Activity at Cassino

On Saturday I went over to the local hobby shop and picked up some decoders for the Club. I’m still waiting on some NCE N scale decoders that I’m wanting to install into my Auscision 73 Class locos, and one for another Club member when they arrive – hopefully in a week or two. While at the shop I ran into Lefty and entered into some friendly banter.

 

Later that afternoon, I made my way to the shed and was perusing the layout, working out where next I would next throw some plaster around. Well the bottle pointed towards the area behind the main line between between the Richmond River Bridge at Cassino and to the road overbridge at Simpsons Parade - right next to the Cassino Station Platform.  In the era that I am modelling, there was an overhead booking office next to Simpsons Parade.  I made my version years ago and I will be installing it permanently next weekend.

 

This morning, the plaster bug was still biting. So I thought I’d continue further along the back wall towards the Cassino platform. I installed the balsa road bed for Canterbury Street (complete with camber) and plastered up to that location. Still feeling full of beans, I then turned my attention to the near side of the tracks. I shaped the foam a bit and then hit the area from the recently installed opposite Canterbury Street to back up to Simpsons Parade. I then jumped over the road and re-plastered the area between Simpsons Parade and made my way around towards the Barker Street walkway. This area has been previous plastered many years back, but one section was quite thin and really needed a second coating. I am installing a small culvert between Simpsons Parade and Barker Street and it will run along the track formation and then into a large pipe and will look like it is heading towards the Richmond River. Further towards the Richmond River Bridge I have also installed a second small culvert. This too will feed into a small open drain that then disappears into a large pipe again heading towards the River. The source of this drain is an small swampy area that I intend to install.  That should be quite an achievement. I also plastered around this drain. There are a few small flat areas in this section that I was working on and today I poured a thin plaster mix to go on top of the foam or ply base. This has now completed a rather large area that must be close to 10 feet long that I am pretty happy with.

 

While I was preparing to do the plastering I gathered the numerous photos I have strewn around the layout in this area. I put them aside so they would not get plaster on them. This afternoon, I took these photos upstairs and looked at then to determine if I had a few good ones showing the bridge carrying Simpsons Parade over the railway line. I had previously poured a plaster pier for the central pier of the bridge. I used my son's lego to make a mould and filled it with plaster. Today, I cut this pier to the correct height today using a dremel cut off disk and placed it under the road way - Perfect fit. I then turned my thoughts to how I was to create the piers on either side of the roadway. I cut some 2mm Styrene and formed the far side of the pier. This is a one piece curved or more correctly three-sided pier. It is a flat front with two side wings at an angle.  My master mould for the far side turned out quite well. I poured it and removed the styrene.  It is currently sitting above where it will be eventually be placed.  I will pour the other pier next week and show off the items in next weeks blog.  I will try and install them as well.

 

This week is a visit to Geoff's with the other Tuesday Nighters.  It is great to catch up and hear what they have been doing.  In other news I'm in the process of negotiating with the boss about attending this year's Modelling the Railways of NSW Convention.  I have not been for about 10 years due to the intervention of the littlies.  We will see how the negotiations pan out.