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Steve Hewitt

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Posts posted by Steve Hewitt

  1. On 10/03/2024 at 08:40, Enterprisingwestern said:

     

    Good to see you've got into prototypical running early on!

     

    Mike.

     

    Not all the time!..............

     

    Eric had only just completed the initial laying of the Northbound track than this "test train" gave us a visit.

     Not calling for a banker. This A4 is showing off with twelve coaches for an un-assisted climb up to Beattock Summit.

     

    More as and when we make progress............

     

    Steve

     

    • Like 8
  2. Can't resist the urge to run some trains............

     

    As if from nowhere, some carriages and locos appeared:

     

     Two bankers return from their last job, coupled together  to only use one "slot" down from the summit. 

     

    Next we see a dozen assorted carriages en-route for Carlisle.

    Apologies for the review of our rubbish bin!

     

     

    Steve

     

     

    • Like 11
  3. On 24/01/2024 at 00:17, Steve Hewitt said:

    Moving on from Paper Templates....................

     

    Having developed the track plan using paper templates we have ordered our first batch of point kits.

    These are intended mainly for the area controlled from the Beattock South box.

    We have chosen to use British Finescale 00 Code 75 as the basis for our pointwork.

    They produce a very nice result and are significantly less costly than the new Peco Unifrog points which offer a comparable all metal product of very similar geometry.

     

    Here we have our first order delivered:

    2024-01-1910_40_32.jpg.3a7800318d990ca71b1b1c5f0824d898.jpg

     

    A number of new club members wish to develop their skills by assembling these kits between them.

     

    More soon.............

     

    Steve.

     

    Good progress.............

     

    Five members wished to tackle the assembly of the British Finescale point kits, so Eric Robinson and I ran a short training session on the next club night.

    Each of the "trainees" selected a kit and I provided the printed Templates and Instructions.

    I guided the team through the assembly sequence, explaining the names and function of all the components whilst Eric assembled the first kit following the Instructions carefully.

    Once the first point was assembled the "trainees" set about their kits and by the end of the evening most had made very good progress. 

    The following week all bar one of the first kits had been completed and subsequently several more have joined them.

     

    Steve

    • Like 12
    • Round of applause 2
  4. Hi Jon,

     

    I can't help with prototype photos or drawings, but my solution in 4mm scale is in this video:

     

     

    Because it's platform mounted I assume all the weight bars and slotting are in a pit below the main post!.

    RIMG0637.JPG.89fd2e45e1e81f5d86c5ab627df28348.JPG

     

    RIMG0640.JPG.0a6cdddd8154e9daf408f67a99b3f570.JPG

     

    The route indicator is assembled from a MSE etch, and from memory (its not clear in the photo I'm afraid) I mounted it on a short piece of channel section brass attached to the bracket work so that the operating cranks could line up with the flags.

     

    Hope this helps , but I can't claim its authenticity.

     

    Steve.

    • Like 5
    • Craftsmanship/clever 1
    • Round of applause 1
  5. 11 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

    Please forgive this ignorant question (I regret that I haven't read the entire thread) but is this seen as a purely clubroom layout? Will it, can it, be seen at exhibitions? 

    YES!

    Our policy in the club is to build layouts for exhibition. 

    Beattock is constructed from 4ft by 2ft baseboards with the intention of making wheeled racks for easy transport. 

    It is not likely to be attending any exhibitions for several years. 

    However we always welcome visitors to our clubroom by arrangement.

    Just get in touch on Rmweb. 

     

    Steve 

    • Like 7
  6. First section of track..................

     

    Having completed the cork laying for the majority of the layout we have redrawn the curve of the southbound entrance to the fiddle yard. This will be the tightest curve on the running lines at about 3ft 6in radius.

    One of our newer club members has some concerns about the ability of his larger locos to deal with this, so we have temporarily laid a short length track for him to test them out.

     

    2024-01-0511_45_04.jpg.5ae097b0cccdaa424e203a021e28744f.jpg

     

    2024-01-0511_45_54.jpg.b4bb5e41496436cf4f0dffdd4ca0c19a.jpg

     

    We hope to run a few tests next Tuesday morning......

     

    Steve

     

    • Like 8
  7. Hi Simon,

    Happy new year to you.

     

    Yes, I expect there will be quite a bit of video shot once we are training again.

    Explaining how we are using DCC and the techniques for operating will probably need video with a "voice over".

     

    Steve.

    • Like 2
  8. Hi Paul,

     

    I think on the prototype the horizontal arm of the bracket would have had extensions out to each side, so that it supported the weight of the timber "Trimmers" and in turn the dolls etc.

    On the model, just drop the bracket down the post until the top of the Horizontal arm is level with the lower edge of the Trimmers. The fact they are not actually supported will be invisible on the layout.

     

    Best wishes,

     

    Steve.

  9. On 06/12/2023 at 09:01, Bucoops said:

    @Steve Hewitt may be able to offer some advice on finding something?

    Hi Paul,

     

    I'm afraid I can't help with regards to alternative suppliers of etches.

     

    Looking at your sketch, I would have thought you could make all the structure, as seen in the front view, from standard MSE etches.  Look at S008/3 for the large bracket, and S0021 or S0024/2 should give you enough to cobble the arch structure.

    The main posts would be either S0020 if you want the taper, or Alan Gibson 4M62 if you want them parallel.

     

    Without a plan view I can't see what you would expect to find in terms of etches.

    Personally, I would expect to make all the walkways from Brass Strip for the supporting "Iron Work", with wood strip for the walking surfaces and Lace Pins for the handrail stanchions with 0.3mm N/S wire for the Handrail itself.

     

    Hope this helps.

     

    Steve Hewitt

     

    https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/59687-semaphore-signals-4mm-scale-mainly/

    https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/177988-beattock-00-finescale/

     

    • Thanks 1
  10. See for yourself.............

     

    Progress on our layout continues, but it's not very photogenic.

    However, our annual exhibition is being held on December 2nd and 3rd.

    BELMRSExhibition2023.jpg.169438715d70cdc84a8d778853954e19.jpg

    Admission is £5 for adults, accompanied children free, family ticket £8.

     

    This venue is on the ground floor of the Conference centre, and our Clubrooms are immediately above on the first floor.

    Throughout the weekend at approximately hourly intervals we will be offering accompanied visits of our clubrooms to any interested visitors.

    Why not come along and see Beattock for yourself as well as the other projects our Club has to offer.

     

    Steve

    • Like 5
  11. 3 hours ago, Adrock said:

    Hi Steve,

     

    Many thanks for your detailed reply. This is really helpful as I look to replicate something very similar!

     

    A final question if possible - where have you sourced the component parts for your layout legs from? 
     

    Thanks again

    Adam

     

    Adam,

    I hope the following will help:

     

    Leg components...............

     

    The components used in our legs are based on commercial handrail and barrier systems.

     

    The cast socket which is attached to the baseboard:

    From:  Flocon

    C11.131 Wall Flange - Handrail Fitting

    C36F.173F Female End Swivel - Handrail Fitting�נ4
    26.9

    C35.173M Male Through Swivel - Handrail Fitting�נ10
    26.9

    These latter two are used to make cross bracings

     

    The legs are Aluminium from:

    Alloy Sales Ltd.:

    1 1/8 in x 16 swg - Aluminium Round Tube 5000 mm
    £19.95 per unit

    All cut 940mm long plus offcut

     

    The adjustable feet are from:

    ZORO:

    GN6336.4-ST-40-M8-55 Star Knob; Polyamid; Bolt   

     

    The captive nuts for the feet are from:

    Amazon:

    Threaded Insert M8 Screw-In Nut Zinc Alloy Hex Socket Nuts Screw-In Sleeves for Wooden Furniture

     

    All the above were ordered on-line, so you should be able to find them for yourself.

     

    The foot end of each leg was plugged by a turned piece of dowel into which the Insert nut is screwed.

    This was from a local timber supplier.

     

    Best of luck.

     

    Steve.

     

     

     

    • Like 3
    • Informative/Useful 2
  12. The Baseboards for Beattock........

     

    Hi Adam,

     

    Thanks for the question.

     

    The Baseboards are mainly 9mm Plywood. i.e. Top and the two long sides.

    The ends are 18mm Plywood.

    The batton in the corner between the Top and Side is 20x20mm planed all round.

     

    The Tops are 2ft x 4ft, cutting three from an 8ft x 4ft sheet.

    The forth "2ft x 4ft" remnant (Undersize because of the saw cuts) is cut into 5in strips for the sides.

    The remaining strip is cut into approximate squares to use as reinforcing pads for the inside of the sides where dowels  and/or captive nuts will be located.

     

    Assembly was performed using several Jigs and Drilling Guides to give consistency  and squareness.

    Ends were always drilled in clamped pairs to ensure accurate alignment for the Dowels and Bolts.

    Similarly, adjoining sides were clamped together when the Pads were fixed and subsequently drilled for Dowels and Bolts.

     

    Note: The Dowels used to align boards in a North/South direction are conventional with a Male and Female pair.

    To align boards in an East/West direction, the Dowels consist of a pair of Females with a separate Dowel of 7mm Silver Steel inserted from either side.

    All the dowels are turned from 18mm dia mild steel bar.

     

    All joints were assembled with "Gorilla" glue and countersunk wood screws.

     

    At this stage there is no cross bracing under the boards. Where any is found necessary it will be introduced after all the "underground" equipment is in place - mainly servo motors for all the points and signals.

     

    Currently I would say the boards are "Lightweight" in that they can be handled by a single member.

    This will probably not be the case when they are complete.

    Two persons are required to assemble boards together, and three is ideal. The third person can be underneath dealing with the Bolts.  

     

    Any more information I can give please just ask.

     

    Steve

    • Like 5
    • Informative/Useful 3
    • Friendly/supportive 1
  13. Next steps..............

     

    We intend to purchase all the point kits we require for the front (scenic) part of the layout as a single order.

    We are now using some old, and some not so old, track to plot the precise location and configuration of the point work. It is clear that some points will need to be handbuilt, and to that end we are producing tracings of the areas affected.

    2023-11-0310_38_31.jpg.facd7a4ace43d4cf91f1dbe02b37fb5d.jpg

     

    To be continued......

     

    Steve

    • Like 12
    • Friendly/supportive 1
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