Clogherhead - A GNR(I) Seaside Terminus

[Patrick Davey]

Now that is just superb!

 

[Patrick Davey]

Many thanks to Wilson Adams for these two great (but sad) views of Dunleer station, which will be the basis of Clogherhead station, the two locations being fairly close together in County Louth.

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Louth]

If you need any measurements of the Dunleer station Patrick, let me know. Access to trackside is a bit of a problem though. The car park side is no problem. Kevin

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, Louth said:

If you need any measurements of the Dunleer station Patrick, let me know. Access to trackside is a bit of a problem though. The car park side is no problem. Kevin

Thanks a mil Kevin, much appreciated

[DJ Dangerous]

2 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Thanks a mil Kevin, much appreciated

You mean "Thanks a Brookhall" ?

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

You mean "Thanks a Brookhall" ?

Ha now that’s clever!!!

[Patrick Davey]

Paid a quick visit to Dunleer station this evening for a photographic survey, nice to meet with Kevin Enright there as well, thanks for your company, Kevin, and for bringing your fabulous models for me to appreciate in person!

I have also finished and glazed the wooden panel for the platform side of the building.

[Patrick Davey]

Another significant development yesterday…….some shiny new equipment arrived!

 

 

[Patrick Davey]

BASEBOARD RECYCLING.....

So the baseboard for Clogherhead was actually the original one which I built for Ballynahinch Junction back in 2008..... it must be of decent construction because it has survived 15 years in the temperature extremes of the attic......

I was dreading having to prepare it for this project but it all went without a hitch, previous installations of wood and polystyrene ceiling tile came away relatively easily then I was able to start laying out the track and mark the location of buildings etc.  Once finalised, a raised plywood level will be added which will hold the track - the supports for this have been glued down and have been weighted until they set overnight.

They will have plenty of time to set - more work travels for the foreseeable!

 

 

 

[Patrick Davey]

Trackbed finalised - won't be glued down until provision has been made for my patented mechanical turnout operating system to be installed! 

The area to the right will be the beach, at a lower level, and the area to the left will be higher ground, but I will build this up using card, to reduce the overall weight.

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[jhb171achill]

This promises to be a GOOD one!

[Patrick Davey]

17 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

This promises to be a GOOD one!

Thanks JB, I’m already thinking of insane names for the station staff….. I’m thinking the station master was one Sandy Castle……

[jhb171achill]

3 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Thanks JB, I’m already thinking of insane names for the station staff….. I’m thinking the station master was one Sandy Castle……

A lot of railwaymen had (and have!) quite offbeat nicknames, so away ye go with the imagination!

[Patrick Davey]

Checking clearances on the trackplan.

 

[Sean]

Happy Fishes  

[Patrick Davey]

5 minutes ago, Sean said:

Happy Fishes  

Hope I got the scales right........

[Patrick Davey]

Let the tracklaying commence!

 

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, Fowler4f said:

Are you using Code 75  Track / Electro frogs or Code 100 Track / insul frogs ?

100 & insulfrogs this will be a DCC Project

[Patrick Davey]

That magical moment when you see a locomotive running on your freshly laid track plan, with no derailments!  I had previously carried out a rolling test with a wagon, then I wired up some basic connections, and thankfully all is well with only one small glitch, which I think I should be able to rectify.  
Please excuse the sudden stop & start, but I needed three hands for this test!

Edited July 6, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Noel]

Great progress. Looking forward to watching this project. Recommend checking out use of 3mm closed cell foam for under track (ie for sound insulation and raised track bed). I used a double layer so ballast never came directly into contact with the baseboard acting as a hard sound bridge. Cork lets PVA seep through creating a rock hard sound bridge to ply base board.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Noel
Smelling mistake

[Patrick Davey]

Cheers Noel - there is a bit of a subplot here in that I’m trying to build this without buying anything new, ie only using stuff I already have - most of the track hasn’t seen action in decades but thankfully with a clean up and new fishplates it has stood the test of time!! Also I am going to use sand rather than ballast, as this is a fictional seaside location (Clogherhead in Co. Louth)….. I am hoping to source the sand from the actual location…….

Edited July 6, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[jhb171achill]

13 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

Cheers Noel - there is a bit of a subplot here in that I’m trying to build this without buying anything new, ie only using stuff I already have - most of the track hasn’t seen action in decades but thankfully with a clean up and new fishplates it has stood the test of time!! Also I am going to use sand rather than ballast, as this is a fictional seaside location (Clogherhead in Co. Louth)….. I am hoping to source the sand from the actual location…….

I was warned once about using beachside stuff as ballast due to salt, so the solution there is probably once you gather the ballast material, boil it in a pot (kills organisms anyway) and drain before using it.

[Sean]

When i buy sand for an aquarium i usually just grab the cheapest stuff off the shelf  which generally needs to be washed thoroughly or else your brand new aquarium quickly turns into a large puddle of illuminated mud..

 

Quarter fill a bucket with sand, fill up the rest of the way with water, agitating the sand as much as possible.  this leaves you with a bucket of muddy water, pour off the water and repeat,

after about 10-20 passes( yeah it can take a while) the water will stay crystal clear no matter how much you agitate the sand, Im not sure if just straight up boiling it would remove all of the salt but it might be enough for this application.

 

you will lose sand doing it this way so get more than you need, another common method is to half fill a pillowcase with sand and let the hose run through it for a while but ive never had much success with that method.

[Broithe]

I worked with a Japanese bloke who was very competent about most things. His Polish neighbour had a goldfish that was a bit poorly and she just assumed he would know all about koi carp, etc.

He knew nothing, but he wasn't going to admit that.

He went round and looked at the fish. It was clearly not well and had a few scales missing. He told her that she must make sure that the whole tank and the various filters and ornaments in it, etc., were all scrupulously clean, assuring her that it would probably all heal up, if she did that properly.

She did all that, but the fish got slowly worse. He laboured the point about scrubbing everything to ensure total cleanliness.

It still got worse.

After about six cycles of this, he grudgingly volunteered to watch her, to see if he could see what she was missing.

She seemed to be doing it all perfectly, putting the fish in a Pyrex jug whilst she removed cleaned and rinsed all the internals and the tank itself, scrubbing everything with a nail brush and a toothbrush.

As everything seemed as good as it could be, he was about to admit that it was beyond his capacity to suggest anything else, when she hoicked the fish out of the jug, gave it a squeeze of Fairy Liquid and was about to scrub it under the hot tap.

At that point, having managed to stop her in time, he assured her that merely replacing the fish and giving him time to recuperate would probably give a better result...

[Ironroad]

That's incredible surely it would have died the first time it got that treatment. That said we had one that lived 11 years and endured much, but that's another storey.

[jhb171achill]

"This fish is dead!

       No, it's not - it's just resting! Beautiful scales.........

Listen, my man. It's bereft of life! It has wound up its mortal coil! It has gone to join the Choir Eternale! THIS is an EX-FISH!!!! "

[David Holman]

Then there's the story about the man who took his pet to the vet because it was unwell. After a few days with no improvement, he took it back to another appointment. The vet couldn't find anything wrong, but the man asked for a second opinion. The vet agreed and went to open a connecting door, whereupon a Labrador came in, looked at the pet, shook its head and walked out again. The vet opened a second door and a cat came in and did the same.

 There you are, said the vet, both the cat scan and lab report agree with me.

 As for sand, try Chinchilla dust. You can get a large bag from larger pet shops for not very much. Fix with pva, as per ballast. Lighter than sand too and contains no salt.

[Patrick Davey]

Forgive me for interrupting what has become a highly entertaining comedy thread….. but I am pleased to report that this evening I have completed track laying and everything is working as it should, all turnouts are fully functional with no electrical issues to report.  The track has been glued securely to the baseboard following sealing of this with a few coats of paint and final coat of neat PVA glue.  I want to create a look of decay in a coastal context, so a bit of research will be done to get the right blend of colours.  The look of the disused track on JB’s Dugort Harbour is exactly what I’m looking for.

 

Next on the to-do list is the filling in of loose sleepers in the gaps and then applying a suitable base coat of paint to blend the whole lot together. I like David’s suggestion of using chinchilla dust, so I think I will go ahead and use that on the track, but I’m still holding onto the romantic notion of using actual sand from Clogherhead beach on the beach part of my layout, noting JB’s advice to boil this before bringing it anywhere near the layout.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Patrick Davey

[Broithe]

Be careful with the chinchilla dust.

I've had a few drying off in the hot press for months now, but I still just get a horrible sludge when I run them through the liquidiser.

Edited July 10, 2023 by Broithe
Spelling - again...

[Patrick Davey]

8 hours ago, Broithe said:

Be careful with the chinchilla dust.

I've had a few drying off in the hot press for months now, but I still just get a horrible sludge when I run the through the liquidiser.

Thanks for that.........!

[David Holman]

The proper stuff is freeze dried, which makes it easier to grind down the carcasses...

[Patrick Davey]

A small but important job completed this afternoon, the in-filling of sleeper gaps.

 

 

[Patrick Davey]

Decided to have a go at a test section of track to see if I can get the weathered 'sandy' look.  The sleepers look a bit too glossy and copper-y in this shot but overall I'm happy enough and have decided on the following approach, once I get the correct colours:

1. Light matt brown base colour over everything 

2. Dry brush sleepers with a mix of grey and white to give the 'bleached' look

3. Paint the side of the rails a rust colour (specific tool ordered for that)

4. Add clumps of foliage 

5. 'Ballast' with chinchilla dust so it looks like the foliage is growing out of the sand.

 

The subject of rusty rails is an interesting one.  I have observed the prototype closely and believe the following is true:

* On active railway lines, the movement of trains throws up dirt etc which gives the sides of the rails a muddy brown colour

* On lesser used lines, the lack of movement of trains allows the sides of the rails to assume the rusty colour

 

I think!

[Galteemore]

Looks good to me Patrick. Agreed - weathered wood needs shades of grey rather than brown. When you apply that treatment you may find that the brown on the railsides actually looks ok without further intervention. A dusting of talc will also help it all blend in together. 

[Patrick Davey]

Base coat applied: this is always a nice stage, when it all blends together. 

 

Another electrical test will follow later to make sure there’s no paint fouling the turnout blades.  I have also learnt that I am petrified of double slips.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Patrick Davey