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Fiddle yard question


B McG
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Thats a great basis for a layout.  If you delete the bypass line and add a couple of crossovers and two headshunts the FY looks like a junior Stoke Gifford marshalling yard..   If you delete the gods sidings at the lower station and put carriage sheds and loco depot instead and scenify the whole lot it would be a great layout.-

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A really thought provoking idea, but having a running line bridge and a branch bridge over a watercourse on the fiddle yard side may be an issue.  It could however be moved to one of the corners where the track work is a wee bit lighter.  One other thought I had, in the fiddle yard is a minimum radius of 30" is sensible? Or could I go as tight as 24" and still have relatively bulletproof running?  Reason for asking is that I may have to revert to a 20 by 10 shed due to very few sheds being available in 20 x 12  foot size.  Whatever the answer is I still have the luxury of being able to plan for it. :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi All,

Given I'm in lock down for the next week and a half I thought I would share what I have in mind for the entire plan.  I'm still more enamoured with loops for the fiddle yard however I've reduced these to 10 lines and increased spacing for access.  With a lot of optimisation and a couple of 28" radius curves I have the ability to run 13 trains with up to 10 coaches.  This was achieved by having sufficient length for double stacking on both up fiddle yards lines and one on the down and having 3 bidirectional with one dedicated runaround loop.  I even managed allow access from the up bay to the Branch using a scissors and double slips, which will be handy for the odd DMU.  I thought I would throw it out there for critique, please be gentle as a I'm a novice with respect to prototype but will take on board observations that will result in a better end design.  

 

Please feel free to comment!1888749292_Newplan.png.6a89df3ab9bc911e6d639662c82d36fa.png

 

Many thanks,

Bryant

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On 05/03/2020 at 19:33, B McG said:

A really thought provoking idea, but having a running line bridge and a branch bridge over a watercourse on the fiddle yard side may be an issue.  It could however be moved to one of the corners where the track work is a wee bit lighter.  One other thought I had, in the fiddle yard is a minimum radius of 30" is sensible? Or could I go as tight as 24" and still have relatively bulletproof running?  Reason for asking is that I may have to revert to a 20 by 10 shed due to very few sheds being available in 20 x 12  foot size.  Whatever the answer is I still have the luxury of being able to plan for it. :D

 

FYI I have on order a 24 x 12 feet shed from this company -

 

https://www.andrewdams.co.uk/

 

This is for my far North layout based on Forsinard which will appear on these pages in due course. 

 

 

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Nice size, will look forward to seeing your layout.  Also, thanks for the shed tip, have you ordered a bespoke size? How did you find them as a business to deal with?  I may give that them a call if they do bespoke and can assembly in the Staffs / Warks area later this year. Their prices seem reasonable and I am impressed by the build specs. 

 

There was also a reason for reverting to 10 feet width with respect to space, however I've agreed with SWMBO that the shed can go up 11 feet in width.  See the below photo showing the footprint of the shed in 10, 11 and 12 feet of width.  There is just a small matter of taking down the small blue shed, moving the right hand shed to the former site of the small one and extending the existing base of the right side.  My job over the next few months!

Top_garden.jpg

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Make sure you either have a nice solid base or if its just on a few blocks then make sure you can get at it to bung a few wedges in to level it up when it subsides. Speaking from experience with a 24 X 8 shed where a level main line became about 1 in 75 as one end of the shed sank. A car jack, scissors type, and packing sorted most of it but one corner is inaccessible which gave problems

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 28/03/2020 at 17:49, B McG said:

Nice size, will look forward to seeing your layout.  Also, thanks for the shed tip, have you ordered a bespoke size? How did you find them as a business to deal with?  I may give that them a call if they do bespoke and can assembly in the Staffs / Warks area later this year. Their prices seem reasonable and I am impressed by the build specs. 

 

There was also a reason for reverting to 10 feet width with respect to space, however I've agreed with SWMBO that the shed can go up 11 feet in width.  See the below photo showing the footprint of the shed in 10, 11 and 12 feet of width.  There is just a small matter of taking down the small blue shed, moving the right hand shed to the former site of the small one and extending the existing base of the right side.  My job over the next few months!

Top_garden.jpg

 

Sorry for the late reply.

The shed I ordered, 24 x 12 is on their web site described as a "man cave"

Cost is £3,000 but then it will need lining and insulating and of course a level concrete base which is almost prepared before the virus intervened.

 

Do call the company, they are very amenable and would make a shed to your own specifications. I am sure they would deliver to you outside their own areas.

 Fort me it`s so frustrating as i now have all this free time but all I can do is stare at the cleared site that is waiting for a delivery of concrete !

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

No problem, been busy myself! :D  If you're still stuck is it worth getting a builders merchant to deliver the balance of raw material and getting a second hand mixer to finish it off yourself?  Also have you got an electrician lined up for the power supply yet?  For insulation you may want to look at this company that I think does the cheapest insulation board that I've found to date:- https://www.insulation4less.co.uk/40mm-celotex-tb3040-2-4m-x-1-2m 

 

I'm currently lucky enough to be able to work from home full time but at the same time source and price up material for this project. since my last post I've got a new base prepared for the moving of the right blue shed when I sourced the last few slab layer mixes (the miracle in the depths of lockdown!) from a local Wickes.  I can now look at moving it with some help as long as social distancing is relaxed.  In the meantime I've managed to get a delivery from e-bay all the slabs I needed and when Buildbase reopened for deliveries I received a good start on an aggregate base, sharp sand and cement. (see projected base in the photo, the 8 by 6 footprint has given me a good start)  Given that I'll rebuild the steps too needing further mortar and around 600 bricks I've even managed to persuade SWMBO that a half decent cement mixer will speed up the project and it is now on order.  

 

I did get in touch with the shed manufacturer that was kindly recommended by class26 and have been quoted £2600 including assembly for a 20 x 11 plus a delivery charge.  It seems reasonable compared to some quotes I've had, when lock down is relaxed enough I'll be definitely be making a trip up there to look at the structures they sell.  With luck I'm hoping on having everything in place by Mid August to make the shed order and can spend September fitting it out and getting an armoured cable to it. 

 

In the meantime I continue to play with XtrackCAD with potential configurations and I'll post again at the weekend regarding some ideas I have.  Oh the agony in trying to decide, I think I'm going to have to tap up the forum for some advice again! lol :rofl:

 

Cheers for now, stay safe out there everyone,

Bryant

 

 

 

 

Footprint.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Hi All,

 

Hope you all are doing well and staying safe out there. Just an update on progress I've been having a rethink regarding the fiddle yard.  After much head scratching I concluding things were getting too crowded, particularly on the fiddle yard side for the running lines and the descending branch with respect to my post earlier in the thread on the March 27th.  With a little over a foot width for both the branch and the running lines I've come to the realisation as suggested by some members in earlier posts that  I would be better off by having the running line within the fiddle yard inself.  It means that I get more scope with the single line branch and there would be more room for additional scenic elements.  Although I lose some of the length and capacity for the fiddle yard, I do get addtional lines for storage. It also frees up the top left for a decent townscape with the running lines going though on a viaduct.   I've done a redesign so that so that any one of the lines can be accessed via a scissors at each end. On the right hand I've managed to set this up so that there are no reverse curves and I'm happy with that.   However I wanted to ask a question to this group with regard the scissors arrangement for the top.  Has anyone on here has used a similar approach using medium length code 75 points and was is it reliable for smooth running on full length rakes (10 coachs) of rolling stock?  

 

I've also been looking at this custom made track as a potential option for the top left.  It does save a couple of inches and preserves track spacing:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153991845116?ViewItem=&item=153991845116  

 

Cheers

Bryant

Fiddle yard plan.jpg

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I've just come to exactly the opposite conclusion, deciding running lines in front of hidden storage loops (rather than a fiddle yard) was a great idea, and am working something up accordingly ....... but in my case I will have the ability to get at the loops from outside the layout space in the event of catastrophe in that area ....

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Hi,

 

Having found this thread today, thumbs up for being able to have a huuuuuge man-shed for your layout.

 

Just an observation if I may? Regarding the proposed station area shown further above - the proposed platforms in your station look a little short when compared to the lengths of the fiddle yard sidings, and, on the one scheme shown, you have a refuelling depôt above the fiddle yard access lines (right hand side). I wondered if the gradient may be a little steep going into the fiddle-yard, especially as you indicated having 10 coach trains?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

 

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34 minutes ago, Philou said:

Hi,

 

Having found this thread today, thumbs up for being able to have a huuuuuge man-shed for your layout.

 

Just an observation if I may? Regarding the proposed station area shown further above - the proposed platforms in your station look a little short when compared to the lengths of the fiddle yard sidings, and, on the one scheme shown, you have a refuelling depôt above the fiddle yard access lines (right hand side). I wondered if the gradient may be a little steep going into the fiddle-yard, especially as you indicated having 10 coach trains?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

 

Cheers for that Philou! I'm very lucky to have an understanding wife  :-)

 

In the original draft going to park the trains two per loop as some of these loops were 20 feet plus long. To be honest with my current collection it was overkill hence the rethink to unlock more scenic space.  

 

Here's my current plan. It all my designs to date (Probably 20 - 30 now) there are no gradients on the running line or the fiddle yard.  The station platform have been set up to allow 10 coach trains or an 8 coach HST set. The only gradients will be on the branch which descends at 1 in 50 all the way to a seaside town and small quayside 4 inches below the running lines.   At least for now until I do start tinkering yet again!

Harbour branch 3.png

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Ooh ..... hang on a mo. IF your quayside branch is dropping down (no problems with that in principle), where the quayside is shown, your double track is going to be above the quay, tho' of course if you've intended to put your main track on a bridge over the quay, it would make for a nice feature. However, don't forget that boats/small ships will also need headroom, though the open sea could be towards the operator well.

 

I can see a nice girder bridge set on BIG cast-iron pillars - Charing Cross style - going over your quay .....................

 

Happy shed and layout building,

 

Philip

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Hi Bryant,

Whether the fiddle yard is a real fiddle yard, where you manually adjust trains, or just a set of storage loops, you may need to get hands-on to a greater or lesser degree. (Track cleaning, derailments, point failures, moving brake vans from one end to the other, etc, etc...)

Are you comfortable you can do that in the current design? Particularly with the scenic area and false backscene in front?

 

Re. the scissors crossings: Would a simple pair of crossovers (one facing, one trailing) be simpler if you've got the length? They can be built into the end curves and possibly the feeds to the storage loop point ladders to remove some of the "snaking" through reverse curves.

 

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On 13/05/2020 at 21:17, B McG said:

No problem, been busy myself! :D  If you're still stuck is it worth getting a builders merchant to deliver the balance of raw material and getting a second hand mixer to finish it off yourself?  Also have you got an electrician lined up for the power supply yet?  For insulation you may want to look at this company that I think does the cheapest insulation board that I've found to date:- https://www.insulation4less.co.uk/40mm-celotex-tb3040-2-4m-x-1-2m 

 

I'm currently lucky enough to be able to work from home full time but at the same time source and price up material for this project. since my last post I've got a new base prepared for the moving of the right blue shed when I sourced the last few slab layer mixes (the miracle in the depths of lockdown!) from a local Wickes.  I can now look at moving it with some help as long as social distancing is relaxed.  In the meantime I've managed to get a delivery from e-bay all the slabs I needed and when Buildbase reopened for deliveries I received a good start on an aggregate base, sharp sand and cement. (see projected base in the photo, the 8 by 6 footprint has given me a good start)  Given that I'll rebuild the steps too needing further mortar and around 600 bricks I've even managed to persuade SWMBO that a half decent cement mixer will speed up the project and it is now on order.  

 

I did get in touch with the shed manufacturer that was kindly recommended by class26 and have been quoted £2600 including assembly for a 20 x 11 plus a delivery charge.  It seems reasonable compared to some quotes I've had, when lock down is relaxed enough I'll be definitely be making a trip up there to look at the structures they sell.  With luck I'm hoping on having everything in place by Mid August to make the shed order and can spend September fitting it out and getting an armoured cable to it. 

 

In the meantime I continue to play with XtrackCAD with potential configurations and I'll post again at the weekend regarding some ideas I have.  Oh the agony in trying to decide, I think I'm going to have to tap up the forum for some advice again! lol :rofl:

 

Cheers for now, stay safe out there everyone,

Bryant

 

 

 

 

Footprint.jpg

 

Here is my 24 x 12 being erected. I am very happy with the quality of the shed so would recommend you going ahead with the company if you still intend to.

DSCN0361.JPG

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1 hour ago, class26 said:

 

Here is my 24 x 12 being erected. I am very happy with the quality of the shed so would recommend you going ahead with the company if you still intend to.

 

Unfortunately, their website comes up to me as insecure.  That's the sort of width I'm looking at and was interested in how few trusses they've specified, they look to be about 1.2m apart at a guess.  Are purlins going on?

 

Alan

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16 hours ago, class26 said:

 

Here is my 24 x 12 being erected. I am very happy with the quality of the shed so would recommend you going ahead with the company if you still intend to.

 

That looks great.  Also thanks for the recommendation.  We're going up next Saturday with a view to finalising a quote and a quick visit to Skegvegas to boot :D

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1 hour ago, B McG said:

That looks great.  Also thanks for the recommendation.  We're going up next Saturday with a view to finalising a quote and a quick visit to Skegvegas to boot :D

Pleased to hear this. Mine is almost finished now, lining etc and supports for base boards going in tomorrow then I can get down to the serious business of starting the layout. 

After your visit you could park up somewhere (Boston ?) and take the HST to Skegness. Probably not that many more times it will run although it might be slightly early for you if you are coming over from Tamworth? I know the journey well having lived in B`ham for 30 years ! 

 

Good luck ! 

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22 hours ago, Buhar said:

Unfortunately, their website comes up to me as insecure.  That's the sort of width I'm looking at and was interested in how few trusses they've specified, they look to be about 1.2m apart at a guess.  Are purlins going on?

 

Alan

 Not sure what you mean by purlins , why not call them. 01526 861 737 

 

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Purlins run the length of a roof about a third of the way up on each side.  Thanks for the phone number, I suspect Scotland is a wee bit far for them, but we'll see.

 

Alan

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On 06/07/2020 at 21:55, Buhar said:

Purlins run the length of a roof about a third of the way up on each side.  Thanks for the phone number, I suspect Scotland is a wee bit far for them, but we'll see.

 

Alan

There`s 2 purlins on either side running the entire length. I`ll put up a photo of the completed shed soon, its almost finished being fitted out now.

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17 minutes ago, class26 said:

There`s 2 purlins on either side running the entire length. I`ll put up a photo of the completed shed soon, its almost finished being fitted out now.

Thanks, that explains the spacing of the trusses.

 

Alan

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4 hours ago, class26 said:

There`s 2 purlins on either side running the entire length. I`ll put up a photo of the completed shed soon, its almost finished being fitted out now.

Look forward to seeing this! :D  I take it it was a multiday job?

 

Cheers

Bryant

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7 hours ago, B McG said:

Look forward to seeing this! :D  I take it it was a multiday job?

 

Cheers

Bryant

 

I am aware I am hijacking this thread with my shed so I will shortly start a new thread but just to finish by saying , yes, it was a multi day job (4 for the lining and floor) and now the supports for the boards are going in, possibly finished today.  Electrics to finish then we are in business. just as well there isn`t that much work at the moment ! 

 

Apologies Bryant !

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On 09/07/2020 at 06:18, class26 said:

 

I am aware I am hijacking this thread with my shed so I will shortly start a new thread but just to finish by saying , yes, it was a multi day job (4 for the lining and floor) and now the supports for the boards are going in, possibly finished today.  Electrics to finish then we are in business. just as well there isn`t that much work at the moment ! 

 

Apologies Bryant !

 

No problem, your shed manufacturer tip has saves me over a £1000 compared to the nearest quote. Just to get the word out to any followers of this thread who may have an interest, the manufacturer has been really busy of late so my date of installation won't be until nearly mid-November.   

Speaking of electrics what sort of heater are you planning on to keep it warm in those winter months?  I'm thinking along the lines of either a single 2kW convection heater or two 1kW ones once insulated and skinned.

 

Cheers

Bryant

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