Seven Mills Sidings, from TOPS to the POD, Page 169 and Bench Road, Stabling and Fuelling Point from Page 245

[Winslow Boy]

9 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Well I've been up for a proper measure up, and unless I go for floor level it wont work.

 

Same problem as in the past, the maximum width I can have at 3ft high, which is a bit low, is 8ft 6 inches, which means using a Peco Set Track Radius curve @ 40.5'' Radius, but the the OAA's / VAA's wont take that curve, so very disappointed but it is what it is. 

So as I was saying are you standing on the stairs or what.

 

Sorry to hear about your fly in the ointment I'm certain though your'll come up with a solution does that covenant say anything about cellars?

Edited October 27, 2020 by Winslow Boy

[PaulRhB]

9 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Well I've been up for a proper measure up, and unless I go for floor level it wont work.

 

Same problem as in the past, the maximum width I can have at 3ft high, which is a bit low, is 8ft 6 inches, which means using a Peco Set Track Radius curve @ 40.5'' Radius, but the the OAA's / VAA's wont take that curve, so very disappointed but it is what it is. 

Does everything need to go round though? Maybe some stock might be restricted to shunting but you could have it just in and out of an exchange siding or industry on part of the layout. 
;) 

[47606odin]

I suppose 7 mills could become an exchange siding and you could have an industrial roundy roundy if you want trains running continually. Helajan 02 or 05 to join the black 08 hauling 16t minerals up and down the loop or even the forthcoming presflows 

 

have 7 mills on the inside corner above the hatch, with the line running into the top left over the crossing, looping back, over the bridge on 7 mills, then swinging to the bottom and return via the current relief line in a twisted figure of 8 like an old scalextric set. Plenty of scope for industrial sidings in the top right corner parallel to 7 mills. 

Edited October 28, 2020 by 47606odin

[Andrew P]

Morning all, I'll go through your reply's after my walk. EDIT = DIDN'T GO, IT'S RAINING AGAIN.

 

In the meantime here's a pic for today.

Rat, 25285 working down the Yard.

Edited October 28, 2020 by Andrew P

[David Bell]

17 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Well I've been up for a proper measure up, and unless I go for floor level it wont work.

 

Same problem as in the past, the maximum width I can have at 3ft high, which is a bit low, is 8ft 6 inches, which means using a Peco Set Track Radius curve @ 40.5'' Radius, but the the OAA's / VAA's wont take that curve, so very disappointed but it is what it is. 

I think with those space constraints I would go for an end to end along both the long walls.  You could also have a u shaped layout in the right hand half of your loft which would have a larger radius curve.I have the same problem in my loft. I have set my layout height at 28 inches. It is the same height as our kitchen table so seated in a wheely office chair it is perfect. I also considered that I could buy a little extra width by having the curves at a lower level than the main part of the layout. My loft is very long so this was a real possibility. It is probably not something that will achieve very much in 15ft. I am sure you will come up with a solution that works for you.

Cheers

David

[Donw]

Bit of a blow that Andy. Mind you an end to end on a big curve could give you more room for scenics but trying to squeeze a roundy roundy in would be tight. In the conversion shown I had 9ft width and testing my stock I found it would take a 4ft curve which was workable as I had the length to avoid pointwork on the end curves. Is it the couplings on the OAAs that cause the problems? Maybe a solution is possible.

Don

[Andrew P]

8 hours ago, 47606odin said:

that’s a shame, I was hoping to see an expansion of the layout

 

Thanks Ian, I still have some ideas, but we will have to see how I feel after doing some more Plans.

 

Thanks anyway.

[PaulRhB]

8 hours ago, 47606odin said:

suppose 7 mills could become an exchange siding and you could have an industrial roundy roundy if you want trains running continually

Yep, Scott had a great plan for an interchange one side and a wagon works on the other with the mainline looped around it. You could flip the idea with the roundy being the line to the works, docks etc and the end to end being the yard that feeds the off scene main and the branch. 

[Andrew P]

8 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

So as I was saying are you standing on the stairs or what.

 

Sorry to hear about your fly in the ointment I'm certain though your'll come up with a solution does that covenant say anything about cellars?

So as I was saying are you standing on the stairs or what. ?????? Sorry I'm not with you on this one mate

 

Deffo no Cellars on this Bungalow Estate, but still working on ideas.

[Andrew P]

8 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

Does everything need to go round though? Maybe some stock might be restricted to shunting but you could have it just in and out of an exchange siding or industry on part of the layout. 

Hi Paul, The whole idea was to run the Stock around. with the length up aloft, I gain no more than down below, except for the fact that the Line over the Level Crossing could go further, but to no real advantage.

[Andrew P]

8 hours ago, 47606odin said:

I suppose 7 mills could become an exchange siding and you could have an industrial roundy roundy if you want trains running continually. Helajan 02 or 05 to join the black 08 hauling 16t minerals up and down the loop or even the forthcoming presflows 

 

have 7 mills on the inside corner above the hatch, with the line running into the top left over the crossing, looping back, over the bridge on 7 mills, then swinging to the bottom and return via the current relief line in a twisted figure of 8 like an old scalextric set. Plenty of scope for industrial sidings in the top right corner parallel to 7 mills. 

Thanks Ian, I have the 2 x 08's but not keen on the 02 or 05's. As you will see from the plans below I couldn get over the bridge, and even the Backscene might have to go. Then again,  I looked at a similar idea for 00 but would need to keep stepping over the Layout to get to half of it.

 

See below.

 

[Andrew P]

48 minutes ago, David Bell said:

I think with those space constraints I would go for an end to end along both the long walls.  You could also have a u shaped layout in the right hand half of your loft which would have a larger radius curve.I have the same problem in my loft. I have set my layout height at 28 inches. It is the same height as our kitchen table so seated in a wheely office chair it is perfect. I also considered that I could buy a little extra width by having the curves at a lower level than the main part of the layout. My loft is very long so this was a real possibility. It is probably not something that will achieve very much in 15ft. I am sure you will come up with a solution that works for you.

Cheers

David

Hi David and thanks. Your height is about where I would be, which is fine for operating from a chair / stool, but back breaking for working on, but would not be ruled out for that reason alone.

The loft is about 40ft long on one side, but that would take the Layout over the Lounge which is out of bounds within the Planning Consent that was granted.

[47606odin]

I was thinking something like this

 

[Andrew P]

39 minutes ago, Donw said:

Bit of a blow that Andy. Mind you an end to end on a big curve could give you more room for scenics but trying to squeeze a roundy roundy in would be tight. In the conversion shown I had 9ft width and testing my stock I found it would take a 4ft curve which was workable as I had the length to avoid pointwork on the end curves. Is it the couplings on the OAAs that cause the problems? Maybe a solution is possible.

Don

Hi Don, Yes a bit of a Blow indeed. If I were still running Steam era, Panniers / Jintys etc and 4 wheel Vans  / Wagons the Peco Setrack curve is no problem, it's the longer Locos and Stock that restrict it's uses, and I can't see the point of all that expense and work for no longer run with the Locos and Wagons that I have. 

[Andrew P]

11 minutes ago, 47606odin said:

I was thinking something like this

 

Two small problems Ian, the height and the Hatch.

[Andrew P]

20 minutes ago, 47606odin said:

I was thinking something like this

 

BUT, It has given me this idea. I will go and have another look later.

[PaulRhB]

Or you’ll need to add some dormer window extensions just where you need the width . . . The boss might not twig why there’s two at each end of the roof  

[pwr]

Sometimes its worth sticking with what you've got rather than something you think is better that turns out to be second best.

 

My wife started to pursue building an extension over our garage into which all my trains could go. However the garage is only single brick construction and we can't remedy that by putting in a second skin and creating a cavity wall because the garage has an Endless pool in it (wife's) and the space is all used. A structural engineer came up with a solution that involved extended beams front than back of the house but the cost and the aesthetics were just not right and I still would not have been able to get more than 4 boards erected in the new room so I have said no to that.  I have a train room in which I have two boards of Notley and my books and a small working room downstairs that should have been the study. Its not ideal but it works.

 

Paul R

[woodenhead]

But of course what doesn't work in O is perfectly suited to OO.

 

Have you thought about that for your loft?

[Ray H]

Andy, is there any scope for a kind of dumbbell arrangement with part of the curves going on the outer side of the "room's" walls? You needn't have scenery on the bit "outside" and should only need to access it if you get a derailment or a stalled loco and as it's dcc you could always send a second loco up behind the stalled train to give it a shove!

 

You could also have one of the small reversing camera/monitor which could show you whether the train is still moving/stalled/derailed. We've fitted a couple of these to the club O gauge so that the "driver" can see where to stop his train which is hidden from his view by a backscene.

 

Just a thought.

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, Andrew P said:

So as I was saying are you standing on the stairs or what. ?????? Sorry I'm not with you on this one mate

 

Deffo no Cellars on this Bungalow Estate, but still working on ideas.

Sorry Mr P I was being a s.........,,.,e,  insert letters as appropriate. Although the idea might be worth considering as if you stood on the stairs you could lay the layout on the loft floor. This would allow the most space to be available. 

[pwr]

3 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Sorry Mr P I was being a s.........,,.,e,  insert letters as appropriate. Although the idea might be worth considering as if you stood on the stairs you could lay the layout on the loft floor. This would allow the most space to be available. 

 

I could foresee coupling and uncoupling issues if that were the case. You might need to go to some form of automatic couplers to make that work

 

Paul

[Bogie]

Here's a suggestion from left field - move the kitchen up to the loft and you get the space where the kitchen currently is.  It's a compromise of sorts.

[georgeT]

The trouble is Bodgit the plans we have in our heads are always far bigger than the space we have got, (we all do it), for what its worth l think keep the O gauge in the pod down stairs, and build your roundy round OO in the loft, that way you will have the best of both worlds... 

[Donw]

3 hours ago, Andrew P said:

BUT, It has given me this idea. I will go and have another look later.

 You could possibly increase the radius by a few ins if that would make the difference. Do the locos get round the settrack curve? If it is just the wagons there ought to be a fix. 

 

Don