Return of the Red Rattlers

Four car red rattler set arrives at Wardell Station

 After a long absence updating this blog, I have finally been able to run some trains. The last time trains were running on the layout was about a year ago when the electronic controlled points and wiring were tested. So the track needed to be tested again and some of the wiring for the electronically controlled points and LEDs had come loose.

Once this was done, I was able to get some model trains running. I also added the catenary wire but discovered that the some of the stanchion posts needed to be re-positioned as the catenary wire was not centered in the middle of the track.

One of the first engines to test were my Sydney Suburban trains. Over the years I I had purchased two, two cars sets from Mini Models and a Suburban Parcel Van. The newer Bradfield  motor cars have working marker lights however the earlier sets did not working lights as well as the Parcel van. I intend to include these at a later stage. 

I have tested an added interior lights to the trailer car as shown in the photo. I interior to be able to connect this to a decoder so I can control when the lights can be turned off and on. There is a couple of stock to do so this may take time to do them all.

 Here is a Bergs Bradfield and Standard trailer 2 car set arriving at Wardell Station

 

Above: Another view of some of the suburban rolling stock a Suburban parcel van leaves Wardell Station for Central.

Above: View under the Crystal Street bridge looking towards Wardell Station

And the Winner is?

The past month I have been able to complete more of the enjoyable part of building the layout. Building up the scenery including completing the station signage and building up ground cover, bushes and trees. 

Below is the completed station scene including overhead stanchions, catenary and station signage on platform signs and platform seats.

After much thought and research, I decided to name the station and layout, Wardell. Wardell, is named after Dr Robert Wardell, a barrister who became quite wealthy after he arrived from England and owned a large estate in the Petersham area in the 1820s. He was murdered by bushrangers on the boundary of his estate in 1834. His estate was subdivided upon his death1. Trafalgar street that is currently running parallel to Petersham station was previously called Wardell St.

Making Signs   
To do the signage I made my own decals using a computer and Publisher to do the lettering. This technique I used previously with my previous layout.
Testors has a Custom Decal System kit which includes decal bonder and decal paper in white and clear paper. The kit only includes 3 papers of each A5 sheets. I ran out of clear decal paper and could not source any Testors clear decal paper in Sydney. I found an alternative supply in Redfern. Below is a printout of the decals I had printed. To maximise the use of the decal paper, I think of all the decals I need for future projects which can fill up the decal paper. 

 

Once bonder is dry I cut out decals and apply to the platform seat and signs using warm water and Walthers decal solvent. The seats and signs I used were Uneek white metal detail kits from Anton Trains.  After the decal is set after a day I seal with Testors Dullcote.

Ground cover
I had a stash of foilage and scenery material from my previous layouts. However, most of it was dark green, I recently purchased a stack of lighter and medium green bushes, underbrush and coarse turf to complete what I had, to vary the scenery.

Using a mixture of what I already had and what I recently purchased I was able to provide a more realistic scenery scene for the area around the junction of Trafalgar St and Crystal st. Trees were reused from my previous layout Bilby Beach however I replaced the light green foilage with medium green foilage, The foilage used was from Heki which is like a coloured hair net that can be stretched.

 Above is the completed scenery of the ground cover and bushes.

1. http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/wardell_robert

Catch the Subway

One distinguishing feature of Petersham Station is the pedestrian subway that connects Trafalgar and Terminus streets. It was built in1892 and originally had access to the platforms. The access to the platforms was closed after 1988 1. However, the subway still exists today to connect both streets.

Here is a photo of my completed model subway with a view towards "Petersham" Station. I have modelled this as it was before electrification took place. In the background is a 35 class loco waiting at the station.







Above: Photo of the prototype subway and Petersham station c1920 in which the completed model was based 2.

Construction techniques

Construction of the subway was based on the similar technique used for the Crystal St bridge which was described in a previous blog post, wood and readymade plaster cladded with Slaters weathered brick styrene. Since I had limited space, I did not used the measurements in the prototype but made the size to fit the space I had on the layout.

I used Faller Stairs and railing kit to complete the stairs. A mock hole is made to simulate the underground tunnel to reach the centre platform and exit at Terminus St.

Above: WIP of subway entrance

Subway Entrance today
During one of my fieldtrips to Petersham I was able to see the entrance of the subway which still has the brown bricks but is now surrounded by more trees and shrubbery. There is also a screen placed between the wall and the tracks so it is not possible to see the station from the subway entrance.

I believe the underground tunnel is covered in graffiti.

1. Petersham Railway Station Group NSW Environment & Heritage
2.  http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10795197?q=petersham+station&c=picture&versionId=12603163

Inch by Inch - Foot by Foot

The latest addition to the layout has been the construction of a model of the footbridge which is based on the one located at Petersham station connecting Trafalgar Street and Terminal St. This has taken over 5 months in planning and build. It is 90% complete with a few additional parts to source and detailing to complete.

Above: Completed footbridge on "Petersham Station platform. Model is based on having the booking office still intact

Concept

One of the most prominent features of Petersham station is the footbridge. I sought to purchase something commercially available however the closest ones to the prototype were British kits. However, most kits connect from one platform to another but not from platform to street. In the end, I knew I had to build one from scratch using a number of different materials and parts.

Historical timeline, research and design

I found very good drawings including some coloured ones of the footbridge at the Heritage Resource Centre Redfern. 

This is the  timeline1 of the changes made to the footbridge. 

1884 - Built with latticework and cast iron columns with detailed ironwork under stairs

1896 - Footbridge widened with barrier fencing and 1st booking office installed on bridge

1926- Timber booking office installed on footbridge near Trafalgar st

Post 1970s - booking office and widened footbridge removed

Above: Left: Drawings of 1st booking office. Right: Drawings of changes made in 1926

Above: Drawings of original footbridge design. Scale is 3/16 inch to a foot.

 

The most challenging part based on these drawings was to convert the scale foot drawings from imperial to metric and then convert them into HO scale. Been born after inches and feet measurement were used meant that the drawings and its measurements did not make sense to me. I also needed to adjust the design to fit with my three width track layout and one platform compared to the actual prototype.

Booking Office

Although the booking office is no longer found on the footbridge. I found a photo in the late 1960s that showed it still existed at that time. Therefore, as I am modelling the 1950s it would of still been there. 

The very detailed drawings of two versions of the booking office had the advantage of making this part of the build the easiest. The walls were made from styrene clapboard and I used a technique of building windows and doors with scale lumber from one of the issues of Branchline. The difficult part I have found is scratch building the capped roof, to avoid previous failures I decided to experiment with cardboard to get the right angle before attempting on plastic molded tiled roofing. 

Build and detailed work

The concrete walkway of the footbridge was made from 3mm thick styrene. I could not source cast iron columns tall enough to represent those that hold up the footbridge. Instead, I used the drawings which showed that the booking hall was held up by a steel trestle. This was made from styrene and scale lumber.

To represent the latticework I had some Faller assorted fencing that I had from my childhood.

Above: The bridge takes shape

Almost there
The ornate footbridge railing was etched brass source from Scalelink in the UK which has some 1/87 scale railings and stair railings. The stairs were made from Faller Stairway kit and cut to length.

Above: Another view of footbridge viewed from "Trafalgar Street".

Above: View of Prototype

Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all for 2016.

Enjoy this time of year with family, friends, good food and perhaps a time for some modelling.

 

The First and the Last

61 years ago today marks the day the last trams travelled along Crystal and Trafalgar St Petersham. The day was Sunday, the 21st November 1954 1.  To mark this date, I have built my first Sydney tram, a R1 class white-metal kit by Weico, now no longer in production.

Above is the completed Sydney Tram R1 Class heading towards Balmain on Crystal St Road bridge.

A photo of R1 Class number 1998 heading towards Balmain in 1954 is shown in the link below

https://www.flickr.com/photos/74004041@N06/6971433185/in/photolist-efGmXu-6USmDw-bqpZPh-ea2i5G-bC3qcT-7kMQ3e-7HWpdM-dwCouv


Building the kit

I have found building White metal kits difficult at times. White metal needs strong glue. I use two part epoxy to do this but it takes 24 to 72 hours to dry so the parts need to be held together for a long time in order for the glue to cure. Also if the proportions are not correct it may also not cure correctly.

I made the kit per the instructions and then painted it in parts before gluing the whole thing together, i.e. the end drivers cabins painted separately from the main passenger section. I have temporarily used the trolley poles that came with the kit but will replace them later using ones that can be are operational. Although power will not come through the overhead wiring, the original trolley poles were not robust enough.

Painting

 I had some green livery paint that I had when I built the Sydney Regal IV resin bus and used this for the green paint. I had a postcard of R1 1979 as a guide for painting. My cream paint that I previously used for the bus had already hardened so I had used Humbrol 74 plus a hit of matt white.

Interior was chocolate brown while the lower part of the body and bumper was the same acrylic brown I used for the road bridge without any mixture of black. I think it was dulux crimson russet.

To simulate the black painting lines on the tram body, I have used the technique of painting a thick black band on masking tape and then using a sharp knife to cut long thin lines. I then apply the masking tape on the tram.

I have found this method effective and used it on my previous bus models.

Motorising the tram
I purchased the motorised kit that was available by Weico for the R1 Class to run the tram. The motor is from Bowser Manufacturing. Wiring is simple with all both bogies having pick up. The kit came with one of the two of the universals not with the correct size and as a result broken part of that incorrect universal. I used gaffer tape to mend this. It did work but after a test run required more padding of the bolster to level the motor with the universals to have it straight so that the motor will run smoothly.

I also decided to paint the wiring and motor black to hid the fact that there was a motor in the tram body.

Above is the motor and bogies attached to the underfloor before painting the motor and wiring black.

Advertising and Decals
I wanted to have side panel period advertising on my tram. I sought old photos of trams from books and the internet to locate advertising on the side of trams, as those R1 class trams preserved do not have any advertising apart from the small advertising on front of the trams and used a computer and printer to make them.

 With the decals, I found a website http://model-trams.com/model_tramway_accessories/  that does Sydney tramway decal numbers for trams. It appears that the decals are more catered for earlier trams that later numbered trams as there is not sufficient number of 9s in the decal sheet. I will likely need to get another sheet in order to do more R1 class trams.

What's next?  

Whilst I have just completed my first tram kit,  I still have a few more kits to build in the cupboard. 

 

 

“This is what the Lord says—
    Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
    apart from me there is no God"

Isaiah 44:6.

1. David R Keenan, The South-Western Lines of the Sydney Tramway System, Transit Press, 1992

Back to 1955

This month on the 21st October marked, Back to the Future day, the day Marty Mcfly went to 2015.  Being a avert Back to the Future fan I thought it would be appropriate to see how my layout would be set in 1955.

In 1955, the trams have long gone, buses have replaced trams at Trafalgar st, Petersham. The overhead wiring has disappeared and work is ongoing to asphalt over the tram tracks. Car traffic is slowly increasing with the reduced bus service.

Asphalt of Tramway commenced
As shown in the above photo, scenery work has commenced with the tramway work and footpath complete for some parts of the layout mainly the Crystal St bridge and the intersection of Trafalgar st, Petersham. There is still a large part of Trafalgar street that is still not fully complete.

The method I used for completing the tramway was using premixed plaster, Boral Total Joint Finish that came in a large plastic tub. I covered this on either side of the tracks and covered to the height of the sleepers. Although not my original idea, it was a recommendation from another tram modeller on TDU.

I then cut strips of Super fibre mesh cloth and laid this on before I put the second coat of premixed plaster to raise the level of the road to rail height.

When dry I sanded the plaster smooth and painted it matt black to represent asphalt.
For the area between the rails and between the two tracks I used 400 grit sandpaper that I previously used for my station platform and cut it to the appropriate radius and size.

Between the rails I tried to use 2mm styrene and then gluing the sandpaper on top of the styrene however I found that with the Hong Kong tram there was no sufficient clearance so I used the sandpaper without any additional thickness.

Between the two tracks I cut cardboard in appropriate widths and lengths and glued the sandpaper on it for

Footpaths and concrete roads
The footpaths were made from 3mm styrene thick with grooves cut every 1.5 cm to represent concrete slabs. These were then painted in concrete colour.
The concrete roads were made using Busch concrete plates which are printed cardboard sheets of weathered cardboard. These come in two sheet packs with four rows of concrete slabs per sheet. I used one row wide concrete slabs to represent the left hand lane of the road.

Here the Delorean heads back to 1985 after passing Biff's car which hit the manure truck.