Brighton Trafalgar - An Edwardian LB&SCR Terminus

[Lacathedrale]

The first lick of paint goes on, and I'm not unhappy:

 

 

They of course need another coat of the cream especially in the brake end panels, but overall I'm fairly pleased with how they're looking. Please forgive that I placed the all-over Umber brake vehicle the wrong way around, it's too early and I've only had one coffee.

 

The paint is my usual recipe - Vallejo Heavy Brown for the interior, the Umber is 7:1 Chocolate Brown to Black, and the off-white is 7:1 White to Chocolate Brown. I had on previous vehicles used 7:1 Pale Sand to Chocolate Brown which gave a much more yellow cream colour. I'm not yet decided which I prefer, but this does at least look distinct from GWR-style chocolate and cream so I think I'll stick with it. My layout is set 1912ish so the umber scheme will only have been rolled out to those carriages due for maintenance - hence the continued appearance of the 1904? scheme. 

[Lacathedrale]

No turning back now... 

 

[Lacathedrale]

Well, the layout is temporarily in place:

 

 

Due to the positioning of the boiler condensation and feed pipes on the y axis, that brick pier on the x axis, and the window on the z axis - I've had constraints on the overall height and lateral position. but I think in general it works OK. That said, I'm debating whether to cut a recess into the throat board to permit the layout to fit around that brick pier and bring it closer to the wall - I'd only move it back about 3" so no major gain, but it not sitting flush is making me feel all kinds of strange. Maybe it will be different with a backscene...

 

My normal technique for fixing rails at board joints would be to use PCB sleepers held down with araldite, but I generally haven't used roadbed like this before - so I think this time it may be an opportunity for flathead brass screws given distance between baseboard and rail foot.

 

The bolts I ordered to fix the boards together are a little short, so I've ordered some more, along with screws - and so I figure that my next step is to finish bolting the brackets together (they have a wide blank for the board joints to sit ontop of which is currently just resting in place), and then look at laying the rails across the joins.

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by Lacathedrale

[magmouse]

1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said:

Maybe it will be different with a backscene...

 

I think the back scene is absolutely the answer. Having the brick pillar intrude into what is already quite a narrow board is not going to be nice, visually. Anything you can do the separate the layout from the - somewhat cluttered - visual environment around it is going to help, I think.

 

Nick.

[Lacathedrale]

Fair point.  I have 500mm square 'crate ends' to box the layout up if it needs to be stored or transported, and so that limits/suggests a height of ~400mm above the baseboard surface to yield a sealed box. Is 6mm ply self supporting enough for this? or some other suggestion?

 

I have been tidying up the coaches too, fun tunes:

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by Lacathedrale

[magmouse]

3 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

I have 500mm square 'crate ends' to box the layout up if it needs to be stored or transported, and so that limits/suggests a height of ~400mm above the baseboard surface to yield a sealed box. Is 6mm ply self supporting enough for this? or some other suggestion?

Are the crate ends 6mm ply, or are you referring to material for the back scene? When you use the crate ends, are you thinking you would put two board face to face, held together (or apart) by the crate ends? 6mm ply would probably be ok for the backscene, if it is attached along it’s bottom edge to the baseboard, but I think might need some bracing if it is going to take any load other than it’s own weight.

 

Nick.

[Lacathedrale]

The ends are laser cut 6mm ply squares with matching dowel/bolt holes to match the baseboards. The idea would be to bolt them face to face to create a crate. The backscene would form the 'sides' of the crate. I'm not expecting it to be used for storage, but rather that it's protected from damage and dust if it needs to be stored for any extended period...

 

Maybe a softwood frame and 3mm ply skin would be a better idea than just a piece of ply screwed to the back?

Edited March 4, 2023 by Lacathedrale

[magmouse]

19 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

The ends are laser cut 6mm ply squares with matching dowel/bolt holes to match the baseboards. The idea would be to bolt them face to face to create a crate. The backscene would form the 'sides' of the crate. I'm not expecting it to be used for storage, but rather that it's protected from damage and dust if it needs to be stored for any extended period...

 

Maybe a softwood frame and 3mm ply skin would be a better idea than just a piece of ply screwed to the back?

 

6mm for the ends should be OK once they are bolted to the ends of the boards, I would think. They aren't all that big and should make a sturdy structure once bolted up tight (which will give rigidity).

 

For the back scene, I would try a piece of 6mm if you can do one as a test. Less work than making a frame, and as you say, you aren't asking it to do anything structural, just hold itself in position.

 

You might want some system to keep the back scene boards aligned along their top edges - they will be aligned at the bottom because they are all attached to the back edge of the base boards, but might tend to be slightly out at the top. You want to avoid gaps or mismatched surfaces in the 'sky', as far as possible.

 

One other thought - do you have plans for lighting, or a front pelmet? Those might affect how you think about the backscene and its structure.

 

Nick.

[Lacathedrale]

No plans for a pelmet or additional lighting while at home, the room is more than bright enough for my needs presently, and it not intruding too much into the rest of the space is one of the compromises to get it there. 

 

I'm still not sure if I'll ever exhibit it, but if I did I'd need to figure out a separate setup and would have the lighting integrated with a set of legs, I think.

[magmouse]

52 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

I'm still not sure if I'll ever exhibit it, but if I did I'd need to figure out a separate setup and would have the lighting integrated with a set of legs, I think.

 

That makes sense - keep the at-home arrangement simple and minimally intrusive, and a separate set-up for exhibition as and when. I would think the 6mm ply would be fine for the back scene, with a little something to tie to top corners together to keep them lined up.

 

Nick.

[Lacathedrale]

A little tidying up still required but the lining is done. I think the decals are going to break me, though - particularly the double-layer required for the all-over Umber brake:

 

[Lacathedrale]

The 3D printed roofs look promising:

 

 

 

The finish for the roofs isn't anything to write home about, they will need to be sanded back and coated in rizla paper I think:

 

I also need to sand the edges of the print and reduce the height of the internal partitions of each carriage to clear the strengthening ribs underneath the roofs, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Lacathedrale

[WFPettigrew]

On 03/03/2023 at 17:40, magmouse said:

I think the back scene is absolutely the answer.

 

What about cantilering out the backscene over the void with a scenic board?  Could give you more space to model buildings, etc. without the need to extend the baseboard to support smooth running of trains?  The extra depth could maybe even allow you to put in more than just the railway backdrop, but have some hint of the wider city beyond?

 

All the best

 

Neil  

[Lacathedrale]

Thanks Neil, that's a good idea. I want to get the railway substantially complete as-is, so I think I may opt for a bolt-on backscene that I can set back on the scenic board with a cantilever as you have described at a future date.

 

I'm finding motivation on the project a little hard to come by, but I'm metering out some self care with weight lifting and track-laying during rest periods. Almost all of the brass screws are inserted underneath rail joints, and this photograph shows the first piece of track being laid (and weighted) over a board join:

 

[Lacathedrale]

On 30/06/2022 at 10:02, Lacathedrale said:

@Regularity that is a fair point, I had not seen that connection either. It does add a pretty groovy S-curve though:

 

 

The four extra point and FPL levers just about fit into the LH frame, to no dramas there!

 

I've just realised that I'm going to need a catch-point out of the loco pilot siding, aren't I? Good job that track isn't laid yet! 

[Schooner]

23 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

Aside from the modelling, which is always impressive, it seems like you and your family are absolutely thriving and it's lovely to see. Good for you :)

[Lacathedrale]

Thank you, Schooner - baby's now 7mo and loads of fun.

 

I've run out of rail joiners, but this is the progress so far:

 

[St Enodoc]

8 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

Thank you, Schooner - baby's now 7mo and loads of fun.

 

I've run out of rail joiners, but this is the progress so far:

 

Have you got insulating rail joiners everywhere you need them? Apologies if you have - hard to tell from the photos.

[Lacathedrale]

19 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Have you got insulating rail joiners everywhere you need them? Apologies if you have - hard to tell from the photos.

 

I haven't, unifrog turnouts don't need them as they're pre-gapped at the vee point and the rest of the rails are fed from the stock rails. It means you can power the entire layout as pictured with crocodile clips on any two rails.

[Lacathedrale]

Not much to show since it's all under a layer of plywood and tins of paints - but I've got all of the joins between the station boards fixed with brass screws and solder, and foamtack glue holding the track down on the throat. 

 

I have aligned the 'old turntable road' in the front-right of the layout such that the track, if it were extended, will exit off the end of the board. This will make a potential future expansion for use with a real turntable significantly easier.

 

I have recently gotten hold of a Proxxon microdrill and I'm really pleased with it, it made drilling the last few screw holes a real breeze. It's going to make sorting the track feeds very easy, I think.

 

 

 

[Lacathedrale]

Glue dried and brass pins soldered:

 

 

 

In the background you can see the wood holding down the foam on the FY boards. I've actually run out of foam now, so I bloody hope what I've got is sufficient.  In terms of track-laying I still need to:

1. Put in the crossover in the second picture's foreground properly
2. Lay the tails for the platform roads and carriage siding to extend them to their proper length.
3. Fit the traverser locks so I can lay the rest of the traverser tracks and ensure each pair of traverser tracks properly aligns with the layout tracks

I've yet to fit any droppers anywhere, but since all the track subassemblies on a board are soldered together I'm not too worried about that. 

[St Enodoc]

10 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

all the track subassemblies on a board are soldered together

Expansion gaps?

[Lacathedrale]

The longest rail is 4’ - either side of that is an expansion gap in the inter-board joins - is that not enough?

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said:

The longest rail is 4’ - either side of that is an expansion gap in the inter-board joins - is that not enough?

I understood that the rails were anchored to the brass screws at the board ends and all soldered solidly to each other, in which case they won't be able to expand or contract. I suggest an expansion gap of about 0.5mm, at the middle of your temperature range, for every yard of rail.

[Lacathedrale]

It's starting to look a bit like a station, finally! On-layout are the five coaches I've built and bashed into LBSCR prototypes and I'm really quite pleased with how they've turned out. The trio on P3 are not yet complete with roof detail still pending, but look quite effective IMO.

 

 

This is the arrangement that I'm looking at - albeit with the station building about half the width of the flat 'concourse' area above. A fairly narrow concourse is prototypical for the Mocatta-era Brighton station building - it should only be around 15' in depth before the drop down to track level.  I had considered extending the platform tracks to their maximum extent as follows:

 

 

This pushes the station building hard up against the boundary of the layout and becomes a very low-profile flat. Operationally nothing is gained, except another 9" or so of plain track:

 

 

I'm not sure! Any thoughts?