treggyman

Hi A bit of progress...... Done most of the ballasting in the Clay Works yard & finalised where the buildings will go.... Not fixed them down yet though...... I have started fitting the cable trunking&I was going to do a bit more ballasting on the main line when it crossed my mind that to do so I really ought to finalise the signalling & fix in place the ground signals..... So last night I reread Paul's (5BarVT ) very informative post & redid the Signal Box plan....Hopefully it's OK.... Here it is.... TG1 is Up main & access to the down main for running round rejoining train etc. TG2 protects the point in front of it I've removed the catch point as it was not deemed necessary TG3 protects the point controlling access to the yard I've moved TG4 past the point as it now allows access to the crossover from both the main line & the yard. TG5 allows a train or loco to exit the yard & depending on TG4 either use the crossover or join the up main line.My thought is that the adjacent point in effect becomes a trap point & would be controlled by the 'Box. TG6 protects the crossover point & comes into use if a loco is running round or reversing having attached itself to wagons prior to propelling into the yard. Similarly TG7 allows access to the yard if an up freight needs to reverse into the yard. TG8 reads L to R....Down main , access to the up main for running round etc , Yard. TG9 is the up starter. So now it is time to fit the rest of the cable trunking & add the ground signals/dummies. Hope the above makes sense..... Any comments welcome.......It would be nice to get it as right as possible..... Cheers Bill PS I've only included the signalling that is visible on the layout...... Any distant / home / calling on signals etc that should be on a full plan are implied to be in position on a full plan. Cheers Again

Hi Personally I use Phosphoric acid for all my soldering...... I've got Carrs Red Label but can't remember why I don't use it... It is more important to clean after soldering as with the lower temp there is more likely in my experience to be acid residue left after soldering..... Cheers Bill

Hi I'd better clarify that I'm agreeing that the picture looks really good....... If taken from a lower angle it could be a contender for the real thing. The back scene join is just about invisible....... Excellent modelling ....Keep up the good work... Cheers Bill

Hi In the original picture there is a 'ground signal' on the bracket signal platform..... There isn't one on the photo of Liskeard..... This is in the 'off' position meaning a train is signalled off the mainline unless it's being used as a calling on signal. At Liskeard the only pointwork past the bracket signal is the crossover used for running round or for trains from the Looe line to access the down main..... Also the signal arm signal above the train does not seem to be there in the picture of Liskeard..... It does look like LIskeard though...... Cheers Bill

Hi Where's the excellent work button when you need it..... Looking really good..... Cheers Bill

Hi Reading the link it says it's made in New Zealand from imported ingredients !!!!!! Cheers Bill

Hi Very nice work & a useful tip.... Thanks for sharing... cheers Bill

HI Had a bit of a search & found the original Hand drawn track plan for Penhallick Junction....... Not where I thought it was but here it is..... Hopefully it's self explanatory....If not please ask..... Still not found Hendra's track plan but I did find a couple of pictures of the traverser which hopefully illustrate better how the fiddleyard is hidden & operated.... The above picture shows also one of the cross members which have drawer runners on them so that the fiddleyard base slides in & out smoothly.... The large building (Linhay ) will be to the left covering & hiding the fiddleyard. And from the other end.... The brown & white tubes will be slurry tanks which which with associated control building will add to hiding the access to the fiddleyard...... Hope this helps.... Cheers Bill

Hi again Put some coal on the old computer & fired it up so here goes....... Sadly can't find the track plans for either Penhallick junction or Hendra but here are a couple of pics of what I mean..... First an overall pic of Penhallick Junction..... To the right was about 4ft of cassette behind the buildings & to the left was about 2ft of cassette through the bridge which allowed a DMU to shuttle to & fro whilst the yard was shunted...... As I said the overall layout was 12ft long.... The first pic of Hendra shows the traverser before the Linhay (large building) was built & the second how the entry was 'disguised by the entry through the bridge to the left of the Linhay.... Hopefully the above gives you an idea of how I did it.... If not....Ask again.... Cheers Bill

Hi Jules If you look at my layout Hendra (click on the link in my signature ) on the last page the last post is a front on picture of the complete layout..... The layout is longer than your proposed dimension at 12ft long but the principal is the same.... The large building on the right houses a 5 road traverser which is 6ins longer than the actual building......So extends to the right by 6ins but isn't obvious when being viewed from the front. I did a similar thing with Penhallick Junction (which was also 12ft long) but used cassettes at either end & inset the main layout so that the through line disappeared through a bridge at one end & behind a building at the other so that I could have an illusion of a mainline with DMU's shuttling to & fro in the background & the China Clay yard in front. Sadly the pics are no longer on here due to the 'crash' but the topic is & I can post some either on here or by PM if you want. I'll try & dig out the track plans & post them......Sadly they are on my old computer ,which is playing up so might take a bit to cajole into action. Cheers Bill

Hi I've made a bit of progress....... Done no more on the signalling front apart from make up 8 Ratio ground signals & paint them.... They await fitting in due course once I redraw the signalling diagram...... I have however been fitting the concrete hardstanding in the loading area & this is just about done....I've also made a start on ballasting the yard....... In the past I've always made the concrete hardstanding out of Polyfilla. It probably gives the best final result but is messy, difficult to get flat, liable to chip & crack & it's a pain to get the grooves for the wheels to run in dug out & looking right...... So this time I've used a combination of 1 & 2mm white card.....The stuff used in picture framing.... I found that a strip of 2mm brings the height to above the chairs & a strip of 1mm covers the chairs &brings the height to just below rail head top height.....Necessary for rail cleaning...... It's certainly a lot quicker & far less messy. I used neat PVA glue to stick it down to the cork or plywood base & in front of the Linhay between the rails which was just a strip of 2mm card.In the fuel loading area I used Superphatic to glue it to the sleepers....It seems to have stuck down fine so far with just a bit of trimming down to lower the level where the card ended up higher than the rail head. In order to get more light on the layout whilst I'm working on it I've fitted the light pelmet to the back of the layout .... It throws shadows the wrong way but I no longer need to continually be wearing my head torch. Don't quite know what's happened to the pics when I resized them but hopefully you get the idea.... Next more ballasting & keep running stuff (playing ) to make sure all still works as it should.... Cheers Bill

Hi again Just a couple of thoughts on your plan...... I was wondering whether the 6ft included the fiddle yard or if that was an extension to the 6ft length..... In my plans foe St Blazeyish I had thought of doing it in 8ft over all....... So if you move the repair shed to the edge of the board & make it longer you could hide the fiddle yard behind it which would mean the whole of the layout would be scenic...... You could even have a large shed/industrial building at the other end & then have 153 or similar shuttling to & fro in the background while you shunt in the foreground...... That was my idea of what I was going to do anyway . It would mean that you would have to use cassettes rather than a traverser...... I must admit that my pet hate at exhibitions is where there is a superbly modelled small layout spoilt by the sometimes larger length of blanks at either end of invisible fiddle yard..... Feel free to ignore..... Cheers again Bill

Hi Great idea..... Lot's of potential for scenics/shunting/wagon variety etc...... I'd been thinking about something similar based on St Blazey but as the real track layout is much more extensive I couldn't quite get my head around how to get it to work & keep it relatively simple track wise..... Will follow with interest... Cheers Bill

Hi Although I'm sorry that Burngullow Lane is no more as I enjoyed following your build I am glad that you have settled on another 'local' themed layout that looks to be very interesting. I look forward to following your take on the North Cornwall line. We moved to Cornwall in 1987 & were welcomed by the locals as we were putting money into the local economy as we lived/worked/shopped in the local area. When we bought this place 24 years ago it was semi derelict & we had a few problems with the neighbouring Gypsy camp.....Until they realised that we were intending to renovate the place to live in ourselves.....We get on with them fine as we treat them like normal people .....I think that this is the case with most communities.....If you try & fit in & bear in mind they were there before you most people are welcoming...... Looking forward to your progress... Cheers Bill

Hi Where's the fab button.... That's an excellent outcome & more importantly thanks for the step by step detailing of the build...... Having seen the results of your efforts I'm certainly tempted to have a go myself though I will probably use my usual base of 3mm Foamboard...... Keep up the good work.... Cheers Bill