Thanks, Andrew, for your kind words. Posts in the near future will be focused mainly on dismantling the layout, and then on its re-assembly in its new home, but these will hopefully give some insight into the design of the layout’s infrastructure. The work will include some changes to the electrical arrangements before it is re-erected, and I will try to illustrate these in this thread. But that may be some months in the future. At the moment, attention is concentrated on taking the layout apart.
Thank goodness I designed this layout from the word ‘go’ for straightforward dismantling and re-assembly, because I foresaw that more than one house move might occur during the layout’s lifetime. Its new home will in fact be its fifth. So, whilst I wouldn't say that the process has become 'routine', it is a process that is not unfamiliar, and previous experience has been distilled into a fairly detailed manual (revised and updated over time) that reminds me of the necessary steps that need to be taken; this is particularly important at the re-assembly stage, when it really does become a case of "RTFM!".
The Station Building and Train Shed break down into seven sections, starting with the Train Shed roof, which is placed upside down in its cradle for storage and transportation
Piece by piece, the structure is dismantled.
Going.........
Going.........
Going.........
Gone.
Leaving the component parts waiting to be packed
……….and placed in their box for the journey to their new home
Which has left an even larger empty space on the baseboard.
The Burford Branch
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
Dismantling continues
The board crossing disguises the baseboard joint where it crosses the tracks.
The various pieces lift out separately, and can then be stored with other scenic items.
The bridge structure is lifted put in one piece. [I’m not sure how this will be dealt with in future, when there is an embankment on the approach to one end of the bridge. It could either involve the use of Velcro-strip and bushes to disguise the join, or (if there is room between the baseboards when they are bolted face-to-face) the bridge may be permanently fixed in position.]
With the bridge out of the way dismantling proceeds from left to right along the back of the layout. First to go is the office building attached to the Blanket Mill.
The mill building itself is the next to go.
It can be seen now that the parapet at the back of the mill is simply painted on the backscene.
The mill foreman’s cottage is then removed. This is supported by the surrounding structures, so it won’t stand by itself.
The mill chimney is lightly stuck to the backscene with double-side tape, and the smoke (teased out cotton wool) simply clings on to the backscene by molecular attraction (or maybe it’s static electricity). Both items will be removed later to reveal the join in the backscene. If you look carefully, you will see that the chimney pot of the mill foreman’s cottage is permanently stuck in place on the backscene.
Attention is now turned to the group of buildings from Donnington Brewery. The brewery cottages (now owned by the railway company and let out to coal merchants as offices) are ‘plugged in’ to the adjoining Brewhouse, so these buildings are lifted out together
……..before being separated. [The red line along the base of the building results from an attempt to mark the position of these buildings on the baseboard. This won’t be a problem, as the base of these buildings will be about 6mm below the level of the yard surface when this has been laid.]
The buildings have been set aside to await packing in a suitable box for transport. [The round cardboard rings seen in the left background are for a possible second gasholder in the gasworks.]
The Builder’s Yard group will be the next to go.
The board crossing disguises the baseboard joint where it crosses the tracks.
The various pieces lift out separately, and can then be stored with other scenic items.
The bridge structure is lifted put in one piece. [I’m not sure how this will be dealt with in future, when there is an embankment on the approach to one end of the bridge. It could either involve the use of Velcro-strip and bushes to disguise the join, or (if there is room between the baseboards when they are bolted face-to-face) the bridge may be permanently fixed in position.]
With the bridge out of the way dismantling proceeds from left to right along the back of the layout. First to go is the office building attached to the Blanket Mill.
The mill building itself is the next to go.
It can be seen now that the parapet at the back of the mill is simply painted on the backscene.
The mill foreman’s cottage is then removed. This is supported by the surrounding structures, so it won’t stand by itself.
The mill chimney is lightly stuck to the backscene with double-side tape, and the smoke (teased out cotton wool) simply clings on to the backscene by molecular attraction (or maybe it’s static electricity). Both items will be removed later to reveal the join in the backscene. If you look carefully, you will see that the chimney pot of the mill foreman’s cottage is permanently stuck in place on the backscene.
Attention is now turned to the group of buildings from Donnington Brewery. The brewery cottages (now owned by the railway company and let out to coal merchants as offices) are ‘plugged in’ to the adjoining Brewhouse, so these buildings are lifted out together
……..before being separated. [The red line along the base of the building results from an attempt to mark the position of these buildings on the baseboard. This won’t be a problem, as the base of these buildings will be about 6mm below the level of the yard surface when this has been laid.]
The buildings have been set aside to await packing in a suitable box for transport. [The round cardboard rings seen in the left background are for a possible second gasholder in the gasworks.]
The Builder’s Yard group will be the next to go.
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
The Builder’s Yard group has now been dismantled.
The remaining brewery buildings could now be removed. The Maltings was next....
……followed by the Malt Kiln
The Brewery Offices were the next to go
This resulted in the first damage to be done. The wooden bannisters of the external staircase on the Bottling Hall were caught as the Brewery Offices were removed. The damage is not as bad as it looks, and will be repaired before the Bottling Hall is packed away.
The Bottling Hall could now be removed.
This was followed by the Brewery Stable and the front wall and gates of the brewery yard
The empty spaces on the baseboard are becoming ever larger
This just left the Brewery Stores (including the Old Malt Kiln) as the last parts of the brewery to be removed, plus Corner Cottage beyond.
Corner Cottage stands on a raised base at the top of Back Hill.
Unlike the Builder’s Yard group, whose raised base is fixed to the extended baseboard at the back of the layout, the base on which Corner Cottage stands is free-standing.
These buildings and structures need to be packed away in boxes, before dismantling continues.
The remaining brewery buildings could now be removed. The Maltings was next....
……followed by the Malt Kiln
The Brewery Offices were the next to go
This resulted in the first damage to be done. The wooden bannisters of the external staircase on the Bottling Hall were caught as the Brewery Offices were removed. The damage is not as bad as it looks, and will be repaired before the Bottling Hall is packed away.
The Bottling Hall could now be removed.
This was followed by the Brewery Stable and the front wall and gates of the brewery yard
The empty spaces on the baseboard are becoming ever larger
This just left the Brewery Stores (including the Old Malt Kiln) as the last parts of the brewery to be removed, plus Corner Cottage beyond.
Corner Cottage stands on a raised base at the top of Back Hill.
Unlike the Builder’s Yard group, whose raised base is fixed to the extended baseboard at the back of the layout, the base on which Corner Cottage stands is free-standing.
These buildings and structures need to be packed away in boxes, before dismantling continues.
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
The next buildings to go comprised the Station Road group. The three buildings (comprising two pubs – The Three Tuns and The Golden Balls, with Bond’s Bell Foundry sandwiched between them) are joined together as a single group, which hardly justifies the street name. Maybe “Station Approach” would be a more appropriate moniker.
The brewery wall and the gate to the brewery siding form a separate structure.
As the door to The Three Tuns is open, I modelled the central passage in this building, only to discover later that it is entirely hidden from view by buildings on the station platform! Maybe that’s just as well, as the ‘stained glass’ of the fanlight over the back door has faded. (It was originally red, blue and green.)
[Photo re-edited 22.7.20]
With the Station Road group out of the way (which occupied the gap in the foreground of this shot), the group of three buildings in Back Hill (again built as a single group) could now be removed.
The retaining wall in front of the path up Back Hill will not be fixed to the structure behind it until the cottages have been finished and the path has been detailed.
So this was removed first.
…….before the Back Hill group was slid to the left and lifted away,
The remaining group at the right-hand end of the layout, comprising the Station Garage, a saddlery or cobbler’s shop (I haven’t decided which yet) and Gable Cottage was now removed;
…....leaving only The Great Western Hotel to be taken off the layout.
The front façade of the building has not yet been stuck in place, which gives a chance to see the hotel lobby that is usually glimpsed obliquely through the open door. I don’t model building interiors unless I think they will be seen.
This completed the removal of the buildings from the layout.
The huge void on the layout where all the buildings were located is now clear to see.
The next part of disassembling the layout will be the removal of the various switch panels and the two controllers, following which the baseboard fascia can then be removed.
The brewery wall and the gate to the brewery siding form a separate structure.
As the door to The Three Tuns is open, I modelled the central passage in this building, only to discover later that it is entirely hidden from view by buildings on the station platform! Maybe that’s just as well, as the ‘stained glass’ of the fanlight over the back door has faded. (It was originally red, blue and green.)
[Photo re-edited 22.7.20]
With the Station Road group out of the way (which occupied the gap in the foreground of this shot), the group of three buildings in Back Hill (again built as a single group) could now be removed.
The retaining wall in front of the path up Back Hill will not be fixed to the structure behind it until the cottages have been finished and the path has been detailed.
So this was removed first.
…….before the Back Hill group was slid to the left and lifted away,
The remaining group at the right-hand end of the layout, comprising the Station Garage, a saddlery or cobbler’s shop (I haven’t decided which yet) and Gable Cottage was now removed;
…....leaving only The Great Western Hotel to be taken off the layout.
The front façade of the building has not yet been stuck in place, which gives a chance to see the hotel lobby that is usually glimpsed obliquely through the open door. I don’t model building interiors unless I think they will be seen.
This completed the removal of the buildings from the layout.
The huge void on the layout where all the buildings were located is now clear to see.
The next part of disassembling the layout will be the removal of the various switch panels and the two controllers, following which the baseboard fascia can then be removed.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by martin goodall on Wed Jul 22, 2020 7:53 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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LesGros
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Re: The Burford Branch
Martin,
Thank you for sharing the images; all worthy of further study for insight into "How it was Done".
It will be interesting to see it restored in your new home.
Best wishes for a stress-free move.
Thank you for sharing the images; all worthy of further study for insight into "How it was Done".
It will be interesting to see it restored in your new home.
Best wishes for a stress-free move.
Last edited by LesGros on Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
LesG
The man who never made a mistake
never made anything useful
The man who never made a mistake
never made anything useful
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grovenor-2685
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Re: The Burford Branch
martin goodall wrote:[Many thanks, Keith, for sorting this out. The problem was that I don't have the picture editing software on the computer I am currently using that I had on my old computer. Microsoft Picture Manager, which was very useful, has been discontinued.]
I only used MS Paint which came with my Windows 10, I've never come across a Windows without it.
Rgds
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Noel
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Re: The Burford Branch
martin goodall wrote:[Many thanks, Keith, for sorting this out. The problem was that I don't have the picture editing software on the computer I am currently using that I had on my old computer. Microsoft Picture Manager, which was very useful, has been discontinued.]
I have MS Office 2007 on my computer, Martin, which includes Microsoft Office Picture Manager, which seems to be pretty much the same thing. I don't know if it's in later versions, but if you have Office it might be worth a look. Otherwise, as Keith says, Paint is always there, currently under Windows Accessories, [NOT Paint 3D which is something else altogether] and Photos will also do some basic processes, like rotation or cropping.
Regards
Noel
Noel
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grovenor-2685
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Re: The Burford Branch
This did not even need rotating, just a 'save as' from paint so it lost the Iphone data.
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
Noel wrote:I have MS Office 2007 on my computer, Martin, which includes Microsoft Office Picture Manager, which seems to be pretty much the same thing. I don't know if it's in later versions, but if you have Office it might be worth a look. Otherwise, as Keith says, Paint is always there, currently under Windows Accessories, [NOT Paint 3D which is something else altogether] and Photos will also do some basic processes, like rotation or cropping.
I have Office 2013 on this computer, and the Help pages make it clear that Microsoft Picture Manager is no longer current, and so is not now loaded as part of the MS Office suite. I used to use MS Picture manager on my old computer, and found it very useful. I have "Paint 3D" on this computer, but not "Paint". [Or so I thought; but see below.]
Last edited by martin goodall on Tue Mar 03, 2020 9:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Noel
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Re: The Burford Branch
Have you checked "Windows Accessories", Martin - it's definitely there on my computer.
Regards
Noel
Noel
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Paul Willis
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Re: The Burford Branch
martin goodall wrote:Noel wrote:I have MS Office 2007 on my computer, Martin, which includes Microsoft Office Picture Manager, which seems to be pretty much the same thing. I don't know if it's in later versions, but if you have Office it might be worth a look. Otherwise, as Keith says, Paint is always there, currently under Windows Accessories, [NOT Paint 3D which is something else altogether] and Photos will also do some basic processes, like rotation or cropping.
I have Office 2013 on this computer, and the Help pages make it clear that Microsoft Picture Manager is no longer current, and so is not now loaded as part of the MS Office suite. I used to use MS Picture manager on my old computer, and found it very useful. I have "Paint 3D" on this computer, but not "Paint". Grrrr!
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4027344/windows-10-get-microsoft-paint
Cheers
Flymo
Beware of Trains - occasional modelling in progress!
www.5522models.co.uk
www.5522models.co.uk
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
Thanks to both Noel and to Paul for this advice. As will be distressingly obvious by now, I am not very 'computerate'! Noel's post prompted me to dig around on the Windows menu, and there was 'Paint', just as Noel said. I have now pinned it to the Task Bar. Then, as Keith suggested, I can simply save a photo in "Paint" and then upload, stripped of the tricksy Apple code that would otherwise insist in turning it the same way up as the photo was when originally taken.
Now, back to dismantling the layout. Switch panels and their wiring connections are next, after which the baseboard fascia can be detached.
Now, back to dismantling the layout. Switch panels and their wiring connections are next, after which the baseboard fascia can be detached.
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martin goodall
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- Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:20 pm
Re: The Burford Branch
Switch panels and wiring connections
I prefer in a home-based layout to have the controls built-in to the layout, rather than having an entirely separate control panel connected to the layout by an umbilical cord, as is common practice on exhibition layouts. On the other hand, the controls (which are built-in to the front of the layout) had to be designed and installed in a way that makes them easily removeable.
I’ll explain the wiring and switching arrangements when the layout is reassembled later this year, when photos of the underside of the baseboards can be more easily taken. So for the moment, I’ll simply illustrate the dismantling process.
The section switches are three-way rotary (‘Yaxley’) switches, which select each section to either of the two controllers. (I’ll explain why there are two controllers in a future post.) The panel to which the switches are attached is fixed to the back of the baseboard frame, with the switch spindles projecting through the frame. So the first job was to detach the knobs from the front. [The ‘C2X’ label indicates an isolating switch mounted under the baseboard frame, which had been removed before these photos were taken.]
The panel was then detached from the back of the baseboard frame. It is connected to the under-baseboard wiring through a pluggable choc block, which obviates any need to disconnect individual wires.
[The red (vermilion) paint on the screws/screw-housings are a warning not to undo these screws, as the connections are intended to be permanent, and do not need to be undone on dismantling the layout, whereas there are other choc blocks that do have to have their wires individually disconnected. Reminders like this are helpful when it may be several years before the various switch panels are next removed from the layout.]
The control panel for the uncoupling magnets was removed next. When the current panel was installed, I was using magnetic couplings that required the electro-magnets to be switched on for a few seconds while the uncoupling operation was completed, so DPDT switches were fitted. This involved the risk of an electro-magnet being inadvertently left switched on, and so an LED warning light was added to the left of the panel as a reminder to switch off the electro-magnet.
The design of an improved advance uncoupling system [see viewtopic.php?f=126&t=6069&p=63639#p63639 ] now requires only a momentary operation of the uncoupling magnets, and so this switch panel has recently been modified by converting the DPDT switches to pre-selectors, and a push-button switch has been added in the centre of the panel to apply power to the selected magnet. The LED has been retained to indicate that an uncoupling magnet has been selected.
This is the view from the back of the panel. The ply spacer behind the panel allows internal wiring connections to be made between the switches, without those wires having to be fed through the baseboard frame. However, the other wires still have to be fed individually through the holes in the baseboard frame, so a pluggable choc block could not be used in this case.
Before the current switch panels were mounted on the baseboard facia, temporary aluminium switch panels were suspended below the baseboard frame. One of these temporary panels remained in position when the layout came to be dismantled. This was intended to control the (yet to be installed) loco turntable and isolating sections in the loco depot area. When the layout is re-erected, this switch panel will be eliminated, and alternative switching arrangements will be made when the turntable and loco depot are installed at a later date.
I have used several different controllers over the years. Currently there are two alternative controllers, either of which can be selected to any section (effectively what used to be called ‘Cab Control’). I recently installed a Modelex controller.
This is mounted on a wooden bracket suspended from the baseboard frame (which has now been detached from the layout). The controller is held in place by Velcro strips, and connected to the layout via a Din plug.
The other controller (seen in the photo that illustrated the temporary loco depot switch panel described above) is a hand-held PICtroller. This is also fitted with a Velcro strip to allow it to be parked when not in use.
The last photo reminds me that there’s another LED that needs to be removed from the baseboard fascia.
The point control knobs will be the next items to be removed, after which the baseboard fascia can be taken off.
I prefer in a home-based layout to have the controls built-in to the layout, rather than having an entirely separate control panel connected to the layout by an umbilical cord, as is common practice on exhibition layouts. On the other hand, the controls (which are built-in to the front of the layout) had to be designed and installed in a way that makes them easily removeable.
I’ll explain the wiring and switching arrangements when the layout is reassembled later this year, when photos of the underside of the baseboards can be more easily taken. So for the moment, I’ll simply illustrate the dismantling process.
The section switches are three-way rotary (‘Yaxley’) switches, which select each section to either of the two controllers. (I’ll explain why there are two controllers in a future post.) The panel to which the switches are attached is fixed to the back of the baseboard frame, with the switch spindles projecting through the frame. So the first job was to detach the knobs from the front. [The ‘C2X’ label indicates an isolating switch mounted under the baseboard frame, which had been removed before these photos were taken.]
The panel was then detached from the back of the baseboard frame. It is connected to the under-baseboard wiring through a pluggable choc block, which obviates any need to disconnect individual wires.
[The red (vermilion) paint on the screws/screw-housings are a warning not to undo these screws, as the connections are intended to be permanent, and do not need to be undone on dismantling the layout, whereas there are other choc blocks that do have to have their wires individually disconnected. Reminders like this are helpful when it may be several years before the various switch panels are next removed from the layout.]
The control panel for the uncoupling magnets was removed next. When the current panel was installed, I was using magnetic couplings that required the electro-magnets to be switched on for a few seconds while the uncoupling operation was completed, so DPDT switches were fitted. This involved the risk of an electro-magnet being inadvertently left switched on, and so an LED warning light was added to the left of the panel as a reminder to switch off the electro-magnet.
The design of an improved advance uncoupling system [see viewtopic.php?f=126&t=6069&p=63639#p63639 ] now requires only a momentary operation of the uncoupling magnets, and so this switch panel has recently been modified by converting the DPDT switches to pre-selectors, and a push-button switch has been added in the centre of the panel to apply power to the selected magnet. The LED has been retained to indicate that an uncoupling magnet has been selected.
This is the view from the back of the panel. The ply spacer behind the panel allows internal wiring connections to be made between the switches, without those wires having to be fed through the baseboard frame. However, the other wires still have to be fed individually through the holes in the baseboard frame, so a pluggable choc block could not be used in this case.
Before the current switch panels were mounted on the baseboard facia, temporary aluminium switch panels were suspended below the baseboard frame. One of these temporary panels remained in position when the layout came to be dismantled. This was intended to control the (yet to be installed) loco turntable and isolating sections in the loco depot area. When the layout is re-erected, this switch panel will be eliminated, and alternative switching arrangements will be made when the turntable and loco depot are installed at a later date.
I have used several different controllers over the years. Currently there are two alternative controllers, either of which can be selected to any section (effectively what used to be called ‘Cab Control’). I recently installed a Modelex controller.
This is mounted on a wooden bracket suspended from the baseboard frame (which has now been detached from the layout). The controller is held in place by Velcro strips, and connected to the layout via a Din plug.
The other controller (seen in the photo that illustrated the temporary loco depot switch panel described above) is a hand-held PICtroller. This is also fitted with a Velcro strip to allow it to be parked when not in use.
The last photo reminds me that there’s another LED that needs to be removed from the baseboard fascia.
The point control knobs will be the next items to be removed, after which the baseboard fascia can be taken off.
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
Point control rods and baseboard fascias
The point control knobs are small brass drawer knobs with old Meccano rods screwed into them. They are secured with Meccano collars, and the throw is adjusted by the addition of washers where necessary. I’ll give more details when describing the reassembly of the layout in due course, when I will also illustrate the under-baseboard rodding.
Each control rod is labelled before being packed away, because each of them differs from the others, so it is essential not mix them up.
The far end of the layout has so far escaped the camera, as it has been in this state for over 20 years, after an earlier scenic scheme proved abortive and was stripped out. I have subsequently concentrated on the area to the right of the overline bridge. This part of the backscene will need to be repainted, because the skyline will now be significantly lower than it was originally. Part of the area at the back will be occupied by the gasworks. The track underlay for the gasworks siding has already been laid.
The fascia could now be detached from the baseboard frame.
This was followed by the removal of a section of scenery at the junction between the two adjoining baseboards.
There is also a small extension of the scenery at the junction between the two main baseboards, but this one is split at the baseboard joint and is not detachable. The notes scribbled on the baseboard frame have now been superseded by the written manual.
This is as far as dismantling of the layout can be taken at the moment, as various furniture and other items will have to be removed from the railway room before the baseboards and backscenes can be taken apart.
The point control knobs are small brass drawer knobs with old Meccano rods screwed into them. They are secured with Meccano collars, and the throw is adjusted by the addition of washers where necessary. I’ll give more details when describing the reassembly of the layout in due course, when I will also illustrate the under-baseboard rodding.
Each control rod is labelled before being packed away, because each of them differs from the others, so it is essential not mix them up.
The far end of the layout has so far escaped the camera, as it has been in this state for over 20 years, after an earlier scenic scheme proved abortive and was stripped out. I have subsequently concentrated on the area to the right of the overline bridge. This part of the backscene will need to be repainted, because the skyline will now be significantly lower than it was originally. Part of the area at the back will be occupied by the gasworks. The track underlay for the gasworks siding has already been laid.
The fascia could now be detached from the baseboard frame.
This was followed by the removal of a section of scenery at the junction between the two adjoining baseboards.
There is also a small extension of the scenery at the junction between the two main baseboards, but this one is split at the baseboard joint and is not detachable. The notes scribbled on the baseboard frame have now been superseded by the written manual.
This is as far as dismantling of the layout can be taken at the moment, as various furniture and other items will have to be removed from the railway room before the baseboards and backscenes can be taken apart.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by martin goodall on Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
Plan B
The present situation has rather mucked up plans for moving the layout to its new home.
The situation when the Coronavirus crisis broke out was that the layout, shorn of buildings, and with electrical controls and baseboard fascia removed, was awaiting final dismantling and removal from its old home, while all the rolling stock, together with rolling stock kits and components, most of the buildings, fittings and other gubbins and a lot of other modelling materials and components had already been moved to their new home.
The progressive shutdown of normal life did not really come as a surprise, and many of us no doubt quickly resolved to make productive use of the time by pursuing various model-making projects in the weeks (and probably months) ahead. However, this would have been a bit difficult for me with most of my modelling things now being 90 miles away.
The answer was to retrieve enough materials to enable some further progress to be made on the layout, even in its partly dismantled state. Having taken the trouble to move a lot of stuff over to its new home, I didn’t want to move it all back again, so I have had to be selective in what has been brought back.
I am sure that I am far from being alone in drawing up lists of “Things To Do” on the layout, and then somehow not quite getting around to actually doing them. However, among the things that I could now turn to are scenic details at the front of the layout, and chairing and ballasting of the track (a task that ought to have been tackled many years ago), combined with the installation of cosmetic point rodding. The overline bridge could also be completed, together with the water tank and loco crew hut (a dismounted broad gauge coach body) and the goods shed.
Completion of the bridge and the goods shed would also enable the goods yard paving to be completed – another task that has been awaiting attention for far too long.
In mentioning this list of projects, I appreciate that I am giving a massive hostage to fortune, and may end up with egg all over my face if, by the time the coronavirus crisis is finally over, little or no progress has been made on this list of projects! But I will post photographs here from time to time to show whatever I manage to get done.
Meanwhile, we must all try to stay well, and pursue our hobby as best we can.
The present situation has rather mucked up plans for moving the layout to its new home.
The situation when the Coronavirus crisis broke out was that the layout, shorn of buildings, and with electrical controls and baseboard fascia removed, was awaiting final dismantling and removal from its old home, while all the rolling stock, together with rolling stock kits and components, most of the buildings, fittings and other gubbins and a lot of other modelling materials and components had already been moved to their new home.
The progressive shutdown of normal life did not really come as a surprise, and many of us no doubt quickly resolved to make productive use of the time by pursuing various model-making projects in the weeks (and probably months) ahead. However, this would have been a bit difficult for me with most of my modelling things now being 90 miles away.
The answer was to retrieve enough materials to enable some further progress to be made on the layout, even in its partly dismantled state. Having taken the trouble to move a lot of stuff over to its new home, I didn’t want to move it all back again, so I have had to be selective in what has been brought back.
I am sure that I am far from being alone in drawing up lists of “Things To Do” on the layout, and then somehow not quite getting around to actually doing them. However, among the things that I could now turn to are scenic details at the front of the layout, and chairing and ballasting of the track (a task that ought to have been tackled many years ago), combined with the installation of cosmetic point rodding. The overline bridge could also be completed, together with the water tank and loco crew hut (a dismounted broad gauge coach body) and the goods shed.
Completion of the bridge and the goods shed would also enable the goods yard paving to be completed – another task that has been awaiting attention for far too long.
In mentioning this list of projects, I appreciate that I am giving a massive hostage to fortune, and may end up with egg all over my face if, by the time the coronavirus crisis is finally over, little or no progress has been made on this list of projects! But I will post photographs here from time to time to show whatever I manage to get done.
Meanwhile, we must all try to stay well, and pursue our hobby as best we can.
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
Rummaging around under the layout a week ago, I found this essential tool, which had somehow got buried under a pile of assorted debris and detritus. With its help, I was able to complete the model of the loco crew mess hut seen here (a grounded Broad Gauge coach body).
I had fun building this model. The GWR tended to be a bit ‘neat and tidy’, and this was an opportunity to introduce some welcome scruffiness into the scene.
Just to remind you, the part-built model looked like this when it made a brief appearance in this thread on 27 June last year.
The coach body is mounted on bearers made of sleepers. (I only bothered to model those parts of these bearers that would be visible at the right-hand end.) A sleeper built ‘apron’ was also provided in front of the mess hut, with steps up to the two doors also made from piles of sleepers. (These arrangements were based loosely on a photo that appeared on page 70 of MRJ No.205.)
The model was based on a drawing of a 4-compartment Broad Gauge coach dating from the 1850s. It was scratch-built from styrene sheet, with bolection mouldings fashioned from Evergreen strip. When painting the model, I took the opportunity to hint at a two-tone colour scheme; after applying an undercoat, I applied a thin wash of Humbrol #62 ‘Leather’ to hint at the faded livery. After painting, the body was brushed with soot to weather it down. I did not have any appropriate etchings or castings for the door handles, so I bent these up from some soft wire I found in the scrap box.
The roof is a single sheet of styrene. I killed two birds with one stone by scoring lengthwise planking on the roof, which had the effect of making the roof curve gently to the required radius, and would also make the planking visible under the canvas. Roof canvas was represented by a single layer of a 2-ply tissue from a box of tissues. Like all of us, I would normally take good care to ensure that the tissue representing the canvas is laid smoothly and accurately, with no wrinkles or air bubbles, but in this case I was aiming for entirely the opposite effect. For good measure, I folded back one corner of the canvas to reveal the planking underneath, which was painted to represent unpainted wood, with the joints between the planks being emphasised with soot, before the canvas was laid. From some angles, these features are very clear, but from the angle from which these photos were taken (and from which the model is normally seen) they are hardly visible.
I had assumed that any internal lighting required after dark would be provided by paraffin lamps, but another look at the photo in MRJ No.205 showed that oil lamp pots were still in place on the roof of the grounded coach body shown there in the 1950s. Because the roof of my model looks rather featureless, I propose to add oil lamp tops. I have some suitable castings from the Broad Gauge Society/IKB, but these are now 90 miles away from where the model has been built, so I will have to defer the addition of this detail until later.
Having made this welcome return to model-making (after concentrating solely on dismantling the layout in recent months), I hope to make further progress on various models on the layout in the weeks, and probably months, that lie ahead.
I had fun building this model. The GWR tended to be a bit ‘neat and tidy’, and this was an opportunity to introduce some welcome scruffiness into the scene.
Just to remind you, the part-built model looked like this when it made a brief appearance in this thread on 27 June last year.
The coach body is mounted on bearers made of sleepers. (I only bothered to model those parts of these bearers that would be visible at the right-hand end.) A sleeper built ‘apron’ was also provided in front of the mess hut, with steps up to the two doors also made from piles of sleepers. (These arrangements were based loosely on a photo that appeared on page 70 of MRJ No.205.)
The model was based on a drawing of a 4-compartment Broad Gauge coach dating from the 1850s. It was scratch-built from styrene sheet, with bolection mouldings fashioned from Evergreen strip. When painting the model, I took the opportunity to hint at a two-tone colour scheme; after applying an undercoat, I applied a thin wash of Humbrol #62 ‘Leather’ to hint at the faded livery. After painting, the body was brushed with soot to weather it down. I did not have any appropriate etchings or castings for the door handles, so I bent these up from some soft wire I found in the scrap box.
The roof is a single sheet of styrene. I killed two birds with one stone by scoring lengthwise planking on the roof, which had the effect of making the roof curve gently to the required radius, and would also make the planking visible under the canvas. Roof canvas was represented by a single layer of a 2-ply tissue from a box of tissues. Like all of us, I would normally take good care to ensure that the tissue representing the canvas is laid smoothly and accurately, with no wrinkles or air bubbles, but in this case I was aiming for entirely the opposite effect. For good measure, I folded back one corner of the canvas to reveal the planking underneath, which was painted to represent unpainted wood, with the joints between the planks being emphasised with soot, before the canvas was laid. From some angles, these features are very clear, but from the angle from which these photos were taken (and from which the model is normally seen) they are hardly visible.
I had assumed that any internal lighting required after dark would be provided by paraffin lamps, but another look at the photo in MRJ No.205 showed that oil lamp pots were still in place on the roof of the grounded coach body shown there in the 1950s. Because the roof of my model looks rather featureless, I propose to add oil lamp tops. I have some suitable castings from the Broad Gauge Society/IKB, but these are now 90 miles away from where the model has been built, so I will have to defer the addition of this detail until later.
Having made this welcome return to model-making (after concentrating solely on dismantling the layout in recent months), I hope to make further progress on various models on the layout in the weeks, and probably months, that lie ahead.
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
While I was completing the loco crew hut, my wife took the opportunity to build the Yard Office kit that came free with the January 2020 issue of Railway Modeller.
It was not a particularly easy model to build, due its design, and the thin plastic from which it was moulded. Holding the parts together while solvent was applied proved somewhat awkward, and my wife was not totally satisfied with the result. In fact, it would be true to say that she did not find this a particularly enjoyable model-making project, which makes me wonder what other people with no previous experience of kit construction made of this kit.
It rather underlines the fact that building kits all too often involves a certain amount of fiddling before it’s right, and various work-arounds to overcome problems that in an ideal world a kit like this should not involve.
It was not a particularly easy model to build, due its design, and the thin plastic from which it was moulded. Holding the parts together while solvent was applied proved somewhat awkward, and my wife was not totally satisfied with the result. In fact, it would be true to say that she did not find this a particularly enjoyable model-making project, which makes me wonder what other people with no previous experience of kit construction made of this kit.
It rather underlines the fact that building kits all too often involves a certain amount of fiddling before it’s right, and various work-arounds to overcome problems that in an ideal world a kit like this should not involve.
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
In the past couple of days, I have begun to make further progress on the overline bridge (after a gap of four and a half years – which is all too typical of my model-making).
This is what the carcass of the bridge looked like in October 2015 (although photos of this part of the project were not posted in this thread until the end of December 2017).
I have now started to apply the stone facing, using Wills ‘Coarse Stone’ [SS MP 200], but I have always felt that this is too chunky to represent Cotswold stone (oölitic limestone), even rubblestone. So, as a first step, I rubbed down the surface to reduce the moulded relief, as described by David Cox in Railway Modeller in January 2006.
I started with the abutments for the main arch, adding 2.5 x 3.2 mm Evergreen strip above them to form the imposts (springs) of the bridge arch. The voussoirs on the face of the arch (cut and carved from 60-thou styrene sheet, and packed out to match the thickness of the Wills scenic sheet) were then glued in place, followed by the springers of the arch (also cut from styrene sheet). I shall deal with the soffit of the arch (a.k.a. the intrados) later. This will comprise brick infill, which involves the courses of the brick being laid at an angle, due to the skew of the arch.
The next job was to form the spandrels of the arch, which involved careful cutting, filing and fitting of the Wills sheet, allowing for the subtle curve of the string course which will sit above the spandrels.
This is as far as I have got at the time of writing, but I shall continue adding more stone facing on the Down side of the bridge (facing towards the station), before repeating the exercise on the Up side.
This is what the carcass of the bridge looked like in October 2015 (although photos of this part of the project were not posted in this thread until the end of December 2017).
I have now started to apply the stone facing, using Wills ‘Coarse Stone’ [SS MP 200], but I have always felt that this is too chunky to represent Cotswold stone (oölitic limestone), even rubblestone. So, as a first step, I rubbed down the surface to reduce the moulded relief, as described by David Cox in Railway Modeller in January 2006.
I started with the abutments for the main arch, adding 2.5 x 3.2 mm Evergreen strip above them to form the imposts (springs) of the bridge arch. The voussoirs on the face of the arch (cut and carved from 60-thou styrene sheet, and packed out to match the thickness of the Wills scenic sheet) were then glued in place, followed by the springers of the arch (also cut from styrene sheet). I shall deal with the soffit of the arch (a.k.a. the intrados) later. This will comprise brick infill, which involves the courses of the brick being laid at an angle, due to the skew of the arch.
The next job was to form the spandrels of the arch, which involved careful cutting, filing and fitting of the Wills sheet, allowing for the subtle curve of the string course which will sit above the spandrels.
This is as far as I have got at the time of writing, but I shall continue adding more stone facing on the Down side of the bridge (facing towards the station), before repeating the exercise on the Up side.
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martin goodall
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Re: The Burford Branch
Before adding further facing stone to the Down side of the bridge, I decided first to add the voussoirs to the other face of the main arch, and to insert the soffit (or intrados) of the arch.
I had originally intended to use vacuum-formed brick sheet for the underside of the arch, but decided instead to make this from plain styrene sheet, and to add printed brickpaper later from Howard Scenics, and then to add the underside of the voussoirs from very thin (5-thou) styrene sheet.
In order to prevent the 20-thou styrene sheet from going dome-shaped when pressed into position, I first installed some formers to give the soffit some structural stability.
The formers were aligned with the skew of the arch, but the brickpaper when it is added will be aligned with the courses at right angles to the faces of the arch. This means that at the junction between the soffit and the arch springers the brick courses will be at a significant angle to the horizontal. The brickwork will in fact be ‘in winding’ across the underside of the arch (as per prototype practice).
The fit of the soffit to the inside face of the voussoirs does not need to be all that accurate, as the join will be hidden when the brickpaper and the undersides of the voussoirs are added later.
I found it convenient to split the styrene sheet into two unequal parts before gluing it in place. There is a slight (but unintended) gap between the soffit and the arch springer, which I hope will be hidden by the brick paper when this is stuck in place later.
I had originally intended to use vacuum-formed brick sheet for the underside of the arch, but decided instead to make this from plain styrene sheet, and to add printed brickpaper later from Howard Scenics, and then to add the underside of the voussoirs from very thin (5-thou) styrene sheet.
In order to prevent the 20-thou styrene sheet from going dome-shaped when pressed into position, I first installed some formers to give the soffit some structural stability.
The formers were aligned with the skew of the arch, but the brickpaper when it is added will be aligned with the courses at right angles to the faces of the arch. This means that at the junction between the soffit and the arch springers the brick courses will be at a significant angle to the horizontal. The brickwork will in fact be ‘in winding’ across the underside of the arch (as per prototype practice).
The fit of the soffit to the inside face of the voussoirs does not need to be all that accurate, as the join will be hidden when the brickpaper and the undersides of the voussoirs are added later.
I found it convenient to split the styrene sheet into two unequal parts before gluing it in place. There is a slight (but unintended) gap between the soffit and the arch springer, which I hope will be hidden by the brick paper when this is stuck in place later.
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Will L
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Re: The Burford Branch
martin goodall wrote:... The brickwork will in fact be ‘in winding’ across the underside of the arch (as per prototype practice).
To get an idea of what this can look like, take a canal boat ride up the Llangollen Canal, where there is a long bridge/short tunnel built on the skew under the railway just short of Grindley Brook staircase lock. Boating through that is uncomfortably reminiscent of being fired down the riffled barrel of a gun.
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PhilipT
- Posts: 44
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Re: The Burford Branch
Skew bridges are not difficult until you arrive at the point where you have to fit the arch between the piers and the sides. It is then you find that when you try to transfer the shape of the arch onto two-dimensional material (Southeastern Finecast vacuum formed brickwork sheets in my case) that it isn't a parallelogram but quite a complex shape - the major sides are curved and even then not at a fixed radius! This required much cutting and offering up before a remotely acceptable fit was obtained. Oh, and my bridge had three arches...… Thankfully its position on the layout is such that you need to be a contortionist to see the worst bits.
Looking forward to see how yours works out, Martin.
Looking forward to see how yours works out, Martin.
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Steve Carter
- Posts: 644
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:51 pm
Re: The Burford Branch
Taking things apart is giving a great insight into how they were constructed. Well done Martin.
Thank you.
Take care and stay safe.
Steve
Thank you.
Take care and stay safe.
Steve
Steve Carter
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Terry Bendall
- Forum Team
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Re: The Burford Branch
martin goodall wrote:The brickwork will in fact be ‘in winding’ across the underside of the arch
This can be seen on the underside of many arch bridges. There is a very interesting (at least to me) arch bridge which carries the former GW/GC joint line over the A 4010 road about half a mile north of the junction of this road with the A 40 at West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. The line is at a very acute angle to the road which means that rather than one arch there are five all linked together internally by the bonding in the brickwork. Worth modelling just for the fun of it and one for the prototype for everything department.
Terry Bendall
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martin goodall
- Posts: 1425
- Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:20 pm
Re: The Burford Branch
A couple of weeks ago, I was bemoaning the fact that my castings for oil lamp pots were now out of reach, so that the loco crew mess hut (a grounded broad gauge coach body) would have to remain uncompleted until I could eventually retrieve these castings, when the current lockdown is relaxed.
Paul Townsend took pity on me and kindly offered to send me the castings for a couple of these lamps. I was so grateful to him for this that, immediately after these arrived in the post yesterday, I set about priming the castings for painting, and today I painted them and stuck them in position on the roof, which then enabled me to stick the roof in place on the coach body.
In the 1850s, even First Class passengers had to make do with one oil lamp shared between two adjoining compartments. So the two castings were fixed in line with the (former) compartment partitions.
So now my loco crew mess hut is finally complete, although (in common with most other buildings and structures on the layout) it is not fixed down, and will be removed again while work on the adjoining bridge continues.
(You may notice in the background that the Blanket Mill has re-appeared on the layout. This, together with several adjoining buildings was in a box that got left behind when the other buildings were moved to their new home, because there wasn’t room for this last box in the car. With the transport of further items indefinitely postponed, I decided that these buildings might as well go back on the layout for the time being.)
Paul Townsend took pity on me and kindly offered to send me the castings for a couple of these lamps. I was so grateful to him for this that, immediately after these arrived in the post yesterday, I set about priming the castings for painting, and today I painted them and stuck them in position on the roof, which then enabled me to stick the roof in place on the coach body.
In the 1850s, even First Class passengers had to make do with one oil lamp shared between two adjoining compartments. So the two castings were fixed in line with the (former) compartment partitions.
So now my loco crew mess hut is finally complete, although (in common with most other buildings and structures on the layout) it is not fixed down, and will be removed again while work on the adjoining bridge continues.
(You may notice in the background that the Blanket Mill has re-appeared on the layout. This, together with several adjoining buildings was in a box that got left behind when the other buildings were moved to their new home, because there wasn’t room for this last box in the car. With the transport of further items indefinitely postponed, I decided that these buildings might as well go back on the layout for the time being.)
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martin goodall
- Posts: 1425
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Re: The Burford Branch
It was only after I had posted the two photos above that I realised that the oil lamp tops were out of true.
A quick tweak with the fingers was enough to sort this out. I haven't photographed this correction, but those of you who may have noticed the fault can rest assured that it has now been remedied.
A quick tweak with the fingers was enough to sort this out. I haven't photographed this correction, but those of you who may have noticed the fault can rest assured that it has now been remedied.
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