Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Here`s the plan for the double dunny



Gormo

 

A couple of pics of the modified rear of the building plus scenic stuff added too.






Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Well I`m moving forward but going backwards in a sense.
Time for the next and last major project on Bamford.......The Footbridge.
This is not the end of jobs by any means, but the focus will shift to easier, smaller projects after this one.......I think..
Anyhow the footbridge I have is the Dapol ex Airfix model which has been modified to suit the site at Bamford station.
Instead of spanning platforms, it has been changed so that it sits near ground level near the terraced cottages and gardens, and sits on the platform on it`s other side.
The metal work portrayed in the model has a rather heavy look to it, and rather than trying to file everything back to a thinner profile, Ive opted to turn it into a rather different bridge altogether.



I want to finish up with a bridge loosely based on this one.......not sure where it`s from, however I`ve worked out a method that will change the Dapol model in such a way that it will resemble this one.



The radical change in appearance is helped with thin card inserts placed between the uprights to hide the cross bracing behind......these are only test pieces below done some time ago to prove the method.
My intention is to airbrush the uprights and under the bridge first with some GWR Brown. The foot way and stairs will have to be masked off as they will be painted a different colour later on.
The insert panels will be GWR Cream, so they will be painted prior to fitting to the bridge
Maybe that`s the order of play, but things could change if I think of an easier way to do it.




Prior to the painting I`ve started making some uprights to support the roof.
The uprights are made from some Bamboo skewers which have two flat areas filed onto them
The flat areas allow for better fixing to the bridge and the smaller flat area will carry a support beam for the roof edges.




The longer flat areas are glued behind the bridge framing uprights.
There will be card placed on the inside walls of the bridge that will simulate timber paneling, so the heavy cross bracing will be almost totally covered.




So that`s where we are at down tools time today



I still have to work out the roof supports, roof angles and whether or not to do a fancy fascia on the edges of the roof, main problem being doing the fascia on an angle.
Anyhow ....little problems to work through...we`ll see how it goes.....
Gormo

 

G`day folks,
Well the Footbridge roof framing is starting to go in and make sense........this is a work it out as you go along project.
Basically the beams are there to support not only the roof, but card overlays that will finally dress the model, so they don`t have to be perfect.
Here we are using bamboo skewers as posts and craft sticks as beams.
Adhesive is Super glue
Once building proper commenced, it became obvious how the paint sequence should go, so as not to foul previously painted parts.
Some hand painting will be required where two colours meet, but that should not cause any concern.
So I think we`re on a steady track towards completion now, it just requires time and patience to hand make the parts and bring it all together.
I have a spare rule for a Stanley set square that has come in very handy for filing the flat areas on the skewers. The rule has a half circle groove ( approx. 2mm dia. ) along it`s length. The rule is secured flush with the top of my bench vice. The skewer is marked out at 18mm plus 12mm plus 5mm ( 35mm length ). The skewer is cut to length and then placed in the groove and held whilst the 18mm and 5mm sections are filed flat or flush with the surface of the rule.
This method allows for accurate reproduction of each post
The posts on the stairs are further modified to suit the site by filing an angle on them at the end of the flat section so that the angle matches the angle of the stair rails.



More as it happens
Gormo

 

I`ve been drawing up the valance tonight, which is not very difficult, and managed to crack the problem of putting them on an angle.
So that`s a big problem out of the way.
Just need to get the colour right now.
Test drawings below.




Gormo

 

G`day Ron,
I use LibreOffice Draw.
It`s fairly easy to use once you get through the learning curve, which is not too steep.
The best thing I like about it is that I can dial in my exact measurements ( millimeters ) and when the parts are printed they are exactly right.
You have the luxury of copy and paste for identical parts which comes in handy as you only need to draw the part once.
I did a couple of videos on the subject a few years back. The first one is more relevant because it explains how to use the drawing program.
The second one is more about the build that was designed in Part 1


Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
The framing is finished on the footbridge......now to move onto the next part of the build....




















More as it happens
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
I`ve added some card packing to the framing on the footbridge, and that, along with the card used for the valances will bring the valances out in line with the edge of the bridge rails.
The first lot of paint went on today, which actually gives the bridge a much heavier look, however a great deal of what you can see will be covered with inset cream panels.



This is the card for the inset panels that has been sprayed cream, although it appears washed out in the pic



The valances have been coloured to match the card and hopefully it`s a good match.
I`ve then moved onto other parts whilst the paint dries.
I designed some wooden panels to go on the inside of the bridge. They will be glued to card and fitted in between the uprights effectively cloaking most of the steel work that was apparent in the original model.
Horizontal Panels



Angled Panels



Both sets of panels have been designed oversize height wise so that they can be trimmed to suit when being fitted to the bridge
More as it happens
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Today I`ve started fitting the inset panels to the footbridge.
It`s going to take a wee while to fit them all as it requires a good level of accuracy to get it right.
I`ve only rubbished one panel so far and decided to quit for the day before I start making mistakes.
I use a pair of dividers to take my initial measurements and from those measurements I make templates.
All this helps to get it looking just right.
Here`s the start of panels being fitted




The effect of making the bridge look less heavy in appearance is becoming more obvious




Checking for colour match and how the valance may look when fitted




Checking it under the lighting conditions on the railway








Gormo