Warrington Bank Quay - The Northern Approach - OO DCC

[Wild Boar Fell]

Another quick update today, I have finally put pen to paper with the baseboard construction design. The renders of the current plan are illustrated below. The design of the two most northern boards (North & North Mid) are identical other than the presence of the back-scene on the north board. These are constructed out of 18 x 69 mm section, topped with 12mm MDF. The frames include an extra longitudinal batten mounted centrally and have leg pockets at the northern end (to accept 44 x 44 mm legs).

The South Mid board retains the 69mm depth for most of the board, with the southern most transverse beam being 94mm deep instead to match the drop section (with a further 12mm added to the bottom to match the lower scenic board depth). The longitudinal beam is now mounted 160mm from the front of the board. 

 

The South board is far more complicated, with all the main timbers being 94mm not 69mm again with a further 12mm added. This board has 4 leg pockets and further (near) transverse beams to allow the Low Level Line to be represented. The lower section will be built up to the correct height before the scenic work is started.

 

The back-scenes are 6mm MDF and finish 1ft above the baseboard surface (this may be changed at a later point though).

 

These plans aren't set in stone, but unless I spot anything majorly wrong with these, construction to approximately this design can now begin.

 

Wild Boar Fell

[Wild Boar Fell]

And so it begins...

 

The Northern Approach now has a physical presence, some of the main frame timbers have been cut to size, with all the wood purchased with the exception of the back-scene boards. Illustrated in the photo below is the progress so far with their dimensions marked. Further frames and cross bracing pieces still need to be cut. The next step however is to match up the end pieces and fit the alignment dowels before constructing each board.

 

 

The below images shown the updated plans with cut or correctly sized pieces in green. Further cross bracing will be added to the North and North Mid boards once the point work is installed.

 

 

Planning of the track work has identified the required points, 

3 x Large Radius Left Handed Code 75 (Peco 189)

1 x Large Radius Right Handed Code 75 (Peco 188)

2 x Medium Radius Right Handed Code 75 (Peco 1095 Concrete)

5 x Large Radius Left Handed Code 83 (Peco 8382)

1 x Large Radius Right Handed Code 83 (Peco 8381)

 

The Medium Radius concrete points will be cut down to more accurately represent the catch/trap points, but will still be powered up and servo driven.

 

Finally 18m of cable trunking has been purchased, but what is it's purpose (clue it's not for cable)?

 

More progress anticipated shortly.

 

Wild Boar Fell

Edited June 22, 2016 by Wild Boar Fell

[Wild Boar Fell]

Further progress has been achieved today, most of the remaining sections have now been cut as indicated below. Also the alignment dowels have been drilled and fitted to the baseboard end sections. Baseboard construction is set to begin in anger tomorrow, so stay tuned for updates. 

One thing that strikes me are the size of the boards, the club layout I am involved with used 4ft x 2ft boards but these do seem much larger. The following photos show some of the parts mocking up the three board designs

North & North Mid

South Mid

South

The 6 inch strips have yet to be cut, or the timbers for the Low Level Line

 

Track-work will also be obtained shortly, and a site visit is planned soon.

 

Wild Boar Fell

[Wild Boar Fell]

The trackwork for Bank Quay has now been sourced, the points were mentioned earlier. The plain track is a mixture of the different code 75 types; 25 lengths of Concrete sleepers, 8 lengths of Wooden & 8 lengths of Steel. The exact locations of each will be determined during the site visit. As the only previous time I have used code 75 is for a non working photo plank, this may prove interesting.

 

 

Wild Boar Fell

[Crisis Rail]

Good "CAD" drawings -  expensive track purchase by the look of a subject near to home plenty of variety with Arpley nearby - hope the modelling lives up to the outlay.

 

Ian

[Wild Boar Fell]

Thanks Ian, that would be a correct assumption, I can but hope that becomes true...

 

As predicted, tonight saw the assembly of several of the boards, North & North Mid are complete other than some additional bracing which will be added as required. South Mid has most of the assembly work completed, it just awaits the fitting of the 6 inch strip along the front and for the lower scenic section. The High Level box of South board has also been assembled, but assembly is paused to allow the other 3 boards to be completed first (These are simpler and allow me to learn from them). One thing I will point out, which has always been a concern is that these board aren't light!

A couple of photos (not quite as of close of play)

North & North Mid

North, North Mid & South Mid (Checking the alignment)

South Mid

 

It's starting to feel like this project is progressing after toying with the idea in my mind for well over a year.

 

Wild Boar Fell

[RBE]

Nice work and fast progress since deciding to crack on with it!

[Wild Boar Fell]

Nice work and fast progress since deciding to crack on with it!

Thanks,

The real motive behind the progress is an impeding move where I won't be able to undertake the 'heavy' work. The plan is to have the boards ready with the platform edges marked by close of play on Wednesday (whether that is achieved is a different matter). 

 

Wild Boar Fell

[RBE]

I'm sure that you will. Nothing gives imputus like a deadline!

[Wild Boar Fell]

Quick update (full update to follow later). I conducted the site visit this morning (Cough, Spotting, Cough!) so now have a much better idea of the Signals, pointwork, AWS/TWPS locations, building designs, platforms & catenary to allow me to plan the scenic work further. The visit also highlighted that I had misjudged the proportion of Concrete sleepered track to Wooden sleepered. So the visit was followed by a trip to Hattons' who happily swapped the track like for like.

Pics to follow, but here is one of my favourites...

I believe 66135 has been done by Bachmann previously.

Wild Boar Fell 

[Tangoman69]

I'll be watching this with much interest. Since I started my new job 3 weeks ago, I've been to or through WBQ more times than I had in the last 3 years.

[Wild Boar Fell]

First up, a few images to really set the scene.

The first image is taken from the Liverpool Road bridge, looking roughly south along the station. This gives a reasonable view of the trackplan and arrangement of the station. The layout will extend from the bridge down to roughly where the red horizontal line is marked. The front of the layout will come to the red line on the left hand side, cutting through the carpark and yard, into the Dunelm carpark/access road. This equates to the line of the curb in front of the booking office.

 

Liverpool Road Bridge is something of a jigsaw in its construction as can be seen. Presumably the sandstone blocks date from the original Bank Quay station so possibly LNWR days (or Grand Junction?), I would hazard a guess that the main brickwork of the wingwalls are LNWR or LMS. The concrete span is likely to be from the electrification of the WCML. Whilst the support on the right hand span appears to be even more recent. It also looks like a section has been replaced due to damage from the roadway. All in all a feature which has a lot of character,but will prove an interesting challenge to model accurately.

 

 

Next up we have Crosfield's (as was), this really dominates the station. The first photo shows the station canopies relative to the works, see what I mean? For a bit of a scale reference, here just happens to be a conveniently placed Pendolino.

 

Interesting side note, dimensions taken from Google Earth make those silos approximately the same size in scale as a tube of Pringles (How unfortunate!). 

 

Below shows the track on the two north boards place roughly in there locations, this is to be finalised shortly. However the platform edging is planned to go in first. 

 

More updates will detail the other items learnt today.

Thanks again for all the encouragement, I hope I make it something worth showing.

 

Wild Boar Fell

[MRDBLUE17]

Hi great progress already, it's a very interesting location to model and will be good to follow your progress.

 

You are right about 66135, it was the very first 66 release in EWS livery, ive renumbered mine into the DB stickered 66098.

 

Thanks

Mark

[newbryford]

 

I believe 66135 has been done by Bachmann previously.

Wild Boar Fell 

 

Avonmouth-Clitheroe-Bescot cement. Passed me twice today...... empties and then later loaded

 

As Mark says, 66135 was the first EWS liveried 66 by Bachmann. They often need a slight modification to all axle pickup (the originals only had 4) and raising the bogie tower slightly to allow for a bit of fore and aft vertical movement.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Wild Boar Fell]

Thanks Mark & Mick, I thought I remembered seeing it done, looks like I dodged a bullet as my first 66 was 66200 (From the former model shop in Kendal, I believe). May well try and track one down at some point. Can you have too many sheds? Interestingly though, of all the locos I saw yesterday (baring those shut down at Arpley), only 1 was a 66, there was 1 70 (70005 missing a cover off the nose, also done by Bachmann), 2x 47s (West Coast, 47832 & 47854) along with 2x 68's (68005 Defiant & 68021 Tireless, the former is to be made by Dapol). It is fair to say the pair of 'Warskips' were not hanging around!

66135

Clitheroe Tanks

70005

47832

47854

68005 & 68021

 

Today has seen work on all 4 boards,

 

North & North Mid have had extra supports fitted underneath the 6" panels to keep them flush with the 2' panels.

 

South Mid has had the 6" Panel & supports fitted along with the Lower Scenic Panel.

 

South has been fitted with the Lower Scenic Panel, Tunnel Sides & Tunnel floor (unfortunately I forgot to photograph these). However the screws holding the tunnel sides can just be seen in the photo. The Lower Scenic Panels are on the right hand side.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Wild Boar Fell

[newbryford]

Other "available" trains are the Arriva WAG Mk3 sets with 67 power. Problem may be getting hold of an Arriva Mk3 DVT at a sensible price. At least you don't need a buffet on the Manchester service.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Wild Boar Fell]

Fortunately Mick, I managed to get the DVT when Hornby had it in their 'Last Chance to Buy' sales (Albeit an impulse purchase after seeing a great photo of it at WBQ in BigJim's blog). I have actually seen this set a few times, at least once on Stockport Viaduct on my way back from the Midlands, also last summer I saw the set in Bank Quay (with an EWS 67) when I was heading out to meet a Chirk based company. The set to me does look very smart indeed (if only the loco had some branding too).

Some photos of South & South Mid, yep the lighting is awful.

The large gap in the boards is due to them not currently being sat at the same height.

Other modellable common trains into Bank Quay (apologies if I miss any);

390 - Hornby

350 - Bachmann (not for much longer)

221 - Bachmann

220 - Bachmann

158 - Bachmann (old & new)

156 - Hornby

150 - Bachmann

Windhoff MPV - Bachmann

319 - Bratchell Models

 

Shame no one does a 325 kit.

 

Wild Boar Fell

Edited June 27, 2016 by Wild Boar Fell

[Phatbob]

Where's da fiddle yard???

[Wild Boar Fell]

No fiddle yards boards to be built yet Bob, only the scenic boards for now...

 

Wild Boar Fell

[Wild Boar Fell]

A Study in Sleepers

 

As I have alluded to previously, I had expected Bank Quay to feature mainly concrete sleepered track. Being of the understanding that this is how the 'Modern Railway' is, so imagine the thoughts going through my head stepping out onto platform 3 on Saturday to find, it was in the minority. As far as I can identify, only the plain track on the Up Fast & Down Fast uses concrete sleepers, even the pointwork on these uses mainly wood. The Down Loop & Down Slow is entirely wood (in the section I am modelling anyway), as is the 'yard' to the North East corner of the station. But the complications doesn't stop there, no. The Up Slow & Up Loop feature steel sleepers from a few yards south of the northern end of platform 1. Okay thats fairly simple, but that's only half the story...

 

Up Slow transition,

Look they even marked it for me!

Up Loop transition,

 

 

Bridge confusion

The bridge that carries the station over the Low Level (which formerly featured its own plaforms) adds a bit more interest to the sleeper situation, whilst it is not entirely unusual for a bridge to carry the tracks on timber baulks (Which it does at Bank Quay), several sleepers each way are also wooden on the two easternmost lines (Up Loop & Up Slow). Whilst only three wooden sleeper features on the two fast lines (one either end on the Up Fast, with one to the south on the Down Fast). Following this?

 

Fast Lines transition,

 

Just when you think you have it sussed, 

The Up Slow features  wooden sleepers underneath its AWS ramp.

 

The plan is to model these transitions.

 

Okay this may not seem the most interesting to look at, but it's one of those subjects that could be so easily overlooked and adds to the quirkiness of the station. The canopy stanchions are another example of this, but that's a story for another time!

 

Wild Boar Fell

Edited June 27, 2016 by Wild Boar Fell

[RBE]

Absolutely agree that this kind of detail is essential when modelling a real location. It is also one of the draws of modelling a real place as no one would ever do this level of variation in sleepers on a fictitious plan! Good work.

[Wild Boar Fell]

A Study in Sleepers Pt 2 - The Re-Sleepering...

 

Somehow managed to forget to add this to my previous post.

First up, here is a rough sketch showing the locations of the different sleeper types (excluding the 6 wooden on their own), Wooden is in Brown, Steel is in Orange & Concrete is in Grey.

 

Finally, the Low Level Line!

Just to keep things nice and consistent, the Liverpool bound line is Concrete Sleepered, whilst the Manchester bound line is still Wooden.

 

Simples!

 

Wild Boar Fell

[class"66"]

More interesting stuff and pictures!!

[Wild Boar Fell]

Slight progress update, all boards have now had the track centrelines added, I am still in two minds over whether to lay cork beneath the track. I have always used cork previously, but looking at the prototype, there doesn't appear to be a noticeable ballast shoulder (See above photos), what do you folks reckon then?

 

Also whilst flicking through my photos, I spotted this little oddity, now does anyone know why this has been done (the point blades appear to have been clamped in place using old fishplates)?

 

Puzzled

 

Wild Boar Fell

[d winpenny]

Looking good I shall be rolling this

 

David