Claptowte Railway - Goods Loading Dock

David1226

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Gernise End Station on the Claptowte Railway was in need of a goods loading dock and a cattle loading dock. I had a broad idea of the size and the look of these structures but was not sure about the materials I should use. The decision was made when I constructed a platform on which to place the stations yard crane. This was constructed using a carcase of 3.0mm plywood, reinforced using short lengths of square section strip wood. The top was made of 3.0mm thick plasticard sheet which was scribed and carved to represent stone slabs. The sides were clad with 1/24th scale embossed textured brick paper. I was very pleased with the results, so the die was cast when it came to building the loading docks. I started both docks in tandem as although they were slightly different shapes and dimensions, the construction methods and materials were the same up until the ‘fitting out’ of the tops.

The first pictures show the basic plywood carcase.

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Next photos showed the ramp and steps attached. The steps are fabricated from plasticard sheet.

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The top surface of the dock is formed from 3.0mm thick plasticard sheet scribed and carved to represent paving stones

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Once the plasticard tops were glued onto the top of the dock and the access ramp, they were painted along with the treads of the steps. Following this, the sides of the dock were covered with the same 1/24th scale embossed textured brick paper that I used on the platform for the yard crane. When this was done, the step treads were glued in place. That completed the basic structure.

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The next stage was to create some picket fencing around the top of the loading dock. The posts were cut lengths of ¼” square strip wood. The picket fencing panels were created from lengths of wooden coffee stirrers. Holes were drilled in the base of the posts and a short length of brass wire was glued in to form a peg. Corresponding holes were drilled in the surface of the dock for the pegs on the posts to be glued in. The posts and fencing panels were painted prior to assembly. Once the posts were glued in, a brass wire handrail was installed on the steps. On the road side of the dock I installed a fixed metal ladder and handrail. The ladder is another of the offcuts, as used previously on the yard crane platform, salvaged from the construction of the railway signals. A pair of lamp posts were added, these being modified 3V LED items powered by a 2xAA switched battery box mounted beneath the goods dock. There is a separate write up on how the lamp posts were modified.
Claptowte Railway - Platform Lamps - G Scale Central

The finishing touch was to add some 4mm tufts of static grass growing through the haps in the paving stones.

The figure is a Bachmann Scalecraft G Scale offering.

There is a separate write up on the freelance construction of the platform trolley
Claptowte Railway - Platform Trolleys - G Scale Central

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A little light relief on the subject.

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David
 
The next stage was to create some picket fencing around the top of the loading dock. The posts were cut lengths of ¼” square strip wood. The picket fencing panels were created from lengths of wooden coffee stirrers. Holes were drilled in the base of the posts and a short length of brass wire was glued in to form a peg. Corresponding holes were drilled in the surface of the dock for the pegs on the posts to be glued in. The posts and fencing panels were painted prior to assembly. Once the posts were glued in, a brass wire handrail was installed on the steps. On the road side of the dock I installed a fixed metal ladder and handrail. The ladder is another of the offcuts, as used previously on the yard crane platform, salvaged from the construction of the railway signals. A pair of lamp posts were added, these being modified 3V LED items powered by a 2xAA switched battery box mounted beneath the goods dock. There is a separate write up on how the lamp posts were modified.
Claptowte Railway - Platform Lamps - G Scale Central

The finishing touch was to add some 4mm tufts of static grass growing through the haps in the paving stones.

The figure is a Bachmann Scalecraft G Scale offering.

There is a separate write up on the freelance construction of the platform trolley
Claptowte Railway - Platform Trolleys - G Scale Central

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A little light relief on the subject.

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David
Beautifully modeled and nicely observed as ever - but here's an interesting point. The steel ladder on the platform edge. Now, knowing your eye for detail, you've seen that somewhere, possibly on God's Wonderful Railway, but on the platforms where I have wasted my time, mainly Southern, the steps would have been corbelled into the brickwork.

Brilliant stuff David :clap::clap::clap:
 
Beautifully modeled and nicely observed as ever - but here's an interesting point. The steel ladder on the platform edge. Now, knowing your eye for detail, you've seen that somewhere, possibly on God's Wonderful Railway, but on the platforms where I have wasted my time, mainly Southern, the steps would have been corbelled into the brickwork.

Brilliant stuff David :clap::clap::clap:

That sounds like a concrete solution but I am trying to block it from my mind. I do not intend to take steps to alter the stairs.

David
 
I am currently working on the cattle dock which as I mentioned above used the same construction methods, apart from the detail differences, as this loading dock. While working on it I realised that I had omitted to include a view of the underside electrics that power the two 3.0V LED lamp posts, simply a 2 x AA switched battery box and a terminal block. Simplicity itself.

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David
 
Been doing a bit of tweaking today, added some fire buckets to the Gernise End Goods Loading Dock. Brass etch and white metal fire bucket kit from Garden Railways Specialists (GRS), warning sign from Pendle Valley Workshops, posts and board scratch built from plasticard and styrene strip.

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David
 
The goods loading dock has some fresh air in the garden, 18.4.2021

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David
 
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