WLJR: Sands End (Part 3)

The Sands End project was my biggest learning curve to date for modelling as I did something I've never done before and that was to make track. I started by staining sleepers.


I then use a wonderful programme called Templot to create templates for all the custom turnouts that Sands End required. Here you can see the templates with the stained sleepers held down by double-sided sticky tape.

I then used turnout kits by Exactoscale as components for the turnouts I needed, as I wanted to make them according the Great Western Railway standards, and the Exactoscale turnout kits follow LNER/BR Eastern region practice.

Here is a close up of me making a crossover where I have added running check rails that go throughout the turnout.

I then progressed onto the main junction that involved building four slightly overlapped adjoining turnouts as can be seen here.

 

However, the compound turnout and double slip were beyond my skill levels, but I managed to get Tony from CLAG to build me them, and I weathered some wagons for him.

The double slip and compound turnout were made using ply and rivets, whereas I made all my turnouts using chairs glued to ply sleepers. Therefore I ended up gluing chairs to both individually after the event.

This next picture shows a work in progress and the order in which I built the turnouts. Here I was looking down the rails to check alignment through the pair of turnouts.

More to come.