30587 at Boscarne Junction

I thought I’d start this with a picture of 30587 at Boscarne which is of course the inspiration behind Bosmelin. And anyway it’s a nice picture. Although I’m not really a ‘loco-geek/nerd/nutter,’ having more interest in railways as a whole, locomotives are a pretty vital component.

Rapid progress in building THE RSR has never been allowed to interfere with my inherent ability to let other activities divert me from fulfilling a goal.

Ashamedly I see that it is over 7 months since I last provided an update or any attempted words of wisdom on the matter in hand. Why let the summer and numerous outings get in the way? Yet I have not been totally idle.

A brief recap

A quick review of the project is probably as important for me as it is for you.

The RSR is intended to be a set of multi use model railway baseboard components and began as a slightly ‘ovoid-circle’ made up of 4 curved boards 245mm wide and about 2.5m across. These can form either a full ‘ovoid-circle’ or two ‘semi-ovoid-semi-circles’. In the latter guise they form the ends of a large oval continuous run layout of any length. In practice the distance between the two semi circles will be 3.66m.

The rear will, in practice be a storage yard and the front 3.66 metres will be the ‘stage which can be used for any 16.5mm layout that will fit.

The four 90 deg. boards proved cumbersome to move about so a decision to cut them in half was taken and which resulted in 8 (obviously!) very manageable boards although additional ends became necessary.

The Original 4 Board Circle and ‘Clothes-Horse’ legs

Storage Yard joint with original ‘clothes-horse’ support (and drain pipe legs on yard boards)

The New ‘Ovoid-Circle’

All eight boards have been fitted with at least one new end; most have two. Those abutting the storage yard at the rear are simple replacements while those abutting the stage have yet to be designed as these will be critical.

The six joins between the front and back (3 each side) have however been changed considerably.  245mm is not a great width to afford much scenic modelling and as  placing a layout in the landscape is my preferred style the new ends are 450mm deep and also act as landscape formers. Presently square and oblong these will be shaped once the topography is designed.

And here is the new ‘8 board’ arrangement showing the single legs and the new board ends

Legs 11

Well legs 6 actually. The original 4 boards had been supported on 4 hinged ‘clothes-horse’ style supports which were really quite secure but heavy and cumbersome. The new boards require a support at each join. Hence 3 of the hinged boards have been turned into 6 legs supporting the intermediate joins. Connected to the end of each board by two loose pin hinges they are a bit wobbly and will require some bracing.

As a circle the back and front joins still need an independent support but when deployed as part of the large oval they will be supported by the storage yard and the stage.

So there we have it, some progress after all with a view to making the layout more portable and easier to handle. The next jobs are:

Two independent supports for the front and back joins

Bracing for the 6 intermediate legs

Design the New Stage Boards

At this rate HS2 will be built before The RSR!

Remember – be kind and do no harm; life’s better for all like that.

All the best

Richard

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