Fen End Pit

After several weeks and lots of help from RMwebber UAX6 I now finally have the Type A and Type B telephone exchange completed. For such relatively simple building there are some subtle details which are quite difficult to get right. The slight 'pagoda' look to the hip roof of the B and the little tiles on the quoins of the smaller Type A. There a a few very interesting websites with lots of photographs of different exchanges and these have lots of photographs of similar buildings from all over the country. It was quite common to have a pair together like this where the equipment outgrew the original building. https://www.uax.me.uk/ http://www.aeolian-hall.myzen.co.uk/ I took more attempts than it should have taken to get a laser cutter drawing which I was happy with and now all I have to do is bed them into the layout. A visit to the March model railway exhibition turned up a Morris van in GPO guise and again UAX6 helped with some additional background I added wing mirrors and painted the hub caps black. It is interesting that when you look online for pictures all the 'preserved' moggies have lots of shiny chrome which isn't original. So now I have a load of work to do bedding them in, adding a bit of picket fencing and completing the ground texture in the goods yard. David

I use Wilco smooth surface interior filler, I add a little water and wipe it over the brickwork and then wipe it off. I then final wash over the wall with Vallejo grey wash. David

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm sorry I have no details on the camera, it came from China and, while it has 'Sports DV' and 'UKK@SXA1705S' on the box, that doesn't bring up anything on Google. David

I went through a very similar process with a Comet Thompson full-brake. The roof profile was per some drawing on a thread about Gresley coaches on Western Thunder. https://www.westernthunder.co.uk/threads/gresley-carriages-in-detail.9809/ I ended up 3d printing a roof because the Comet one didn't really match the LNER being a sort of cross between a Midland and GWR carriage roof. I also remodeled and printed the ends to match the new profile. I'm fairly happy with the result now. Trying to pluck up the courage to glaze it next and decide whether it gets lining. David

I had a bit of fun with a miniature camera. I've also continued to work on the low-relief malting buildings for the far corner of the layout. I'm rather pleased with the brickwork, just trying to pluck up the courage to add the mortar mix. The different colours of brickwork came out very well thanks to Tamiya masking tape. I'm quite pleased with the way the loading area looks. Even though you won't be able to see much of it in the end. I think there are going to be two roll shutter doors fitted over this. Once in-situ it looks about right and when I've completed the two telephone exchanges opposite it should really complete this corner. David

Ok, here is an 'out there' suggestion. Could Bodmin north just be a single sector plate which turned to allow access to/from either the Bodmin General fiddleyard or even, by a hidden line along the back to the Wadebridge cassette board? It almost looks like from the plan you could get a 4' radius curve and turn the Bodmin north yard to be parallel to the end wall. My minimum radius on Clare is down to 3'4" off-scene going into the fiddleyards and I have no problems which my P4 stock which includes some pretty long wheelbase locos like B1's and J20's. David

A fascinating location. What shape is the man-cave? Is the intention to place the layout against a wall? Might it be better to straighten out the rear right fiddleyard even if the straighten out results in the overall length being slightly more? I found the process of getting the layout I wanted to built to fit into the room I had in a way which was going to be something I wanted to live with something that took a lot of time. It was very easy to draw a plan which would go into the man cave but it is harder to consider what else you want to be able to do in the man cave and consider whether, in the future, you may wish you'd built the grand scheme slightly differently. David

In my previous blog entry I talked about using planning records to help research buildings at Clare. These have certainly help but what has helped even more is the advice and assistance from another RMweb contributor. Uax6 immediately recognized two small builds as Type A and Type B telephone exchange buildings and was able to give me loads of information regarding their construction. The 16 page 1950's tender document informing contractors the requirements to build one of these buildings was fascinating. Unfortunately I have failed the process immediately by not constructing the required earth latrine for the contractors to use while building the exchange! I've drawn out the parts in TurboCAD and have cut the parts in MDF. The central core is 3mm MDF for strength with the brick engraved layer in 1.5mm, just to keep things complicated the roof is cut from 1mm, the roof support from 2mm and the windows and surrounds from oiled manila card. Using lots of different thickness of material was probably overkill but I had all the different ones to hand. As usual I had to cut several parts more than once because I screwed my logic of which bit fitted around which other, I'd like to think I'm getting better and not making so many mistakes but I'm not so sure . I'll continue assembling the exchange and also try to draw out the other type of exchange with the hipped roof. The maltings building is also coming along. I revised my earlier drawing and shortened the model by one window bay because the original version was too long and left the end wall too far forward and in the wrong place relative to the goods yard. I'm still a bit too far forward but I think I'll live with it because shortening the building even more would not leave enough of it left to make sense. I was pleased with the way the windows for the maltings came out cut in the manila card. I drew the glazing bar lines at .7mm which has meant that the glazing bars when cut at .5mm wide. I've cut the windows in the 3mm inner layer to the size of these window components and the 1.5mm layer with the bricks engraved in it is 2mm smaller in each dimension. That means that the final window will have nice strong structure and I can cut some glazing material to fit. It has been a great deal of fun so far making these buildings and I'll post more as progress continues. David

Thanks Andy, that is really helpful. I've been searching online and I'm guessing that the A type would be something like this I found on Twitter while the B type was like this (only not rendered) Does anyone know of a site with any plans for these and where they generally a standard size and layout? Actually I've found two better examples - Glemsford, not far from Clare in Suffolk and Bures and Felsted Yeh! another research rabbit hole to dive down! and now I've found some plans from where someone was refused permission to turn one in Oxfordshire into a house. David

So I'm finally making a start on the buildings adjacent to the goods yard at Clare. We have a large maltings, still existing as an antiques centre, and a pair of buildings, one with a hipped roof and the other with a pitched roof. One of these is marked on one site plan as 'telephone exchange'. The maltings has been heavily altered but the current 'Greek portico' is just an embellishment of the original loading area where lorries would reverse in to tip grain. A search on West Suffolk's public access planning application site found a recent application for converting some of the space from an antiques centre into flats and this application included some useful drawings. If you are thinking of modeling any building which existed until fairly recently it is worth looking to see if there are any planning applications available online. While searching for this I also found drawings of Clare station building (application to make changes to make it suitable to be a cafe) and Clare goods shed (application to add a toilet block). https://planning.westsuffolk.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=O18SI2PDMLV00&activeTab=summary However I would point out that some architects may not be as diligent and those of my acquaintance because the drawing incorrectly shows the windows on the top storey as the same height as on the ground and first floor. I guess they just didn't count the brick coarse correctly! Memo to self - Cross-reference your sources! I had a go at cutting a 'first attempt' yesterday and then found loads of mistakes in the my drawing. I've hopefully corrected those and I'll have another go at cutting it later in the week. Although it is quite a large building I don't think it unbalances the corner too much. Obviously I've had to shorted it a bit because I couldn't fit the full length in. This then leave me thinking about the two little building opposite. What is currently there is a Scout hut which according the same West Suffolk planning site was granted permission to be converted from the old telephone exchange in 1983. https://planning.westsuffolk.gov.uk/online-applications/files/110212DD9A8AE2D70C6297425E509E6E/pdf/E_83_3477_P-DECISION_NOTICE-979890.pdf So I'm left wondering how this building relates to the two in the aerial photograph from 1949. It looks to me as if the building has been extended on the end nearest the camera as the brickwork has a distinct change. Could the remainder of the building be the pitched roof building? The resolution of the aerial photo is not enough to be sure but it doesn't look to me as if the buildings had any obvious windows which I guess fits with a telephone exchange. Could both buildings have been something to do with the GPO? Any ideas welcome! Thanks David

I'd agree too You didn't say if you were planning DC or DCC operation, if you had the 4 x 2 board covered in parallel tracks and a DCC sound fitted locomotive on every inch of track you might have an issue but that is a somewhat unlikely scenario! David

But have they got a design which doesn't result in massively reducing the number of paths available between Cambridge and Shepreth Branch Junction? If you just put platforms either side of the track and expect trains to stop (probably the kind of price tag the budget allows for) it won't be enough. You would need to add extra tracks between Cambridge and Cambridge South and probably install a grade crossing between the Liverpool Street and King's Cross lines. David

One of my Christmas presents this year was a Sunfounder 10' touch screen designed to fit a Raspberry Pi. How my wife knew I wanted one of these is a mystery, must have been something to do with the hints I dropped. Today I managed to get JMRI installed on it and make up a simple panel to show the fiddleyard of my Stour Valley layout. I intend to also try using it on Fen End Pit. The touch screen works rather well as just touching the point changes it, also if the point get changed by other means (such as using the DCC controller) the change is reflected on the display. The back of the screen has positions to bolt a Pi together with the electronics for the screen and touch inputs. It doesn't come with any cover so I laser cut a piece of acrylic to protect the back. On Boxing Day an enjoyable running session highlighted a couple of minor repairs which were required to track work. So this morning the soldering iron came out to fix a couple of misaligned rail joints. This was a good excuse to drive a few more trains around and take the opportunity to clean a few wheels. It is amazing how much better wagons run when the wheels aren't covered in muck! The J17 turned up on the regular pickup goods easing over the river bridge on its way past the goods yard. Will 2023 be the year I final get around to the buildings in the far corner? Costing past the station building into the platform... ...before coming to a stand next to the signalbox to hand the token to the bobby. My wife also managed to buy me a copy of the instruction manual for a Ruston 22RB which will be useful as she also booked an experience day at Rocks by Rail when I will be allowed to try driving one 'under close instruction' which I am much looking forward to! Season's greetings to you all. David

What about Calshot? https://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/handdaf/cal/calex.jpg David

Last Christmas I was given an RT Models sentinel kit and I have to say it was thoroughly enjoyable to put together. Also, given that the kit comes complete with a gearbox and motor, I thought it represented excellent value for money. Readers of this blog will know that there aren't many kits that I build which don't involve remaking at least some parts, either having to get bits etched where the original design is wrong or 3D printing components where features haven't been supplied. With this little Sentinel this was not the case, the kit and the instructions were very good and I had a very enjoyable month or so putting it together. I opted for a green livery, I wasn't confident enough to tackle wasp stripes or similar and I am pleased with the way it came out. The photographs show a gap between the roof and cab which closes up when I tighten a bolt which holds them together! Obviously I have no real prototypical purpose for a Sentinel on my model of Clare but I will probably have a works shunter at my mill siding even though it is too smaller system to justify it in any way - Rule 1 will be applied. I fitted a Zimo chip and a stay-alive capacitor and it runs rather nicely. I still need to add coal and a crew and apply some weathering but it made a nice change from having to dive into CAD to remodel/redraw things. Having a kit which could be built with all the bits in the box is rare and this was a real pleasure to put together. Now what hints do I drop to my family for this year? David

After over a year away it is time to return to the blog. A lot has happened during the last couple of years which has got in the way but I'm to be back in a position where I can share what I've been building. Progress on my scalefour model of Clare has continued slowly. The most noticeable progress being on the area around the level crossing. Thanks to some help from members of this forum I was able to get some plans of the '1865 standard' crossing keeper's cottage. Like all standards they varied a fair bit between the locations and so my model is a representation rather than a slavish attempt to model the cottage at Ashen Road. (In fact my crossing keepers' cottage is on the wrong side of the road). The gates are now controlled via a small ground frame, an arduino and a pair of stepper motors. I still need to paint the tie-rods and add some rather strange 'targets' which were above the gates and acted as a stop signal for the rail traffic. The picket fencing is a 3d print. Other activities have included continuing with the J17 I was working on. There isn't much of the original PDK kit left apart from the locomotive frames and the footplate. The cab has been redrawn and etched by PPD, the firebox/boiler/smokebox/chimney/dome/splashers/sandboxes/lubricator and tender are all 3D prints. I'm very happy with how it has come out, it still needs some glazing in the cab, some coal in the tender and a load of weathering. This was a steam brake only locomotive and as a freight only engine they were not in the best cosmetic condition by the late 1950's. One of the more unusual features of this build is that I have represented the internal valve gear with a couple of 3D prints. Modelling up something to represent the valve gear was a fun exercise, obviously this is all cosmetic and almost entirely hidden behind the sandboxes. It is one of those things where you can't see them but you can see the absence of them. I've printed this in two parts which go either side of a frame spacer. The cylinders were slightly inclined upwards towards the front with the valves underneath them. The cams and valve rods are designed to slot over the axles so that the wheels can still be removed if required. Some railway companies painted their inside motion bright red, I opted for oily black with a little bit of red visible where the dirty might have been rubbed off when oiling round. I've been drawing up the brass components as I've built this and I am considering building a second J17 as the vacuum fitted version. I'm also wondering about a short run kit if there would be interest. I'll write up some of the other projects from the last year if anyone reads any of this. David

Does the 104 have the motor under the floor? It would be nice to get a decent DMU which doesn't have a guard's compartment full of gearbox. David

I have noticed that the quality of prints does go down if the resin has been left in the tank for a long time and had many prints made from it. If the resin has been used too many times and has sat in the printer for a few weeks I notice that the prints don't seem to clean off so well in the IPA and the UV curing seems to take much longer and isn't as even with some bits of the print staying sticky and glossy for much longer. To be honest it isn't the degradation which I notice so much as the vast improvement when I finally give up, drain the last few mm of resin out of the vat, wipe the FEP clean with kitchen towel and IPA and then get the first print with fresh resin out of the bottle. I'm using a Phrozen sonic mini 4k with Phozen's Aqua 4K grey resin. David

I purchased a copy of this book based on your recommendation. I must thoroughly agree, an excellent book and very good value. Arrived in 3 days from Scarborough. David

That looks very nice, I like the telegraph wire support - got to add that to mine when the wires go up! Thanks for sharing. David

Resin 3D printing is about a battle between the resin sticking to the already printed model and staying stuck to the transparent FEP plastic that forms the bottom of the resin tray. If the cured resin sticks better to the vat than it does to the model then your print fails. A large flat surface area like the bottom of a wagon is quite likely to just stay stuck to the bottom of the printer. By tilting by a few degrees the flat bottom is printed in smaller sections and much more likely to work. Similarly if you print what is in effect a sealed box then you air pressure can prevent the box from pulling away from the FEP. I added a small hole in the base of the box so that air could get into the sealed box and allow the printer to lift the wagon body off the FEP. I'm not sure if it was strictly necessary but it didn't hurt. David

The excellent article about lasercut wagon construction in O gauge in the latest MRJ mentioned using different thicknesses of Rowmark. I've struggled to find a UK supplier with different thicknesses, only managing to find acrylic and perspex. Does anyone know a UK source of laser cutter suitable plastic in thickness less than 3mm? thanks David

Interesting photograph of Ipswich docks, this shows what you can do with a van which has accidentally had its roof squashed! David

Thanks everybody for the information and plans. The building is now pretty much complete, I just need some flashing around the chimneys and probably some curtains at the windows. I also need to make the electric bell to go on the wall. I think it looks the part. David

No, remember we voted not to be a member of their club and so we have chosen to abide by the rules applied to non-members. Just wait until the 'country of original' rules come into effect, then pretty much all 'UK manufactured' models will become subject to even more complex rules. David