Lacathedrale

I have steered very well clear of enamels since I was a teenager except for live steam where it's a much more industrial affair. I have recently tried out a fine tipped dip pen and found the results very satisfying, generally finer and at least as easy as easi-liner - notes in my workbench thread shortly.

If you've been following my workbench thread you'll know that the interminable to and fro of ordering detail parts has made progress on the carriage front rather slow. In the meantime, I've started to knock up the interim "lever frame" discussed earlier: Each of the switches represents a signal lever. Of course, there are no actual signals attached to them, but they will perform the correct function of making or isolating track sections. Keeping the electronics simple is a deliberate choice, as beyond simple switches it is very much a weak point of mine and does not come to me naturally. While it might look complicated, but the wiring is very simple - and should give me a decent approximation of the 'signal block' style of layout operation is like before I go to the expense and time of building five or six of the etched S4S units: For an arrival on the down mainline, this is dealt with by the Station controller which is normally connected to it. Once the train is on approach or halted at the signal gantry, home levers are pulled to make a connection from the down mainline to a particular platform and it can be driven to the buffers. For a departure, the relevant departure signal is pulled which makes a connection from that road to the up mainline. Puling the Advanced Starter makes a connection from the up mainline to the FY controller and the departure can then be driven into the Fiddle yard. For a shunt within station limits, the relevant shunt signal is pulled which makes both simultaneous connection to the up mainline as per a departure signal, and a connection from the Station controller to the up mainline.

@Mikkel I have used retarder medium from Vallejo with unthinned paints and it seems to work ok through the 0.25mm easi liner nib in terms of flow, although as you have seen the line width is still quite wide. I don’t trust myself to trace panels at velocity (vs. Against a ruler)

The following photograph turned up on the Brighton Circle illustrating the E1. It shows the ramp-end of the Eastbourne platforms some time between 1903 and 1906, and gives a general feel for what I'm trying to achieve: This shows E1 Calvados in Goods Green, which was de-named in 1906. It looks like there are examples of Umber (brake), Mahogany (3rd class coaches), and Umber/White Lav First (?) all in the same train. Of minor interest it also looks like the foreground post was originally slotted - you can see the slot and the slightly fatter cheeks, and a metal bracket forming the pivot point for the ringed shunt signal.

Lining Dip pen nib duly ordered. My easi-liner handle looks to be compatible and I have some acrylic retarder which should help with gumming up. Brakes I was double checking the placement of Westinghouse brake hoses in the picture above, and though I thought I was completely finished with the construction work on the D95, I realise I need to add the actual brakes! Luckily I have them to-hand and I don't think I'm going to be disassembling the carriage again so I'll put them on shortly. I refuse to buy Westinghouse Brake castings at this point, it seems crazy to spend £1.50 for a whitemetal casting of a cylinder! 54' Marsh Carriages Speaking of having things to-hand: a shoebox of Tri-ang Clerestories arrived over the weekend, from which I should be able to cobble together three Marsh bogie carriages (an all third, a brake second luggage, and a tri-composite). Though they will need a bit more work than those of a Ratio origin, they should be quite cheap as it's 90% styrene sheet and I can re-use the existing bogies suitably bushed rather than building new ones. Really, I could do with a brake third also, but I think that can come in due course - maybe one with some LBSCR-style end duckets at last?

@t-b-g to confirm, you're using ink rather than paint in your lining? I've used a flesh colour which comes out as a warm gold when it comes to paint, but you're using white and yellow ink, if I remember correctly?

@Tom Burnham you're right, I didn't - but it was my first time seeing a Terrier in the flesh and it was wonderful nonetheless:

Though the layout is still moribund, I've been keeping an eye out for stock and when I saw this 4TC at the Bluebell Toy Collector's Fair I couldn't resist: I'm going to need to make sure I have the MU-fitted Class 33 to go with it!

I went to the Toy Collector's Fair at the Bluebell today in search of a) the Hornby Skaledale Horsted Keynes signal box and b) the Dapol A1 Terrier in Umber. Neither were forthcoming, but I did find this nice print from the carriage art shop showing H1 No. 40 (to be St. Catherine's Point) pulling out of Brighton, while B4 No. 52 "Sussex" (nee Siemens) pulls into Platform 8. It looks like a C variant in the platform in Goods Green: The B4 was only renamed Sussex in 1908 but still has the IEG livery, interesting but maybe anachronistic? Anyway, not directly related to the layout but very much akin to it.

@rapidoandy - the dear fellows on the Brighton Circle have advised that Poitiers should be Westinghouse fitted in its post-1890 condition, so the livery should be green lined red, rather than plain green. Do you know what version you'll be producing? I appreciate this is splitting hairs but while I dearly love Goods Green, Train Times are offering a vermillion-lined black version, which may be more appropriate for a later LBSCR layout. At the moment my preorders for the green and umber versions stand, though!

I can't help but feel (despite my middling satisfaction) that the above enlargements are a little cruel, they're at least 3x life size on my screen at least. I will not be taking anything further than the Billinton 4w until I have the transfers and I have decided what to do about the lining. I think that the unrelieved umber NEEDS lining, so it's a case of 'how' rather than 'if'. Test carriage (still in Sienna) aside, I don't think any of the carriages look egregiously bad at 'normal viewing distance' : Maybe this is another case of the 80/20 rule, or not letting Perfection be the enemy of Good?

I'd always assumed the joke about 90mph shunting was over emphasised but I definitely felt on my last visit to the Bluebell Railway (which had a model railway exhibit attached), the locos were either running comically slowly, or warp speed. I guess it's easier said than done. I'm still waiting on the SPST switches for my interim "signals-only" lever frame. The idea is to make the entire throat (sans frogs) live initially, rather than setting up the power routing. This means I can flick over the points with my finger while still managing the signal-linked-block-sections from the interim frame and so should be able to test the whole layout operationally. I've realised that on the layout as-drawn, the home signal gantry is going to be hard up against the baseboard join with the FY. Oops!

I'm definitely going to be airbrushing matt and weathering at the bottom of the carriage, but I need to keep the whole thing glossy for the time being so that I can apply @ianmaccormac's wonderful Billinton transfers. I have the 4w D95 mostly complete other than transfers and weathering. It has Gibson buffers, 51L Westinghouse pipes, Smiths screw link couplers, and Markits (?) mansell wheels. I'm not 100% happy with it, it's had one too many coats of paint and touching up the brown while the off-white panels were already filled was difficult so I'll need to over again with the off-white to tidy it up. I've also tried out the easi-liner again and come up with the same problem - by hook or by crook the smallest line I can get is probably 0.3mm which doesn't sound like much, but is actually pretty huge when compared to the size the lining is meant to be: Time to try the dip pen a-la @t-b-g !

I did a huge number of tests and came up with this, 6:1 Vallejo Chocolate Brown to Black: As a comparison, the Vallejo German Camo Black-Brown bogie coach: @t-b-g don't think I didn't hear your subtle dig about lining ;) I'll sort out a mapping pen and experiment on this coach.

Excellent, I'm in Haywards Heath. I'll pre-order as soon as it's up.

Lovely - I did preorder a Goods Green loco from Hattons but would happily cancel that in favour of a Lined Black version. What's the website? Rapido or 'UK Train Times' ?

Oh no! That's going to be pricey - assuming I get one, I'll cancel the goods green preorder. What's the actual site it's available from?

Well, I've got my E1 orders in - one in Goods Green and one in Umber: https://www.hattons.co.uk/directory/versiondetails/5296/rapido_trains_uk_oo_0_6_0t_class_e1_lbscr#models

It seems the Bachmann Umber is a lot closer to Vallejo German Camo Black-Brown than the SR Freight Brown, but needs to be a little lighter: Certainly if I had to pick one lineup over the other I'd pick the former even if it was a little too dark, but it should be fine to add a little burnt sienna/etc. to the mix to brighten it up, I'd have thought.

Here are the two coaches with a some varnish more towards gloss than matt: I think the umber has gotten warmer, and the brown on the 4w is leaning towards caramel...

Absolutely correct - all of the Ratio coaches I've shown so far were already half-built and it only came to my attention recently how the vacuum brake cylinder needs to be amended. The bogie coach I'm building in my workbench thread has the vacuum cylinder removed, rotated and replaced as a reservoir and a westinghouse cylinder will be attached transversely shortly, as will Westinghouse brake pipes.

Oh I definitely wouldn't leave it as matt as that @t-b-g I'm not sure what's going on but my recent attempts at using klear have gone a bit awry - they're going with a very satin finish. I don't mind giving it a coat of gloss but I am a little worried! @Regularity I could potentially mix them? or add some red leather/terracotta into the umber.

Should the umber colour be lighter (colour scaled) and warmer as on the 4w, or darker and colder as on the bogie? I'm torn!

Thanks matey, i'll give that a go next. For now, here's a work in progress of the Billinton 4w First D95 alongside the Billinton 48' Bogie Third D67: For the roofs I have decided to use a very light grey mixed with the pale sand to make sure there is some colour differentiation between the roof tones (white -> grey) and the panelling (off-white -> cream). This D67 is going to be in 1911 condition with electric lighting (hence the conduit) and all-over umber so I have made the roof quite a bit lighter, although that doesn't really show here. Other than paint, varnish and transfers there are a few other bits and bobs to do before these are really complete: The 4w needs the vacuum brake cylinder (behind the gas tank in the above photo) replaced with a westinghouse cylinder. The Bogie needs bogies (!), and both need both wheels and Westinghouse brake pipes fitting.

First pass at the Billinton 8 Compt. All Third (D67) - I have added accumulators and a westinghouse brake reservoir under the solebar, and a single queen post. I have also set up the compartments. This one is going to be painted in the 1911 all-over Umber scheme. Unfortunately I have neither the Vallejo German Camo Black Brown paint, nor the 8' bogies required to take this any further yet.... This kit was one part-built in the box-o-Ratio and came with the wrong roof - but the roofs of the electrically lit D67's were quite plain: just a single cable conduit down the middle and ventilators over the end (smoking) compartments - so easy to fill the holes and fit my own. I'm trying to use Vallejo Plastic Putty but I'm having no end of trouble with it - it shrinks, it wicks away from holes, and it takes hours to dry to a sandable finish. I guess I just need more patience.