Is There a Point in All This?

So having built the track for my Hudon's Pizza layout and bought a baseboard I've now come to a bit of a halt while I decide what to do with the extra space available. If you remember back to when I first introduced the idea for this layout I showed both a map and an aerial photo of the test track.

Both of these seem to show that the test track is completely isolated from track anywhere else in the works. Given that Hudson's did deal in portable railway systems I'm guessing they were use to having to manhandle rolling stock, but it does seem kind of odd that at their works they wouldn't have made access to the test track easier. I also have a thread over on NGRM about the layout (you have to sign up to be able to read that link unfortunately) and on there someone suggested that maybe there was a point on the test track with rail leading off to the top left. As hard as I looked I couldn’t see anything though.

You'd think, given how much railway equipment Hudson's produced, that it wouldn't be too difficult to find photos of their main works which would clear up the issues regarding how the test track was used. Unfortunately the only other photo that has turned up is this one, which appeared in NG&IRM issue 36.

Certainly from an initial glance this photo of a 'Ganges' class 0-6-0WT doing laps of the test track doesn't exactly show a lot of detail. Upon taking a closer look though I started to notice that what looked like rails to the top left of the locomotive wouldn't match up with the rails just in front of it. To see what I mean here are two cropped and zoomed versions of the loco and on the right hand one I've drawn red lines over anything I think is rail.

So, if everything I coloured red is definitely rail then there is no way they join up in a complete circle, which leads me to the conclusion that I'm looking at a point leading off the test track. Given that my layout was always going to be inspired by rather than a reproduction of the works I now have to decide what I want to do. On the one hand I have a circle of track built and ready, but on the other hand I've got space for a little more track, and if I can avoid having to resort to the "hand of God" to change stock on the circle of track that would be nice. The problem of course is that I've no idea if I'm capable of building a working point. Plain track I think I've mastered well enough for it to work reliably but a point is a whole different game, made more so by the very tight radius of the circle it has to fit into. I'm not going to make any decisions yet, but I think I am going to have a go at building a working point (will be useful to know for future layouts if I can build one) and then see where that leads me. It does of course mean that there is unlikely to be any scenic work on the new layout for quite some time.

It's Bigger Than I Thought

So Hudson's Pizza has taken a small step forward today as I popped out and bought the baseboard; as I did for Jerusalem I've gone with 9mm MDF (68cm by 53cm). As I'm not planning to mount anything under the baseboard this works well. It's fairly light but gives a strong foundation and doesn't take up too much of the depth of the storage box I'm intending to use to keep the layout in.

The main issue that has arisen is that I've actually got more space to play with than I thought I had. I built the track to match the prototype (see this previous post) and then sized the board based on the storage box. In my head they were a lot closer in size than they have turned out to be. I'm still trying to work out exactly what I want to do with the extra space but I'm thinking some extra track in amongst some builds to add a little more movement to the layout. Building mockups will be next which should help me decide exactly what to add in the space.

Painted Track

So having settled on an approach to painting sleepers I spent today (on and off while doing other things) finishing off the hand built track for Hudson's Pizza. First job was to fill the gaps in the sleepers with milliput. Pressing a small amount into the gap on each sleeper smoothing it down and removing the excess takes a lot longer than you might imagine and then of course you have to wait for it to harden.

Painting was slightly more fiddly than in the experiments I did because of course the rails are soldered in place and blackened so I needed to keep the paint off them. First up was the white gesso, then a thin wash of RailMatch sleeper grime (50/50 paint and water). I then darkened the sleepers using a black wash which while bring out the details did make things a little too black. This was fixed by dry brushing a little sleeper grime and then a little Model Color brown sand to give a result that I'm really quite happy with.

Chemically Blackened

A very short update on the track building today. I spent about ten minutes cleaning the track with a fibreglass pen before chemically blackening the rails and then burnishing the rail top with a wooden coffee stirrer to remove some of the blackening and ensure a good surface for locomotives to collect power. Everything still works and it now looks a bit more prototypical. The sleepers will be next.

Sleeper Painting: Experiment Number 3

Having thought about the sleepers a little more I realised that the main problem with the original approach wasn't so much the colour as it was the texture; they were horribly smooth and unnatural looking. After a few suggestions from different people I've come up with what I think is a simple yet effective approach. The sleeper shown here (the furthest right) is painted using the same basic colour as the other sleepers (RailMatch sleeper grime) but with some additional texture.

The trick was to prime the sleepers using some white gesso which provides a textured surface for the paint to stick to. I then thinned the sleeper grime down a little so that it wouldn't obliterate the texture and finished with a quick black wash. This seems to work well giving both texture and some colour variation and is remarkably easy to apply as you don't need to be particularly neat about the painting. With a little extra weathering as the track is bedded into the layout I think it will work well.

Equal Opportunity Modelling

As an equal opportunity modeller I thought I'd allow my other locomotive to experience the new track which gives those who prefer steam locomotives something to watch.

Round and Round She Goes, and Where She Stops Nobody Knows

The last time you saw any work on my new layout there was just a new paper track template. Things have moved on quite a bit since then.

Firstly I spent quite a lot of time at the mind numbing task of cutting and then filing a groove into the 90 sleepers required for the layout. I used the same jig as before to help measure and cut the sleepers which definitely makes the job easier although it's still rather boring. The sleepers were then all attached to the template using double sided sticky tape. That is the easy part, next up is the rails.

Obviously the rails needed to be curved into shape before I could try soldering them to the sleepers. Curving them as I went would just have ended in disaster. Now I don't know of anyone who sells a rail bender for OO9 gauge but I bought one from KBscale designed for use with a slightly large rail (their market is 7mm scale modelling). This consists of three sets of washers bolted to a plate. Sliding the rail between the washers introduces a curve into the rail while keeping it flat and not allowing it to twist. I used the tightest setting and it worked perfectly. In fact it produced rails with a curve slightly tighter than I needed.

With the rail nicely curved I soldered on the outside rail first using the template to guide the positioning. I needed two pieces of rail to complete the circle so there are two gaps, one is a nice flush join, the other is a little wider than I would like, but I've now filled it with some solder and filed it back and it seems okay. With the outer rail in place I then soldered the inner rail in place using the excellent rail gauges Paul turned for me. Again two pieces of rail were needed to make the circle but I made a better job of the joints.

Of course having two rails at roughly the right distance apart doesn't mean they will work as track. The only way to know for certain is to add a locomotive and some electricity and see what happens...

I thought I might have to adjust a few tight spots but I couldn't spot any obvious problems so it looks like the track is done (structurally at least, it still needs painting etc.). The video was taken before I filled the over large gap in the outside rail which is what you can hear as the loco passes through the left side of the circle. With the gap filled in the noise is a lot less obvious.

While I was really happy with the short test track, given it was my first attempt at building track, I'm really impressed with how this has come out. I always assumed I'd just be buying track when I built a new layout so I owe a huge thanks to Paul for providing the gauges and everyone who has provided suggestions, advice, and encouragement!

Sleeper Painting: Experiment Number 2

Okay that didn't take long. Here we have a rough experiment of painting a metal sleeper. This again follows the same approach I use on the metal parts of the wooden bodied wagons and I've shown some rust where the rails meet the sleepers. I've also included a photo of both approaches for a comparison.

Any thoughts?

Sleeper Painting: Experiment Number 1

I'm still trying to clear enough space on my desk to get cracking on Hudson's Pizza but I have now cut and gapped all 90 sleepers I will need for the circle of track.

While I was really happy with how my first attempt at hand built track turned out I've been wondering if I can make it look better and slightly more natural. Specifically I was thinking it might be possible to improve the sleepers. On the test piece I simply painted them with RailMatch sleeper grime. There were two problems with this approach. Firstly there was no texture to the sleeper tops and secondly the colour was very uniform.

What you can see on the left is my first attempt at trying something different. The sleeper isn't soldered to the test track just placed underneath for the photo. Basically I ran a file along the sleeper to add some wood grain and then painted it in roughly the same way I do my small wooden bodied wagons albeit with an extra round of dry brushing using Model Color London Grey to give a slightly more silvery appearance. If I'd painted this in situ then there would have been a bit more variation as it would have been difficult to dry brush right up against the rails. Now I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with the final colour but I'm also finding it difficult to work out if I prefer this to the block colour of the previous attempt. Any thoughts or suggestions?

And before anyone says anything, yes I know Hudson's would likely have used their own metal sleeper track system for the test track, but I'm only basing my layout on it and I think wooden sleepers will be easier to model.... possibly. Maybe I should have a go at doing a metal sleeper?

Pizza Track Template: Take 2

Another day, another track template. After posting about the track template yesterday I took another look at it and realised I'd messed up. The template consists of four pieces of paper stuck together and I initially thought that the white space at the edges of the sheet was intentional so cut them off before joining the sections to give a single template. Unfortunately that wasn't the case and cutting of the paper meant the circle wasn't completely circular. You can see this in the join at the front in the photo from yesterday.

I also decided that I'd probably got the sleepers a little too close together on the original template, so rather than just reprinting I've generated a new template with only 90 sleepers (down on the 120 sleepers on yesterday's attempt). I think this looks better and given how tedious and time consuming cutting the sleepers is I think it's a good decision.

Pizza Track Template

As my modelling area starts to reappear from under the detritus of Christmas I've made a small start on my new Hudons's Pizza layout; I've designed and printed the track template.

The next job will be to cut the 120 sleepers required for the full circle before I can think of doing any actual track laying. This time I'll also remember to gap the sleepers before soldering on the rails, especially as it will be much harder to do afterwards on a circle of track than it was on the straight test piece I built before.

Twenty-Four Horses

After all the positive comments on the Hunslet axlebox I've pushed on with the rest of the model I've been working on. Given that I'm now planning a layout based around the test track at the Robert Hudson Ltd factory I decided I needed an appropriate locomotive. Hudson's didn't manufacture locomotives themselves but instead entered into partnerships with other firms to sell branded locomotives. One of these partnerships was with the Hunslet Engine Company and I decided to have a go at modelling one of their tiny 24HP diesel locomotives. These were produced for a number of different narrow gauges and in a variety of cab configurations. My current model is based around a cabless 2' 6" gauge version.

If you are at all familiar with the prototype then you'll notice that quite a few bits of body work are missing. The plan is to add these using etched brass parts which I have yet to draw up. In fact I'm hoping to use the model with different etched parts to produce different versions with different cabs.

This is by far the most complex model I've ever attempted to build. Not only is the 3D printed part quite complex, there will be the etched parts, and I'm intending to build the chassis as well as I was unable to find one with the right wheel base; you may remember I've already bought some parts for this. I've no idea if this will work or not as there are so many parts I'll need to get just right, but if I do manage to pull it off then, depending how complex it is to assemble, it might become a Narrow Planet kit, assuming there is enough interest.

Hudson's Pizza

So the time has finally come to unveil the plan for my next layout. Given that I'm still not happy with the track plan for 77 Box Lane that will stay on the drawing board for now, and this is an entirely new and different layout.

One of the things I liked about my N gauge layout, Jerusalem (which is now boxed up and being stored in the loft) was that it had a roundy-roundy track plan so I could just watch the trains go by. It was also useful for running in and testing new locomotives as they could be left going for hours if necessary without any intervention. Given the size I had to play with 77 Box Lane was always going to be an end-to-end layout and while I'm happy with that (although not the current track plan) I did feel it would be useful to have some form of continuous run test track, even if that was a simple circle of temporary track.

I wasn't actively planning a new layout when a random comment sent me off on a bit of historical research. I grew up in Morley, a small town just outside Leeds, and I've known for a long time (pretty much as long as I can remember) that many of the early builders of locomotives and rolling stock were based in and around Leeds; it's one of the reasons I have a soft spot for the Quarry Hunslet locomotives. What I didn't know, until recently, was that I actually grew up less than three miles from the main works of one of the companies.

Robert Hudson Ltd was founded in 1865 and had it's main works at Gildersome a small village just outside Morley (it's officially been part of Morley since 1937). This was a huge site covering 38 acres and was well served by a 2 foot tramway. Raw materials and finished products arrived and left the site via the standard gauge branch line that formed the northern edge of the site. You can see these and many other details on both the 1938 map and a 1928 aerial photograph.

What immediately caught my eye though was the circular feature which is very clear on the map, but unfortunately is unlabelled as to purpose. Zooming in on the photo though and it's purpose becomes clearer. It's a circular test track on which you can see what looks like a couple of wagons.

To me this looks perfect for turning into a pizza layout. It will give me somewhere to test and run in locomotives and wagons while being based on an actual location. There also appears to be a variety of building styles to perfect and some dry stone walling. I know that so far I've not built any Hudson wagons or locomotives which they re-sold (they didn't build their own but rather re-sold those produced by companies such as Hudswell Clarke, Kerr Stuart, and Hunslet) but I can always apply Rule 1 of railway modelling; it's my trainset so I'll run whatever I want to!

The problem I have is that this grainy photo contains the only details I have on the buildings surrounding the test track. There is a drawing in Alan J. Haigh's book on the foundry (published by the Moseley Railway Trust) but it doesn't provide any extra details. So does anyone know of any further drawings or photos of that area of the works that might show more details of the buildings. If you do please leave a comment.

From some rough measurements, I believe that I can fit the circle of track and the buildings immediately surrounding it onto a board that will fit into the box I originally bought for Jerusalem but which was about 1cm too small. So this means it will fit on my desk and I'll have storage for it. The next step will be a full scale mockup (starting from the map) to check everything will fit and then I can make a start on the baseboard and then building some track. This should be fun!