US Style Track in S - Jameston & Leven River RR

JimG

Western Thunderer
I meant to add in the previous message on another disaster in the week, which eagle-eyed readers may have noticed...

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X311.jpg

...half of my transfer bridge trusses has disappeared. :( This was down to me when rescuing the track from the ballast - I leaned over the layout to access something and there was a faint click and bits of timber all over the bridge deck. In a way it was asking for it since it was in quite a prominent position at the front of the layout. I debated about re-building it but opted not to since it might happen to some other unfortunate who ventured too close. I've also decided to rebuild the bridge with girders rather than wooden trusses which will provide a less fragile structure.

Jim.
 

Yorkshire Dave

Western Thunderer
Looks good Jim - it's nice to see all of to buildings in context.

Out of curiosity did the self guarding frogs elicit any comment from non US modellers or didn't they notice them :rolleyes:.
 

JimG

Western Thunderer
Out of curiosity did the self guarding frogs elicit any comment from non US modellers or didn't they notice them :rolleyes:.

Dave,

I remember discussing them with one or two visitors but I have to confess that my club mates provided a sterling service in operating the layout throughout the two days and I wasn't around the layout for a lot of the time. So I'm not sure how much of a topic of conversation they might have been What created more discussion was the scale - a lot of people didn't know about S and one or two thought it was O scale.

Jim.
 

JimG

Western Thunderer
Back here again after a long absence. :) I had spent so much time on the layout during 2018 and it had become a teeth-gritting operation to get it in a reasonable state for the exhibition. So I was quite glad to get it back from the exhibition, set it up in its home location in my bedroom, and forget about it. :) Well I couldn't really forget it since I saw it night and morning. :) I had been concentrating on 3D printing and the 1:32 scale loco but that had come to a halt awaiting delivery of an ABC gearbox. However, I did a bit of business with a fellow S scale modeller to obtain a tank car for the switching layout to serve one of the industries and that re-fired enthusiasm to re-start on the completion of all the buildings and to fit their doors, windows, etc.

So I started on the building at the extreme right of the layout - the one based on the Glazier works from the Shorpy pictures. I started on the windows and developed another method of doing it based on what I had described last year.

US Style Track in S - Jameston & Leven River RR

I was getting close to actually modelling a sash window frame that I decided to actually do it. :)

I started off with the window frames which were cut from card in the laser cutter.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X312.jpg

The two parts were glued together as before, around the edges of the frames, then the glazing bars were stuck together with a scoosh of Halford's grey primer.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X313.jpg

The ones on the left are for the slightly larger lower windows - the ones on the right for the upper windows.

I then started constructing the main frame for the sash

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X314.jpg

I started with the side member from 3mm x 10thou strip and the front bead from 30thou x 10thou strip glued to it.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X315.jpg

The outer channel for the upper frame was then contructed from 10thou x 40thou strip with the centre bead from 10thou x 20thou strip.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X316.jpg

The inner channel was next added also using 10thou x 40thou and 10thou x 20thou.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X317.jpg

I constructed a base for the assembly using 80thou styrene - the "U" shaped piece on the left. This was cut on the CNC machine to give me nice square edges. I do not like cutting thick styrene sheet and truin up the edges so I let the KX1 take the strain. :) The part on the right is the sill from 5mm x 20thou strip.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X318.jpg

The sill is fitted...

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X319.jpg

...then the two side parts of the sash frame are fitted.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X320.jpg

The two window frames are cut from their surround...

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X321.jpg

...and are fitted in the appropriate channels of the sash frame. At this stage they hadn't been glued in place hence the top one being slightly out of line.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X322.jpg

From the rear, the glazing is slid into the channels behind the window frames. I am using 0.5mm PETG and the thickness of the window frame with the coat of primer is just under 20thou, so the sash channel width of 40thou gives a mild push fit for the glazing behind the frame.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X323.jpg

The window from the front with the glazing in place. The sash frame has also been completed with a 3mm wide strip across the top to represent the filling under the arch in the brickwork.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X324.jpg

And the window in place in the building as a push fit at the moment. The window will have its glazing removed when it's being painted, then put back together and fitted in the building with a small touch of glue.

I quite like this method since I can quite easily set the window in any variation of opening. Another small plus is that you can see the inner sash channel behind the upper window frame, which is quite a noticeable feature on the real thing. Only another nine windows to make for this part of the building. :)

Jim.
 

JimG

Western Thunderer
All the window frames and sash frames are done for the Glazier building. :)

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X325.jpg

Batch building in progress with the 2mm styrene supports at the top and the various widths of strip to the left. The prime use for the small square is to support pieces when gluing parts at right angles - a nice accurate support block. :)

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X326.jpg

All done and the completed frames awaiting painting then glazing. The four pane frames are for the adjoining building. I've also set a few of the frames in various permutations of opening.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X332.jpg

A picture of the prototype being showing the two styles of window.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X327.jpg

When working with the building I noticed that my interlock on the corners was very loose. In the rush to get things done last year I must have missed it. You can see the wide gaps around the end bricks. I think I know how it happened. My CAM software which creates the files for the laser cutter - Cut2D Laser - allows me to feed in the diameter of the laser beam and whether I can cut on a line, inside a line or outside a line. I set a file up to cut outside the perimeter line of a side with small offsets to get a good fit. But if I save a file then recall it to do later work, it resets to cut on a line and I have to remember to reset to cut outside the line. I suspect that I forgot to reset it when recalling the file cutting these sides and the result would be a gap about the width of the laser beam at all interlocking places.

So I opted to re-cut the sides. :)

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X329.jpg

...and here's the result, with no gaps at the interlock. However, I used a different make of 1.5mm MDF whicb is actually 1.5mm thick. My previous MDF was 1.6mm thick and the drawings were set up for that. So the brick ends in the new walls project about 0.1mm, which you can see here, but a quick rub with sandpaper will bring them flush.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X330.jpg

Here's the newly cut part mated with the rest of the building and with some of the four pane window frames temporarily in place.

US-S-SwitchingLayout-X331.jpg

...and a closer shot of the four pane windows. The one on the left is going represent the broken sash cord syndrome with the traditional wooden chock propping the lower frame up. :)

I'm now trying to decide the colour for the frames. I'm favouring a light colour since the quoins will be dark brick. I'll have a search through the pile of colour I purchased last year to see if anything takes my fancy. :)

Jim.
 
Top