Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

G`day Gary,
Yes I`ve been test fitting and fudging things a bit.
The state of play at the moment is that the Coal Stage has been raised by about 7mm......2 sheets of MDF 3mm and a sheet of 1mm card.
Testing with locos next to it is very good for height.
I have modified the brick wall behind the Coal Stage by removing some brick piers and also filed the coping on top of the wall.
The modifications have resulted in a flush fit with the top of the wall.
The Coal Stage is not 100% parallel with track with this method, however the overall appearance is very good.
Pics and more detailed explanation to follow
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
After some checking and double checking and trial fitting, I decided the Coal Stage looks and works best at 6mm height off the baseboard rather than 7mm.
It`s a subtle difference I know, but 6mm just seems to look better with a selection of my locos.......so in a nutshell.....it`s two layers of 3mm MDF glued together.
Below you can see I`ve painted the edges etc. to colour match with Gary`s paint job before the Coal Stage is fitted on top.





This is how the base will sit in relation to the track and the wall.





And with the Coal Stage just sitting on top of the base.......not fixed permanently yet
I think it looks just about right where it meets the wall





Trying some locos next to it.





















Ballast should fill pretty much up to the top of the base I think..??





Here we are now with the base under weight helping to secure it permanently whilst waiting for the PVA to go off




More as it happens
Gormo

 

G`day Mossy and thank you.
My model of Bamford is completely fictional.
The track plans for the whole railway are also just a design that I came up with based on the space available.
At the very start of the build I acquired the baseboards and track layout for Little Bardfield and Bamford through Gary, who was trying to dispose of them for a deceased friend.
The uncanny thing was that they were almost a perfect fit for what I had planned. I made some minor track alterations, but that was it.
The reason for the name Bamford is that it is a family name from my wife`s family.
The theme of the railway is to use family names or places associated with family whilst not necessarily modelling a prototype of that specific place
My ancestors on my Mother`s side came from Great Chesterford in Essex and a village nearby is Little Bardfield. My Mother`s maiden name was Bard, so you see the connections.
So unfortunately my models are not based entirely on one prototype, but rather are a collection of things that I have seen over the years and things that appeal to me.
I basically make it up as I go along..........
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
A bit more done today
The Coal Stage has been permanently fitted and ballast added to the area.
When the ballast is dry it will be coloured and some more finer material will be added into the mix









I will add some Black colour to the area between the track and the Coal Stage to suggest that bits of Coal have fallen down there









Also added some station staff figures to the platform













And a couple of atmospheric shots









Also some ballast was added at the start of the platform........once again this will be coloured and have some finer material spread throughout it to better blend it to it`s surrounds
The original platform was quite a bit longer and occupied this area





A short video showing some locos arriving and departing the Coal Stage




More as it happens

 

A brief history in pics showing where Bamford has come from

A new baseboard frame had to be made to suit the boards









Frame fitted to the original board ..........a new piece was added to the end





A bit of work to do here









The corner section with some interesting angles
The ruined castle sits on top of this board now













Once the boards were in place it was time to repair the track layout





The Jubilee is sitting next to where the Coal Stage is now




It`s always good to look back and remind yourself that even with just the basics to start with, you can indeed create a model railway
Gormo

 

Not yet Brian,
When I get bored I`ll have a think about it.......
Gormo

 

Thanks Phil,
It`s taken a long time to get here, but if I keep plugging away, I`ll get there in the end.
Cheers
Gormo

 

I`ve got another project going which should be interesting as I`m just making it up as I go along.
The process will take a while, so I will do it as a part time project.
I am creating a timber merchant building which will be fed by one of the sidings on Bamford.
At the moment I am making the racking that will hold the lengths of timber
This is one end of a rack made from Balsa strip for the cross members and 3mm MDF for the posts





In order to assemble the parts accurately, I have made a simple jig on the edge of my bench
The posts are put in first and butt up to the steel rule. I then mark the posts with a pencil, by referencing the grid below on my cutting map, to make it easy to locate the cross bars
The craft stick is then slid into position to hold the posts against the two pieces of timber
I then hold a cross bar with a pair of tweezers and apply a drop of PVA to each end and gently lower it into position and align it with the marks
Once the glue has had enough time to set, the assembled part can be gently removed.





Here we have a rack end in the jig drying, plus one complete to the right hand side and also pre-cut parts for a further four ends





I also have a small gear wheel from a clock that I will use to make and industrial table saw. It`s made from Brass, however I`ve given it a coat of Silver paint.





More as it happens
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Started cutting the strips for the end walls of the Timber Merchant........once again a jig was set up to ensure accurate cutting.





This will be the floor for the building, a part recovered from a plastic kit in my spares box.





An end wall going together





Whilst waiting for glue to set on the Timber Merchant build, I`ve coloured the new ballast that was put down a few days ago and then started applying some static grass in areas that won`t interfere with any extra infrastructure . The siding in the middle has also been Blackened as this is where the Coal Merchant will be placed





The first steps towards transforming the station yard have begun





The Coal Merchant siding












Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
One end wall complete and ready to go





The building will have a curved corrugated roof running the full length of the building and I`ve elected to have corrugated fascias at each end just to finish it off.




The buildings I`ve seen online, and there aren`t many of them apart from the Ratio kits, seem to favor curved corrugated roofs, usually as a group of two or three side by side, however I have seen a real one with a full length curved roof, which appeals more than the others, so that`s how we are going to proceed.
It seems at this stage, I will make another full version of the wall above and probably a half version for the other end.......we`ll see how it pans out.???......
Gormo

 

Thanks Brian,
That`s very helpful
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
I was fortunate enough to acquire a couple of Southern coaches via that well known auction site for a really good price.
They arrived today completely intact and they run like new. Obviously they were not used much and were well cared for, complete with boxes.
Both Hornby
I have three Southern locos now, so I think it`s about time to slowly acquire some rolling stock.









Meanwhile the second wall for the Timber Merchant is being held until the glue goes off.
This is the middle wall therefore it`s length is minus the thickness of the back wall





A piece of thick card is being laminated with corrugated card each side to form the back wall.





A mock up on the bench








Bit by bit it`s slowly coming together.......I think the parts will need to be air brushed prior to assembly, but should not be a problem once I work out the colour scheme.
Gormo

 

Today the air brush was used to start the painting process on the Timber Merchant`s building.
These are our base coat colours prior to weathering........the weathering will be dark washes and powders etc. to add a bit more texture to the model.
Here we have the parts simply standing together to assess how we`re going.





The Browns were painted first and then masked off so that the Greens could be applied afterwards.













Managed to get the end wall together too........it`s drying at the moment after a corner post was added just a while ago
You can see in the background a piece of curved corrugated card ( roof ).
Testing revealed that the original flat card was not happy to be shaped by hand to form a curved roof. This test piece was mist sprayed with water on both sides and then wrapped tightly around a can and secured with rubber bands until it dried.
The dry card held quite a tight radius similar to the can, however too tight for my building, so when I come to form the roof proper, I will follow the same process but use a former much closer to the radius of the roof arches ( 50 mm ).
I have some 100 mm diameter plastic drainage pipe that will do the job nicely




Gormo

 

Thanks for that Andy.......
The main shed you can see, when looking up through the farm gate, has layers of corrugated iron on the roof.
The buildings are very similar to what I`m building ,even though I`m just taking an educated guess a long way from the UK.
My model will not be an exact prototype copy , but rather an impression of a Timber Merchant as I see it.
Any information is very helpful though, and helps to make a more realistic version.
Gormo