track where it meets the minor road.
     
    I chose to make the posts on the laser cutter out of 1.5mm MDF.

     
    These were painted with humbrol enamel Matt 121 to give a suitable concrete colour. I found I had to blow on the posts to  ensure that no paint blocked the holes the wires were going to pass through. The posts with the slightly large spacing are intended to be used as 45 degree bracing for the end of the fence runs.
     

     
    The first attempt  I had worked ok, I drilled holes in the ground to take the posts and then spend an agonizing couple of hours trying to feed EZ-line through the holes. It was a complete pain! The end of the EZ-line would want to go anywhere except through the hole in the post. I managed it  in the end but decided there had to be a better way.
     
    For the second length I tried something different. I thought it was worth trying to thread the Ez-line through the holes while the posts were still on the laser cut sprue. This worked out to be much easier as I could use tweezers and a lamp at what ever angle was easiest.
     

     
    The second run of fencing then took about 1/10th the time to install as the first! I'm very pleased with the results, I think once I get some long grass along the bottom of the fence and some small shrubs and bushes it should look pretty good.
     

     

     
    Thanks to Middlepeak for the EZ-line!
     
    David
  9. Fen End Pit
    I finally plucked up courage to get out the static grass machine out and try it. I've not used one of these before and was a bit worried how it would go. I wasn't particularly impressed with the build of the Peco PSG-2, the handle feels a bit loose in the 'business end' and the connecting part is just a 3D printed part. They didn't even include battery which seems penny-pinching to me.
     
    I tried some Peco spring grass and some Heki summer grass. I used a mix of 2mm and 4mm lengths.
     
    I used Woodland Scenics Static-Tac which is quite a dilute white glue and stays tacky for some time. I found I could cover about 20cm x 15cm in each go.
     
    Obviously this is only a first layer and I have some Peco 'layering spray' which is intended to stick a second layer of static grass on top of a first layer. I think I need to do some preparation to mark out where the hedges and fences are going to be so that I can vary the ground texture between the pasture and the embankment side.
     

     
    I'm quite pleased with the way the little used track down to the old loading dock has come out.
     

     
    The occupation over-bridge now has grass down it as it only leads to a farm and I'm working on the theory that it wouldn't have been weeded even when the railway was in operation.
     

     

     
    So lots more to do but hopefully a good start.
     
    David
  10. Fen End Pit
    Progress has been made on various projects I thought I'd share.
     
    First up, on the small river bridge, I re-drew the 3d model for the girders and added the walk-way and handrail supports. These were threaded with brass wire and bent to shape. The result makes for a fairly unique bridge, certainly one in the 'you couldn't make this up' category.
     

     
    While I've been waiting for paint to dry I decided to start preparing some trees. I'd bought some tree armatures sold under the brand name 'Footpath' by Model Scenery Supplies. These seemed good value to me at £9.85 for 5 armatures about 140mm tall.

    As supplied they are a little squashed together in the packet, the wire is well twisted, but on the recommendation of MSS I applied a little solder to the major joints just to stop them unwrapping.
     

     

    The wire is quite robust but nowhere near as painful on the fingers as picture wire or brake cable. I found that a little extra winding is worthwhile at the ends of the branches, this probably took about 5-10 minutes per armature.

     
    I've added some bark (sorry I don't know the source, it was just a plastic bag in my scenics box labelled 'bark'!. I mixed whatever this was with some PVA and painted it on in a number of layers.
     

     
    Finally I thought I'd show a bit more progress on the Crownline J20. The tender is now fitted with a revised sprung chassis and a motor fitted to the gearbox. The loco has moved 'on jump leads' along a test track and seems to do so smoothly and without binding. I've now got to a point where the 'hot work' has been done on the boiler so stuck on a couple of the parts which I had 3D printed.
     

     
     
    I wasn't happy with the rather prominent washout plugs just being represented by a half-etched circle so I drilled these out a stuck a more detailed fitting behind the boiler cladding. I also printed the sandboxes, complete with the flange around the base, rather than use the fold up etch from the kit. I retained the etch cover on the front though.
     

     
    Now what else can I do to procrastinate over static grass?
     
    David
     
     
  11. Fen End Pit
    I've been making slow progress on the scenics over the last couple of weeks. I've covered all the polystyrene with a layer of Sculptamold and got what I hope will be a suitable base for static grassing in a future.
     

     
    I'd not used this stuff until I was recommended it by one of my friends, having always used modrock or other plaster bandage type things in the past. I've been very impressed as it dries quickly, forms a strong layer even when applied quite thinly and is very light. It sticks well to itself so you can mix a small quantity up at a time and work on little areas.
     
    I found mixing in an old plastic container and spreading with a plastic tool which was originally intended for removing prints from a 3D printer (but was useless for that purpose) worked well.
     
     
    The resulting ground has been painted with poster paint to hopefully give a reasonable base. I think the intention is to cover with a sprinkling of sieved soil (Our American friends might say 'Yard dirt') and seal the surface a little more before applying static grass. In the photograph below the right hand track is the running line and the left hand track just a siding/lay-by hence the smoking staining on the bridge being on one side only.

     
    I gave the track a spray with Railmatch' Sleeper Grime' with a sideways waft of 'rust' to paint the rails. Ballast is Woodland Scenics grey, using a mix a medium and fine grades. I tried sticking it down with both DeLuxe Materials 'Ballast Bond' which is a dilute glue and 'Ballast Magic' which is a dry powder that you add to the ballast as you apply it and then spray with water. Of the two methods I'll admit to getting on better with the 'Ballast Magic', being able to apply the ballast and move it about in a dry state and then just spray some water on with a fine sprayer seems the easiest approach. I found some tiny spray bottles with the 'liquids must be in a transparent bottle for airport security' bottles in Sainsbury's for ~75p.
     

     
    The cess is Woodland Scenic fine cinders which hopefully will get blended in a little when the ballast gets a light weathering later. The idea is that there used to be a track on the left hand side of the formation which has been removed, I'm trying to work out whether to ballast with the light grey or cinders.
     
    The river area is coming on. I've used Sculptamold to form a river bank and will ultimately use a two-part resin to make the water (hence the 'dam' at the back of the layout!). I'm quite happy with the shape of the land, I don't think it looks too bad, you can see the path of the disused farm track which lead down from the road over the bridge to the now disused loading siding. I'm planning on this having some overgrown hedges and grass rather than anything paved.
     

     
    I think I'm pleased with the way the bridge is looking, The abutments look ok with a mixture of red and blue brick.
     

     
    It is a bit weird actually doing scenic work on a 4mm scale layout after so long. I don't think I've modeled scenic areas like this for about 20 years. I'm getting quite excited about it turning green over the next week or so.
     
    David
     
  12. Fen End Pit
    I've made a start on the girders of the river over-bridge at the Cavendish end of the station. This bridge is still there but one of the girders has been removed. There are two distinct bridges, one with very conventional plate girders which supports the running lines and another bridge with really odd cast girders which supported the original coal siding, removed by the time I'm modelling.
     

     

     
    One of the difficulties that I'm facing is that, as is inevitable, I've had to compress the overall length of the station slightly. This means that the bridge is actually slightly shorter than it ought to be. So I'm trying to compromise and make something that looks right, rather than a slavish millimetre accurate model.
     
    I've drawn up the girders in CAD and printed them out on my new Anycubic Photon resin 3D printer.
     
    I'm really happy with the way the girders came out, the rivet detail is crisp and I think pretty convincing.

     
    Taking a look at the girders and the difference between two difference types of girder is very obvious. I can see from the photographs that I need to do a little bit more filing to do to remove the last of the facets from the layers of printing.
     

     

     
    I think I may end up reprinting the main girder with the walkway and mounts for the handrail.
     
    Still, happy with the progress.
     
    David
     
     
  13. Fen End Pit
    A fine day out yesterday at the March MRC show. Thanks to the organizers for their efforts, good lunch and excellent provision of tea. There were a good number of people through the door and we had an appreciative crowd.
     
    Getting the layout up and running gave the opportunity for a few pictures so I hope you'll forgive the indulgence of posting them here.
     

     
    The Simplex 40s sat by the small loco shed, I need to look at the power collection as it wasn't picking up well. This is a bit of an occupational hazard when you build layouts where you throw real sand around.
     

     
    The dragline operated well for most of the day, I think I'm reaching the end-of-life on one for the push buttons on the controller which releases one of the clutches. I'm not sure how many thousand presses they were rated at but we must be getting near it - still we dug a good few (scale) tons during the course of the day.
     

     
    The yard was constantly busy with the shedmaster (John) providing a constant stream of empty wagons needing to be filled.
     


     

     
    Unfortunately the hoped for 'driver's eye' video failed to come out, maybe next time.
     
    Next outing is probably the Mid-Essex Show in Shenfield in September.
     
    David
     
     
  15. Fen End Pit
    My son bought me a little present for my birthday, a tiny video camera.  It fits nicely on a flat wagon and conforms to British loading gauge in 4mm scale.  The inevitable result has been a Youtube video showing a run through the station.
     

     
    It shows up my dodgy track building rather well and I need to get better with the video editing software to fix the colour balance a bit better. I did try the 'black and white old film' effect which is really rather fun but I thought I'd show you the original version!
     
     
    With Fen End Pit going to the March show on 2nd I'll have to work out how to strap the camera onto a 16mm narrow gauge wagon for a trip between the works and the pit!
     
    Hope you like it.
     
    David
     
  16. Fen End Pit
    After an enjoyable trip to the Biggleswade show on Saturday I spent yesterday making a start on the basic land forms for my model of Clare station. I had saved a load of 1/2 inch polystyrene which had been used a packing material for some 'up-market' glass white boards we had taken delivery of at work. I hadn't thought the landscape around Clare was particularly hilly but was still surprised by how much polystyrene was required. Sometime ago I purchased a hot wire cutter and this was my first chance to give it a go. It has proved very useful for cutting up the sheets and making nice angled cuts on the edges though I think it would have been nicer to have one that had a longer cutting wire.
     

     
    I've started by trying to make the hill at the Cavendish end of the station where there is a cutting with the small over-bridge. The cutting was wide enough for a third line which was originally used for loading. The white painted panel on the bridge was for sighting the advanced starter signal.
     
     

     
    From the opposite direction you can see the end of the lay-by and the single line towards Marks Tey.
     

     
    On this side of the bridge is the home signal and I'm toying with the idea that this might be sighted 'on the wrong side' of the track to make sighting easier around the curve.
     
    Going back to the station side there was a track down from the lane over the bridge down the hill which gave access to the now-removed siding. The siding was taken out in ~1955 and replaced by the simple coal siding. I'm guessing that in my time-scale it would still be easy to see where it had been.  All that is left now is a hump which appears to be in the right place for a loading dock. I don't have any photographic evidence though of whether there was originally any kind of edge (timber shoring?). The picture on disused stations http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/c/clare/clare(1950s)old4.jpg shows the raised flat area but no kind of edging.

    I've not yet stuck any of this down and I'm trying now to work out how the land forms the edge of the river but it is nice to see something other than just flat ply for a change.
     
    David
  17. Fen End Pit

    Home-made mini-sander

    By Fen End Pit,

    I wanted be able to put a mitre on small pieces of MDF which are used to make walls. I've decided that mitred corners look nicer than trying to interlace or butt joint but sanding the mitre is a pain. I looked at bench sanders as a way to do this but the commercially available tools are quite expensive (around the £80 mark) and mostly very large (sanding disks around 8 inches).  So I thought I'd have a go at making one myself.
     
    I laser cut the bulk of the components in 6mm ply and 3D printed the 'cone' that holds the grit paper.
     

     
    The motor was purchased on Amazon for £12. It claims to be 'high-torque' and operates on 6 to 12v. Seems quite happy powered from an old Maplin power brick.

     
    I've made the front so it can be hinged to 45 degrees, I might try and make a sliding gate of some kind.
     

     
    Initial tests show it seems to work ok. I think I might reprint the 'cone' with a slightly larger hole. I had to drill it out to 5mm because the hole came out a bit small on the printer and really needed a drill press to make the hole perfectly vertical, it is close but there is more wobble than I 'd like.
     
    However the results look ok, this is a bit of 1mm ply which I'd laser cut some bricks on the other side of.
     

     
    I am going to need to sort out either some dust collection or a mask. I don't want to breath is stuff in as it might be carcinogenic (bit late to worry about that!)
     
    Now to get on with building more fiddle-yard cassettes.
     
    David
     
     
  18. Fen End Pit
    I was really not looking forward to building the double slip. Two crossing Vs, eight switch blades and the horrible obtuse crossings. Building this lot off the baseboard is the best idea and I tend to build the crossings and solder them up individually on nickel-silver scrap etch. These sub-assemblies then get stuck to the sleepers with epoxy carefully jigging them to gauge.
     


     
    The obtuse crossings are the hardest to make and get aligned but they are the most critical bit. I'm prepared to sacrifice a little detail to get them solidly made and once the half chairs are stuck on it doesn't look too bad.
     

     
    I was able to make such rapid progress on this because I could reuse some of the components from my previous layout. My previous attempt at a double slip was slightly longer which was handy as I could refinish the switch blades and shorten them to fit. This is one place where the lost-wax brass casting C&L fish-plates are worth their cost because it makes fastening the switch blades to the obtuse crossing so much firmer. With the length of the switch rail there are only 2 or 3 chairs to hold the switch rail otherwise.
     

     
    With the assembly completed, just waiting for the tie-bars, holding the blades open with a bit of scrap ply allowed for the 'WEEEEEEEE' test. (you put a wagon on, push it along and hopefully it go 'WEEEEEE' not 'WEEEE-crunch')
     
    I removed the double-slip from the temporary base and fitted the tie-bars. Again I was able to reuse ones I'd made before using brass scrap etch and some very thin double-sided paxolin. These are a pig to solder on, particularly to the two 'inside' blades where there is very little room. One of the potential problems is a tie-bar rubbing on the rail of the opposite polarity so I was careful to check for short circuits with a meter. I've stuck a little bit of insulation tape under the rails where the tie-bar might touch just to make sure.
     

     
    Once again the marking of the cork sheet with the track alignment came into its own when sticking the pointwork down. Just knowing that the alignment is right is so helpful. I had to make the holes I'd cut in the baseboard for the operating mechanism a bit bigger than I'd cut them on the laser cutter. I was able to use the two 'double-slip turnout operating units' from the previous layout to move the blades and get a couple of servos connected up. Wiring is straight-forward with the relay which switches the servo at one end also switching the polarity of the crossing V at the other.
     
    In the background you can see the test train. The rewheeled and unsprung Hornby class 31 is the most fussy locomotive I have, the 6-wheel bogies have a tendency to pivot on the centre axles and derail unless the track is level. The nice thing is it doesn't fall off! I had to do bit of minor tweaking to get some of the longer wheelbase steam locos to go around one of the slips, there is a tendency for these to get tight on gauge and I had to ease the rails a little bit. I've also found a couple of wagons which didn't like it but then found they had a slightly wide back-to-back on their wheels.
     
    The alignment doesn't look too bad. First view is from the cattle-dock towards the goods-yard and then from the yard-entry.
     

     

     
    I'm really looking forward to being able to reverse a long pickup goods train back into the yard siding and then shunt wagons in and out of the shed. Now I've got the double slip built I think I'm one step nearer.
     
    David
  19. Fen End Pit
    I've been doing a lot of test running over the last few days, running trains around at ludicrous speeds and watching what falls off where then trying to fix it. I've also had various older bits of stock out and been working over issues on them.
     
    So out of the draw came the old faithfully Gibson J15, powered by a small portescap with an extra idler gear. I tried shunting wagons in and out of the coal siding and it kept stalling so it was out with the cotton buds and lighter fuel. Just cleaning the wheels didn't do the trick so it was off with the lid to have a good look. What a lot of fluff!
     

     
    To say it worked better with out that lot in would be an understatement.

     
     
    (alternative title 'nice bit of fluff')
     
    David
  20. Fen End Pit
    Over the past couple of weeks I had some fairly major works trying to do a 'proper job' of the wiring which I had previously just jury-rigged to allow me to run the first trains around and around. This work included getting the second road of the fiddle-yard working and wiring up the turnouts at either end of the loop. The sharp eyed among you will also notice that I'd made some of the cassette handles too low for a Great Eastern chimney - doh!
     
     

     
    The turnouts are operated by MERG 'pocket money kits' servo controllers which just have a 12v input and 3 trim-pots to set the start and end positions of the servo and the speed. I'm operating these from a MERG CBUS board which is located under the mill baseboard which would otherwise have 4 spare outputs on it. It also saves putting another of these board which would only operate two turnout (and thus have 6 spare outputs) under the fiddle-yard. These little boards are very easy to build and cost ~£2.50 to MERG members. Given a servo can be had for around the £2.50 mark these days you have a decent point motor for less  around a fiver.
     

     
    I also managed to get the lever-frame into position. The idea is that it can slide under the layout for storing. I still need to get some of the levers painted and get a better coat of black on the base of the frame.
     

     
    Trains have been running and a pickup goods arrived in the yard from Cambridge.
     

     
    This cleared the line for a Cambridge board passenger service.
     
    I videoed some activity for those who want to see it move.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X92dEDBB1kQ
     
    David

  21. Fen End Pit
    I finally managed to build the last sections of baseboard for my layout, these two sections were both odd shapes and needed to be drawn based on the reality of what I'd already built and not just from the overall master drawing. I've already discovered that 'square' means a different thing to builders and walls aren't always at 90 degrees to each other!
     
    The short section over the right hand side of my desk carries a 3'6" radius curve which is does most of the turn back to get along the wall with the fiddle-yard. This meant that I could just support one end on the existing layout boards and the other on a leg next to the door frame. The result means that I can remove it relatively easily when I need to do anything serious with the 3D printer which can still sit in the corner.
     
    The truly removable section over the door is almost straight and I built it with only a 30mm depth of framing as it is so small. The result is lightweight but very strong. The track is just ready-to-run P4 track stuck to a cork base.
     

     
    The baseboard ends have a strip of paxolin screwed to them onto which I've soldered the rails. The shaped piece of ply means that the removable section will sit in a rough alignment when it is put into place.
     

     
    Also soldered to the paxolin are some pieces of brass tube which form a simple bolt to get the alignment accurate and these also take the track power across the baseboard joint. I know from experience that I will need to modify these to add a sprung wiper contact as electricity tends not to reliably flow between two concentric brass tubes (yes really!)
     

     
    I put a brief video up on Youtube to show some of the first trains running round the room.
     

     
    Some of the track in this section is still a little jury-rigged so I still have a bit of work to do on that front. I've still got to complete the back road of the fiddle-yard and wire up the two points at either end of the loop. I've also got to make a load more cassettes so I can start storing and swapping stock. I came up with a simple method for electrical connection between the cassettes. The end of the rail is soldered to a length of sleeper strip which goes across the width of the cassette. I solder two L shaped strips of brass (scrap etch) to these and then on one of them a short strip of phosphor-bronze to form a wiper. There are usually 3 cassettes in a row and I'm feeding power from either end so there is a bit of redundancy. I'll see how this works in practice.
     

     
    I am also considering a redesign in the sides of the cassettes. Having a low, narrow cassette with a length of track down it sounds fine but you can't get your fingers in to rerail stock easily. This is particularly impossible with bogie vehicles where you find the bogies have a mind of their own. Making the sides much lower would weaken the cassette too much so I've tried making it taller and then cutting some access holes in the side. Time will tell if this is better solution.
     

     
    Obviously this is one heck of a milestone in the layout construction and one I frankly didn't expect to get to this time last year. Thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement both online and 'in real life'.
     
    David
  22. Fen End Pit
    The corner of the room has two baseboards, one which will feature a scenic area with the mill and the other, much narrower board, for the fiddle-yard. These two boards don't have the space for the curve which leads into the fiddle-yard because this needs to be removable so that the 'crew lounge' can be used as a bed when we have guests.
     

     
    The resulting extra board is a bit of an odd shape caused by a desire for the rails to cross at right-angles to the the baseboard edge and for the permanent boards to not have too many 'sticky out bits' to catch yourself on while sleeping! The very narrow parts of the board, where the track is very close to the edge on the left is 'off-scene' and will have a wall to prevent anything falling off into the drink.
     

     
    Once in position I was pleased that the cork which I marked from the Templot drawing fitted correctly, I am down to a 3'4" radius curve at this point so didn't have much room to make it tighter if I'd needed too. The cork got stuck down and the sleepers are now in place. I need to get some more rail from C&L at Stevenage tomorrow so obviously he won't have any in stock (just guessing).
     

     
    I had a bit of a play in Templot to see how the mill siding would look if I put in a head-shunt. I can get one in though the point is quite tight ( A4.5 Y). The radius isn't too bad so I think it would be ok. The real advantage is that this would allow wagons in the sidings to be shunted without fouling the mainline and I could use a small industrial locomotive. This could hide in the headshunt while the mainline locomotive exchanged wagons.
     

     
    The mill buildings I constructed based on Ebridge in Norfolk look quite nice, I will probably extend the hideous asbestos part just to avoid them being too twee.
     

     
    The Barclay fireless rather looks the part with a pair of grain tanks.
     

     
    I think I might put in a wagon turntable on the siding away from the building which then crosses the line next to the building to disappear between the two bits of mill to a boiler house behind. That way the buildings don't need the clearance for a rotating wagon and the siding between the two buildings can be tight.
     
    So, I'm pleased with the progress, hopefully I should get the track into the fiddle-yard laid next week. Then I need to work on the lifting section over the door before I can got round and round.
     

    David
  23. Fen End Pit
    As a break from plywood engineering (and a cold garage) I decided to do a bit of work on my 'Friday evening project', my 4mm Crownline etched kit for a J20. The engine itself is coming along nicely and is waiting for its day in the wheel shops soon. So I thought it would be a good time to work on the tender. Crownline kits are 'a bit old school' so the chassis makes no allowances for springing/compensation. I cut out the chassis etch to fit High Level 2mm bearings and these are sprung using wire and handrail knobs following the continuous springy beam style.
     

     
    GER tenders had a 6" flare at the top and the etch needed to be bent to make this. I made a up little jig using a couple of bits of ply and some hard brass rod. This has a 'gate' which the bottom of the tender side rests against to ensure that the bar is parallel with the top of the tender. The brass used by Crownline is quite thick by modern standards and I had to resort to a small hammer to bend the flare over.
     

     
    The tender rear was similarly treated there being a gap in the 'gate' on the jig to allow for the tab which locates the tender rear in the foot plate.
     

     
    Work on the tender was fairly straight-forward though there were some times when asbestos fingers would have been useful. Getting the long joints to tack solder, then align, then make the joint clean and solid was the order of the day. The old rule about keeping everything clean being most important.
     

     
    The only part with a high 'F-factor' was the lamp iron brackets at the rear which were extremely fiddly. Also the photographs and plans showed a third knob in the middle of the handrail on the rear which had no hold etched for it on the part.
     

     
    I'm pretty happy with the result, There needed to be more solder used as filler than I'd would have liked around where the top of the tender joins the sides but I think it hasn't cleaned up too badly and will be hidden under a good coating of coal dust and grime. I've still got to finish off all the front part of the tender and make up toolboxes etc but I'm happy with the progress.
     

     
    I know the J20 was a bit of a beast to be going down the Stour Valley but Rule 1 will be applied. I quite fancy a diverted coal train!
     
    David
  24. Fen End Pit
    Over the last couple of weeks I've managed to get the final scenic baseboard constructed. This board will house the completely fictitious sidings to a mill. I've already got most of the mill buildings which are based on Ebridge mill in Norfolk. The board is a slightly odd shape to incorporate a removable section which will lead the track round to the fiddle-yard. This is made removable so that the bed which sits in the railway room can still be used when needed as a bed!
     


     
    At the other end of the layout the overbridge is coming along nicely. This is mainly cut in 1mm MDF with a frame of 3mm. I've painted with Humbrol brick red, applied mortar with 'Wilko' own-brand fine filler and then applied some washes of Vallejo Acrylic grey. The white painted section is for sighting the advanced starter signal which is just in front of the bridge. The wing walls will be buried to around 40 degrees in the sides of the cutting.
     

     
    The original bring looks like this. It is a 5 segment arch bridge, which means that there are 5 arcs which form the elliptical shape. Following some discussion on the Scalefour society forum I was appraised that just drawing an ellipse in CAD wasn't accurate as the builders would not have been able to make form-work based on an ellipse. The internet revealed how to construct a 5 segment arch with rather too many uses of the word 'bisect' for my humble brain. Still it's Scalefour - getting it - Alright!
     

     
    A fair amount of consolidation and re-pointing has happened on the bridge so I don't trust that the weathering now is what it looked like in 1955. There is probably quite a bit less soot and a lot more lime leaching out of the brickwork now.
     
    Moving on the the fiddle-yard I had another go at making a cassette. This time I used a base of 3mm ply rather than 6mm. This has several advantages over the earlier version. The 3mm version has a little flex in it and actually sits better on the baseboard. The difficulty of making two surfaces completely flat over the size of the cassette meant that the original 6mm version had a tendency to rock along its length. Secondly the use of 3mm ply means that I can make the tongue and groove joint in two layers of different sizes, this then gives some vertical alignment which the earlier version didn't have.
     

     
    The cassette and the entry track can be brought together and we now get horizontal and vertical alignment.



     
    I've also drawn up a first experiment for the 'cassette clamp' which I'll try to cut over the next day or two.
     
    David
  25. Fen End Pit
    An excellent day out was enjoyed by the crew at Steam in Beds in the village of Eaton Bray near Leighton Buzzard yesterday. I suggested adding an incorporating 'Diesel's near Dunstable' tag line should have been added to the exhibition flier! The chancel arch of the parish church was once again filled by Fen End Pit, the layout performed well with very few problems that couldn't be solved quickly.
     

     

     

     
    The new M1/A5 link road made for an easy journey and the provision of bacon butties and cakes was great throughout the day.
     
    Thanks to the organisers for a fun day out.
     
    David
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