Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Question....????
Are you guys getting sick of all this detail, or should I carry on regardless...????
Gormo

 

Okey Dokey.....
Today we have moved a little further forward, we are into the stage where we are adding small things and constantly assessing what needs to be done before the building can finally be put together.
The kit as it is in it`s standard form, requires you only to follow the instructions to a logical conclusion and that`s it.....done....finished....stick it on the railway.
However, fiddling with the kit throws the logical process out the window, so I can`t complain, I have created this bit of a problem......
Anyhow.....today the levers Chris printed for me arrived in the post.....thanks Chris....
To my eye, they look just right, so they will look terrific once painted and permanently fixed in place.
I`ve placed them in the signal box roughly in position along with my little bloke to give them some scale. This little bloke will eventually be slightly modified and painted and will be operating the levers









Then painted the outer barge boards......these were originally Green



The barge board spacers were fitted whilst we waited for the painted barge boards to dry.



Sorted out a chimney and marked it`s location where it exits the roof and punched a hole through.



The White doover is my chimney ( 3mm dia. )......don`t know what it is.....I got a bag of them at a charity shop for 50 cents. They seem to be a plastic core with a paper wrap......who knows...?????
Also cut an external weather seal for the roof from some Black card.
The chimney was later Blacked on the internal side and painted Brown on the external part.



Painted barge boards fitted






And test fitting again



Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Today I painted the levers that Chris printed for me. They are actually quite a neat little set of levers which becomes evident once they receive a coat of paint.



Also punched a hole through the base to allow a wire feed to pass through.
The base was then permanently fitted.



Attached the chimney to the wood burner and fitted the heater in place.



The lever frame has a slight bend upwards in it.....no problem as it will be stuck down with Superglue. But as the floor is only a thin sheet of card, I assumed that the frame could bend the card as well, so instead of trying to fix it once it`s stuck down inside the signal box, I decided to beef up the under floor area.
Three strips of mounting board card were glued under the floor.
Careful measurements were taken to ensure the reinforcing will easily fit inside the lower floor of the building








So it sits dead flat.......it may have done without the reinforcing, but better to nip it in the bud.



A tube for wiring was fitted to the front corner of the signal box. It will be extremely difficult to see from the front of the box, which will be the viewing side.



This is how it`s looking at the moment.




And with Sam the signalman who has had his bar removed from his hands and base. I also eased his hands apart so that he can grip a lever.




Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
I currently have some LEDs drying after being painted to tone them down, hopefully...????
Of course there will be some extra resistors added to the power feed to help as well.
We`ll see how it goes.....I want a dimly lit signal box and this is based on first hand information from Echidna.
Even though this signal box does not have VDUs to worry about, I reckon it would be preferable to be peering out into the darkness from a dimly lit cabin, rather than having full football stadium lighting in there effectively blacking out your view to the outside and depriving you of a visual as to whats going on out there.
Fitted some instruments today.....just to add a bit more detail that probably will never be seen.....but there you are you see..???
The image below was a graphic representation of Colwyn Bay signal box instruments layout, so I downloaded it, resized it, sharpened the image, printed it out and stuck it to some card and cut it out. No great care was taken to adjust the track plan and make it accurate although I did change the name.



Also created a cabinet from card and fitted it to the interior







And my signal man, originally thought to be Sam, but turns out to be Eric " Bludger " Postlethwaite from Romney Marsh, has been given a base colour.
More to be done on E.B. Postlethwaite.



Gormo

 

E.B. Postlethwaite now permanently fitted into his place of work.




I may even give him an assistant, or a superior, outside the box coming in from the dunny.........or maybe about to go into the dunny..???...now there`s a thought...




Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
It`s official now.....too late to turn back.........name plate added






Gormo

 

Ah yes ....well there you are you see Sol,
I still have to make him a chair or two and a table to eat his dinner at......we can`t have him on his feet and unfed for all of his shift can we.??...
Gormo

 

Yep... that's true Gary
The reason for putting a conduit in though, was that it's a bit easier and it won't be seen once the signal box is set into the layout.
So I took the easy way out....

Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Long time no post........I have been away up in Queensland for a bit.
An interesting journey both ways......on the way up we drove through torrential rain, then sunshine then rain, then torrential rain etc. but fortunately we seemed to dodge the rain where we decided to stop each day.
It was the same on the way home, we got to the NSW border and then the rain started......torrential at times and then again followed by sunshine and then rain on and off again, but also letting us off again at our stopovers.
Yamba was one of our stopovers on the way home and below is a view of the beach.



Yamba is also where the Clarence river meets the sea so there is a marina on the river side of the town.



And a view at the marina at sunset.



Well we`re back in the rat race again in old Sydney town waiting for another opportunity to hit the open road.

Gormo

 

Being at home for about 24 hours now, I decided to do a bit more on the signal box.
I fitted some LEDs and light covers into the lighting channel



The other side of the channel



Then fitted an LED to the front of the box on the lower level. The light cover is a section cut from a cable tie.



The inner view.



The roof and top section and bottom section could then be glued together. The three LEDs are connected in series with resistor protection.










The weather seal for the chimney could then be set in place.



The ridge capping and finials were the next pieces to be fitted.



The remaining jobs are the stairs, guttering, down pipes and a safety rail across the front of the windows.
More as it happens

Gormo

 

Just a quick update.
I narrowly averted disaster last night.
We were all preoccupied in conversation when we heard something fall with a crash in our back room.
I looked about to see what it was, and it turned out to be the desk lamp on my work table. It`s one of those lights with a circular tube in it and a magnifying glass as well in the head. It has an extendable arm and was fixed to the table by means of a clamp.
The table is a plastic blow-mould job and what seems to have happened, is that the clamp for the light has compressed the plastic enough for it to let go and fall down.
It fell down across the top of my signal box removing one of the finials as it fell, but avoiding the rest of the signal box completely and only by a few millimeters.
A lucky escape, because the light had enough weight and momentum to T bone the signal box into oblivion.
So the light has now been set up on my computer desk, where it will be secure, and I will have to up sticks and move my stuff across to my new work site.
Unfortunately, I think E.B. Postlethwaite ( the signal man ) may have soiled his paints during that traumatic event, however we must be thankful that he didn`t get his head cracked open by a dirty great big light......
Gormo

 

Phew !!!........that`s a close one Richard and I`m guessing the rail spike has a good bit of weight to it.?
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Well I`m happy and relieved to announce that the Bamford Signal Box is finished, apart from some weathering which will be done at a later date.
Stairs, railings, guttering, down pipes, railing across the windows and conduit for the power feed to the outside light have all been fitted.




The additional fittings, not included with the kit, have been made from wire, masking tape and umbrella struts.
The Blacking of the parts has been done with texta. This is a soft solution compared to painting and when handled, some of it will come off on your hands.....maybe...?????
However, it does give a weathered, needs a coat of paint, look to the parts, so I`m not too bothered by it and may leave it as it is.



















Next on the agenda is to set up it`s location on the layout and connect it to a lighting BUS.
Well folks.......the end result has a heck of a lot more detail than the original kit. It has taken considerably longer to build and has finished up with a building that looks more textured than the kit. It also has it`s little faults and imperfections that add something of a used look to it for me, so they are of no concern.
Oh well.....onwards and upwards.....I have to build my little empire.......
Gormo