New station for Fallowfield Road

Chris Vernell

Chris Vernell

Tortoise
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The MDF kit station at Fallowfield Road is crumbling after several summers outdoors despite my best efforts at sealing and covering the material. I decided it was time to replace it with a resin structure and splashed out on a GRS "small country station" kit for Christmas.
Assembly started today, June 14th, 2024.

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Half of the front wall glued to alumin(i)um angle. The angle is intended to line up the two wall sections and brace the butt joint, and to discourage the resin from bowing in the summer sun and heat (a lesson from earlier resin structures). The glue joints will be backed up with 0-80 bolts through the resin and angle: Belt and braces, I know.
Lengths of angle will be attached farther up the wall and at the building corners. The roof sections will be similarly treated.
The adhesive takes at least 24 hours to cure, according to the manufacturer, so I won't be rushing the assembly -- but neither, I hope, stretching it into eternity.
 
Timely warning about MDF, even the so called weather proof variety does not have very lasting life outside 24/7/365, your prep will certainly have extended the life but inevitability will catch up with the MDF. Love your belt n braces approach to the kit.
 
Glue is not an easy option on aluminium, and can be very 'hit and miss' so I think the bolts is a wise belt and braces :)
 
After the racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee ... oops, the local shopping malls, I got around to adding the other half of the station's front wall.

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You can see the heads of the bolts on the first section of wall that hold the resin to the alu angle (in addition to the adhesive), but they will virtually disappear once the paint is on.

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And the rear view.
I discovered that a1/16" drill makes a fine clearance hole for 0-80 bolts, which is good because I have many 1/16 drill bits if I break any, but only one of the # series bits that make tap holes.
 
The front wall has been set aside to allow the adhesive to cure. All eight bolts are in place to secure the resin slabs to the alu angle.
I have started on the back wall, and discovered that its sections are slightly (~2 mm each) less wide than the front ones. So I carefully marked the alu angle to allow a ~4 mm gap between the wall sections, which I shall fill with pieces of styrene and mask with something, possibly a drain pipe

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First section glued and clamped to angle and left to cure :snooze:
 
Grabbed a few minutes before GD starts her laundry to add the second section of the back wall.

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The infamous gap needed to make the back wall the same width as the front wall -- or as close as my bleary eyes and palsied fingers could get it. I think it's within a millimetre :wondering:.
 
A couple more small steps:

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Gap in back wall stuffed with a piece of 3 mm styrene I had lying around.

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A passel of clamps -- holding one end of the station to a piece of alumin(i)um angle that will become a corner support. Out of shot is the other station end similarly glued and clamped to a piece of angle. Tomorrow I'll do the other edge.
 
Back wall and ends attached:

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Corner angle glued and bolted.
I am thinking of painting the inside of the building to minimize light leakage through the walls if I install lighting, so I shall wait to add the front wall until the rattle-canning's done -- on a day when it's not raining or sweltering o_O
 
Front half of the roof assembled:

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Angle glued and bolted.

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Placed to see how it fits. Bodging will be required.
The slabs for the rear half of the roof need considerable sanding to get the butt-joint edges straight. And I need more nuts and bolts :oops:
 
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Sunday being a true sun day, I thought of hauling out the table saw and working on the train shed, but I only have one day to work on it this week and at my pace it will require two or three dry, not too hot days in a row with nothing else to do. Mama Nature and Her Indoors won't allow that this week :oops:, so I descended to Tartarus, a.k.a. the basement and did a bit more on the new station. Front wall not attached; just checking that it will fit (it does :whew:, after I bodged the window frames so the corner angles fit right).
 
Building is recognisable as a station now?

So recognisable, I've realised I have the same station too....

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Gizzy said:
Building is recognisable as a station now?

So recognisable, I've realised I have the same station too....

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Click to expand...
Thank you. That is a Useful Photo :) and encouragement.
I received only one chimbley stack with my kit and here it is, epoxied in place while I was waiting for the first wash load to finish this morning. Folk at the other end of the building will have to wrap up warm.

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By the time I get back to work on the station next week, the epoxy should be cured :nerd:
 
Chris Vernell said:
Moving along:

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Discovered to my chagrin that I now need two hands to paint fiddly bits: left hand steadying the right. And a magnifier for the eyes. The joys of age o_O. Yup, Muggins, could be a lot worse.
Click to expand...
Professional sign-writers use a similar principle, also seen with painting on full sized locomotives n carriages so don't beat yourself up about requiring steadying.IMG_8111.png
 
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