7mm Parkers sidings

Brian T

Western Thunderer
Whilst i`ve been casting about deciding what to do next after having two failed attempt`s at layouts already,i came across a box in the loft that i`d built to use in the RMJ cameo competition,which like the layouts mentioned never got off the ground either!.
So with that and the purchase of a Dapol 08 & Heljan 05 ,oh and not to mention at 'few' wagon kits....:confused:
i decided to see what i could do with the 'box';which by the way is 4ft x 18.5 inch x 18inch deep.

After a few scribbles i came up with the following as a potential idea..
img002.jpg
But then after a slight re-think,and seeing the Intentio coal office,i change it to a more open look and came up with this...'Parkers sidings'
parkers sidings.jpg

Now your probably thinking,that`s all well and good but your not going to fit much in that space or be of any operational use...well it`s just big enough for a inglenook shunting puzzle.
Inglenook Sidings Shunting Puzzle

So the track plan is very simple,no points,3 sidings,and a single 1 track sector plate.
P1010103.JPG
Initally the sector plate was built to take an 03/05 and two 10 ft wheel base wagons,but with a little jiggery pokerie it`ll now take an 08 and two wagons,just.

P1010106.JPG

Track was laid in a day using C&L track parts,and then wired up in the next couple of days followed by the central divider.
P1010107.jpg

Then of course it was only right to have a play.....:D

With play time over i started building the bigger of the two bridges,only to build the inner wall of the far side at the wrong angle!.

Bridges #1.JPG
You`ll also notice that i was going with a double arch too.
So it was back to the original idea of a single arch and a girder overbridge,and after a bit of hacking about the following emerged...
Bridges #2.JPG
Still got a bit of way on this,ie; palisters and retaing walls etc.but at least it`s starting to look the part,and it fit`s properly as well this time.
And this is where i`m at,at the moment as i`m waiting on some more brick plasticard to arrive so work has stopped for the time being,though i do have another 11 wagon kits to build,not to mention some US stuff to build as well,so i`m not exactly short of things to do..

Happy days.....

Brian.
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
A very nice start, Brian. And a neat idea. I think a lot of us can put our hands up on the incompleted layout front; I know I can, at least!
I appreciate your artistry in your sketch, too; the jumble of rooves is particularly appealing. Good luck with it.

Cheers

Jan
 

Brian T

Western Thunderer
Thanks for the kind comments Jan,

Hopfully this will keep me occupied ,and keep me motivated whilst i sort out a couple of slight larger plan`s i have in the mind.
But in the meantime,the plasticard has turn up,so back to bridge building!.

Brian.
 

Brian T

Western Thunderer
Good start Brian, wickedly simple plan and there's a good bit of scenic potential. I like the look of this. :)
Steve.

Thanks Steve,

Hopfully if i get this right,it should show that even in a confined space like this you can still do a decent amount of modeling in 7mm and have a bit of play potential as well...


Hi Brian , its so small , i like it . I will watch with interest .
Cheers Paul

Thanks Paul,

Small it is,and self contained too,as there`s a top to the box as well which will have some led strip lights attached to it.
And once it`s finshed i`ll add a proper fasica to the box to give that cameo look too....


Cheers,
Brian.
 

Brian T

Western Thunderer
I`ve done some more work on the bridge,so it should at least start to look like one now!.
Micro layout  bridge #1.jpg
So far i`ve added the brick stringer courses, (above arch & girder) along with the buttresses. (upright sticky out bits)
And made a start on the wing walls aswell;which are`nt attached yet as i`ve still to build the newal post`s for the ends of them.

Micro layout bridge #2.jpg
And not being content with the obvious work,i also added the 'jack' arches to the back of the girder,which allowed me made to make use of some anglo saxon term`s as i was trying to curve the plasticard ,to fit inbetween the girders... :rant: :oops:

There`s still a fair amount of work to do,like adding capping stones to the tops and a couple of course`s to run under the bottom edges of the girder,along with continuing brick line`s around corners,and bit`s of filling....you get the idea.

There is one thing i forgot say,and that`s without using the following book as my guide (building bridges and viaducts for model railways, by Bob Alderman) i`d probably still be trying to figure how to build some parts of my bridge.

Cheers,
Brian.
 

Brian T

Western Thunderer
......spoiler alert.....:eek:

Oh please do mention it.... :) ;)

Well if i must jordan....:rolleyes:

The other stuff i mentioned is for another layout in the planing,based in the US on the Georgia Northern during the early fifties,called Oaklawn.
A simple affair; runround (enough for a 50 ft & 40ft boxcar ) and long lone single siding,with a couple of industries on it,and all buired in dirt and grass.

So as to the kits to build,they are;

4 x Intermountain aar 4oft boxcars.
1 x Intermountain reefer. (steel)
1 x Red Caboose 10,000 gal tank car.
1 x Ultra scale II (chooch) NP wood/steel 40ft boxcar.
1 x Smokey Mountain Model works aar 53-6 flat car.
2 x Smokey Mountain Model works Southern 41ft gondola`s.

There are a couple of other freight cars from Atlas,plus 3 loco`s,one of which will need a bit ;
SW9 - VO 1000- 70tonner.

At the moment i`m just waiting on some more track supplies,so i can start laying,and then somtime early next year Jan/Feb,i`ll start thread for it.
But till then.....i`m keeping shtum..!:)

Brian.
 

Brian T

Western Thunderer
Had a bit of spurt on the modeling/layout building side of things today so i`ve managed to get a couple of job`s done.
The first one was adding the 'warm' led strip lights to the underside of the removable top.
lighting.jpg
This makes a vast improvement,but i`ll have to add an extra strip to the lower edge of the final facia,beacuse the front siding does`nt quite get enough light .

Then the next job was adding the final pieces, such as capping stones for the top`s of the walls and assembling the wing walls and newal post`s for either side the bridge`s.
Bridge #3.jpg
Once we get a dry day i`ll give it a coat of grey primer,and then i`ll be able to see where all the dodgey bit`s are....:oops:

bridge #4.jpg
But in the meantime,this is what it look`s like in it`s final postion....

Cheers,
Brian.
 

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
Hi Brian

I love the layout concept, especially the coloured sketch.

The bridge is also very nice with it’s mix of brick arch and girder spans, but I’m curious as to why you “changed your mind” with the brick arch? Your first attempt, with the arch tied into the abutments each side, was surely correct?

I’m no civil engineer, but as it is now (and if it were a real bridge!), I think the arch would just fall under its own weight and certainly after a few vehicles had driven across it. I would also expect the bricks in each ring to be rotated 90 degrees to the way you have them (if you see what I mean?), though concede, there may well be a prototype for this.

I hope you don’t see this as a criticism, because this is one of the best model bridges I’ve seen (love those jack arches!) and I can’t wait to see it painted and weathered. :thumbs:


Regards

Dan

p.s. Designing (in CAD), a girder bridge of my own at present, which will hopefully combine laser cut abutments with an etched span and which will also feature jack arches. :)

 

Brian T

Western Thunderer
Hi Dan,

No worries on the comment;good, bad or indifferent,it`s all welcome.....:D

As to the change of mind on the arches,it was a needs must decision because i`d cocked up the angle of the far wall. (the one the bottom of arch sits on) So after correcting it the arch no longer sat on the wall properly,which meant that i would have had to re-cut the entire thing to keep it.So the best option was the girder with jack arches.It`s also a bit of a compromise as in my scribble,it was going to be a full plate girder bridge.

I do keep looking at the the arch in relation to the girder side of the bridge,so i get where your coming from Dan.
It should really have another buttress in the middle,but as it would only scale out to about 3-4 ft wide,would it look at odd?.Perhaps i might just build one and see what it look`s like before going any further.

And as for the bricks in the arch itself,they are right,as your seeing the ends of the rings.Or to put it another way,your looking a flat wall end on that`s been curved..

Thanks again for comment & compliment,and best of luck designing your bridge.
Your a better man than me for going down the CAD route,i got confused trying to follow sketch up!.

Cheers,
Brian.
 

Brian T

Western Thunderer
Its a great looking bridge Brian.

I didn't think Jack Arches were modelled that often, now it seems everyone is doing them!

Just like buses ay.......!

I hope you had an easier time curving your arches than i did....
And your bridge look`s superb,especially the colouring.

Cheers,
Brian.
PS, i hope to be starting the coal office over the weekend,so i hope i can do your kit justice!.
 
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BrushType4

Western Thunderer
Actually those arches were a pain in the a#$e and that I think is no3 attempt.

Please post pictures of your coal office build!
 

Brian T

Western Thunderer
So going on from an earlier post about the bridge being able to hold itself,and the possibility of adding an extra buttress to the center of it,i decided to quickly knock up one.

Initially i was going to go with a buttress that was 4`ish ft in width,but this looked all wrong.So instead i`ve made one that`s 2ft wide,and whilst it`d probably be about as much use as chocolate fire gaurd,it does add a little more eyeability, whilst maintaining a sence of balance.

bridge #5.jpg
Brian.
 

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
Hi Brian

Sorry - I never thought to add a picture earlier! This is what I was driving at when I mentioned the arch might not support its own weight....
AF1EB2DD-B34F-4701-9108-2D918EBF65FE.jpeg
It was fine before you changed your mind and chopped the extremities off, but as it is now, it’s no longer supported by the abutments and could (again, if it was real bridge), end up as a pile of rubble below.... I like the extra buttress though, as it adds a bit more interest to the structure. Keep up the good work. :thumbs:


Regards

Dan
 

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