Platform Paving

It was waaay back at the end of July when I last posted about progress with Hexworthy, when I had cut the platforms from 3mm foam-core board, and was experimenting with the idea of paving using individually cut "slabs" of 40-thou plasticard.

So with Loctern Quay finished, time to get back to making paving slabs. I lightly sanded the slabs for a  less smooth surface, and cut it strips, marking them by scoring with the calipers to ensure they are consistent and parallel. I then used my cheap "chopper" to trim them to length, the red quadrant on the right is being used to clamp a piece of plastic to act as a stop so all the pieces are cut the same length.

The large slabs are 3' x 2' (12mm x 8mm), and smaller ones 2' x 18" (8mm x 6mm). I used the large ones to line the edges of the platform, including the bay, while the smaller ones fill in the surface around the station building. They are stuck down to the foam-core surface (which is a thin layer of card) with Bostik impact adhesive. The rest of the platform will be gravel (sand) for variety, and to save time!

I decided to run the paving parallel to the station, which saved fiddly half-slabs. I was left with about a 2mm gap to fill with part slabs, so I cheated and trimmed it back to the whole slab! I made a step for the door to the goods shed/cafe too.

In the close up you can seen I've done a little more sanding to the surface after laying the slabs to give texture, yet there is still a slight unevenness and irregularity that looks quite effective. I'm quite pleased with the result and it didn't take as long as I thought it might. It just needs painting now.

You can also see the stonework face of the platform, which is simply embossed into the edge of the foam-core board. From this angle it looks like the platform is lifting slightly, though some heavy books on it when I come to glue it in place should sort that.

British Steam Locomotive Builders

British Steam Locomotive Builders by James W. Lowe, and published by Pen & Sword, is a pretty hefty book. It's about the size of an old family bible, and pretty heavy too, but with 700 pages of fine print it is full of information. It provides an index of British steam locomotive builders from the earliest days of experimental machines, through the Victorian era and into the Grouping, up to the days of British Rail.

Although a new release from Pen & Sword it is actually an old book, originally printed in 1975 as steam locomotive building came to an end - except of course in preservation or tourism, which is excluded. As well as the railway companies themselves, locos were built by many independent companies which are listed - from those that built just one loco and most will never have heard of, to those more familiar names such as Hunslet, North British, and Beyer Peackock, that built many thousands for domestic and oversees use. That of course includes narrow gauge locomotives as well as standard, and even broad gauge, and locos for industrial and minor lines as well as main lines and public railways.

As such the level of detail for each company varies from a few paragraphs, some have tables listing all locos built, for others this would be impossible and their output could fill a book on their own, but main types and developments are listed or described. Railway company works are listed by site. As well as tables, the book is peppered with photos showing a few locomotives built, though of course these are just a tiny sample. The text does document some of the key developments in technology by some of the loco builders, and how they evolved through mergers and acquisition to form new companies. I cannot say how complete it is, no doubt some small loco builders could have been missed, but I would guess it is as complete as any such volume could be.

As a reprint of a 45 year old book and because of it's size, printed on ordinary book paper (i.e. not glossy), the photos are not of high quality. I guess the printers did not go back to the originals. However, this does not detract from the usefulness of the book, which is intended as a reference and interesting study of the loco builders. There is an index which looks potentially useful.

My interest in narrow gauge means I was familiar with a number of loco builders, so I found this very interesting - but was still surprised at the number and variety of loco builders in the "golden age" of steam locomotives. Perhaps it's not light reading and yes it is more of a reference, but if you have an interest in steam locomotives this is well worth having, browsing, and keeping for a spot of research.

Resurrection

Easter is about Resurrection and new life, so here is a story of bringing new life to old locos. A few weeks back a friend having a clear-out gave me a box containing a couple of non-working Minitrains Baldwins, and a pile of bits, suggesting I might be able to make a working model from the parts. In the box were two spare chassis (one broken), three spare motors (only one with a gear), a cut-about body, and other parts.

An initial test confirmed neither loco moved, though both buzzed. On dismantling the first loco I found the motor didn't turn freely, I'm not sure why, but I fitted one of the spares that seemed to work. The wheels and contacts were cleaned, gears cleaned and lightly lubricated along with the axles, and then it was reassembled. It ran, but very slowly. Replacing the motor bushes didn't help, so I chose another motor. Now it ran well - a little noisily, but reasonably slowly and well controlled, not bad for an ancient mechanism. That said the 5-pole motor and decent gearing should provide good slow running. Even the headlight worked.

With one loco working I turned to the second. On dismantling it I found the chassis cracked through at the front axle, I think the plastic footplate was holding it together. I used one of the spare chassis to rebuild it, but crank-pins fell out and the wheels appeared to be out of quarter too. Quartering wheels isn't my strong point, and I've struggled with coupling rods and geared drive being out of sync before, but after some fiddling about I got it assembled so it seemed to turn freely enough. With the motor back in it ran, it's a bit more rough than the first loco and seems to stick occasionally - I'm not sure whether it is a pick-up issue or some binding, perhaps the quartering isn't quite right, but it may be OK on a continuous run.

And to show how they work:

Apologies for the dodgy camera-work, I'm no good at holding the camera, driving the train, and switching the points all at the same time! The better running loco goes second by the way.

So a pair of Minitrains Baldwins brought back from the dead. They don't really look at home on Loctern Quay, they are more likely to join my Son's growing fleet serving Slugworth, he's keen to repaint one.

Interesting times

I suspect the last few weeks have been a bit of a shock for most of us, surely no-one is unaffected by the impact of the dreaded virus on daily life, though I hope you are all keeping well and staying safe. Of course model railway exhibitions have been cancelled for the next few months, including Narrow Gauge South which was to be the next outing for Loctern Quay (and Slugworth too), and model shops are closed. However, many shops are still able to do mail order, so we can carry on making models in isolation - I managed to recently get a parcel of modelling materials delivered from Squires.

While many have extra time on their hands at this time, I have still been working full-time - albeit from home - and monitoring the kids, who are also at home. Realising the dining table wouldn't work for business calls with kids in the house, I cleared the dressing table in the bedroom of junk and made a new top from the side of an old chipboard wardrobe - I knew keeping that would come in useful one day! I "borrowed" a chair from my daughter's bedroom, and set up my work office.

I'm certainly not complaining, at least I am able to work and I know many are facing financial uncertainty or hardship.

As well as spending time on Skype, Skype Business, Teams, and Zoom (how many have learned about these tools in the last few weeks?) much of the free time I have had over the last three weeks has been spent learning about live streaming - but no, I'm not going to be a YouTuber. Like all churches ours has had to shut its doors, but to keep services going we've started live-streaming the Sunday morning service. That meant hooking up the existing cameras, audio, and presentation systems to a computer, and streaming to YouTube, it's been a steep learning curve but we've managed, and three weeks in we're figuring it out.

Worthing Tabernacle Church on YouTube.

EDIT - After a concerned comment, I should point out that the photo above was taken on Sunday 22nd March - BEFORE the current regulations on social distance were introduced. Since then we have been careful to ensure anyone in the building is at least 2m apart, indeed the AV desk is manned by a single household (me, my wife and son, or another couple) to eliminate the possibility of virus transmission. 

So in the chaos and disruption I've not got much model making done, although I am helping my son with a model project, and I have been taking time out to "play" with Loctern Quay - a good way to relax, and maybe I'll share more on that shortly. However, I do hope to get back to some models over the next few weeks, as let's face it, I don't expect to be going out much!

Do take care and stay safe. Keep Calm and Make Models.