GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

Never been to the Garden of England??  Well I hope you have a wonderful European adventure.  Debra is originally from Yorkshire, those dark satanic mills which are now trendy apartments, but she is a Southern gal now.  I would love to move to the West Country, it is, after all, my family root.  And the only place I don't have to spell my surname: Liddicoat.

I am having a go at making the Scalescenes warehouse.  I have made a couple of Scalescenes buildings before, but this one is much more detailed and I am discovering a little tricky.  Have you made a full version, or have you just made flat ones for your backscene?


Michael

Hi Michael
Which model are you making…….is it the latest model with a variety roof options like this



The modular structure does make it very difficult……I will try and find the page number where I wrote about the build.

From memory even a marginal variation in card thickness accumulates floor by floor and prevents the pillars from matching up……I will check for the post.

Cheers 

John
Edited

Here is the link describing the build……I need to refresh my memory but I think I concluded that next time I would not follow the sequence suggested in the instructions


http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=14799&forum_id=62

 

Hi John, yes it is the latest.  I have read your thread about extending the height…..

I had a problem with the floors, but I  think I resolved it tonight.   My mistakes, rather than problems with the build.  Although I am generally following the plan, I am also having to do a bit of kit bashing, hence my problems.   But I think I have it now……. emphasis on the I think!!

Regards

Michael

Just realised John, that Pen Y Bryn is exactly the same size as your layout except you've widened yours in parts that I couldn't due to my studio.

Thanks for the link John….. I almost have mine finished now.  Made a bit of a mistake with one half of the flat roof, where it goes around the beam, but that is fixed now.  I don't know how you managed to build yours so high!  I really must make notes while I build so that if I ever make it again, I learn from my original errors - I fear I would end making the same ones again.  

Michael

[user=753]Phil.c[/user] wrote:

Just realised John, that Pen Y Bryn is exactly the same size as your layout except you've widened yours in parts that I couldn't due to my studio.

Hi Phil

Thats interesting…I never had a grasp of the overall shape of the layout….just spent my time admiring the scenery and locos!

Best wishes

John

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

Thanks for the link John….. I almost have mine finished now.  Made a bit of a mistake with one half of the flat roof, where it goes around the beam, but that is fixed now.  I don't know how you managed to build yours so high!  I really must make notes while I build so that if I ever make it again, I learn from my original errors - I fear I would end making the same ones again.  

Michael

Hi Michael

I think your warehouse looks great. Having lavished so much time on a Scalescene kit, the builder is always painfully aware of every minor fault,which the casual onlooker never notices. Fortunately time is a great healer I find and after a while one forgets the errors on previous models to allow one to concentrate entirely on the clear and obvious errors on the current model!:lol:

Should you build another warehouse my post of a few weeks back on a low relief warehouse shows my solution to handling all those modules*….I pasted the base layer templates for all the modules on to a single piece of card and facemounted the horizontal ledges and the central vertical pillars. John Wiffens designs are all based on standard paper sizes A1?  …..8 1/2 x 11 over here. I buy my card (millboard) by the sheet 32”x40”  and I now always try to have a long continuous run rather than individual modules

*Thats how I get the additional height.by adding a second window template


Best wishes

John

What a clever idea!!

Michael

In the last couple of weeks I have hardly been near the Train Room. 

I guess June is rarely a good time for modelling but this year is exceptional. As previously mentioned we are about to embark on an extended holiday to the UK and Europe. We made the first booking in 2017, so its hard to believe that its now actually less than a month away. Most of my time has been devoted to setting up an automated irrigation system for the garden. Its quite similar to modelling in a way. You spend ages joining components together and setting up junctions……switch on the power (water) and then spend forever dealing with shorts (leaks)

Fortunately I have files of a couple of projects which I never got round to posting. The first is about Loco Coal wagons for Granby Shed.

When I finished the shed in 2013/4 I built a dozen 10 ton Loco Coal Wagons using Cambrian and Coopercraft kits for the coaling station ramp




At the time Bob (81c), who has given me much valuable advice over the years, pointed out very gently that 10 ton wagons were more appropriate for a small branch shed.

Of course he was absolutely correct (he usually is!)……..I needed something a bit bigger……twice the size in fact:




Like this…..or almost

In 1929 the GWR introduced a 20 ton steel mineral wagon which they leased or sold to collieries and coal factors throughout their network. Over 7,000 were built…..the last for BR in 1949   Most, like the example above, had twin side doors and an end door.

Loco coal was hand shovelled into tubs,so the Loco coal variant had no end door. Unfortunately, as far as I am aware, there are no kits or rtr models available. The model I am using is Dapols unpainted version of the commercial wagon…….carefully posed to conceal the end door.

Here is a link to a very useful article on GWR loco coal wagons    http://www.gwr.org.uk/nondiags.html


It took me about 4 years to react to Bob's suggestion…..I bought these wagons last summer and took
a further 9 months to put them into service.

We move at a glacial pace on Granby.

Multiple washes of Grimy Black with Dirt and Rust washes on the Chassis



Mutiple Rust washes on the body






Transfers from Railtec*, weathering powder and real Canadian Coal pretending its fresh from the Welsh Valleys





 * Steve at Railtec was amazingly helpful. I could have cobbled something together from HMRS sheets except I had used all the Loco decals on the 10 ton wagons. I emailed Steve to see if I could buy his custom Toad pack and use "Loco"  as the location! In the event he produced the full pack for the pre 1936 livery with 16" GW that you see above. The decals are a delight to handle and saved me a load of time.

For variety I branded 2 of the 8 wagons in the simplified 1936 livery with 5" GW………using assorted decals….and it shows





If you havent seen it already here is a link to GWR wagon liveries  http://www.gwr.org.uk/liverieswagongrey.html


At long last the 8 wagons in service









Who can tell these wagons have end doors?  In fairness some commercial wagons were diverted to departmental use during the war……



At the moment it is a static display I am afraid The pannier can manage the incline ok and can actually uncouple at the top but coupling is, to say the least, variable …….and its all happening 4' away. One of my regrets is not having more space for coal sidings in the shed area.

I hope this overdue post wasnt too long…….I had so many different segments I wanted to fit in.

Regards from a very warm Vancouver……its hovered around 80o for the last few days and its forecast to continue into next week. The train room beckons……being part basement it is undoubtedly the coolest room in the house!

John

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

[user=753]Phil.c[/user] wrote:

Just realised John, that Pen Y Bryn is exactly the same size as your layout except you've widened yours in parts that I couldn't due to my studio.

Hi Phil

Thats interesting…I never had a grasp of the overall shape of the layout….just spent my time admiring the scenery and locos!

Best wishes

John

 

Here you go John.

John
A question regarding your scalescenes models.

Years ago i did do some of these self printed models but found they did tend to fade in colour over a period of time.
Bearing in mind i was shed dweller at the time.

Have you found they fade at all or do you treat them with something to stop fading occurring.?

Brian

Hi Brian
As soon as the sheet comes off the printer I spray a couple of coats of Artists fixative used for pastel drawings and the like…..make sure the can is marked UV protective.

It seems to work ok…..some of the models are 8 years old and the sun used to stream into the train room in summer.

Best wishes

John

Hi Phil
Thanks for posting the plans…..all is now revealed….including the hidden storage yards! It was fun spotting the location of all my old favourites. I think your is a splendid example of less is more and one of the reasons why it looks so realistic……your photography helps a bit as well:lol:

Cheers

John

Thankyou  John

I feel a bit more confident in trying some scalescenes products again with the tip about the fixative.

Brian

Brian,


Similar to John, I use an Acrylic UV Matt top coat, but for my smaller models use a brush applied version which you buy as a concentrate and dilute about 1:1. Added bonuses of this route are ease of spot treatments and I've just found that you can blend in a small amount of acrylic paint to create a wash if an area is slightly off the desired shade.


One thing you might consider is that Ink-jet printer output of the domestic breed does not necessarily have the light fastness of professional printing.


 For the amount I need, I avoid all the issues of adjusting for / setting correct colour balance, cost of consumables, hardware etc.by getting sheets printed at "Officeworks" for 69c per A4 printed sheet (200gsm) with the option to have different weights as required.

Colin

Good point Colin……..I completely forgot to mention printers:oops:…….I never felt comfortable with Scalescenes until I switched from an inkjet to a laserjet printer…..its so long ago it slipped my mind.
Cheers

John

There will, I am afraid, be very little railway news on here for the next few weeks.

Todays the day, after almost two years planning, when we start our 5 week trip to Europe. We fly out from Vancouver at 5.50 pm this evening arriving at Heathrow at 12.05 pm  tomorrow…..8 hour time difference and  9 hours flying time which I am not looking forward to at all.

I did think of starting a separate thread about the holiday but I have never really made a fetish of sticking rigidly to the topic of Granby so, unless the Moderators object, I will pop in here from time to time and post the odd photo.

The focal point of the trip is a Danube River Cruise from Nuremberg to Budapest with both our daughters and their respective partners. Along with some family friends, we will be celebrating our youngest daughter's 25th Wedding Anniversary.

We will meet up with the family in Prague and then join the cruise. Prior to that Mrs D and I will drive slowly northward from Heathrow, staying at various carefully selected Pubs, before spending a few days with her family in  Rochdale

When the cruise finishes and the family goes home Mrs D and I, together with another couple, will spend a week in a Gite in South West France…………finally something on topic…….while there we will drive over to Petermac's and hopefully, harvest permitting, admire his new railway.

And thats about it……..I feel quite exhausted just describing it all!

Next post may well be from the Crab and Boar at Chieveley!
 

Good for you and the misses John .  Have a great time and enjoy the family get together.

Looking forward to hearing all about the cruise John but, much more to the point, really looking forward to meeting up again next month.  Fingers crossed, we'll be able to discuss what is required on my new acquisition.

Have a safe and easy flight and enjoy the Crab and Boar.

Bon voyage John and enjoy every minute of your long planned for trip.

I'm looking forward to how you find the UK after so many years away and of course your observations on those parts of France you visit and most importantly od course, Peter's rather splendid looking new layout.

Stay safe, best,

Bill