Beginners OO 1950's Banff

[Chimer]

I think 60C is certain to kill you, so I'm not sure you'll be too worried about the layout after that 

[aardvark]

7 hours ago, Chimer said:

I think 60C is certain to kill you, so I'm not sure you'll be too worried about the layout after that 

 

My first thought was: what's Helmsdale got to do with it?

[David Bell]

This is stating to take shape nicely. I especially like the way you have mocked up the buildings. I have done something similar for my Glasgow Queen Street project but I just draw the buildings out on a drawing board. I have not mastered any drawing programmes.

 

I noticed there is a video on YouTube of a train at Banff. Perhaps you have seen it, shows the gravity shunt rather well

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by David Bell

[David Bell]

This one,

 

https://youtu.be/VQrTf3lUtlU

[ianathompson]

1 hour ago, David Bell said:

This one,

 

Thamks for that video.

I model the Great North of Scotland and also keep a look out for Deveronvale's results after first visiting the town in the seventies.

 

Ian T

[TheQ]

14 hours ago, Chimer said:

I think 60C is certain to kill you, so I'm not sure you'll be too worried about the layout after that 

It won't if you've got a good supply of water,  I worked in Saudi, (with some Aussies ) where the official Max temperature is 50C, but that's a thermometer sat in a  white painted box with air circulation.. out working on the tarmac with the thermometer in the shade on a chair, sheltered from the breeze,  it exceeded 70C with the heat from the road surface..

 

Anyway that's way above Banff's average summer temperature of 17C and  Mullumbimby Creeks 30C average summer temperature..

Edited September 9, 2020 by TheQ

[David Bell]

1 hour ago, ianathompson said:

 

Thamks for that video.

I model the Great North of Scotland and also keep a look out for Deveronvale's results after first visiting the town in the seventies.

 

Ian T

I spent 35 years living in Aberdeenshire so have a soft spot for things GNSR.

Cheers

David

[aardvark]

14 hours ago, David Bell said:

This is stating to take shape nicely. I especially like the way you have mocked up the buildings. I have done something similar for my Glasgow Queen Street project but I just draw the buildings out on a drawing board. I have not mastered any drawing programmes.

 

I noticed there is a video on YouTube of a train at Banff. Perhaps you have seen it, shows the gravity shunt rather well

 

Goodness me - I've got visitors!  Must put the kettle on and fish the Digestives out

 

To my knowledge, there are Banff railway-related 3 videos on Youtube:

1. Banff Railway courtesy of Louise Barrett

2. Easter 1959 in Scotland 3 The line to Banff courtesy of Unseen Steam

3. Scottish Branch lines- Banff with Steam Loco Cab ride (1964) courtesy of 52761b

(There's also Banff: A Journey Through Time from James Fox for a bit of fun).

 

Both 2. and 3. show gravity shunting, but there is a wealth of micro-detail to be had if you work the pause button.

 

I'm indebted to all 3 unnamed enthusiastic amateur videographers for providing these records in the days when such activities were far from cheap.

[aardvark]

Not exactly headline worthy, but a personal milestone: today, after 4½ years, I laid some track.

 

 

3 turnouts and a quarter-length of flexitrack.

 

And look - gravity shunting in action

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by aardvark
manually restored lost images

[David Bell]

I think that is headline worthy. Look forward to seeing more. Particularly liked your first gravity shunt!

[St Enodoc]

34 minutes ago, aardvark said:

Not exactly headline worthy, but a personal milestone: today, after 4½ years, I laid some track.

 

3 turnouts and a quarter-length of flexitrack.

 

And look - gravity shunting in action

 

It's a great feeling isn't it, the first time something moves on the layout. It will be a greater feeling soon, when something moves under its own power! Well done.

[David Bell]

There is footage of Banff on Cinerail DVD The Railways of Scotland, Volume 4, Aberdeen and the Grampians, including footage of the last passenger train in 1964.

Cheers

David

[David Bell]

40 minutes ago, David Bell said:

There is footage of Banff on Cinerail DVD The Railways of Scotland, Volume 4, Aberdeen and the Grampians, including footage of the last passenger train in 1964.

Cheers

David

Don't go buying it just yet. I used to have a copy of this DVD and I am pretty sure the footage is two of the three films you have already found on Youtube

[aardvark]

The ever-reliable Ben Alder has instructed me to use a digital camera as a modelling aid.

 

In my previous post, once I had made it, examination of  the photo seems so show that the flextrack sleeper that is pinned looks deformed, while there seems to be a kink where the flextrack joins the far turnout.  Both of these "seems" turned out to be the case, so I've spent a chunk of today lifting and relaying (and lifting and relaying, and ..) the same track until all is better.

 

Here's one for St Enodoc:

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by aardvark

[RodneyV]

Hi Aardvark,

 

Thanks for the video, with your new found skills you should be able to lay a yard of track a week. The track laying should be finished in no time at all!

 

Regards

 

Rodney

[David Bell]

I assume you have seen the 2mm layout of Banff that was doing the exhibition circuit from 2012

Cheers 

David

[aardvark]

1 hour ago, David Bell said:

I assume you have seen the 2mm layout of Banff that was doing the exhibition circuit from 2012

 

Is that the Ian Noble one?

[aardvark]

8 hours ago, RodneyV said:

Thanks for the video, with your new found skills you should be able to lay a yard of track a week. The track laying should be finished in no time at all!

 

Thanks Rodney, but I gave your post a "Funny" as you haven't allowed for the Higher Priorities that occur.

[David Bell]

10 minutes ago, aardvark said:

 

Is that the Ian Noble one?

That's the one. I remember seeing it at Perth and at SEC.

[aardvark]

Back in February, I thought I had a lightbulb moment, but I was wrong ...

 

On 26/02/2020 at 23:36, aardvark said:

The Banff trackplan has a “missing” turnout.  ... Restoring the turnout gives the trackplan a run-around loop.

 

I was going back though messages from a few years back, researching "mixed" trains at Banff, when I realised that I had completely misread (or ignored) one particular message.  There never was a missing turnout, and there never was a run-around loop.

 

The 1st OS survey of 1866 clearly shows the "missing" turnout, but it's not a loop, rather it leads to a short end-loading siding facing the goods shed. In later years, the end-loading spur was extended to become the main goods siding, and the end-loading facility was removed to the other end of the loading bank and facing the other way.

 

The existence of a goods loop seems to have been a myth perpetuated by later OS surveys, signalling diagrams, Ian Futers' Modelling Scotland's Railways and Greenock & Districts Inverboyndie.  Ian Noble appears to have stuck with the prototype in his 2mm layout.

 

So, I'm back to where I was.  Additional of a turnout to provide a goods loop would add to the “play” value of the layout, but be far more non-prototypical than I had previous thought. Use of Beetles and FlyShunters would allow replication of gravity shunting. St Enodoc's suggestion of a non-prototypical station pilot is also tempting.

 

It will be a bit more time before I get to laying or not laying that particular turnout, so I've got time to give it a think.

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by aardvark
Expunged "existing of a good loop".

[aardvark]

Today, I completed track laying on the first baseboard of 4.  That’s 11 days to lay 5 turnouts and about ¾ of a length of flextrack.  I'm not quite up to RodneyV's metric of a yard a week, but still progress.

 

 

That’s as far as I can get without crossing a baseboard join, which will be my next hurdle.

 

From my research , there are 4 possible techniques:

1. The “bridge” join. A short (100-200mm) removable section of track is placed across the board join, and is installed as the baseboards are brought together.  This doesn’t seem particularly feasible, especially with droppers, but I’ve seen it used somewhere.
2. The fishplate join. Track is laid across a baseboard join, secured normally (eg track pins, glue) and then cut. One end of each track is fitted with fishplates which slide fully on.  When the baseboards are joined, the fishplate is slid out to ensure correct alignment.
3. The brass screw join. Brass screws are driven into the edge of each baseboard directly under each rail, which is then soldered to the top of the screw, and then cut.  The head of the screw can be narrowed to the width of the rail by filing to improve the aesthetics.
4. The copper-clad join.  This seems to be the current industry standard: copper-clad sleepers (thin strips of printed circuit board) replace a few sleepers on each side of the baseboard join, and are hard-fixed to the baseboards.

I’m not sure which way to go.  My baseboards won’t be making journeys beyond a few metres, and will have protective ply end-plates to guard not just the rail ends, but also the to-be-modelled scenic escarpment at the back of the layout.  I'm attracted by the fishplate join's simplicity, and by it's ability to not counteract the sound insulating characteristic of the Tracklay-on-foam approach to track laying.

 

But I'm open to comments.  I mean, I'm a beginner, what would I actually know about such things.

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by aardvark
manually restored lost images

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, aardvark said:

Today, I completed track laying on the first baseboard of 4.  That’s 11 days to lay 5 turnouts and about ¾ of a length of flextrack.  I'm not quite up to RodneyV's metric of a yard a week, but still progress.

 

 

That’s as far as I can get without crossing a baseboard join, which will be my next hurdle.

 

From my research , there are 4 possible techniques:

1. The “bridge” join. A short (100-200mm) removable section of track is placed across the board join, and is installed as the baseboards are brought together.  This doesn’t seem particularly feasible, especially with droppers, but I’ve seen it used somewhere.
2. The fishplate join. Track is laid across a baseboard join, secured normally (eg track pins, glue) and then cut. One end of each track is fitted with fishplates which slide fully on.  When the baseboards are joined, the fishplate is slid out to ensure correct alignment.
3. The brass screw join. Brass screws are driven into the edge of each baseboard directly under each rail, which is then soldered to the top of the screw, and then cut.  The head of the screw can be narrowed to the width of the rail by filing to improve the aesthetics.
4. The copper-clad join.  This seems to be the current industry standard: copper-clad sleepers (thin strips of printed circuit board) replace a few sleepers on each side of the baseboard join, and are hard-fixed to the baseboards.

I’m not sure which way to go.  My baseboards won’t be making journeys beyond a few metres, and will have protective ply end-plates to guard not just the rail ends, but also the to-be-modelled scenic escarpment at the back of the layout.  I'm attracted by the fishplate join's simplicity, and by it's ability to not counteract the sound insulating characteristic of the Tracklay-on-foam approach to track laying.

 

But I'm open to comments.  I mean, I'm a beginner, what would I actually know about such things.

 

 

The fishplate join is fine until you forget to slide them back when dismantling the layout...

 

If you do choose this method then don't rely on the fishplates to carry electric current.

 

I use the copperclad join - minimum of three copperclad sleepers on either side of the join.

[Chimer]

Fwiw, I did use the "bridge" join as you call it over a number of joins in a past layout, using lengths of Peco set-track.  Worked fine, including taking it apart and putting it back together a couple of times, but I never got round to ballasting which might make things rather more difficult.  My soldering is dreadful, which causes me to shy away from #3 and #4.

[David Bell]

Forgive me for telling you something you probably know already! I picked up a copy of LNER Country Stations  by John Brodribb for all of £1.50 and it has scale drawings of Banff station building in it.

Cheers

David

[aardvark]

11 hours ago, David Bell said:

I picked up a copy of LNER Country Stations  by John Brodribb for all of £1.50 and it has scale drawings of Banff station building in it.

 

Thanks David - I didn't know, and congratulations for getting a copy for £1.50 - I've seen prices up to £99 .  However, I'm fortunate to have various dimensioned plans and drawings from the GNoSRA, so I'm probably ok.  Neverthless, I'm keep my eye out.

 

 

11 hours ago, Chimer said:

My soldering is dreadful, which causes me to shy away from #3 and #4.

 

Thanks for your input, Chimer.  Sorry to hear about your soldering.  The secret (if there is one) is cleanliness - iron & solder as well as the things to be joined.  If your solder is dull in colour, then it's oxidised and hard to use, so chuck it.  Buy quality solder and no-clean flux.

 

 

On 22/09/2020 at 17:29, St Enodoc said:

I use the copperclad join - minimum of three copperclad sleepers on either side of the join.

 

So that's 2 votes for copperclad, one for bridge joins and ½ for fishplates.