Portchullin Tatty

Nice to see the coaches developing. I find it imperative to solder a strip of square/rectangular section along the top of the etched sides. A piece 1*2mm or similar and make sure it is low enough not to foul the lip that is on the underside of the extruded roof but not interfere with the glazing. If you don't do this, the sides are always prone to being squished as the model is picked up and the sides picking up a bow as a result. Seeing your mention to the underframes; Palatine's underframes are well worth a look (and not widely known of). They don't have the chunky holes in them like the Comet ones and if you leave the flat portion of the Comet ones in place they make a convenient point to split the body from the underframe (much easier for handling and painting. Enjoy!

Careful Mick, they have a very low rating and DCC will zapp them. You can see what happens to them here.

Obviously, where there is water in a locomotive yard, there really ought to be coal too. The Highland, like many other railway companies of the time (certainly the Scottish ones), sought to stockpile coal. This was presumably insurance against coal strikes and allowed them to purchase coal at times when the price was favourable. Thus, quite substantial coal stacks where very much a feature of shed areas in the pre-grouping era. Typically, these were arranged in engineered stacks, with the sides formed in “dry-coal walling” and then loose coal behind. I can’t recall ever seeing this modelled, so I though I would change that! The actual structure of the loading bank was formed in plasticard and Wills random stone sheets, but with the mortar courses softened as I described for the water towers. The shape of the coal stack was formed with a piece of house insulation left over from a DIY job and then real coal used to form the effect of…..err……real coal. Actually, real coal does not look quite like real coal without a bit of effort. It does shatter into angular but irregular lumps like real coal (especially if lignite coal is used) but its glossiness does not scale down. However, a vigorous brush with generous amounts of soot black weathering powder takes the gloss back and the whole becomes quite convincing. You do feel as if you are going to get pretty filthy if you go up onto the bank – and until the whole is fixed with matt varnish, you would! Individual coal chunks were glued in place to form the wall structure. To get the effect, it is not enough to simply scatter the coal onto a bed of glue each chunk has to be laid individually with care taken to lock it into the course below – just like a real dry stone wall. Thus, the vertical walls of this took about a day to complete, scattered over about 8 stints because it is necessary to let the glue dry after every couple of courses to stop the layers collapsing. It is then possible to scatter the loose material behind the walls onto a layer of glue – the above picture shows the contrast in effects between the two methods. But it is hard work shovelling coal into tenders, especially as the locos got larger and their tenders higher. As befitting such an important place as Glenmutchkin, it has all the modern amenities for coaling engines, a hand crane and a large bucket! In this case, I have fitted servos to this so that it operates – partly as a bit of fun and also to slow things down in the yard to a more realistic pace without it getting too boring for the viewer. The crane operation was achieved by way of three servos – one to rotate it and then one each for the front and rear of the coal bucket. These are all mounted onto a cradle that is rotated by the former – thus as the crane rotates so too do all the servos and there is a quadrant shaped slot in the base to the rear of the post (just visible in the picture above) that allows the cables to rotate too without snagging. The base of the crane; the projecting rod telescopes into the actual crane (and there is a rod inside the crane post that telescopes into this too and appears below and onto which the servos clamp The cradle is mounted to a solid rod that is in turn secured to the actual crane. This then slides into the rod that can be seen projecting from the base in the picture above. This means that there is limited strain on the crane or the mount as I had feared it might otherwise snap with any heavy-handedness on my part (something I am prone to!). The rest of the crane was made with brass hollow section and pulley wheels from Bill Bedford. A series of guides were made of small section tube on the pulley wheels, at the winding drum and across the jib to retain the operating cables. The bucket was fashioned from metal sheet and is filled with low melt solder to give it as much weight as possible. It is secured to the servo arms with invisible thread – which is a nylon seamstresses material used for making invisible stitches. It comes in both clear (which really is invisible) and black, I used the latter. It is much better than cotton thread as that has a furry finish that looks terrible after a time or if it is painted. It is, however, very fine and rather wriggly to knot, so using it involves a certain amount of cussing! And this is what it looks like in operation………… A little of the bouncing about of the bucket is caused by it sitting on my servo test rig, so the act of changing the switches imparts a little vibration. Hopefully, when mounted on the layout this will be less obvious. I do still need to do the final detailing on this; tools, a bit of discarded debris and a couple of fellas from Modelu standing around doing nothing (because static people in animated poses look silly on a model layout!).

Interesting you say blackening and then painting - do you chemically black the whole thing and then paint it?

Done, but not easy getting an answer at the moment due to "the present situation"!

I was only referring to the spectacle plates. And on closer inspection they Porthmadoc signal has slightly oval lenses, where as the Didcot one has round plates. The both worked on the same principal though; a white light from the lamp was a right of way and when the spectacle plate was in front of this is displayed red for danger.

Would anyone know where I could get, or have, better details of the attached signal. This is a facsimile of a broad gauge era signal and has been constructed at Didcot. I am thus hopeful that drawings might be available, especially of the spectacle plates, length of arms and details of the lamp. I can see that at its core is McKenzie & Holland but even though I have an M&H catalogue, the lamps and the spectacle plates are somewhat different! However, I see that they are somewhat similar to this early view from Porthmadoc - seems to be the same? Anyone have any more detail of either?

you are making me feel guilty, I must finish mine. You have given me a four year head start and still might beat me!

Sorry! Are you aware that you can get lots of free ordnance survey maps on line at the National Libraries of Scotland's website? I suspect this will include Whitby although it tends to be the older versions (as they are copyright free). You can also import them straight into Templot (not sure about AnyRail). Mind you, it may simply create fresh issues as you may well find that your room/shed is some feet too short! Mark

You seem to be missing the engine release roads to the central platforms? I would also point you towards templot. It is no intuitive to a general user because you effectively have to design the trackwork as you assemble the plan but once you get the hang of it you can produce amazingly flowing trackwork plans, far better than AnyRail.

More progress has been made with the pair of water tanks and they have now reached the stage where they are effectively finished. The stonework was painted by picking out each stone in different colours. I think there is a real art to this as when I see others do this, I often think the colour differences are unrealistically abrupt. I find the trick is to use a core of two colours that are close to the general colour that you want – in my case Humbrol Matt no 5 & 64. Put these in separate palates on a mixing dish and dip into these to create a combination of the two. By selecting two relatively close colours, you can alternate from all one to all the other and any mix in between. Adding very moderate amounts of a stronger colour difference, in my case Humbrol Matt 66 and 62 which are a darker grey and a leather brown adds a bit of variety but in each case they still need to be mixed in with the two core paints to keep the toning consistent. Even with this work the colours didn’t seem quite real, so I completed two additional steps. The first was to use some matt varnish that I knew the matting agent was a bit gone on – this gives a slightly translucent milky effect over the whole and drew the colours together a bit. The second was to use Abteilung 502 weathering powders – black smoke, ashes grey, gunmetal and rubble dust (primarily because these were the only colours I had!). These need to be used with care, as it is easy to put way too much on and you can’t generally get it off again! However, at low level and to the coal bank I have been pretty liberal with particularly the black smoke as such areas were far from clean! The weathering to the water tanks was dealt with slightly differently, although it also started with the use of the acrylic varnish with the defective matting agent (that’ll be how I found out it was defective!). I then used a Humbrol dark grey was with downward brush strokes and then wiped off with a piece of kitchen roll, again with a downward stroke. A few additional marks, especially to the panel joints, with AK Interactive weathering pencils. The water effect was another accident flowing from the defective matting agent – the milking was far from desirable on the black base coat of paint. Thus, I wiped it off once it was semi dry and I got most of it but where the remainder was still there, it added a bit of texture to the surface, as if there was a little disturbance to the water that affects part of the surface not the whole. By reference to the prototype, I made a heating stove flue and spigot for the water bag from brass rod. To form the bends it was necessary to have a pair of additional tubes inside each other to stop the tube collapsing on the bend, The canvas section of the leather bag was formed by a piece of heat shrink sleeving but with a little 5 minute araldite in the centre such that as this starts to cure a degree of shape can be put into it and once fully cured it will stay in this shape. The operating rod was based on that still largely apparent at Altnabreac and I have assumed this also had a ladder even if this has now gone. There is no watering bag to the smaller of the two water tanks as I propose to have some water columns, but that is a story for another day! A further story for another day is the rather odd post sitting in the middle of the coaling bank; but that story will be fairly soon!

More progress has been made with the two doll NER bracket signal. I have used brass square section for the post and dolls, which means that there is a lot of hard filing to do (I don't have access to a milling machine). I reckon there was the better part of a day consumed with the post/dolls for this and the MR signal I am doing. It is hard work and there is a significant pile of brass dust to prove the point! Thereafter, it gets a bit more fun as the brackets go on (in this case I used an MSE etch, although I have actually done my own for this and a number of other NER heavy brackets). And then, with the previously prefabricated dolls and landing timbers, it starts to look like a signal. Even at this stage, there is still a lot of building to do as there are handrails, the main ladder, steps and ladders to the dolls, the operating mechanism transferring the movement to the dolls all to do. In respect of the latter(I used rocking cams in this case - you can just see the use of some handrail knobs as the bearings in the photos below, the cams will be fitted after painting. Slightly peculiarly, the NER built their landings in front of the arms whereas all the other signals I have yet built have these in the rear (excepting gantries, which can be either or both!). This view shows this most clearly. The main ladder is not visible in the views as I have made this detachable because it is much easier to spray paint these (and better, it is not easy to get a thin coat of paint by brush application and it thickens up the fine detail of a ladder too much. The grey primer is pretty cruel to modelling efforts but on the whole, I am pretty chuffed with this!

The Scalefour Society are running a Socially Distanced challenge, which is aimed at giving a little spur to our modellers during these difficult times. As part of this, I have picked up the building of a batch of signals for some friends. The first of these is a NER two doll signal. This is destined for Benfieldside and is the up starter. This went missing over the years and we have not been able to source a photograph of John Wright's signal here. We have arrived at the conclusion that the bay signal (which does exist but is inoperative) would be best combined with this, hence the two doll signal. I fancied a go at building what the NER described as heavy bracket signal and discovering from the NERA's relatively recent book on signals that the NER did mix signal designs across their regions I felt I had the excuse. Hopefully, this will look a bit like this at the end: I started with the most difficult bit, the slotted posts. I construct my posts from brass section and file the tapers on. This is hard work as there is a fair amount of metal to remove but I think it creates both a more durable post but also one that is easier to solder the remaining elements to it. Once the basic posts for dolls were formed, I cut them to create the solid portions of the post that are above and below the slot. To each of these, I then filed a rebate on each side to take the slot plates which was formed of flat plate. This is what it looks like once assembled and after the fitting of one of my lost wax McKenzie & Holland finials: The difficult bit of a slotted post signal is getting the arm to affix to the spindle without gumming it all up in the slot. I do this by laminating a slip of brass on top of the ear that projects from the arm and is the point at which the operating rod attaches to the arm. I then extend it across the back of the arm by 3mm so that it projects slightly to the front of the post when the arm is inserted in the slot. I am liberal with the solder in attaching this but make sure that the rubbing faces are cleared of any excess. I then wrap the arm in cigarette paper and insert it into the slot. After the spindle has been inserted, I touch the cigarette paper with light oil and allow it to soak through. Then I put a little flux on the laminated ear and apply the iron for a good time. The heat will transmit along the solder joint of this laminate and the liberal quantity of solder allows the solder to flash onto the joint of the spindle. The oil in the cigarette paper prevents the arm soldering itself to the inside of the slot. The lamp support is a bit of a b*gger too as it has to span over and around the rod that operates the arm. A U shaped piece of scrap etch has to be used and the affixing of the lamp will have to follow the insertion of the operating rod (which I won't do until after painting. I this soldered a little spigot in the base of the lamp support - to go into the body of the whitemetal lamp and make the glue joint a little more certain.

For those with an interest in modelling signals; I have just put a post on my public blog about the tips and tricks I have learnt along the way.. You can find this here: https://highlandmiscellany.com/

Simon, is the black five sitting back on its haunches a bit? Like your stuff by the way!

I suspect that Charlie (the new owner of Lochgorm) will have them although he is struggling to get to grips with the range a little bit. Contact is as per PAul's email. Mark

I stand corrected; the turntable was renewed in 1946. The line used the large stanier tanks whilst it was reconstructed. The photos I looked at suggest that the hut was not installed until the early 1950s but I would need to research a bit more to get the date - but it is pre your era. If Defford is not aware of this book; it is worth it:

Scrub my comment regard the WCJS coach being this grounded brake's predecessor, it is still there in the background to the right of the shed - you'll need both!

This turnout led to a short road to a covered "hut" that could cover two 16t minerals, You can see this in the attached picture with thanks to the Armstrong Railway Photograph Trust (JM Boyles collection). This spur and hut were not in situ in the early BR era but were there by the late 1950s. As the turntable was enlarged to take black 5s in about 1953 (I would have to look up the date) I suspect this was added at the same time. If you do not have it LMS Engine Sheds volume 6 has a number of other views of this area - alternatively, spend some time on Ernie Brack's photostream as he has a lot of photographs of Kyle. I think I can see a pulley and runner underneath the shed and this would make sense; they would have a bucket on this that they could raise and then discharge over a locomotive tender. Make sure you have a nice grounded coach as a mess room. That looks like a exLNWR brake in this picture; prior to this there was a magnificent WCJS 12 wheeler in the same spot.

Smashing stiff Adrian. Always pleased to see models of the Dingwall & Skye lone - but then again I would wouldn't i!?!? I particularly enjoyed the view of the shed looking over from the turntable; a bit like this view from the Society's collection on Am Baile. You can see my slowly moving efforts to capture a number the same features on my blog or on my RMweb thread here. Mark

Hi Ant, Nice to see this emerge; they are beautifully ugly locos! If you follow my blog, you will see the efforts I have made with a 4mm scrap tank. I really must get on and finish this and get a second test etch done (although I hear that PPD have closed down due to Covid). One challenge you will face is that there are no known widths for the loco. Eddie Bellis (the author of the drawing in my father's book) produced what he did from a face on diagram as that was all that there was available. I based my drawings on the Drummond Passenger tank as this made sense in terms of the magnitude of the locos are similar - I think it works when you see the 3D model photographs. I can share with you the information that I have (which I warn is not that much!) and the artwork drawings, contact me off line? Mark Tatlow

Another option would be to deliberately spray it to give an orange peel surface? Spraying a long way away from the subject and perhaps not quite enough thinner would achieve this?

Take a look at Jim Smith Wright's threads on Birmingham New St (here - but be warned they are huge) or his blog or ask him on the Scalefour Society Forum. He used a spray from B&Q - not sure which one but it had a fine "splatter" effect that gave just a bit of texture. I think he then oversprayed it with humbrol concrete colour paint.

Stephen, How do you do your slotted posts? I would be concerned that a slot in an etched post would reveal that it is merely a skim and not solid? Mark

One of my pet hates on model railways are buildings that float a fraction above the ground because they have been plonked in situ, not bedded in. For me, it completely destroys the illusion and I can get quite wound up about it when I see it (…..and it is pretty common, so this is fairly often!). Occasionally, I actually do attach the building to the baseboard and “scenic in” the ground around them but more normally I construct a base into which the building sits. This gets embedded permanently and then the building sits into a slot that is formed into it. I have also seen the building being built in two parts, with the base being affixed to the ground and the building slotted onto them. Peter Bond did this for me with the signal cabins for Portchullin. This is the base for the larger water tank: The large water tank is more prominent as it is located closer to the baseboard edge and is to the rear of the main focus of the MPD area, the trackwork between the shed and the turntable. It is also adjacent to the coaling bank and as a result I decided to make this now and as part of the base for the water tank. The smaller of the water tanks is designed to mask a baseboard joint in a rockface/embankment. The base (below) will thus be split into two halves when it is fitted, each sitting on adjacent boards – a neat way of not having the San Andreas fault line running through a rock face! The rather prominent hole in the coal bank will be the subject of a future post, as there is something a bit different planned for this! I have also started the painting of these, which had a fairly characteristic design with the border in a red/brown and a cream central panel. It is important to recreate this and as it is fairly eye catching, errors will be instantly visible. The straight edges weren’t too difficult to achieve with masking tape; initially the horizontals and then the verticals a day later. Peeling back the masking tape was a thrill to see if it worked! The scrolls at the corner was a concern throughout the construction of the water tanks but I did hit on an idea I think is rather nifty. I sprayed the same red/brown on some transfer paper (thanks Chris!) and once it was dry, used a domestic hole punch to create disks of transfer. I then cut them into segments that were a bit bigger than a quarter of the disk. They were then applied as a transfer to each corner. Actually, it was pretty easy once I got going – I definitely spent longer thinking about it than I did doing it! I am pretty pleased with the outcome, much neater than my hand could manage!