Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Sleepers done


Track gangers have left the site (well for a short break)
 
Well just coming under 4000 sleepers i have finished laying most of the sleepers on the module. Only ones needed to do are the sleepers near the end plates and also near where i have to drill the holes for the throw bar wire to come through. Once the holes are drilled i will than place those sleepers in.  Some of the gaps you will see are also for the PC sleepers.  From all the plans ive been able to use i have laid the sleepers to about 98% as they were in real life. In some areas there may be one or two sleepers that might not be right but this is due to having a scale of 1:160. Im very happy the way it has gone so far. Down below are the photos of the module.  I love the look of the wooden sleepers, the placement and the spacing of them. (Not all in a perfect line, its my pet hate with commercial track it to straight and perfect) Once coloured and scenery is done they will blend in very nicely and look very prototypical. 
Click on photo to make them bigger
 




Whats next?
Well im a bit track laying out for now, so im going to work on landscaping the area. This will involve getting the right heights of the hills and ditches. Ive been lucky enough to find a plan with contours on it which will help me greatly in getting the land form correct. I will also be working on some more brass etches so i can send off a final test run and i will also start the design work for the brick covert drain and the brick and stone road over bridge.  I plan to make my own brick paper and stone moulds for this.  Once again any one has plans or photos to share that my help email me at bendigonscale@live.com.au

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Turnout and compound sleepers

Well ive now started laying the sleepers for the turnouts and compounds. I have been using the same method as the straight track by using jigs. These jig were laser cut by Spirit Design and have come up like a treat.  Ive done a few turnouts, compounds and the two crossovers in the yard. They all take time as the sleepers are all different lengths and needs to be cut. It takes me about 15 minutes to do one. The photo with the ruler in it shows the sleepers butt joined together in the middle of the two rails. This is what happened in real life. Im now at the stage of doing a series of compounds and turnout that very close together and take awhile to lay, but its all good fun. With some of the turnouts and compounds filling in the gaps between the straight track you really do start to see the flow of the yard.  I hope you enjoy the few pics below.

Click to make bigger