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Stanley Dock Bridge

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The prototype is discussed here . It is a complex model, but for the most part not technically challenging. The worst part was aligning the pivot with the centre of the arc, and I am not quite sure I got it right. In hindsight I should have done the pivot first... There was also the cog and rack. The cog on the back of the curve is the rack aligned to a curve. There does not seem to be a cog and rack on the prototype, but I felt I would need one to make up for the lack of weight. I printed it in four parts, the two big being the main stationary infrastructure and the lifting the span. The roof and top of the counterweight being the other two. The lifting span was printed upside down. The road deck is card. I designed it hoping it could be motorised, but the lifting span was too wide, and catches on the stationary part. With a bit of effort it could be modified, but that is a job for another day.
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Pioneer Building, Bacup

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Built by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, but I cannot determine when, besides the second half of the nineteenth century. This is a nice building to model because it is so thin; the model is only 65 mm deep. The model was fiddly to do, but not that complex technically. The tower was done aligned to the grid, and then I took a copy, joined it into a single object, and rotated it 45deg. I printed the roof and tower separately.
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Barns

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By their nature, every farmhouse and barn is unique. This is a selection of images to give a feel for what is out there. Mostly from Lancashire, with a few others at the end. This is an on-going project, and more images will be added as they are acquired. This barn is in Higher Walton. It features two sets of holes in a diamond on the gable end; something common in this area. It is also apparent that the barn has been subject to numerous alterations over the years. And is in a pretty poor state! This large barn, near Walton-le-Dale, has fifteen of the diamond patterns on the gable wall, and more on the other wall. This example is in Lea Town on the Flyde, with the same pattern in the walls. What I guess are earlier barns were stone-built, and the ventilation was simple slots. This is in Cliviger. A stone-built barn in Hirst Green. A somewhat more modern barn, also at Hirst Green. The lower level is concrete, with wood above. This split of materials of construction is very common, thoug...
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Inspirations

This is just a bunch of links to collections of photos. My interest in British Rail in the era ca. 1980, so that is the focus. A Flickr aggregated collection: https://www.flickr.com/groups/br_blue/pool/page1 Some personal Flickr collections, conveniently grouped into albums (you will need to search out the relevant albums!). https://www.flickr.com/photos/28083135@N06/albums/72157624997530469/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/12a_kingmoor_klickr/albums/with/72157716166489487 https://www.flickr.com/photos/96859208@N07/albums/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoffsimages/albums https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldbuzzard/albums/with/72157632402338575 https://www.flickr.com/photos/126693116@N06/albums/72157650816798679/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmillington/albums/72177720299929413/ Not Flickr https://andygibbs.zenfolio.com/ https://www.philt.org.uk/BR https://www.pinterest.co.uk/smcgguy/br-blue/ http://www.davidheyscollection.com/page40.htm A lot of photos here, but spread across many decades...
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Recycling IPA

I use IPA ( iso -propyl alohol)to wash models after printing; this removes resin stuck to the surface, and is vital if you want to get good resolution. Part of the action is physical - it is just washing off the excess - but put of it is that the IPA dissolves the resin. There comes a point where the IPA is saturated, and it will not dissolve any more resin. And they will happen at different times with the different components in the resin. So at this point you need to use fresh IPA, or to somehow renew the old. Note that letting it stand so the resin settles out and then decanting off will not work. It will only remove resin that is not dissolved; if the IPA is saturated with resin, it will remain so. Some people distil the IPA, and this is the only way to get high quality IPA back again. However, IPA is flammable, and when you distil you will necessarily be heating it beyond its flash point. If you buy equipment designed for distilling water there is no reason to suppose it was built...
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Modular footbridge

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 This is a set of parts that allow you to put together a footbridge in various configurations. Let us kick off with it in action. This shows a longer span on the left to stretch a bit further over the platforms. The centre and right spans are designed to go across two tracks, but not platforms. The two stets of sets to the left are short, as they go down to the platoform, while the steps on the right go to track level. There is also a pier. Here is the full set of parts that I have so far.
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Mobile phone mast

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 This was in response to a request, though was something I had vaguely been thinking of doing for while. The model is pretty straightforward. A simple repeating unit makes the tower itself. Cabling is NURBS with a bevel; not sure how visible at this scale. There are several different designed, this is loosely based on one at Settle Station. I do not know about mobile phone masts, but I guess the thin rod on top is a lightning conductor. The white boxes are microwave transmitters, which have a wide spread, so between the three they cover the area for mobile phone connects. The dishes, on the other hand, are directional, and presumably connect to a base station or another tower to form a network.
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