Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Well we are up to the baseboard join.
The wall is in and I`ve restocked my supply of Balsa in order to make a board crossing and also some timber stacks for the Timber Merchant.
The walls had brick piers added plus capping and they were installed two nights back.
A short fence was also added in the foreground and some back fill along the wall has been done......needs to be vacuumed once the glue dries.



The step in the wall signifies where two walls butt join to each other and a pier has been added over the join to disguise it.



There is just enough clearance for a person to pass between the wall and the building.



Looking East



Birds eye view from over the wall



A view from track level






The station throat



More as it happens
Gormo

 

Thanks chigley.....
Gormo

 

Thanks Paul....
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Well a major set back today.
One of the point motors in my Main Line ( hidden ) fiddleyard decided to pack it in.
It`s not the point motor itself, but rather the adapter base that it sits on. The motors are mounted on top of the baseboard sitting on adapter bases which in turn are connected by wire in tube and bellcranks to the points.
I have had a couple of failures from these parts over the life of the railway and it boils down to plastic fatigue. Everything used had some considerable age to it after being recycled from my previous layout.
The part that failed today was probably getting on for thirty years old, and when it was recovered from the fiddleyard it was in pieces......Oh well what can you do...????...nothing lasts forever.
I went to my hobby shop this afternoon and picked up a replacement part plus spares for future failures.
Unfortunately the point motor is in the least accessible part of the layout which makes it very difficult to get in there and replace it.
If I were to design another complex layout like GCJ, I would factor in better access for these situations.....anyway it is what it is and when the job is complete it will soon be forgotten and the layout build will continue moving forward towards completion.
More as it happens
Gormo

 

Yes Paul,
Good advice, however I have done the others up the same end already.
The trick is to estimate how long they will last.?
What tends to happen is that the other end of the fiddleyard, which is easy access, never has a problem....... probably should not have said that.?
Anyhow, I have the new adapter plate fitted and the hardest part of that was fitting the tiny spring.....
I had to put on the magnifying head set to get it done.
Now I need to add some new extended wiring and then put it back in place.........fingers crossed.
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Over the last couple of days I`ve only had part time moments in the shed to attend to the point motor repair.
I finished it today over 3 short frustrating sessions because things were not going well and the humidity outside today was like being in a green house
Anyway the job is done now and we`re back to fully operational, so I can now shift the focus back to scenery on Bamford.....Phew !!!!
Gormo

 

Thanks Brian,
The back scene is made up from up to four layers in some places, but for the most it is usually two layers.
We start with a rural looking scene and then overlay that with buildings that have been scaled and printed out and then cut out from paper.
The overlay buildings should suggest that they are a town background rather than try to dominate the model buildings in the foreground.
The beauty of this method, although more difficult than a commercial background, is that you have a unique background that may better suit the model buildings you have at your disposal.
The key to it is understanding perspective and scaling the buildings to the appropriate size to suggest distance or depth.
Sometimes a glimpse of a building over the top of a model building is all you need to fool the eye into believing that there is much more behind.
I never get it right first go. I use BluTack to hold the overlays in place whilst I check their positions. The placement is considered from various angles before committing to fixing it permanently.
Gormo

 

Yes Phil...the weather is nuts.
I went out for a walk this morning before sunrise and dragged myself around.
When I checked the humidity it was 90%, which explained why I was feeling lethargic.
All good with the points thankfully and now back to scenery.
Gormo

 

Blimey......it`s a heat wave......
Gormo

 

Will do go Gary......
Gormo