4mm Podimore: proper pannier

Yorkshire Dave

Western Thunderer
Interesting read in the link about that bridge requiring continual remedial work. They should have donated the pile of bricks the GW centre at Didcot and put a new one there which requires less maintenance.
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
Well yes - two factors are important, I think - one, the structure is now 160 years' old or thereabouts (much the same age as the embankment that failed at Godstone last winter and a bit older than the one that went near East Grinstead), so I would expect that to be the case. 'Maintenance' here probably simply means a more frequent inspection cycle - and being cynical, Network Rail would say that counts as maintenance. Actually that's not an unreasonable point. Two, HE were probably less bothered about the bridge than the parish was - it's only Grade II (entry level listing - despite that the rating affords relatively little protection - grade II* is a big step up and grade I would be a *problem* on a working railway)* and the provenance isn't amazing but it is relatively accessible and visible as part of the built environment of the village and these are things that matter.

In the day job I spend a lot of time wondering about how possessive and prescriptive people are about these things - two places I've worked on relatively recently have been very keen to say that they're a village (rather than the borough it's been for the last 700 years...) and not an 'industrial village' which the place - home of collieries and one of Britain's biggest brickmakers - very clearly is to the outsider...

Adam

* In the parish I live in, for example, there are about four dozen grade II and perhaps four II* (all late medieval/early 16th century houses, I think).
 
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simond

Western Thunderer
I suppose they could have sorted three birds with one stone, and replaced the level crossings with bridges, and lowered the formation to maintain the desired electrical clearances.

I'd have thought that they want to get rid of the LC from a high-speed line anyway.

atb
Simon
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
I suppose they could have sorted three birds with one stone, and replaced the level crossings with bridges, and lowered the formation to maintain the desired electrical clearances.

I'd have thought that they want to get rid of the LC from a high-speed line anyway.

atb
Simon

Quite! But I'd have thought they'd have wanted to remove the Buddleia from the stonework in Sydney Gardens in Bath, too. Or electrified to Reading and the Thames Valley branches with proper length suburban units (four cars, as nature intended) in the '90s, or not maintained the 2-car successor to the Greenwood auto' to Padd' wasting a valuable path in the peak until the winter 2016 timetable change. And yet...

I never will understand the Western Region. ;)

Adam
 
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AJC

Western Thunderer
Can we call this project finished? Perhaps. First, a sighter of the left hand abutment replete with rust streaking from the bridge girders. The layers show up as quite subtle variations in colour and texture which is pleasing.

Bridge_007.jpg

And here it is offered up in situ to check clearances and the like. The light isn't quite good enough down the shed at the minute or you'd see the effect of my brutish and anachronistic Thomas Hill 0-6-0DH emerging in a most satisfying way with just enough clearance. The pot sleepered track will serve on the goods loop rather than down here but it was the right length! The bit of ply emulates the ramp down over the crossing - not as steep as I'd feared.

Bridge_008.jpg

Adam
 

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
Good stuff, Adam.

I rather like the Rover in the background of the first photo. I owned a 12":ft one of those. Utterly reliable, smooth and with a decent top speed. although it took a fortnight to get there. That big engine was just a tad juicy, though. I sold it when I got married and bought a Morris Minor. Wish I still had it now!

(I also, some years later, bought a Rover SD1. Probably the worst car I've ever owned.)

Brian
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
Thanks Brian! The Rover was a purchase on a whim because I quite like the look of them and it's a nice model. It needs a spot of titivating, new plates and some paint on the inside and I'll add it to my selection of vehicles for set dressing.

Now, what shall I do next?

Adam
 

simond

Western Thunderer
My dad, bless his cotton socks, worked his way to the top of a wholesale company, and was rewarded by a dream car, a Rover P6, 2000 TC (HKB 991 L if anyone has it) He loved it, I learned to drive in it (along with mum’s Mini KNF 764 F), and he replaced it with a 2200 TC about 1976. In 79 or thereabouts, he got an SD1 2600. It was reliable if uninspiring. The second SD1 required a new rear axle after about 300 miles, and went downhill from there on, and persuaded him that he would never buy another British car. I wonder how many others felt the same as a result of similar experiences. What a shame.

atb
Simon
 

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
The really sad thing about the SD1 was that it was a word beater in all terms except for finished quality. The Japanese found the chink in the armour.

Brian
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
I like the abutments but I think the concrete is too grey. It may be the colour balance in the photos but most older concrete has quite a sandy yellow/grey colour. A wash of desert sand over all or parts would improve it in my opinion. Then add black lichen growth to exposed parts. I may be completely wrong for your prototype......
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
I like the abutments but I think the concrete is too grey. It may be the colour balance in the photos but most older concrete has quite a sandy yellow/grey colour. A wash of desert sand over all or parts would improve it in my opinion. Then add black lichen growth to exposed parts. I may be completely wrong for your prototype...

Let's have another look in daylight - all these pictures are from rather dull domestic light on a dull day. I know the colour you mean; somewhere between this and the Hornby Dublo footbridge (though these varied), but I'm not sure that's quite right for what I'm after. My points of comparison round here are the local pill boxes which have a similar method of construction (there's a couple of extant airfield defence examples towards Penshurst and dozens along the Medway, but those are heavily overgrown) and like the Yeovil-area examples I'm also familiar with, they look markedly different according to lighting conditions... There needs to be more black lichen though, yes. The initial attempts, which are present, I promise, are too subtle.

A few samples (because I quite like pillboxes and full scale size they're surprisingly big which would make an interesting and plausible feature on the model):

Pillbox FW3/24 Podimore - Podimore - TracesOfWar.com (airfield defence pillboxes actually in Podimore parish)

The A-to-Z of Yeovil's History - by Bob Osborn

Somerset HER (RNAS Yeovilton)

Adam
 
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Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
It looks great, but I wonder if a little more of a light tan colour would represent period concrete a bit better? To my eye, bearing in mind camera, light and what I’m looking at it on, it looks like nearly new modern concrete.
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
It looks great, but I wonder if a little more of a light tan colour would represent period concrete a bit better? To my eye, bearing in mind camera, light and what I’m looking at it on, it looks like nearly new modern concrete.

Any chance of a prototype picture that illustrates that? I know what you mean, but there's a lot of variation in the colour pictures of the real thing that I've seen. A lot of the Exmouth Junction stuff (for example) installed post-war looks almost white in good light with barely a suggestion of the slight brown cast. Now that's not the same of course...

Adam
 
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Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Any chance of a prototype picture that illustrates that?

Ah, now you have me! I don’t, I’m afraid. The thing that made me comment was more that early concrete use seemed to contain more aggregate than later usage. Today, construction, particularly public areas of buildings as an example, have lighter and smoother finishes. Concrete poured for an over bridge in the early 20th century may have called on local aggregate supplies. I’ve seen concrete railway bridges out towards Faversham and Herne Bay which have a distinctive light sandy brown colour and very obvious aggregate showing. I believe they date to the 1920s and 30s. Compared even to the M2 Medway viaduct built in the early 1960s they are much browner. In the latter case, we have a 1990s period set of viaducts right next to the 1960s one, and again they’re much smoother and greyer in colour.

All of the above forms my own thoughts on the matter. It’s you bridge, your model, and if I’m honest I love it as it is!

Edit as I’ve found an image in my collection that shows the Medway example nicely.

Medway Crossings by Heather Kavanagh, on Flickr
 
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AJC

Western Thunderer
Thanks, Heather. You know how it is, ok is ok and better is better. I’ve just nipped into Tonbridge on the bike, and with this in mind glanced at the supports of the Medway bridge by the castle. This seems to be what we’re talking about:

F0185AF2-A91D-4BC0-BC80-6C93DECED115.jpeg

The iron work is 19th century as, allegedly is the underlying structure. Since it carried the A21 until the bypass went in in '71 I doubt that. A noticeable colour difference to my effort which suggests a bit more work is called for.

Adam
 
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AJC

Western Thunderer
That concrete has the look of first half 20thC about it. I wonder if there are county records of rebuilding?

It's a county bridge - and will have been since the 16th century at least - so there will be and happily, I know about this sort of thing because it's part of the job. I'm at 'work' right now so looking through the Kent Archives' catalogue will have to wait for a bit.

Adam
 
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