Time to build a railway...but where?

[philipy]

Peter, Just curious, is your drainage system working as you had hoped? I believe you've had a fair bit of rain to test it recently.

It did occur to me when you first showed them that the drain grid slots might be too fine for surface tension to allow easyflow through. I hope I'm wrong and I'd love to see them in action with a nice swirl of water going down the plughole!

[Peter Butler]

Hi Philip, I'm afraid I can't show a 'swirl of water', firstly because I have no intention of standing out in rain sufficient to see it happen! However, I can say it definitely works, and very well too, as the areas where the drains are show no surface water at all, whereas, in a couple of dips elsewhere in the road surface, water pools form as I have not been clever enough to manage a fall across the entire space. As long as there is an escape route for the majority of the wet stuff I am quite content with the remainder as it recreates 12"/ft. scale where surface water does occasionally gather in puddles.

[philipy]

Thanks Peter, glad it does work. I do over think/over complicate things sometimes

[Andrew]

It's all looking great to me - I love how the various elements - buildings, walls, roads , pavements - combine together so realistically and it will look even better when the planting softens it all...

Andrew

[Peter Butler]

As mentioned elsewhere (Help and advice) I have now received some kit parts from The Lineside Hut and they look to be very well produced. My original intention was to order just the CRV kit but as I have no experience in wooden kit construction I also ordered some home builder parts to practise on. They make a range of coach sides and ends and I purchased the four compartment option with the intention of cutting the sides in half thus making two, two compartment coaches. In the event I have decided to stick with plan 'A' and build one bogie coach.
The parts as supplied.....

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After some surgery.....

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Resulting in.....

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I have spray painted in primer and three top coats of gloss to hide the wood-grain effect and will post the results of that next time.

[FWLR]

Hi Philip, I'm afraid I can't show a 'swirl of water', firstly because I have no intention of standing out in rain sufficient to see it happen! However, I can say it definitely works, and very well too, as the areas where the drains are show no surface water at all, whereas, in a couple of dips elsewhere in the road surface, water pools form as I have not been clever enough to manage a fall across the entire space. As long as there is an escape route for the majority of the wet stuff I am quite content with the remainder as it recreates 12"/ft. scale where surface water does occasionally gather in puddles.

Hello Peter, Anne is letting me answer you post for two reasons.

First I would like to thank you for all you have done with your’e correspondence with Anne, she has been under a lot of strain herself, but with your'e emails to her she has been a tower for me during my stay in hospital.

Second, If the water is collecting in parts on your road, isn’t that the same when the contractors do resurfacing. It happens all the time on newly resurfaced roads we have been on. So I think you have done a brilliant job as usual, and I can’t wait to see it along with you and Diane.


Thanks again Peter, I will be in touch this week either by email or phone.

[Peter Butler]

Further progress on the coach build today, the weather being warm and dry gave an opportunity to get outside to spray paint the various parts separately so I don't need to mask parts against overspraying. This does mean I have had to separate sections which will need gluing back together again and I have asked elsewhere about suitable adhesive. Where primer is used and unpainted surfaces are in contact I have used PVA and it works very well! For gloss surfaces, such as inset panels, I have used this.....

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It is a fast setting rubberised adhesive which is (as it says on the 'tin') designed for applications where vibration might be an issue, also it bonds most materials, fills gaps and dries perfectly clear..... who could ask for more? I have used it elsewhere before and can confirm it does all of those things! Whether it is strong enough to attach corner joints is another matter.
Up to the present time I have painted the ends and sides on my carriage kit and have managed to loose the grain effect quite well. The inset panels are bonded in place and separate strips are prepared for installation.....

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A 'dry' run.....

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[Big Jim]

I look forward to seeing how this turns out.

[pandsrowe]

There really is no substitute for the separate painting of overlays in different colours to give a perfectly crisp finish. This project is looking very good and I'm eager to see the finished article.

[FWLR]

That is really pretty fantastic Peter.

Another one to do myself now…

[Peter Butler]

While all of the buildings are temporarily off-site I took a couple of pictures of the whole village area just to show the different surface finishes and give an idea of how things fit together.....

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More plants will certainly help.
Edit.... forgot to say, the green painted square represents the floor of the garage/tyre dealership.

[philipy]

Thanks Peter. Certaily does help to see the overall arrangement, a sort of local area map! Also shows how crisp and neat your modelling is, as though we needed reminding!

[Peter Butler]

Ho, Ho, Ho.... it's Christmas shopping time again..... deep joy! Not at all my favourite time of year except for the fact that items appear on the shelf which are not available at any other time. For the past few years I have found ornamental street lamps which have 3v, battery powered, LED's. A new style has appeared this year.... four in one pack including switched battery box, and I have bought two packs for my village. At just £5.99 I think a real bargain!.......

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This shows the four without the wires and battery box which I don't use.
The next picture shows my modification to add strength to the plastic which would easily be damaged by my dogs. I remove the base plate and top section, drill out the stem to accept a brass rod and superglue it back together again. It also has a stem at the base to slot into the concrete foundations of my streets.....

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[tom_tom_go]

They look good Peter, where did you buy them from please?

[Peter Butler]

From our local 'Charlies', they also have an on-line shop I believe.

[Peter Butler]

Continuing with my carriage build, the sides and ends have had a gold edge trim added to all of the panels. This was done after final painting of the overlays by use of a gold liner pen run along the edges from the back of each section so no colour accidentally got onto the fronts.....

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This has worked really well and the overlays are now bonded to the inner sections using Canopy Bond which is a great success.
As I write this, the body shell is in front of me, under weights to hold the shape while it sets. The window glazing is already fitted, along with the floor, which wasn't supplied. Next will be seating...... wooden slats for 3rd. and upholstered for 1st.

[FWLR]

Looks great Peter, it will certainly be another Peter Butler example on how to do it correctly.

Love those lamps too Peter, has Tom as said where did you buy them from, you said “Charlies” do you have a website link please.

And thanks for the overall view of your Village too Peter. Can I copy the photo to show Anne, so I can show her what I am thinking of for our line, although it will be now where near as brilliant has your’s mate.

[Peter Butler]

Thanks Rod, Charlies stores are Welsh based (I believe) so you might not have a local branch (yet!) but they are on line at.... www.charliesdirect.co.uk

[ge_rik]

That gold trim looks excellent, Peter. Thanks for another brilliant idea.

Rik

[Andrew]

Thanks Rod, Charlies stores are Welsh based (I believe) so you might not have a local branch (yet!) but they are on line at.... www.charliesdirect.co.uk

Wow! I spent 5 years living in Aberystwyth in the 90s and had no idea that "Cheap Charlie's" (as it was universally known) was part of a chain... I'll learn next that the shop (ironically) nick-named "Honest John's" on the Prom was a multinational...

The carriage is looking great, good idea re the gold pen and edging technique...

Cheers,

Andrew.