Well, as I said a few days ago, I've mostly been kitbashing and here's the chamber of horrors;
Exhibit A is the water column.
This started out life as a P&D Marsh M.R. Ground Mounted Water Crane kit and was the closest that I could find to suit the original; at Coniston - with some modification.
The kit crane has a swan-neck swinging arm for reaching centrally mounted tender water fillers. however the one at Coniston didn't have a swinging arm, presumably because the locos stabled there were all tank locos so had fillers right at their sides. I assume that visiting tender locos would have filled up elsewhere.
Anyway, the kit was easily modified to better represent the Coniston column, by cutting off the swan-neck arm and the canvas "bag" from the end of that, and glueing the bag directly to the column with a length of
rod inserted so that the bag hung right down to the ground. I also had to cut the base so that the drain sits closer to the column.
The column isn't permanently fitted yet - too much risk of knocking it off or worse while I'm still working in the area. Before I do glue it down I'd better revisit the join between the paint colours.
Exhibit B - the footbridge;
This started out as a kit based on the Midland Railway lattice bridge at originally at Bakewell which whilst not correct for Coniston was the one I felt I stood the best chance of getting closer.
This required the length changing to halfway between the shorter and longer options in the kit, the height reducing and the stairs altering to remove the half-landings halfway up the flights.
I'll be the first to admit that it's far from perfect, being the most fiddly kit I've yet tried - but it'll do for now.
Exhibit C - the loading gauge;
A bog-standard Ratio one, not the perfect design for Coniston but acceptable.
Exhibit D - signals;
These three starting signals for platforms 3 & 2 (with the one for platform 1 in the background) are the Langley Models Single post Lower quadrant kits with the only required mod being to lop a bit off the bottom of the one for platform 2 because it sits on the platform, not the ground. Oh, and for all the signals, removing the GWR finials
These two required significant mods - for a start, increasing significantly in height because the arms of which we can see the backs needed to be visible over the bridge.
The left-hand one was a Langley Single Post 2 Aspects kit which needed both increasing in height
and one of the arms turning around - the arm facing away signalled that an approaching train would be entering, according to my book, the goods yard but I suspect it really meant the loop lines either side of the signal box because a) there was a ground signal for entering the goods yard and b) this post puts the arm on the wrong side of the track. Anyway, the mods were done by cutting off the relevant detail parts of the kit and rejoining them using suitable lengths of brass tube.
The right-hand 3-doll job took a bit more work. It started out as Langley's Triple Post Bracket kit which actually has four arms (two on the middle post) all at different heights, whereas the three-doll one at Coniston had them all at the same height. The mods were done in a similar way to above using more of the brass tube.
Ladders and fencing around the 3-doll bracket platform will be added when I plant the signals permenently.
I hope to be able to get the semaphore arms flapping up and down from the control panel but haven't tested my thoughts as to how I could do that yet, mainly because the components are on a slow boat from China. For the time being, I've set them all at "clear". Whilst, technically, that means that I should be strictly observing the one engine in steam rule, which I won't, that is preferable to having most movements resulting in a SPAD.
The eagle-eyed may have spotted a ground signal in the first signals pic, I have no intention of trying to make those work.
Exhibit E - a train shed;
Oops, not that one. I haven't envisaged a '60s rebuild using brutalist architecture - really, that's my tool shelf which sits on the same locating tubes as the proper train shed will. I made it because, now I've scenified everywhere I've run out of places to put my tools
Here's the first development of the proper one, overall view;
Closer view of the southern end;
and of the northern end;
Because it a) spans a board joint and b) will be too tall for when I stack the boards to go in the car, the station buiding, train shed and goods shed structure needs to be removable. The first thing I needed to do was make a rigid framework because the two sides are only joined by the roof so I've made a framework from plywood and brass rod/tube which can then be clad with the real walls and rooves.
The ends are just my first stage designs to make sure they fit before I draw them up properly in Photoshop for printing and assembly. That will keep me busy
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