Make do and Mend - Keeping going

[Dave]

Thank you.
I can't make out the bond clearly from the photo's but it looks like stretcher, bit late for NER cabins, if it, is it was used mainly in cavity walls and single skin construction with piers. Cavity walls are a late invention.

[JASd17]

On one of the photos I can see an occasional header in the bond.

Could it be a type of Flemish Garden Wall bond?

John

[drmditch]

Just after I had 'cut and stuck' the brickpaper I saw a reference to the NER using the delightfully named 'English Garden Bond' for signal cabins.
(Three courses of stretchers to one of headers - if I've Googled it properly.)

I can't find that reference again this morning!
A close examination of the photographs of Springfield, Castleton, Battersby and other CD cabins doesn't appear to show this. I sometimes think I can see a row of headers, but then can't find another row of headers four or five courses above or below.

I was concentrating so much on producing the brick panels with their indentation that I overlooked the brick coursework itself!

So much for the accuracy of my research! Given the nature of my construction, it would be impossible (probably) to replace the brick paper at this stage - but I will think about it!

Let this be a warning to others!

[JASd17]

I was just about to edit my post with a comment suggesting that several NER boxes had English Garden Wall bond.

John

[drmditch]

Below are some 'warts and all' pictures of the roof construction.
You will see that this is all re-cycled card.

I post these so that:
1. They may be helpful to anyone else building such a complex roof
2. Advertise the benefits of 'Low-cost material construction'
3. If anybody sees another failure of research, please can they tell me know before I invest more effort in the tiling!

[drmditch]

I was just about to edit my post with a comment suggesting that several NER boxes had English Garden Wall bond.

John

Can you say which Cabins (I know they sometimes called them 'boxes' by 1923, but 'Cabins' is so much more stylish!) you have found, and preferably which sources you have found pictures in?

(Or a surviving original of course.)

The same source that I now can't find did say that since Cabins were built by different contractors the brickwork might vary, depending I suppose on the level of detail in the specification of the details - and site inspection!

[JASd17]

Oxmardyke and Dairycoates West had English Garden Wall. Quite different types of 'cabin'.

Both Seamer structures have it too. See my photo below. All North Eastern Southern Division.

I have a photo of Bridlington South which may be Flemish Garden Wall bond. It is not English or English Garden Wall bond.

I have a photo of Falsgrave at Scarborough which has a Flemish bond base.

John

[drmditch]

Gone through 'A history of North Eastern Signalling' again:-

Hillam Gates (SD) shows the English Garden Wall Bond very clearly (Page 188)
Both old and new Seamer East - as you have shown in colour (Page 189)
Kirkby Thore (CD) Type C2a is also quite clear (Page 192)
Norton East (CD) appears to show some courses of headers (Page 210)

Page 211 states that N1 cabins were built 'three courses of stretchers to one of headers'.
Coanwood (ND) on the Alston Branch (Type N3) clearly shows this pattern. (Page 215) as does:
North Seaton (ND - N4) - Page 219.

On most of the above pictures that pattern stands out clearly. Perhaps the brickwork was clean and/or the light was good!

I would struggle to identify it on the four CD cabins (Piercebridge, Wearhead, Springfield and Priestcroft Junction shown on Page 209.
There is also a good picture of the Springfield cabin on Page 219 of NERA Express Vol.58 November 219.
Although perhaps......

This is really a nuisance. When my railway is in a fit state for visitors I shall just have to give them a list of Errors and Omissions.

The brickpaper I have used is Flemish Bond.

Now back to tiling.
At least the slate roof appears fairly straightforward.
(If anyone knows differently please say now.......)

[drmditch]

Progress.
The roof louvres, which are a particular feature of this coal-fired, oil-lamp lighted design needed some thought.
They were built up of pieces of card - thus:

The roof tiling is black brass-rubbing paper (I don't know if one can still buy that!)
The flashing is heavy-duty printing paper.


The chimney is also card and brick paper:

[drmditch]

The footboards giving access for window cleaning were also quite tricky.

The brackets, which seem to have been almost an NER (all division) standard, were filed up from brass blanks soldered together then drilled and filed

The brackets, top-flanges and the footboards themselves were soldered up using two temperatures of solder and a jig.
(I find temporary jigs essential for any kind of structural soldering.)

The Central Division (for sources see above) appeared to favour plain boards, with no back-rail and just a grab rail mounted to the window sashes.
At some time post WW2, some, but not all, of these were modified with outside railings.

The Northern and Southern Divisions appeared to make more use of the latter. Perhaps their signalmen didn't have sticky feet!

The grab rails are just blackened brass wire. Cutting and fitting was also quite tricky. (See next post).

[drmditch]

PIctures in the sunlight this morning.
They have shown up some faults which need correction.

The access steps are also complex (a is just about everything with this cabin.) They are awaiting delivery of plastic steps from Eileen's Emporium. The handrails will need to be another tricky little brass structure.

I also tried to take some pictures showing the interior, on which I spent far too much time!

Guttering and downpipes await final fastening of the roof, and I will try to take some better photographs of the interior before I do.

(The Tablet instrument is a Tyers No.6. I had a good view of the one in Goathland Cabin, when the train last Saturday stopped in exactly the right place!)

[nzpaul]

That's a beautiful model, I was looking for superlatives but that's the most appropriate way to describe it I think.

Paul

[drmditch]

Sorry no posts for a while. Important work being done on wiring (still!) and getting the top level of the railway into place. Some reports of that will be coming soon.

I've also got on with another necessary but annoying task and upgraded my usual work platform to Windows 10. One problem is that where Windows 7 had a good basic photo editor, the facility in W10 isn't as good. It just seems to try to make one use as much space as possible! I've also been having problems with my mobile phone which had to be replaced.

For this post, I took the pictures back to the W7 box and edited them there. I try to not exceed 150kb for each picture. (I'm sure Richard asked for that at some point.)

A partial unpacking has taken place, so that I have some trains to run. My fitted freight is currently on the 'up' (as in southbound) line on the lower level, albeit hauled by nothing more than a re-numbered and slightly weathered Bachmann K3. Many of the vehicles were built about 30 years ago, and my modelling ideas, many of them inspired by the splendid contributors to this forum, have changed and I hope improved in the meantime.

So, here is a new build Parkside Dia 116 Van, with my version of it's underframe details.:

This seems to look adequate from the side, which is what I think matters.

You will see that:-
I have replaced the vacuum cylinder with a wider one than that provided in the kit. That seems to be to be too narrow compared with the drawings provided by the inestimable Mr Tatlow.
The solebars are set out by about 1mm plastic strip. This seems to overcome the tendency of the solebars to rotate inwards as the solvent dries, and prevent the wheelsets revolving freely.
I keep the plastic V hangers, and brake block assemblies, although they are drilled before assembly to take .5 (or less) brass wire to represent brake rigging. (I do have some brass etchings to use for when I build an 'important' vehicle, but my stock doesn't get handled that much once it is on the railway and the plastic seems adequate)
Once the additional rigging is added to the cross-shaft, I increase it's thickness (I think the originals were about 2.5 to 3" dia) using insulation from scrap electrical layout wire.
I'm quite fussy about the safety loops, because they are visible. The wheels do get 'locked in', but the loops can always be converted to hooks with snips - if required!. The loop between the V Hangers is made of wire (copper or brass depending on what scrap lengths are on my bench) flattened with one of my Grandfather's small hammers. I really dislike the moulded plastic versions of these which come with some kits (and RTR models).

But - here is what poor ignorant me did with underframe detail 30 years ago.

After a little careful work, it can almost be brought up to 'standard' as:-

Couplings are a necessary compromise for the nature of my railway and it's low level storage sidings. The new Parkside/Bachmann mounting blocks are much neater, but removing the older style was, I thought, too much of a nuisance for relatively small effect.

[drmditch]

The problem with these upgrades is where does one stop?

Out of the box came an attempt at a Dia 102, converted from an old GF moulding acquired from a trader's miscellaneous box at a show.
It has already been shortened and new underframe provided. But comparison with drawings and measurements revealed that it was too tall.
So, after razor sawing down, and a new roof being provided, it now looks like this:-

It's not perfect, but it helps to make up the train.
(It's not actually bowing - some strange camera effect from the new mobile)


Now - work on a Brake Van - improvements to door safety bars obviously. Then it will be time to upgrade the haulage and I have one of Mr Trice's V2s to work on.

[drmditch]

Happy New Year everybody.
(or as happy as you can be, and I hope that you are finding as much occupation and consolation in your railway as I am finding in mine.)

Today, with all the hi-tech new models being promised, this post covers my latest project which is as low-tech as it is possible to be.

I needed to provide a girder bridge to link to my cross-room viaduct. The practical reason for the girders was to provide protection in case of a de-railment, since at this part of the layout there would be a direct route to the floor!
I was going to re-use girders re-cycled from the old railway, but decided I would like to try and do better.

There are published photographs of flyover bridges at Relly Mill, and at Tursdale Junction, but the actual girders in these bridges are similar to those still existing at the Langley Moor Boyne Road bridge.

There are also drawings of a similar construction in 'Bridges for Modellers' by L.V. Wood.

Mine is constructed from basic webs of mounting board, with flanges, gussets, doubling plates, and all other elements from thin card (which comes inside some hosiery packaging). All assembly is with Rocket Card Glue. There is a support structure (as in the Tursdale flyover ) of cast-iron columns made from tapered wooden dowel, with wrought-iron bracing fabricated from brass.

There were over 320 separate pieces of card that had to be cut out and glued in the bridge girders!

The stonework is all temporary, re-cycled from the old railway, but it does give an idea of what it will look like when complete.

I am not yet happy with paint and weathering finish, and may re-work this. There are also some clunky screw heads showing, because the girders will need to be removed to fit the representation of the cross-beam structure.

So, card and wood and some brass. I did say it was low-tech!