Great Chesterford Junction Part One ( Pre P1MRC )

Now for something a little different.....no titles....no credits....just a no frills basic video.





Gormo

 

Thanks Guys,

Yes Max the magic of the cutting room floor on the move comes into play sometimes.

Oh well here`s another one for you video junkies.....I`ve dropped the quality right down...probably too far now that I see the end result......never mind.....this time I`ve used point cam to entertain you a little and we`ve got some express running at the end.

Enjoy!!!





Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

Moving right along.....today I received my brackets for the station platform walls gizmo. They look pretty good and should be just right for the job.

Here`s a bag full of the little suckers.




A comparison with a Meccano # 12 on the left. Actually the #12`s are better if you can get enough of them.!!....be that as it may, these will do the job quite well.



And finally we see how they stick. Seems to be quite good at this stage, so full steam ahead with the idea.



So there you go folks......this looks like a definite contender.......development and the build will be on hold for a short little while though, because Mr & Mrs. Gormo are off to New Zealand in about 11 days. So there are some details to be re-checked and things to be organized which will put the railway on the back burner for a while. Yesterday we reached 40 years of marriage and the trip to NZ is our way of celebrating that.

Gormo




____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Managed to get some stuff done this arvo!!

So far the platform sides @ 22mm wide and the internal bracing @ 19mm wide. When I glue the bracing inside the walls I want to leave a 3mm gap between the bracing and the baseboard to try and avoid glue seeping downwards and sticking the frame to the baseboard. The platforms will have a 3mm MDF top.



So I also cut up some 3mm scrap pieces to act as temporary packers to go under the bracing. The idea is to keep the bracing flush with the top of the walls.



Strips of Scalescenes brick paper have been cut to 20mm wide ready for glueing to the platform walls.



Mark out lines have been done using the old pencil on the side of the coach method. Sometimes held in the middle of the coach and sometimes at the end, depending on the curve of the track.



General dimensions kept close at hand for reference



So there you go....it remains to be seen how much further I will get before the holiday. Glueing the brick paper on is going to take a while and then the brackets.......Oh well ...all in good time.

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!

 

Thanks Sol,
Toto.........start reading pal !!!

Another day and back to station platforms. I`ve made a start on one platform side wall. Scalescenes paper was cut into strips, the back of the paper was sealed with spray varnish......information about same courtesy of Gary.....and then it was glued with PVA to the MDF. Once the wall was papered I then gave the brick face a spray with the varnish to seal it.

Here it is next to a 1 metre rule. This piece will take the platform up to a board join where another 500-600 mm will be added to the length. The platforms have to accommodate trains 1500mm long so they need to be slightly longer than the train.



This is the type of brick being used. The uncovered strip at the bottom will be buried well below sleeper level and will not be seen once the track is ballasted.



And here it is standing roughly in position to see what it may look like when fitted.



Well folks.....so far so good.....this method is an unknown quantity and still has to be proven so we`ll see what happens.

Gormo




____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

OK Folks,
A little bit more completed after dinner. I`ve fitted the brackets to the back of the first wall and then fitted the wall into position.
So this is one end of platform 4. This wall is actually in the shape of an "S" bend. It curves the other way at the opposite end.



Another view from the opposite end



From the back....the brackets are spread wider on the straighter sections and close on the curves to hold the shape of the curve.



And just to give it some scale........where`s the rest of the train gone????



Time to turn the telly on and forget about trains for an hour!!!

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,


I cut some MDF strip this afternoon to further enhance the platform walls. The strip will be covered in brick paper and will be attached once the internal framing has been glued into the platform.

So here are some pics of the trial fit.










The clothes pegs make a good low pressure clamp. Just pull the spring out and refit reversed like the above. This is not my idea.....I picked it up somewhere on the web......can`t remember where.?

Gormo




____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,
A bit more progress.....the more I do the easier it gets......I guess you get into the groove / workflow and it starts to make sense.

First of all I stuck some brick paper onto the narrow strip. Had to see what it looks like. Of course the real deal will have vertical courses but this is just to get an idea of what it may look like.



So I`m happy with that and so I`ve moved on and stuck another wall into place. There is still a little fine tuning to do but the basics are there.





The walls will have to be carefully trimmed to match the board join. Normally I would start from the join when laying down the walls, but because of the curves it`s difficult to line everything up and have the other end, where the platform slopes away, line up correctly. The sloping section has to be just right or it will look awful.




Clearance checking with a bit of suitable scrap





And a promise of things to come



So that`s it for Monday. I don`t expect to get much more done for a while.....that`s annoying but that`s life!!!

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Well as luck would have it, I did manage to get some more done.

I started adding the cross members to my half of a platform. It`s just MDF cut to suit each location and it`s glued with PVA .....that`s all!!







The structure has gained rigidity as the members were introduced. On the curved sections diagonal bracing was also added to stop the MDF springing back into it`s original shape.







I`m not absolutely sure if the diagonal bracing is necessary, however for the sake of a little extra work, it`s better than starting again.







The moment of truth arrived when the glue had set. If all is good, the platform should be able to be released from it`s screwed down position and retain it`s shape. I was confident it had worked, because as each screw was removed, the platform didn`t move, therefore the cross members were holding it all together......Yaaaaaayyyy!!!!!!!.
So here it is sitting on the work shop floor for a photograph.







After the photo was taken the platform was re-fitted to the baseboard. No point in taking any chances. It will only be removed again to trim the right hand end and mark out the platform top. After that it will be permanently fitted.

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Long time no update.
Well I`ve been running some trains and mucking about with frog conversions, but mainly lately I`ve been creating holiday videos of our recent New Zealand holiday. Unfortunately the vids have monopolized a lot of my time and I`m only half way through.....Oh well...it`s gotta be done. That`s the trouble with taking lots of pics and vids....getting it all together into a reasonable, watchable format can be a big job.

I`ve had to walk away from the vids from time to time to restore my sanity and in those moments I`ve done a bit more on my platform building project.

The header bricks ( I think that`s the correct term ?) have been worked out for the 3mm strips that will project out from the platform walls to give a stepped effect. As luck would have it, the bricks on the Scalescenes sheets are 6mm wide, so I can cut two lengths from one piece....bonus!!!
You will notice the MDF has been shaped to an angle to suit the platform end. No rocket science here folks. Just pinch the MDF between thumb and forefinger and bend until it almost breaks and there`s your angle. The paper is cut to suit.



This is what it looks like when glued to the platform. The close up photography shows a little tidy up is required.



I`ve also just put a small amount of loose ballast in here to try and gauge what it`s going to look like when complete.



This pic below is to try and give it some scale. I think the platform edges are going to have to be a paper wrap over the MDF. I doubt that I will be able to get the MDF edges smooth enough to look good. It`s hard to get rid of the furry look as you can see.



I`ve also moved over to contact adhesive to attach the brackets. The Superglue has let go on a couple of the first lot I did, so we`ll see how this lot goes???..The little soldiers down below have got a twenty minute wait until the glue goes off, before they can be attached permanently.



Done



This is the end of the first half of the platform at the board joint, waiting for it`s neighbour to be attached. Probably 24 hours before that happens.....the contact adhesive needs to be given some time to go off fully.



So there you are folks....it`s moving along at a sedate but calculated pace and that will have to do for the time being.

More as it happens

Gormo










____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Well Gormo is jumping all over the place once again from project to project. Well a slight diversion we might say.??
The other day I was successful on Ebay and acquired a little Lima Class 33 for the princely sum of $17.50. The intention was to use the motor and rear bogie to modify an old Mainline diesel I have that needs a rebuild. The Class 33 was sold as motor good and running and body and chassis damaged and pretty ordinary.
So off we go.....the parcel turned up in the post and revealed the loco exactly as described. The wheel arrangement and size turned out to be not a very good match for what I wanted to do, however on closer inspection the Class 33 looked as though something could be done with it. The motor and rear bogie were fine....traction tyres needed though. The chassis was cracked in two places and it was also deformed so that it bowed upwards slightly at the front. The body has two hairline cracks and also a chunk missing from one end. The paint is cactus and the glazing is well?????...OK.
The main thing for me was to get the motor and chassis running properly. If that could be done well then the rest is just detail.
The first thing I did was straighten the chassis. I clamped it to a bit of flat steel to keep it straight and then used my heat gun on it to convince the plastic to reform. It was touch and go ......another couple of seconds I would have cooked it. Let the plastic cool and release the clamp and blow me down....it worked!!!
I then went about Superglueing the cracks and splits and the chassis was becoming stable. I also need to add a section that had broken off as it supports one side of the motor and stops it lifting up into the chassis.
Testing went well.......just a bit of filing required on the new piece I inserted.....it was rubbing on the gears.....easy fixed though. I also fitted some new traction tyres. It runs without them but the wheels will bind on some of the points, so the tyres have to be fitted for good running.


So here is one of the cracks in the chassis......it was completely separated at this point.






The white-ish curved piece next to the gears is the insert to stop the motor lifting into the chassis area.







Here`s the warts and all chassis and motor. There should be a buffer beam and buffers at the front and rear of the chassis.







Here`s the better end of the body







And here`s the other end with a chunk missing.







This loco has had a hard life. I reckon it has been dropped on the floor more than once, however it is now running sweet as a nut so I can`t complain. This body can be repaired and painted and lined and eventually it will be a sweet little thing.
At first I wasn`t too keen on the shape of the little sucker but I must admit it has grown on me and now it will be parked safely to await it`s full restoration.

I have made a short video showing it running with body on and body off.......negotiating insulfrog points and pulling a goods.......you`ll get the idea.





Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Bit more done with the platform build.

The island platform now has all it`s platform walls fitted and now needs cross bracing fitted to the second half of it or in other words, the part on the adjoining baseboard.

Here is a pic of the inside wall complete with it`s header bricks fitted. The small bull dog clips are 15mm and cheap as chips from the newsagent.....box of 12 for $1.95 I think???. In this case they just make it clamping 6mm







And now the wall for the main line platform face. Brackets now are all glued to the MDF with contact adhesive.







Now an aerial shot to show how it copes with train length. The whole layout was based on a 1500mm (5 foot) train length. The station platforms, especially the inside line, need to be able to accommodate trains of that length and also leave room for uncoupling and run around without fowling the points and also leaving enough clearance between loco and coach to do so.
Because the inside line can deal with 1500mm, you will notice the main line could actually take another coach length.



The locos on both lines are sitting in their respective isolated sections. You can see the loco on the inside line has plenty of clearance to run around



Now here`s the clearance at the other end. When a loco backs onto the end coach, there is enough room to shunt the train backwards so that the loco will be clear of the points here and likewise with the coach at the other end.



I have also a short video to help show the current situation. Please note there is some picture break up in the very last segment of the video......don`t know what happened there.....not to worry.....doesn`t really matter.







More as it happens

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,


Got a good days work done today on the railway.
I`ve managed to get all the cross bracing fitted to the second half of the island platform. The glue is still drying as I type. It just needs the header brick strips fitted to the main line faces and then it`s ready for the top.
The second half starts on the left of the baseboard join shown here.



It is all curved ,as you can see, and re-inforced with diagonal braces to prevent it from springing back to the straight position.



Down to the end where it drops away at the same angle as the opposite end of the platform



The trusty clothes peg keeping the small end brace secure while the glue dries.



So there you are folks.....it won`t change the world.....but it`s done and coming along as planned....so far!!.

More as it happens.

Gormo




____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

Back in the train room..... testing that the platform will keep it`s shape. Actually it`s a model of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.



While the platform is detached it is a good opportunity to fit the main line face header brick strip. You can see the bay platform with the print issues in the background.







And this is the platform face that has caused all the trouble. There`s actually three layers of paper stuck on there now. Two rejects and a good one.



I also decided to re-cover the inside face even though it won`t be seen except in photographs like this.




Gormo

 

Well folks the moment of truth has arrived. I`ve cut out my first platform top and I`ve sat it on the framework to check clearances. The bad news is that the stock is rubbing on one side. The good news is that the platform top is oversize and therefore can be trimmed back......Phew !!!!
Obviously my clearance checking with bits of scrap wasn`t effective.......but you live and learn.
Anyway.....this is what it looks like.

I need to hold the end down because it will spring back up



Had to make a cut part way through underneath the top to get it to bend like that



It needs to be glued and clamped to bring it down flush with the frame



The other end at the baseboard join



My clearance testing train







I`ve only cut the one top fortunately, and I`ve marked out a second. The first top will be corrected and the marking out for the second will adjusted prior to cutting.

More as it happens

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,


The second half of the island platform was stuck down yesterday. The weights were removed this morning and some testing done with my little 2 year old Grandson second in charge to help me out. Actually while I was watching him and keeping his little fingers away from the controls, I managed to put one train up the rear end of another. That`s when testing stopped and we went back into the house. He enjoyed the running session and possibly the carnage as well......Oh well?????....what can you do ?????

Ok....this is the platform at the Western end.



From the Western end looking East



From the East looking West



And an aerial view



I still have some lumps and bumps to smooth down to improve the line of the edge of the platform, however that`s no big deal. The main thing is it works. Just got to carry on and get the other one done now.

Here is a brief video showing trains running through the platform.





Gormo






____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,


I have been testing a method of doing paving with pastels and 1200 grade Wet & Dry paper. It`s coming along with moderate success , however there is a degree of uncertainty about the long term integrity of the method. Gary has provided some suggestions for suitable sealers, so I`ll give that a go.

One of the test pieces of pastel on Wet & Dry paper



Extreme close up of the results using this method



Gary has also been good enough to print out some paving and asphalt and edging sheets for use on the platforms. The jury is still out on the final approach and further testing on the pastels will determine which way to go... pastels or printed sheets. The main concern with the pastels is their fragile nature and long term in the shed may see the surface gradually wear off.
So this afternoon Gary paid me a visit to deliver the printed sheets and he also brought along some trains so that we could give them a run along with some of mine... and also we could discuss some of the finer points of railway modelling.The star of the afternoon was Gary`s Adams 0-4-4 Class 02 Steam loco pulling a couple of Southern coaches.........a joy to watch circulating on GCJ... the detail is wonderful and the model warrants very careful handling so as not to damage fragile parts. To date we still have not done any proper train sequences when Gary visits. We just watch trains circulating while we chew the fat about model railways... it`s tough but somebody has to do it....!!!!....
Thanks again Gary for your generosity and time spent trying to help me out.
So folks... settle back... get the crisps ready... maybe open a bottle of your favourite beveridge and lets run some trains.
A short video of this afternoons running session.





Gormo



____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Getting back to the platform surfaces.

I`ve solved the sealing of the finish problem. The answer is to wet the paper first with a brush... don`t drown it ...just show it the water... then moisten the end of the pastel and rub it into the paper... not too aggressively... then stipple the surface with a small stiff brush. Let it dry completely. The pastel when wet, becomes more like a paste and I think the moisture helps it bond to the paper. As I said ....let it dry completely and then scribe the paper. After that you can seal it quite effectively with about 6 to 8 passes over with a cheap hairspray. When the hairspray dries, you can rub your finger over the surface and no material comes away... Beauty.!!!!
Now having got that far, the frustration set in when I couldn`t maintain a constant or consistent colouring of the paper... Wet & Dry paper that is. This morning I went to the hardware store to investigate an alternative paper and or at least get some more Wet & Dry. I decided to try a different sandpaper. I purchased some sheets of Flexovit paper at what feels and looks like the appropriate grade... P240. It`s the non clogging variety... possibly that`s an error of judgement on my part, but we`ll see???





Because the paper is white !!!...possibly I will be better able to control colour on a light background. You will notice it also has a wavy pattern in it. I don`t know what that`s all about, but I thought if I want to achieve stone effects, the more irregular the better.





The logic now is, that when the paper is scored it will leave a white mark for the mortar. I can make that look more irregular by running a dark pencil along the mortar when the job is complete. Same also applies to pavers. You can change the tone of individual pavers with a light touch from a watercolour pencil and then rub it in with your finger to blend it. All that sounds tedious but it`s not, it`s actually quite easy and quick.
So here is an example from this new white paper





Sitting on the platform next to another experiment with the same paper. Note the subtle change in tone of the pavers created with the water colour pencils. I have also gone over the mortar with a fine pencil. Not completely darkening the mortar but just to show some grime etc.





This is the other experiment........a bitumen surface behind edging stones.







There was just one more detail to test and that was glueing a piece of the new paper to some MDF and going through the colouring and scribing process when it is glued down. Everything to date has been scribed on a cutting mat which has a bit of give in it and therefore makes scribing easier.



Stuck a sample to some timber and went through the process .....no problems.
Here it is





And here on the platform






Now when I had a look at the close up pic... I reckon those scribed lines are too coarse... So I tried scribing the lines with a disposable craft knife... the ones with the snap off blades, rather than the pointy scribe I was using before...... and that gives a much finer result.
Here`s another test piece that was gone over with the snap off blade and I like these results better... so that`s what I`ll use when I get fair dinkum and stick the paper to the platform permanently. Not all of it was done with the knife but most of the grey paving was.








And from above at a more normal viewing distance. You can see the groove between the edging pavers is more coarse than the ones between the grey pavers.





There you go folks... mission complete, after a rather frustrating journey, but I suppose that`s par for the coarse when you start from scratch. Actually, on reflection, been there done that before.???.
I have already started doing serious research to establish a look for the surface. I have an old book... Western Steam in Colour by Hugh Ballantytne... which has a few stations in it... such as Yatton...Bath and some branches and other junctions. Just about all of them have a mixture of surfaces so I will be pinching the bits and pieces that take my fancy and we`ll go from there.
More as it happens


Gormo







____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,
Well the platform is papered and ready for colouring, when I`ve got the guts to take the plunge and go for it. There were no issues at all sticking it down. I used PVA brushed onto the MDF to give an even coat and not too much near the edges. The paper was cut over size .....stuck down and then trimmed with a snap off blade flush with the platform edge.











The paper worked OK but one of the things I need, to go forward ,is a scribe that will take snap off disposable blades. So I made a rough one this afternoon and I`m sure it will do the job just fine.
It was just made out of scrap timber and no great care was taken to produce a beautiful item, rather a one off practical tool.
Here it is with adjustable and removable blade. The sliding arm is fully adjustable.








The block straddles the twin tracks and is held against the platform edge to do the job.











The longitudinal courses required for the platform will be scribed using this tool.........hopefully???....and the courses running across the platforms will be scribed with a straight edge as per normal.
That`s it folks... I`ve got the tools... I`ve got the materials... I just need to make that jump to light speed and we`re away..!!! Yaaaayyy!!!!
More as it happens


Gormo



____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

Well folks.......crunch time......time to put the best laid plans of mice and railway modellers into practice.

Here we go























So there you are folks... the wheels are in motion. The scribe works perfectly and was worth the trouble of building it. A bonus feature with it is that I can do a light scribe on the platform surface to mark a line for my electrical tape masking, before starting a section... very handy.!!
It seems best to do small sections at a time... approx 300mm .....because as the pastel is drying you can work the area and texture it to suit what you have in mind. A large area would see the pastel drying before you could manipulate it with the brush.
I will wait till the whole platform is finished before I seal the surface.
More as it happens


Gormo






____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"