How I added another siding to Bickerton Station

The track layout at Bickerton Station has always been cramped. It was the first station I constructed on the railway from the days when I thought the Peckforton Light Railway would be a far more modest undertaking. Basically, Bickerton Station was squeezed on to two 3'x2' concrete paving slabs supported on brick pillars.

Here is what it looked like in 2008, when the railway was in its infancy

As you can see, the main goods siding is a bay behind the main platform and there is a short spur on the end of the loop.

Since 2008, the range and number of goods wagons on the PLR has proliferated and freight handling is probably what I enjoy most about running my railway. I have thought of various ways I might be able to add another siding or two at Bickerton but, unless I shift the location of the station then the range of possibilities has always been limited.

This shot of the station throat shows how Beeston Castle Station is situated just above Bickerton and so there is absolutely no room for expansion in this direction. The main line to Peckforton curves off to the right beside the white roofed van - and so, until now, I have always thought there was very little room in that direction also.

That was until I had a brainwave! Why not widen the station with planking and use the mainline track to Peckforton as the start of a siding?

The first task was to clear the route for the new siding which involved the removal of a tree root.

Fortunately, the tree had been removed many years ago as it had outgrown its location and so, with a bit of persuasion, it came out. The mainline track was lifted and a turnout and new track installed.

Triangular wooden brackets were cut to size and screwed into Rawlplugs inserted in holes drilled in the brick supports for the paving slabs.

I also replaced the boards linking the main station loop to the storage sidings in the lean-to as the originals (installed fourteen years ago) had rotted..

A piece of 6" x 1" pressure treated fence rail was cut to size and placed on the brackets. At the same time, some track was also cut to size and test fitted.

Satisfied with the clearances, the plank was removed and covered with roofing felt (tar paper), fixed in place with 1" clout nails.

The plank was then screwed into place on the brackets .........

 ...... and the track screwed down.

The next job was to find a way of improving the platform edge behind the new siding. I decided the platform would benefit from station fencing separating the passengers from the good siding. Having been unsuccessful at making convincing looking palings by hand, I resorted to TinkerCAD and drew a short section of fencing together with a post.

Sufficient lengths of fencing (twenty one) were duly printed out and then primed with grey acrylic primer ......

...... and then given three coats of cream coloured acrylic paint.

To disguise the ugly concrete platform edge and paving slabs behind the new siding, I decided to use 5mm thick PVC foamboard - which has become my material of choice for exterior buildings and structures.

Strips, 60mm wide, were cut and courses of sandstone blocks marked out in pencil.

Slots were cut for the fencing posts ......

...... and the horizontal courses scribed with a screwdriver.

The vertical mortar courses were then impressed with the blade of a wide screwdriver. Inserting the blade into the horizontal course initially .........

...... and then swivelling the blade vertically while applying downward pressure. I find this is a reliable way of ensuring the vertical courses are constrained between the horizontal courses.

Once all the scribing and impressing had been done, the foamboard sections were given a coat of grey primer.

Once this had dried, a reddy-brown coat of acrylic paint was dry-brushed diagonally over the walls. Dry-brushing means getting a small amount of paint on a wide flat brush and lightly applying it on the raised sections of the wall, trying to avoid flooding the impressed mortar courses.

Inevitably, no matter how carefully the dry-brushing is done, some paint will find its way into the mortar courses.

This can be carefully remedied by touching up the mortar with a fine paintbrush, ......

 ..... and then wiping off the excess with a damp finger or paper towel.

Once the first dry-brushed coat had dried, individual stones were picked out with differing shades and tints of the base colour.

The wall 'fascias' were then fixed in place by applying liberal quantities of clear silicon sealant to the backs and pressing them against the concrete platform edges. Coffee stirrers were snapped to size and wedged against the track to hold the strips in place while the sealant set.

The sealant was left for 24 hours to ensure it had thoroughly set. The fencing sections were then superglued into place.

 

 

Finally, the siding and revised mainline was ballasted. The siding was firstly filled up to rail height with a 3:1 mix of builders' sand and cement to which a sprinkling of black cement dye had been added. I usually add a dollop of general purpose PVA with the water when mixing the concrete as this helps with adhesion.

 Once the concrete had partially set to its 'green' state (usually overnight), the rails were cleaned off with a scraper - I use a piece of aluminium strip.

This was left to set for another 24 hours and then horticultural sharp sand was sprinkled on and pushed into place with a 1.5 inch paintbrush. I use the RHS brand from my local garden centre as it includes a few small stones and crushed shells to give a bit of variety. I sometimes also mix in some dry soil and/or aquarium gravel (see How I ballasted Beeston Market station).

 The area was then flooded with SBR additive. SBR is obtained in 5 litre containers from builders' merchants (or Wickes) and is more expensive than PVA but has the advantage that when it sets it remains flexible, which seems to hold the sand in place more reliably. I also gave the area a very light misting with the hose on a 'mist' setting to encourage the SBR to spread into all the nooks and crannies.

Once the SBR had set, the rails were scraped clean again and the sand was given a watery wash of brown and black cement dyes. I find this tones down the stark appearance of the sharp sand. Thinning it to a watery mix allows some of the sand and stones to show through to give some variation in colour.

Meanwhile, the mainline and turnout was ballasted with my usual 3:1 mix of Meadow View horticultural grit and cement, brushed into place dry .......

......... and then watered with a hose on its 'mister' setting. I find Meadow Vale grit binds together with the cement much more reliably than other horticultural grits.

The siding has doubled the capacity goods stock storage at the station.

As a consequence, I have now adjusted the weightings in my freight handling computer program to ensure that more freight is destined for Bickerton Station. Of course, I might now have to add another storage siding to those in the lean-to to store this extra stock between operating sessions.

There's always plenty to do on a garden railway!!

How I revised the layout of Bulkeley Station

Preamble

The layout of Bulkeley Station has remained unchanged since the railway was first constructed in 2005 (see Progress Report 1), ......... .

......... apart from the recent addition of a siding (see Progress Report 75).

After adding a coal depot (see How I detailed the coal yard at Beeston Castle) and the brewery at Beeston Castle (Progress Report 76), I felt it was time to enhance the detailing at Bulkeley. I had already added a loading bank to the old siding for the local soft fruit harvest (see How I cast a loading bank in concrete), .....

 ......but was frustrated in being able to add much else because the sidings were on the viewing side of the main line. Had they been on the furthermost side, I could have created a half relief lineside building such as a Boneworks like that not far from the hypothetical location of the PLR) similar to the brewery at Beeston Castle (see How I constructed the brewery).

The Tattenhall Road Boneworks (with Beeston Castle behind the chimney)

 So, having detailed Beeston Castle and Peckforton stations (see Progress Report 73) , I decided it was Bulkeley station's turn to receive some attention. I figured that if I re-jigged siding and main line on the Downward side of the station, I could bring the main line to the front and move the siding to the rear. I might even have space for two sidings. More importantly, there would be space behind the siding(s) for a low relief building of some sort. The branch line to the Copper Mine would require re-routing, but this didn't look to require any major engineering and so, I was ready to begin.

So, I sketched a rough idea as to how it might look:

Before....

 .... and after

Surveying the site, I worked out that if I moved the main siding closer to the edge of the raised bed, there would be sufficient room for the mainline to run between it and another siding positioned towards the back of the bed, close to the position of the original mainline.

The loading bank would have to be relocate to the other goods siding and the branch to the copper mine would need to be re-aligned, but I worked out there was room for this provided I removed a couple of rocks from the side of the cutting.

And so to work

 The first job was to lift the track.

 The screws holding the track to the breeze blocks were unscrewed and the various lengths of track and pointwork lifted.

The tops of the breeze blocks and brickwork forming the edge of the raise bed needed to be reduced in height by around a centimetre and so they were attacked with the angle grinder and a cold chisel.

A couple of the blocks under the mainline had sunk by around 10mm and so they were lifted ......

.... and relaid on a layer of sand to allow for final adjustment.

The gaps between the blocks were filled with a 3:1 mix of sand and cement, forced into place with fingers clad in heavy duty rubber gloves. I find this approach to be the most effective (and very satisfying).

The concrete was left for four days to harden sufficiently for the next stage in the process. The new pointwork was laid loosely in place to check the new alignments would work ......

..... and then it was fixed in place with rawlplugs and stainless steel screws.

NOTE: I do not screw down pointwork; it is allowed to 'float', using the fixed tracks either side to hold it in place.

Once all the new trackwork had been fixed into place.......

 .... stock was propelled through the pointwork at speed to check it was level and properly aligned.

The whole area was then ballasted using my tried and trusted approach. A 3:1 mix of horticultural grit and cement .......

...... applied dry ........

...... being pushed into place with a stiff paintbrush.

When I was satisfied, the whole area was soaked with water using a watering can with a fine rose.

This was left for three days, covering it at night in case of frost.

The station area is now in need of further detailing.

The platform now needs to be extended, the station building needs some attention as it has been neglected for a few years and. of course, the boneworks needs to be constructed behind the new siding.

The re-sited siding to the front of of the station looks a little precarious and so I will probably widen the raised bed. This might, of course, provide more room for further development. As they say, watch this space!