Ruston Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 This may remain only as a plan, depending on whether or not someone buys my Calder Vale Mineral Railway layout. If it sells then I have the space for a larger version of what is to follow. If not then it's another micro layout. A micro will have to be of the same size as Charlie Strong's scrapyard as it will have to fit in the same space and so the entry/exit roads must be in the same place. Based loosely on British Oak D.P. it will feature a staithe on a canal, with hopper wagons being discharged into boats (a boat that never moves but has a hole in, through the baseboard, with a container underneath). I've already been experimenting and have come up with a self-discharging hopper wagon, using a Parkside 21t hopper kit and magnets. A smalll loco shed and wagon repair facilities will be all else on there. Time period variable from the 1950s to the 1980s, by changing stock and road vehicles. OO gauge DCC. Trains run in, stage right. Loco runs round and propels individual wagons over the staithe (second track down on left). Loco shed lower right, wagon repair above it. RH scenic break is a tall viaduct. The track plan isn't finalised yet. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginelane Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Classic prototype, interesting use of magnets for the hopper etc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brack Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Ruston said: I've already been experimenting and have come up with a self-discharging hopper wagon, using a Parkside 21t hopper kit and magnets I made one with sliding hopper doors a few years ago, it worked but they got full of grit in the channel section I'd used and got progressively harder to open over time. I also found that some of the aggregates didnt flow well - a hopper load of crushed coal stayed put with both doors open once. 00 ballast worked pretty well I seen to recall. One of those ideas you have where you play with something for a while then get distracted when it doesnt quite work out. I'll be interested to see how you do it, as I suspect you'll have far more success than I did! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ruston Posted June 20, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 20, 2020 16 minutes ago, brack said: I made one with sliding hopper doors a few years ago, it worked but they got full of grit in the channel section I'd used and got progressively harder to open over time. I also found that some of the aggregates didnt flow well - a hopper load of crushed coal stayed put with both doors open once. 00 ballast worked pretty well I seen to recall. One of those ideas you have where you play with something for a while then get distracted when it doesnt quite work out. I'll be interested to see how you do it, as I suspect you'll have far more success than I did! It's already working, in test form, with a loco and a length of track at least. It involves cutting off the part of the hopper moulding that would be the opening flap and fitting it with a hinge made from plastic bar and brass wire. A small magnet is glued to the stationary part and a slightly larger one is glued to the opening door. There is enough attraction to keep the door closed under the weight of a full load of real coal (30g) and any jolts the wagon may receive in normal use. A magnet that is larger than both of the others is positioned in the Four Foot, so that when the wagon is propelled over it the attraction of the stationary magnet on the one on the door is overcome and the door releases. On hauling the empty wagon away from the magnet, the stationary magnet once again attracts the one on the door and the door closes. A piece of paper is glued inside the hopper so that it covers the top of the door in order to prevent coal from getting in between the door and stationary part of the hopper. There's no mechanism and nothing at all to be seen when the wagon is on the track, plus operation is fully automatic. The first picture shows the wagon with equally-sized magnets but this has been changed since the photo so that the stationary magnets are less than half the size of those shown. The white plasticard cross bars prevent the doors opening too far. The magnets on the doors are arranged to repel one another but if they swing too far, when attracted to the magnet in the Four Foot, the ends would attract. The second photo shows the wagon finished. 15 1 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brack Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Thanks for the photo and description. Interesting stuff indeed. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazjones1711 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 What a genius idea for the opening doors , will follow this thread with interest Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Nice..... Very nice....! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 This is how I first dabbled in O gauge well over 40 years ago. My younger brother and I took a 3H wagon chassis and attempted to create opening bottom doors in the style of the Triang 21 tonner. Needles to say it was just technically beyond us at the time and a few years later I settled on opening end doors for my first 7mm layout. Maybe it is time I had another go! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barclay Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 (edited) Dave - I think we'd all love to see you build this, ideally the larger version. Any plans for the Calder Vale to be featured in the 'Modeller' before it moves on? Edit - assuming it hasn't been already, I don't always buy it, although I do if I see your stuff in it ! Edited June 25, 2020 by Barclay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 10 hours ago, Barclay said: Dave - I think we'd all love to see you build this, ideally the larger version. Any plans for the Calder Vale to be featured in the 'Modeller' before it moves on? Edit - assuming it hasn't been already, I don't always buy it, although I do if I see your stuff in it ! I've sent some words to the editor but it all seems to have got lost in the fog of lockdown. I might even build the larger than larger version. Ever since I sold all my N gauge stock I've had the layout in the loft doing nothing. I'm never going to use the layout again and I have absolutely no desire to do anything with N gauge, ever. I've got a Master Plan to build an L-shaped 16x8ft end-to-end 4mm layout that also has the ability to be left to run as a roundy-roundy by linking the fiddle yards at either end, by a non-scenic shelf line. An NCB line that links into BR via exchange sidings, with a line to a canal, just like British Oak was. Possibly a steel industry connection, off-scene, to allow for running my steelworks locos, too. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barclay Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Sounds superb, and it should keep even you busy for a while.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 3 hours ago, Barclay said: Sounds superb, and it should keep even you busy for a while.. You mean 2 months rather than 1? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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