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Railway Modelling Ramblings

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Fen End Pit's got a brand new toy

Today I finally got to open the box of my new toy, a Wanhao Duplicator i3 plus. I've done a fair bit of 3D printing in Makespace and finally decided that with the length of most print jobs and the issues around shared machines I'd like my own. From opening the box to the first 'ok' print was about an hour. So far so good. At the moment all I've tried to print with is the little bit of white PLA which was supplied with the machine. I'm pretty happy with the quality and I'm now trying something a

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit - Slow but steady progress

Progress on the rebuild has been slow over the last week with not too much time for modelling. However I have still managed to put some string grass over the new sections of the layout. I've still got a lot to do to blend things together but it is coming together.     I decided to follow the suggestions and try to make a farm track as discussed in a previous post. I'm happy with the shape of the land form now and got a layer of sand on it. I've started to add the grass which will cover much

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit - New Pit End

As luck would have it my maintenance men at work finally got around to installing a pair of glass 'white-boards' which we'd ordered in September. This was perfect timing as each board was packed with some 1/2 inch expanded polystyrene ideal for my landscaping. The job of cutting out the pieces to fill the pit was a little messy, put in the end I got a reasonable shape and managed to smooth it all down to avoid a terracing effect only suitable for tea plantations.     Another few hours an

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit - joining bits together

As I've mentioned the revisions to Fen End Pit have meant the insertion of extra sections of baseboard between the original boards. Over the last week I've been adding camping mat and starting to lay some track.     The shed was actually the original view block block before the layout was originally extended to include the works end. This was half way along the layout in its previous configuration but now has an additional 15cm of board next to it.     The section near the pit has grow

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit - major Christmas engineering works

I took the opportunity of the Christmas break to undertake some pretty major works on Fen End Pit. An evening of laser cutting produced replacement frames for the two centre baseboards, these frames were assembled and then the original MDF frames from the original layout were removed with various degrees of force! It was clear from the ease with which some of the original framing could be removed that this was a job which was somewhat overdue! The original boards had warped a fair bit too and to

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit - 3D printed track base

With the rebuild of Fen End Pit underway I need to build a couple more Hudson 'Jubilee' style points. In the past I've made the sleepers by heating plasticard and squashing it in a hand made press tool but in this day and age I thought I'd have a go at 3D printing. The original drawings I'd made in 2D were imported into Onshape and then bits extruded and cut out to make a 3D model of the turnout. This then got exported as an STL file and downloaded onto the Ultimaker 2 printer we have in Makespa

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

A trip abroad - and some trains

I usually only blog about model railway stuff but I hope you'll excuse this little ramble because it does include some pictures of trains! After a significant number of years and now the kids are both big enough to look after themselves my good lady wife and I had our first foreign trip. The boss wanted to 'do' some Christmas markets and we settled on Berlin. We'd never been and as she had spent 5 months behind the Iron Curtain in Moscow just after we started going out it seemed an interesting d

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

F4 Chassis - a story in cackhandiness

Sometimes I suspect people only blog when they have got something that works, that demonstrates the best of their modelling, the kind of blog posts that get answered with lots of 'Superbs' and craftsman/clever likes. I guess this might be natural but possibly a little off putting sometimes.   So, Friday evening and the F4 chassis made it into wheel shop. We had the tools, we had the company, we had the coffee. The GW wheel press was prepared, I even had a brand new magnifying lamp from Hobbyst

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit - the rebuild begins

So, in addition to the works on my P4 Stour Valley epic I've been planning for a couple of years now to complete a rebuild/refurbishment of Fen End Pit. The original layout is suffering from 15 year old MDF syndrome and the ends of the baseboards in particular have suffered from a decade on the exhibition circuit. I still really liked the layout and it seems other people do too based on the comments whenever I took it out to shows.   There were also a few nagging design features which I felt I

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Stour Valley in P4, Yard entry built and a new chassis for an old loco

The turnout leading into the yard got laid today, this leads off from the loop back into the double-slip in the yard. Once again I've been able to reclaim the V, switch-blades and tie-bars from the previous layout. The point was built on a copy of the Templot template off the baseboard and then stuck in position on the marks I had previously cut into the cork.     You'll see various tools sprinkled around the layout. The original box of 'Brook-Smith' gauges, the 10BA bolts which I'm using t

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Stour Valley in P4, Double slip laid

I was really not looking forward to building the double slip. Two crossing Vs, eight switch blades and the horrible obtuse crossings. Building this lot off the baseboard is the best idea and I tend to build the crossings and solder them up individually on nickel-silver scrap etch. These sub-assemblies then get stuck to the sleepers with epoxy carefully jigging them to gauge.     The obtuse crossings are the hardest to make and get aligned but they are the most critical bit. I'm prepared to

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Stour Valley in P4, A little video of progress so far

Given that I have now got trains moving I thought I'd put up a bit of video to show it.   I've also managed to fit the first uncoupling magnet so I can play about with Alex Jackson couplings. While most of my old stock has them fitted some need a bit of adjustment and some need the magnetic droppers replacing as they aren't the right length. Still I can shunt a train up and down and break it where I want so I'm happy.   Hope you like it     David

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Stour Valley in P4, A quick mock-up

Modelling in two scales simultaneously (4mm for Stour Valley and 16mm for Fen End Pit) does mean that sometimes it take a bit of mind bending to go from one to the other. Having made good progress with the track in the goods yard I was getting worried that I might have made a mistake with the size of the good shed as it 'looked' too small. I'd taken the sizes off the maps and descriptions I can find and every produced the drawings by counting bricks.   I decided to print out the plans of the b

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Stour Valley in P4, second point and some wiring

The weekend saw the second point laid and the track at the other end of the yard started. I also spent a load of time installing the wiring. Now I know that sounds weird, installing the wiring before the track is laid but the wiring consists of 'CBUS' circuit boards from the MERG. The way I'm doing this means each baseboard gets one or two eight-way boards which drive a set of relays and MERG Servo-4 controllers. Once these are installed the 'wiring' is a case of connecting up the rails of the p

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Stour Valley in P4, Making point work and a Mid-Suffolk ramble

Saturday saw the first point get some 'workings' on the switchblades. The Turnout Operating Unit (TOU) was one of the perspex ones I'd made for the previous layout and the only modification needed was to shorted the length of the brass tubes that go up to just below rail level because the baseboard is now 6mm ply rather than 12mm MDF. The tie-bars are scrap brass etch with the two halves separated by a sliver of paxolin. This cruel enlargement makes it look much worse than it is!     The co

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Stour Valley in P4, first track laid and a few holiday pictures

Back from an unnaturally dry week in North Wales and I was able to start laying some track. I had salvaged as much as I could from the previous layout (with the price of components following the practices of all the prototype railway company and retrieving components from closed lines makes good financial sense!). This did mean that I already had assembled switch blades and rail with chairs fitted that I could reuse. I printed the Templot template for the B6 point which is in the yard and stuck

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Stour Valley in P4, making sleepers

Yesterday I popped into Makespace and cut some test sleepers. I wanted to make sure I'd got the right allowance for the laser width in my drawing. I also cut a test part in the .8mm sheet of ply I'd bought from City Cycles in Ely on Saturday (we are very lucky to have a shop that sells model and craft items in Ely!, too much of this country is a model shop desert). The laser cutter is worked by controlling the speed and power of the laser to get the right level of cut so you can see from this te

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Stour Valley in P4, now with the cork underlay

With the majority of the baseboard work completed on my first two board these were moved up to the railway room from the garage. The 'works' end of Fen End Pit got boxed up and space made to put the new boards in position. I couldn't resist positioning a couple of items of stock on the boards just for fun.       An order to Amazon last week resulted in 4 sheets of 6mm cork 2' x 3' being delivered. I'd deliberately order some quite thick cork available as flat sheets rather than rolls. So

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

First 2 baseboards assembled

I managed to get my second 'kit of parts' assembled into a baseboard this weekend. I'll be honest and admit that I'd made a few errors in the drawing on this one, some of which resulted in a bit of 'fettling' being required. I'd missed out one set of slots and got a tab 6mm out of place. When you try to cut rectangular holes in 6mm ply the traditional way, with a drill and a piecing saw and file, you realise how much you get spoiled by a laser cutter.     I've still got to fit base-board do

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Cutting of first sod (with a freaken' laser!)

Back in the day new railways were always started with great ceremony. Contemporary reports always describe how the town band would play 'suitable tunes' (what would be considered an 'unsuitable tune' in 1850-60 I wonder?) and the shareholders would be treated to a meal befitting the occasion.   So yesterday was spent in Makespace cutting 6mm ply with a lasercutter and this afternoon spent assembling the resulting kit of parts. As is usually there were a few places where 40 watts didn't quite g

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

A grand evening out and why is nothing square?

Last Wednesday I was lucky enough to get off work early and join some friends in an evening visit to the North Norfolk railway for a trip on the line and a tour of the engine shed and works. This was an excellent event and a good time was had by all. We can now all count up to 34 with ease! (you had to be there!). Although the light was fading towards the end I was still able to get a picture of the J15 Y14. What a superb locomotive and HOW COULD Hornby GET THOSE HANDRAIL KNOBS SO WRONG? (sorry

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Remains of the Wissington Railway - more old photos I found

Back in the early 90's I drove up into the wilds of the Fens and found a few remnants of the Wissington Railway. The photos came to light again as I was sorting out my drawers so I thought I'd share them.     Turning off the A10 north of Southery and you could still find the remains of rails in some of the concreted field entrances.     In other places you just had to imagine where the railway once went along the size of the drain.     Here the railway once ran between the concret

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Pictures of 'The Works' - ON14

While sorting out the new railway room I came across a packet of old photographs including several of my old 14mm narrow gauge layout called 'The Works'. This was a cement works that featured lots of skips, war department bogie wagons and even 3 feet of standard gauge with an Impetus models Hudswell Clark. I sold the layout about 10 years ago to a chap in Essex (Romford I think) and I was told by a couple of his friends at a show a few years back that he had sadly died so I have no idea if it is

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit - plans for a major works

This Christmas sees the completion of the new railway room, the lighting and electrics were finished and flooring laid just before Christmas Eve. This meant that on returning from work on Thursday I was able to assemble Fen End Pit along one wall. Those who follow my blog will know that there is a grand scheme to model part of the Stour valley in P4 as a big 'roundy-roundy' that goes around the room. However common sense dictates that rather than launch immediately into that project I should get

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

Steam in Beds - Fen End Pit on show on Saturday 28th

I'm looking forward to a day out on Saturday with Fen End Pit at Steam in Beds. http://www.bag16mm.org.uk/Steam%20in%20Beds.html A chance to play trains, dig sand and chat to people sounds like an excellent plan.   Progress on the extension continues, the railway room now has plastered walls and a door. I'm even promised lights tomorrow!   Only trouble is that between now and when a carpet fitter comes in two weeks I have to get every wall and ceiling of about half the house painted! I shou

Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

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