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Platform reconstruction at Treheligan is well advanced.

The edge pavers are Metcalfe PO210 Self Adhesive Stone Paving Slabs (which are self-adhesive but have been glued as well) and the pavers on the main platform areas are Metcalfe M0055 Paving Stone cut to size.  At the "country" end I have used two kinds of fine sand beyond the pavers in the manner found at many locations where the cost of a fully-paved platform could not be justified but the length was felt desirable.  These have had a light dusting of mixed green fine-turf to represent a little growth in the gravel.

The bare wood structure



Platform edge pavers come off the sheet singly and can be made to go around gentle curves in a realistic manner as well if required.



A piece of scrap is used to check the alignment





Very important - CHECK that your widest rolling stock will pass without fouling!!!  



Here's a use for a sun-warped DM car - as a gauging vehicle



Don't forget to check platform end ramps as well.



The loco-release requires a cut-out in the platform edge to accommodate swing as found at many actual locations - check the clearances here too



Yes - those slabs will form curves



On some of the following pictures I have had to adjust the shadows and highlights to clearly show the platform surface; this has had some light effect on the surroundings and background.

The main surface pavers go down as does the sand for the "gravel" sections



Some of the structures have started to return



At the "London" end these signals are remarkable survivors.  They have been knocked and damaged many times and I thought would need to be replaced with new but I have managed to rescue them yet again.  The platforms are paved all the way to this end



Some slight vertical rectification of the edge slabs is needed and the board crossing has to be tidied up but we're getting there.



With a second colour of sand blended in and a little "grass" sprinkled around …..







There's a way to go and a lot of wiring to reinstall but it's starting to look like Treheligan station once more.  



Wiring up is scheduled for next week after which I can detail and apply a little weathering where required.  Treheligan Mk4 is almost in business.

Looking really good Rick, I never thought of using those self adhesive tiles, good idea!! :)

Cheers
Ron

Ongoing works.

Platforms 1 and 2 have their white edge markings restored which takes ages.  The platform surfaces and facings have been weathered by nothing more technical than wiping a rag in a dish of weathering powder then across the card sheets.

Weathered surfaces with a sheet of pristine card held in shot for comparison



Weathered stone platform facings and tracks



The net effect so far.  Looks like I need a touch of red paint on the left-hand shunting disc.

The pressure is on.  I had allowed myself until a week on Saturday to complete all outstanding works, clean and polish the layout and have it all fully working.  Yesterday I was kindly advised by SWMBO that the guests attending our house concert this Saturday are also going to be invited to look over the railway.  These are not "modelling people" and are mostly her work and social-life friends.  
 
We offered some financial support to friends who found themselves with a recording contract but no funds to fly to the US to fulfil it.  In return for providing a percentage of the required we receive a house concert which takes place on our driveway (under the car port) and will include three acts.  One features both the Good Lady on voice, ukulele, bodhran and castanets (not all at once!) and the first public performance of one of her original songs.
 
Meanwhile back at the layout I've been cracking on with the wiring and rebuilding in order to meet a deadline which is now seven days closer than expected.
 
As of tonight all the platform and station lights work once more.  The same platform lights have gone back in and new LEDs fitted to the various buildings.  I have to say I'm not happy with the LEDs which are too white but which might tone down with a little paint applied (they would ideally look more like the glow of traditional incandescent bulbs) and the main platform lights remain too bright.
 
Those lights will only work wired in parallel.  No combination of wiring in series to increase the resistance and lower the light level will work.  They are already run through a controller set to its lowest position from which the only way is up - brighter still.  Anyone got any thoughts for a quick fix?
 
The up-side main station building is a resin moulding weathered and with posters added.  Here's the effect with two LEDs under the canopy.  Currently this is only "plonked" hence the gaps at floor level.

Looking good, Rick.

The ways I have used to tame over-bright LEDs are to paint over them to diffuse and tint them, add a layer of plasticard over them to diffuse them, and added extra resistors to dim them. So far all three techniques have left my signal box still rather too bright, but better than the original dazzling display with the bare LEDs.

Thanks Jeff.  Some thoughts to work with there.

Both plastic kits now fitted with lights and reinstalled on a near-complete station.  It's really only waiting for the people to come back and for a few seats to be provided for them to sit on.

A daylight shot showing the lights now refitted and a couple of changes made.  The tin shed which used to be on the down (island) platform here has been relocated to the other end of the platform and the running-in boards swapped between the ends meaning this one now shows the "for St. Agnes" suffix which is more appropriate for arrivals from up-country than for those coming from the fewer stations which lie farther west towards Penzance.



After dark with all the lights including overhead strips on - a bit too bright on the station, still.



Ratio kit-bashed downside building with Tracksidesigns timetable now illuminated by an LED in the canopy above.  It's too bright and the wrong colour but better than nothing.



Both kit-bashed shelter units now have LED lighting



With the camera on a different setting (shutter instead of aperture priority) the up-side shelter looks to be almost the right intensity and colour.  



There's no more time to fiddle with the lighting before the open-house.  I just had to get it all working which I have done.

This layout is incredible, everytime i browse through the new images it is a pleasure to see/ read and all done to an incredbile standard.

Looks wonderful under the lights. That track weathering is perfect!

Thank you kindly gents.  Your interest and comments are very much appreciated.

I've said before but it bears repeating that this was the first layout I ever built and while I've had over ten years' experience and learning since I began it remains in some respects very much the work of a beginner.  We all start somewhere and even the greatest modellers began with a first step of some sort.  No-one should ever be discouraged by standards they see others setting and perhaps wonder whether they might ever get there.  We don't know what we cannot achieve unless we try.

The "perfect" track weathering has been achieved through a combination of methods.  The track is first washed over with what can best be described as "dirty" dilute acrylics from the brown range with  touch of black.  

That lightly stains the ballast and provides the base for weathering powders to be applied over the whole job, rails and all.  Powders are applied using the softest small brush I can find.  For different effects around the layout and to represent the varying degrees of staining and weathering found on the real thing I use differing blends of browns, blacks (grimy and soot), Peco "brake dust" colour and sometimes other dust or rust shades.   One applied I then brush the powdered track quite vigorously with a 1" decorator's paint brush to blend everything in.

To prevent powder entering locomotive workings and gumming them up I then spray very lightly with wet water.  This momentarily turns the weathering powders to liquid pigment before they dry almost immediately into a flat finish as seen.  Powder around the rail chairs also helps create the impression that the rails have been down for some time and have accumulated a lot of gunk.

Note that I do not separately weather the rails themselves.  I do have to wipe them over with a rag after the job is completed and usually have that sprayed with IPA as well to ensure I get a good clean running surface and inside face where the wheels may touch and make electrical contact.

Lastly the layout gets more airborne dust and a little dirt just because it's outdoors and although it gets dusted and vacuumed regularly this also adds to the overall weathered effect.

Here's Treheligan up section signal in action.

Nice :thumbs


Take it the slight flicker on the signal's lamps and the loco headcode is the camera Rick.


Ed

Thanks Ed. Both are LEDs and are "seen" by the camera emitting pulses of light which our eyes see as a steady beam.

The flicker rate differs from the camera's frame rate: result? The camera "sees" brighter and darker pulses.

A select quartet enjoyed the recent running day which turned out to be more of a derailing day at times.  Murphy's Law was definitely in operation.  There are some video clips to come which I am working on currently.

In the meantime here's a selection of "Rule 1" operations using stock which is collected with other projects in mind or simply because I want to.  They don't belong on the Cornish main line or its branches.

An Isle of Wight O2 gets away from the bay platform with a 2-coach push-pull set





A return working produced a Bulleid "West Country" light Pacific which would hardly have been taxed working 2 coaches at slow speeds.





While out on the main line a class 73 electro-diesel loco leads a parcels working in the early version of BR blue some of these briefly wore; the vehicle it is passing is a Motor Luggage Van.  Both are capable of working off the Southern's third-rail system as the 73 has a diesel engine and the MLV is equipped with batteries for which the access panels can be seen above the sole-bar.





A little closer to the Western Region theme as a former GWR pannier tank in LT livery leads a solitary Hawksworth van.

I haven't yet edited the "cab rides" around Penhayle Bay, but I hope to get something done this weekend. Since Rick also has copies of the original, raw video footage, he may beat me to it.

[user=321]SRman[/user] wrote:

I haven't yet edited the "cab rides" around Penhayle Bay, but I hope to get something done this weekend. Since Rick also has copies of the original, raw video footage, he may beat me to it.

I managed to find the required time to edit the footage but not to overdub traction sound.

This has been asked for now and again over the years and thanks to Jeff it is now possible for everyone to enjoy this:

PENHAYLE BAY - DRIVER'S EYE VIEW

Nice editing, Rick. 

I was working on my cut last night but haven't finished it yet. Interestingly, you cut the branch footage at almost the same point I chose to cut my version. I have a small amount of additional footage added to one (I have separated the up and down directions into two separate videos), with a sort of camera fly-over of some parts, which I took after I had transferred the "cab" footage to your computer.

Your cut also fills in a few of the place names I wasn't sure of, so I can add that extra info into my final cut.

As we all said at the time, the new view really does add to the mystique of our models, giving an entirely different perspective.

Thanks again for a wonderful and entertaining afternoon and great company.

And thank you, too, Jeff as without company it can be a rather solitary experience out there despite being rewarding.  Thanks too for the video files.  As you see I have managed to edit out almost all the various glitches but haven't had the time to dub sound on top.  I won't have that time for many weeks to come either so thought it best to upload what I have now in case the sound never gets done.

I now have to pack everything away and put the covers on for the next six weeks or so and hope that nothing untoward happens in my absence.  There's nothing much waiting for me in the UK so no big surprises are anticipated except the Lima 3-car DMU in blue to replace the sun-damaged set.

Very nice indeed :thumbs . now just to photoshop out those Giants standing around

The train camera does a good job & can show up possible errors/problems  and that is a good reason not to the same on the D&S !

It was my "good reason" not to do it on Penhayle By for some time as well.  Jeff offered the use of the camera and with a growing interest in these things, and in the layout itself, I had to agree it was time it was done.  Warts and all.  Though  managed to edit out some of the more obvious glitches.