Eridge (P4) rebuilding

by 10800

original page on Old RMweb

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Comment posted by OgaugeJB on Thu Jun 19, 2008 2:25 pm

Looking good... I don't think those boards are going to bend at all..!

A quick question on the ply you are using if that's okay, as you seem to be pretty well versed on the best timber to use now, and more specifically, what NOT to use...

I see you are using 6mm russian ply, but looking on the B&Q website, I noticed some 12.5mm Tropical softwood ply. Would this do the job? The application is a 7mm test track.

Any info appreciated. Thanks.

Jonathan.

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??? posted on Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:02 pm

Hi Jonathan

Only comment I would make is that 12.5 mm might be a bit OTT even for O gauge, and also that received wisdom suggests that DIY superstore plywood is rarely of good enough quality for flat and stable baseboard needs. I would seek out advice from a proper local timber merchant, who likely as not can also cut it for you as well to whatever plan you provide.

HTH

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Comment posted by Captain Kernow on Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:24 pm

Ah, so you'll be having a cup of tea in the old station masters house, will you?...

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??? posted on Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:35 pm

Doubt it, there's a bl**dy fierce-sounding guard dog in residence!

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Comment posted by OgaugeJB on Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:36 pm

Thanks for that Rod (10800).

Jonathan.

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??? posted on Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:16 pm

Latest developments - the trackbed boards have now been kitted out with Exactoscale camping mat foam trackbases

And an impression of the track plan with a draft Templot print out on top

Over-centre catches hold the boards together (there are dowels for alignment as well of course)

The support frames are fixed together in pairs by x-pattern struts. This makes them extremely stable. The fixing points are slotted so that the retaining wing-nuts only need to be loosened slightly to dismantle them, rather than laboriously unscrewed altogether.

Mike's prototype for a system of strengthening rail fixings and board ends. Two pairs of brass rod pass through the ply and a piece of copperclad ###### to it. They also pass through the ply sleepers (only one so equipped in this demo piece) and are then soldered to the rail. Ballast is then built up. Why is this any better than just soldering the rail directly to brass pins or copperclad you ask? - well, it means the end sleepers can be properly chaired and ballasted, without (hopefully) compromising on strength.

Regarding the plug-in scenic boards, which will be very lightweight using foamboard carcasses, Chris had the excellent idea of using magnets to attach them to the trackbed boards. There then followed an increasingly silly conversation of using mini rare-earth magnets to hold the trackbed boards together, and ideas of from how far away you could throw the scenic boards at the layout when assembling it at shows

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Comment posted by ullypug on Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:43 pm

Mmm interesting. I've used the cast brass chairs at baseboard ends myself but your solution's got me thinking...

I wondered whether your system could be modified to allow a degree of re-adjustment by soldering threaded bar to the underside of the rail, passing through a larger tube through an oversize hole in the baseboard with a plate/captive nut underneath.

Then I wondered 'but would you need to?' It's one thing I worry about with P4 exhibition layouts (I haven't done a show with mine yet ).

Best of luck with your project

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??? posted on Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:22 pm

Thanks Andrew - as you say, not sure why any 'adjustment' would be required; the function of the soldering is to hold the rail firmly in the same place and avoid risk of catching them on carpet, trousers etc (there will be end-protector plates as well). The expectation is that the soldered connections will be stronger than the alternative reliance on soldering to rivets and/or glue holding the sleeper to the trackbed.

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Comment posted by philip-griffiths on Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:25 pm

Rod,

I like the X-struts and their fixing mechanisms, excellent. Novel, or plagiarised?

regards

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??? posted on Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:11 am

Thanks Philip. The x-struts weren't my idea, so I don't know whether it was a new or 'plagiarised' concept. Doesn't really matter, we all take inspiration and ideas from others, and we're not marketing it commercially!

Regards

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??? posted on Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:49 pm

There may be a bit of a hiatus at the Kent end of Eridge (Reconstruction) plc due to summer holidays, but down here in south Devon (where it's always holiday time! ) there is still plenty of design work going on, mainly for the new panel. Beast66606 can look away temporarily , but Eridge will continue to be DC/Cab Control for the time being, although there will be some refinements to the earlier boards - nothing too fancy, but the option of route selection LEDs on the panel indicating whether or not a section is switched in, and to which controller, seems to carry favour. I have also developed a conceptual lever frame, based as closely as possible on the real one, and which coincidentally also comes out at 32 levers. This will be represented by a bank of switches along the bottom of the panel, although in the future it would be nice to replace it with an actual model frame.

DCC may happen in the future also, especially when steam sound chips improve, and the wiring will be done so that the changeover is a doddle.

So I will set to work on the panel down here, and will bring each 8 foot trackbed board down to the south west once tracklaying is completed (plus TOUs and rail droppers) so that I can do all the wiring and testing at home in relative leisure.

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Comment posted by Brinkly on Sun Aug 17, 2008 5:43 pm

Hi Rod,

I was just looking through your thread and there is some excellent information here. I saw the orginal Eridge in Railway Modeller and thought how excellent it was, along with your advice reading lofts and model railways! I am currently thinking of planning and building a layout built to P4 standards and I look forward to seeing Eridge MK2 progressing.

Nick

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??? posted on Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:05 pm

Hi Nick

Bit of mistaken identity there - I am not Vivien Thompson and Eridge Mk1 was not the one that appeared in RM!

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Comment posted by Brinkly on Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:21 am

Oh Whooops! Very sorry!

Well Rod your version of Eridge is very good and I hope that it will also appear in a railway modelling magazine in the future! She certainly is a beast! What will the total lenght be once completed?

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Comment posted by Captain Kernow on Mon Aug 18, 2008 12:41 pm

Not even when he's at DRAG!....

Edit - go on, you were expecting some inconsequential bo**ocks from me like the above, weren't you?!

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Comment posted by 50007 on Mon Aug 18, 2008 12:44 pm

That is going to be a great layout with those huge boards!

Can I please ask what the black mattings purpose will be? Is it for noise reduction?

Thanks

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??? posted on Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:16 pm

No problem Nick, and thanks, although as I mentioned on here when the RM article came out I was a bit disappointed with Vivien's rendition given her pedigree as one of the top modellers of buildings from the 70s and 80s. But at least hers is finished and she is building up a huge fleet of locos and trains to run a day's authentic service.

Total length of our scenic section will be 26ft, and with an 8ft fiddle yard at each end that will be 42ft in total. Not sure when we will be ready to exhibit, although we are booked at least for Scaleforum 2011 already.

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??? posted on Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:20 pm

It's just an alternative trackbed material to cork - not specifically for noise reduction, which in exhibition conditions is a bit pointless, but should be easy to carve out a ballast shoulder in due course. It's like camping mattress material, although this comes from Exactoscale.

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??? posted on Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:22 pm

I would have been mightily disappointed otherwise

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Comment posted by 50007 on Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:28 pm

Oh i see. Thanks for explaining it to me. That stuff must be easy to cut and provide a smooth line. Is it cheaper than cork?

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??? posted on Mon Aug 18, 2008 2:45 pm

This stuff is ??????‚??5 for a sheet of 1.5m x 0.5m x 1/8in and is called 'Foamlay' - see http://www.p4track.co.uk/

I don't know what the equivalent in cork sheet would be.

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Comment posted by 50007 on Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:02 pm

That's really good. So you could do a whole layout, then lay your track and just cut away the foam. I dont like when with the cork you have to lay your cork as you lay the track!

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Comment posted by Brinkly on Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:35 pm

I am sure that it will be ready on time Rod, bags of time between now and 2011!

Do I need to know something about DRAG CK!? I don't want to have to wear Hannah's clothes!

Nick

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??? posted on Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:48 am

Here's a pic of the front of the new Eridge control panel before I cover it with transparent film and start drilling holes in it for switches, LEDs etc.

Everyone has their own needs, ideas and preferences on panels ranging from Chris Nevard's tobacco tin to Railroad&Co 'no panel required' - this is a 'conventional' panel for DC cab control. Each section (15, separated by black marks) will have a rotary switch which can be allocated to any of four controllers. The 'lever frame' emulates the real one as far as possible in terms of numbering, and the appropriate numbers for points (doubles for crossovers where appopriate) and signals are marked on the diagram. There will also be a LED-based route indicator system linked to the rotary switches which will show which sections are linked to which controller - not essential, but something indicated as a 'nice-to-have' by team members.

The red, blue and yellow sections of the track diagram mean nothing other than a convenient visual separation of up, down and yard sections.

I'll put up more on the behind-the-scenes progress as I work through it if this is of interest.

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Comment posted by martin_wynne on Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:23 pm

Hi Rod,

That's not always a good idea. It means that you cannot change a section from controller A to controller C without momentarily connecting it to controller B. Which may be in use at the time.

The simple solution is to add on-off section switches for each section, and remember to switch a section off while changing controllers.

Other solutions are latching push-buttons (as in old-style car radios) where pushing one releases all the others. Or you can emulate that with solid-state circuits and/or relays, but doing that 15 times over would be a lot of work.

Another solution is a plug panel. 4 jack sockets in a row. Insert a shorting jack plug into whichever one you want. This doubles as an on-off switch by removing the jack plug and putting it into a 5th dummy socket, or your pocket.

er, DCC?

regards,

Martin.

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