Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Thanks Gary,
The jury is still out on the industry and the loading dock is not fixed yet......so still time to ponder that one.
I think most terminus stations would try and terminate very close to or partially within the town, so I should be able to make that work.
Some of the town is already on the viewing side ( terraced cottages ) and there maybe some additions to that as well.
I`ve continued with my research trying to form a better picture in my head of how it`s going to pan out. I found some images last night that will help immensely.
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Today I`ve made a final call on the town back scene for Bamford.
Most of this was a panoramic image downloaded from the net, however it has been dissected and re-arranged and parts removed to finally come to this compilation you see before you.
I mentioned in a previous post that the building on the left came from Trevor Gibbs.




A track level view......you must bear in mind that there will be model buildings placed in front of most of this scene with glimpses of the back scene peeping through from certain vantage points.




Trevor`s building is a little ripper





My token everyday man placed in front of the shops to give them some scale.
Modern signage can be covered up with something more appropriate if required





And some buildings in front to try and gauge how it may look when more work is completed.




Well that`s a step forward........I can tweak things as I go along now.
Gormo

 

Something a little different
Mainline model Jubilee Class 45691 ORION ex works




Still going after 30 years




Gormo

 

Just testing a new idea with images here




Gormo

 

Thanks Phil....
Yes the Mainline bodies were very good and stand up well today, unfortunately the mechanisms were not up to the task, however some still survive and run well.
Having trouble with the mojo at the moment, so have got side tracked with photos for a bit and a bit of image manipulation.
This is where I have a bit of an issue with some of our railway publications, where they publish peoples model railways with smoke and steam coming from the locomotives and superimposed skies.
It all looks great, however I feel it might discourage some new modellers, in that they might feel that they will never be able to achieve such stunning results.
In most cases the railways are also photographed with specialized lighting, a requirement from some publications.
So in the end, you are not seeing the railway as it actually is under it`s normal lighting. There is an absence of shadows in a lot of cases.
Anyhow, that is the way of such things these days, they are all chasing your dollar and they need to keep ahead of the competition by instantly grabbing your attention when you spot the railway magazines at your preferred news agent.
I have played with these images below using GIMP ( free ) software. They have all been sharpened, they have had a cartoon effect added, also colour enhancement and smoke and steam added.
The smoke and steam is added by drawing in the pathways for same with a paint brush tool using three of four colours. You then go back over that with a smudge tool and start to blend it all and it starts to take shape. I think my results are OK but could be improved with a lot more time and practice, which I`m not prepared to do.
There are a few other things that could possibly be done, however this is more for artistic effect rather than a true picture of my railway. It`s nice sometimes to take a few images and enhance them, they always look good with the titles on my videos.






Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Back to railway business.......
I started building this Superquick kit I`ve had for a good while now and it will be part of the town behind Bamford station.
This particular kit can be built in one of two ways. Either as a pub.....The Hamilton Arms....or as some little shops grouped together. One of the signs for the shops is Arkwright`s Hardware, which appeals to me, so we are taking the shop option.





The kit itself is very basic and lends itself to modification and improvement. With that in mind, and also the fact that it`s original colouring does not really suit the look I am trying to achieve, I have decided to modify it.
I want to populate the town with a mixture of pastel or white buildings with a mix of light reddish brick sprinkled throughout,
The bricks ( Dark Brown ) on the model have been done away with in favor of a rendered finish, which has already completely changed the look of the building.
The finish was achieved by firstly, masking the shop fronts at street level and then applying White poster paint, with a stippling action, to the brick areas. This was then followed by sponging the surface to even it out. The next coat had some Yellow Ochre added to the White to give a Cream colour and that was applied in the same way. The third coat had the Cream diluted to a lighter shade with the addition of more White Poster Paint plus, very fine sand was added to the mix to give a rough finish.
The pic below shows the model in parts with tabs folded back after gluing





The original model has an annex at the back which is almost as deep again as this part you see here, so due to space constraints, the annex will be left out of the build and the gaping hole where it`s supposed to fit will be covered over. This also means that the rear side of the main roof will have to be modified to fit the new configuration. It may indeed be easier to just cut out a new replacement roof and be done with it.?
At time of writing, the clamps have been removed and some glazing and doors have been fitted and then the parts have been flattened out and weights sat on top.
When you apply paint to only one side of card, it will bow as it dries, so the weights will go some way to sorting that out.




There is no internal floor with this kit, separating the upper and lower sections, so I will cut one out of card and fit that in too .......it will strengthen the building considerably and also make it easier to fit lighting.
More as it happens
Gormo

 

A new roof section was cut from mounting board card



And slate tile strips were added





Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
A bit more progress.
All glazing fitted, curtains added with room backgrounds set over the curtains.
Foyer and shop internals fitted



Signage also fitted and I`ve added the black strips to create more texture and interest. The building looks a bit more oldy worldy IMHO.




The new version of a back wall scavenged from the original annex.







A floor was added to divide the ground and first floor plus it also strengthens the building. This floor will have 3mm holes drilled in it so as to poke LEDs through to illuminate the lower floor.
I will probably put in a card beam from chimney to chimney under the roof so I can fit LEDs into it to light the top floor




The roof simply sat on top to give an impression of how the final building may look.
The roof cannot be fitted until the lights go in.




It`s getting there...
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
We`re on the home stretch now with this little lot of shops.
The lighting was done today..........crucial to set this up and has to be tested before I can move forward.
We have two White LEDs.....one for each shop, and the single Amber LED lights the whole top floor. I`ve used two resistors to tone it down a bit, however more can be added to the external leads after the installation stage, and they can be placed under the baseboard. We`ll have to see how it shapes up against other buildings with lighting......





Just as a matter of interest, these card buildings gain considerable strength once they are assembled. My trusty block of steel weighs about 2 1/2 kilos.
We are waiting for the glue in the roof section to set in this pic below.




Chimneys and other roof details were added afterwards. I still need to make some chimney pots.





This is how it looks in the train room under night simulation ( Blue LEDs ) lighting









And a view from the back





Now in normal room lighting





And with our little token man, Professor Julius Sumner Winter, to give it some scale.




Next is guttering, down pipes and chimney pots

Gormo

 

Thanks Chris,
Yes I was playing with names there and couldn`t resist the contrast Sumner / Winter as in Summer / Winter.
I remember the good professor very well.......his signature question to his students...." Why is it so ? "
Lots of fun to be had with names in model railways .........eg. Olive Groves, ...Eileen Forward......a good one for a Dentist could be Phillip McAvity.....
Gormo

 

Well folks......Arkright`s shop is finished and waiting to be planted somewhere behind Bamford.
Today was just finishing off with gutters, down pipes, chimney pots and weathering the roof......pics below












More mods on buildings to follow
Gormo

 

I`ve started on another shop kit, details later, but I`ve already modified the roof.......can`t help myself....I`ve got model railway disease...
Gormo

 

Thanks Gary,
Yes I am pleased with how it`s turned out.........a little bit of kit bashing goes a long way......
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
I`ve noticed lately that my train detection system, which gives me a visual indication of the progress and position of trains in my workshop and my storage room, has been in need of maintenance on a more regular basis.
The problem is that my open reed switch system ( operated by magnets under the locos ) has most likely a mismatch of metals and or, too much current for those materials......the latter being unlikely.
What is happening now on a regular basis, is that when the long wire ( Reed ) is lifted by the magnet and makes contact with a staple that restricts it`s movement, arcing occurs and effectively the two parts weld together.
This is really not good enough for me and can`t be left any longer. You can`t run your trains wondering each time which sensor will get stuck this time.
So I`ve pulled all the reed switches out and installed another system. The reader should keep in mind that this is only for DC Analogue systems as it would surely cause serious problems for a DCC system.
I have two display panels each with six LEDs denoting various sections along the track in the hidden areas
The LEDS are wired with a common wire ( negative ) and a trigger wire ( positive ) for each LED, which allows each LED to go off in turn when a loco passes over the sensor.
Instead of the open reed switch system, I now use the rail to activate the LEDs.
The common wire is now connected to one rail. The trigger wire is now connected to a short isolated section ( 3 sleepers ) in the same rail as per below.
I also have to install an extra wire connecting the areas of rail each side of the rail cuts to keep the current flowing to the rest of the system.
Three sleepers seems to be the maximum length of rail that can be used, otherwise you risk stalling a small 0 -4- 0 loco. With just three sleepers an 0 -4 - 0 will always have two wheels on the powered track.
Cutting such a short section of rail is tricky because more than likely it will become unstable in it`s chairs, so the area around and just beyond the cuts is secured with liberal amounts of Super glue





When the loco, wagons or coach wheels pass over the short section of rail, they effectively act like a switch and activate the LED for that section.
The result is that the LED pulses as each set of wheels passes by. The loco gives the strongest pulse and coach wheels slightly less.
The LEDs are still bridged by a capacitor to extend the length of pulse.
The display now is actually improved on what it was before. The locos no longer need magnets fitted ,plus we are now getting pulses from rolling stock with metal wheels.
The new system should be practically set and forget, except for track cleaning from time to time.
Below is a shaky video showing the new system operating.



Gormo