GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

Having completed the Reception and coaling roads…..the next stage was to add the second baseboard and infill the service roads

  All the work so far had been on the one board……which is wired up and screwed to the joists…….




In addition to the Entry and Exit Roads the TT has a road for the Sandhouse and six roads for the GWR Shed

On the second board I will add a road for the Wheeldrop and 2 roads for an  LMS Shed……which would,I believe, be similar to  Birkenhead…….joint site but separate Engine Sheds.

None of this can be done until the second board is in position.



 I decided against inspection pits for the shed service roads but I do  want one for the Wheeldrop siding…….so this has to be marked up and  the aperture cut out off site…………I also need to install the  tortoise for the carriage sidings

Geometry is not my strong point …….right angles I can handle but the  GWR shed will be pie shaped and although I was pretty careful setting  up the service roads I was not comfortable that each angle was  identical……..a difference of 1/8" at the TT extrapolates to  something significantly greater at the end of the 24" service road.

In short I wasnt absolutely certain where the right hand outer wall of the shed would finish up ………………….so  instead of laying track I decided to build half the shed so I would  have a better visual handle on the space available……….not exactly  City and Guilds draughtmanship!  


So the first job was to get the foundations for the shed set up…….I  had already been playing about with levels and determined that two  layers of Matt Board (Mount in the UK?) would keep the level just below  the code 83 rail

I had thought of covering the top layer with Scalescene paper like I did  for the Warehouse but the concrete is more suitable for street  scenes….lots of tyre marks

So I decided to try painting the boards a mucky grey……it took a  while to get it adequately covered  and despite a lot of effort tended  to look flat…….rather like painted matt board

My wife suggested they lacked texture.

So I lightly scored the boards and then with the back of a scalpel made  the cut a little more obvious …….creating expansion joints






Then using my wife's pastels I highligted the cuts



Rubbed the black into the cracks and added touches of brown and grey




And here it is in position……..The lighting is different but hopefully you can see the effect






I know I should have inspection pits but doubted my ability to cut out  the apertures after the TT was calibrated and in any event the track  here is code 83 not the 100 on the pits I saved from Granby  II……..similarly I decided against check rails. I spent forever doing  them on the warehouse but once it was in position (a) you couldnt see  them and (b) the slightest error messed up the operation






Half of the area will be covered by the shed….but all in all I am reasonably happy with the effect

Now that I have a level (?) surface I can start assembling  the shed 

Excellent work as usual John. The concrete area with the expansion joints looks very realistic.

Thanks Trevor……..I must admit it has worked better than I anticipated.

As you probably gathered I am playing catch up here……I will make another post on the actual building of the shed later then I am only a month or so behind real time.

Wow, what a layout! Love the GWR, although ive got a bit of a soft spot for Southern. Your modelling skills are obviously fantastic, if my layout gets anywhere near the level of detail in yours i will be a very happy modeller!

Love the expansion joints John,i have to do exactly the same on my layout.See my "what surface" thread.

As you know John, this is one of my all time favourite layouts and it continues to inspire me.

The concrete is ingenious and the pitched joints just right. :thumbs

If you take out the "builders clutter" and ignore the desk in the first shot in Post# 801 (wow !!), it could be a real railway.  The differing tones of the brickwork in the distance, the huge station canopy and that stunning "refuelling" area in the window are amazing.

Bearing in mind how revealing the camera can be ,i think that is an excellent job John

Thanks for all the comments guys…..so glad you like it……. particularly as I have, to my mind, spent an inordinate amount of time on this.

I found the key with the "expansion" joints was the use of pastels……most remained in the incision and the surplus was randomly rubbed into surface……I painted the cut edges so that were there were real joints they merged with the faux ones….given hindsight I should have been more methodical in placing the joints….but hindsight is a wonderful thing

Peter I still have one module of the station roof to add along with the main station building……but I think that will have to be a fall project

So here is a further catch up post………building the half roundhouse (well its a segment rather than a half)


Its being built using components from the Scalescenes two road north  light shed. The outer walls are standard Scalescene………2 x 2mm card  core, window apertures cut out…..  covered with printed paper…..  laminated together…….  and then finished with buttresses and  plinths.





There are no internal walls in the kit so I modified the external walls  by cutting the window spaces to the floor creating passage ways between  the units

The kit entrance spans both roads…….this would not work with 6 roads  radiating from a TT so I used the gabled entrance from the small engine  shed that John introduced last spring






Although I didnt start this project until November last year I had a sort of grand design for some time.

I printed out a load of components for the shed, cut the card to size  and took it all away on the boat………amazing how much can be done in  a marina or sheltered anchorage

Net result I came home with 7 almost completed walls and 6 entrances……almost because I forgot to print the windows! :oops:

With most of the components all to hand, assembly was surprisingly quick




I started off with the centre road and made sure the entrance was  exactly at right angles to the track (and central…..I made a template  and for greater certainty tested with real locos)

The first wall was attached exactly bisecting the "Pie slice" between  the tracks…..buttresses on both sides provided a solid base for  glueing and overcame both visually and practically non 90o joints

Only when completely dry (somewhat late in life I am learning to be  patient) did I secure the second wall using the same approach.

Once dry the end piece was cut to size and fitted in place

As I suspected there was a variation in the angle of the roads resulting  in the end pieces varying in length…….it wasnt quite as bad as I  feared although I was concerned it may haunt me when I fitted the roof

So here are 3 of the six units completed





Rightly or wrongly I decided to only have two of the six ends with  windows…….I dont think I am going to detail the interior and the  windows are pretty grimy anyway.


The small shed comes with exterior vents so I may make some up and put them on the solid walls





The outer wall is at 90o …….primarily to save space .


And from the front:





The beauty of taking progress photos………. I doubt if I would have been able  to correct the alignment of buttress #2…….fortunately the glue  hadnt dried when I previewed the shot!

At this stage the roof started to really worry me……the Scalescene kit has  north lights made up in modules that are parallell to the entrance and  spanning the two side walls…….clearly this would not not work with the  shape (whatever it should be called) that I am constructing…………fortunately with a little help(:roll:) I found a solution………….next post

The first job was to secure the  second board and lay the balance of the service tracks

With the first 3 units built, it was relatively  easy to mark out the exact location of the remaining 3 and then check  the clearances and mark out the carriage sidings and final  point…………….this will be a very big moment in Granby's history :

                                                   The Last Spike     coming shortly:lol:

Superb Modelling as usual John. That's why I like the Scalescenes kits so much. They are just so versatile and really lend themselves to modification to suit individual requirements.

Looking forward to see how you tackle that roof though John. It could be a nightmare.

Have you got a gold spike ready to drive in as the last one ? Check SWMBO's jewellery box for a gold brooch pin maybe. Or would that be living dangerously.

[user=946]Chinahand[/user] wrote:

Have you got a gold spike ready to drive in as the last one ? Check SWMBO's jewellery box for a gold brooch pin maybe. Or would that be living dangerously.   

Thanks for the kind words Trevor

:cool wink:cool wink:thumbs

What a brilliant idea…..I wish I had thought of it earlier! Anyway your post prompted me to search thru assorted memorabilla and I came up with this








A tad overscale I guess :lol:


:cheers



 

Nah, that'll fit in nicely! :)

Really nice work with the turntable and engine sheds.

The whole engine shed area is looking superb. Great work with the concrete and looking foward to the finished engine shed (opps, roundhouse !).

Cheers, Gary.

Thanks guys.:thumbs


This post shows how the roof issue was solved………and it is an excellent illustration of the value of forums like this in creating internet friendships.

I first got to know John Flann, of Little Hintock fame, when he was a member of this forum. He has become a real friend (and neighbour…..he only lives 2000 miles away in Utah :lol:) and a constant source of  advice, assistance and encouragement. 

After my last post about my roof worries  he sent me this:




















Pretty impressive and amazingly helpful. 

So I discarded my previous fuzzy concepts and attempted to put his idea into practice.


Here are the three sub rooves cut out



  I will rig some sort of  drain between each roof  leading to a grating in the unplanned notch  that has appeared between each  gable

Coping stones will eventually finish off the tops of the walls and gables

Adapting the North Lights was more than a little tricky

The North Lights for the kit comprise 4 rows each with two lights that  completely span the two roads……..our plan is 3 rows each with a  single light
 
These components probably give a better idea of the standard layout




These had to be cut down to a single light for each roof




These shots are of my second batch by which time I had learned the importance of prefolding the cover sheets (at the bottom)!……..they are very finicky and eventually I remembered Doug's (Dooferdog) tip about gently scribing the underside of the foldline

Once the openings are cut out the side pieces are added and the units joined together in a sub assembly



Corner pieces on light card conceal the butt joints

The unfinished strip on the side is where, on the original kit, the sub assembly is glued to the sidewalls

The next shot shows the individual rooves fitted and an aperture cut in the main roof to accommodate the sub assembly




The sub assembly sunk into the roof with flashing added




The roof is clad with Scalescenes Pebbledash which I think suggests the  the granite chippings one finds on industrial flat rooves


Now actually installed……the paper is wrapped around in true  Scalescene fashion and as the original card was cut to size creates a  nice snug fit.



There is a little touching up still to do and eventually some weathering.

The kit comes with some rather flimsy cut out ventilators…..I need to do a bit more work on them to make them more robust.




Overall the effect is exactly what I had in mind so I am pretty happy and more than a little relieved .




One down………. Five to go

Although first I have to build 3 more sheds……..and we need the last spike!     :thumbs

A very elegant solution John and your build has certainly done it justice. That will look absolutely brilliant when it's finished.

Great solution. Here I was thinking how were you going to stretch out the gable roof over the distance, considering that the model gets wider towards the back…

Cheers, Gary.

Somewhat belatedly I've been having thoughts about your pastel work, John.
(Excellent result by the way).
I expect you've fixed the pastel with an appropriate spray?
Over the years the pastel will tend to migrate if not.

Great sheds, too!

Thanks for the compliments guys…..I was both surprised and relieved it worked out

DD…….. you pose a very pertinent question……and I cannot tell a lie………..I am afraid I forgot to spray the concrete:oops::oops::oops::oops: and its too late now because everything is glued down. I am punctilious about spraying all my Scalescene papers the moment they come from the printer so I have no excuse…………fortunately I brushed and rubbed the pastel well in……but it should have been sprayed and I should have pointed this out in my post so others are not lead astray…….thank you for asking the questionand reminding me :thumbs



Some quick shots to show the uncompleted shed in context with its surroundings…..service roads, Turn Table and Support Buildings 




The final baseboard is now in and secured. All the remaining tracks radiating from the TT are in place, wired up and indexed.


The roof has been finished on the partially completed GWR shed covering tracks 4, 5 and 6









The drains between the roof segments are Woodlands scenic I profile  painted mucky brown…….I am still fiddling with both the quantity and  the best way of fabricating the ventilators




 Next to the shed are track#s 3, 2 and 1…………..these will  eventually be covered by a continuation of the GWR roundhouse shed

The road with the tracksetta and pit is for the wheeldrop and a small  workshop  (actually the Scalescene single road shed from which I got the  main shed entrances)

Next to that are the two LMS roads……I am a little undecided about  the curve…..it was a saw off between having a decent straight run off  from the TT and getting the tracks parallel for the 2 road  shed…….its somewhat sharper than I would have wished…… its not a  huge issue operationally because that road will be used by smaller  locos


Finally the big operational plus that will result from this  project…..between the shed roads and the existing mainline I have  managed to squeeze in 3 carriage sidings……more of this in the next  post

Here is a close up of the Ratio wheel drop ex Granby II with inspection pit



I will set dummy track for the Wheeldrop between the hardstanding


I plonked a couple of buildings on just to see how it would look….imagining the GWR shed is extended by 3 more units




The Scalescene Workshop needs some detailing….Chimney/Doors etc but  otherwise looks the part. I am less certain about the Metcalfe unit





Its another survivor from Granby II (but only just!) It will need a lot  of TLC but even then I am not sure how it will stand up against the  Scalescene finish…….perhaps a temporary stop gap until I run out of  things to do!







I am not going to be able to place all the buildings that I think  would  be associated with this size of shed but I will try and  scratchbuild  some small structures at the back to suggest a booking in  office and  maybe a mess room. The aim is create a sense that the complex has  developed, over a number of years, in a rather haphazard fashion in  response to everchanging techniques and demands……..which is what I  imagine happened on the prototype

My apologies for a somewhat dry and dusty post……I am trying to complete this update and get back to real time before I gbreak off for the Summer!

"a somewhat dry and dusty post."
I told you to use fixative on that pastel!

Seriously, a grand job and I'm sure all will be well.
I hope my comments on the pastel haven't given you something that will be bugging you on the boat!

Look forward to seeing more.

Great work as usual John and I really love the 3rd picture of the overall view of Granby. That's one heck of a fine layout and definitely worthy of a . . . . .

Thanks for that little how to on the concrete John….:thumbs
Simple but so effective.I'm going to have a go at that myself.
Can't say anything about the layout that hasn't already been said…..It's just awesome..:thumbs