Continue work on the quarry water insert.
Check assembly of the loading dock building adjacent the factory.
Cosmetic work on the engine shed area.
Discuss development of alternative 'shunting engines' into factory.
Check how the cottages survived being glued together.
Locate cottages on base and create path around the top cottage.
Discuss loading dock building construction.
Discuss additional features beside engine shed.
Geoff got to work on the removeable perspex sheet for the water, adding more paint for the weed and silt next to where the lorries tip waste (LHS). Painting on the top and bottom surfaces can give a feeling of depth. He also gave the bottom of the sheet a light rub-down with very fine emery paper to obscure the timber framework below. Reeds will be glued on the edge of the perspex and the surrounding ground to hide the join when the sheet is slid into place. A coat of resin will then be applied.
Stephen checked that the loading dock polyboard panels glued together before Christmas could be released from the tunnel structure, which they could. He also worked on cutting and forming more panels to support the corrugated roof panels.
Geoff moved on to adding texture to the trackwork in the engine shed siding. A loose mix of plaster and paint was daubed on the pristine ballast and then over-dusted with fine (OO) ballast.
Over Christmas, Geoff had circulated an article on shunting tractors and emails had bounced back and forth with different ideas. However, over lunch, Geoff's tractor arrived in the post - a 1922 Fordson. The tractor was secured to its base with triangular security screws so it was not until he got to the workshop could the underside and wheels be examined closely. It would be a tight fit to get a motor and gearbox into the rear space. Maybe a cab of some sort would hide some of it (not unreasonable). Stephen declared that he was bidding on some s/h short wheelbase Land Rovers. These should be much easier to fit a drive unit. Geoff had a long wheelbase land rover model which looked worryingly big.
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| Land rover and loading dock base. |
A long discussion took place about the materials to be used for the non-factory buildings. The managers house would be brick. The adjacent office - stone. Geoff preferred stone for the loading dock, but Stephen had always envisaged CI, to stay in keeping with the factory. Both agreed on a canopy, but disagreed on construction.....
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| Note the base for the loading dock. |
Engine shed siding: Geoff outlined ideas for a simple coaling stage against the stone wall, with sleepers for the ends and the floor. There was also room for a rectangular water tank on the ledge above, with a feed pipe from higher up.
