Chuffnell Regis

[5BarVT]

23 minutes ago, John Besley said:

 

Is it me or have the thumbs up etc. Icons gone AWOL

 

And the avitar pics vanished...

Not you.  I’m hoping they slowly return.

Paul.

[Graham T]

38 minutes ago, John Besley said:

 

We have one at Buckfastleigh on the platform side opposite the box just under the footbridge, there is a board walk from the box over the running lines for the Bobbie to pick up the token.

 

It depends how busy the box is, if there is a shunt going on then we would drop the token off on the arm as opposed to the Bobbie collecting it as we ran in.

 

Interesting, thanks John.  So, if I did decide to put one on the layout, (mostly because I think it would look interesting), then it shouldn't really go on the same side of the track as the signal box?

[Graham T]

2 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Not you.  I’m hoping they slowly return.

Paul.

 

With luck everything will settle down in the not too distant future...

[Harlequin]

31 minutes ago, Graham T said:

 

Interesting, thanks John.  So, if I did decide to put one on the layout, (mostly because I think it would look interesting), then it shouldn't really go on the same side of the track as the signal box?

I think John is talking about Buckfastleigh in preservation and preserved railways often have more infrastructure than they did in earlier days.

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Harlequin

[Graham T]

Good point Phil.  While I have your attention, another quick numpty question if I may.  How do I select out the 4mm layer from the PDF of the nameplate print that you did for me please?  Haven't had any luck with that yet, and would prefer not to plough through reams of photo paper as I try to figure it out.  Ideally I'd like to use 10 x 15 cm paper (as that's all I have at home).

[Harlequin]

1 hour ago, Graham T said:

Good point Phil.  While I have your attention, another quick numpty question if I may.  How do I select out the 4mm layer from the PDF of the nameplate print that you did for me please?  Haven't had any luck with that yet, and would prefer not to plough through reams of photo paper as I try to figure it out.  Ideally I'd like to use 10 x 15 cm paper (as that's all I have at home).

I recommend using Adobe Acrobat Reader. It's free.

 

Open the PDF In that app, and you should see three icons on the left. Click the one that looks like a stack of sheets of paper and the Layers panel will open. Click on "page 1" and it should show you the three layers on page 1 with eye icons next to them. Click on the eye for "Layer 1" and the eye for "7mm plates" and that will leave just the "4mm plates" layer visible.

 

When you print it, make sure you have the "Actual size" switch selected and make sure your printer is set to its highest quality mode. The plate should be 3mm high.

 

[John Besley]

1 hour ago, Harlequin said:

I think John is talking about Buckfastleigh in preservation and preserved railways often have more infrastructure than they did in earlier days.

 

 

Yes I am referring to the current SDR, certainly they come in useful on Gala days when you have numerous locos in steam 

[Graham T]

44 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

I recommend using Adobe Acrobat Reader. It's free.

 

Open the PDF In that app, and you should see three icons on the left. Click the one that looks like a stack of sheets of paper and the Layers panel will open. Click on "page 1" and it should show you the three layers on page 1 with eye icons next to them. Click on the eye for "Layer 1" and the eye for "7mm plates" and that will leave just the "4mm plates" layer visible.

 

When you print it, make sure you have the "Actual size" switch selected and make sure your printer is set to its highest quality mode. The plate should be 3mm high.

 

 

Thanks Phil.  I use Reader too, and I'm sure with your instructions I'll be able to figure it out now.  Pics to follow in due course!

[Graham T]

34 minutes ago, John Besley said:

 

Yes I am referring to the current SDR, certainly they come in useful on Gala days when you have numerous locos in steam 

 

Thanks John.

[Graham T]

12 hours ago, Graham T said:

 

Thanks Phil.  I use Reader too, and I'm sure with your instructions I'll be able to figure it out now.  Pics to follow in due course!

 

I am no doubt being an idiot, but cannot print the layer at actual size onto 10 x 15 cm photo paper.  The nameplates fall outside the print area.  Am now somewhat flummoxed...

[Harlequin]

5 minutes ago, Graham T said:

 

I am no doubt being an idiot, but cannot print the layer at actual size onto 10 x 15 cm photo paper.  The nameplates fall outside the print area.  Am now somewhat flummoxed...

 

Not your fault Graham! I'm sure there's a way to control what part of the page is printed but I must admit I can't find it either.

 

No problem - I'll send you a smaller 10*15 document!

 

[Neal Ball]

 

12 minutes ago, Graham T said:

 

I am no doubt being an idiot, but cannot print the layer at actual size onto 10 x 15 cm photo paper.  The nameplates fall outside the print area.  Am now somewhat flummoxed...

 

2 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

 

Not your fault Graham! I'm sure there's a way to control what part of the page is printed but I must admit I can't find it either.

 

No problem - I'll send you a smaller 10*15 document!

 

 

Is there something under Print options?

 

Alternatively, copy a selection and tell the print command to print just the selection.

[Graham T]

32 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

 

Not your fault Graham! I'm sure there's a way to control what part of the page is printed but I must admit I can't find it either.

 

No problem - I'll send you a smaller 10*15 document!

 

 

Thanks very much Phil, you're a gent.  Sorry to be a pest.  I think Reader misses quite a lot of the functionality that people like me need (e.g. nice and simple drag and drop editing!), to push you towards paid versions of the software.

[Graham T]

31 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

 

 

 

Is there something under Print options?

 

Alternatively, copy a selection and tell the print command to print just the selection.

 

I spent a long time fighting with print options before I resorted to pestering Phil again.  I have to admit, I detest printers!

[Graham T]

I've been somewhat under the cosh with work recently, so haven't had much time to spend in the parallel universe that is Chuffnell Regis.  But I did manage a little more progress on the planking in front of the signal box.  I still need to paint some of the new point rods, and of course the planking.  The latter will have to be trimmed to fit between the tracks too, obviously!

 

[Graham T]

I also slapped some paint on the horsebox, which will become a mess hut / store room somewhere in the engine shed area.  It's an old Lima LMS item, mounted on the famous coffee stirrers.  So far it's just had a coat of primer, followed by Vallejo black grey on the roof and Vallejo chocolate brown everywhere else.  I do like Vallejo acrylics, I must say.  It still needs some weathering, not quite sure how much though.  Any thoughts?

 

The windows on this side have been boarded up, but I've left them on the other slide.  I'll glaze them with Krystal Kleer once the weathering is all done.  I'd also love to hear any thoughts on where it should finally be located?  (Apart from in the big round filing cabinet on the floor!)

 

[BroadLeaves]

For weathering, I'd see it being treated much like a garden shed, only less well looked after, so I'd expect any wood to be going pale and a bit bleached in the sun, especially the south-facing side as the paint has probably mostly flaked off by now. The hand rails will probably be a bit rusty as they won't be looked after at all.

I think most GWR horse boxes had brown ends in the 1920s and black ends from the mid 1930's onwards. When was yours abandoned? Or will you keep it in LMS colours (no idea what they were) ?

[Graham T]

That all sounds pretty sensible, thanks.  I still need to decide which way south is though!  Chuffnell Regis is (vaguely) set in the 1930s, so this horse box would have been abandoned before then, and thus have brown ends I suppose.

[Nick C]

2 hours ago, Graham T said:

The latter will have to be trimmed to fit between the tracks too, obviously!

 

Anecdote time...

 

When you need to secure a set of points on the real thing (e.g. in case of a failure), you use a "plug and clip" - the plug is a big lump of wood that goes between the open switch and the stock rail, and the clip is a large g-clamp that clamps the closed switch to it's stock rail. When I did the course on this, the instructor said "the important thing is, the clip goes UNDER the rail. You'd have though that was obvious, but people have been known to get it wrong..."

[Graham T]

Can't imagine the clamp would have stayed in place for very long once the first train went through!

[Graham T]

A big thank you to @Harlequin for his patience in sorting out the nameplate for Chuffnell Regis signal box - it really lifts the model I think.  Thanks very much Phil!

 

[Harlequin]

8 minutes ago, Graham T said:

A big thank you to @Harlequin for his patience in sorting out the nameplate for Chuffnell Regis signal box - it really lifts the model I think.  Thanks very much Phil!

 

Proper Job!

 

[MrWolf]

Congratulations due to both of you there.

It really does look the part. A fictional place takes on reality with things like that which are well designed and executed.

[Graham T]

I think Jeeves would approve

[Graham T]

I managed to eke out a few minutes this morning to add the steps to the signal box - fiddly little b***ers!  Next will be to add the Modelu guttering, which I fully expect to hit the profanity bank fairly hard...