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About this blog

This blog about a fictitious BR(WR) Engine shed in Cornwall based on what might have been if the proposed lines to St. Just and Lands End were built.

Entries in this blog

Track

Track Foundations

The original track plan had to be discarded as it was in too poor a state due to being used for constructing the baseboards. So during this last week I printed out and pasted together another full size track plan. This will be pasted to the baseboards and used to position the turnout along with laying all plain track in situ. First task was to make sure the new track plan fitted… Hmm overall the fit was not too bad but there were a couple of very minor tweaks to be made. I’m putting the slight m
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Yan in Track

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Display

The purists may scoff

Just arrived this morning is a reproduction of the shed plate carried by locomotives that where allocated to Penzance (Long Rock) Engine Shed. Yes I know Rospeath Lane is not a model of the facilities at Long Rock but in my alternative history it would have been the primary Engine Shed for that area so would have been allocated 83G as its shed code.     I wait for the derision from the purists to see if I'm brave enough to display the plate on the layout if it every go
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Yan in Display

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Track

Staining more Sleepers

Progress is being made in trying to create sleepers for the three sidings at the front of the layout. I’m starting to hone the technique in staining these sleepers but I don’t think I’m there yet. I feel the colours are not quite right but it’s starting to feel I could achieve a reasonable representation of old weather worn sleepers.         Once they have been embedded in ballast, chairs and rail added, along with a modicum scattering
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Yan in Track

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Planning

Rospeath Lane - The planning stage

I hope you are you sitting comfortably? I suggest with a coffee and couple of biscuits to hand, or whatever tipple and nibbles this hour of day dictates. This is a long entry and you may need sustenance to keep you awake.   I’ve been planning an Engine Shed project for some time now. Unfortunately I’ve had to revise it due to the reduced space in my ‘Man Cave’. Initially I had 16 feet in length to play with but a decision earlier in the year meant I now only 11ft. My idea is to create
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Yan in Planning

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Planning

Rospeath Lane - More planning

Another updated plan, I’ve now reached v15! Too much pondering and not enough physical modelling you may think. "The Devil is in the detail” and I may be overthinking some aspects of this plan. In the end I hope I will have thought of most of the gremlins that might creep into this project. In looking at the previous plan, I started to contemplate the proposed signal box diagram and the comments made. This brought me around to asking what happens beyond the bridge (scenic break) on the
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Yan in Planning

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Baseboards

Progress on the Two Main Baseboards

Hopefully the photos below will depict my progress over the last few days   Last few sections being glued in place on the second board after checking on the turntable for position, height and alignment   View from the front with the last fascia being fixed in place   It all looks OK, ready for the different sections for the baseboard tops to be cut and glued in place.   Checking all the cut-outs for the inspection pits, also the pos
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Yan in Baseboards

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Electrical

Power Districts and Staining Timber

This week has been spent on two main areas:   Pondering the wiring of the layout got me thinking about Power Districts. Staining sleepers prior to track laying.   Firstly on the subject of Power Districts I’ve decided to have seven. You may wonder why I’ve gone for seven on such a small layout but let me explain my thinking… I’ve only had the privilege of operating a couple of DCC layouts but one of the main issues I experienced was electrical shorts. On one layou
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Yan in Electrical

8
Baseboards

No excuss now - some timber has arrived

Yesterday  Plywood for the sleepers arrived all 4000 of them for plain track, plus strips for turnouts. My God, this now looks a daunting task to lay all those sleepers!     Then this morning I got a knock on the door and found the arrival of the baseboard timber.     As travelling to the nearest decent Timber Merchant would probably be against the current Covid rules I settled on ordering the plywood online. Initially I thought about using a supplier of
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Yan in Baseboards

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Baseboards

Getting there with the first baseboard

Slow progress on the construction of the first baseboard. Hopefully the pictures will help to explain my thoughts on how I’m building the boards. At the moment nothing is fixed in place the books are helping to keep everything in place.   All profiles have been cut to reflect the different ground levels, with additional sections cut out for the turntable and inspection pits. The baseboard top is at the bottom with the track plan on so I can position the infill sections to miss any poss
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Yan in Baseboards

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Locomotives

Daunting number of locomotives - a possible solution

While I'm waiting for timber to arrive for baseboards and track I'm having another purge on stuff that I've accumulated over the years. As it would be daft to move on stuff that I'll need, it has made me consider the stock requirements for Rospeath Lane.   The year I'm aiming to represent is 1959 (as the shed would still have had a good quantity of steam locomotives but the first Diesel Hydraulics and Class 08 shunters would be seen). As well as being the end of the summer months for s
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Yan in Locomotives

2
Track

Could I use some Phosphor Bronze Rail?

A couple of days ago I tweaked my back which has hampered progress on baseboard construction. To keep a modicum of momentum going on this project I looked around for some light duties.   I’d been kindly given some used Phosphor Bronze track, unfortunately as it’s mainly in short lengths I’ll not be able to use it for standard 60ft sections of track. It would be a shame to discard them so I started to mull over how to justify their use. I vaguely remembered reading something about the G
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Yan in Track

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Buildings & Scenery

Coaling Stage

When drawing the first plan featured in my previous blog, I discovered that the length of the incline up to the coaling stage, along with the building itself  (and the track extension beyond), had a big effect on the space required. To finalise the layout I needed to know the track height at the coaling stage. I could then work out what would look correct and be feasible for a loco to propel four coal wagons up the incline. So earlier in the year the coaling stage was the first building I made a
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Yan in Buildings & Scenery

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Buildings

Clamping and Gluing

The clamps I’d ordered to help with construction of the baseboards arrived yesterday, which enabled me to start constructing the framework for the first board. In an attempt to keep these large baseboards as light as possible I’m only gluing the components together, no screws or pins. On my previous layout (Tredethy Wharf) I’d glued and screwed the boards together so this is new territory for me. On these boards with the amount of joints and the supposed strength of wood glue (around 3000ppsi) I
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Yan in Buildings

2
Baseboards

Baseboard construction - Part 1

I made a tentative start on building the baseboards yesterday. My first task was to mark the different track levels on each cross piece. All changes of track levels do seem subtle at this stage. I’m hoping that subtle changes should help to project a believable scene.     At the above stage I realised that the very end cross piece (furthest away in the above photo) was going under the turntable. How did I miss that on my plan? I’ve been lucky enough to acquire a GWR turntabl
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Yan in Baseboards

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Planning

A revised Track Plan (v.18)

Baseboard construction was put on hold this week due to the creation of a credible Signal Box Diagram. While I’d been waiting for the glue to dry on each section I’d put some thought into the signal diagram and how engine movements would be controlled. Even though I’ve read a few books on the subject I eventually realised that I needed some guidance and posted a request on the Scalefour Society’s Forum for advice. The information I received was superb and highlighted a number of issues with my o
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Yan in Planning

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