The Royal Albert Bridge in N

[Pete Thorpe]

Introduction and background.

 

As our layout “The Royal Albert Bridge” appears to have generated a bit of interest since its appearance at The London Festival of Railway Modelling held at Alexandra Palace last March, Ian Morgan (esteemed gold member of this parish) has suggested that I should post the layout’s progress on here. As its genesis was back in 2018 the first few entries will be background and a brief history of progress to the point where we are now.

 

This layout came about as a result of our club's (Basingstoke & North Hants MRS) participation as the “Basingstoke Bodgers” in the Channel 5 series “The Great Model Railway Challenge”, which took place in May and June of 2018 and was broadcast the following September to November.

 

Having won our heat we then found ourselves in the final, and the theme was to be “A Journey Through Time”, for which we decided that our layout would celebrate the genius of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, which incorporated a number of Brunel's achievements, including the Royal Albert Bridge, which are still in use today.

 

Although I was unable to finish the bridge within the time allowed, the general consensus among the rest of the team was that they would like me to complete it in order that we could display it at our next exhibition.

 

 

I also wanted to finish it, but as part of its own running layout and not just a static diorama. Due to being limited by the baseboard size of 10ft x 5ft, and with the 3ft 4 inch centre board being dropped by 4 inches (100 mm) to form the river section, it was not big enough to build it in 2mm scale and is half the length it should be so it is just a representation of the Royal Albert Bridge and is not, and was never intended to be, an accurate scale model.

 

Brunel's magnificent structure spans the River Tamar joining Devon with Cornwall and took almost six years to build, being completed in 1859. Even though it is part of the Great Western Main Line, the bridge only carries a single track due to initial building costs. Brunel had plans for a double track timber structure but instead proposed a single track wrought iron design consisting of two main spans of 455 feet (139m) with 100 feet (30m) clearance above mean high spring tide.

At this point the River Tamar is over 1100 feet (335m) wide and leading up to the main bridge spans are the ten approach viaducts on the Cornwall side and seven on the Devon side, giving a total length of over ½ mile.

 

Due to the constraints of the baseboards provided (which dictated many of the compromises we have had to make) our layout has only five approach viaducts on the Cornwall side and three on the Devon side and are straight instead of curved.

 

A total of 404 parts were used to build the bridge and an article on its construction published in the March 2019 issue of Railway Modeller so I’m not going to repeat it all here, but if anyone is interested in seeing it just message me and I can send you a copy I have attached a copy to the next post.

 

Edited June 29 by Pete Thorpe
Additional information

[Pete Thorpe]

Attached here is the RM article. The only bit they edited out from my original was the reason why it was called "A Bridge Too Far", which was that of the 3 bridges on the Brunel layout (Maidenhead, Clifton and Royal Albert) the Royal Albert was the only one that we didn't have enough time to finish.

RM Article March 2019.pdf

Edited May 18 by Pete Thorpe

[Pete Thorpe]

Baseboards, backscene, viaduct support columns, fiddle yard and control.

 

After deciding to go ahead and make the bridge the centrepiece of its own stand alone layout the first thing to be done was make alterations to the baseboards.

As mentioned in the first posting we were provided with baseboards of 10ft x 5ft for the Challenge, and it can be seen from the photo that the bridge was close to the centre of the layout behind the Maidenhead bridge. We decided that the layout didn’t need to be that deep and 5ft wide baseboards would be an inconvenient size to transport as well, so a line 800mm (2ft 8in) from the rear of the original layout was determined to be the optimum position to make the cut to suit our requirements.
 

 

Rob Score was the carpenter of the Bodgers and he did the necessary woodwork, making the main longitudinal cut, producing the new front facias, high level ends, backscene and relocating the legs.

 

 

The photograph used for the backscene was a high resolution image found on the internet of a view looking south from the bridge, extended by cutting and pasting large areas that eventually brought the total length to 4.3m (14ft).

 

To add a bit more interest to the photo I decided to add a warship emerging from Devonport Naval Dockyard. As the intention was to run the layout over two periods (1956-1961 and 1968-1973) I needed to find one that was in service during both periods.

 

After doing some research I discovered that the Type 12 Whitby Class frigates fitted the bill and found a suitable photograph of F43 HMS Torquay that I superimposed on to the backscene. I was fortunate to work where I had access to a printer that could print plans up to 7m long, so was able to make any required amendments to the backscene until I was happy with it.

 

 

For the Cornwall end of the layout I found a photo of Saltash taken from the approach to the bridge that with some tweaking was an ideal representation for the backscene, and this was stuck to 0.5mm Plasticard to give slight relief and rigidity.

 

The supporting columns for the spans at each end were produced from Metcalfe stonework card sheets. I designed them by working out where to fold and cut them in order that the main structure of each could be made from just one piece of card.

 

 

As the bridge straddles the centre board it had to be detachable, which then gave rise to the issue of how to power the track on the bridge. The solution was to use clothes press studs, one soldered to each rail and two fixed in the closest support column next to the bridge on the Cornish side. Each of the studs in the support column has power fed to it from a wire soldered to it that runs down each leg, through the baseboard, and the other end being soldered to the powered rails on the main part of the layout. This results in the bridge being fixed both electrically and mechanically, with the same arrangement used at the Devon end of the bridge but without the electrical feed.

 

 

The fiddle yard consists of 6 lines, 3 for the Up direction and 3 for the Down, with the outer 2 split into powered sections to allow 2 shorter length trains to be accommodated giving storage capacity for 8 trains in total.

 

 

The points are operated by servo motors on 3D-printed mounts and were controlled using MERG CANMIO and CANCORD boards and a custom made controller designed and built by Ian Morgan. An LED at each end of each line replicates those on the control panel diagram and confirms to the operator that the required line has been selected and that points are positioned correctly. Blue LEDs along the outer lines indicate which of the sections are powered.

 

Edited May 21 by Pete Thorpe
Photo added

[Pete Thorpe]

Landscaping, planning, base scenery, operation and rolling stock.

 

At the end of the Great Model Railway Challenge there were a lot of large polystyrene blocks left over and we were told we take as many as we wanted, so we obliged by loading up 2 cars with them for future club layouts, the first one to benefit being the bridge layout.

 

Rob made shaped facias for the outer boards, and the polystyrene blocks were then cut to fit and shaped using a hot wire foam cutter by Chris Cleveland (of Ropley Station Between 2010 - 2012 As Preserved) and I.

 

 

 

Chris and I then spent some time working out which of the actual buildings and roads we could fit in the limited space available and which ones to leave out, and after a number of attempts came up with a design we both felt “worked”.

 

After we’d covered the polystyrene blocks with plaster of Paris and it had dried, we marked out where the roads and buildings were to be and John Smerdon (who was the captain of the Basingstoke Bodgers) then applied static grass.

 

 

 

 

The roads were painted, and the track for the line to Oakhampton was laid using 2mm Scale Association Easitrac and ballasted.

 

Ernsettle Royal Navy Armaments Depot is situated further up the River Tamar and we decided to apply modellers’ licence to the Devon side of the river and have a small wharf with a couple of lines for shunting to add some operational interest.

 

I made houses from card kits and bought some already built ones to temporarily populate the layout, along with some houses that had originally been built for our Bognor Regis layout back in the 1990s. With Ian Morgan’s superb detailed Gramodels Clyde puffer “Lyra”, a few small boats and some road vehicles we were as ready as we could be for our appearance at the 2019 International N Gauge Show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As previously mentioned the layout is operated over two periods, from 1956-1961 with steam-hauled trains, and from 1968-1973 with diesels in early BR liveries. For one day shows we operate the layout in the 1960s steam/diesel transition period.

 

Most of the stock we used had been acquired for our aborted “Battledown” layout, and although most of the planning had been completed our club’s 2mm Fine Scale group had shrunk to only two of us so building a layout of the size we were proposing was not practical.

 

The stock I had for the earlier period was therefore mainly of Southern Railway and BR Southern Region origin, and nothing from the Western. Personally, despite being brought up on the Henley-On-Thames branch, I had no interest in the Great Western having never bought into the hype of the GWR’s publicity department.

 

My justification for Southern based stock running over the bridge is that trains have been diverted due to a line closure at Launceston. We do use some Western stock, a 6400 class pannier tank with autocoaches on the “Saltash Shuttle” and WR based Britannias. Martin Fuggles (one of our team) runs a Castle with his Up “Cornishman” set, an accurate representation of the coach formation that he took from the 1957 Western Region Coach Working Programme.

 

The 1968-1973 period is more Western orientated, with Warships, Westerns, Brush 4s, Class 22 “Baby Warships”, a Class 25, Class 121/122 DMU “Bubble Cars”, and some Peaks.

 

I find that the post steam to pre-TOPS period seems to be rarely modelled, but it is what I relate to most as that is when my interest in railways started shortly after I started travelling from Twyford to Maidenhead by train to attend grammar school so was keen to represent this period for the layout.

 

I have replicated some of the trains I used to see back then, specifically the empty milk trains heading back down to the West Country that often overtook us on the way home in the afternoon (usually hauled by a Warship or sometimes a Western), double-headed Baby Warships (or "Sliced Loaves" as we called them back then) on the evening Down parcels train, and Warship, Western and Brush 4-hauled passenger trains.

 

One of the Brush 4s has been backdated to 1969 configuration from TOPS-numbered 47435 to 1662 ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL (can’t think why I did that one 😄) and is used on the 1M74 Penzance-Liverpool service, and the Down “Cornishman” is hauled by one of the Peaks.

 

Martin gave me a couple of Western Region Coach Working Programmes from the period, so I have been able to replicate the coach formations for the three express passenger trains closely, though I’ve had to make some small compromises mainly due to the length of the fiddle yard.

Edited May 19 by Pete Thorpe

[Pete Thorpe]

Backscene, Devon scenery and buildings

 

The paper backscene had not stuck very well and was starting to look tatty, and the plywood that it was stuck to was proving to be a hinderance when transporting the layout too.

 

Following discussions with our local printer he suggested printing the backscene photograph directly on to 3mm Foamex board. I split the photo into 3 sections, and he duly printed them on to the Foamex.

 

I cut a slot along the back of the scenery to allow the boards to fit and be held in place, and as the Foamex is thick enough to be self-supporting we were able to dispense with most of the plywood, leaving enough to be able to keep the boards vertical when in situ. The result was that the backscene looked much better, and easier to transport as the 2 end baseboards could now be stacked one on top of the other in the back of an estate car.

 

Another piece was added to the Saltash side of the backscene using an adapted photo of Albert Road taken from Silver Street looking along Culver Road from Google’s Streetview, giving the impression that the road was continuing along Culver Road beyond the layout. This was stuck to an offcut from the Foamex to give slight relief and will eventually be fixed permanently to the backscene.

 

 

Other additions to the backscene on the Plymouth side were the bungalows of No. 189 Pemros Road and No.1 Normandy Hill on the corner of those two roads, and No. 5 and No. 7 Normandy Hill.

 

The corner bungalows photo is stuck to 0.5mm Plasticard the same as with the photo of Saltash at the other end of the layout. Again, this attempts to give the impression of the road continuing off-layout. No. 5 and No. 7 Normandy Hill are stuck to Foamex offcuts which were then fixed to the backscene, with No.13 further down the road still to be added. A view along Lower Fore Street has been done in a similar way at the Saltash end of the layout.

 

The 2 Peco double track road bridges along Normandy Hill were painted and weathered by another of our club members Adam Neale, and the roads were laid using 0.1mm Plasticard, and then painted or covered with strips cut to shape from Scalescenes’ printed tarmac sheets. The road markings are self-adhesive by Scale Model Scenery.

 

The club was fortunate to receive a donation of a large collection of mainly N gauge models, kits and accessories, which included a number of Hornby’s “Lyddle End” buildings. As previously stated, the layout is just a representation of the area and not intended to be an exact scale model, so we used these buildings to mainly populate Lower Fore Street and three more were also used on Normandy Hill.

 

Lyddle End terrace houses on Lower Fore Street, Saltash. The pub in the foreground is also by Lyddle End and is there following application of modellers' licence.

 

There was a small cluster of bungalows in a cul-de-sac off Normandy Hill, and after I had tried various pre-built buildings realised that they would have to be scratch built in order to look anywhere close to the actual buildings. I decided that one of the Lyddle End houses was suitable for one of them which left 3 to be built.

 

I produced CAD drawings estimated from period photographs and Google Maps for the 3 bungalows and the garage for No.18, and two other club members had said that they would like to get involved so they were given one each to construct from Ratio Builder Series packs. David Gray got No.16 and Tom Blount No.18, while I built No.14 and the garage for No.18.

 

I was impressed by David’s finished building, and even more so when he told me it was the first time he’d attempted any scratch building! To get the houses level I constructed a 10mm deep “foundation” the same size as the buildings’ perimeters from Builder Series brick sheets, cut into the layout where they were to be located, and then pushed them into the ground, adjusting them until they were level. Once I was happy with them I stuck them in place with PVA, and when this had dried the buildings were glued to their foundations with Contacta liquid cement.

 

Normandy Hill showing houses fixed to the backscene and the bungalows in the cul-de-sac; the 2-storey house in the foreground is temporary while Tom constructs No.18. The one behind is No.20 and also a Lyddle End ready-to-plant model.

 

Adam and I began working on what I refer to as the “soft scenics”, i.e. hedges, trees, etc. This was the first time I had attempted this aspect of layout building so I followed Adam’s lead, and he gave me a few hints and tips on how to make them more realistic and natural. We used various scenic materials, mainly different shades of flock foliage interspersed with some pieces of flowering hedging, adhesive grass strips and tufts, and lengths of privet.

 

The trees on the Devon board at that point were by Primo Models and The Model Tree Shop.

 

 

Edited May 24 by Pete Thorpe
Photo added

[Pete Thorpe]

The Signal Box

 

This took a lot longer than I anticipated due to a couple of early missteps meaning that I had to more or less start again each time. It was also something that I felt had to get reasonably accurate having spent over 30 years as a signalling design engineer.

 

The box is a kit-bashed Peco Manyways NB-3 Traditional Brick/Timber type, the footprint of which is very close to the prototype, supplemented with a Ratio Signal Box Interior Fittings kit.

 

The main difference that needed to be addressed was that the kit had a gable roof whereas the prototype is of hipped roof design, so I proceeded to cut the end pieces to suit. I also removed the inside window frames as I intended replacing them with the etched items from the Ratio kit.

 

 

 

Once the parts had been glued together to form the shell of the building I noticed that I had not being paying attention to photographs as it dawned on me that that the actual box, apart from the window framing, was of all brick construction, and not half-timbered like the kit. I pulled the shell apart and removed the timber parts, replacing them with moulded brick walls cut to size from some I had spare from another kit and re-assembled the building shell. I painted the replacement parts to match the original walls, but I wasn’t happy with them as they didn’t look right.

 

A few years ago we bought two 1/150 scale architectural model layouts (that had been used for selling new housing developments) with a view to utilising some of the buildings for future use. I found that the brickwork on one of them was embossed plastic stuck to the shell of the building that was close to the colour of the signal box’s brickwork. I carefully removed it and used it for the walls of the box, the only original brickwork now remaining from the kit being the base and pieces where the locking room windows and a door had been bricked up on the prototype.

 

I found on the internet a very low resolution image of the locking sketch (from which I could only make out 3 numbers of signals and points) but was fortunate to then find the locking table and a photo showing a small extract from the signal box diagram from 1961 for the actual signal box, which was enough for me to work out the numbers of the rest of the signals, points and facing point locks. From this I was able to paint the signal levers in the correct colours, shorten the interlocking lever and the motorised point lever (as per the locking table) and glue them into the lever frame in the correct order, setting them for an Up train.

 

The lever frame was then glued to the floor, along with the desk, coal bunker, stove and armchair from the interior fittings kit. I also added the signalman’s newspaper on the armchair, a coal shovel, a clock, and a logbook and telephone on the desk. I adapted the instruments on the block shelf from the interior fittings kit and added the locking sketch to represent the signal box diagram.
 

 

 

Other details that I added include a “No Unauthorised Persons Allowed” notice to the signal box door, signal box name board, pipework, window rails, outside lamp, the stove's chimney, roof ventilator and of course Bobby the Signalman leaning out of the box looking down the line, a Modelu figure painted by Marcus Neale, one of our junior members.

 

 

I have made the roof removable so that the interior detail can be seen. The box will be fixed to the layout after I have laid the point rodding and signal wires.

 

 

Edited May 29 by Pete Thorpe

[Pete Thorpe]

More buildings and scenery

 

By now I had decided which buildings I wanted to use and where they needed to be located. A pair of semi-detached houses were to be positioned at the corner of Silver Street and Albert Road at the back of the layout, and a short row of terraced houses was to represent the houses in the cul-de-sac off Culver Road. This is where the geography of the area became a bit distorted on the layout as Albert Road morphs into Culver Road somewhere behind the group of trees along the back.

 

Both buildings were originally made for our 2mmFS group’s Bognor Regis layout from the 1990s, which were kept following the dismantling of that layout and are now getting a new lease of life and giving us the opportunity to recycle, and thus show off our green credentials. There is another ex-Bognor house I intend to position at the front of the layout where the garages are temporarily located as they were not built until after our time period.

 

As with the Devon side, the roads were laid using 0.1mm Plasticard, and then painted. While I made a start on the hedgerows along the road going up the hill and along the top edge of the drop from the cul-de-sac gardens, Robin Gilchrist (another member and former Bodger) tidied up the gardens of the semi-detached houses, replacing broken fencing and adding small trees and garages.

 

 

I saw Nigel Ashton’s excellent 2mmFS layout Drws-Y-Nant at Aldershot, and when I asked him about his trees he informed me that they were from 4D Models which is where I subsequently sourced many of mine for the Cornwall end of the layout. The trees along the back are more of the Model Tree Shop sea foam items behind 4D’s trees, which have also been planted around the semi-detached houses along with a couple of Primo’s.

 

 

4D’s trees were again used to populate the embankment along the Okehampton line at the front of the layout on the Devon side.

 

Photo by Ian Morgan

 

Meanwhile, Robin was making up the paving around the houses along Boscundle Row (at the front on the lower level of the Cornwall board) from Scalescenes’ paving sheets stuck to Plasticard. Once this had been done he made up the walls for the back yards, then paved some and added lawns to others.

 

 

He then proceeded to finish the paving on Lower Fore Street before making an excellent job of producing the rock face at the board joint between the Devon and centre boards.

 

One of the signature buildings for the layout was to be the Royal Albert Bridge Inn which sits on the Devon bank of the River Tamar. However, due to the inherited layout of the river and the location of the proposed wharf it was better suited to the Cornish side.

 

I produced CAD drawings from photographs and passed them on to Ian, who then designed the files for 3D printing by fellow member Peter Beare. Once printed, Peter brought it down to the club for us to see before giving it back to Ian for painting and detailing.

 

 

Two weeks later, another excellent job by Ian…

 

 

This was how the layout was looking when we exhibited at our show a week before our appearance at Alexandra Palace.

 

Photo by Ian Morgan

[Pete Thorpe]

The following week I did more work on the Cornwall riverside, laying the concrete area for the boat and car park in front of the pub, finishing the slipway and making a start on the memorial park. The trees in the park are 2 of 4D Models’ and a silver birch by Primo Models. There is also a Modelu statue of Brunel and the cut outs along the path are the hardstanding for park benches.

 

 

This was how the layout looked when we took it to Alexandra Palace.

 

 

 

 

After Ally Pally I found that most of the Cornwall riverside I’d laid was starting to lift as I had not used the correct adhesive, but this wasn’t a bad thing as it had been decided to abandon the wharf and transfer everything from the Cornish bank to where it should be, i.e. on the Devon side. We left it as it was for our trip to the Isle of Wight in May; not much was done before then, I finished the back yards on Lower Fore Street and added a few embellishments to those on Boscundle Row such as dustbins, a couple of sheds and some flower beds.

 

Lower Fore Street back yards

 

Boscundle Row back yards

 

At our show some of the wagons from one of the freight trains were damaged after being dropped on the floor, and we had an issue with a couple of passenger trains derailing.

 

We run a departmental train of rails carried on bogie bolster wagons and it was a couple of these that were dropped, the main damage being stanchions snapped off, the securing chains breaking, rails coming loose and packing battens also breaking. It had taken me some time to make up these loads so it was annoying having to repair them, especially having to replace the chains as they are held in place by tiny wire hooks I had made and fitted to the wagons. As it turned out there were only 2 chains that needed replacing, but it was still a fiddly job to do.

 

 

The derailments were being caused by a new close coupling method I had applied to a few coaches, but an excess of glue had removed the couplings’ flexibility leading them to be unable to negotiate the reverse curves in the fiddle yard. Simply breaking the bond of the glue solved that one and the affected trains ran fine again at the Isle of Wight show, which was held at the IOW Steam Railway in Havenstreet.

 

[Pete Thorpe]

As previously mentioned I have backdated one of the Brush Type 4s to 1969 configuration which included changing the “domino” head code panel back to the original 4-character alpha-numeric display and retaining the illumination feature in the process. It now displays the code 1M74, which back in our time period was for the 13:30 Penzance-Liverpool. Over the last few days I have been adding long awaited details to some of the other locos and rolling stock.

 

The head codes on some of the diesel locos have been changed to those of the actual ones of the train that the individual loco usually hauls on the layout. These have included

D1009 Western Invader to 6M55 St. Blazey-Longport freight

D1045 Western Viscount to 1A49, the 12:05 Penzance-Paddington

D6328 to 7C58 Truro-Tavistock Jct. freight

W55029 to 2C74, the Saltash-Plymouth shuttle.

 

 

I have also been detailing the buffer beams on some of both diesel and steam locos and finally getting around to start adding loco crews to some steamers. I thought it was about time I added them as I keep telling people all the coaches are populated but it could be seen quite clearly that there was nobody actually driving the trains! Annoyingly I can’t see a way of getting into some of the diesel loco cabs to add drivers without the distinct probability of breaking something.

 

 

 

During the 1960s and 1970s Western Region began to use yellow destination panels on some of their coaching stock. These small panels on the waistline of the coach were carried on brackets and could be reversed for return journeys. I have replicated these for the Penzance-Paddington train, each bearing the legend “Penzance Plymouth Paddington” by adapting a photograph found on line and printing on to adhesive paper.

 

The Mk.2 BFK has been converted from a BSO and is one of half a dozen coach conversions that run on the layout.

 

Edited June 16 by Pete Thorpe

[Pete Thorpe]

I’ve been continuing with loco detailing, this time with the two BR/Sulzer Type 2 diesels, a.k.a. Class 25s.

 

7677 is a first generation Bachmann Farish model introduced in 2005, which I had already renumbered from D7667 to one of those transferred to Laira during the withdrawal of the diesel-hydraulic Class 22 fleet. This had also received a change to its head codes to 4B17, the 12:55 Penzance-Bristol parcels, and 7B34, the 12:50 Bristol-Ponsandane freight using Fox Transfers headcode numbers.

 

When drilling holes in the buffer beams for the pipework I realised how deeply recessed the cab windscreen glazing was, giving a scale foot-deep window sill in front. It was crying out to be flush glazed, especially when compared to the other locomotives.

 

I removed the glazing pieces and cut the windscreens from the side windows, and then cut the windscreens into their 3 separate sections. Each of the sections of glazing were carefully filed until they fitted each of their respective sections at the front of the bodyshell when located from the outside, so were the reverse of their original positions.

 

The side windows were far more acceptable, so they went back in unaltered except for window frames which were drawn in with a fine felt-tip pen and the No.2 end drivers’ window which was cut down to portray it as partially open.

 

I made up some cab interiors from Plasticard and utilised parts of the coach interior left over from the previously mentioned BFK conversion for the seats and driving consoles. The driver and second man were 3D prints by Smart Models, and these had also been painted for me by Marcus.

 

The buffer beam detail and pipework were spare from other locos’ detailing accessory packs except for the coupling hooks which are 2mm Scale Association etched items. The multiple-working cable plugs and sockets were painted orange before the detailing was fixed to the buffer beams.

 

The second Class 25 is one of the 2013 offerings from Bachmann Farish and recently bought as 25231 from fellow club member Stuart Elder.

The backdating required for this loco included renumbering, changing the headcode panels from domino style to 4-character alpha/numeric format and replicating the gangway doors which on the model were depicted as being sheeted over following major overhaul.

 

Unlike some of my other diesels I was able to access and remove the cab interiors and headcode panels quite easily. The cab interiors’ floors, seats and driving consoles were painted black and another Smart Models’ crew were fixed to the seats of one end.

 

To retain the illumination feature I replaced the domino panels with 0.5mm white Plasticard and applied headcodes I’d designed and Ian had printed on to transfer paper for me.

 

The codes are 2B15, the 17:05 Penzance-Plymouth passenger and 6B09, the 13:50 Acton-St. Erth empty milk tanks, which at this time was usually Western-hauled as far as Plymouth and then worked to St. Erth by a Type 2. Very thin clear plastic from an old Farish box was cut to size and used for the glazing of the headcode panels.

 

I chose to renumber it as 7573, another of those transferred to Laira to take over type 2 duties from the Baby Warships on their withdrawal. 7573 was one of the 30 locomotives (D7568-D7597) that were built out of sequence hence the earlier style of body and cab, the later style like that of 7677 being introduced with D5233.

 

When renumbering rolling stock I usually use T-cut gently applied with a cotton bud or blunt cocktail stick to remove the original numbers. Railtec transfers were used for the new numbers and the builder’s plates are their 3D transfers, which I have also used for a number of other locos including 7677 as can be seen in the photos above. The loco data panels are by Fox Transfers.

 

Due to the what seems to me to be minimal adhesive on the back of the Railtec numbers I have found applying them can be a right pain. I get one positioned and “stuck down”, but when applying the next one the first one easily moves if it’s touched as it has barely stuck to the loco or whatever it has been applied to. I would have used Fox but their sheet of numbers I had did not have enough of the numerals I needed left on it.

 

As the model was factory weathered and the pre-TOPS numbers for this loco were positioned under the cab windows, the loco was sprayed with a light coating of frame dirt to cover the clean areas where the removed numbers had been. It looks quite obvious in the photos but they don’t do it justice as it is a lot subtler in the flesh.

 

As with 7677 the buffer beam detail and pipework were fitted to one end of the loco, this time using parts from the loco's own detailing accessory pack and the 2mmSA etched coupling hooks. Also as with 7677 the multiple-working cable plugs and sockets were painted orange before the detailing was fixed to the buffer beams.

Edited July 18 by Pete Thorpe
Some comments amended/removed

[railtec-models]

12 hours ago, Pete Thorpe said:

Due to the minimal (if any) adhesive on the back of the Railtec numbers applying them can be a right pain. You get one positioned and “stuck down”, but when applying the next one the first one easily moves if it’s touched as it has barely stuck to the loco or whatever it has been applied to. Pete Waterman endorses them, but I’ll bet he’s never tried applying them himself, especially in this scale.

 

I should imagine if there were little or no adhesive on the back of the product then Railtec wouldn't have survived past the first year. If this has been your own personal experience here then there can be several possible factors. If the product is left too long in whatever solution is used to separate the transfer from the backing (even water) then that will dissolve the adhesive. If the model has been prepared with whatever concoction of foreign substances prior to transfer application then that can greatly determine the extent to which the transfer will adhere - or not. If the product hasn't been stored optimally then that will also contribute.

 

As for a bet that PW has never tried using them himself, why not ask him. He's at all the Making Tracks events and the NEC shows and is always most approachable. But I've personally been sat next to him on multiple occasions when he's been using them. He might model in 7mm scale but some of the transfers are still smaller than 2mm scale loco numbers. He seems to manage. More recently I've been up there with all the Making Tracks modellers, many of whom use the product too. The layout and the product will be on display again during the whole of August at Chester Cathedral.

 

If it helps, there's a wealth of how-to and expertise on using the product across multiple threads right here on RMWeb with some breathtaking results. Threads by the James Makins, Mick Bryans and Jim Scotts of this world offer brilliant insight.

[Pete Thorpe]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for you response to my last posting, some of which I would like to clarify and some I have amended accordingly, though firstly I would like to say that I have a number of your products and think that you produce a great range of subjects that are unavailable elsewhere. I particularly like your builders’ plate 3D transfers which as I mentioned above I have applied to many of my diesel locos.

 

On 12/07/2024 at 09:38, railtec-models said:

I should imagine if there were little or no adhesive on the back of the product then Railtec wouldn't have survived past the first year.

 

Of course not, an exaggeration on my part that I have amended.

 

On 12/07/2024 at 09:38, railtec-models said:

If the product is left too long in whatever solution is used to separate the transfer from the backing (even water) then that will dissolve the adhesive.

 

I am aware of this and remove the transfer from the water at the first sign of separation. The instructions say to use plain tap water, could you advise on the recommended temperature, i.e., cold, warm or hot, please?

 

On 12/07/2024 at 09:38, railtec-models said:

If the model has been prepared with whatever concoction of foreign substances prior to transfer application then that can greatly determine the extent to which the transfer will adhere - or not.

 

I assume that you are referring to the use of T-cut to remove factory printed numbers on rolling stock. To clarify, any residue from the T-cut is removed and the area thoroughly cleaned before application of transfers, and I have never experienced any adverse effects to the transfer adhesive. This is a method passed on to me by seasoned 2mm Scale Association members as not only is it a more benign way of removing printed numbers than the relative butchery of scraping them off with a scalpel blade but also leaves the smooth glossy surface that is recommended for the application of transfers. However, if you read my post again and look at the photos you will see that 7573 just had its TOPS numbers removed from the bodysides and the new numbers positioned under the cab windows.

 

On 12/07/2024 at 09:38, railtec-models said:

If the product hasn't been stored optimally then that will also contribute.

 

I store transfers in the packaging that they are despatched in. My modelling room is not heated directly from the central heating and neither does it receive direct sunlight so is not subject to any extremes of temperature.

 

On 12/07/2024 at 09:38, railtec-models said:

As for a bet that PW has never tried using them himself, why not ask him. He's at all the Making Tracks events and the NEC shows and is always most approachable. But I've personally been sat next to him on multiple occasions when he's been using them. He might model in 7mm scale but some of the transfers are still smaller than 2mm scale loco numbers. He seems to manage. More recently I've been up there with all the Making Tracks modellers, many of whom use the product too. The layout and the product will be on display again during the whole of August at Chester Cathedral.

 

Fair enough, I have withdrawn that comment.

 

On 12/07/2024 at 09:38, railtec-models said:

If it helps, there's a wealth of how-to and expertise on using the product across multiple threads right here on RMWeb with some breathtaking results. Threads by the James Makins, Mick Bryans and Jim Scotts of this world offer brilliant insight.

 

I put a search in for “Applying Railtec transfers” and have worked my way through the 93 results (some of which also advocate the use of T-cut), though I believe the problem I have experienced is due to the small size of the individual numbers and the amount of manoeuvring with the tiny movements often required to get them square and level is probably weakening the adhesive. Can you recommend a method for applying them square and level that avoids the transfers having to be moved excessively to get them positioned correctly? The line under the numbers is a good idea and helps with this but the sheet I was using didn’t have them.

 

I acknowledge and accept that compared with some modellers on this site I am a relative novice working in this scale as I didn’t switch from 00 to 2mm fine scale until 1994. Since joining the 2mm Scale Association I have won one of their annual competitions 4 times and received 1 commendation for my diesel locos, but the last time I entered I didn’t get anywhere so obviously need to improve my modelling and hopefully Railtec transfers will help me achieve this. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated by myself and other modellers I know who have had similar issues.

 

Thanks,

Pete

Edited July 18 by Pete Thorpe

[railtec-models]

Hi Pete, thanks for the post. I'm really up against it not least with developing some new product and a bunch of Making Tracks projects but I'll offer as much as I can just now.

Temperature of tap water - it's always going to be a personal choice but I use warm purely because I'm impatient and I find it separates the transfer faster, and I'm eager to crack on with the 101 jobs I have ahead of me that day.

 

Foreign substances on the model - this could be absolutely anything that people have used to prep / paint the model. The use of original T-cut is certainly a popular choice to remove previous numbers and typically leaves a good surface for a transfer. But people may have residues from all sorts of other chemicals on there.

 

The easiest way around not having to line up individual numbers - which at 2mm scale I can imagine must be hellish - is to opt for one of the ready-made offerings on the web site. A couple of examples:

 

2mm-9990 ready-made steam loco numbers / numbers for most BR green diesels
https://www.railtec-models.com/showitem.php?id=3231

 

2mm-9991 ready-made std 6" loco numbers, eg BR blue, Railfreight, ScotRail etc
https://www.railtec-models.com/showitem.php?id=3142

 

2mm-9965 ready-made coach or wagon numbers (nothing shaded), suits BR maroon, green, etc
https://www.railtec-models.com/showitem.php?id=4189

 

2mm-9971 custom text, std typeface, max scale 6" height
https://www.railtec-models.com/showitem.php?id=8064

 

The above can be quite versatile and save a lot of modellers a lot of fiddly hassle.

[Pete Thorpe]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for taking time out to post your helpful reply, and glad to hear that you appreciate how difficult it can sometimes be lining up individual 2mm numbers!

 

I already have a custom set of numbers for my WR Pannier tank, but not having looked at the Railtec site for a while as I already had sheets of diesel numbers it never crossed my mind to check if you offered the same service for them, so something to bear in mind for future projects.

 

Thanks again,

Pete

[Davexoc]

On 18/07/2024 at 15:23, Pete Thorpe said:

I am aware of this and remove the transfer from the water at the first sign of separation. The instructions say to use plain tap water, could you advise on the recommended temperature, i.e., cold, warm or hot, please?

 

I use luke warm water, soaking the backing paper and moving it to the model before seperation.

If making up numbers, I would do it in 2 or 3 stages, sealing with Johnsons Klear between. It dries quite quickly, so doesn't extend the job much...

[Pete Thorpe]

12 hours ago, Davexoc said:

I use luke warm water, soaking the backing paper and moving it to the model before seperation.

 

I've always tended to do the same, and Steve has confirmed he does too so we're all on the same page with this.

 

I am considering using Klear for my next loco going into "works", which will be one of the second-to-last batch of Class 45 Peaks so making up the numbers for that one will be a lot easier than the Class 25!

[chriscleveland]

Hey Pete 

 

when I was doing all my transfers on my coaching stock for Ropley I did the same method as @Davexoc although not the sealing part however that’s a good idea as when you add the backing paper onto the loco it usually brings over a little more water which will tend to spread on the loco side which is why when I did mine sometimes the numbers already positioned would lift again as the water would spread to them and lift again and in N gauge this no doubt will happen more than when I did mine in oo.

 

hope you find a method that works well for you soon if not let me know and we can try together at some point. 
 

Chris 

[railtec-models]

On 20/07/2024 at 21:41, Davexoc said:

If making up numbers, I would do it in 2 or 3 stages, sealing with Johnsons Klear between. It dries quite quickly, so doesn't extend the job much...

 

Hopefully the handful of links I posted to some of the most common offerings for ready-made numbers will save you this hassle. There are all sorts of options - ready-made BR steam loco numbers, diesels, electrics, DMUs/EMUs, non/passenger stock, wagons and custom plain text.

[Pete Thorpe]

Tom’s bungalow, No.18 Normandy Hill, has now been completed. As with the other 2 scratch built bungalows I constructed a brick foundation that was sunk into the ground and adjusted to get it level.

 

 

Again, once I was happy with it I stuck it in place with PVA, and when this had dried the building was glued to its foundation with Contacta liquid cement.

 

 

A scaled photo from Streetview of No.13 Normandy Hill was cut out and stuck to a piece of Foamex which had been cut to shape, and then fixed to the backscene with double-sided tape. A gap was cut in the hedge in front of the house for the residents to gain access to the road.

 

This completes the houses on Normandy Hill, and when I have finished work on the river banks I will come back to this area to concentrate on detailing the gardens.

 

The layout will be running at our club's next open day on 1st September, when we shall also be holding the official opening of our new clubhouse.

Edited August 9 by Pete Thorpe

[Pete Thorpe]

Completion of my Three Peaks Challenge

 

As mentioned in an earlier post we have some Peaks running on the layout and No.83 can be seen in some photos.

My original idea was to do Nos. 31, 7 and 58, which as you can see in my profile is my DOB. I appreciate that it was highly unlikely that the original pilot scheme Class 44 Peaks ever crossed over the Bridge into Cornwall (though never say never), but I started this “challenge” in the late 1990s long before this layout was even thought of. I always liked the “split box” head code pattern so 31 fitted the bill as it was the last of the Derby-built Class 45s to carry this style, or so I thought…

 

All three have received common modifications including bogie frame and buffer beam narrowing, detailing to the buffer beams, weathering and crews added.

 

The bogie frame narrowing should not have been necessary as there was no need for Farish to widen them by so much to allow the locos to negotiate tight curves, after all, they didn’t do it for their Class 40 which uses the same bogies. Also, what’s with that bit that sticks out on one side of the buffer beams for the multiple working cables? None of their other diesel models had this as far as I’m aware. However, it is a simple job to rectify these glaring errors and Ben Ando wrote an article “Slimmer's World” on how to do this in the September 2006 issue of Model Rail magazine (attached).

Slimmer's World.pdf

 

Buffer beam detailing included 2mm Scale Association coupling hooks, TPM etched screw-link couplings and either scratch built pipework or from loco accessory packs.

 

The locos also received Railtec builders’ plate 3D transfers and TOPS data panels.

 

No.7 Ingleborough was a relatively simple job as not much was required for this one. It was bought as D1 Scafell Pike and renumbered using Fox transfers and renamed with Shawplan nameplates. The yellow warning panels were extended around the tail lights as per the prototype and discs added to denote a Class 8 freight at no.1 end and a Class 7 freight train at the no.2 end.

 

D1 Scafell Pike to 7 Ingleborough before and after

 

The split box Peak started out as Farish’s Class 46 No.46053. It required a relatively minimal amount of work as it was already in plain Rail Blue livery, had the bodyside steps to the boiler water filler hatches plated over and was fitted with air brakes as indicated by the air tanks under the battery boxes.

The nose ends were cut away and replaced with PD Marsh white metal castings, with scratch built lamp irons and headcode box cables added later.

 

The battery box and triangular grille covers were etchings from an Ian Stoate kit, and the boiler room grille plating was scratch built from thin brass, with the “bolt heads” produced using a small punch. The boiler water filler roof hatches were removed by simply popping them out.

 

 

Glazing was added to the headcode boxes, the headcodes being 8Z66, an engineers’ train to Bristol East Depot, and 1V33, the 08:10 Sheffield to Penzance.

 

As mentioned before, this loco was originally intended to be No.31, but I found that my initial information sources were incorrect in stating that it was one of those with split boxes, including a wrongly captioned photo of D21 that “confirmed” this. However, after numbering it as 31 I started finding photos and further information that showed that loco had the centre boxes, so I had to have a rethink and settled on No.83, definitely a split box loco and one that also had its bodyside grilles plated over and was fitted with air brakes relatively early.

 

46053 to 83 before and after

 

No.58 The King’s Own Royal Border Regiment is one of my favourite locos; I have a thing for Peaks anyway and this was the first "namer" I saw back in 1970 soon after I started spotting, and it is one I have been meaning to model as it was back then for many years.

 

It was bought as D67 The Royal Artilleryman in green, and as well as a repaint to Rail Blue the bodyside steps and boiler room grilles required plating over.

The plating (also with punched bolt heads) was made from thin 0.2mm Plasticard as was the backing for the nameplates, then glued in place with Contacta liquid cement.

 

 

Chris Cleveland had recommended using an aerosol instead of an airbrush, and after seeing the great results he had achieved with two of his locos I used the same with this one using a Railmatch Rail Blue aerosol and am pleased with the way it has turned out. The nameplates (from Fox) were fixed in position and Railmatch satin varnish was used to seal and protect the transfers.

 

No.2 end before and after

 

The backing for the headcode boxes was made from 0.5mm Plasticard and for the glazing the same thin clear plastic used for 7573 (see above), the headcodes being 1V70, the 07:06 Bradford to Penzance Down “Cornishman”, and 1S68, the 10:15 St. Pancras-Glasgow Central Down “Thames-Clyde Express”.

 

D67 The Royal Artilleryman to 58 The King's Own Royal Border Regiment before and after

Edited Tuesday at 09:59 by Pete Thorpe
Typos amended

[woodenhead]

When did you get the Peaks, there was a time they went for stupid money, but now there is a Rapido version on the horizon I think prices have come down to something reasonable.

 

 

[Pete Thorpe]

Years ago, I originally bought an Ian Stoate kit to do No.58 back in the late 1990s, a resin body with choice of nose ends designed to run on the old Poole Class 40 chassis. The etches for the bodyside grilles are works of art but hadn't really done much with it when Farish brought their first ones out in 2005.

 

I guess I bought D1 soon after that (probably from Ebay as that's where most of my purchases come from) as there are photos from the mid-2000s of it on our 70K Coley Park layout. I must have got 46053 in 2009 as that's when photos were taken when I started on that one, and D67 maybe in 2019.

 

I could be tempted by a couple of Rapido's when they come out, not that I need any more but I just like Peaks. I like the idea of doing No.99 3rd Carabinier and of course No.31, or converting a Class 46 to either D33 or D43 as apart from the battery box covers looked exactly the same, therefore giving me the fun of confusing some people at exhibitions 😄.

 

D33 at Sheffield Midland with the 2N55 Sheffield-Leeds local, 8th February 1968

 

 

Edited Monday at 23:19 by Pete Thorpe

[Pete Thorpe]

I managed to get No.58 finished in time for our club open day and had it working the down Cornishman c.1970, and also new to the layout on the day was my China clay train hauled by one of the Westerns.

 

Peaks ‘Я’ Us in the fiddle yard

 

7 Ingleborough crosses the bridge heading a freight bound for Ponsandane

 

83 on an engineers'  train to Bristol East Depot

 

58 The King’s Own Royal Border Regiment enters Cornwall with the down Cornishman

 

A St. Blazey-Stoke "Clayliner" approaches the bridge behind D1009 Western Invader 

 

Shortly after we’d moved into our new clubhouse in July the weather got quite warm, and the heat caused expansion of the rails in the fiddle yard leading to the one of the lengths of copper clad sleeper lifting from the baseboard resulting in trains running in the down direction derailing when crossing on to the centre board. I was able to fix this before the open day but there is similar problem across the other board joint, and though not so bad will still need attention before we take it to its next show in Swansea over the weekend of 14th/15th September.

 

Hopefully it won’t be as warm there as it was last Sunday, as although in the morning the layout ran fine as usual by the afternoon line 6 in the fiddle yard stopped working, which appears to have also been due to the heat which caused a short circuit somewhere as it was working again the next day when things had cooled down.

 

On the scenic side of the layout I have started transferring the Cornish riverside scenic items to the Devon side of the river and at the open day we had the new layout mocked up. I’m aiming to get the Devon bank items fixed in place before we go to Swansea.

 

 

Edited Friday at 20:24 by Pete Thorpe

[chriscleveland]

Layouts looking good Pete will catch you at Swansea show. be good to catch up and see how the layout is progressing since the last time I saw it 

 

Chris