LARNE CABIN's LMS Upper Quadrant Semaphore Signals Workbench

[LARNE CABIN]

I have decided to move the building of the LMS Upper Quadrant Semaphore Signals at Larne Harbour to a Workbench Thread, rather than clog up the main Larne Harbour Station Thread. This will be a challenging, fiddly and I would imagine long drawn out project.

Larne Harbour was resignalled in 1932/33 with LMS Upper Quadrant Semaphore Signals, becoming the only location on the Island of Ireland with a large number of Upper Quadrant Signals.

There will be four main aspects to this build:

1) The Bracket Signal, close to the cabin, connected to Lever 30 and controlling exit from The Down Harbour Sidings out unto the Down Running Line and hence, via a crossover to the Up Running Line. There are very few photographs of this signal around. I have an excellent one from the 1950's, but it is a private family photograph and I am trying to find the owner to get permission to post it. For now the best view of this signal is by this 1985 photo below © Jonathan Allen. By then the main arm (and the crossover) had been removed and only the shunt arm remained.

© Jonathan Allen

 

2) The Shunting Signals, connected to Lever 20 and controlling exit from The Up Sidings out unto the Up Running Line. The best view of this signal is this excellent photo of Ernie's, used to help with the build of the Olderfleet Road Bridge.

© ERNIES Irish Railway Archive

 

3) The Platform Starter, the piece de resistance, the impressive and defining feature of Larne Harbour Station. The Platform 1 Starting Signal is connected to Lever 32 and the Platform 2 Starting Signal is connected to Lever 31. As well as the two main arms, there are two shunting arms, from Platform 1 connected to Lever 11 and from Platform 2 connected to Lever 12. There are lots of photos of this signal. This one shows it to good effect, © KDH archive, 27th June 1969.

© KDH archive

 

4) The Ground Signals, mainly the Double Stack Ground Signal almost in front of the Signal Cabin. The signal is controlled by Lever 22 and controls shunt access to the platform roads. The top disc controls access to the line on the left ie. Platform 2 and the bottom disc controls access to the line going straight on ie. Platform 1. The photo below is an extract from Michael H C Baker's photo in Irish Railways Past and Present......

...... and this is a 1985 photo © Jonathan Allen.

© Jonathan Allen

 

I'm starting with The Bracket Signal, where I left off with the Larne Harbour Station post in December 2021.

To get as an authentic look as  possible, various materials have been used. The signal is a very sturdy structure so the base post is Plastruct Styrene Rod, 4.8mm square, the trimmers are made from Plastikard and the bracket is, of course, an MSE fret......

......the landing has been added, MSE fret, and the base for the doll, Plastikard......

.

......the start of work on the doll, the doll is Plastruct Styrene Strip, 4mm square, the lamps and lamp brackets are from a Ratio kit, the arms are from an MSE fret and the pulleys are 3d design......

...... I wasn't happy with the arms! I didn't do a great job cutting them from the fret and then I filed them away too much, so I had another go and second time much neater......

..... originally, I had intended to do all the work on the doll (fit the arms etc.) before putting it into it's base, but to line up the signal wire from the arms to the pulley properly I've decided I need to fit the doll in place at this stage......

...... loosely fitting the main arm to get the position of the signal wire, big fingers and thumbs and a tiny working area, it's very fiddly!..

That's as far as I've got. I hope to get the two arms painted and the spectacle plates in over Christmas and New Year and move on from there.

[murphaph]

Good idea to split this out from the main thread. It's deserving of one of its own. I for one had no idea there were upper quadrant signals anywhere in Ireland so that's pretty fascinating already and a valuable history lesson for me. You have made a terrific start (unsuprisingly!) on what looks to be a fairly big project in itself. I shall be following with interest.

[Patrick Davey]

Fantastic LC - will you be making the signals operational?

[Jonathan Allen]

Sorry Larne Cabin, but that shot of 169 at Larne Harbour with the weed control train is not one of mine. Wish it was, though: 

Also the DH - never got a DH at the harbour. 

[LARNE CABIN]

13 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

.......... will you be making the signals operational?

Hi Patrick. The honest answer is 'I don't know' and the speculative answer is 'I hope to'. Your question gives me the opportunity to review my thoughts. The Bracket Signal definitely won't be operational. The first reason is that nothing would come out of that siding (and in 1969 it's about to be lifted) and the second reason is that a bracket signal like this would be very difficult to get working through two pulleys etc. However, I hope to include  cranks, wires, pulleys etc and make it as authentic as possible.

The layout is confined to the station area, so luckily for me no main arms would be required to work! The operational interest on the layout (eventually) will be shunting. Shunting from one platform road to the other and from The Up Main to The Up Sidings (Brown Van), so The Shunting Signals near the bridge and The Double Stack Ground Signal hopefully will be operational. Luckily, these two would be the simplest to make operational, and I have already done some work on the ground signal.

Having explained above that there will be no movements beyond the confines of the station area, the main arms on The Platform Starter will be static, but for shunting the shunt arms might be operational!. This boy will be as authentic looking as possible as it will be the main area of interest along with the area around the cabin.

What a long answer to such a short question!

[David Holman]

Signals are complex things to make operational, with bouncing semaphores owing much to iceberg theory in pre microchip days - 90% below the baseboard, it seemed.

 These days, servos offer a, fairly, simple option, though old school is still worth considering. The starter on Northport Quay uses wire in tube, which might be an ideal method of you only need one or two to work.

 Very nice models, by the way!

[LARNE CABIN]

Although I have a huge interest in Signal Cabins and signalling this is my first attempt at scratch building model signals. It seemed quite daunting at first, but as well as researching Larne Harbour signalling I did quite a lot of research in general, particularly on building the model and how the prototype actually works. For those interested there's lots of good guidance available. I found Derek Mundy's MSE booklet and Mainline Modelling's Constructing and Operating Semaphore Signals extremely informative and useful as are the instructions that MSE supply with various components and signalling tutorials by Steve Hewitt on RMWeb.

 

So, continuing with The Bracket Signal. I used MSE Spectacle Glazing and Waterslide Transfers from Chiltern Modelling Solutions......

 

...... As shown in the previous post, I started by painting the area around the spectacle plates black and opening out the spindle holes in the arms. The rest of the arm was painted with a white primer. Then the spectacle plates were cut. The glazing sheet is quite tough and hard to cut accurately, but fortunately I spotted a tip from Steve Hewitt on RMWeb to go to a shoemaker with a leather punch and get him to punch out circles in various sizes. Some fit perfectly and those that don't can be easily trimmed slightly with a modelling knife. The spectacles were teased into place using a small fine brush, secured with clear gloss varnish and allowed to dry overnight. The transfers can be applied fairly easily following the supplier's instructions and again left overnight to dry. Once dried, I had to touch in the edges with Humbrol Signal Satin Red (174), and a little black on the reverse side, and again when dry a thin coat of clear satin varnish to seal everything, so now I have my two arms for The Bracket Signal.

 

Next step will be to locate the arms on the doll, passing the spindle through it's bearing and attaching the back-blinder. Then passing the operating wire from the arm through the pulleys, on the trimmer and hence to a crank at the base of the post!

More soon......

 

[Galteemore]

Excellent work / and those are good books. Look forward to seeing more !

[Patrick Davey]

Superb - so you have taken the plunge LC and opted to make the signals operational, fair play sir!!!

[LARNE CABIN]

Hi Patrick, previous answer still applies:

On 11/12/2022 at 9:47 AM, LARNE CABIN said:

Hi Patrick. The honest answer is 'I don't know' and the speculative answer is 'I hope to'. Your question gives me the opportunity to review my thoughts. The Bracket Signal definitely won't be operational. The first reason is that nothing would come out of that siding (and in 1969 it's about to be lifted) and the second reason is that a bracket signal like this would be very difficult to get working through two pulleys etc. However, I hope to include  cranks, wires, pulleys etc and make it as authentic as possible.

The layout is confined to the station area, so luckily for me no main arms would be required to work! The operational interest on the layout (eventually) will be shunting. Shunting from one platform road to the other and from The Up Main to The Up Sidings (Brown Van), so The Shunting Signals near the bridge and The Double Stack Ground Signal hopefully will be operational. Luckily, these two would be the simplest to make operational, and I have already done some work on the ground signal.

Having explained above that there will be no movements beyond the confines of the station area, the main arms on The Platform Starter will be static, but for shunting the shunt arms might be operational!. This boy will be as authentic looking as possible as it will be the main area of interest along with the area around the cabin.

What a long answer to such a short question!

 

The Bracket Signal definitely won't be operational for the reasons given above. It's more a learning process but will look as authentic as possible. Hopefully some of the others will be! 

[LARNE CABIN]

Here the arms are fixed loosely to allow alignment of the pulleys with the operating wire lugs. At this stage some black acrylic represents oil from the lamps. Photos show this signal to be very grimy around this area although the area on the doll above the lamps, the finial and the post itself are pure white...

... the pulleys in place on the trimmer and the crank in place at the base of the post...

... the main arm in place. The spindle is passed through the spindle hole and then a washer is placed on the spindle before passing it through the bearing. This is to leave enough space for the operating wire to pass down behind the spectacle plates. The operating wire then passes through the pulleys and down to the crank at the base of the post...

... looking side on, on the layout this is looking towards Harbour Road and the Signal Box is on the right. The crank changes the motion from horizontal, from the lever in the cabin, to the vertical via the pulleys to the signal arm...

...the shunt arm in place...

 

So, the main challenges have now been conquered and I will be much wiser next time round. So what's next?.....I had to remove the landing as I had forgotten to drill the holes for the handrail, so firstly drill the holes, put back the landing and build up the handrail. Next, i want to make the base a bit bigger to accommodate the stanchion and the ladder as one structure so that the whole structure can be removed from the layout, if necessary. Finally, the LMS finial and that's The Bracket Signal complete. By the next post I hope to have a complete signal and NO Patrick it won't be operational! .

 

 

 

 

[Patrick Davey]

Impressive miniature engineering!!!!

[David Holman]

All that fine work and not operating? Servos can be very effective, but need some sort of electronic control; however, simple wire in tube (under the baseboard) worth a try.

[LARNE CABIN]

Hi @David Holman, David. Appreciate your comment re 'fine work'. This boy has been a bit of a learning curve and is the result of a lot of research, still a bit to go with handrail, ladder etc. On the layout I will have a signal wire running from the crank to the Signal Box. My aim on the layout is authenticity within the confines of a 6ft x 2ft model. As explained in previous posts, within the confines of the layout of the station area these signal arms would never be in the 'Off' position, hence non operational. Other signals would be functional to allow shunting movements and so I hope to make them operational.

[LARNE CABIN]

The landing back in place with holes drilled for the handrail...

... and the handrail built up and in place...

Many tutorials say that one of the pet hates when building signals is the fiddling about making up the handrails, so much so that many give up and the handrails are totally ignored. I researched this for quite a few weeks. The Ratio and indeed the MSE solution of using 'moonfilament' and to rotate a length of rod NEAR, NOT IN, a flame to produce a 'globule' on the end to produce the upright posts and then to cement the top rail around this seemed too messy and would not satisfy my pursuit of 'perfection'. Another solution I found on RMWeb was to use Acupuncture Needles, copper 'bound' with an 'eye' at the top, just the thing for taking the wire handrail through. The pictures looked quite neat and tidy, but the post was from 2011 and when I looked up purchasing Acupuncture Needles things had obviously moved on a lot since 2011, so another dead end. I searched for ages for 'stanchions' on the internet and eventually found the above solution at https://www.modelboatbits.com , 1 hole 15mm Brass Handrail Stanchions, so for anyone building gantry handrails, or indeed for our boat modelling friends on the forum it's worth looking at what this supplier has to offer. The handrail is slightly over scale, but a compromise for symmetry and tidiness, (you know me by now).

Also, against the doll, are steps to allow the signalman or porter to reach the lamp for the main signal arm, when replacing it. The procedure was normally to clean and refill the lamp somewhere at the station and then walk out to the signal and replace the lamp. (I well remember, as a young primary school boy, at Tandragee Station, Mr Morton, my friend's father, and the Station Master/Signalman/Porter/Ticket Clerk/Jack of All Trades, allowing us to walk out with him to the Outer Home Signals to replace the lamps. I should point out that this was when he was well aware that there was sufficient time between trains to do this leisurely and safely).

The support stanchion has now been added. This is on the Harbour Road side of the signal. I mentioned earlier in this thread that this signal was a very sturdy structure, (I used 4.8mm Plastruct Styrene Tod to model the base post). The stanchion provides further support, presumably to cater for the fierce winds that come off the North Channel!. The Platform Starter, when we get to it, is anchored to the ground with steel wires, presumably for the same reason!.

To complete The Bracket Signal, I'm waiting on MSE ladders from Wizard Models, (the Ratio offerings are too toy like to be realistic) and I'm searching for a decent LMS Finial! As I've made the doll a bit wider than standard Ratio 00 scale, the Ratio Finial is too small for my model, so I'm searching the internet again! I also need to get in place the hoop on the handrail at the top of the ladder and still pondering how best to achieve this!

I've decided to work on The Ground Signals next, but before any posts on that I hope to shortly post comparison photos of the real Bracket Signal and the model!

[LARNE CABIN]

The MSE ladders have arrived...

... and been installed.

 

Just the finial and the hoop to complete. Modelu do a very neat GWR Finial which can be provided in various sizes, so I'm hoping they will produce an LMS Finial soon!

Comparison photos of prototype and model to follow soon.

[Tullygrainey]

I have to keep reminding myself how small and delicate these things are. Exceptional modelling! Beautiful too. 

[LARNE CABIN]

The Bracket Signal in temporary situ on the layout, as ballasting and ground cover are eventually added, the signal base will be sunk into the baseboard and a signal wire run from the crank to the cabin ...

 

... and the view from the Olderfleet Road Bridge end of the station...

[LARNE CABIN]

At last I have managed to bend and fit a piece of wire, sufficiently to my satisfaction, to represent the hoop on the handrail at the top of the ladder ...

... so that is The Bracket Signal now complete, apart from the LMS Finial!

... and another photo of it in temporary situ on the layout ...

Again, I have to say that no ballasting or ground cover has been started. When it is, the signal base will be sunk into the baseboard to give a seamless merge into it's immediate surrounding area.

I had intended to work on The Ground Signals next, but after some research on how to get them to work and dealing with their minuscule size, [about 2.5 feet (10mm) in height, and a disc 16 inches (5mm) in diameter], I've chickened out for now, and I'm going to work on The Shunt Signals next.