Wagga Wagga station. I've done with the details

 

Wagga Wagga Station Platform – finishing off.

Welcome to 2023.  To celebrate the occasion, I am calling the Wagga Wagga station model “finished”.

Wagga Wagga station in 1994 - picture by John Morrison

As I hinted on my earlier Blog post, there is a sweet spot where enough detailing  is sufficient, and further detailing is a trade-off between time taken, and improvement to the overall scene.  My aim on constructing the station building was to challenge, and improve my own skills, maybe earn a merit status in the NMRA structure category, but mainly as a center piece for the future layout.

I am getting ahead of myself.  In the last month, some further details were made, and installed.

Downpipes

I have simplified the number installed.

Downpipes made from round styrene rod, cut and glued as appropriate.  Some have been painted in silver, others in the cream colour used for the station details

These downpipes were generally affixed to the station using tacky white glue, which allows for subtle repositioning on the station

 

Lamps

At the front of the station façade, there were three old style lamps mounted above the windows.  I was hoping that I would be able to locate lamps of the correct style and size on the internet, but I was unsuccessful.  So, the option was to make them.

Cut out 4 panes of clear styrene, and glue them to a 0.040 scrap of styrene.  The glue tends top run everywhere, so the clear panes now have turned cloudy

Cut out, and shape the 0.040 sytrene.  Add a piece of round rod for the top, and a 0.020 piece of styrene at the base.

Superglue a piece of brass wire to the base, and then paint - leaving the clear (now very cloudy) styrene unpainted

Drill a small hole for the brass wire, and insert the lamp. Glue as needed

My lamps are slightly bigger than scale, however, don’t look too bad from normal viewing distances.  My fabrication method is not the only way to make the lamps.  People with a resin 3D printer, and ability to render the lamp in software, would have produced a better model.  In fact, if such a model became available, I have a simple replacement option.  And for bonus points, if the resin lamp, was cast in clear resin in an RTV mold, with an SMD LED lamp, and wires, the lamp could be lit.

Signs

NSWGR fitted signs to their stations, to aid passengers to what doors belonged to what rooms. 

This 1980 Intercapital Daylight picture by Stephen Kaiser shows the 'LADIES' sign just under the awning, above the loco horns.

Nothing like having a real sign to measure

Whilst ‘PARCEL’ is not something useful for identifying my future train room, the cast metal letters were exactly 3” high.

I created a word document with the appropriate signs, and changed the size.  When printed, I could select the print that matched HO scale

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

Calibri (body).   Point    This size scales almost correctly for HO station signage

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

Calibri (body).  4 point

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MENS    PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MENS     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MENS     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MENS     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

RAILWAY  MUSEUM          STATION MASTER       TELEGRAPH OFFICE    WAITING ROOM     LADIES     MEN     PARCELS

I made the hardware from styrene strip, and then simply cut the signs from the paper, and glued them to the styrene,  Followed by paint.  They don't look professional, but quite small, I think I will get away with it. 

Fitting these under the platform awning was tricky using tweezers and good magnification, and lighting.  The glue I used was tacky white glue. 

Car Park

Many years ago, car parking in front of the station was angled parking, with a taxi pickup/dropdown close to the front entrance

My method  to simulate this is to draw angled line markings on the road surface.  The easiest way is as shown.

 

Set square, and white pencil.  I marked a spot on the set square for the line length.  Using the curbside gutter, the process is close to foolproof 

Seats, People, and luggage carts

I needed some seated people for the seats previously painted.  I had a selection of ebay purchased seated passengers, but these were hopeless.  I did have a box of unpainted Preisser seated figures, and much better.  Painting –a process taking a few days, waiting for paint colours to dry.  My main issue is that I have hopeless colour sense for clothing

Standing passengers came from the Westedge 3D preprinted range, purchased at the Goulburn N scale convention.

Luggage carts were etched brass - courtesy of Ross Balderson’s artwork on the Wagga station awning fret to fill up spare space.  Folded, and painted – they are in need of luggage.

Pictures

I was not going to take photos in the sunlight, so I opted for the shade of my garage eves.  Even then, the temperature in the shade was around 35C.  I placed a blue whispy cloud backscene on a table, and positioned the station crudely for pictures for this Blogpost.  The images have been cropped with photoshop, and do lack the brilliance that better lighting could provide.

Westedge 3D figures, and some Road Rager australian cars add to the ambience. This is the view the operators of the future layout will have of the Wagga station.  I am however, considering a CCTV camera so as to view the other side

An Auscision 422, and a set of three Austrains BS/FS carriages is an indication of how much longer the platform needs to be to fit an 8 car RUB set 

On the platform side, seats, standing and seated people add life to the station 

Look closely to see that I installed the station master sign upside down.  The camera picks up any faults, and is an essential tool in your modelling kit.  Fortunately, back on the workbench, the tacky glue allowed the sign to be repositoned correctly

Conclusion.

Constructing the Wagga Wagga station  has been a marathon - 2 and a half years since starting  in September, 2020.  The process has been generally enjoyable, and I now have better skills that can be used for future scratch building projects.  The station model could be further improved, with an interior, more clutter on the roof,  weathering, more signage, litter bins, lighting, fences, palm tree and grass, and of course, extended platform for at least a 6 car train.   If I was starting afresh, knowing now where I struggled, I would invest time in learning how to model using a 3D printer.  Many of the architectural features of the station are duplicated, and could have been easily printed in quantity, with consistency that I struggled with.

 

Anyway, it is time for a new challenge

Until next time, build a model or three.

Wagga Wagga station - some more detailing

 Detailing on Wagga Wagga station - continues

Detailing is something that takes ages, but is necessary to complete a wagon, loco, or structure.  With a modern kit,  most of the detailing is included.  Some of the older "craftsman kits" rely on the skill of the modelmaker.  Scratchbuilding, may give an opportunity to purchase parts to suit.    I may have taken on a bit more, as modelling an iconic structure, means that many of the details have to be fabricated from raw material.

The Tumbarumba bound railmotor awaits departure from Wagga station, around 10am.  This picture taken on the Wagga station diorama with real sunlight, and shows some of the detailing applied recently

Fly Screens on Parcel Office windows

Out-of, Parcel Office, or Museum building

Ultra fine mesh cloth was coloured with permanent felt tip whiteboard pen.

The window frames and bars were made from styrene strip directly onto clear plastic

Check for fit..

More Parcel Office details

More details made.  I had taken some close-ups of the the two air conditioners to try and get them right.

Doors and downpipes

Platform and platform road

I cut a number of strips from the Staters Brickwork sheet I had left over from the Bomen station build.  The Wagga platform face is straight, and not reverse stepped like most NSW platforms.  This makes the Wagga platform easier than otherwise - probably the only win to save time in the entre build. 

The track in front of the station will be added when needed for the diorama.  This is so that when fitting the station on the layout, I won't have the problem with track, if I need to later remove just the station.  Thinking ahead?   Masking tape used to contain the ballast on the strip of wood used for the track. 

Ballasting done in the normal way - with the masking tape to prevent unwanted spillages.  The bubblewrap was just in case the glue ran onto the support table.

Wagga station in the late afternoon, picture taken from the footbridge (shadow)

Parcel Office from the platform.  The blue luggage carts are courtesy of Ross Balderson, as he included these as a space filler on the etched brass fret for the Wagga station verandas.  The platform face was attached to the wood base of the station with spray adhesive, and weathered with Tamiya Smoke, but could be weathered further.  The platform road is just placed in position

The parcel office from the roadside.  The downpipe on the main station toilet extension is visible

The main toilet block has an unusual window style.  I had assumed the horizontal "bars" were shutters, but closer inspection, the bars are actually metal bars, with a wooden blind behind.

Both roadside, and platform side windows made from strip and rod styrene on 0.020 styrene sheet, backed onto clear styrene "glass".  I won't kid you, these took ages to make, 

The bars are difficult to see in this platform side angle (the roadside image at the front of the blogpost, shows them better) Platform brickwork not yet weathered

Westedge 3D figures, (reviewed in AMRM Dec 2022).  I am always looking to save some time, and preprinted in colour figures may enhance the diorama.  Unfortunately, the glinting on the clothing is distracting, but I hope that Dullcoat will fix this.

At what point do I stop this process?  A lot of years have passed since I was given some advice.  "Twelfth Street Yard", the American layout for the ACT Model Railway Society had been on the exhibition scene for about 5 years, yet I continued to champion adding more and more details, as my thinking at the time, was that the viewing public needed to be rewarded the closer they looked.  Then, my view was countered.  The person said that '12th Street' was already detailed enough, and I would be better spending effort on a new layout.  And they were correct.  The ACT model railway society had 2 other layouts, and I moved towards detailing, and improving "Little Austria", a module HOe layout.  "Yendys" was at that stage, started, but not actively being worked on.

I am close to reaching the sufficient "detailing" for Wagga station.  Yes, there are a few more downpipes to add, small signs to make, lamps, and positioning seats, litter bins, & passengers.  I know there is more that could be done, like a waiting room interior.  However, to continue with Wagga would delay other projects that I am itching to progress and share...

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Times are changing.  It is important to record now, what might change tomorrow.  Some examples

Edmonston Street Bridge

I took these pictures in September (and this bridge was the subject of an earlier blog-post)

These two pictures taken last Tuesday (Nov 29, 2022), showing the collapsed retaining wall, due to the heavy rain Wagga received in November.  Unsure if this will be repaired, as the bridge has to be removed for Inland Rail in 2024? - and it may be possible for this replacement bridge to be advanced

Harefield Shuttle

One of the regular trains that I watched (and listened too) was the Visy Harefield shuttle.  Their normal motive power was vintage Goodwin Alco engines - and the burble from their engines was quite distinctive from the GM,  GE, and chinese built locos.

Well, Visy relocated their intermodal operation from Harefield to Bomen's new intermodel facility on Nov 24, 2022.  This reduces the round trip truck haulage from the Visy factory in Tumut by about 30km, and allows Visy to run heavier trucks.  The Bomen operation also means that complete trains can now run direct to and from Bomen, and the breakup of trains at Junee for the shorter Harefield siding is also not required.  The Alcos are still running light from Junee, to Bomen, as they are needed with shunting at Bomen.  

I failed to take enough pictures, but there are u-tube videos of the shuttle in its heyday.

In 2018, the shuttle departs Harefield (silo in background) in the gloom of the  late afternoon.  Alco smoke a feature.  As a passenger in the car, I wasn't able to stop.

Finally

If I don't write another blog post in the meantime, may you all be safe for the upcoming Holiday period, and hope that you are able to get some quality time.