lash

More work on the back scene, now complete and a bit of tidying up. Test running and more electrical dead sections, frustrating but the electrical rebuild beckons. Also been doing some research into weeds etc in 1960s and 70s stations. What is striking from my various books is how weed free the track and immediate areas are. Yes stations on there last legs were bad but not it seems most mainline and cross country line stations apart from abandoned sidings etc. so a light touch is called for.

So just a brief 4 years after work started Melville Street is getting close to final details. I’ve had a fun afternoon partly working on baseboards and traversers for the “big new project” and sorting the backscene on Melville Street. I’m looking forward to more detailing and playing trains but then I’m planning an immediate consolidation and tidy of the electrics and sorting a few track gremlins for smoother running. This is all part of my learning process and important to carry over lessons to the big new project which I will continue working on in parallel and start a new thread sometime as well.

And while I’m thinking of it your Finsbury Square is a masterpiece, total respect!

Well that is a comfort thank you.I’ll break out my Mogul and see how it goes. I’ve also got a green Hornby 08 I’ll try.

Working on details including a running in board and platform signage. The backscene to be fixed, not sure if it’s house backs or industrial, and bushes and weeds to be planted. I also need to finish the signal with shunting discs and hand rails. The electrics really are a mess and I need to make better cross board rail connections, but ModelTech aligners are on there way so that will be sorted after the scenic work. Another lesson learnt, my blue Bachman 08’s connecting rods foul the platform on one side, didn’t think of that. This will limit shunting to one platform but no big problem. The layout is early blue BR pre TOPS but I have steam era stock as well but there may be problems with steam engines as well.

With scenic work now pretty well down to detailing and fixing items in place this afternoon was a chance to play trains at Melville Street with a 2epb heading for Waterloo, the afternoon parcels service and a short permanent way train in the siding. Great fun.

The food for thought could well be spaghetti. I have seen my small layouts, particularly Melville Street and Milton Quay, as opportunities to learn as well as producing worthwhile layouts in themselves. The recent lesson is unsurprisingly an electrical one. Melville street is a small layout with just three points in the scenic area, sections for DC operation, and a connector across the baseboard join but the underside is a dreadful confusing mess of wires and connectors. So in future I must keep things neater, make use of different colour wires and labels and make notes of oddities ( like commercial prewired connectors with different coloured wires either side … that was fun it took a couple of hours to work out) So much so obvious and just good modelling practice, but there is more. Melville Street is as I have said small and the baseboards are light and portable. It can be flipped on its side easily and access to wring however messy is not a problem. However I am starting on a much larger tail-chaser, about 14ft by 9ft 6 inches, and it’s going to be permanent in the garage attic. Baseboards will be light, mainly Grainge and Hodder but I creak at every joint nowadays and my knees are totalled so kneeling or upside down soldering is going to be tricky. So all wiring, point motors etc must be surface accessible. I’ll be using foam board on top of the ply baseboard surfaces so burying feed wires etc will be ok. Point control can be run to the baseboard side or complex point-work confined to removable subassemblies. It would be dreadful to just press on and then not be able to maintain the layout. Additional thoughts from older creakier and flexible younger modellers would be much appreciated unless you’re going to suggest Pilates …….

It’s been a while …. When hasn’t it been. 7 weeks in Nice for the rugby World Cup and general fun and starting a new consultancy in London have taken up time and energy but come December there has been progress with work on ground cover now nearly complete. The big thing has been electrical bugs and gremlins. The layout has spent most of its time on its side with me armed with soldering iron, replacement micro switches and very small screwdrivers. Oh and a lot of somewhat bad language and quite a bit of food for thought about which I will post after some reflection. A few pics of the station throat and a Hymek rather off piste arriving with a parcels train.

So ballasting wasn’t so bad. All done subject to some patching and trains running ok apart from an isolated section which is more likely to be a switch or soldering issue. Maybe the ballast is a little too fresh looking but I can tone it down.

I’d love to say there’s been a modelling pause at Melville Street as a result of sunny days a the beach and loads of sailing….some hope. However my modelling mojo is back and there has been a bit of activity. The footbridge is completed but not properly installed as a bit of fettling is required. Arches glued in place, relay boxes scattered in an aesthetically pleasing distribution rather than anything related to actually running a railway and dummy point motors in position. Next up ballasting. Yuk !

Progress on the footbridge.

I’m working on a footbridge to give a second access to the platforms at the opposite end to the station building. I’m hacking and chopping the Kightwing kit i used for the main stairs . The original idea was to span both tracks which would have been visually interesting but very vulnerable to damage at the baseboard edge.and so I’ll make do with just one span. It should still look good. I’m also changing the roof. The 45 degree pitch didn’t look right and so it’s getting some flat corrugated iron which will match the stairway.

Thanks Simon, I’m planning a mix of industrial and house backs but it depends what looks right. I’m going to concentrate on from track level to the top of the arches then take it from there.

Should have mentioned clearance testing with a motley collection of coaches of different lengths ….. and eras!

So no comments about yet more delay in completing Melville Street but I appear to have some modelling mojo and some time. The platform is now glued down as is the over bridge and details are being added. I have built a parcels lift I’m quite pleased with in an unlikely but visually pleasing position. Buffer stops painted weathered and installed. Retaining walls and arches are complete with a bit of painting to be done. The scratch built/kit bashed colour light signal is nearly there. More soon I hope.