A room with a view!

Lots of things going on at the Rocks By Rail Museum for an important but, at the moment, hush hush event!

The Sundew cab is looking superb and once inside it really is a room with a view! A credit to Pete, Pam and Rob who have done so much work on it as well as the surrounding area which is of course enhanced by my mowing skills!

The drag line is slowly being repainted by Martyn and looks posed to do some work at our next quarry event at the end of June.

Even the face shovel looks 'attractive' in the sun!

Looking up to the quarry area from the newly constructed viewing platform I think all is ready!

There are however other things going on as well such as the continuing work on 1931 and its retube. The last of the taking apart work involved removing the insulation over the boiler - and no, it is not asbestos otherwise Hazel would be kitted up with appropriate PPE!

Nor would Richard be so happy!

With the insulation removed, John, Richard and Hazel rub down any rusty areas and then the Boiler Inspector will need to examine the boiler to see if it is fit to be retubed which, hopefully, it will. Then its just a case of putting it back together which I am told is far easier said than done!

Meanwhile, taking vegetational destruction to a higher level than I ever have, John pilots Mr. D which is hauling the weed killing train.

John seems quite happy to be in the safety of the cab though!

Ceiling time!

Before I can actually get round to painting the Dapol station building I needed to make a ceiling for the interior. Not a particularly difficult job which is nice in the hot weather we have here in the UK at the moment! 

With a bit of fettling, the roof fits too!

Finally, I just noticed a very slight warp in the building so I left it overnight with brick on top to straighten it out! It should work as the brick is heavy enough!

It looks a bit more interesting!

On with the Dapol station building. Having got the four walls constructed I noted that the long walls had a bit of a bow inwards. I also noted that it all looked a bit empty inside and anyone looking through the windows would just see a large empty space.

 To deal with both matters I decided to add a floor and some room partitions.

As I am intending to leave the central doors open where passengers would walk through I also added a ticket hatch to one wall together with a dado rail and some scribed planking on the lower section.

The floor and first wall went in.

Then the rest of the walls and it looks a bit more interesting! Time to paint!

The station building.

I needed a small station building to go on top of the bridge section that I built a few days ago for my Last Great Project layout. I could scratch build one but there are several kits available in both card and plastic. I decided the oldest running one fitted the bill - The Dapol (ex Airfix) Station Building kit was my choice. 

It dates from the early 1960s when you could buy it for the equivalent of 7.5 pence compared to the near £10 today. Given its ancestry it is still a nice kit, not many parts but reasonably detailed.

Despite what the instructions said and with the advantage of having built several of these before, the four walls were glued together. That way I could test how it looked on the bridge section.

I think once all the bridge is finished that building will fit in well especially with the steps. So it is on with the build!

I concluded yesterdays post by highlighting I was not too happy about the very top of the steps that I have been building in 4mm scale. Looking at the picture below, the two uprights on the top of second flight of steps are too close together and it just looks odd to me.

I could have left it but I would always be drawn to that part of the model so I took the plunge and altered it! 

I think that looks better! I just need to fill a few joints with some acrylic putty and then its time for paint. However, before that there is another structure to build so that will mean yet more plastic to glue!

The steps to nowhere!

The second flight of steps has been added to what is becoming a long project! However, it is nearly there!

This is what it finally looks like complete with a 4mm test user who is going up the steps to nowhere - at present!

Overall it looks as I hoped apart from the very top. I may alter that. 

Adding a handrail!

With progress being made on making the steps to the platform for my 00 gauge layout, it has come to the point of adding handrails. Nothing too challenging - just take a bit of time and it should all work out! Well, that is the theory!

First off, add some support uprights from plastic strip to the first flight of steps.

Next add the handrail from the same plastic strip.

With that nearly finished and once the glue dries I can add the second flight of steps. However, even at this early point it is looking as I hoped! 

Were my calculations incorrect?

With the second flight of steps constructed as part of the bridge to platform access, it was time to see if it fitted its intended location or were my calculations incorrect?

Well my calculations were slightly out but at least in a good way!

I have ended up with the second flight of steps being a bit to long but I can trim that. If they had been too short I might have added several contributions to the WMD HQ swear jar!

Taking a slightly different view point I think the steps fit in well. Once fully completed and painted they should really look the part - hopefully!

Soimething is missing!

Something is missing I though to myself as I viewed the interior of the restoration shed at the Rocks by Rail Museum.

Yes, it certainly looked somewhat empty compared to normal but there was an explanation.

Most of the rolling stock had moved outside and this is the first time I have seen Ketton No.1 in natural light.

This was to allow for the water tank on steam loco 1931 to be lifted clear of the rest of the loco. The gantry crane that had appeared a couple of weeks ago was a key piece of equipment in this operation along with the CAT which provided stability.

This really is big engineering and you get some interesting views of the various parts that make up a steam loco.

The front of the water tank complete with the funnel.

The rear of the tank.

The front of the boiler with the boiler plate where the tubes pass through.

Some good progress which will go a long way to getting this loco back in steam.

Progress to, with Thomas the ride in childrens amusement. He works! Plugged into the electrical supply and fed a £1 coin he did his thing all to the accompaniment of the Thomas theme music - lovely! I dared Pam, as a petite lady, to get in the cab but she would not!

After last weeks mower capers I had to put some real work in to catch up and the recent rain did not help in that it had encouraged the grass to grow!

It all looks a lot more manicured now ready for Sunday with the Fathers Day Driver 4 a Fiver event.

Another step forward!

Time to build the supporting structure for the first part of the steps that I am building at the moment. The overall concept of how to do this is in my head but as with all such things the final result may require some modification along the way! 

First off , the WMD Stores had some handy 2mm square section plastic strip in stock so this was the basis of the tower. Thinking about making side rails for the steps, the lengths cut of the strip reflected that need. They were then taped to the cutting board using the faded grid pattern on it to get the right measurements.

Cross members were then cut and glued in place again using the grid to get the right spacings.

With two sides made it was time to add the other cross parts in order to make a 'box' structure.

Glued together, it was time to see whether my plan worked!

It does! The supporting structure supports! A few more cross members to add but I am pleased with that. Another step forward!