Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[Oldddudders]

This involves a fair bit of filing and although I started today I only completed three of the 14 short locking bars. It is certainly testing my filing skills, which I was taught in the Apprentice Training School at Derby Locomotive Works in 1974. To be perfectly frank, this is the first time I've really had to file anything flat and square since then. I think I'll get away with it though. At least filing brass is easier than filing steel.

I was at Derby (School Of Transport) on several courses in 1974, but didn’t learn anything remotely as useful!

[St Enodoc]

And no further falling over by yours truly!!

Baz

Me neither.

[St Enodoc]

I picked up the coaster kit from the Post Office today. Parts are mostly resin castings, with some etchings for detailing.

 

I put the main parts in place to see how they looked. LOA is just under 550 mm with a beam of about 95 mm.

 

The prototype, MV Noordborg of Delfzijl, was built in 1962 but is very similar to the previous generation of coasters dating back to pre-war days, so she will suit the 1950s era of the Mid-Cornwall Lines very nicely. There are some good photos at this site:

 

http://www.shipspotters.nl/viewtopic.php?t=1511

 

including a couple at Charlestown and another near the bottom of the first page that looks very much like Par.

Edited July 20, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[Barry O]

Needs r/c motor,batteriesetc......

[St Enodoc]

A couple of hours' work this afternoon saw the end of Step 14, thank goodness.

 

This is what I meant by the need to flatten the sides of the locking bars. You can see that the two edges are nice and shiny, showing that they stand a little higher than the centre. I filed gently along the bar until the whole width was shiny, then moved on to the next section until I had completed the whole length of the bar before turning it over and doing the same to the other side.

 

I also eased a few of the slots in the locking bar guides so that the long locking bars slid in and out without catching on one edge or the other. Once I could flick each bar from side to side with one finger I stopped while I was ahead.

 

Step 15 is where I move on to notching the lower tappets but first I need to check something with Harold at Modratec about the shape of some of these with respect to my "inverted" frame configuration.

Edited July 20, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[St Enodoc]

Step 15 is divided into three parts. First is marking the lower tappets. You do this by poking the end of the fine marker pen through the hole on to the tappet when it is its correct position. There are different types of notches - V-shaped, square and what Modratec calls "inverse" notches where one end is square and the other angled. Some are on the left edge of the tappets and some are on the right, while the position of a notch can correspond to when the lever is Normal, Reversed or Both.

 

This is the final result, with the type and shape of each notch marked in a sort of code. You can also see a couple of crossings-out from the early part of the exercise, before I had really got the hang of what I was doing.

 

Next I need to do the same thing for the upper tappets, which I haven't fitted yet, and then actually file all the notches to shape.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[St Enodoc]

Step 15 is divided into three parts. First is marking the lower tappets. You do this by poking the end of the fine marker pen through the hole on to the tappet when it is its correct position. There are different types of notches - V-shaped, square and what Modratec calls "inverse" notches where one end is square and the other angled. Some are on the left edge of the tappets and some are on the right, while the position of a notch can correspond to when the lever is Normal, Reversed or Both.

 

20180204 001 PM lever frame Step 15 lower tappets marked for cutting.JPG

This is the final result, with the type and shape of each notch marked in a sort of code. You can also see a couple of crossings-out from the early part of the exercise, before I had really got the hang of what I was doing.

 

Next I need to do the same thing for the upper tappets, which I haven't fitted yet, and then actually file all the notches to shape.

We were away in Brisbane last weekend so I didn't do anything on the lever frame or any other part of the layout. Once I was back in the old routine this week I used my hotel thinking time to mull over some ideas for the coaster. The light bulb moment came when I realised that if I were to build a small separate small dock layout using some of the boards from the old St Enodoc layout I wouldn't need to backdate the ship to the 1950s and rename it. So, the plan now is to build a layout inspired by Charlestown and set in 1968, which was the final year we stayed there on holiday. Green/blue diesel transition era and no steam except for one of the Port of Par Bagnall 0-4-0STs. The layout will have a single platform road for a DMU, ideally a BRCW 3-car unit (later class 118), to run in and out; the remains of a lifted run-round loop next to it; and three sidings - one for fulls, one for empties and one next to the wharf from which clay would be shovelled down the chutes into the ship's holds. A headshunt and small shed for the Bagnall will complete the trackwork. The goods area could be used as an inglenook as well. The whole will use four 3' 6" x 2' baseboards set in a straight line.

 

As the layout won't need to represent Tregissey, and of course the real Charlestown wasn't rail-connected, it will probably be named either Johnstown (sheer vanity) or Williamstown (after my late Dad).

 

This is all a long way in the future so don't expect any progress reports for a while!

[jcm@gwr]

I remember Charlestown from our family holidays to Cornwall.

We used to call in there on the way home to Herts, we'd get

some fish & chips and eat them while watching them load the

china clay on to the ships. It always amazed me how dusty

everything was, but I was probably only about 8 or 9 at the

time.

[St Enodoc]

I remember Charlestown from our family holidays to Cornwall.

We used to call in there on the way home to Herts, we'd get

some fish & chips and eat them while watching them load the

china clay on to the ships. It always amazed me how dusty

everything was, but I was probably only about 8 or 9 at the

time.

That's right Jeff, the white dust got everywhere especially when loading was taking place. We stayed at the Pier House Hotel for a fortnight in each of August 1966, 1967 and 1968, when I was 10, 11 and 12. Wonderful memories.

[brianusa]

Charlestown

 

 

Many a pasty has been eaten here over the years.  Glanvilles(?) St Austell, just down from the church.

 

Brian.

[St Enodoc]

On 18/02/2018 at 10:41, brianusa said:

Charlestown

 

scangirls 045.jpg

 

Many a pasty has been eaten here over the years.  Glanvilles(?) St Austell, just down from the church.

 

Brian.

Thanks Brian. My memories are of when it looked more like this:

 

 

 

 

These were taken on Kodachrome with my Instamatic 50 and show exactly what I want to represent on the dock layout in due course.

Edited July 20, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[St Enodoc]

A short session in the workshop today, accompanied in part by a concert on ABC Classic FM featuring a work that I had heard of but never heard before - Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein whose right arm was blown off during the First World War.

 

First, I laid the upper tappets in place and hooked them up to the lever links.

 

Once again the piece of wire with a hook on the end made this very easy.

 

I then marked out the upper tappets using the information in the Modratec construction manual. This process is similar to that for the lower tappets except that you can't mark through the holes in the locking bars, so you have to do it by eye. The hardest part is remembering which locking bar you are working with at any given time.

 

I decided not to start filing the notches but to go away and come back to that another day. In the meantime I am going to create a spreadsheet showing the pin data for the locking bars and notch detail for the tappets in a form that will allow sorting by tappet number as well as just by locking bar number, which is how the construction manual is set out. This will help me to check all the marking-out before I start cutting metal.

Edited July 20, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[St Enodoc]

Following a PM conversation with rovex of this parish yesterday and today, a Slaters Toplight SK (or TK, depending on which livery I decide to paint it in) part-built kit will be on its way across the skies to Australia soon.

[The Stationmaster]

A short session in the workshop today, accompanied in part by a concert on ABC Classic FM featuring a work that I had heard of but never heard before - Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein whose right arm was blown off during the First World War.

 

First, I laid the upper tappets in place and hooked them up to the lever links.

 

20180218 001 PM lever frame Step 15 upper tappets in place.JPG

Once again the piece of wire with a hook on the end made this very easy.

 

I then marked out the upper tappets using the information in the Modratec construction manual. This process is similar to that for the lower tappets except that you can't mark through the holes in the locking bars, so you have to do it by eye. The hardest part is remembering which locking bar you are working with at any given time.

 

20180218 002 PM lever frame Step 15 upper tappets marked for cutting.JPG

I decided not to start filing the notches but to go away and come back to that another day. In the meantime I am going to create a spreadsheet showing the pin data for the locking bars and notch detail for the tappets in a form that will allow sorting by tappet number as well as just by locking bar number, which is how the construction manual is set out. This will help me to check all the marking-out before I start cutting metal.

 

Definitely an occasion on which it looks as if one should measure at least twice before cutting filing anything.  Presumably everything is arranged for the fact that you'll be using the frame with the locking behind it rather than the usual Modratec method of having the locking in front (daft question i know  - just thought I'd ask) ?

[St Enodoc]

Definitely an occasion on which it looks as if one should measure at least twice before cutting filing anything.  Presumably everything is arranged for the fact that you'll be using the frame with the locking behind it rather than the usual Modratec method of having the locking in front (daft question i know  - just thought I'd ask) ?

Yes Mike, that's why I"m following a belt, braces and piece of string approach. I think I've got it right but I'll take a fresh look next weekend with the benefit of my spreadsheet so that I can check each tappet in turn. As it turns out there are about 180 separate locking bar/tappet interfaces to check.

[St Enodoc]

A very pleasant day today, spent in the company of Mr & Mrs Judith Edge Kits who dropped in while on their way from Sydney to Brisbane by car.

 

We drove a few trains, reminisced about some of my rolling stock that first appeared at Leeds shows nearly 40 years ago and laughed a lot as we remembered some of the fun and games we have had in railway modelling - particularly at exhibitions - over the years.

 

Most importantly, Mike did a bit of fettling for me on the double slips and also gave me some valuable advice on how to get the trains to run over them properly, which was very helpful and much appreciated.

 

The day also constituted the fifth meeting this year of the newly-expanded LMRS Eating & Drinking Section Australasia Branch, with the final session scheduled for two weeks' time when Mr & Mrs Barry O are going to stay again for a couple of nights on their way home.

Edited February 24, 2018 by St Enodoc

[St Enodoc]

Today I started filing the notches. The ordinary V notches are the simplest as well as the most numerous. I followed Tony's (trw1089) advice earlier in post #1309 and made a small saw cut in line with the centre of the notch. I think that this makes it easier to keep the file in line and probably also helps to clear the filings as you go. Once the V was cut, just deep enough for the locking pin to sit clear of the edge of the tappet, I filed the curved run-out profile that lets the tappet move the locking bar smoothly when the lever is moved. Most of the V notches act either in the reverse or normal directions but a few act both ways. For these you have to combine the curved run-outs between both Vs.

 

You can see a both-ways V notch about half way up on the left edge of the photo. This is where tappet 19 interacts with short locking bar FG.

 

As I have conditional locking on some of the levers, some tappets need "inverse notches". For example, there are three on tappet 19, one on the left and two on the right. These have a square edge, a flat area in the middle and then a V-shaped slope at the other end. They take a little more time to file as a result.

 

Overall today I filed 30 notches in about two hours to complete the 10 odd-numbered tappets from 1 to 19. This represents about one-sixth of the final total of 179 notches. Now I've got the hang of it the rest should take a little less time I hope.

 

Next weekend I won't get any filing done, as I will be at the Forestville exhibition (the best show on Sydney's North Shore http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/131587-north-shore-exhibition-forestville-2018/).I will be splitting my time between operating Charles's "Uley Junction" 0 gauge branch terminus, inspired by Bodmin General, and demonstrating on the BRMA stand. With a bit of luck and a following wind I might get a couple of points built for the Down end of Porthmellyn Road.

Edited July 20, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[The Stationmaster]

A little bit of inspiration for you - WR 5 Bar VT locking.  The tappets move downwards when the lever is reversed.

 

 

 

[Barry O]

Just a reminder, the Job is never done until the filing is complete!

 

Ok, hat, coat, fetch the tuktuk...

[St Enodoc]

A little bit of inspiration for you - WR 5 Bar VT locking.  The tappets move downwards when the lever is reversed.

 

IMGP6988.jpg

Thanks Mike, very interesting. I understand the "Vertical Tappet" part, but which bits does "5 Bar" refer to?

[5BarVT]

I had to ‘like’ Mikes photo didn’t I!

The 5 bar refers to the number of locking bars on each row, two below the tappets and three above. Starting from bottom left in the photo, you can see the two slots for the bottom bars in the empty tray, further up and right you can see two and then three top bars.

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

I had to ‘like’ Mikes photo didn’t I!

The 5 bar refers to the number of locking bars on each row, two below the tappets and three above. Starting from bottom left in the photo, you can see the two slots for the bottom bars in the empty tray, further up and right you can see two and then three top bars.

Paul.

Thanks Paul. It had occurred to me that you might know...

 

I think I've got that - so there are two slots "behind" the tappets as we look at it and three "in front" - is that right?

[The Stationmaster]

A couple of more general views which show everything below the cams with the electric locks or circuit controllers in the blue boxes at the bottom of the tappets.  In the second view you will see that the tappet for Lever No8 is reversed (number is on the electric lock) while the third view 'upstairs' shows FPL Lever No,8 standing reverse.  All the pics will enlarge if you click on them.

 

 

 

 

Sorry about some folk appearing at various places.  The pics were taken during an IRSE visit to the South Devon Railway and are in Bishops Bridge Signal Box - a new 'box constructed in preservation days but 100% equipped to WR standards using recovered material; the timber part  of the structure came from Athelney.

 

If you're interested in GWR locking this site might be an interesting diversion

 

https://www.s-r-s.org.uk/SignallingPapers/02/3barV5.html 

 

 

[5BarVT]

so there are two slots "behind" the tappets as we look at it and three "in front"

Correct!

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

An excellent weekend yesterday and today at Forestville. I didn't buy much from the bring-and-buy as the prices were a little too high for my liking, with the exception of a hardback first edition of Paul Theroux' "The Old Patagonian Express" in what I would class as VG condition. A snip at $4.00.

 

Charles had plenty of volunteers to run Uley Junction so I based myself at the demonstration table for the duration. I had taken enough stuff with me to build three points, which I thought would be plenty having only completed one last year. All seemed on course last night as I had finished one-and-a-half, progress having been punctuated by some good chats with friends who dropped by as well as some genuine interest from visitors in what I was doing. However, for some reason I had fewer interruptions today so by lunchtime I had finished all three points.

 

I passed the time in the afternoon by having a closer look at some of the other layouts in the show - especially Eyarth, which fellow BRMA member Gordon Brown and his team had brought all the way from Melbourne - and by starting a Parkside kit for Jesse. I didn't get very far with that as I hadn't got my full set of plastic modelling tools with me, so after fixing the sides and ends together I stopped in case I spoiled things.

 

On Wednesday Mr and Mrs Barry O will be passing through on their way home to Yorkshire so we will reconvene for the sixth (and probably final) session this year of the LMRS E&D section Australasia branch. I'm sure we will raise a glass or two to the next gathering, whenever and wherever that may be.