Elmham Market in EM
- Thread starter James Spooner
- Start date
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
Thanks Rob, coming from someone who beautifully observes and recreates scenes as you do, I appreciate your comment. Having bought the W&U tram carriages in Stratford brown I can assure you that you are in for a treat; those carriages are beautifully modelled by Rapido. I’m busy applying rule 1 to Elmham Market!
Nigel
robertm
Western Thunderer
Nigel,
Thank you for your kind words. The J15 came as a Connoisseur model part built and back dated to GER form. Apart from vac brakes, I had to reinstate the higher cab roof, add coal plates and tarpaulin bar to tender and change the safety valves. It turned out ok although I got a bit carried away with the weathering. I might revisit that aspect and try rubbing back some of it.
Regarding the carriage steps, I can’t find anything really clear and I no longer belong to the GERS. I have a poor photo of them as fitted to a 6wheel coach. I have a nagging feeling I have the Journal dvd but I’m away at the moment. Anything I discover I’ll pass on.
ATB
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
Progress but slow this weekend as Christmas preparations took priority over modelling. I have managed to paint the interiors of both carriages. I also looked at the driving compartment with the roof in and concluded it needed a little more detail for some of the more obvious pieces of equipment within it. After rummaging around in my bits and pieces box for a brake standard and failing, I fettled one up from a combination of plastic rod (turned down in a drill) and bent wire. I didn’t fit all of the spokes because one will never see it from an angle where one notices they are missing…. I also fitted a driver’s seat and will glue in a driver before the roof is fixed in place.
The driving trailer roof has now been detailed and I have turned my attention to the non driving trailer. I have got the roof down to the correct length and cut out a sheet of twenty thou to act as the bottom rain strip/ something substantial for the roof to grip to and also attach to the top of the body sides. This means I need to spend some time rubbing down one side of the roof (which was over size anyway) to get a snug fit, before detailing. Photos attached.
Nigel
The driving trailer roof has now been detailed and I have turned my attention to the non driving trailer. I have got the roof down to the correct length and cut out a sheet of twenty thou to act as the bottom rain strip/ something substantial for the roof to grip to and also attach to the top of the body sides. This means I need to spend some time rubbing down one side of the roof (which was over size anyway) to get a snug fit, before detailing. Photos attached.
Nigel
Herb Garden
Western Thunderer
To think Nigel that whole train, loco included, has taken you less than a year! And fitted in around everything else as well. And to a very high standard of modelling as well
Lyndhurstman
Western Thunderer
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
Thank you George; that’s very kind, especially from someone who has scratchbuilt a little Spinner in the same timescale!
Nigel
LarryG
Western Thunderer
A belated thanks for the heads=-up on the F.R. James Spooner. I am totally out of touch with full-size railway matters these days. My lady-friend is from slate country and we have plenty of reasons for visiting Blaenau, Penrhyn and Portmadoc (She mustn't see my spelling haha!), so looking out for the latest Double Fairly is a must for 2024.
The GER coaches have come on well. There is a lot of work in them particularly as no one produces an extrusion resembling the GER profile. I used to produce a MR 8' bogie which would have been passable for the GE.
The GER coaches have come on well. There is a lot of work in them particularly as no one produces an extrusion resembling the GER profile. I used to produce a MR 8' bogie which would have been passable for the GE.
Herb Garden
Western Thunderer
Apart from it's taken me 2 years and it still ain't done yet!
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
Thanks Larry, much appreciated. I have been helped as the good Mr Pinnock included pre formed roofs with his GER carriage kits. The bogies on the non driving trailer are actually 3D prints from, if I remember right, FK3D and they are lovely prints with an exceptional level of detail (if you scroll up this thread a few pages I added a close up photo of one that I used on another ex GER carriage). Hopefully on the home run now…
Nigel
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
Bit more progress as I have fettled the roof of the non driving trailer so it is a snug fit and have then detailed it. As I had a little time left over I slipped out into the railway room and sprayed both roofs. Best now to just let them all dry and go back to them tomorrow. Photos attached.
Nigel
Nigel
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
This evening I decided to try to set up some wire couplings between the carriages and the loco and the non driving trailer. Normally I use three link couplings but tests with other carriages indicated I would have buffer locking problems, especially with the wiggly tail on the G5, so I needed something that would hold the vehicles sufficiently far apart. 0.7mm wire was looped around the bolt holding the bogie on the inboard end of the driving trailer and a receptacle for it created behind the buffer beam on the non driving trailer. I used a similar system for coupling the non driving trailer to the loco, but soldered a small piece of copper tube under the rear bogie of the loco as the receptacle (on the basis that, using the 52F design, the bogie frame is a weight bearing component and will also follow the track, so not create undue variations in distance by pushing the wire link out at a skew). The theory seemed to work in practice, although I will need to adjust the length of the wire between the two carriages as it is a couple of millimetres too short to comfortably go round the tightest bend on the layout. It was also an excuse to pose some photos. I was going to try a video but the track needs a serious clean first and the poor loco wheels were picking up too much dirt (they also now need a good clean!). Anyway, all good fun and some photos attached.
Nigel
Nigel
David Waite
Western Thunderer
Hi Nigel
The coaches look superb they really do set the scene.
David.
The coaches look superb they really do set the scene.
David.
Dave Holt
Western Thunderer
The whole scene looks absolutely superb, Nigel.
On my two coach push-pull trains, I use Masokits wire loop and etched hook couplings between coaches with a length for the (sprung) buffer heads to just touch on straight track. I suppose that would limit the minimum radius that can be negotiated, but my layout doesn't have sharp curves. For coach to loco I use Alex Jacksons and let the buffer heads do the work when pushing. I haven't had buffer locking issues when running on a couple of friends' oval layouts. Mind you, the locos are 2-6-2 tanks and perhaps don't have the end throw of an 0-4-4.
Lovely work. I look forward to reading whatever comes next.
Dave.
On my two coach push-pull trains, I use Masokits wire loop and etched hook couplings between coaches with a length for the (sprung) buffer heads to just touch on straight track. I suppose that would limit the minimum radius that can be negotiated, but my layout doesn't have sharp curves. For coach to loco I use Alex Jacksons and let the buffer heads do the work when pushing. I haven't had buffer locking issues when running on a couple of friends' oval layouts. Mind you, the locos are 2-6-2 tanks and perhaps don't have the end throw of an 0-4-4.
Lovely work. I look forward to reading whatever comes next.
Dave.
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
Thanks Dave. I have created a very simple system using 0.7mm brass wire to hold the vehicles a set distance apart. Between the two carriages I created a loop in the wire at one end to fit around the bogie retaining bolt and glued in place some scrap etched brass on the other carriage to provide a receptacle for the bent other end of the wire to fit into. Same principle between the loco and the non driving trailer, except I soldered a small piece of copper tube to the underside of the G5 bogie frame and the bent wire slots into that. I have just tried the system out and can push through the reverse curves without buffer locking, which was my main aim. The vehicles are held a little further apart than just touching as there is an overly tight piece of curvature in the non scenic bit so allowances had to be made for that. I attach a couple of short videos showing the train firstly in pull mode and then in push mode.
Nigel
Nigel
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
With Christmas coming and family visiting, I have had to clear the spare bedroom/my hobby workshop for the duration so my attention has turned to the dreaded ‘m’ word on Elmham Market. A friend came round yesterday evening and we gave the system, locos and stock a good work out, partly to identify problems and partly to try out a working timetable I had sort of devised (based on the 1950s Long Melford to Bury working timetable, with some extra trains to serve the Stratford St James branch). As expected, it identified some issues in both areas. Accordingly I have this evening sorted out some failed solder joints and then carried out further testing (playing, to be brutally honest?). Also an opportunity for a few photos…
Nigel
Nigel
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
After a bit of a break over Christmas when quantities of family came to stay, peace now reigns in these parts. Just before Christmas Nick Ridgway came over for an operating session and one of the lessons coming out of that (apart from the maintenance I mentioned earlier) was that in the fiddle yard the Stratford St James traffic (being out and back rather than round and round) was rather getting in the way of everything else. I figured out that an extra point in the ‘main line’ leading to a couple of sidings just off one end of the fiddle yard would help ease this congestion significantly. A rummage around half forgotten storage areas resulted in enough rail and copper clad sleepers and I even found a suitable right hand point Templot drawing so I was in business! The photo shows progress this afternoon and evening…
Nigel
Nigel
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
The points are both now fully soldered together and with insulation gaps. I placed the completed assembly on the layout and really need more of a curve to get some sensible sidings into the space available so have split the points and introduced a curve into the first point off the main line. There will be some juggling when I get some time in the railway room to get the track paid out properly and then all wired up. Some photos of progress to date attached.
Nigel
Nigel
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
I have finally hit the bit of adding the two sidings that I was dreading - sorting out the wiring on the control panel. When I originally made the panel it was just the right size for the points I then envisaged for the fiddle yard. I am now trying to squeeze four LEDs and four studs into the left hand side and there is lots of gerfingerpoken end even more muttered imprecations going on to achieve the extra wiring. Only partial success today with the holes drilled, studs screwed in and two of the LEDs fitted (but not yet wired). In the process I have had to resolder three other joints that got knocked by installing these components and I have now given up for this evening. No further progress tomorrow as my sons and I have tickets to see West Ham play Brighton at home, so hopefully by Wednesday I will have achieved sufficient karma to progress this further.
I decided to do the S&T bit before cutting the trackwork and installing the points and sidings on the basis that I knew it was going to be more of a struggle and wanted to keep the downtime to a minimum…. No photos this time as not very much to show for my efforts!
Nigel
I decided to do the S&T bit before cutting the trackwork and installing the points and sidings on the basis that I knew it was going to be more of a struggle and wanted to keep the downtime to a minimum…. No photos this time as not very much to show for my efforts!
Nigel