Jason T

A book I've thumbed through many a time, as well as watching the scenes of Bacup on the B&R Video Volume 98 L&Y memories although the latter isn't much help as it shows the terraced houses which backed onto the station looking like they are made of coal and the mill next door being a much cleaner shade of brown, not far off what the goods shed currently looks like. If it weren't for copyright laws, I'd take a screenshot and pop it up.

That's part of the problem really, as there are not too many colour photos of the buildings as they were in the late 50's / early 60's and I have read conflicting reports on just how grubby they were, with some saying they were basically black and others saying they weren't as grubby as you may think. They will be going a lot dirtier than they are now though; this is pretty much the first 'coat' of weathering and was more of a (successful) test of method than anything else. Tetley Mills, New Hey and Dewsbury (Midland) are what I am looking at for inspiration, even though I am aware that I should be looking at the real thing. I know it's a different stone and as such weathers differently, but down one of the narrow back streets in Oxford (under the Bridge of Sighs, past the alleyway to the Turf Tavern and round the corner) there is a building which has never had a cleanup operation and is positively filthy. The girlfriend is stumped as to why I pay this building more interest than the myriad of beautifully cleaned and restored buildings in the city, and why I always want to walk back from town past it. The biggest problem I have faced so far is getting the base (clean) colour correct as even though it was always the intention to weather everything, I wanted to weather something that was the correct colour rather than the base Slaters colour (which isn't actually too different to what I finished up with). I have to confess that the closest I have been to Bacup is Todmorden and that was to go biking and not look at old mills

Weathering continues apace, although there is still a lot to do. This is the first layer of muck, with the window recesses, etc., needing to be done (couldn't dab at them with the cloth) and I've just realised that I have neglected to paint the base layer of stone onto the office building (the end view of the building is actually where the office will be located, hence it not being fully dirtied up). Once this coating has dried, I'll apply a second and then have a go with the black, although will try and show some restraint. Hopefully, the weathering is bringing it to life.

Not much progress over the weekend as I've been busy riding bikes and walking but this evening, I've had a first attempt at weathering the buildings. There is nothing new in this method but it's a first for me and although it is going to take quite a while to get teh colours, etc., correct, below is my first attempt. I started with the platform for the goods shed which for obvious reasons, needs to be painted and weathered before the building can be stuck together and progressed. It strikes me that the stonework in the shed wouldn't be anywhere near as blackened and weatherworn as the exterior, except maybe close to the doorways where the elements, etc., would have more of an effect. Additionally, the platform to; would that be filthy or cleaned by being walked upon, etc? Anyway, onto the method and some progress shots The tools: A cloth, a paint stirrer and a well past it's best pot of Railmatch Sleeper Grime Using the paint stirrer, retrieve the gummy crap from the bottom of the pot and spread thinly on the cloth. Then, with your finger, wipe / dab the cloth gently on the embossed stone, which should leave the stones looking grotty and the mortar relatively untouched Five minutes pf dabbing and wiping on the platform leaves it looking like this. I reckon it's going to need a few more goes. Progress with one end of the shed. Once again, a long way to go but hopefully I'm on the right tracks here (pardon the pun)

Thank you for the kind comments folks, it really spurs me on. About to start laying the track to and in the fiddle yard so will soon be able to actually operate the layout properly. Only worry is that playing trains may delay progress.

I'd forgotten just how stunning your layout is. Baltic Street is in no small part what is driving me forward with Bacup and what I am hoping to achieve

Is the difference the catch point?

I used to always get my Mum to stop at Hest Bank so I could watch trains every time we had the misfortune to venture to Morecambe when I was nipper, so I will be keeping an eye on this intriguing thread (1980's period when I first knew it unfortunately). Next time I am up North, I can get some photos of Hest Bank as it is today if you want; any requests?

So why is it that I see the real piccies on my PC and yesterday's on my iPad? Weird.... And now it is all sorted again. Maybe the glue fumes were getting to me.

More progress on the shed. Yesterday evening and today have been quite productive, with the following done (or started). Windows completed on the side walls. Platform (including ramp) measured, cut out, dressed in stone and first coat of paint on (which has gone glossy - Humbrol !!!). Additional stonework added to interior of building where it might just be visible when looking from outside (bottom parts of end walls, etc). Lintels and sills added to interiors. Door into office inset into interior end wall - yet to be painted. Interior stone 'whitewashed'. Wasn't sure about this but looked through a few books and was convinced. It's an off-white colour and applied roughly to look careworn, with some stone colour peeping through in places. And as I was sussing out where it will sit and how much space it will take up, I leaned it together and as always, got the camera out. Windows completed - not sure whether to attempt to paint the frames as it may all end in tears as I get it on the glazing The glossy orange platform (base colour only to hide the white of the SE Finecast paving) and a bit of the interior in it's past-it's-best whitewash. You may notice the slots at the top of the wall; these are where the roof beams will sit. The reason for the additional interior work - you can see in..... The office end. It will be nigh on impossible to see the interior around the arched windows so I have left that bit as just card and put on a very rough, thin layer of 'whitewash'

Oh, I should add that there is a 1mm gap at the bottom of the internal wall lining as for rigidity, I intend to glue in a flat piece of mounting card along the bottom which will be all but hidden when the building is in place.

An end of day progress update (off to the pub now, if I can persuade Sofia that it's a good idea) As this is an open-ended building, it struck me that the interior would be partially visible and as such, if I did my usual 'stick the clear plastikard on the back and forget about it', then it would stand out by a country mile. So, as the clear plastikard is 0.020 thickness, I got some ordinary 0.020 as well, attached it all and then put a rough skin of embossed sheet over the top (actually a slightly different style of stone apart from one bit). The window openings aren't cut exactly on this interior level but when the roof is on and the only view in will be through the (at some point) mucky windows and end doors, it won't really matter. Of course, I forgot to cut out the sections for the roof trusses (!!!!) so will do that at a later date. Window frames have been added to the side walls; I would have added the central (horizontal & vertical) bars but I thought I'd run out of thin enough Microstrip, only to find some whilst tidying up.

Finished the other end's window now as well, so here's a couple of photos - one with just the end wall and one with the office leaned up against it. This one took two attempts - made me glad I constructed the window before affixing it to the wall

There hasn't been a great deal of progress in the past week or so, due to the fact that I was in Alicante / Elche (in Spain) for a week, followed by Easter in Cumbria, visiting family, mountain biking and drinking. Getting going again has been quite difficult, not through lack of motivation but more because of not knowing where to start. However, I have got going again and have started to tackle what will probably be the most awkward part of the goods shed, the arched windows. I did think about getting etches made but I don't trust my cutting of the arches to be perfect so I have instead decided to go down the usual microstrip route. So, I started by cutting a piece of clear plastikard to the shape of the recess on the back of the arch and with it placed loosely in, scribed around the edges. I then measured out the separate panes and scribed them on using a small set square (12 panels wide by 4 high, with the top one being smaller). With the lines scribed on, I then added the vertical bars first, followed by adding the horizontal ones individually, reasoning being that there was more of an area to hold steady (for cutting of microstrip) if I used this orientation. Once all had been added, I trimmed back the edges and then carefully curved and glued the edge on around the curve before attaching it to the recess in the back of the wall. Not a perfect fit but close enough hopefully, and painting will disguise the worst of the gaps. Step 1. Scribed up - Microstrip being attached Step 2. Outer edge attached Step 3. Glued into recess Result.... satisfactory One more to do.

I pre-ordered one anyway, even though I know it will be a loooong time before it arrives. I couldn't help myself

Now up on Hattons website for pre-order: http://www.ehattons.com/52540/Bachmann_UK_31_166_Class_5_L_YR_2_4_2_Tank_50795_in_BR_Lined_Black_Early_Emblem/StockDetail.aspx

I'm soon off on my holidays to Spain again, to visit the girlfriend's family this time though. As such, there'll be no progress for another week at least (off to Cumbria to visit my family at Easter). I have, however, progressed with the goods shed to the point where all lintels and sills have been added, the former for the office roof made and a few of the roof trusses cut out. I really should go and pack now...... Blue tacked together to get an idea of the size and whether it is turning out as I hoped / planned. It is (so far)

So what on Earth is the below photo all about then? The cutouts from the windows holding the stonework against the recesses whilst the epoxy resin dries, that's what. There must be a better way of doing this but I don't know it Edited to add another photo, rather than add another post Just in case anyone is interested, here's a shot of the inside of one of the end walls, showing the double thickness mounting board which will enable the roof to be recessed as per the real thing

Rather a quiet at at work today so I've progressed with the goods shed. The sides and roof are still to do but I have made good progress with the ends and the office, hardest part being the surrounds for the arched windows at each end (I used a cutting compass and a scriber). The stonework hopefully matches that on the real shed, including the courses that run parallel to the roofline. The hipped roof for the office is next on the Things To Do list and then cover the sides and cut out the windows, etc. What's stoned so far The end with the office. I don't know why it has a chimney above the window either (logic says it's a daft place) but it was there on the real building Close up, which hopefully shows the scribed stonework on the arched window surround

Baseboard no.3 is now built and resting on top of the frames looking very bare. The track on there is an attempt to maximise the fiddle yard and offer as much access and space as possible. I did think about building a traverser but because I am limited by storage space for stock and by the fact that a traverser isn't really feasible due to the back of the layout being up against a wall, it'll be the plain old boring fan of sidings. Much of the pointwork for this will be on the scenic board (no.3) and hence why in my previous post, I was looking at ways of hiding this from view without a full scenic break. As such, I've been in contact with the L&Y Railway Society (I'm a member) and procured a number of photographs of Whitworth Goods Shed, which was down the line from Bacup but built in a very L&Y style, if you know what I mean. So, here below is the first steps in the building, the cutting out of the mounting card. I'm going to need to add quite a bit of bracing, etc., to this to keep it rigid. I can't share the photos I was sent for obvious reasons but it would seem that one was on my screen when I took this shot. A closer view Baseboard 3

There's not been a lot of progress in the past week but as can be seen in the first photo below, all turnouts and most of the track for the goods yard have been laid and wired on board 2. With that done, it's now time to move onto boards 3 (curve and exit) and 4 (fiddleyard), necessitating a trip to B&Q when I get time for more wood. These two boards should be easier to construct, lay track and wire than the first two although board 3 in particular presents a problem in that the main lines need to continue on their arc, which restricts space for the already compromised goods yard (I always knew that the goods yard would be compromised in size). So I've been having a think about what to do, as well as a mess-around by raising a section of baseboard using some off-cuts. It strikes me that the only real place to put a goods shed / warehouse is on board 3 and by placing it diagonally to the curving running lines but in line with the most likely candidate siding, not only will it fit in place but the building itself will hide the curve of the main lines and act as a convenient view-blocker for the fiddle yard entrance itself. After all, how many people are going to peer over the top of the building to see if the running lines are straight or curved and as long as there is enough clearance at the back of the building, then all should be tickety-boo. To continue the illusion, I may add a mill on the other side of the running lines but parallel with the goods shed. I sort of did this on my previous layout, where from normal viewing angles the single track line entered and ran down a straight (but tall sided) cutting before entering a tunnel where in reality, the track continued to curve and the inside (e.g. unseen) wall of the cutting was missing. To try and get an idea, I placed the mill building (note: finished the slating and started to paint the roof) in the approximate position of the goods shed / warehouse and took a photo from the viewing side and then from above. Any thoughts on this? (And yes, that's Peco flexi, saved over for use in the fiddle yard. After looking at nothing but SMP flexi for the past few weeks, Peco just looks wrong now )

When I hit a tree at one point, fell off the bike, then off a 6' drop off, followed by the bike (which landed on me and bounced off) and then a huge boulder which landed straight on my head, I emitted a similar noise. Thank God for full face helmets Unfortunately, although my mate was filming at the time, he was wearing a headcam and not actually looking where I was so all he caught was the various swearing, laughter and me climbing out of a hole

A boring update for a boring task. Not much done in the last week, mainly because I have been throwing myself down rocky mountain tracks in the South of Spain on a downhill bike and crashing a lot, but since getting back I have been busily scoring and cutting strips of slates from 150gsm card and then glueing them to the mill roof. Only two sides done so far and I have that much PVA on my fingers that it's hard to type and not just put 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA'. Anyway, here's a photo. Not sure whether I should put these updates in the other thread in the 'Buildings' forum but I suppose that the layout has now reached a point where it is more than just a collection of unpainted buildings so I've decided to run with this thread. Told you it was boring.

Nothing much to report as an update although I have had a go at the roof for the mill. not sure if it's a bit steep / tall. It's currently not affixed and as you can see, the mill was at a wonky angle (due to it's rather strange overhanging location - it will be resolved) but hopefully along the right lines and if not, I have 10 A1 sheets of mounting board stored up for attempt 2.

Is the name a play on Kirkby Lonsdale by any chance (which, of course, is on the River Lune). Most definitely a thread that should draw interest, as it is interesting and informative to see how you prepare the layout room (surely it has ceased to be called the garage) and all the steps to completion.