Chuffnell Regis

[Graham T]

Thanks Neal.  Greetings back to you from a hot, hazy, and muggy Vienna ...

[Graham T]

And the parrot food applied 🥸  It all looks a bit odd right now, but with luck I'll get some more paint down on the groundworks tomorrow and then things will (hopefully) begin to look somewhat more natural...

 

[Andy Keane]

2 hours ago, Graham T said:

While trying to find some info about 1930s kerbstones (as you do) I came across this rather fascinating page about the history of UK road construction:

 

https://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/00-app1/roads.htm

Funny that - I was out measuring kerbstones yesterday! I make them three feet long on straight sections of road and typically six inches square in cross section. And half that length on curved roads. I have asked Jacub at Lcut to make me some with his laser for the roadside edge of my station. The plan below is taken from a 1948 aerial photo and shows the paved part of the station area. Outside of this is either road surface or a non-paved pavement. In my photo it looks to be tarmacadam but given the article you cite it probably started as something else. What do we think pavement surfaces were made of in the 1920s? I am guessing cinders.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Andy Keane

[MrWolf]

In towns, York stone type flags, elsewhere I expect cinders 

[Andy Keane]

56 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

In towns, York stone type flags, elsewhere I expect cinders 

So Helston station was a good way from the town and the 1950's photo shows a paved area then becoming a tarmac pavement. It seems unlikely that they took up a paved pavement to lay tarmac so I think station road must have had a cinder pavement for most of its length. But if the road was tarmac its odd that pavements were left as cinders but that seems to be what the web suggests.

[Graham T]

You're modelling the 1930s I think Andy?  If so I'd imagine the road surface would probably be macadam (as in crushed stone) rather than tarmac.

 

In any case, I think it would probably be a fairly light grey colour, and with very little texture, so you could reasonably claim it to be either!

[Andy Keane]

18 minutes ago, Graham T said:

You're modelling the 1930s I think Andy?  If so I'd imagine the road surface would probably be macadam (as in crushed stone) rather than tarmac.

 

In any case, I think it would probably be a fairly light grey colour, and with very little texture, so you could reasonably claim it to be either!

Yes, 1930 is my date. It would be interesting to know how the GWR dealt with station approach roads. I don’t even know who was responsible for such roads, the railway or the town.

[Graham T]

18 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

Yes, 1930 is my date. It would be interesting to know how the GWR dealt with station approach roads. I don’t even know who was responsible for such roads, the railway or the town.

 

I've no idea (what a surprise!)

 

Maybe the @Stationmaster could help you out?

Edited August 20, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

Another episode in what's turning out to be a rather long-running saga about the Oxford Rail Dean Goods today.  The postie let me know that my parcel from TMC (who've been very helpful) was waiting for me at the post office.  I toddled round there, handed over 25 euros in import charges, and took the loco home, feeling a little bit like a kid at Christmas.

 

Cleared all the other locos out to the fiddle yard, disconnected it, checked that I really had disconnected it, and then started programming the Dean Goods (which TMC assured me had run nicely when they tested it for me).  All the programming went as advertised.  Ta-da.  Forwards...  Er, no.  Reverse?  Nope.  Scratch head.  Power off and on again.  Same result.  Nada, zero, zip, zilch, etc.  As you can probably imagine, the air at Chuffnell Regis took on a shade that could best be described as a rather deep ultramarine, and 2475 came rather close to becoming what I suppose would probably have been the world's first flying Dean Goods.

 

So, went out for a short run to blow off steam and have a think.  The obvious answer was of course a CV8 reset.  I don't know if you've ever tried one of those, but for me they always seem to take at least a few stabs before they actually take, for some reason.  But eventually CV8 grudgingly agreed to reset to 8, and I re-programmed the loco...

 

And then it worked.  Why it didn't in the first place is a complete mystery to me.  2475 is now trundling merrily along on the rolling road.  I wonder if it knows how close it came to a bitter end?

[Andy Keane]

17 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Another episode in what's turning out to be a rather long-running saga about the Oxford Rail Dean Goods today.  The postie let me know that my parcel from TMC (who've been very helpful) was waiting for me at the post office.  I toddled round there, handed over 25 euros in import charges, and took the loco home, feeling a little bit like a kid at Christmas.

 

Cleared all the other locos out to the fiddle yard, disconnected it, checked that I really had disconnected it, and then started programming the Dean Goods (which TMC assured me had run nicely when they tested it for me).  All the programming went as advertised.  Ta-da.  Forwards...  Er, no.  Reverse?  Nope.  Scratch head.  Power off and on again.  Same result.  Nada, zero, zip, zilch, etc.  As you can probably imagine, the air at Chuffnell Regis took on a shade that could best be described as a rather deep ultramarine, and 2475 came rather close to becoming what I suppose would probably have been the world's first flying Dean Goods.

 

So, went out for a short run to blow off steam and have a think.  The obvious answer was of course a CV8 reset.  I don't know if you've ever tried one of those, but for me they always seem to take at least a few stabs before they actually take, for some reason.  But eventually CV8 grudgingly agreed to reset to 8, and I re-programmed the loco...

 

And then it worked.  Why it didn't in the first place is a complete mystery to me.  2475 is now trundling merrily along on the rolling road.  I wonder if it knows how close it came to a bitter end?

I found my Dean Goods needed a stay-alive - have you had one added? they seem to have mixed reviews on RMweb.

[Graham T]

It doesn't have one yet Andy, but when I fit a sound chip it will be getting a stay-alive at the same time.  Until then 2475 will be what we used to call in the Air Arm "a hangar queen".

[Graham T]

Speak of the devil...  Old meets not quite so old at Chuffnell R.  2475 definitely needs the shine taking off!

 

[Graham T]

And a little bit more pseudo-scenery to finish the day.  The polyfilla has now been added on the far side of the goods yard entrance road, and up into the far corner of the layout (which was a bit of a stretch, especially as I had to contort myself to get under the lighting pelmet).  So all of that groundwork will be ready for paint tomorrow, I think.  Looking at it, the road behind the bay platform is probably a touch narrow, but I'll put that down to an attempt at forced perspective 🥸

 

 

And I think I've sorted out the problem with the gap where the platform meets the road.  I added some kerbstones at the edge of the parking area, with 3mm square plastic strip.  I know that's probably about 50% overscale, but there was some method to the madness, for a change.  The road surface is only fixed down at intermittent points, rather than all the way along, and is still a touch wavy here and there.  So I superglued the plastic strip to the far edge of the platform surface - which is a slab of ply - and it now sits on top of the road surface, thus holding it down in place.  I don't think the drop from the parking area to the road will be noticeable from the front of the layout (but I can't imagine Bertie will much like driving his MG over it...)

 

There's still a small gap visible behind the station building, but that's where the lawn is going, so that will then be hidden.  Haha!

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Graham T

[aardvark]

On 10/04/2022 at 00:02, Graham T said:

I made a start on the Modelu guttering for the signal box.  Fixing the guttering itself was less of a problem than I expected, but the offsets, end caps, and so on were a real pain.  Incredibly small, of course, and so I've lost one or two to the floor.  And rather annoyingly a 1mm plastic rod doesn't fit through the holderbats (I'm not convinced that's a real word...)

 

But, after a great deal of swearing, the guttering on the back of the box is done.  (The hole in the roof is for the chimney pipe).

 

 

Hello Graham:

 

It's edging towards spring in the southern hemisphere, and a young old man's thoughts turn to guttering, and I am considering a purchase from Modelu to attempt to replicate your own successes.

 

Please Sir, I'm trying to decide whether you attached your guttering to the wall of your signalbox, or to the lip of the roof. Prototypically, the roof would be the correct answer, but your picture makes it look square to the wall, as it should be, so I'm a bit confuzzled as to how it is managed,

 

Yours sincerely (etc, etc).

 

[Graham T]

6 hours ago, aardvark said:

 

Hello Graham:

 

It's edging towards spring in the southern hemisphere, and a young old man's thoughts turn to guttering, and I am considering a purchase from Modelu to attempt to replicate your own successes.

 

Please Sir, I'm trying to decide whether you attached your guttering to the wall of your signalbox, or to the lip of the roof. Prototypically, the roof would be the correct answer, but your picture makes it look square to the wall, as it should be, so I'm a bit confuzzled as to how it is managed,

 

Yours sincerely (etc, etc).

 

 

Bonjour Monsieur Vark,

 

You young chaps always seem to go a bit off the rails once spring is in the air, I don't know what's the matter with the youth of today.

 

However.  Seeing as you asked nicely, I had a hunt through the thread and tried to recall how I'd fixed the guttering.  A coupe of points.  Firstly, it's rather fragile, as you'd expect.  Secondly, the gutters themselves are tres bendy, as they say.  So, start at one end, apply a little superglue to the fascia, put guttering place.  Let it set - doesn't take long, but will depend on what your fascias are made of I suppose.  Gradually work along the length of guttering until all fixed.  I found it easier to fit the outlets first, and then fit the gutters in between.  The half round guttering has a vertical flat face on the back of it, which makes it actually pretty easy to glue to the fascia once you get the hang of it.  I wouldn't bother with the end caps - I couldn't get the Modelu ones to fit, so just put a dab of Mr Surfacer in the ends of the gutters if I remember rightly.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Yours in aspic,

 

Aunt Dahlia

[aardvark]

1 hour ago, Graham T said:

 

Bonjour Monsieur Vark,

 

You young chaps always seem to go a bit off the rails once spring is in the air, I don't know what's the matter with the youth of today.

 

However.  Seeing as you asked nicely, I had a hunt through the thread and tried to recall how I'd fixed the guttering.  A coupe of points.  Firstly, it's rather fragile, as you'd expect.  Secondly, the gutters themselves are tres bendy, as they say.  So, start at one end, apply a little superglue to the fascia, put guttering place.  Let it set - doesn't take long, but will depend on what your fascias are made of I suppose.  Gradually work along the length of guttering until all fixed.  I found it easier to fit the outlets first, and then fit the gutters in between.  The half round guttering has a vertical flat face on the back of it, which makes it actually pretty easy to glue to the fascia once you get the hang of it.  I wouldn't bother with the end caps - I couldn't get the Modelu ones to fit, so just put a dab of Mr Surfacer in the ends of the gutters if I remember rightly.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Yours in aspic,

 

Aunt Dahlia

 

Dearest Aunt Dahlia:

 

"Fascia"? You continental types know all the clever tricks. I must order myself un pacquet.

 

Merci buttercup.

Aardy.

 

[Graham T]

I painted the new groundwork this morning, just earth brown acrylic...

 

 

And then re-painted the road surfaces, including down into the goods yard.  Crack cocaine next!  Er, I mean to say static grass, your honour...

 

[TrevorP1]

4 hours ago, Graham T said:

 

Bonjour Monsieur Vark,

 

You young chaps always seem to go a bit off the rails once spring is in the air, I don't know what's the matter with the youth of today.

 

However.  Seeing as you asked nicely, I had a hunt through the thread and tried to recall how I'd fixed the guttering.  A coupe of points.  Firstly, it's rather fragile, as you'd expect.  Secondly, the gutters themselves are tres bendy, as they say.  So, start at one end, apply a little superglue to the fascia, put guttering place.  Let it set - doesn't take long, but will depend on what your fascias are made of I suppose.  Gradually work along the length of guttering until all fixed.  I found it easier to fit the outlets first, and then fit the gutters in between.  The half round guttering has a vertical flat face on the back of it, which makes it actually pretty easy to glue to the fascia once you get the hang of it.  I wouldn't bother with the end caps - I couldn't get the Modelu ones to fit, so just put a dab of Mr Surfacer in the ends of the gutters if I remember rightly.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Yours in aspic,

 

Aunt Dahlia

 

Pretty much how I've fitted my Modelu guttering. I'm also relived to see that someone else chickened out with the end caps.

 

I used DeLuxe materials 'Superphatic' glue for mine. I held the guttering in place with small pieces of Tamiya masking tape while it set - obviously longer that superglue - but it is possible to do longish sections at a time. I use Superhatic for all kinds of things - even numberplate - and being water based excess is easy to remove.

[Graham T]

I may be wrong - it's been known (!), but I think the end caps I had were too big for the guttering.  I should check the Modelu website, perhaps there are different sizes...

[Andy Keane]

4 hours ago, Graham T said:

I painted the new groundwork this morning, just earth brown acrylic...

 

 

And then re-painted the road surfaces, including down into the goods yard.  Crack cocaine next!  Er, I mean to say static grass, your honour...

 

Looking very nice - that road junction is just the place for a vintage road sign - maybe that is already in the plan?

[Graham T]

Not in the plan actually Andy (as much as there is a plan!)

 

Nice idea though.  Obviously I can Google it, but do you happen to know of someone who makes good ones for the period?

[Andy Keane]

21 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Not in the plan actually Andy (as much as there is a plan!)

 

Nice idea though.  Obviously I can Google it, but do you happen to know of someone who makes good ones for the period?

No I'm afraid not. There are some on ebay etc but who knows what quality. Maybe its a gap in the market! Perhaps if ModelU could make the signpost you could print some wording to go on it.

[Graham T]

I'll take a look at Dart Castings, they might have something.

[gwrrob]

13 minutes ago, Graham T said:

I'll take a look at Dart Castings, they might have something.

 

Tiny Signs available from Gaugemaster might be worth a butchers.

[Graham T]

Thanks Rob, I'll try them too.