Focalplane

Western Thunderer

Peter Smith

Active Member
That's a 1964 picture, my model was 1930's so it looks very different. Ideal for you though. When you get round to building it just put '1964 newspapers' or '1964 magazines' into Ebay (or whatever year you want), and you'll find more than enough to cover your stall.

Peter
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Just heard we have a heatwave warning coming up for this week (worse further north) so the air-conditioner will be welcome. Meanwhile I have been plodding on and turned out an Illustrator-based background for the track plan indicator board. It isn't finished because I will add the push button controls for the traversers and wagon hoist as well as other switches in the void space in the bottom right hand corner. I also need to label the levers and their corresponding turnouts and signals on the track plan. And I am just holding it in place, it will have a proper frame and support behind.

I plan to sandwich the photo paper print behind a sheet of plexiglas and then drill holes for the indicator LEDs and switches.

I'll do anything to keep from wiring up the Tortoises! But they must be done.

IMG_0719.JPG
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
When we moved to Oldham in 1947, all the main roads were cobbled, let alone streets. The cobbles were mid grey in colour and would have been quarried locally I expect. In order to ease the situation until major roads could be re-surfaced with tar macadam ( plus tram line lifting), men used to go round pouring neat tar into the courses. We kids had fun popping the bubbles in the tar in high summer.

There were few speed restrictions on cars in those days. I remember some main roads had smaller rectangular sets about the size of house bricks and these were easier on suspensions. Nevertheless, wartime buses with engines bolted direct to the chassis were teeth-jarring enough without rattling over cobbles. I wonder how some of today buses would stand up to it.
 

Ressaldar

Western Thunderer
I plan to sandwich the photo paper print behind a sheet of plexiglas and then drill holes for the indicator LEDs and switches.


View attachment 107328

Hi Paul,

I have done a few control panels in the manner that you propose and their are problems in that swarf collects between the underside of the perspex and the paper surface and the paper surface itself tears and combined they create humps and bumps that are difficult to clear. On my last effort, I clamped the ply background, paper sandwich and perspex carefully together then using a 1mm drill slowly drilled through to make a pilot hole, then unclamped and drilled the ply and perspex as individual sheets with a 6.5mm drill to suit my chosen switch and then cleaned up the 'mating' surfaces. Then glued the paper plan in place on the ply and laid it aside for the glue to go off, then using a new scalpel blade, carefully trimmed through the paper around the hole in the ply and then offered up the perspex , inserted the switches and you have a nice flat panel ready to insert in the box.

Hope that I am not teaching granny........

regards

Mike
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Larry, the setts I photographed in Digbeth were granite and I have no idea where they might have been quarried though usually local stone would be the cheapest material as long as it is hard wearing. Most stone in the Birmingham area is not hard enough so my guesses would be the Welsh Marches or Charnwood in Leicestershire. As Digbeth is close to the railways then obviously stone could have come from farther away.

Mike, your suggestion is a good one, I know from experience of picture framing how annoying it is to find a speck of dust behind the glass as soon as the frame is sealed. I should add that the track plan will not have any toggle switches, only small LED lamps and the push on controls for the traversers and hoist. This should allow it to last a lot longer than if it was a control panel.

Cheers, Paul
 
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Focalplane

Western Thunderer
I have slowed right down the past few days. Although we are not in the orange alert for heatwave area we will be tomorrow with a high of 37ºC forecast. I may disappear into the railway room if/when that happens. Part of the reason for inactivity has been a cracked tooth, the one that was giving trouble back in January. This time it had to come out, leaving a gap of two molars width (the adjacent one was removed 40 odd years ago) and a lack of chewing capability on one side. Coming to terms with this is proving to be hard though my dentist says that he can do something about it after 3 months. Roll on October!

Another more on-topic reason is that I am waiting on orders of supplies, that's a ready built excuse when you live in a relatively remote place and many things have to be ordered from the UK unless I can find a local source. I know, we've been there before!

I just cannot start thinking about wiring up the Tortoises at the moment and anything else that requires significant brain activity does not attract. So I am off to the beach.

But before then I need to sort of the wrong order from Gaugemaster (yes, that's the retailer for the point levers, I wasn't going to name them but I now think they deserve it). Having sent the wrong item I returned it on the understanding that the right order would be sent immediately. Well, I have received the correct order (well done!) but no confirmation that the item I returned has been received or that I will receive a credit note for the cost of return postage (€ 15.50), except an email from accounts that gives the impression that the right hand knows not what the left hand is doing. So far I have dealt with three different departments within the same address. Wish me luck!
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
I write from Cyprus, Paul, so I share your meteorological ‘distress’. ;)

Similarly, I’ve been enduring the pain of a failed root-canal procedure for several months now and have finally resigned myself to the eventual loss of the incisor. Vanity has led me to opt for the new ‘screw-in’ type replacement, and have benefited from twelve months or so’s sway to convince my wife that the two grand bill is warranted: coz I’m worth it :cool:

The day before I left for Cyprus, I finally met with the eminent physician to whom I’d been referred safe in the knowledge that I’d had the go-ahead from my wife to part with the princely sum required, only to be told that the actual ‘damage’ was DOUBLE the amount originally quoted.

Believe you me, Paul, that blow rendered far greater pain to the Jonte well-being than any existing tooth ache. I just kept thinking of all the model railway stuff I could buy for that. So I’m back to square one, the spoiled tooth still giving me jip :(

I’m sorry that your recent transaction has added to your woes; no doubt your recent dental experience hasn’t helped matters. I’ve still got a Gaugemaster, only these days it’s relegated to running in new engines on a circle of track. But it keeps putting in a shift.

I’m sure matters will resolve themselves eventually.

Chin up.

Jonte
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
You know, Jonte, I really have nothing much to complain about. The bill for pulling the tooth was €33.40 which must be a standard French charge for what was a 10 minute visit. And by now there is little pain except for a very delicate gum where the tooth was. Compare that to friends here who been diagnosed for cancer. . . . need I say more?

So far no response from Gaugemaster. Who else sells DCC Concepts' stuff?
 

Yorkshire Dave

Western Thunderer
Most stone in the Birmingham area is not hard enough so my guesses would be the Welsh Marches or Charnwood in Leicestershire.

The colour and the size of the feldspar crystals in the granite is a giveaway as to it's regional origin (Wow! I never thought I'd be dredging up my old Geology studies).

In your photo the setts appear (to me) to be a pinkish- grey colour and would indicated they were quarried locally from the Charnwood area as you've indicated. If they are brown-grey then they would have been quarried in Wales.

The South West Peninsula (Devon and Cornwall) and Cumbrian granites are a generally a grey colour but there are local variations.
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
You know, Jonte, I really have nothing much to complain about. The bill for pulling the tooth was €33.40 which must be a standard French charge for what was a 10 minute visit. And by now there is little pain except for a very delicate gum where the tooth was. Compare that to friends here who been diagnosed for cancer. . . . need I say more?

So far no response from Gaugemaster. Who else sells DCC Concepts' stuff?

DCCconcepts Home Page ;)
 

simond

Western Thunderer
Pink granite in West of Scotland, Brittany, and I think somewhere in between. Cornwall?

Atb
Simon
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Actually, speaking as a professional (retired), the colour of rocks that have been broken open with a hammer can be quite different from the weathered "skin" on a cobble that might have been quarried 50 or more years ago.

There is another problem with describing the colour of rocks - the colour is different if the surface is dry from when it is wet. Somewhere in my "attic" I have a "rock color chart" which is extremely thorough in attempting to cover anything from basalt to chalk! The colour recorded should always be described from a wet surface.
 

Yorkshire Dave

Western Thunderer
There are a number of times when I have either taken a trusty hammer to the rocks or pour some water over samples to see the colour.
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
I have been painting the brick wall supports for the platforms. I have two tinlets of Humbrol acrylic 104 which is a good likeness to an average dark Staffordshire Blue brick. The first tinlet had been opened and was quite thick and congealed, so after a while I decided to open the new tinlet. After a few brush strokes I realized it was basically black. I mean two very different shades of "dark" fall under Humbrol's definition of 104. I went back to the first tinlet and added Humbrol acrylic thinner and it is working out fine.

The reason I am doing this is because I have a few sheets of Slaters' brick plastikard which may as well be used up and station platform supports are probably the darkest, dingiest places on the layout, but the two shades of 104 are simply totally different.

I have also added coarse brown ballast to the platform roads 3 and Release and am quite pleased with the results so far. Tomorrow I'll attempt to do roads 1 and 2 if it's not too hot (though the Railway Room is a bit like a cellar and is cooler than the rest of the house). France's highest ever official high temperature was recorded today about 150kms away, the other side of Montpellier. 45.9ºC. That's hot!
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Summer is here and the pressure to do "other things" has intensified, though the coolest room in the house is the railway room.

Nonetheless, some progress has been made as these two photographs testify. For some reason only known to me the station has been invaded by the LM(R) though W(R) trains are running as well.

IMG_0731.JPG

IMG_0732.JPG

Until I finish the traversers there is not much more I can do to the platform areas, but a start can be made on the main station building and also the signal box. I can finish the southern end of Platform 1, though. I will wait until I am in England/Wales before buying any 1mm styrene sheet as I can find no reasonable supplier locally.

I will be using a modified version of Rail Models' Bearley West Junction Box. It is not as long as Moor Street's was but then I am excluding the relief lines from the model so the length and window layout will be proportionately correct. The modifications include bricked in ground floor windows. The kit is on its way.

On another front I have ordered a Finney7 Hall kit in nickel silver which will hopefully be ready for collection at Telford. This will be Rood Ashton Hall which currently has Tyseley as its home so will have an 84E shed plate, a slight bit of Rule 1 there. I might have had a more authentic Rhose Wood Hall but this Modified Hall loco is not covered by the kit. With several unfinished kits and an un-started Warren Shephard Mogul kit you may ask "Why". You may well ask but I have no sane answer!

Paul
 
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