Jump to content
 

Recommended Posts

I have decided to start a new Layout thread for my new project. It won’t replace the existing Diddington project – I’ve got lots to do on that, and progress will continue to be reported in these pages – quite regularly I hope.

The new project will allow me to try out some new ideas and techniques by modelling an area new to me.

I’m planning to model Yelverton station in about 1958. It will be 00 gauge 4mm scale, Track will be peco code 75 bullhead, possibly with some handbuilt pointwork. I decided on Yelverton because I wanted to model part of the Plymouth-Tavistock line which is local to me. I wanted to keep the layout simple, and was initially drawn to Shaugh Bridge, but while that was attractive scenically, it was just a platform on a single line, and offered little operational interest. Yelverton was a little further up the line, and after closure of the Princetown branch in 1956, consisted of a loop, a siding and a short spur to an end loading ramp. The signal box was closed in 1959, after which the loop was taken out of use and all trains were routed through the former down platform.  My chosen year is before the loop was taken out of use.

Buildings comprised a typical GWR pagoda hut and a footbridge, which are commercially available. There was a wooden shelter on the down platform, and a unique pentagonal building on the up platform (which can be seen in model form on Pen Tor Road at Pendon), both of which will have to be scratch built. The signal box appears to be a standard GWR 1883 design.

I’m still thinking about the layout design. The scenic section will be about 9’ long, to fit in the car. Presentation will be eye level, with wings and a proscenium arch . I’m thinking of a “bitsa” station, with the scenic area stretching from the accommodation bridge at the north end of the station, to a point just south of the signal box. The viewing side will be from the up (east) platform, with the pentagonal building as a focal point in the foreground. There will be lots of trees in the backscene, and at the northern end of the layout, a departure from my recent modelling activities. There will be a cassette deck at the southern end of the layout, and a sector plate at the north end of the station, which will allow trains to run round, and possible serve a hidden return track behind the backscene, which will allow all stock marshalling to be done in the southern yard.

It is important to me to keep a sense of length, an to maintain the relationships between the various building. I had wanted to include the tunnel ant the northern end of the station, but to do this I felt I was trying to cram too much into the available space, and was losing the relationship between the positions of the buildings.

I’m not planning to start building the layout until the new year. However, I’ve made a start on the stock, and more about this will follow in the coming months.

That’s all for now.

Alex

 

Edited by wiggoforgold
  • Like 12
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Alex,

 

Now that sounds like an interesting location and project I will certainly be following this.

 

G

  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Having taken the Tavvy flyer many times, Yelverton was always an interesting spot.  If you move the period back a bit you would be able to add interest with the P/Town branch with its runaround method and the little t/table siding.

     Brian.

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Cheers Brian. One of the side effects of my research into the line has been the development of a sense of envy of those who were able to see the line and ride on it before it closed. You are now one of those people!

I agree, adding the Princetown line would add operational interest, and I did consider it. At the moment, the proposed format doesn.t admit for its inclusion, hence my chouce of time period. Who knows though, what the future might hold?  We walked over some of the Princetown branch at the weekend. The open moorland would make a fine model, but it's surprising how quickly trhe scenery changes, Yelverton's wooded setting being only a few miles away.

Alex

 

  • Friendly/supportive 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

This Station area will make a wonderful and compact project. An area dear to my heart. However you have set off a little spark in my remaing brain cell reminding me that Bere Alston would, for me, be a good project depicting the 'other railway' .

Atb

Phil

  • Agree 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Planning for Yelverton has been progressing. Initial thoughts  were to model the complete station from the tunnel at the Tavistock end, to the end of the siding at the Plymouth end. However, fitting this into the available space would mean too much compression and losing the character of the station. I had already decided to model the station in the period after the closure of the Princetown branch and before closure of the signal box, as at the moment I don’t have room to model the Princetown branch as well, although that would add interest in terms of track layout and the number of workings. Something to think about for the future perhaps.

I found a couple of views of the station taken from a viewpoint in the vicinity of the Princetown branch starter, looking down on the station from the East. I decided to model this view., from the accommodation bridge at the Tavistock end of the station, to a point just south of the signal box at the Plymouth end. I’ve sketched out a plan to work from, and find I have a number of questions:

1.      What is the relationship between the sides of the pentagonal building on the down platform? My feeling is that the building is a rectangular building, with an additional side inserted at the southern end, to give the five sides, not a regular pentagon. The corner between the Up platform side, and the southern end appears to be a right angle, but does anyone have more information?

2.      What is the top of the roof like? Is there a four sided flat section? How was it covered?

3.      There appear to be four huts behind the signal box. A brick built hut (possibly a weighbridge?), two sleeper built huts, and possibly a GW pattern corrugated lamp hut.

In my plan, the scenic part of the model will be 9’ long, which fits the space I have available for construction. This will break down in to three 3’ long boards for transportation, which, together with the fiddle yars, will fit in the back of the car.  I'll put up a plan when I’ve worked out how to do it!

Alex.

  • Like 5
  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Alex,

 

You should speak to Nick (Brinkly). He has amassed loads of info on the line and its stations whilst researching his Horabridge layout.

  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Good thought, although Nick's up the line a bit at Horrabridge.  It was all long ago and I am older than the closure ; the only thing I may be help you with are from my train library; I'll check it out and get back.

     Brian.

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Hello Alex!

 

I will send you a PM with some relevant material for you. Over the past 10 years, I’ve amassed a rather large collection of information based on the Launceston branch. 

 

Perhaps if I can get myself in gear, we could operate the two layouts together one day? :)

 

Regards,

 

Nick

  • Like 2
  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
2 hours ago, Brinkly said:

Perhaps if I can get myself in gear, we could operate the two layouts together one day?

I was just thinking the exact same thing before I read your post. 

 

First gear comes first, hopefully followed by a rapid progression up the box, but then again, I'm hardly a shining beacon of rapidity myself, in that regard. 

 

Best of luck with the project, Alex.

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 08/06/2019 at 19:37, Brinkly said:

 

Perhaps if I can get myself in gear, we could operate the two layouts together one day? :)

 

 

Sounds like a plan Nick.

Thanks for the info Miss P. Most helpful.

 

Alex.

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Construction of the first of the engines is under way. It's 4658 of Laira shed, and I'm using a Bachmann 8750 for this.

I've added some detalil in the form of new lamp irons from 1mm  brass strip, RT moodels sanding pull rods, a Markits mokebox door dart, and I've added the missing handrail abobe the front steps. I've fitted my  DG couplings. Painting and weathering are now under way, and I'll post more picturs when its done.

1396425855_7.6.19Detailed1.jpg.18dcdfce68851bdfeee9281d8d3c28cd.jpg1050853647_7.6.19threequarterrear.jpg.1f36f71d1868b6ea947827faac0ef72a.jpg

 

Alex

  • Like 17
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Nice work on the pannier, Alex. I have similar upgrades in mind for mine. 

 

How tricky are the RT models rods to apply. I have a set but am having a bit of a head f**t working it out...........I know, I know.....

 

 

 

Rob. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Rob

The RT rods are very small, and I found them quite fiddly to assemble. The etch includes parts for the forked joints at the ends of the rods, which I didn't use as they were so small. I found some useful pics on the net at  https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/15078-57xx8750-research-and-reference-photos/ and I studied these in conjunction with the exploded diagram on the RT models etch until I understood how everything fitted together. I think the rods themselves may be slightly short, and the front sandbox fillers on the Bachmann body are definitely too far forward. I accepted both these errors. Before I removed the parts from the fret I carefully opened out the holes with a taper broach so they were a fit on a .33mm wire. I then fitted the LH rod and the operating rod to a .33 mm wire, which passes under the boiler.  I simply glued the rods to the splashers. They look OK to my eyes, and defintely enhance the look of the front end.  Alex

 

  • Informative/Useful 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Thanks for the explanation, Alex.

 

That really does help matters. 

 

I was suffering a classic case of being unable to see the wood for the trees. 

 

 

Rob. 

Edited by NHY 581
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I’ve been studying photos of the pentagonal building, and I think I’ve worked out the relationship of the sides.

441893756_Plansnipped.PNG.df5fe0d1dd37a62a04660618b82abfec.PNG

Side A-B is the Up platform face.  Side D-E is the Princetown platform.  I think the angles at A,B and E are right angles, which leaves acute angles at C and D, the exact values of which will be influenced by the length of the sides.  Which just leaves the roof:  I think the centre section of this must have been flat, but does anyone know, or have thoughts, on how it was covered?

I’ve got a couple of new questions as well: Studying photographs, I can see that the  rodding and wire for the point and signal at the Tavistock end of the station ran alongside the Down platform face.  I can’t see how the rodding and wires ran to the points and signal at the Plymouth end.  I presume that after exiting the signal box, it crossed the track to the Up side, covered by the barrow crossing, and then ran south parallel to the track. Can anyone confirm?

Finally, the line at the southern   end  is on a gradient as it leaves the station. On the model, the plan is to have the gradient on one of the boards. My thoughts are that the transition should start after the baseboard join, so that the track crosses the joint on the level. I don’t think the transition should be from a level   board to a line on a gradient. Second, while I don’t envisage the gradient as being excessively steep, the effect on a 6 wheel   tank loco with a rigid (rtr) chassis crossing the transition would be to potentially lift the centre wheels off the track, with adverse effects on pick up and running. What would be the maximum sensible gradient, bearing ion mid I’ll be using Hornby/Bachmann wheels on code 75 bullhead track?

Alex

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hi wiggo, apologies for the hijack. I was in Princetown on Wednesday, with a group of French students. Had afternoon tea with scones (to rhyme with stones :-) in the Fox Tor cafe after explaining the difference between the right way to apply yer jam and cream, as opposed to the Cornish way.

 

We got the coach back to Plymouth via Yelverton, with the former branch line visible across the moors, which got me wondering; is it possible to walk the route of the branch?

Edited by Waraqah
Link to post
Share on other sites

Up on the moor, no problem.  A bit dicey in Yelverton due to newer development!  The quarries are most interesting with the sidings and the remaining detritus of quarrying.

      Brian.

Edited by brianusa
add
  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies, and to Miss P. for the link.

 

I'm already thinking about coming back down for a family break next summer, so a brisk country walk could well be on the agenda.  :-)

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On ‎05‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 02:55, wiggoforgold said:

I’ve been studying photos of the pentagonal building, and I think I’ve worked out the relationship of the sides.

441893756_Plansnipped.PNG.df5fe0d1dd37a62a04660618b82abfec.PNG

Side A-B is the Up platform face.  Side D-E is the Princetown platform.  I think the angles at A,B and E are right angles, which leaves acute angles at C and D, the exact values of which will be influenced by the length of the sides.  Which just leaves the roof:  I think the centre section of this must have been flat, but does anyone know, or have thoughts, on how it was covered?

I’ve got a couple of new questions as well: Studying photographs, I can see that the  rodding and wire for the point and signal at the Tavistock end of the station ran alongside the Down platform face.  I can’t see how the rodding and wires ran to the points and signal at the Plymouth end.  I presume that after exiting the signal box, it crossed the track to the Up side, covered by the barrow crossing, and then ran south parallel to the track. Can anyone confirm?

Finally, the line at the southern   end  is on a gradient as it leaves the station. On the model, the plan is to have the gradient on one of the boards. My thoughts are that the transition should start after the baseboard join, so that the track crosses the joint on the level. I don’t think the transition should be from a level   board to a line on a gradient. Second, while I don’t envisage the gradient as being excessively steep, the effect on a 6 wheel   tank loco with a rigid (rtr) chassis crossing the transition would be to potentially lift the centre wheels off the track, with adverse effects on pick up and running. What would be the maximum sensible gradient, bearing ion mid I’ll be using Hornby/Bachmann wheels on code 75 bullhead track?

Alex

 

Alex, according to the Kingdom 'Princetown Branch' from Oakwood, the diagram is essentially correct, A-D should more or less equal C-D while E-C is shorter with a more acute angle at C.  The actual gradient at the Plymouth end of the platform is 1/60 and the roof appears to be a bit of a mix with the chimney at the peak.  I have actually been in the Down building, in the fifties but no pictures or accurate memories:(.  Maybe this is of use but even all this is a long time ago now so a little modellers licence cannot be objected to.

     Brian.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...