Bisley - 1990s EM Gauge

[dj_crisp]

3 hours ago, Bogusman said:

Is this the etched footbridge you're going to build?

 

Regards

Pete

 

That looks rather nice! Excellent and thanks for sharing.

 

It could very well be... mines an old Peter K kit.

[Bogusman]

Sorry for hijacking your thread but here's another view of my Peter K footbridge. If you are interested I have more photos on the scalefour forum of the construction of this kit and in a future scalefour news will be an artical of how I constucted this kit if this will be of any use to you

 

Regards

Pete

[dj_crisp]

15 hours ago, Bogusman said:

Sorry for hijacking your thread but here's another view of my Peter K footbridge. If you are interested I have more photos on the scalefour forum of the construction of this kit and in a future scalefour news will be an artical of how I constucted this kit if this will be of any use to you

 

Regards

Pete

 

Thanks Pete. I had a read and is very useful to me so I'll bookmark for future use! It looks a lovely kit and I like it being platform mounted. Yours is rather inspirational but I'm not sure when I'll get round to building mine though...

 

I've been tempted to hack down my plastic one to be platform mounted as a temporary installation but it'll stay being too tall for the time being till I've done some other layout tasks. I just need some time and inspiration to get the trackwork done, weathered and hidden sidings installed... finish the station building and platforms, remove my last DCC concepts point motor that's failed and replace with a tortoise. Hopefully I'll get that little lot complete(ish) by the end of the year!

 

Cheers 

Will

[Bogusman]

When you do start it give yourself plenty of time. Mine took over 100 hours but I am a slow builder.

 

Pete

Edited April 14, 2023 by Bogusman

[dj_crisp]

Well my attempt at building a FB point didn't last long. After learning I didn't have the right template I decided to save some time and install a bullhead version.

 

 

I'm happier now with the flow from the main line to the branch now being straighter. There's been a surprising amount of things to do and even more how long it took me but its all wired up and I just have a few wires to solder underneath the board. Anyhow the change is from the LH main line point (which has been slackened) to the grampus wagon.

 

 

I haven't ripped up the short siding and I think it could be fun to leave in place rusting away and overgrown. So I've just stuck a few sleepers down to suggest things are being moved about and see if this scene grows on me. Leaving the siding in place may allow me to model a dead china clay hood or brakevan slowly rotting away.

 

The change has released a troublesome DCC concepts cobolt and a tortoise which I hope to use to replace the final cobalt on the layout. This one would have been replaced had it not been a pain to install a tortoise but as its now not responding that's a bridge I now have to cross.

 

Looking forward to weathering the track to tone it all down!

 

[dj_crisp]

I was almost pleased with myself.... fitted a backscene panel and then went about installing alignment dowels.

 

 

I've had a bit of a battle to get this far but it looks like it might just work.... 

 

Plan was 4 sidings for the main line, 2 for the branch. However me being worried about the balancing of the traverser has meant while 4 can be accessed by the up line... only 3 can access the down. Really annoyed!

 

And I also need to extend two tracks as I previously cut the rails short forgetting about the width of the backscene. Some days I do wonder about my ability in this hobby!

 

So just debating whether I bin tonight's efforts and attempt to realign the traverser or live with 3 sidings for the main line. Neither are ideal.

[Rich Papper]

You’ve spread them out well though, and your soldering is very neat. I squeezed four tracks onto Oxford Road’s traverser only to get to the first exhibition with it and realise that the lines were so close together I couldn’t take stock off or see to put new stuff on!

It has since had 3 tracks.

Rich

 

[dj_crisp]

30 minutes ago, Rich Papper said:

You’ve spread them out well though, and your soldering is very neat. I squeezed four tracks onto Oxford Road’s traverser only to get to the first exhibition with it and realise that the lines were so close together I couldn’t take stock off or see to put new stuff on!

It has since had 3 tracks.

Rich

 

 

Thanks Rich. 

 

Thankfully I didn't have to think about the gaps between the tracks as they're all set at the double track width... and the branch is simply a multiple of those so there are occaisons when the main line and branch all line up. Also the station exit will be the same to try and keep everything standard. Well that's the plan... I just need to try and execute it! 

 

The plan for storage was simple really... the branch to have 2 lines (one freight, one passenger), 4 for main (one "express", one freight, one misc  and the other passenger DMUs). The misc one could then also operate both the main and branch. 

 

As its nagging me I reckon I'll be having a 2nd go and then get some filler for the massive holes I've made.... then will have to paint it all to hide the mess I've made! I haven't yet worked out the best approach to locking the roads in place and as I'm very limited on space I suspect it'll be difficult.

 

I'm looking forward to some projects that are more about building things than fixing and hiding my mistakes! Still live and learn.

 

 

[The Fatadder]

Who's traverser is it? Assuming Grainge and Hodder from the looks of it the same as I have used on Wheal Imogen (at one end at least).  Mine is also 4 plus 2 with the positioning meaning that 4 tracks will access the branch and 2 for the yard.  I didnt find any stability issues while at Calne.   At Calne I only had 3 tracks for the through line on one fiddleyard (as no one was selling track I could use to lay the forth), I found that insufficient to enable variation of stock on the through line.   So personally I would say realign the board to give the full access.

 

Good to see that in one position you have access to both mainline tracks and the branch track, that was one of the biggest issues I had at Calne as I didnt align one track correctly so you could only use branch OR yard but not both at the same time.  It is on the list for relaying before DEMU...

 

 

What are you doing about locking bars to secure the track in position once a road is set?

[dj_crisp]

3 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

Who's traverser is it? Assuming Grainge and Hodder from the looks of it the same as I have used on Wheal Imogen (at one end at least).  Mine is also 4 plus 2 with the positioning meaning that 4 tracks will access the branch and 2 for the yard.  I didnt find any stability issues while at Calne.   At Calne I only had 3 tracks for the through line on one fiddleyard (as no one was selling track I could use to lay the forth), I found that insufficient to enable variation of stock on the through line.   So personally I would say realign the board to give the full access.

 

Good to see that in one position you have access to both mainline tracks and the branch track, that was one of the biggest issues I had at Calne as I didnt align one track correctly so you could only use branch OR yard but not both at the same time.  It is on the list for relaying before DEMU...

 

 

What are you doing about locking bars to secure the track in position once a road is set?

Hi Rich

 

Thanks for the info.... I've been watching your thread with great interest seeing as you've managed to build an entire layout in the time it took me to lay a point! 

 

It is a G&H traverser and I'll be joining two up to get maximum storage in the space I have (so I can run a 50 and 4 coaches).

 

I'm after a solution for locking bars. If I had more space I'd have included an extra board between to cater for locking in a more traditional sense (i.e. a pair of bolts with lots of slots). I'm thinking of having a bolt attached to the side of the traverser with locking holes in the side of the baseboard. Not sure it'll work as the locking will happen a fair distance from the tracks. Alternatively I can only think of having bolts for every road with locking occurring each side of the double track.

 

I think you're right... time to realign!

 

Cheers

Will

[The Fatadder]

I have to admit the locking bars is something that I have been putting off,  will certainly be interested to see what you come up with.   I will be putting the layout up again in about a month's time to iron out any issues in advance of Showcase.  Havent exactly told my wife that I will be doing that yet though...

 

 

 

[dj_crisp]

1 hour ago, The Fatadder said:

I have to admit the locking bars is something that I have been putting off,  will certainly be interested to see what you come up with.   I will be putting the layout up again in about a month's time to iron out any issues in advance of Showcase.  Havent exactly told my wife that I will be doing that yet though...

 

 

 

 

I think we both have the same challenge with locks...! I'm sure there must be a neat solution.

 

[The Fatadder]

16 minutes ago, dj_crisp said:

 

I think we both have the same challenge with locks...! I'm sure there must be a neat solution.

 

I sketched out a potential solution while taking down the layout after Calne, I will try and draw it up later in case its of use.  My biggest concern is that I tend to loose all precision the moment I start working with wood, so there is a high chance that for me adding locking bars that involve drilling (which I think will be a given) will work worse than not having it at all.  

[lezz01]

So I can design a locking mechanism for you that will have a button realise but I need to know what tools you have access to. Can you mill and have access to one? You don't NEED one if you don't/can't but it will be a lot easier if you do/can. As long as you can drill holes in and file metal you won't need a mill but as I say it will be much easier if you do.  Let me know and I'll knock up a drawing latter tonight when I get home from work although it will probably be tonight once wifey has gone to bed tbh. It'll be proper engineering mind. 

Regards Lez.   

[Graham T]

I'd also be very interested to see this, as I'm planning to have a traverser on my next layout.

 

[dj_crisp]

1 hour ago, lezz01 said:

So I can design a locking mechanism for you that will have a button realise but I need to know what tools you have access to. Can you mill and have access to one? You don't NEED one if you don't/can't but it will be a lot easier if you do/can. As long as you can drill holes in and file metal you won't need a mill but as I say it will be much easier if you do.  Let me know and I'll knock up a drawing latter tonight when I get home from work although it will probably be tonight once wifey has gone to bed tbh. It'll be proper engineering mind. 

Regards Lez.   

 

Hi Lez 

 

Many thanks! My tool selection is pretty limited other than an old mini drill. I'd say I'm close to useless when it comes to precision for woodwork... or any of my modelling tbh but am OK with the art of using filler ;) Please don't go to the trouble of designing anything too sophisticated as I doubt I'll be able to execute it.

 

I might have an idea... not sure it'll work though.

 

 

There's enough space between the base of the traverser top and the top of the table for a metal bar/section of wood that could be drilled to accept holes. So I could fit a bolt to the side and have vertical locking rather than a more traditional horizontal effort. The reason I suggest an bar is that my other traverser is open frame at this point.

 

Thanks all for your help on this! I hope to be able to spend some time Sunday having a bash at the layout.

 

 

[The Fatadder]

A crude drawing of my thoughts

either a brass tube / bar or an off the shelf bar lock attached to the side of the traverser deck.

 

line of holes (sleeved in brass) positioned for each track. For me I need one on the edge to lock the furthest position, so another brass tube soldered to a plate and screwed into the side in that position.

 

slide traverser and hen lock into position,   The issue is that those holes need drilling exactly, which is where it falls over…

[dj_crisp]

2 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

A crude drawing of my thoughts

either a brass tube / bar or an off the shelf bar lock attached to the side of the traverser deck.

 

line of holes (sleeved in brass) positioned for each track. For me I need one on the edge to lock the furthest position, so another brass tube soldered to a plate and screwed into the side in that position.

 

slide traverser and hen lock into position,   The issue is that those holes need drilling exactly, which is where it falls over…

 

Seems a good plan!

[lezz01]

Yeh now I can see how the traverser is constructed my first idea wouldn't work anyway. So the best way to approach this would be to have a steel plate fixed to the base with holes drilled at the appropriate spacings to correspond with the track alignments and a sprung vertical pin and handle in the middle somewhere between the 3rd and 4th tracks on the traveser that you pull up to release the deck then it will just drop down into the next hole by the power of the spring, if you don't want it to engage the next hole along then you just keep the handle pulled up until it's passed the next hole. You need to make sure that the holes are drilled at exactly the same centres as the track and that it's fixed to the deck in the proper place so that the tracks line up but that's just good measurement. All the alignment is done in the steel plate and once it's fixed to the lower deck you can pop the holes through the deck with a hand held drill. You will need to drill the plate with a bench drill first to make sure that the hole are vertical but that's no problem unless you don't have a bench drill but even that's not really a problem just mark up the steel plate with the track centres and the fixing holes with a centre punch and ask someone you know with a bench drill to drill them out for you. 

Regards Lez.

[dj_crisp]

7 hours ago, lezz01 said:

Yeh now I can see how the traverser is constructed my first idea wouldn't work anyway. So the best way to approach this would be to have a steel plate fixed to the base with holes drilled at the appropriate spacings to correspond with the track alignments and a sprung vertical pin and handle in the middle somewhere between the 3rd and 4th tracks on the traveser that you pull up to release the deck then it will just drop down into the next hole by the power of the spring, if you don't want it to engage the next hole along then you just keep the handle pulled up until it's passed the next hole. You need to make sure that the holes are drilled at exactly the same centres as the track and that it's fixed to the deck in the proper place so that the tracks line up but that's just good measurement. All the alignment is done in the steel plate and once it's fixed to the lower deck you can pop the holes through the deck with a hand held drill. You will need to drill the plate with a bench drill first to make sure that the hole are vertical but that's no problem unless you don't have a bench drill but even that's not really a problem just mark up the steel plate with the track centres and the fixing holes with a centre punch and ask someone you know with a bench drill to drill them out for you. 

Regards Lez.

 

Thanks Lez - very useful info.

 

I have an aluminium angle which is intended for use on the backscene corners for some strength. I think I'll attempt some precision drilling on that to see if I can drill proper holes. Might have to buy some sharp drill bits!

 

Thanks

Will

[dj_crisp]

Traverser realigned.... phew!

 

 

Thankfully my aligned jig (two holes in a straight bit of ply) has worked. I now have 4 usable roads for the main line which I think will be better. I also have hopefully left enough space for a potential locking mechanism.

 

 

Next up will be building a bracket of sorts to prevent the inevitable DMU over a clift scenario. Im in two minds to either have a simple bracket with cover or something like a key lock cover.

 

 

And the exit copper clad sections have been cut. I hate cutting copper clad as I do it by hand and these are about 2mm thick.

 

Might be all I get done this bank holiday as the weather is pretty good. Enjoy yours!

[dj_crisp]

I doubt this update is of much interest as I've just been doing track alignment!

 

For some reason I've never got the closest bit of concrete track right and the alignment  was all off being too low. So I've taken the plunge and built a new adjustment switch and relayed the cork track base to have a small camber. Things look better now although far from perfect.

 

 

Next up is hiding my mess ups which sums up my modelling and especially woodwork skills. I can't cut circles so filled in the incorrect holes with squares(ish)

 

 

 

The copperclad exit from the main lines and branch have also been fitted so hopefully this won't move and stay in position. (the branch track will be finished when all roads on the traverser is finished). Eagle eyes will notice I made a right mess up and prior to fitting the backscene cut the rails too short on the (painted) main line and branch. You can imagine what i said to myself! Anyhow I've "created" a safety feature by soldering two very short lengths of rail to the copperclad so in theory they fall off if knocked and not shift the track. Of course that won't happen but at least they seem to have bridged the gap.

 

 

 

And finally I've soldered up some of the last roads for the traverser - not a particularly fun task as these lengths of rail have sat on my workbench for the best part of six months. As H&G don't have the size i can squeeze into the space i have it's going to be two halves joined together..,. and if i ever do another layout they're be useful for those too. I'll see how successful this all is in operation, but i was encouraged to see an exhibition layout using this approach and it seemed to work. In this photo two roads are glued so I'll work through the rest as the week goes by. I think it's nearly time to start wiring these all up to see if they work!

 

 

[dj_crisp]

Well not much has happened on the layout over the last six months or so. But I have got round to wiring and finishing the trackwork on my traversers!

 

It's amazing how long this wiring malarkey takes! I haven't worked out locking yet but at home they're suitably stiff it doesn't matter too much.

 

I've also tried bolting the two boards together so see how they work. Quite pleased that they do! Having 2 boards gives me a little flexibility on how I run the layout at home as I'm a bit limited on space where it currently lives. So I can either operate as a terminus or end to end but limited to small 2 car DMUs as through trains.

 

Next challenge is fitting so new TOUs and tie bars as a number have failed. This is pretty tricky as I didnt plan on making the change and the pointwork is all glued down. Jot looking forward to that challenge!