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That's my sort of cinema!

The previous owners came round for drinks on Wednesday evening and were quite impressed with the changes! In their 70s they have bought some land and are building themselves a new house, sans cinema!

 

Meanwhile it has occurred to me that there are now only two levels where there used to be three, so the height differential can be reduced, meaning the inclines will be less severe. Again the system allows for such changes to be relatively easy at this stage.

 

The previous photos show that I am extending the framework toward Barmouth. This will continue over the holiday weekend and then there will be a brief hiatus.

 

Paul

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The previous owners came round for drinks on Wednesday evening and were quite impressed with the changes! In their 70s they have bought some land and are building themselves a new house, sans cinema!

 

Meanwhile it has occurred to me that there are now only two levels where there used to be three, so the height differential can be reduced, meaning the inclines will be less severe. Again the system allows for such changes to be relatively easy at this stage.

 

The previous photos show that I am extending the framework toward Barmouth. This will continue over the holiday weekend and then there will be a brief hiatus.

 

Paul

Martin's right about other jobs, have you even had time to make the BEDS? hahahah.

 

There progress if pronominal mate, simply wonderful.

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I like this L girder system. I would of done it from ply, less chance of warping. As you say very easy to adjust and alter as you go. I have also seen with light weight clip in scenery. Watching progress with interest.

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Peter

 

The track bases are ply! The uprights are from spare seasoned timber from earlier projects. There is virtually no waste. Her upstairs wonders if the offcuts can be put in the wood burner kindling box. No, not yet!

 

I did a few hours woodwork today, but no real difference from earlier photos as much of it was adjusting the uprights to two levels and then screwing down the track beds. But here is a photo from the corner where the engine shed will go.

 

post-20733-0-07265000-1522526528_thumb.jpeg

 

All the track beds you can see will be hidden by the actual scenic track etc. Most of the supports for this will be added later.

 

Paul

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Today I did some work on the corner of the room that will eventually have the engine shed placed over the top of the hidden tracks.  The other day I picked up some boxes of wood screws and came to open the first of them.  The screw heads were for the Torq 20 driver.  Fortunately I have a Bosch electric screwdriver with a cassette of several screws "bits" and so I selected the T20 driver and found this to be far superior to the usual cross head screw head, driving the screw deeper into the wood with no slippage and potential damage to screw head or driver.

 

I think I will be using Torq screws from now on.  Has anyone else used them?

 

The new Bosch electric screwdriver also has proven itself to be a revelation.  With modern lithium batteries improving all the time, this small tool packs a punch with lots of torque.  Not cheap but it saves time exchanging drill bits for drivers and the extra torque means that I don't have to use a countersink bit.

 

The railway room has been officially closed for a short period as we are driving to England tomorrow.  I have a long shopping list for the house but have included several items for Penmaenpool.  Not the least is the double slip and more flexible track, but I will also be collecting a new Croes Newydd pannier tank engine and two mineral wagons, the latter from Tower Models (except they don't know that yet as I haven't placed an order).

 

Once back in France I hope to quickly complete the framework around the room and then lay the hidden tracks.  After fitting Tortoises and wiring the hidden tracks up I can finally run some trains, but the emphasis will then be on adding the upper level scenic track bases and foundations for the various buildings.  The fiddle yards will the added later as they are not needed for the time being and will get in the way of completing the scenic sections.

 

I also need to complete the ceiling lighting, a job I have been putting off for a few weeks now.

 

So, other than brief reports while in England and Wales, the progress will be minimal over the coming weeks.

 

Paul

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I just realized that the latest iteration of the track plan has not been posted on RMWeb (it is on the Gauge O Guild forum)  Here is the new plan:

 

attachicon.gifScreen Shot 2018-01-13 at 6.08.39 PM.png

 

The outer oval and feeds to the two fiddle yards is the major change, allowing the two fiddle yards to be at different heights.  The complex part of the design is shown here:

 

attachicon.gifScreen Shot 2018-01-13 at 6.22.57 PM.png

 

The elevations added hopefully explain what is going on!

 

Edit to add that the heavier dashed lines are all hidden.

 

Paul

 

I admire your progress, but I'm wondering how you're going to reach across the fiddle yard to get at the tracks on the right hand side. Access in the corner, perhaps? Is the space between the left fiddle and the main tracks intended for access, and will you be able to straighten up in an area that doesn't seem much more than 50cm across?

 

No doubt you have a cunning plan.

 

Alan

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I admire your progress, but I'm wondering how you're going to reach across the fiddle yard to get at the tracks on the right hand side. Access in the corner, perhaps? Is the space between the left fiddle and the main tracks intended for access, and will you be able to straighten up in an area that doesn't seem much more than 50cm across?

 

No doubt you have a cunning plan.

 

Alan

 

Alan

 

I hope so!

 

The plan changes all the time so maybe I won't have to slim too much.

 

Paul

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Arrived back in England in (just about) one piece after a bad experience on the Newbury by pass.  Retail therapy was called for so I ordered track and mineral wagons from Tower Models and more cork sheet from Charles Cantrill.

 

One of the projects for the coming two weeks is to sort through my OO gauge rolling stock.  Lots of BR(M) tender engines and a few dozen wagons and vans.  I suppose they can go to better homes in the near future.  PM me with your wish list.

 

I also have a collection of US HO rolling stock, mostly representing Union Pacific and Southern Pacific.  I seriously doubt if anyone reading about Penmaenpool can also have an interest in HO, but if so, drop me a PM!

 

Paul

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I spent this morning at the storage unit going through boxes.  The HO stuff will probably end up in France as the owner of FB Systems in Bessan (near Bézier) like North American HO and will probably take some of it for sale on commission.  The OO stock will probably stay here in England for the time being as it needs sorting out into original couplers, scale couplers and Kadee couplers.

 

I have now stripped off the old boards and kept all the hardware bits and bobs.  The boards will go to the tip as they have no real use.  Always sad to do this but I look at them as part of the learning curve to better modelling.

 

Paul

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I spent this morning at the storage unit going through boxes.  The HO stuff will probably end up in France as the owner of FB Systems in Bessan (near Bézier) like North American HO and will probably take some of it for sale on commission.  The OO stock will probably stay here in England for the time being as it needs sorting out into original couplers, scale couplers and Kadee couplers.

 

I have now stripped off the old boards and kept all the hardware bits and bobs.  The boards will go to the tip as they have no real use.  Always sad to do this but I look at them as part of the learning curve to better modelling.

 

Paul

Glad my Tip doesn't charge, I've sent HUNDREDS of pounds worth of good timber down the road. 

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Glad my Tip doesn't charge, I've sent HUNDREDS of pounds worth of good timber down the road.

 

There is no tip in north Gloucestershire but we have an arrangement with Warwickshire CC to use their recycling centre at Shipston. Nice people, a shop that sells junk and supports an old folks charity, and the manager thinks she is a witch.

 

Paul

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With no woodwork to do while in England I spent some time last evening going through the last few pages of Wright Writes.  I used to follow it religiously but found that I could make more things for Penmaenpool if I stayed away.  Besides, Tony's many friends do have a bias toward the East Coast!.

 

There has been an interesting debate on whether or not locos should have crews in the cabs.  Tony's Little Bytham is one layout where there is no debate - all trains are moving when on the scenic section so all should have crews.  But what about a loco shed layout?  Someone pointed out that when we sneaked around sheds the one thing we hoped not to see were crews in the loco cabs who might run us off the premises!

 

Penmaenpool falls into the former category with all the locos running through the station needing crews.  But should they stay in their cabs when staying overnight at the engine shed?  The good news is that all available photos show the locos on shed facing smokebox to the front with the cabs inside the stygian gloom of the engine shed.  So the crews would be invisible.

 

Paul

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With no woodwork to do while in England I spent some time last evening going through the last few pages of Wright Writes.  I used to follow it religiously but found that I could make more things for Penmaenpool if I stayed away.  Besides, Tony's many friends do have a bias toward the East Coast!.

 

There has been an interesting debate on whether or not locos should have crews in the cabs.  Tony's Little Bytham is one layout where there is no debate - all trains are moving when on the scenic section so all should have crews.  But what about a loco shed layout?  Someone pointed out that when we sneaked around sheds the one thing we hoped not to see were crews in the loco cabs who might run us off the premises!

 

Penmaenpool falls into the former category with all the locos running through the station needing crews.  But should they stay in their cabs when staying overnight at the engine shed?  The good news is that all available photos show the locos on shed facing smokebox to the front with the cabs inside the stygian gloom of the engine shed.  So the crews would be invisible.

Who would want to bunk Penmaenpool shed anyway.... :mosking:

 

Even on stopping trains, why would a fireman stand five minutes looking into the firehole....?

Edited by coachmann
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Received the order from Tower Models today - well packed as usual and DPD come when they say they will.

 

But a warning about the mineral wagons.  When unpacking I found two of the three link couplings out side the Dapol boxes among the bubble wrap.  It would have been easy to throw them away.

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  • 2 weeks later...

When Coachmann decided to move back to 4mm scale and Carrog Road, I had the opportunity to acquire his Minerva 8750 class pannier tank with DCC sound. This has proved to be a win win situation for us and I am waiting to return to France to run the new loco and test its capabilities. Today I will be visiting Huws Gray in Porthmadog to pick up more of their excellent 50x50 mm timber for the rest of the legs at Penmaenpool. I have not found a decent equivalent in France and will find space in the 2008 for 20 meter long lengths*. There will be cork sheet as well, together with the other purchases.

Next time I come over I must bring something to work on, perhaps a weathering kit. Buying materials is all very well, but real progress is not happening at the moment.

The pannier is already numbered 4617 with shed code 84J so will be at home at Penmaenpool. It’s a great advertisement for the new RTR locos that have raised the bar fir 7mm scale modelling.

Paul

 

*twenty lengths each one meter long!

 

Edited to acknowledge the confusion!

Edited by Focalplane
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Simon

 

We arrived Tuesday afternoon and while driving onto the Cob Snowdon was there in all its glory, not a cloud in sight. Yesterday started warm and sunny but gradually clouded over. We got a lot of garden work done though which was unexpected! So this morning it is off to the recycling centre at Garn and then a visit to Huws Gray. They say the good weather should continue but Porthmadog has its own microclimate and never seems to deliver what the meteorologists predict.

 

Paul

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Paul

 

Had to read your post a few times before I realised it wasn't 20m lengths but 20x 1m lengths. It would have been a very long car. Coffee needed!

I did exactly the same Chris, I was visualizing the Roof Bars and a Red Flag on the back, with LONG LOAD signs.

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This time next week I should be back working on the baseboard framework.  I now have all the 50 x 50 mm timber for the legs to complete the framework but still need a few lengths of local timber for the L Girders.  Hopefully Leroy Merlin will have some fresh stock.

 

Having a break from the layout has reminded me of a few items I might have overlooked, one being the super-elevation on the 6 ft radius curves in each corner of the room.  The lean into the curves will be gradual even though the transition curves will be minimal.  I am hoping that the effect will suggest that the missing transition curve is actually there.  I plan to create the super-elevation using the upright supports but with some sanding down of the 3/16" cork underlay as appropriate.

 

There has been some chatting on RMWeb about 7mm point rodding etc., and I agree with those who say that a model without it just doesn't look right.  The question then needs to asked, how much detail is really necessary?  I like Modelu's 3D printed stools a lot, particularly if used with square rodding (as seen in period photos of Penmaenpool) but still need a good source of all the cranks, pulleys and so on.  Wills 4mm components are too large for OO gauge layouts but also too small for 7mm, so, although I have some packs I won't be using them.

 

One of the aspects of the track infrastructure that really needs attention is the grease stains on the ballast associated with keeping all the moving parts in working condition.  Likewise where steam locos come to rest there should be evidence of that fact!  I have a good example from Bishops Lydiard on the West Somerset Railway but cannot locate the photo at the moment.

 

Paul

 

Edit to add the photo:

 

post-20733-0-73744100-1524576439_thumb.jpg

Edited by Focalplane
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