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devondynosoar118

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  1. devondynosoar118
    Having come across lots of ways to do the electrofrog points dance, I was inspired to make these for our set up. The kids said they wanted it simple to operate, and I wanted play value built in to encourage them to really work as a team at exhibitions. This method is cheap at less than £1.50 a point and fairly simple to construct.
     
    You need-
     
    Brass strip, 25mm+ wide
    Brass rod- fairly thick, 3mm min
    Brass tube which fits over the rod as a sleeve.
    Soldering kit- if you haven't soldered structurally before this is a good practice project as the parts are cheap.
    Cheap sliding switches, 3 contact type, 2 power one common earth, small or medium. Medium are better for OO.
    If using a smaller switch- i.e. one that wont take being drilled for the rod, get some square section brass to fit over the switch.
    Some "chocolate block" screw terminal connectors.
    small self tapping pan head screws
    Araldite rapid or other 2 part fast epoxy
     
    This method assumes a feed has already been run to the frog. Wiring colours for me are brown/blue are bus wires (DC in this case, but capable of DCC operation as well.) red for the frog wires.

    Here is the general assembly.
     
    Start by forming the omega loop from a length of brass tube. It allows flex in the linkage and gives a bit of snap to the micro switch operation. I put this nearest the baseboard edge usually.
    If you need to join more lengths together, use the sleeve tube and join with solder. I work out the lengths of the operating rod, then prepare the support brackets. if you have a short run of less than 1ft, then the hole in the base board edge, 1 bracket and the switch will be enough to keep the rod supported.
    To make the bracket, work out the height you need to mount the microswitch off the baseboard, usually this is not much, less than 1/4" seems to be fine. This measurement should be from the base board to the centre line of the switch. Then mark the centre of your brass strip, mark and drill a hole the same dia as your tubing somewhere near the top. Measure down the same amount as the bracket height, scribe your fold line here, then measure another 1/2 inch or so down the strip, this is your cut line. Cut it and bend on the scored line to make your bracket. Sounds hard but isn't you are only making an l shape with a hole in!
     
    I then make the microswitch bracket, method the same but slide switches need a square hole, so some filing is required to make them fit and they are secured with tiny self tappers at each end. Mark and drill all holes before cutting and bending.

    Switch bracket finished.
     
    Now link it all up, take the omega loop, slide some tube on to the section where you want to put your support bracket. If you are using a big switch, drill a hole in it on the face that you would push i.e. not in the side! If using a smaller switch, drill a piece of square bar to fit the sleeve tubing and cut it off long enough to cover the switch.
    Line it up with the usual slot cut under the tie bar, and mark where the hole in the baseboard edge will go, drill it for the sleeve size and cut some sleeve to fit through, glue it in. Thread the rod thru, line up with the tie bar, then screw down the support bracket. put the sleeve in place and solder to the bracket.
     
    You are now ready to fit the slide switch to the rod too. Find the end, put the point in the straight ahead position, and put the rod through the hole in the switch or the square section slid on top of the switch if you are using small ones. Mark the mounting screw positions, then pilot drill holes and put the bracket in place. If you need the square brass on the switch DONT fit the switch yet as you will melt it when you solder, fit the sleeve into the square section and solder in place, then fit the switch.
     
    Here is where you need the epoxy glue. If you used a big switch, put the rod in the hole and epoxy in place. If you used square brass like me, fit it over the switch and glue. leave to set before testing the movement.
     
    Now the tiebar. If you have Peco style points with a hole in the middle, thread some brass rod down to the new mechanism from above, cut this length plus a few mm each end for tweaking. Bend the end that goes under the board thru 90deg, push the rod so that straight ahead on the point is up on the switch, clamp the rod to the point mechanism and solder it. you can move it around to get the throw right by soldering it in different places up/down the actuating rod.
    Then put a single choc block connector as a handle on the bit of rod sicking out the side of the board and you are done. These can be colour coded by wrapping in insulation tape.
    Make the electrical connections. Check your polarities, oif you get a short, swap the bus/power feeds over, not the frog wire.
     
    I made the mechanisms and the young people soldered them together, if you simply copy the picture you should get a working, DCC friendly solution for less than £1.50. Apologies about long winded explain! Points were cut and cross bonded as per Brian Lamperts DCC pages first. All works fine on DC, even with a dodgy Bachmann pancake motored american diesel.
  2. devondynosoar118
    Thanks to the dreaded SQL I am typing all this again, so pardon me if I am not totally detailed or spelled right!
     
    Inspired by the Pendon mineral train In MI4 I decided to do some work on a Mathieson Models PO coal wagon. This is how I did it, using easy techniques and no airbrush. I have one but its a pain cleaning it all in the middle of the night and using the brush mean I can work in the living room.
    The pristine model, better scale dimensions and brake gear than the other manufacturers and beautiful print quality.

     
    Almost a shame to take a glass fibre pen to it to fade the lettering, particularly removing the bits on the strapping as these would wear first, plus the door areas.

     
    Next a dry brush in grey, the brush needs to be a flat one, with reasonably fine but not too soft bristles. This highlights all the raised detail. If you get a bit heavy handed and it is too "chalky," you can wash it down in the next step. These photos show the before and after, note the more obvious planking in the second shot.


     
    Apply a black wash over the sides, inside and ends of the model. I do a panel at a time, you can use modelling dyes, thinned black ink or what I used, GW Badab Black wash. Wipe off the excess once almost dry, with a damp swab. This should make the low parts, especially the plank joins, suitably ingrained with dirt and coal dust.

     
    I then added some replacement planks of varying quality and colour, as my layout is a wartime one and repairs tended to be ad hoc. I also did a few black planks to show tarred replacements or a brief spell in the C&W.

     
    I moved on to the road dirt after some drying time, this is applied with a large stippling brush. I mix the paint on a palette, old tiles are good as you can clean off the paint periodically. You want a milk like consistency, which will allow good flow. Dip in the brush then wipe it several times with kitchen towel, you want the brush nearly dry. Too wet and it will paint, not mist the area. smaller details like brake dust and rust can be applied later, either by the same technique but with a smaller brush, an old size 0 with the point chopped flat is good for small bits, or with powders. If you do rust by brush then wipe the area with a damp swab after application, as rust tends to sit in the corners of things more than the raised bits.

     
    Finished item, I could add more but in a train of lots of wagons moving you would need binoculars to see it!

     
    Next time the finished road goods shed and station progress, I hope!
  3. devondynosoar118
    I had time for some photography, but ended up with a mixed bag of subjects, so I split this into two posts, one from the layout and another from the real railway.
     
    The “Noch off†static grass applicator. Total cost less than £10. Made from an electric fly swat, an icing sugar shaker, with removable screen. Also shown is the fine nozzle made from a cut down plastic kitchen funnel and some mesh.

     
    Some of the effects produced using a mix of 2mm and 4mm fibres.


  4. devondynosoar118
    Well, it has been a while since I did an update for Kingsbridge. I have not been entirely idle on this model, but progress has been limited to tweaking the track layout, adding length to the sidings, and trying to get the trackside structures done in case the sidings need moving before ballasting.
    With this in mind I bought the Ratio carriage shed kit, thinking of bashing it to resemble the corrugated structure on the branch. As soon as I looked at it I knew this plan was not going to work, the shed was too short for the B set and even with careful narrowing was not going to look right. Luckily I had a 3rd piece of corrugated roof and had bought some corrugated sheet before xmas. Thus as usual I was going to have to scratch build, despite trying to be lazy!
    The shell was made from Ratio sheets, cut to height then joined with carefully filed fillets to maintain strength and surface detail. As you can't really see the inside I haven't filled the small gaps left inside. I made the sides to length, thn left them to go off whilst I made the end piece, using the curve from the ends of the kit to get the shape where it meets the roof. The Ratio roof bits were narrowed then joined. Then I put the shell together and left it for a day to tile the kitchen.
    The legs of the shed are square microstrip, spaced from pictures by eye. All I have to do now is paint it, the siding it sits on is just long enough now I added about 100mm to it.
     

    Viewed side
     

    Inside- No roof joists this time!
     

    Side 3/4 view which compares well with the buffer stops pictures in books.
  5. devondynosoar118
    Worked as a porter at Staverton yesterday, with a good range of different traffic going on I did m best to get a few pictures. Some are a little out of focus but I was trying to work and photograph at the same time.
    The official pictures and information should be here
    There were 3 steam engines in action, 5526, 3205 and 1369. Also running was the class 25 D7612 and the Gloucester "bubble car" 55000.

    5523 with an up service train in a rare patch of sunlight,
     

    Break Van Specials, unfortunately not accessible to the public, ran through the day, here we see Stavertons toad, acting as the brake van for the brake vans, with Andy Matthews on the guards turn.
     

    The bubble car, acting as a shuttle service from Buckfast to Staverton to bring drinkers to the Cider and Ale festival at the goods shed at Staverton
     

    1369, formerly a Weymouth dock branch engine, here with the brake vans in tow.
     

    The remaining class 20, the shunter and lurking Rat in the yard.
     

    A better view of 1369.
     
    If you are around this weekend, pop in and have a pint or watch the trains go by! You can look at Staverton for nothing and we have a selection of books and films etc, both railway and non-railway related for sale as well as a buffet coach serving pasties and hot and cold drinks.
    More bits and pieces from our little corner of the SDR soon.
  6. devondynosoar118

    Engine Shed

    By devondynosoar118,

    Following a long and highly informing (for me anyway!) discussion on the forums I have now done the basic carcass of the engine shed. There is still some fettling to do, I have to put the smoke channel in, as suggested by Kris, tidy up the corners and put on the roof, as well as the roof lights. I am fairly pleased with the progress so far but any improvement suggestions are welcome.
    This is the front view which compares fairly well with the prototype. Some compromise about lintel height was required for loco clearance.

     
    The top view showing the purlins, the top ones will have to come off to make space for the smoke channel. Distortion from macro lens not wonky plasticard!

     
    Top view from the front

     
     
    Just a quick prototype view

     
  7. devondynosoar118
    It has been a busy final opperating session of the season, with excellent weather. I had the usual maintainance work to do, but was determined to photograph some of the other volunteers opperating the station. During the lunch break I also was allowed to visit Bishops Bridge signal box (thank you gentelmen of the Signalling dept!) and got some nice pics of the interior and the locking room. As volunteers the end of dialy trains last weekend marks the start of the main working season for repairs etc, so all departements have been busy. To see the latest news see SDR online.
    The interior of Staverton Crossing- The spare levers are a result of switching out to Bishops Bridge of some of the stations signals as a result of adding the passing loop.

    Alan Johnson opperating the gates and throwing the levers


    Class 20 20118 on the crossing.

    Staverton box diagram

     
    Next it was Hi-Vis on and carefully up the track to Bishops Bridge box. I was really pleased to be given permission todo this as I have never been inside a working box before and the track circuits were playing up, giving the signalmen some headaches, so their patience with an idiot photographer was much appreciated!
    The box viewed from the Buckfast end

    The locking frame

    The levers

    Block apparatus

    Electric token and train staff

    The tokens given to the driver

    Box diagram

    Signal 33 with signal 22 on the bracket, controlling the up main line, seen from the box.

    Class 20 8110 passing the Staverton Down starter, signal number 13

     
    My thanks again to all at Staverton Preservation Group for continuing to make me feel like part of the team and to all the volunteers of other branches who have allowed me access to their particular kingdoms.Thanks also to all those who have made encouraging comments about this blog.
  8. devondynosoar118
    Continuing with rolling stock, I won 3 Cavendish coach kits on the usual auction site, £25 for a 70ft compo, 57 FB and a Siphon H. There were one or two bits misplaced, but nothing serious. These kits are still available in improved format, from Ultima.
    I thought I would start with the full brake. Here it is still in the box, carefully glued back together by the seller.

     
    I laid out all the components, these use printed sides, which saved me doing the lining out and the lack of relief is less of a problem as you only notice in extreme close up. Ultima produce a range of bogie options if you want more detail.

     
    I started by looking at the instructions, which were not too bad, a pleasant surprise. I stuck the main bits together, omitting the corridor partition as again this is invisible (to me anyway!) I will put one in the 70ft as it has more windows. I may even put an interior in that, we'll see. The roof has a white overlay with some surface detail printed on. This is best held by masking tape whilst glueing.

     
    There were a few gaps around the white metal ends, but not too bad for the age of it.

     
    Supplied under frame detail included the battery boxes and truss rods, fitted to the cleaned aluminium with super glue.

     
    I then assembled the bogies, which was tricky as the axlebox covers were missing. At about 2mm square it was no surprise that they had fallen out the box at some point. Fortunately there were some in the siphon H, which I pirated as this needs a new end making so will be done later with Ultima replacements. A hold and fold would have been handy as the top fold is a little bit rounded. This were the first etched bogies I have attempted, so the learning curve was a bit steep at times. I painted them and did a basic highlight and weathering job on them, then varnished them prior to fitting up.

     
    I was then ready to paint the body, including the roof as all mine are grey for wartime. I did the under frame dirtying again and weathered the ends. There is a bit of detail to add to the buffers and maybe some transfers later. The corridor moulding is basic, I will not be adding vacuum pipes as they get in the way of the DG couplings. All this got varnished yesterday.


     
    This morning I cut out and fitted the printed sides. The colour of the top is a little yellow in pictures and I couldn't get the bottom to bend down much as the plastic had curled in a bit with age. I suspect this will be more of an issue on the 70ft. Any suggestions for contouring the plastic a bit would help. I also fitted the wheels, which was interesting as it was hard not to catch the truss rods with ends of the pinpoint axles. I did break 1 bit, how do you fit these, especially metal ones. Supplied were plastic thankfully. Do you do it when assembling the bogies?

     
    A shot end on, not quite enough depth of field but you get the general idea.

     
    Any comments or improvements that can be made would be welcome. I haven't worked out how to get any weathering onto the sides and make it stick yet, and the roof could do with a little soot streaking, but not sure what else needs sorting as coaching stock is not something I am very knowledgeable about.
  9. devondynosoar118
    As promised I have finally found time to record recent progress, and inspired by Jon Teal a short video of the branch goods.
    An overview of the two mostly done boards, which now just need scenic fettling and fun stuff.

    The branch goods running into the station throat.

    Close up of the new overbridge on the scenic board and hand made trees.

    Crosssing the underpass seen in my prototype posts. Have a picture to add to fake the tunnel!

    Seen from the opposite side of the underpass, the prairie rumbles round the embankment.

    Close up of the trees on the embankment

    Then I had to actually run a few trains up and down, for testing purposes obviously...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itnQLpfkIpQ
     
    Any thoughts or observations on progress would be appreciated. Still lots to do tho.I am hoping to debut at Exeter exhibition in May. I also now have an almost complete set of plans for the station building, thanks Dad for the cad and Kris for the detail!
  10. devondynosoar118
    After 6 months of trying and failing to get anyone to make a laser cut kit from my Autocad files I have decided to take matters into my own hands and sort the station once and for all.
    I saw Ratio now produce a William Clarke style station building, which I thought might make a starting point for my kitbash. They also make an etched roof light, so I gathered my raw materials.
     

     
    This approach would surely meet with Mr Clarke’s approval as he was essentially an early proponent of design and build, adapting a set of plans for stations to fit multiple sites and local materials.
    The plans were drawn by my late father from pictures, maps and from photos I obtained when the station was shamefully demolished over a weekend. If people are interested I can put a link to the Autocad files in my next post.
    The plan was to get all the parts from two kits and cut and shut each elevation to fit the plans.
     

     
    I experimented with staggered joins and straight, I will go back and micro fill all the gaps before final assembly. I have used this technique before and with careful finishing it can be very tidy. The poly cement used for joining can also start the filling process. Be sure to put thin reinforcements on the back of joins over lintels etc and leave to set on a flat surface.
     
    Cuts were made with a sharp hobby knife, steel rule and patience, cleaned up with a needle file. After a short while the front elevation was nearly finished. We have most of the right door and window apertures, just not necessarily in all the right places...
     

     
    The rear elevation presented a challenge, since one half of the building is mostly windows. I did cheat a bit, the three WC windows are now one long oblong window. This side will be away from the main view angle and I think it looks OK. I considered scratch building the window section, then realised the doors were all in the right pace. I filled in the bottom with off cuts and will re scribe the bricks later.
     

     
    That means the whole of the original building, which is wider than the extension, is now done, I have the gable ends to make up, which will be done in plasticard with DAS clay overlay, to scribe the stonework in. At the opposite end the “extension” part which is narrower was the perfect width for the Ratio kit, I just have to buy one more kit to make the platform elevation.
     
    Work done I took the dog to the beach for a paddle. Which may or may not be upside down, depending on your hemisphere or personal orientation...
     

     
    Next time- “I love it when a station comes together...”
  11. devondynosoar118
    Well I got time this week to paint up the shed, here are the results with a brief pictorial stroll through the process.
    Having started with a black undercoat I put some rust tones randomly across the roof, looking at the pictures from the 50's.
     

     
    There are 2 brown shades and a dark metallic in there. I wanted some faint rust visible through the grey base.
     

     
    The base grey was put on with a heavy drybrush.
     

     
    After 2 lightening tones on the grey I put more careful rust marks onto the roof, following the bits visible in the pics.
     

     
    To blend them in a further 2 coats of grey were lightly dry brushed over the top.
     

     
    The sides were highlighted in grey, again with dry brush technique.
     

     
    Mud was added to the bottom, as the shed was next to the running lines.
     

     
    A black wash was put on, here still wet, to tone down the chalky look of the grey, deliberately streaked to blend in the muck layer.
     

     
    The finished item ready for varnish and then fixing to the layout, when I get the point controls, ballast and tidying finished.....
  12. devondynosoar118
    I am amazingly a little bit ahead of schedule. I am sure this won't last!
    A few hectic hours work and another dent in my credit card completed the trackwork in the yard. I also did a temporary goods shed from the metcalfe one. Here's the track, which has all its droppers soldered on and is ready to paint and wire.

    It always looks so blocky and clumsy before painting but having seen the work involved I am glad i didn't have to build all those sets of points!
    The goods shed is a compromise, I am not going to have time to measure the original and do a proper scale model this year if I want to do the station building properly, so I ordered the Metcalfe one which is too narrow really and clad it in plasticard to get the stonework right. A few chops to the (too short again!) office and its getting there. There is still detail work to do such as guttering, barge boards etc.

    There is also the small lean to hut to put on this end that is visible in some of the immediately post war shots which I will assume was there in 1943-44 unless someone out there knows otherwise.

    Here is a view from the station throat. Overall I am moderately happy with the results, there are a few gentle dips in places on the board joints but I have run plenty of wagons through these without de-railment so hopefully they should be ok.

     
    I have also got a proper Dapol 55xx to be 5525, which will get a re-paint in wartime black, having discovered my bloody farish Prairie was of the large variety. This should solve the loco shortage. Next I am going to scrub and paint the track and the base colour for the yard, then fix it temporarily and test the wiring.
  13. devondynosoar118
    <p>Hello again! This layout is nearing its seventh birthday, which came as quite a shock to me when I realised. With that in mind I am now determined to get it to a point where I can run trains. I made a crash list of jobs that needed doing, top of the list was to finally sort out the control system and point wiring.I had despaired of ever getting any of this working in a coherent way and it was one of the many reasons the layout ended up in transport boxes in my workshop. Having toyed with numerous methods I bit the bullet this year and decided to use an NCE Mini Panel and decoders to control the Seep solenoids. Having trawled around for decoders that were both "affordable" and powerful enough to switch solenoids, I saw a seller on Ebay with several Team Digital SMD84's at very reasonable price. These looked ideal, especially since they do 8 points per board, meaning I would only need two. They had an onboard CDU and were serial bus compatible to boot.Having finally built the control box- see my layout topic, I got my head around the wiring and installed the decoders. Amazingly they worked when I called up the default address through the track bus from the handset! This led to needing to program all the macros in for route setting, which meant changing the output address' on the SMD84, the instructions of which appeared to be in "Greek."Finally to the point of this entry- how to change the address' using NCE Powercab and the "Smart Program" feature of the SMD84.
    Make sure you have the updated manual- early ones have a misprint. The corrected one can be found here- I opted to set ONLY the one decoder up at a time, so track power/DCC was carrying the signals, not the serial bus. I did this by hooking the decoder up direct to the power cab. Smart Program on the SMD 84 uses ACCESSORY COMMANDS instead of the program track or other direct method of CV setting. For NCE systems read any "c" in the SMD instructions table as 2 on the handset and "t" as 1. The LEDS on the board are set up so they flash at different stages of the smart program. To change the output address from default (1-8) you push the "Smart Button" until the red led pictured starts to flash, then let go.
    The smart button is the small push button in the centre of the frame at the edge of the board.
    You are now set up in "smart mode" ready to set the output numbers. I wanted the points on my first board to be numbered 101-108, so I pushed "select accessory" on the power cab and set the first number. The screen should look like this.

    When you have the right number, push enter, the screen will then give you the option of sending the command. If you want STALL MOTORS to be addressed then push "1" if you want SOLENOIDS, push "2."

    Once the command 1 or 2 is sent the SMD84 automatically remembers the eight outputs from the starting number, this worked fine for me.
    ​What to do if it goes wrong?
    Pushing and holding the Smart button on the SMD 84 for about 18 seconds or until both the LEDS in my first picture flash ALTERNATELY will reset the board to factory defaults when you let go the Smart button.
    Setting CV 29 Value
    I did this through Ops mode programming for an accessory decoder, off the NCE screen. See their manual, I only had the one decoder connected, a good idea IMO. You can change the accessory decoder address to enable ops mode programming via the DCC bus, but my brain was hurting enough for one day. Recommended value of CV 29 for an NCE system is 24 which will allow you to control the SMD84 via the DCC/track power ysing NCE macros. See note about the serial bus below. The SMD84 WILL NOT change CV 29's value until reset, I switched it off then on again but you can set CV 7 to a value of 0 to do that. You can tell if CV29 is wrong or any other mistake has been made because it starts doing its own thing. See note above!
    So thats how to do that. I realise this is a fairly dry blog entry but I couldn't find a step by step for it, so I made one.I must thank Nigel Cliffe for his invaluable help and superior knowledge.
     
    EDIT- I have contacted Team Digital to find out if their command bus is NCE compatible, they have confirmed it is NOT NCE COMPATIBLE, so you must use the SMD84 off the track power/DCC. This is less of a problem in smaller scales and on little layouts as due to the individual firing of the solenoids and the onboard CDU the current used is fairly minimal. Team Digital advise the use of their "DCC Booster" if you have sound locos etc and want more power- http://www.teamdigital1.com/prod_catalogue/dccboost_product/dccboost.html
  14. devondynosoar118
    Inspired by Sir Douglas's efforts I decided to make a start on a loco, built from plasti-card sheet over the chassis of a dodgy old Bachmann US outline loco picked up for £8 on ebay. First I chopped the chassis by 20mm to help fit the tighter radii of our railway. I also added as much weight as I could at this stage as it is a pancake motor. Not ideal for reliability I know but this one seems to run OK.
    First I sat and drew out the concept model onto graph paper, stuck it to box card and produced the mock up, shown here with the running plate and chassis.

     
    The mock up was used to check the fit on the loading gauge and the scaling. In the end I decided the cab needed cutting down a bit and the window height needed to drop down to match.

     
    This left me satisfied I could produce a rigid structure that looked suitable beefy from flat sheet, so I started scribing the design onto plasticard and cutting out. After 6 hours or so I got this far:

     
    the top is not fitted yet as I had to make up a method of attaching the body securely. I am probably going to hide one screw in the exhaust and another under a suitable bump in the body. I still have to design a face for the loco as well. There will be rails to allow a soldier to ride shotgun on the front!
    I was quite pleased with the result for a first run, especially sat on the chasssis. The bogies will be invisible as armoured skirts will be fitted down each side.

    One detail I did want was some see thru sections of the body, the grill mesh is a bit over scale, but I had nothing else suitable. I will mock up some heat exchangers/radiators for the inside to hide the wires.
     
    Here you can see how it fits over the mechanism. I am in two minds about wether to go mad on cab details, as boxing in the motor will be tricky as the bogie and motor pivot together.

     
    Any suggestions or comments welcome, I am going to use the Archers rivet transfers for surface detail, but have to finish and fill the body first.
  15. devondynosoar118
    Wow, its been a long time since I did a blog entry!
     
    I recently decided to start work on Kingsbridge again, as it has been living in crates in my workshop long enough. Sorting through the spares box and rolling stock I came across a Python kit from Chivers Finelines. This was the second one I bought, as my dog, then young, had chewed the first one the minute it arrived on the door mat. I have since trained my excellent postman to leave the parcels somewhere else and trained my dog not to eat them!
    Why a Python? Well my layout is set in the autumn of 1943, when the Kingsbridge branch was playing a vital role in preparing the allied forces to land on the coast of France.
    This gave me the opportunity to model a variety of things that would never usually be seen on a quiet branchline in the prettiest county in England. One of those things is General Eisenhower's personal train. He used it to tour training camps across the country. I was keen to model a Python, as it had one marshalled in it, to carry the Generals own massive American car, naturally.
    Easing myself back into tiny N gauge models seemed like a good idea and this one was relatively simple! I started with the walls and floor,

     
    Next I fitted the sole bars and brake shoes.

     
    Reaming the holes out for the buffers needed my second smallest drill bit. There was some casting flash in a few pieces.

     
    The nicely scaled white metal buffers then went in very neatly.

     
    I decided to get the paint on too, starting with a black Citadel primer, then a dark brown base for the chocolate livery. I very much doubt there were any left in crimson lake by this stage, but if there were, then mine has been hand picked by the general's staff for its tidier appearance and more recent paint!
    The black under frame was given a light dry brush of dark grey to start the weathering process and show off the surface detail. Seeing it this close you can spot the moulding flash on the axle boxes which I missed, easily cleaned off with a sharp knife, which I shall do before finishing it.

     
    I then let the planking dry, whilst I had a brew. The next stage was to highlight the planking and lighten the brown at the same time.

     
    I competed the brown with a final highlight, then a coat of matt varnish in preparation for lettering etc later. Once that had dried (I helped it in the warming oven) I was ready to glaze the windows, with some clear sheet, bars added with a fine CD marker, not perfect but I was happy just to see them! Cruel close up...

     
    Now it was time for adding the roof, a grey Halfords primer and a dry brush with light grey, then white. The surface is now all ready for transfers and weathering, which I will do next time as I have to look at the detail for that and find my transfer stash.

     
    That left the General's Buick with a nearly finished vehicle to be transported in and reminded me I could still work with stuff this tiny.
    Thanks for reading. I am building up the courage and parts to tackle (after about 4 years!) the control panel of the beast.
  16. devondynosoar118
    Have done a few pictures today!
    Only the goods trains are started as Dapol aren't producing their "B" set coaches at the moment and I can't find any for sensible money. as my setting is the 1940's much of my stock is weathered to give it a more dirty and battered appearance as befits a railway which is busy with the war effort and where resources for maintainance and cleaning are limited.
    Dapol 45xx pulling a mixed train of Farish and Dapol wagons

    Dapol 20t Loco coal and 45xx

    GWR 7 plank, PO 7 plank and GWR mineral wagons.

    Branch "toad" awaiting final signwriting.

  17. devondynosoar118
    I have finally got round to sorting out some more little jobs. The first one was re-numbering and dirtying my Dapol 45xx. I got some Modelmaster brass plates that were great, and some fox buffer beam numbers finished it off. All that is left to do is sort out the disgusting rapido coupling and do the front and back dirty to match the sides. Any comments appreciated as I haven’t varnished it yet. The real 4561 continues to be on static display in one of the museums (Swindon?) but I am hoping for a return to the SW for it soon.
     
     
    Apologies for the lack of super sharpness all over but composite pictures are still a way ahead!
     

     

     

     

     
     
     
     
    The obligatory black and white shot.
     
     
    I have also now got all the trackwork on order to finish the station itself (hooray!) and only need the control panel and point motor wiring that goes with it to finish the nuts and bolts stuff. I have also begun construction of the flight cases for the boards to travel in which have been a monster job in themselves. Will put in a post on them some time as well.
  18. devondynosoar118
    As it was my Birthday this month, celebrated by going to the WSR and visiting the Taunton members day (thanks Tim and team) I had some money to spend, so I bought a pair of GWR Conflats, in this case the Peco version.
    My reasoning was that in Autumn 1943 many local families were evacuated from the training area around Slapton, some of whom would have taken advantage of the railways removal service if they were travelling outside the local area. Service personnel from other areas would also be relocating to the area, either as a result of service dispersal or on postings, so I figured the Conflats would be quite common at the time my layout is set.
    With this in mind I set out making the containers a little more "worn" to reflect the fact that many would have been hard used in the period and unlikely to have been given much painting.
    The first task was to take the body and chassis apart, fortunately the Peco ones are easily separated by undoing the bolts on the chassis. If you break off the plastic thread they can be glued back later. This would enable me to spray the chassis.

     
    Next I "faded" the livery, I hate this part, it was very crisply printed. I used a scratch pencil and a small piece of 800 grit wet n dry to wear away some of the lettering.

     
    I cut off the ugly Rapido coupling and its mounting, as I will be using DG's as usual.

     
    I then primed the solebars and break gear black, with citadel spray, seen here wet.

     
    Whilst that was drying I washed the body with Windsor and Newton "peat" brown ink to shade the planking. I did the same to the deck and side plates of the Conflat wagon.

     
    I left the ink wash to dry fully, then drybrushed the black parts including the roof, with a dark grey.

     
    Once the ink had fully dried it was time for a stippled layer of brown dirt, done with a flat ended stippling brush wiped almost dry. I did this with the whole model assembled to unify the finish. It was nearly finished!

     
    As a final tweak I applied sone Tamiya weathering powders to add a little sooty grime and dull it all nicely, then varnished it all with Humbrol matt acrylic varnish. Here it is set next to the un weathered second model.

     
    Close up of the finished item.

     
    I plan on finishing off the Python from the last entry some time this month and get some more DG's to sort out the couplings.
  19. devondynosoar118
    Having had a successful test at Taunton with one Prairie shunting well all day I have started getting all the track works and building placement in the yard area sorted so I can fix all the track. I intended to do this today but the warming of the weather has dried out my contact adhesive!
    To start with a series of photos of the buildings, in place on the boards. All of these are designed to be fixed in with the yard covering filling the gaps.
     

    An overall view from the king point
     

    The Road Goods Shed and covered cattle pens. Excuse the grainy shot, had my ISO too high.
     

    The Carriage shed, with an old MK1 (the lines test coach!) for positioning tests. This building has come out really well, apart from the fact it is straight where the prototype curves I am pretty pleased with the look of it in place.
     

    The Engine Shed, on its hard standing. This building is also looking about right compared to pictures, much to my relief as it was a tricky one to construct.
     

    Finally the temporary goods shed, needs its canopy and chimney stack, plus as it was the first building I did the roof lights need more detail to match the engine shed.
     
    Thew next phase is to stick the track down, then sort out a few running issues before getting the control system sorted. I am still sorely tempted to just use one of those TV remote point controllers for the sake of speed, we shall see.
    I also separated the scenic board seen in the first picture from the yard to enable me to keep it clean and tidy until the station is done. I dusted off the 4th scenic board, which is only a frame at present, only to find the track bed had warped/sagged which showed me the folly of using sundela, this will be replaced with marine ply over the weekend, which I will use for all further board tops.
     
    Sorry there is no dramatic progress, but I am saving up to get the station building cut by York Model making as I tried it and it wasn't right.
  20. devondynosoar118
    Managed to steal an hour or two today to get this done, ready to install a station building and the engine shed. The back scene is next but budget is lacking, I could afford the sheet of 9mm MDF for this job. This allows me to keep the whole platform as a separate piece that I can complete at home then drop into the baseboard ready for final tinkering.
    I chose 9mm because it allows for a close to scale height after taking into account my clunky non fine scale track and won't look too low from typical viewing height. Theres textures on top which will add to the height.
    I thought I would do a quick how to on this one as well.
     
    Materials-
    Suitable size 9mm MDF sheet Layout paper- Newspaper would do but I have a pad of dads old sketching paper that gets used for modelling projects! Masking tape Matte black rattle can

    Here's the start, I drew my platform template using flexible rulers, a sharp pencil and some stock to check clearance, just like most methods. Then I stuck my template to the MDF, I split it into two parts as it made the sheet usage better.

     

    Now the easy way to get a clear cut line, spray lightly around the template edges with the matte black spray.

     
    As you can see this gives a great crisp, clear line.

     
    I cut this using my cheap and nasty jigsaw, with a fresh, good quality blade. The two parts got joined with mitre fast accelerator and thick cyano then a dab of squadron filler.

     
    In place, checking the clearances. I allowed a relatively generous gap for stock as the viewing angle is from the front.

     
    End of platform view, showing the gentle curve. I think it's comparing well with the prototype, at some point I will re stage some published shots and see!

     
    At this stage it looks a little "tall" from rail level, but that height will drop when ballasting is done and the addition of bricks and stonework to the platform face will make it less stark.
  21. devondynosoar118
    I have set myself the aim of exhibiting Kingsbridge this year. I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing. Here's the job list I think it needs to be OK (not finished!)

    Complete station board, including the major buildings and structures. I might ignore a few secondary buildings if I run short of time Get the second loco converted to DCC with a digihat Complete the third scenic board Complete wiring of boards. build a control panel- stud and probe for now get backscenes printed build a cassette fiddle yard do at least some of the fencing ensure there is enouch stock to run a timetable and write it Fit DG couplings to both engines and some of the stock, probably just the B-sets and split the wagons into cuts of 3-4 for basic shunting. Fit and wire the electro magnets in the yard. build some bloody legs! Build lighting rig finish second flight case test run at least 2 full opperating sessions Do you think this is possible by June/July? Is there anything on the above list that I could ditch and what would be top priority, after finishing station and wiring.
    This is the "ready" bit, minus photographic backscene.

    I will get pics of the reallt unfinished bits this week.
  22. devondynosoar118
    I got all the pictures done yesterday, as well as nearly completing the throat and testing my first point motor!
     
    This is the track, weathered, using acrylic drybrushing on the rail and chairs, followed by two ink washes, with the lineside grit/ash/mud done as below. Ballast was dried and seived grey builders sand I found in the yard.

     
    The lineside area, stage 1. Fine playsand dyed with ink and PVA

     
    Stage 2, Grey drybrush- Dark first, then light

     
    I felt this was too bright, so I washed it back with an ink mix to dull the gray and add some grime to represent mud and dirt in between the stones of the embankment top.

     
    Just a quick shot down the scenic board towards the station

  23. devondynosoar118
    I have finally got the back scenes on, but not glued permanently. Aside from one or two spots where I need to put some strengtheners i.e. on the joints and ends of curves, I think it has worked out quite well.
    Here are the 2 station boards.

     
    Its made a big difference to how the layout flows, now its on to track weathering and fixing, plus wiring the bus and point motors!
    I might even get to start the engine shed thanks to help from you all with the measurements.
  24. devondynosoar118
    I realised this week it has been over 10 years since I started this layout, which was a bit terrifying. Life has a way of making things take longer than expected and the model of the station building at Kingsbridge is no exception. Thanks to those of you who have been with me since the beginning and all the commenters along the way, you have all helped keep me moving forwards, even if the pace has been a bit non existent!
    Last time we left the building at the elevations stage, I matched the plans to my kit bash as best I could and tried to keep everything proper. I got through 3 station kits in total I think. With that done it was assembly time. 
    I needed to get all the dividing walls in the right place, Dad had done his best guess at the floor plan from site pictures and book research, so I copied that.
    I used the internal dividers from the kit and made the wider ones for the original  building using styrene sheet. I forgot to take any pictures until I got the roof on, I got a bit carried away.

    This is the front elevation, original building on the left, extension on the right. Windows and doors were from Churchward, Ratio and Peedie Models etches. Some came from the Ratio kit. I am not sure all of them are absolutely correct but I had no way of checking.


    Yard elevation. 
    Chimneys are modified from the kit ones. I wrapped them in Slaters stone sheets to match the real ones.
    The big holes in the roof are for the very tricky roof lights, which are a big part of the building. I used Peedie Models industrial windows etches for these, plus some scrap from the station kits. I thought about the side louvres and decided only a maniac with binoculars will see them from viewing distance. Here are the etched parts soldered up.


    Next I made a surround and added some plastic at the ends, which hid some shoddy fit and made them a bit more rigid. They are a shade “heavy” vs the prototype but it was a compromise.


    I couldn’t resist dragging the platform out of storage to test fit everything.  I think this is looking about 80% like the real location, it is a bit further back from the platform edge than I would have liked but if I bring it too far forward the bay platform will be too far behind the table end, which will not look right. This is a result of me not thinking about the station area as a whole model when laying out track, it was the first (so far only!) station I have ever modelled and the mistakes are legion. It was also the second baseboard I ever made.


    So there it is, somewhere for passengers to alight at last.
    Next will be painting, I have already finished that IRL since I stayed up til 2am the other night working on it!

    So what are my future plans? I really need help with the back scene now, I need a 600mm high one about 12 ft long in total and have photos to use. The new Peco modular one is quite good for Devon hills as an alternative. Any thoughts on who could print me a photographic one?
    I also intend to put the whole layout together to make all the board connections and get the second station board working, which needs a very large space for several weeks.
     



  25. devondynosoar118
    Despite my slowness with the wiring the track work is slowly coming together, all the sections laid so far have their droppers soldered and the points have now all been converted for DCC. The scenic board had its track sprayed and track bed painted ready for ballasting. I even managed to run a few trains on DC to test the joints and it all worked, which was a nice surprise. The big stumbling block is now cash for the remaining points and then fitting all the point motors. I am still looking for a control system and a good Dapol Syphon C or G which are ridiculous money at the moment. So far I have bid close to RRP on 5 and not got a single one.
     
    The classic view from the hill above the station again.
     

     
    The bridge scene, with kit bashed peco bridge, wing wall ready for some DAS clay stonework.
     

     
    Station throat and PW siding
     

     
    Looking up the scenic board towards the exit
     

     
    Backscene isn't attatched yet as the underbaseboard wiring isn't complete.
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