Garden Railway Forum

I agree with Peter here, kit built stuff looks too perfect (laser cut wood planks for example).

Thanks for the kind comments.

It is indeed surprisingly strong given that so much of it is window, and I'm glad it gives the impression of being square! It is in most respects, but there are places where my windows are wonky in one direction and the walls are wonky in another, hence the liberal use of filler! Some of the wonkier bits may become more apparent when I add the weatherboarding, the parallel lines of which may have the effect of holding a ruler up to the thing and so reveal its shortcomings in the accuracy department, but I'm optimistic that I can fudge it one way or another!

Cheers,

Andrew.

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 10:42 am 'Bambi' looks impressed too!

I wondered whether anyone would notice that! There are actually some quite impressive antlers out-of-shot... He's made of fibreglass or similar, and was left on a garden wall on a nearby street - there's a tradition round here that neighbours donate unwanted items to each other in this way, and we were lucky enough to come across this. We think it was possibly once attached to a full body, perhaps as part of a shopping centre Christmas display, but it stays up all year round now, which seems to really irritate my Mother when she comes to visit...

So what you are saying Andrew is it will represent a real building!

Looking really good, Andrew. Glazing bars are a bit of a nightmare for me. I like the idea of using double sided tape.

Rik

Looking really impressive Andrew.

I think a bit of wonky adds to the character mate...Most of my builds are all wonky...

Morning all,

I couldn't resist making a start on the cladding yesterday evening, starting with the stone base and moving on to the weatherboarding:




At the other end I've still not made the door - I'll need to do that before I can complete the cladding.

Inspired by Tom's suggestion that a cat would look good on the steps I had a trawl through my collection of charity shop finds to look for one, without success. I did find five dogs and a duck though:


Not quite the look I'm going for, so I've ordered some resin dolls house cats. They're 1/12 scale but look like they should be OK...

Cheers,

Andrew.

A well fed sleeping cat in 1/12 scale

Hi Andrew,

It's looking very nice. I'm looking forward to seeing it finished.

I've known several Signalmen who took dogs to work with them, although never more than two at once. On the other hand I've known boxes that had cats, but rarely in single numbers!

Keep up the good work,

Andrew

Ah yes, I forgot we had a real signalman on the Forum! Unfortunately, it's the mid twenties in my back garden, so on the WHR the signals have been chopped down and the box is disused... I think I'll model the levers, a stove and some furniture under dust sheets, but assume that the other kit has been removed... An abandoned box makes a cat more likely than a dog, I reckon...

Hi Andrew,

Well, with my Pway hat on I have no doubt that the platelayers would quickly commandeer such salubrious unused accommodation as a cabin for their meal breaks. (there's more than one precedent for this too!) Such a use would make a cat a welcome addition to keep the vermin at bay. No one want's to come in from a wet morning's lifting and packing to find 'Mickey & Minnie' or 'Roland' has beaten you to your cheese and onion butties!!!

I hope the build continues as successfully as it has been up to now.

Andrew

Soar Valley Light wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2020 5:05 pm Well, with my Pway hat on I have no doubt that the platelayers would quickly commandeer such salubrious unused accommodation as a cabin for their meal breaks. (there's more than one precedent for this too!) Such a use would make a cat a welcome addition to keep the vermin at bay. No one want's to come in from a wet morning's lifting and packing to find 'Mickey & Minnie' or 'Roland' has beaten you to your cheese and onion butties!!!

Actually, I do have an alternative - and historically accurate - use for the box in mind, but we're due a visit from the inspector soon, and I'm not sure he'd approve, so I'm keeping it to myself for now...

The (WH)WHR PW gang are relatively well provided for, with a sleeper built hut on the upper stretch of the line and a grounded Ffestiniog Ashbury carriage body at Penlan, if it's still there that is - it disappeared into the undergrowth a year or so ago and I've not seen it since! I'm currently working on a prototypical mode of transport for them too, although they may not be terribly impressed with that...

I made a little more progress on the box yesterday, adding the door and finishing the cladding. There's a little tidying up to do, then it's onwards and upwards, to the roof...

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:26 am but we're due a visit from the inspector soon, and I'm not sure he'd approve, so I'm keeping it to myself for now...

Just for general info, the Inspector arrived with me to 'do' The Elderbury & District a couple of weeks ago but with Ciara and Dennis around, not to mention the general state of the line and garden, I'm afraid he has been unable to get out and about and do his report ( I'm told that the bar takings at the Railway Hotel have mysteriously increased though!).
Sadly we are off on holiday to warmer climes this afternoon so it is likely to be towards the end of March before his report is issued but I will get it done asap. and forward him to his next destination.

Excellent news re the inspector! Even I'm horrified by the state of my line at the moment, and I've got pretty low standards... I think he's of elsewhere between your garden and mine too, so I should have time to create some semblance of order! Enjoy your hols!

Andrew.

Andrew wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 9:57 am I couldn't resist making a start on the cladding yesterday evening, starting with the stone base and moving on to the weatherboarding:

That's looking superb.

A duck on the step would be a fine feature, I think! (At least until the cat arrives.)

Hello again,

I'm on a bit of a roll with the 'box now, aided by a couple of days of annual leave.

Here's the current state of play - externally it's essentially complete apart from a few details and some filling and sanding:


As you can see, this part of the railway is still something of a mess. The half-complete tunnel mouth needs attention and a coat of paint, and there's a load of landscaping to do. It should be quite an attractive corner when finished though, even if it is crying out for a heap of rusty junk - it's just the sort of place where that accumulates...

And, as you can also see, the cats have arrived. They'd be tiny in the 1/12th scale they're apparently intended for, kittens I guess, but look about right for 16mm. They're lovely, but a little twee, so will probably receive a coat of paint, the important question being what livery to opt for. That is what you call a cat's colour scheme, right?!




The 'box itself also needs painting, of course, but that will need warmer weather - I'm guessing the acrylic spray paint I intend to use is very susceptible to temperature fluctuations and wouldn't enjoy the cold much. In the meantime, I shall work on the interior, and have been delighted to find that some of the bits and bobs I've been hoarding for years should fit the bill. So far I've dug out a stove from a Bachmann carriage kit, some cheap wooden dolls house furniture (which will largely be hidden under dust sheets), some potted plants (which will go on the disused block instrument shelf), and a watering can for their care:


The most obvious thing that's missing is the level frame. I could make that with good old coffee-stirrers, but with the interior so visible I think I want a little more detail so might end up scratchbuilding...

Soar Valley Andrew, am I right in thinking that the order of levers generally represents the layout outside the box? I don't think the NWNGR used distant signals, so I think my frame layout would go down home, up starter, point & FPL x4 (for a passing loop with two sidings off it), down starter, up home, plus perhaps a few spare levers? Although it's a terminus in reality, in my mind the line extends on to connect with the rest of the WHR, hence there being two starters and home signals.

Cheers all,

Andrew.


Cheers all,

Andrew.

The building is looking fantastic outside.

My short-haired cat is black and white, can he have a mention?

The cats look the part and the box is superb, you should be delighted with that.
I use acrylic spray paint, Halfords etc. and it stands up to all weather conditions, so you should be OK with it.

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Sat Feb 22, 2020 2:30 pm My short-haired cat is black and white, can he have a mention?

I'm hoping to hand cat-painting duties over to my wife when the time comes - send me a photo (or one of each side?!) and I'll see what I can do!

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Sat Feb 22, 2020 3:27 pm I use acrylic spray paint, Halfords etc. and it stands up to all weather conditions, so you should be OK with it.

Thanks Peter. Yes, I think it should be OK too, although I didn't explain myself very well - it's spraying the stuff I'm worried about. I think the artist's paint I'm planning to use won't like being sprayed in the cold (even less so than Halfords etc)- it's very prone to running.

I played around with producing a decent-looking lever this afternoon, using an off-cut of 3mm foamboard, some plasticard strip, and a bit of biro inner held on with a pin. Old biros are my favourite modeling material - I'd already used the barrel to extend the stove's chimney! Anyway, here's what I came up with:


One down, thirteen to go! It's most unlike me, but I think methodical batch production will be the only way to stay sane!

Cheers,

Andrew.

Here you go Andrew: