Castle Aching

[Hroth]

 

I am minded that my Sister's house has recently been diagnosed with Sticky Wires green goo in the sockets resulting in a total rewire needed. Naturally the new cables couldn't be pulled through the channels so all the runs had to be chased out and replastered afterwards. They had to move out temporary and have just finished re-decorating the whole house. Pretty disastrous really. I have no idea of the cost either.

 

Don

According to this ( https://www.toms-electrical-services.co.uk/green-goo-wiring ), green goo is mainly associated with wiring installed in the late60s/early 70s so perhaps the house was due a rewire anyway.  However, having to rewire after redecorating is distressing anyhow.  I'd never heard of sticky wires/green goo so its probably a wakeup call for anyone who's house was last rewired before the late 80s!

[Nearholmer]

All of which may seem very un-CA, but the first edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations was published as early as 1882, and they were on the 4th Edirion by the time of CA. We're on the 17th now.

 

Readers are invited to identify the hazards inherent in the installation shown below, which I suspect didn't even comply with the standards applicable at the time.

[TheQ]

According to this ( https://www.toms-electrical-services.co.uk/green-goo-wiring ), green goo is mainly associated with wiring installed in the late60s/early 70s so perhaps the house was due a rewire anyway.  However, having to rewire after redecorating is distressing anyhow.  I'd never heard of sticky wires/green goo so its probably a wakeup call for anyone who's house was last rewired before the late 80s!

Modern wiring also reacts with polystyrene insulation, causing the wire covering to go soft and soggy. I had the unfortunate task of unpacking equipment that had polystyrene packing and had been stored in a non airconditioned Warehouse in Saudi, all the cabling had gone very sticky in less than 10 years......

 

 This could in theory affect model railways if you feed wire through polystrene hills..

[Northroader]

All of which may seem very un-CA, but the first edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations was published as early as 1882, and they were on the 4th Edirion by the time of CA. We're on the 17th now.

Readers are invited to identify the hazards inherent in the installation shown below, which I suspect didn't even comply with the standards applicable at the time.

If you’re living in Wales and keeping your coal in the bath you should be alright?

[BG John]

All of which may seem very un-CA, but the first edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations was published as early as 1882, and they were on the 4th Edirion by the time of CA. We're on the 17th now.

 

Readers are invited to identify the hazards inherent in the installation shown below, which I suspect didn't even comply with the standards applicable at the time.

It's a long stretch from the bath to the switch. Someone could slip on the soap while trying to reach it.

[Edwardian]

All of which may seem very un-CA, but the first edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations was published as early as 1882, and they were on the 4th Edirion by the time of CA. We're on the 17th now.

 

Readers are invited to identify the hazards inherent in the installation shown below, which I suspect didn't even comply with the standards applicable at the time.

 

"Very Impressive, Lady E, this new hot point electrical iron.  Should save the staff some work, but, no, I can't just move the socket.  It's all done to the 1882 standards, see, and we're on the 4th edition now.  I'd have to rip the lot out and start again"!

 

It all makes work for the working man to do ...

 

Meanwhile, on the railway, I am attempting to finalise arrangements, and there are various practical implications to the cork laying, like establishing where the platform and the buildings are to be, particularly the features that span the line, the train shed and the engine shed.  This involves scaling up the Wateringbury plans, and then determining how the train shed and engine shed will fit onto them.

 

To aid my cogitation, I have dug up some pictures of Alston, NER, which is one of the locations that inspired the arrangements at Castle Aching. The pictures that best illustrate the arrangement of station building, train and engine sheds are some I took of a fine EM gauge representation, built by a gentleman named Graham Hudson, and which now resides, static, in a transport collection housed in the former goods shed at Alston.

[Regularity]

Readers are invited to identify the hazards inherent in the installation shown below, which I suspect didn't even comply with the standards applicable at the time.

You are assuming that to be a bathroom.

It might be an execution chamber.

Well, it probably is, regardless of intended use...

[Hroth]

Modern wiring also reacts with polystyrene insulation, causing the wire covering to go soft and soggy. I had the unfortunate task of unpacking equipment that had polystyrene packing and had been stored in a non airconditioned Warehouse in Saudi, all the cabling had gone very sticky in less than 10 years......

 

 This could in theory affect model railways if you feed wire through polystrene hills..

Cellular foam is also a nuisance.  Although it IS rather elderly, I've a Russian Zenith UPA-5 photo enlarger that comes packed in a handy suitcase (which forms the baseboard), the enlarger is cradled within the case in beds of cellular foam.  This is now a gooey, sticky, unpleasant mess...

 

I blame the plasticisers - inherently unstable substances.....

 

 

All of which may seem very un-CA, but the first edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations was published as early as 1882, and they were on the 4th Edirion by the time of CA. We're on the 17th now.

 

Readers are invited to identify the hazards inherent in the installation shown below, which I suspect didn't even comply with the standards applicable at the time.

 

I'm assuming this is the first design iteration of the Electric Chair?

At one point in my life I worked on software for designing 16th edition IEE  Wiring Regs compliant schemes.  It gave me a headache.......

 

Oh well.....

 

I'm sure I've mentioned the mains-powered trainset illustrated in the Arthur Mees Childrens Encyclopedia before now....

 

They're playing with the train in the nursery, the nursery maid is ironing clothes

 

Everything is powered from a festoon socket hanging from a light socket.  There's also a bulb up there.......

[Regularity]

Modern wiring also reacts with polystyrene insulation, causing the wire covering to go soft and soggy. I had the unfortunate task of unpacking equipment that had polystyrene packing and had been stored in a non airconditioned Warehouse in Saudi, all the cabling had gone very sticky in less than 10 years......

 

 This could in theory affect model railways if you feed wire through polystrene hills..

 

And also have your layout in a non-airconditioned room in Saudi Arabia...

[Regularity]

Wires failing seem generally less of a problem with house supplies and access to the ends at sockets etc. or the consumer unit is good. Less so with model railways if the dropper is soldered to the underside of the rail on ballasted and weathered track getting in to re-solder it is not so easy. If you do have to dig out a wire in the house it wil be replastered over and the wall re-painted because it has to be fixed whereas on a layout the propect of digging up the scenery then trying to repair the damage often seems to put people off it never seems quite the same. Just fitting in a new dropper can be a lot easier. I have a similar issue with mechanisms to operate the turnouts although I have used brass rod in plastruct tubing on the surface but using straight runs so if it gets gunged up during the scenification there is a chance of clearing it. It does seem appropriate to mention as well as blocking the dropper holes one also needs to block up anything else where you dont want PVA or other stuff to get including the tiebar area. Blue tack and Masking tape are your friends for that task.

 

I am minded that my Sister's house has recently been diagnosed with Sticky Wires green goo in the sockets resulting in a total rewire needed. Naturally the new cables couldn't be pulled through the channels so all the runs had to be chased out and replastered afterwards. They had to move out temporary and have just finished re-decorating the whole house. Pretty disastrous really. I have no idea of the cost either.

 

Don

It depends on what wire you use, and how well you solder it.

Using thin multi strand means that the wire is unlikely to break, as it would do if using single core wire. The ends of it can also be crimped/flattened in the jaws of a pair of smooth pliers, and solder applied to the resulting tab prior to soldering it to the underside of the rail. It is unlikely that such a joint would break, if the rail was cleaned and cored solder was used.

As CA is going to have PCB track, then the wire could be soldered onto the PCB next to the rail, which would make things even easier.

However, if the wiring is to be buried subsequently in scenery and ballast, then it needs to be fully tested, and the track needs to be laid to the final plan - although with PCB track, that's pretty much the case anyway.

 

I realise that my suggestion goes against perceived wisdom, but there is no denying that being able to solder without constantly inverting the layout has its attractions: no back ache, and no molten solder dropping onto one's face when underneath the layout.

 

There is no reason for it not to work, and as I said, it has been proven on an exhibition layout, too. (Trevor described the wiring up as a very easy and pleasant process.)

 

The layout also features rodding on the surface, mostly under the platform which is screwed but not glued in place. Handy that, as an omega loop got displaced at Uckfield. I popped below with a screwdriver, undid 3 screws, and the repair was easily made.

Apologies for the picture quality - entirely my fault.

[corneliuslundie]

And to think that I used to write articles about the IEE Regs 16th Edition when they were new and  i was a younger and innocent journalist. Mind you, every article was based on material provided by the Electrical Contractors' Association (an excellent body) and then checked by one of the Association's staff. However, it gave me the completely undeserved reputation of knowing something about the subject. What it did teach me, however, was how much I don't know about electrics. 

At least with model railway electrics one does not have to calculate voltage drop, earth loop impedance etc or worry about three phase supplies, inductive loads or mutual inductance (I think I can still remember what all those terms mean!).

Jonathan

[runs as required]

I've only just returned to RMweb after a spell away to 'the gamut* from A through B' of topics on this thread I've missed out on

 

Alston (pictured above) registered with me because I rode up there in a foul overcrowded hot and smelly old Metro Cammell DMU  - 'down and up' -  staggering the other way round in altitude from Haltwhistle.on the very last winter afternoon. Sadly the NER roof had long gone by then.

I was playing truant from my new job in strange Newcastle back in the old country from 5 years in West Africa.

 

Several pages back I also missed out on the L&NW and GN joint up threading through Leicestershire. Those LNW lines really excited me during some years when my daughter lived in Uppingham and worked in Leicester. I kept spotting Crewe style 'tricky' brickwork on isolated rural cottages - long a favourite pastime of mine. Sure enough if I stopped there would be an overgrown track nearby.

 

I did actually cycle past Seaton junction when about fourteen in the 1950s and stopped to sketch the station there - with a bit of artistic licence with both a train in the station and a Jubilee crossing the Nene Viaduct.

 

dh.

 

 

 

*I think this an unkind jibe from Dorothy Parker about a fellow celluloid era celeb

[Northroader]

Whoops, for a minute I thought you meant the other Seaton Junction; if SOSJ merges with Castle Aching life will get very complicated.

[Donw]

Polystyrene can cause problems with cables but also in the late 60s and early 70s they added something to the PVC to increase its temperature resistance this with the plastiser used seems to have cause the problem. the goo is due to a reaction between the copper and the plastiser and is toxic. Such fun. 

 

While in theory well made joints tested first will not fail experience shows that the odd one may well fail. A friend had droppers on an outdoor section well held by the ballast. Movement of the rails due to temperature changes cause fractures of the wire. Redoing it it left a small loop between the rail and the ballast to allow for movement. When up grading the Shrewsbury Wolverhampton Coax cable to take digital transmission ( TDM replacing FDM) we found that many joints which had been satisfactory using Frequency Division multiplexing could not cope with digital as poorly made joints sent back false signals. Opening the joints up to repair them we found cases where the solder was not doing it job but the two parts being in contact had indicated a good joint. Only when the test digital package had been sent could the slight resistance there be noticed.

And of course if you need to add another wire for any reason you end up running it underneath to avoid digging up the scenery.

The fact that being able to unscrew the platform was handy indicates the advisability of access and I did note that access was underneath.

 

My philosophy is to plan for access where possible because you are more likely to need it when there is no access.

 

PS If you do want to bury the wires under the scenery use two wires to each piece of rail. Hopefully both will not fail.

 

Don 

[Edwardian]

I've only just returned to RMweb after a spell away to 'the gamut* from A through B' of topics on this thread I've missed out on

 

Alston (pictured above) registered with me because I rode up there in a foul overcrowded hot and smelly old Metro Cammell DMU  - 'down and up' -  staggering the other way round in altitude from Haltwhistle.on the very last winter afternoon. Sadly the NER roof had long gone by then.

I was playing truant from my new job in strange Newcastle back in the old country from 5 years in West Africa.

 

Several pages back I also missed out on the L&NW and GN joint up threading through Leicestershire. Those LNW lines really excited me during some years when my daughter lived in Uppingham and worked in Leicester. I kept spotting Crewe style 'tricky' brickwork on isolated rural cottages - long a favourite pastime of mine. Sure enough if I stopped there would be an overgrown track nearby.

 

I did actually cycle past Seaton junction when about fourteen in the 1950s and stopped to sketch the station there - with a bit of artistic licence with both a train in the station and a Jubilee crossing the Nene Viaduct.

 

dh.

 

 

 

*I think this an unkind jibe from Dorothy Parker about a fellow celluloid era celeb

 

 

Welcome back.

 

On topic apology! So, we are looking for a suitable 1850s train shed as a basis for Castle Aching.

 

Obviously train lengths can exceed the train shed, but I do think the original intent would have been to accommodate a short train of the period, and for the train shed to double as a carriage shed for one or two sets of 4-wheel coaches.  It is still used as such for the Achingham branch set, and, needs to be a good 18" in order to achieve this.

 

I have not, however, considered the length of prototype train sheds at rural termini before, so my sole point of reference is Ashburton (which I think is early 1870s, so c.15 years or so later than CA), the timber train shed of which was about 80', IIRC, and, so, would scale out at around 12 1/2". 

 

We need to consider the style.  I assume pitched roof and perhaps the roof trusses should be timber, rather than cast iron?

 

Where the front wall of the shed is not overlapped by the engine shed, we could have a fine masonry wall.  This could be punctuated by a window opening or an arched opening down to ground level. 

 

Alternatively, the construction here could be by way of stout timber posts.  These could be clad with horizontal boards, or, my preference, left open, so that the viewer might see something of the platform elevation of the station building or the train at the platform.

 

I was once rather taken by this canopy at (unrebuilt) Lewes.

[BG John]

I was once rather taken by this canopy at (unrebuilt) Lewes.

That's a useful picture, as it clearly shows track ballasted over the sleepers, and is not too far from the K&ESR. Its quite clear where parts of chairs are visible, and a few areas where there's less ballast. It would have been nice to have a good view of the area around the switches on plain points though. I think my idea for Holman's End, of using bodged up second-hand copperclad track, with extra detail in just a few areas, should be practical.

Edited December 5, 2017 by BG John

[Edwardian]

Here is a useful view of Alston, from 1962.  The train shed is extant, but the end valancing has gone, revealing the construction of the spans.  As I say, though, this was an 1870s replacement.  Perhaps Castle Aching's 1850s original might owe more to the Didcot Transfer Shed?

[runs as required]

You don't think something slightly second hand might be more aligned/convergent* with the Board's rolling stock predilictions?

What might be surplus to military turn of the century storage godown requirements ?

I always liked the LNW's cheapo surplus Paxton's Crystal Palace components used at Rewley Road

dh

*take yer pick from these clearly "very different" words in current diplomatic vogue

[Edwardian]

Some further thoughts:

[Shadow]

http://glostransporthistory.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/M5_M50_NGRE_2012.htm part way down page.

 

https://ehive.com/collections/3426/objects/5133/the-wantage-tram-at-the-wantage-station-yard-mill-street

 

Wantage Tramway Station has a good example.

Edited December 5, 2017 by Shadow

[BG John]

Wantage Tramway Station has a good example.

It's easy to model in Lego too .

 

[Northroader]

I looked at Ashburton train shed recently in connection with a broad gauge line, and it is quite a big lump of a shed for a model, single line sheds would be better, and one with open side away from the platform, rather than a wall, so here’s some more for your delectation:

[Donw]

Welcome back.

 

On topic apology! So, we are looking for a suitable 1850s train shed as a basis for Castle Aching.

 

Obviously train lengths can exceed the train shed, but I do think the original intent would have been to accommodate a short train of the period, and for the train shed to double as a carriage shed for one or two sets of 4-wheel coaches.  It is still used as such for the Achingham branch set, and, needs to be a good 18" in order to achieve this.

 

I have not, however, considered the length of prototype train sheds at rural termini before, so my sole point of reference is Ashburton (which I think is early 1870s, so c.15 years or so later than CA), the timber train shed of which was about 80', IIRC, and, so, would scale out at around 12 1/2". 

 

We need to consider the style.  I assume pitched roof and perhaps the roof trusses should be timber, rather than cast iron?

 

Where the front wall of the shed is not overlapped by the engine shed, we could have a fine masonry wall.  This could be punctuated by a window opening or an arched opening down to ground level. 

 

Alternatively, the construction here could be by way of stout timber posts.  These could be clad with horizontal boards, or, my preference, left open, so that the viewer might see something of the platform elevation of the station building or the train at the platform.

 

I was once rather taken by this canopy at (unrebuilt) Lewes.

 

 Nice bit of trackwork  teeth on!  It looks like a single slip with an extra turnout starting of in the middle. Oh sorry we are talking about buildings here not trackwork.  If you are using auto couplings the main requirement is to be able to see well enough the little dance needed to uncouple. If using three links either leave out some glazing to get a coupling hook through or go for canopies. For an asthetic point of view the train shed looks right but with canopies on a single platform on the far side you will get a nice view of the train probably what I would go for.

Chacun a son gout   

 

Don 

[NeilHB]

Edwardian,

 

On the subject of train sheds (a favourite of mine!) - had you considered the ones that adorned the terminii of the Waterford and Tramore railway in Ireland?

 

A rather delightful railway operated (initially) by a couple of regauged London & Birmingham Bury 2-2-2WTs, and later on a fair few oddities - all lovely stuff!

 

Very nice train sheds at either end, used for stock storage, and fed from a turntable at one end.

Ideally suited to CA in my view.

[Edwardian]

I looked at Ashburton train shed recently in connection with a broad gauge line, and it is quite a big lump of a shed for a model, single line sheds would be better, and one with open side away from the platform, rather than a wall, so here’s some more for your delectation:E4B4556F-1F5E-480E-B42E-F5F5AD0D5410.jpegFD382942-C298-4A4E-B15C-11ABE25D2FCB.jpeg362036CB-0356-4968-88FC-7A642D4C0106.jpeg97E0D89E-7828-48D6-9800-C18E02C466CE.jpeg

 

 Nice bit of trackwork  teeth on!  It looks like a single slip with an extra turnout starting of in the middle. Oh sorry we are talking about buildings here not trackwork.  If you are using auto couplings the main requirement is to be able to see well enough the little dance needed to uncouple. If using three links either leave out some glazing to get a coupling hook through or go for canopies. For an asthetic point of view the train shed looks right but with canopies on a single platform on the far side you will get a nice view of the train probably what I would go for.

Chacun a son gout   

 

Don 

 

Heart is set on a train shed, and it will need to span two tracks.  There is something special, to my mind, about a train shed.  It adds a certain importance to a country station, and it would be a shame not to include one here, where there would be a view from the stop blocks into the interior. 

 

Don, you raise a good point about uncoupling.  Had you not mentioned it, I would have thought about uncoupling when I first came to run a 3-link coupled train into the platform!

 

Certainly with the short West Norfolk locos, the loco should sit in the open, between the train shed and the turntable. I will have to ensure that the couplings are accessible. 

 

 

Edwardian,

 

On the subject of train sheds (a favourite of mine!) - had you considered the ones that adorned the terminii of the Waterford and Tramore railway in Ireland?

 

A rather delightful railway operated (initially) by a couple of regauged London & Birmingham Bury 2-2-2WTs, and later on a fair few oddities - all lovely stuff!

 

Very nice train sheds at either end, used for stock storage, and fed from a turntable at one end.

Ideally suited to CA in my view.

 

No, but I will consider them now.  Thank you.