Ashburton and Totnes

[TomE]

11 hours ago, JohnBS said:

Good evening,

i have just (more or less) finished a new loco - a second 43xx, this time with a 3D printed engine body. The article below gives an account of my efforts.

John

43xx.pdf 4.42 MB · 36 downloads

 

Super work John! Fantastic use of Steve's 3D printed body. 

 

Tom. 

 

[Trewisin]

Wow  what more can I say , John  Ihave seen the articles in the various modelling publications but as yet have I had the pleasure of seeing the actual model.I look forwards to being able to seeing them now that covid restrictions have been relaxed and you are able to get back on the exhibition cicuit again.Ps your article here is worthy of a modelling publication. (Just a thought.)

Best regards..Ray.

[JohnBS]

On 10/07/2021 at 11:30, Trewisin said:

Wow  what more can I say , John  Ihave seen the articles in the various modelling publications but as yet have I had the pleasure of seeing the actual model.I look forwards to being able to seeing them now that covid restrictions have been relaxed and you are able to get back on the exhibition cicuit again.Ps your article here is worthy of a modelling publication. (Just a thought.)

Best regards..Ray.

Thanks Ray. Both Ashburton and Totnes are available for exhibition at venues not too far from Somerset but, in these difficult times, nothing has been arranged. Here’s hoping!

John

[Clarks]

Hope this pic uploads ok.

Image from MRJ No 94 1997

[JohnBS]

Hi, folks, 

 

Just to let you know that Ashburton is due to appear at the WAMRC show in Frome on the 8th and 9th January 2022 - see poster. 

 

Best wishes,

John

[JohnBS]

Hi,

In preparation for the January show, I decided to make a new support structure for Ashburton.  
The existing structure is in the form of a fold-out storage box - great for keeping all the cables, lighting and bits and-pieces in but pretty heavy (see photo below). Besides, it doubles up as the support for Totnes (with some extra panels) and Totnes has been locked down in Wells for the last eighteen months. 

 

I wanted the new structure to be strong and rigid but as light as practicable. I came up with a design which comprised two R-shaped end frames, spaced with a pair of shallow beams and braced with hinged and pinned triangulation pieces (see back of envelope sketch below). The layout and working surface then merely rests on top. 

I then worked it up in more detail in CAD and produced a (boring) materials list:

   4 No 2.4m 22x44 planed softwood

   2 No 2.4m 22x22 planed softwood

   4 No 44x8dia wooden dowels

   4 No 40x40 backflap hinges

   4 No 50x50x20 wide angle plates

   4 No small hooks and eyes

   4 No white rubber feet

   Wood-screws, 40mm pin nails, PVA glue

   2.5mx1.2m drape

   Velcro tape

 

And so to work - more to follow.

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

[JohnBS]

Hi,

So on to construction. 
I began by making up the two R-shaped end frames - legs L-shaped in cross section with rectangular crops pieces, all joints pinned and glued. I decided that the glue joints would impart sufficient rigidity to avoid the need for triangulated bracing. The front and back transverse beams were cut to length and the angle plates/brackets were fixed at each end to clip over the tops of the end frames. Then the bracing pieces were cut and fixed to the lower end frame cross pieces with the back-flap hinges. These were aligned to be behind the front and back transverse beams (see photo of "flat pack" parts below.)

The white pole is the mounting tube for the lighting fitting and the white board to the right is the worktop shelf that fits behind the layout. Photos were taken outside for reasons that will become apparent.

 

Then it was a matter of assembling the bits. Luckily, no tools were necessary.

This is how the top ends of the braces are fixed - the bottom ends being hinged.

More to follow,

John

[JohnBS]

Hi,

To continue . . .

The transverse beams at the front and back are simply hooked over the end frames, using the angle brackets, located by small timber squares - see below. 

The Velcro strips were fixed at key locations with contact glue, reinforced with staples where necessary. Then the naked legs were covered with a wrap-around fabric skirt with matching Velcro pads stitched to the top edges.

 

 

I also fixed Velcro strips to the bracing pieces and matching pads to the inside of the end frames so that the bracing pieces didn’t flop around when the unit was disassembled (see first photo).

Final details to follow.

John

[queensquare]

That's all looking great John - much lighter than the green box!

 

Jerry

[JohnBS]

Hi everyone,

Here is the final stage of construction.

The light pole is about 3m high - now you can see why I had to photograph the structure outside!

The thinking behind the lighting scheme was to set a single intense light source as high above the layout as reasonably possible to give an approximation of summer sunlight. I used a LED street light unit, obtained via the internet. It has an aluminium weatherproof case, 50 individual LEDs and gives out a lot of lumens. I can’t find a record of purchase so I am unsure of the model and specification (made in China of course).

 

 

The pole is from steel tube wardrobe rail. The lower section, fixed to the wooden base, is 25mm dia and 1.2m high. The upper sections are from 19.5mm dia and 1.8m high, with a cut-down 19.5mm dia tube ladder hook to give the offset for the lamp. I needed a side entry to the lamp itself so drilled a 20mm hole in the aluminium lamp base and clamped the tube with a U-bolt. The cable was then fed through the whole upper structure from a hole in the side of the lowest tube, leaving about 200mm to insert into the 25mm base tube. I took up the discrepancies in diameters by using a 22mm dia polypropylene overflow pipe as a sleeve, and with judicious layers of duct tape.

For transport, the main pole is separated into two pieces with the lamp and offset, all joined with the sleeve of overflow pipe, reinforced with pipe clamps.

The one problem I had was the lamp colour temperature - very harsh, probably 5000K plus - so I fitted a stage light filter gel to warm the appearance. This was simply cut to size and stuck on with duct tape.

I hope that this is of some interest.

John

[bécasse]

They look rather like the LED street lamp assemblies that are used on high-speed dual-carriageways here. If they are, then you should be aware that they are very bright to look directly at even from an angle. If I were using them (and I have in the past used an old-fashioned spot light in a similar manner), I would make up a shield to fit round the lamp so that the light cone falls on the layout and nowhere else.

[JohnBS]

Hi everyone,

Thank you Bécasse for your advice. I have made up a "lampshade"from 2mm MDF, sprayed it matt black and fitted it to the lamp housing with the ubiquitous duct tape.

 

The shade cuts off all the transverse direct light shallower than 45 degrees so that should avoid too much spill.

i am looking forward to seeing it in operation.

John

[Ian Morgan]

I would be worried that with a single, bright light source, the shadows may be too deep and dark. Hope that is not the case.

 

[bécasse]

7 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

I would be worried that with a single, bright light source, the shadows may be too deep and dark. Hope that is not the case.

 

Urrh! That's what happens on the prototype, at least when the sun is out. I exhibited a fine scale N gauge German layout for some years and I illuminated that from a single (spot) light source. It was amazing how realistic it looked, the secret is that it has to be a single light and sufficiently powerful to dominate the general illumination provided by hall lighting.

[AndyB]

On 14/12/2021 at 13:02, bécasse said:

Urrh! That's what happens on the prototype, at least when the sun is out. I exhibited a fine scale N gauge German layout for some years and I illuminated that from a single (spot) light source. It was amazing how realistic it looked, the secret is that it has to be a single light and sufficiently powerful to dominate the general illumination provided by hall lighting.

 

Absolutely agree.

My layout is located in the garage. When the sun lines up with the passenger door and illuminates the layout from the side, as opposed to the overhead lighting, the effect can be quite spectacular; even more so if there's that intense light you get when there's a thunderstorm brewing. 

 

I had the pleasure of seeing Totnes a few years ago. A truly stunning model. Definitely one of my all-time favourites. 

[JohnBS]

All ready for Ashburton's first public appearance in years, this weekend in Frome. 

 

 

I'm looking forward to it.

John

[Chris Higgs]

On 14/12/2021 at 13:02, bécasse said:

Urrh! That's what happens on the prototype, at least when the sun is out. I exhibited a fine scale N gauge German layout for some years and I illuminated that from a single (spot) light source. It was amazing how realistic it looked, the secret is that it has to be a single light and sufficiently powerful to dominate the general illumination provided by hall lighting.

 

Well yes, although that light source is 93 million miles away and so all the shadows from it are cast in one direction. A single light source would in principle cast shadows radially from its source. So the further from the layout the better.

 

Chris

[JohnBS]

Hi folks,

The latest arrival on my workbench is a recent purchase of a 56XX 0-6-2T by Sonic (no, not the Hedgehog one).

 

The prototype is an ungainly thing, looks like the boiler has been jacked up on blocks and someone has nicked the outside cylinders and a front pony truck. Well, that’s what happens if you leave it parked in the wrong street! At least it’s not as ugly as a "Kruger".

All that I’ve done to it is fit some Microtrain couplers and carried out a fairly serious bit of weathering - well, who has seen a photo of a clean 56XX, other than a works grey one. 
The loco has a split frame chassis, all wheel pick-up (including the lightly sprung pony truck), no traction tyres and apparently has a coreless motor. The plastic superstructure is accurate with excellent details and beautifully painted. It weighs a reasonable 47g (about the same as a pannier) and runs very well. I haven’t yet found out how many wagons it will pull - my guess is 30+ on level track which will be fine for Totnes.

Best wishes,

John

[AlfaZagato]

I like mine.   Happy to see another modeler of taste, obtaining the shirtbutton livery.

[AndyB]

Hi @JohnBS there's a video on Revolution Train's Facebook page showing a 56xx pulling a long rake of coal wagons. The clip was quite short but I counted the loco pulling at least 30 wagons on what I assume was a level curve.

 

I just tried my own 56xx on an inclined somewhat tighter curve and it started to have wheel slip at about 15 wagons. 

[B661Sutton]

Some stunning modelling on show here. I've recently taken the dive into N gauge and have been flicking through this thread for inspiration. The modelwork on show here is certainly impressive and I'm certainly inspired for my own projects.

 

On 25/11/2019 at 21:54, JohnBS said:

Good evening,

i have just (more or less) finished a new loco - a second 43xx, this time with a 3D printed engine body. The article below gives an account of my efforts.

John

 

43xx.pdf 4.42 MB · 139 downloads

 

This in particular I'd like to try (a 43xx fits right in with the era/region I'm modelling), but I noticed you used a 3D printed body for it. This body doesn't appear to be available publicly from my own looking and, not wanting to use the old P&D Marsh kit, thought I'd ask yourself where you obtained yours from as well as if it would be possible to get a hold of one myself.

Many thanks