Wentworth Junction

[Michael Edge]

With Herculanum out of the way in the garage there's a lot more space in the shed to work on WJ.

I haven't put all the fiddle yard up, just enough to get the trains out of the way. I thought I could stop at the control panel but too much was wired from the other end and I had to prop the last board up like that in order to plug it in. Not much chance to play trains now, I've left the middle bit out as well, so the scenery should progress a bit faster.

The corner board pulled out and turned round so I can work from both sides, filler started and a few odd bits glued in.

The cutting sides are a bit too steep but I think the appearance will be OK. The cut out by the down track at the left is for a conveniently located anchor post, I think it may be possible to get the wires over this baseboard joint using these and the corresponding ones near Moorend Lane bridge. I'm working out the wire runs on the layout and might fit a couple of spans to test construction methods here. All this is heavily wooded now but in the early fifties was grass, scrub and rock up to Knabbs Lane at the top of the tunnel.

 

[Michael Edge]

More work done on the hillsides.

This is a bigger hill than I really wanted but anything less would have left the tunnel looking far too shallow - it is a lot closer to Moorend Lane on the layout than it should be. I've had to build up the baseboard sides a long way above the original layout design.

[John Tomlinson]

Questions if I may.

 

Your hilllside material looks to be 50mm insulation, which has been cut and shaped somehow. The shaping is very tidy indeed, and I wonder how you did the cutting, and also if there was a lot of mess afterwards? I only have to look at this kind of material and there seems to be bits flying around everywhere!

 

Many thanks,

 

John.

[Michael Edge]

I cut it with an old bread knife which slices through this stuff very cleanly, it does make a bit if a mess (easily swept up) but doesn't crumble like cheaper insulation. I mostly glue it down in blocks with PVA and Gorilla glue and do most of the shaping after it has all set, sand and knife filler on to it later. Next job will be to paint it all brown before adding all the vegetation.

I've nearly finished the next board now, the one with Moorend Lane under the railway, same technique with the addition of some squirty expanding foam to fill in places. Once it has gone off this can be sliced to shape with the same knife, more photos tomorrow.

[Michael Edge]

More on landscape construction, I do it this way for lightness as much as anything else.

The slope at the left is a carved down block of insulation already glued down next to it some smaller bits glued in roughly and the gaps filled with expanding foam. This stuff does expand a lot!

I usually leave it until the next day to slice it down with the knife seen in the first photo, this isn't really all that messy.

Smooth it off and fill in the holes with knifed on filler - this is where I ran out of it so I'll finish this board when I've been to get some more. It's a long way to the local Bricomarché in Dordogne though....

I'll have to make do with whatever B&Q etc. have to offer.

On the first board out of the tunnel I've started to work out the OLE runs, nails mark the positions of the first few portal structures. I'm going to build a few of these now to test techniques, mostly 2mm H section with some etched parts. Some of the structures around here went up in 1939 before war interrupted the electrification scheme.

 

[Dave Holt]

Michael.

Thanks for explaining and illustrating your method. Even in its raw state, the carved terrain quite transforms the scene on the layout.

Might be spurred on to have a go myself on my, currently, flat earth layout!

Dave.

[Michael Edge]

Not much flat round here....

The rest of the layout will be a bit less dramatic but the only flat bit will be the trackbed.

[Dave Holt]

Indeed. My layout is based on Delph. Not too flat round there, either.

Dave.

[Michael Edge]

First test build of one of the portal structures.

Basic structure is 6" H section - that's easy, 2mm.

Some test etch parts added now, first of all the triangular gussets at the top - these are the adjustable structures used on the Worsbrough to allow for mining subsidence.  These (and most other fittings) are actually fitted to plates bolted through to enclose the H section - this seemed far too fiddly to reproduce in a reasonable time so I've tried to simulate some of it with etched fingers on the parts which wrap round the H section brass. The fingers need some adjustment and to be a bit wider but I think it may work.

The very characteristic Y shaped brackets are etched from four pieces each, front and back with two spacers, then extra layers added fro the triangular gusset and the cross angles. The register arms are .6mm wire, insulators from several layers of etch, another etch for the arm carrying the contact wire. 

Still to fit are the carriers for the catenary wire which fit under the top span, concrete mast base will be moulded and the wiring itself soldered up from .4mm piano wire.

[dave75]

Lovely craftsmanship , will these be available through JE for ham fisted amateurs to attempt? 

[Michael Edge]

No reason why not - eventually.

[Bri.dolan]

They look excellent 

I’ll definitely be after some when they become available 

 

 

[John76]

Mike

 

Great work. How are you going to mount them on the layout?

[Michael Edge]

Nothing fancy, just drill two holes where the nails are now. Varying amounts of the concrete bases appear in different locations, the moulding will just slide on to the upright and be blended in to the baseboard/scenery.

[Michael Edge]

It's been a bit cold out in the shed lately but I've been out to check the fit of the first three portals out of the tunnel.

They are just set in holes in the baseboard at the moment while I work out the catenary lengths, the EM1 is there to check that the pans don't run off the wire but I'll have to check with the EB1 as well since its pan isn't over a bogie centre. The landscape has all turned brown now, looks a bit dull at the moment but it will turn fairly green later.

The view looking up Moorend Lane towards Silkstone Common.

[John76]

Mike,

 

Looks like its starting to come together.

 

Have you left the 'Y' hangers off the portals until you work out the position of the wires in relation to the track, and will the height of the contact wires drop as it goes into the tunnel as the prototype did? 

 

John

[Michael Edge]

Yes to the first, not sure yet about the wire height.

[Michael Edge]

First test section of catenary made this weekend.

First of all the wire runs are worked out on the layout plan, straight lines between each portal starting from the rail fitted inside the tunnel. As long as the run stays within the gauge the pans will stay under the wires - at least in 00 gauge.

The runs are set out in a line and drawn up in detail, then printed out.

 

Drawing taped to the bench, first in place is the contact wire, .4mm piano wire. Short droppers added from .3mm n/s wire, all bent into a U shape to increase contact area for the soldering. Then the auxiliary catenary wire is added, again from .4mm piano wire. All soldering done with phosphoric acid flux and 2% silver tin/lead solder.

Longer droppers added from .3 n/s and finally the catenary wire from .4mm piano wire - this is all the opposite way round to full size construction of course but the main point is that the contact wire stays straight and smooth underneath.

All together and removed from the drawing, I've made a set at each portal position which may not turn out to be absolutely accurate - it may need some slight alteration when it goes on the layout. I'll fit just this length in place to test all the pans underneath it, they run on into the tunnel already and can just spring up when they leave this bit. Just have to remember not to go wrong line with pans up!

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

I would have thought a man of your calibre would have cross drilled the .4 piano wire and inserted the .3 ns through it!!!!

Very envious of the catenary and portals all the same.

 

Mike.

[Michael Edge]

Yesterday was warm enough to get back out to the shed and see how the catenary fits.

The contact wire hooks into a hole drilled in the rail which runs under the tunnel roof, after that everything is soldered up to the portals.

Just out of the tunnel the wire is quite low.

Further away from the tunnel mouth the pans are starting to rise. It was good to see that there is not much visible upward deflection of the catenary, at least with our pans - it was a bit different with a Triang EM2 though, the springs in their pans are far to strong.

I had to check the wire position with the EB1 as well, this doesn't have its pan in the optimum position - it should be over a bogie centre - so it does have more sideways movement. It still stays comfortably under the wire though and this is the sharpest curve on the layout.

Finally the view out of the tunnel showing the change from roof mounted rail to wire.

The other end of this section of catenary will go to an anchor post just over the baseboard joint but I won't build any more of it yet. I'll take all this out and paint it, then fit it back in properly to test run it but I'm very pleased with it so far. 

[John76]

Mike 

 

This all looks great. How easy was it to solder the wires to the registration arms while keeping it under tension and in the right place?

 

Also, how long is the wire run you have built and does it go over any baseboard joints?

 

John

[Michael Edge]

To check the position of the wire run I laid each portal down flat on the track and ran a ruler between them, as long as it stays within the 16.5mm gauge the pans will stay under the wire. The catenary wire supports soldered in under the top beam next but I realised I had to cut a fine slot in them to get the wire through on assembly (still thinking about this - if you look carefully one of them fell apart while soldering up!). The register arms were added in line with the catenary wire insulators. 

The catenary wire is soldered on first, then the contact wire which locates in a small notch in the register arm, finally the auxiliary catenary wire over the top of the horizontal arm.

There is no tension, that's the whole point of using straight steel wire as opposed to copper or n/s - the portals aren't fixed in any way yet, just dropped into holes in the baseboard. This first piece is 3ft long (the length of the piano wire as bought) and stops just short of the first baseboard joint, experiments in joining wire and connecting over baseboard joints will be done later, this bit will just test how it runs. I'll put the Y brackets and register arms in for the down line now but not the wire since there will be no way of running the pans under the start of it, the lead in will be at the other end under Gilroyd Lane bridge.

[John Tomlinson]

A simple "Craftsmanship/ clever" scarcely covers it looking at the posts and catenary seen above. It's magnificent.

 

John.

[Michael Edge]

Early days yet, there's still a lot to work out and test, the layout will probably be exhibited first with just steam power though.

[enginelane]

It’s going to be well received in the circuit.