3D Printed Signals, Trains, Hitherton Station, More

[simple simon]

(I've not yet completed the lights mentioned in the previous message)

Alas, I've had a small painting snafu - when painting the inside of a few Standard Stock cars some paint escaped through the windows so that it is visible on the outside - where there should be red paint.

I did not see this when painting as the windows were still fully covered in masking tape - I painted the interiors directly after the paint on the train roofs had dried and only removed the masking tape after the insides had also dried.

This image shows my painting snafu, although the use of a flash has distorted the green colour.

Earlier today I repainted the train sides, at present the two cars involved are in the garden shed so that the paint can dry.

Why are the roofs brown? Someone (who I wont name) told me that this is correct. I feel sure that it isn't and I need to get some Wilko paint stripper to remove it. I suppose that I could also lightly paint over the brown but I am concerned that the paint will become too thick and mask the roof detail. I need to buy grey paint...

Also today I spray painted the undercoat of a 1967ts four car unit. These too are in the shed drying...

Because the weather is getting colder it may be a while before I am able to do any more 'rattle-can' spray painting.

Because of the profusion of options Radley do not supply wheels. Can anyone recommend where I could get these? They need to be 9mm - most retailers only have larger wheel - 10mm - 14mm.


I also recently bought the Bachmann Art Deco platform waiting room that is modelled on Harrow-On-The-Hill station. I was going to scratchbuild something like this but it was easier to just buy. I am still scratchbuilding a canopy roof extension. To make it match the Bachmann unit I've had to build this almost a scale 2ft thick (8mm!)

As the photos show, I've added people and tube map inside the waiting room, plus lights. These are a self-adhesive warm white LED strip that I had bought to use inside one of the Standard Stock tube cars. It looks much more yellow in the photo than real life.

The station name roundel was bought as part of a special offer (for members only) from the London Underground Railway Society in the late 1990s. I installed it late at night without looking at any photos of the real thing... I wanted to use this sign because of the 'way out' at the bottom but probably should have cut it out from the white background.

btw, my inspiration for the seating layout inside these waiting rooms (West Hampstead station plus 1996ts train)...

 

[Peter C]

All sounds really interesting - if you hadn't have mentioned the Standard Stock roof not supposed to be brown I'd have thought it was the correct colour given how well you've done that. Shame about the paint from the inside coming through but one of the many joys of model railways I suppose
That waiting room looks really nice too. Adding people just makes it so much more lived-in and realistic. That sign looks quite nice too!

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

It’s really nice to see this coming together @simple simon, especially as it’s something a bit different and you’re obviously putting a lot of effort into getting the feel of it right.

 

[simple simon]

Thanks Peter and Cowley.

Today I've been busy with the roof for the rest of the platform canopy. It is only 6 1/4 inches (16cm) long, as part of the platform will be covered in a completely different way. One end will be glued to the Bachmann waiting room unit and to hold the rest of the canopy I am using K&S brass H-Column No. #815010. It would have been far easier to use Evergreen or Plastruct plastic (I could have cut it using my plastic 'chopper' instead of a hacksaw) but I chose metal because I wanted greater strength than plastic offers - in case anything ever drops on to the canopy. My inspiration for the 'not at all visually attractive' H-Column comes from seeing this being used at Woodford and Hainault stations.

As an aside, elsewhere at both stations they also use historic circular canopy support poles, with the Hainault variant including the letters GER (the station was originally built by the Great Eastern Railway). Woodford does not have this (it was first built by the Eastern Counties Railway) but it does have some seats with GER lettering scrollwork in the seat bench support.

Returning to my station, the H-Column will be painted (its already been sprayed with an etching primer). I will also paint the underside of the canopy roof extension, and to ensure that it matches I will probably have to also paint the underside of the Bachmann canopy.

I am yet to choose colours, I am thinking of keeping the roof grey* and making the H-Column beige or cream.

*)It just so happens that I recently bought some Vallejo paint in a colour called 'London Grey'! I just hope that water-based acrylic paints will not distort the cardboard canopy. I think it might be a good idea to first conduct a test on cut-off piece of scrap cardboard.

Simon

 

[Cowley]

Did you get anywhere with repainting the roofs on your stock. I’m no expert but I did think the brown didn’t seem quite right? Amazing models though.
I was also wondering if it might be worth editing the title of your thread to include the name of the layout maybe? Because I think there’s a lot of LU fans on here that would be interested.

 

[simple simon]

Did you get anywhere with repainting the roofs on your stock. I’m no expert but I did think the brown didn’t seem quite right? Amazing models though.
I was also wondering if it might be worth editing the title of your thread to include the name of the layout maybe? Because I think there’s a lot of LU fans on here that would be interested.

Hello,

No to the repainting, but mainly because I did not even try, not yesterday. Before I can do that I will need to go to Wilkinson to get some paint remover and go somewhere like Halfords to get a rattle can of paint. Based on the few colour photos I've seen I think it needs to be a very dark grey.

I also need to buy some other paint colours, such as a cream / ivory colour for the 1937 LNER Tyneside Electric train I am also building. I am painting these in their 1941 LNER livery.

Also, I am not sure if it is wise to spray paint in the colder winter weather - I use spray cans outside and leave things to dry in an unheated garden shed. I might be wrong but I think the weather needs to be a minimum of 10 deg C / 50 deg F.

re: my thread name, I did not realise that as the op I have the ability to change it. I will try immediately after completing this message. The station I am building will be more like a diorama than a layout. I do not have the space for anything serious. But I hoping that this will be rectified in the future.

Simon

 

[RolandJupiter6]

Months later and I still have not built the signals, as instead I started building a tube station. Its one of the Kingsway printed stations and buildings. I chose the platform walls design based on a 1930s station platform. I very much did not want a Northern line south London style station platform as that has no emotional attachment for me.

2mm square section Evergreen / Plastruct plastic strips painted black can represent the tube style of power rails. I have the Peco power rail chairs.

I need to fit lights in the station and have found some 30 mm LED lights which could be used to mimic fluorescent lights. I'd like to have them hang down a little from the platform ceiling but it might be easier to not do this. Having looked at photos of real underground stations I've seen enough varieties to know that whatever I do will be prototypically correct for somewhere. I did experiment with fibre optics of a type designed to leak light along the fibre but the amount of light coming out was too little - its a shame as this would have been an easier - and cheaper - option.

The first image shows part of a platform. I am hoping that one of the model railway suppliers will make for me the correct LU style of platform edge coping with tactile 'dots' (I have asked but await a reply). Then I can add the rest of the platform and get rid of the white cardboard edge seen here. I also need to add adverts, platform end signs, seats, passengers etc. If available I'll also add platform end barriers. I am unsure what to do about litter bins.

The name Hitherton comes from something I bought in the late 1990s when the London Underground Railway Society (LURS) were given permission for members to have model railway station names printed using the correct LT logo. I had to choose a name... and that was all I could think of. That said, Kingsway agreed to use my choice of station name as seen here - but I intend to use some of the LURS signage on 'open air' platforms at this station.

As Kingsway do not offer passageways with matching tiles I am looking at using a similarish colour card (full colour / not printed) and printing on it a fine grid to depict tiles. This station will be modern-era, with some heritage elements (eg: way out signs) similar to stations such as Highgate, Gants Hill, etc. For station building I chose Mile End (printed with my choice of name) as its sort of from the right era and does not look too big physically / will easily fit in a row of shops. I need modern ticket machines and if I cannot find them commercially will look to reduce something that I photographed down to a small enough size and then print it myself.

I'm building my two platform kits slightly differently to how they are meant to be built - I plan to make part of one platform a fully circular tube and even add the inside tube from a kitchen roll beyond the station so that it is possible to look through the station and see the approaching train illuminating the inside of the kitchen roll cardboard tube. For the other platform, wait and see! (cheat comment - Its only just arrived and I cannot build it whilst using a computer).

Just to test the concept I pushed an unbuilt kit by Radley of a Standard Stock tube car plus some track in to a kitchen roll cardboard tube. It looks like the cardboard tube will need cutting and widening at the base, but otherwise it will work. As an aside, the tube car kit is a delight, everything just fits together, even the bogie components. So it should be easy to make. When it comes to painting I will have a choice of three colour schemes - plain red, red with cream window frames or red, cream window frames and blue stripe. This third livery was used on trains that went to all the way to Watford Junction instead of just Elephant & Castle - Queens Park.

That London Underground platform replica looks to me remarkably like the real thing, it could be a picture taken with some sort of perspective effect. 9/10 rating.

 

[simple simon]

That London Underground platform replica looks to me remarkably like the real thing, it could be a picture taken with some sort of perspective effect. 9/10 rating.

Indeed so, its exactly what I was wanting. But it needs time and effort to build.

I am currently working on a platform shelter for the part of platform that will be in open air and the escalators. Progress, much to my regret, is slow.



My new message was auto-merged with an older message - the portion below dates from Tuesday 14th Dec 2021

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The portion of the platform shelter which I fabricated myself has now been glued to the portion that is a Bachmann model.

I had to paint the ceiling underside of both portions as it was the only way to get matching colours. I decided that since I am painting I might as well do it in a colour that matches other parts of the station - which is cream. This is the colour that my Kingsway tube station platforms kit uses. btw: I used a rattle can spray paint - not a brush.

After painting the platform shelter I waited a few days to let the paint thoroughly dry and then varnished it. This was yesterday, Monday. I left it overnight in the greenhouse to dry. As we are in winter and the greenhouse is unheated I left it in a heated plant propagator which is about 20 deg C / 68 deg F.

This morning I retrieved it from the greenhouse and to my horror have found that the varnish has caused the paint colour to change to a pale pink / red hue. Its awful!

I hope that this does not happen when I use varnish on the model trains I am building!

I've already decided that the best way forward is to line the underside of the platform shelter with paper / card that is similar in colour to the 1930s style Kingsway platform kit. I will lose the ceiling panel effect but it will be better than repainting it again. To make life easier (I hope!!!) I will first use cheap photo copier paper so that I have a 'pattern' for cutting the more expensive coloured thin card.

 

[simple simon]

progress is painfully slow, as I am also working on my website and creating new films

last week I affixed most of the self-coloured card over the painted underside of the shelter and used superglue gel to affix some of the floor to ceiling canopy support poles. Now I am waiting for online shops to reopen for me to sort out the lighting, the part under the roof will mimic fluorescent lights, although the components I have to use are a little larger than fully to scale

I've also bought a tall free-standing twin lamp Viessmann light from the Modelbahn - Lippe shop in Germany.

H0 Slim street light double, 2 LEDs white

Prototypical brass mast with base socket for easy mounting. Maintenance free by LED lighting. Filigree design. Height: 8,7 cm.

viessmann-modell.com

I did search online for a UK shop that sells these lights, but without success. On eBay the retailers wanted circa £15 postage - the German's I am buying from will charge €9.90 for the whole package, which includes other items not available here. They also sell at a discounted price! I only bought the one (along with other items) as I want to be sure it looks OK. This light is tall with twin straight fluorescent tubes, if it looks OK I will buy more on my next order with them. I originally wanted to use some 1930s style art deco concrete lights but I'd have to make them myself and everything else is taking so long that I'm concerned it will take forever. Anyway, I will have more than one station... on that topic, I hope that a UK model railway supplier adds to their product range a really modern station with glass wall fronatage, such as those being built for Crossrail.

 

[simple simon]

After a long delay (working on the website instead) I've spent a day modelling ... built a second platform for my tube station.

What I've realised is just how far apart the platforms are at some subterranean stations with island style platforms and centrally located accesses - its not really appreciated when one is using them as there are no outside spatial clues. The platforms at stations where the escalators extend all the way to platform level have to be that far apart to create space for the escalators, stations with stairs* need less width.

(* whether below ground with stairs and passageways to the escalators - as per many central London tube stations - or with just steps to the surface, eg: Redbridge)

The station I'm building will have three escalators!

As I do not have a proper baseboard I am going to adopt the Scale Model Scenery 'baseboard in a box' concept - their baseboard range includes a kit of baseboard modules which when joined up are about a metre in length - they designed them this way as then they will fit inside a 77 litre 'really useful' plastic box / container.

Although what I'm building will therefore be like a diorama it is my hope that eventually it will be extended - when I have somewhere with space available (perhaps garden shed).

 

[Peter C]

Sorry it's taken so long to respond. The idea of modelling a deep-level tube station is a really interesting one; I've not personally seen many people have a go at it. I think with the escalators and passageways in-between the platforms this should make for quite the interesting model! Can't wait to see it develop over time.

-Peter

 

[simple simon]

Sorry it's taken so long to respond. The idea of modelling a deep-level tube station is a really interesting one; I've not personally seen many people have a go at it. I think with the escalators and passageways in-between the platforms this should make for quite the interesting model! Can't wait to see it develop over time.

-Peter

Hello Peter,

No problems with delay in replying

I've now bought the Scale Model Scenery baseboard designed to fit in a box and realised its a tight fit to fit everything in the available width. (Length is 'no problem'.) Ideally I need a couple of inches extra width, but might just about get by if I reduce the gap between the escalators. Otherwise I'll have to install steps between the platforms and use the escalators at right angles. Its not what I wanted - most suburban deep level tube stations have the escalators extend all the way down to the H shaped island platforms.

Today when out shopping I saw that my local Ryman have the box I need, I was not expecting this as their website says that this is a 'mail order only' item. As I was not expecting to see it I was not prepared - its far to big to get in to my backpack. So next week I plan to return with a shopping trolley - the box is not very wide (its advertised as being ideal for a Christmas tree!) so should be fit in the shopping trolley.

It is my plan that it will be possible to look through one side of one of the platforms and see the other platform via a cross passage plus passengers on the platform. Without revealing too much I have devised a solution that will be both realistic and make this possible. Something I've seen somewhere (not London).

One end of the station will be open and the plan is that it will be possible to stand at that end of the station and see an approaching train passing through a tunnel before arriving at the station. The tunnel will be the centre cardboard roll from kitchen paper placed over the track just outside the station, cut lengthways, with either side of the cut glued to the baseboard. This will be a tight fit, but so are 'real' tube trains!

I am thinking of depicting the tube tunnel type of power supply rails using 1mm square plastic evergreen rod. Painted dirty black. But that might need to change as I might decide to use the middle rail as a power supply, perhaps just for the lights, as then the lights can 'go out' when the train traverses pointwork! I have some Marklin stud contact power supply pick ups, its a question of being able to fit one of them to the bogies.

Progress will be slow as this is not my only modelling project; also I will soon need to spend time on the garden, planting seeds, etc, plus I also need to keep making films for my YouTube channel and my website is in need of updating too.

Simon