Derwent Spa

[gordon s]

I've just checked Jonathan and on You Tube, Alistair says it has 100 indexing positions, but then goes onto say the turntable (Peco) can only take 32 tracks. I find that a little strange and can see no reason why you can't use 7.5 degree angles as per the Fleischmann one, which has 48 positions. I suspect they haven't considered removing the sleepers and soldering the rail into position as per my one above.

 

Unfortunately my own ADM is still packed away waiting on ET MPD to be started, so I can't physically check....

Edited March 3, 2019 by gordon s

[BMacdermott]

Thanks Gordon and Jonathan

 

Gordon's photo is pretty much what I had in mind and is worth considering.

 

All the best

 

Brian

[Rowsley17D]

Thanks, gents for your input. I will reconsider that end of the yard when I get back to the layout later this week. 

[Rowsley17D]

Back at proper home and had a look at the turntable end of the storage yard. I think for the time being I am going to leave well alone, having not long got trains to run into it. The length of the sidings is more than adequate and it works. I may have another look in the future as I am sure I could put in a couple more lines but for the time being it will do.

[Rowsley17D]

Work has started on the framework for the lower level of the layout which will be in front of that already built. I'm glad there's an access "hole" at the rear of the layout otherwise I would have struggled accessing the back. The lower level will accommodate the MPD and coal sidings and is accessed via the three-way turnout and a scary gradient. No doubt only three /four loaded wagons went down at any one time given the short length of the head-shunt.

[Rowsley17D]

A couple of days' work has seen the framework and baseboards laid for the lower part of the layout. I have taken some photos to show some of the features of this part of the model placed on what is now getting a tatty Templot printout.

 

 

An aerial view of the MPD. The twin sidings to the left are for the coal yard. The line to the far right is the road to the coaling stage.

 

 

Site of the 50' turntable and the coupling box is where the coaling stage will be. The line to the left will climb to near the top level to feed the coaling stage.

Buxton's coaling stage was a rare four-gabled affair but from the few photos I have seen photos does not seem high enough to fill tenders via a chute but used a crane from inside the stage. If anybody has anymore information about such a stage, I would be grateful for the help.

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by Rowsley17D
Sp

[lezz01]

Jonathan. 

That engine shed is fab mate.

Regards Lez.

 

[gordon s]

I agree, the shed building really is impressive, Jonathan.  Did you build it from scratch?

 

Can we see some more pics of the shed building as I’d really like to see more detail?

Edited March 14, 2019 by gordon s

[Rowsley17D]

Thanks, gents. Here are some more photos of the shed. It was a bit difficult against the light. It is actually sunny in this part of N Yorks this morning.

 

 

The main part of the shed is from Scalescenes. The water tower and sand house are scratch-built but based on the ones from Metcalfe, which they don't do currently and I've used bits from the Metcalfe kit like the office windows. The offices are scratch-built too. I have etched panels for the water tank in store to replace the card ones from Metcalfe. The chimney ventilators are yet to be put on the shed roof 'cause I would only knock 'em off.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Rowsley17D

[Rowsley17D]

A photo of the gradient down to the lower level. I've used bendy mdf to try and get suitable transition curves at the top and bottom of the slope. It's difficult to tell from photos how much lower this was than the main formation so I don't know if it's too steep, but since only locos and very short trains due to the length of the head-shunt my models tackle it easily.

 

 

Since taking this photo, the righthand rail of the gradient line has been replaced to get rid of the hump near the top.

[Rowsley17D]

More time on the layout has seen four of the MPD area turnouts laid and the loco coal delivery siding laid to just about its full extent. I had thought this siding was on an incline like many found at Midland sheds but Buxton use the older arrangement of a twin coal hoist with the coal being delivered at ground level.

 

 

The station pilot removes loco coal empties from the loco coal siding and will push them up the incline to the top yard ready to be collected and taken to Rowsley  where they'll join their MPD's loco coal empties for a trip to the pit to be filled for another delivery.

 

 

 

The newly laid turnouts ready to painted. The ballasted line is the loco coal siding, the next to the shed and the far left to the turntable. At the very top left edge can be seen the turnout to the twin coal merchants' sidings. Getting wagons in and out four at a time must have been a nightmare for any crew.

Edited March 28, 2019 by Rowsley17D
Add captions

[Rowsley17D]

The turnout to the shed roads has been laid and the hole for the turntable cut. It's not as close to the shed roads as the prototype but this has meant I can link the short siding by the coal merchants' sidings to the turntable. I mocked up the tracks as below.

 

 

 

I think this works well and gives extra parking space to display locos and will keep the shed roads a bit clearer. The white plastic box is where the coaling stage will be.

Edited March 30, 2019 by Rowsley17D

[lezz01]

It's starting to look the business Jonathan. That shed is very nice.

Regards Lez. 

[danstercivicman]

It would look impressive enough without the dual level aspect with it it’s very impressive! 

[Rowsley17D]

The final two turnouts have been connected to the control panel and have been wired in to the track bus. The long coal merchants' sidings have been laid and ballasted and await buffer-stops.

 

 

For the time being that's the end of track laying until I can find where I have pit the inspection pits for the shed and ash pit, so it will be painting the point timbers and finishing off odd patches of ballast.

[Rowsley17D]

In a change from track laying I had a go at other scenic work for a change. I covered the gap between the upper and lower levels at the head-shunt end with grass vinyl matting gluing and stapling it down. This was wafted over with the heat gun to alleviate the uniformity. I was given a WWS static Grassmaster kit the Christmas before last which I had never used so thought I would have a try. A patch of the vinyl was covered with vinyl glue and WWS 6mm patchy grass applied. After hoovering off the excess, I poured Carrs' fine ash ballast over the area to represent what would have rolled down the slope from the upper level carriage siding. The result was quite pleasing.

 

 

 

Mus get those chairs painted. I didn't realise that fibres would get everywhere.

Edited April 10, 2019 by Rowsley17D

[Rowsley17D]

The grassing of the embankment between the upper and lower levels at the head-shunt end has been completed with a mix of 6mm WWS patchy and winter grasses and was then sprinkled with fine ash ballast. I'm not sure the PW gang would have allowed vegetation to encroach so far onto the formation, but to me it looks the part. I trimmed some of the longer fibres with an old beard trimmer that was part of a grooming set. I didn't need it as I don't have a beard!

 

 

Cruel close-up.

[Alister_G]

Nice job Jonathan, looks really good.

 

Al.

[Rowsley17D]

Thanks, Alister, it's surprising how a bit of green or yellowy-green in this case lifts a layout. As I've run out of the grass that came with the set, I've made a start on the ash pit and shed inspection pits.

[Rowsley17D]

Enforced break from RMW as the flip-flop was gummed up and the caches would not empty so it was a reload of Windows 10 and I've lost MS Office in the process! Grrrr!

 

While you have been away I have played with the static grass once more and finished the banking.

 

 

 

Both roads to the shed have been laid together with the ash pit and shed pits. This will be a good area to display models. The card building is a mock-up of the coaling stage.

 

 

Helicopter view.

 

 

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by Rowsley17D
Sp

[danstercivicman]

Looks great.  Very good progress! 

[Rowsley17D]

More work has been done on the ground work around the shed including a granite sett floor and path for the shed itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rowsley17D]

In order to complete the track-laying the turntable needs to be built, so I am going to start a new thread for this in the Kit and scratch-building section.

 

It can be found here:

 

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Rowsley17D

[Rowsley17D]

The turntable is almost there. It's in place and the wiring to the control panel needs to be done as well as the handrails when they come from LRM. The supplied 12V motor rotates the table too quickly even when supplied with 7V. I don't know whether a rotary switch that I can put into the panel is available to reduce the voltage further?? The roads to and from the table have been put I place and wired up, so that completes the track-laying.

 

 

A view from the shed's water tank.

 

 

 

[lezz01]

Hi Jonathan. 

You could wire a second motor in series with the turntable motor. That will slow it down and if you have it with a nice big flywheel it will slow down and stop rather than just stop. So you will have to learn how to drive it so that it don't over run but that should be fun.

Regards Lez.