The Bigbee Line

Yesterday was mainly Bricks, Wagons and a trial run... BRICKWORK The test print on ordinary paper looked OK. My plan is to print onto self adhesive label paper, cut out and apply to a wood/card core. I then had to think about the 'folding up' to ensure that the corners looked right, i.e. the two faces of the brick were the same colour... I have used 'Microsoft Paint' as it matches my I.T. skill level... basic, but adequate. With the 'gridlines' visible I have made the mortar 5 pixels wide. The mortar is a yellow colour. As a child we lived in a house in Brighton that had been build using Lime Mortar, supposed to be more flexible that sand and cement. It was very soft and could be rubbed away with a stick (I was a very mischievous child)... This is an enlarged screen shot. There is nothing, other than time, to stop me 'rounding off' the corners and varying the colour within individual bricks, might try that for a simple structure later.. This is the progress so far. I have separated the parts of the pier; bottom, middle and top. For drawing purposes I have allowed a 1 pixel fold line that is not coloured at the moment. Once I have tried and adjusted the fold width I can mark the fold line top and bottom, colouring the actual fold, we'll see how that pans out. The 'slopey' part of the brick has been increased in height as this will be folded over the mount board chamfer as used by Chaz Harrison on the Dock Green Structures. As an aside I have seen real brick walls made into transfer sheets, then applied to embossed plasticard. With setting solution, the decal was 'shrunk' into the joints. Even though the mortar joints were not coincidental between the decal and the sheet, the effect looked good. TEST RUN The other task completed was a test run with 32635...

Today, I started cutting out the end for the 2 tracks to exit the visible section and enter the fiddle yard / cassette board. Adding the first part of the board joint. I also had a play with my prototype brick pier.

Chaz, I might have missed it.. What are the interior (width and height) dimensions of your cassettes? The are a nice size and I found using them very useful. Many thanks Ernie

Really nice, made me look twice

Paul, I thought you had typed 'Lame' and that it was some reference to the shortage of quality materials in Post War Britain. Looking more closely I saw it was 'L a r n e'. Then a look on the internet and my knowledge of the Aluminium industry and its noxious by-product increased many fold. An interesting website was found https://nir.org.uk/breakvan/bauxite the Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust website is most interesting. It gives the recipe for Bauxite Paint Mixture 2 - Bauxite Paint (Undercoat) Boiled Linseed Oil 8lb White Spirit 6-10lb Liquid drier 2-4lb Bauxite Residue in Oil 82lb Mixture 2A Bauxite Paint (2nd Coat) Mixture No.2 100lb Black in Oil 6lb Mixture 2B Bauxite Paint (Finishing Coat) Mixture No.2A 90lb Mixing Varnish 10lb I suspect that each workshop had its own recipe book and source of ingredients. I wonder what gave the early fitted B.R. wagons that orangy look. I did wonder if it was the result of early colour emulsions, but all the other colours seem OK. I might try a mix to represent that effect, maybe some added matt red. Any ideas?

TALES FROM THE WALL.... I scaled my wall from information from the internet and wanted to check some real bricks. Knowing a handy wall I thought I'd check some key dimensions.. I was most surprised that the end of the wall is almost an exact replica of one of the works brick gate posts. The width of 3 bricks is 27.1/2" and the thicknesses of 10 bricks is 33".

I used Microsoft Paint, for me probably the simplest tool going... The file is a bitmap .bmp. See the attached example, Paint allows me to use gridlines and zoom in. The different shades of brick were copied from various bricks on a prototype building. The best part is the ability to copy and paste sections.

Peter, I think you should 'bottle your secret' and sell it at exhibitions. Seriously there are a couple of different viewpoints on the railhead conditions, some people keep it dry and clean regularly, others clean and then apply either graphite or a conducting oil of some kind. I favour the dry and clean principle. Some people have problems with crud build up on wagon wheels, especially plastic wheels and have to resort to cleaning sessions. If there is a loss of continuity the sound system can see that and then initiates a re-start. The stay alive will eliminate that effect. It also allows the use of non switched crossings if desired and avoids switches etc. It's up to the user obviously. My view is that if I'm investing in a sound decoder I would like the benefits of the stay alive, working on the 'why spoil the ship for a happorth of tar' principle. Best wishes for the new year Ernie

Not too much on Boxing Day... I've had a go at drawing my brick pillars. I'm going to have a trial print, I'll let you know how I get on....

I did some browsing on 'side by side maps' and found a map that showed all the relevant tracks. The wall and tracks to be modelled are in the plan below: Just waiting for some SE Finecast brick sheets to arrive...

Despite the simple arrangement I have chosen to compress the layout to a single turnout I think the original layout had three tracks entering the south end of the works, later reduced to two. My version is the head shunt and the two gates, there is no actual mainline connection.... So I need to ensure the wall has any added detail I can justify... Looking at one of my own pictures there are quite a few things to be added, signs, telephone cabinets, doorways, point handles... I can all add some wall mounted lights and various figures. I've started playing about with one of the signs for a bit of fun... Even then the original had two versions...

Now closed in its present form.. The theme may be rejuvenated...

The inspiration, a 1955 picture from Charlie Verrall https://www.flickr.com/photos/31514768@N05/3417938669/in/photolist-6d2Q64-fumffn-invrW4-hoLjKv-gvHy9u-9kqi4W-ZuijKu-asyvJp-fumf5Z-boGt8d-ZvNiqF-bk4rtJ-ZtRJKz-61ymva-7ARZLT-GUCaS7-263K6Md-V1WPtG-28vEZzj-pG3tvL-btZM4G-83PXCB-69PWoN-CgRDUQ-gVtkCu-6VWLqt-d7gL29-b71LET-d7gKRS-bGUAgM-7FucaU-btZMDY-dU9oR1-nGxcEo-bGUB3v-nHBMwi-nNMLXx-aoaE2F-61Dm6y-a7Popk-a7SiUE-6sP1p3-cBZNms-a7ShXh-azq7kv-BuVrxc-6MN2BX-cBZQFA-Yp4Qga-s64iLN 377S is shunting the South end of the works on 1st September 1955.... I went there with Dad before I went to school, so probably from 1958 onwards, The Isetta Factory was open from 1957 - 1964 and I saw them being shunted through those very gates. It was 'The Yellow Engine'..... No reproduction without copyright holders authority Later in 1969 I happened to be at the station with a camera and film, luckily snatched these few pictures, no planning, just luck.... Note the wide foot crossing giving access for workers, no health & safety, just common sense... The Bulldozer doing the dirty deed... the same scene in more recent times... So where does that leave me... My experience so far with Hayling Island is to show how complex even the most simple layout can seem. I pinched the Y point from 'Tenterden Sidings' so it was logical to re-use the board. I did a test run with the terrier and 3 wagons, ended up with 24" of head shunt. The real head shunt took at least 6 wagons plus the loco, so that's my contribution to selective compression.... Looking the other way. The toilet roll holders (shades of Blue Peter) are the place markers for the brick gate posts. Just need to meet my June deadline... ... ... 625 3012

In O gauge I have some 3H coal wagons with similar 'Krupps Heavy Duty Bolt Heads' I just sliced them off, the bit that gets left is a good representation. I think these 'not exactly scale' models have a charm all of their own...

FRUIT Van Continued My theme this year is to finish things off..... So combined with an office/work room sort out, I could find all the parts I needed. plus each part finished model sits in a project box with its own work sheet. The worksheet is a record of what's required. In this case I dug out the LNER Fruit Van... I'd used the Parkside buffers on my 10'WB Mineral.. This one therefore got a very nice set of 'Welcome Models' buffers. I think the are really smart. The bases are cast and need just the slightest bit of cleaning up around the stub that will fit in the headstock. The Parkside headstocks has the holes opened up a tad and the bases superglued in place. A Stenson Models RCH hook and a Dapol Screw coupling were added. I was thinking I might give the body its first coat of paint this afternoon... However the ever cruel pictures shows that the corner joints need a touch of filling...

SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND... Looking through the 53A Models Flickr collection of John Turner I stumbled on this picture.. Posted with permission of 53A models. Please do not share or post elsewhere without permission of the copyright holder(s). © 2016 - 53A Models of Hull Collection. Scanned from the original 120 monochrome negative; photograph by the late James S Doubleday. https://www.flickr.com/photos/blue-diesels/26535978690/in/photolist-GqTPXY-EQjRBi-BFYwjy-EYvZdp-E1NAc5-BRysUZ-BTNCQ6-BBDer5-BvfFbx-BYMpFC-BvfEFz-BszaVt-BFYrLq-EvJitg-Etv45W-E6t2aB BR built (Shildon, 1949 - to LNER design, Diag 1/031, Lot 2032) 13T Shock Open Merchandise wagon B720128 at Water Orton - c.1959. Note the off-set positioning of the end "shock stripes" - the original style for these. An excellent inspirational picture. It gives some great detail of the wagon. It has spoked wheels... I thought that 3 hole disc were standard, but I'm sure that in the dark days of austerity any wheel sets available would have been used.. A big thanks to John Turner, Merry Christmas

Has to be done.....

Nothing wrong with telling people what to do. Saves time and effort. Too much time wasted being nice. I want a hat that has “JFDI” on the front. Best wishes for the season.

Thanks for the kind words. I surprise myself sometimes. I don’t know why I didn’t think of removing the bridle bar before. I’ve got a few eBay purchases in the “Cripple Road” (now there’s a non PC term if ever there was, but that’s what they are called...) these have sticky axleboxes, over the holiday they might get a fettle.....

I have a flickr album of ZKA pictures https://www.flickr.com/photos/55938574@N03/albums/72157636011528054 with numerous pictures, mostly 2003. I'd been asked to report on weld failures noted at maintenance, at the bottom of the side stanchions When running as MKA's see https://www.flickr.com/photos/55938574@N03/albums/72157641131566313 This is a good weld on MKA DC 390241. The ones on what looked like ex UK Tank Wagon underframes had various body configurations. I suspect that the requirement was quite vague. In these the side stanchions were supported by gussets below each stanchion. The one with the UIC double link, had them missing each other. You need to check the pictures.

GE had some stainless tanks in Nitric Service from Middlesbrough to Sellafield. PITA. The tanks had dry link couplings for discharge plus vapour recovery when filling. No special paint job.

In a previous photo I noticed that one of the brake blocks was 'on the wonk', that has been corrected... Need a big push now to get it finished...

They also worked some of the early spoil trains from Shakespeare Cliff. As Brian mentioned the were used for 'dirty ballast' and sleepers from the renewals for the Channel Tunnel. A lot of CWR from the main line was re-used in Dollands Moor, so these wagons took away loose sleepers. The loading was a bit iffy and trains had to be load examined before leaving site (after a concrete sleeper fell off and dropped over Foord Viaduct....

Fiddled about today, added another set of brake blocks to the axle with the slaters axleguards. They are flexible enough to allow the wheelsets in and out. I think I need to get the axleguards painted so the can dry well before the axleboxes are held in place by the new bridle bars... I chose evergreen strip to build the angle on either side of the door. I then decided to separate the door, using the razor saw, a bit brutal, bit nothing some fine sand paper wont sort out. The door was completed with a shallow I beam as the beam across the door, then the bottom section with bits for hinges fabbed up. The body was then posed on the underframe I had some pieces on a sprue that were ideal for the dimples in the bodyside that held the sheet rings fixed on the inside faces

....and I bet you still can't find the part that you need..... My parts always seem to know when they will be needed and then they hide.......