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Midland Stone


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  • RMweb Gold

I've been building one or two small industrial locos recently with the intention of starting a small layout. After mulling over several settings i've gone for a quarry/stone processing set up.

 

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The layout will be 4'-6 x 1'-3 with removable cassettes where the exit towards the main lines and quarry are. I've tried to incorporate some additional variety to the movements with the raw stone drops and also the slab/stone cutting area with the offloading/loading gantry which will allow both hopper wagons and flats. The quarry line gives access to the engine shed/ maintenance area where there'll be quarry machinery in states of assembly and also to the raw stone drops. The product then either is offloaded to the stone cutting mill or onto the conveyor under the drops to the elevator which in turn transfers to the grading plant. This via another conveyor leads to the loading screens, the line here gives direct access to what is eventually the main line. A short link gives access to transfer between the quarry and main line access.

 

I've tentatively picked the name so i can use LMS transfers but just reconfigured into MSL.

 

Dave

 

 

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  • RMweb Gold
29 minutes ago, Ruston said:

This looks interesting. What's the time period and the motive power?

 

Hi Dave, time period will probably be 1960's with diesels and steam.

Class 14 for operating to the main line, Class 04, North British Paxman, 50550 class, hawthorn leslie ST for general shunting duties and maybe others later if/when i get round to building a few more.

Most of the buildings/structures will be before pressed steel sheeting started to be used so mostly corrugated sheets, some stone building too as i'm aiming for a fairly run down millstone/gritstone operation rather than limestone as in your White Peak. 

 

The board is all ready to go, code 75 streamline arrived a few days ago so this weekend is a tracklaying one (forecast is for a damp weekend here so a good time to start). Points will be wire in tube operated via mini DPDT slide switches all laid on mdf with a foam board surface.  

 

As the drops are the lowest part of the scene i've already made those up from Scalescenes papers and an evergreen styrene "steel" frame to sit on the top to support the rails.

 

Dave

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  • RMweb Gold

I've laid the track onto foam board which allows me to cut slots in for the wire in tube, the track is fixed with copydex which dries fairly quickly.

 

 I've marked out approximate positions for the mayor buildings but no doubt things will change once i get into it. The switches will be covered by buildings/ features with access only required for the toggle switches.

 

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I had already made the drops and walls for the sunken area prior to track laying, the rails are fixed directly to the sub frame made from evergreen I beams. As there is going to be a building behind this area i've made a walkway that will cantilever from the piers and will eventually give access to the the lower level. This area will have the belt conveyor under the drops which in turn will take the material to a hopper feeding directly into the elevator. I have a Ratio Coaling Tower and will probably use the elevator from that along with a scratch built framework.

 

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I'll take some close up photos once i've got a few of these items ready. Once these structures are finished i can then position the main grading/processing building as the conveyor leading to it feeds off the elevator and will form part of its structure (hopefully).

 

Dave 

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  • RMweb Gold

The last few days has seen a parade of castings from the rock mould, there are quite a few and i'm managing 2 or so a day with das clay. I take them out before they've hardened so that i can contour them while they are still maleable.

 

So whilst that is going on i made a start on the main processing building. I first produced a Cad drawing of the layout so the dimensions of the pieces would be accurate. It's a truncated wedge shape and will have conveyors coming into it from the elevator and exiting to the loading screens and possibly a silo for the finer grade waste products. It's made from 2mm card with scalescenes brick paper at the lower level and Slater's ribbed sheets scored at 3'-0 wide and cut to 8'-0 lengths which are PVA'd onto the card face. 

 

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The stairs are from Plastruct but the walkways, ladder and handrails are scratch built. The walkways access those which will run along side each of the conveyors.  I have some dust extractor units made up for the left hand end. I'll give it a prime coat next so i can add the windows and finish the roof off. I'll add more details when i get around to giving it it's final paint job.  After that then i'll start on the elevator structure and conveyor between the 2. I have a Walthers kit for the conveyors which are very nice but they will need a little titivating where they access the elevator.

 

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Dave

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  • RMweb Gold

After making a start on the main processing building i needed the elevator structure and consequently most of the items associated with it. These being the belt roller conveyor under the drops, the elevator loading hopper, the elevator (which is from a ratio coaling tower), the elevator support structure and the conveyor to the main building. 

 

The conveyor is from a Walthers kit, but needs a conveyor belt adding to it as well as a conveyor extension to behind the discharge chute from the elevator. The structure is built from various Evergreen styrene components, the ladder is from the Coaling tower kit and lands onto the access walkway, there will be a short ladder from the the platform at the top down to access the conveyor walkway. The loading hopper and drop belt conveyor are all scratch built from various bits of styrene.

Everything in the photos is just placed and nothing is fixed in situ yet. It all needs painting and the ground cover and other buildings need finishing beforehand. 

 

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As you can see i'm progressing with the rock moulds, again nothing is fixed just placed, there's still a few to do. But next up will be track ballasting and areas surrounding the track, i'm going to use Chris Nevard's method here, sand as a sub layer and das clay pressed into the sleepers to build the levels up.

 

Dave.

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  • 1 month later...
  • RMweb Gold

The layout has progressed a little since the last post.

 

It took quite some time to get the initial sand and then a thin layer of das clay down in and around the sleepers and rails, but after much cleaning up around the point blades etc it's all running smoothly after a test run with my 50550 class. 

The quarry is Millstone/Gritstone, unfortunately the strata with the mould from Woodland Scenics is more akin to limestone rather than the blocky more angular faces associated with the Dark Peak but it'll have to do. 

Adjacent to the drops is a small Stone Cutting workshop with loading/offloading facilities provided by a runway beam overhanging the tracks. I've raised this area up so that the flat wagons will be at or around the same level, a loading bay at the nearside will allow loading of the cut slabs onto small flatbed trucks. A small office built into the rock face completes the structures to this area. 

 

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To the rear of the above area is the power house with fuel tanks provided in a bunded area, there will eventually be pipes etc from the tanks to the power house and main plant building.

 

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I've added an initial colour for the rockfaces which after years of neglect will have lots of moss, grass attached etc

 

The buildings are all just placed temporarily until i've got some of the other features like the scenery closing over bridges at the layout left hand side, weighbridge, office, access road roughly positioned. I can then start to add some foliage to the tracks which will hopefully start to make everything look ok.

 

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The red curved roof building to the left of the main plant building is a quarry machinery workshop (the double doors are camouflaged by the paint) and covered engine shed affair, this will have a raised diesel tank to the front and a water tank on the roof. i've made a small low level loading area which will give access for bulldozers/backhoes/loaders etc to be loaded onto loriots or well wagons.

 

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Dave

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  • RMweb Gold

At the end where the lines run out to the cassettes i had temporarily set up some foamboard guides which i'd intended to be the base of the bridges i had in mind. 

 

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So i've made up a double bridge from the newish Scalescenes Plate Girder bridge set. The bridge is tapered and also slopes from right down to left a little, keeping minimum clearances over the access to the main line (60mm clear). The only thing i found with this was you need to really read the instructions and understand exactly the dimensional relationship between the deck, abutments and girders before you start. The foamboard supports were not needed in the end as the bridges as all the other Scalescenes buildings i've made up are all very robust. The larger left hand bridge will also incorporate a roadway.

 

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Dave

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

I've made up the back scene at the left layout end by using more Scalescenes brick papers to replicate the far side of the bridge. A couple of additional buildings have also appeared at the front, the weighbridge/offices and a loading area that will have slabs and prepared stone stored on. The jib crane is only provisionally positioned with blue tack. The weighbridge/office building has a small flap in the rear so that i can access the sector switches underneath it. the slide switches for 2 of the points are under the loading bay which will be removable.

 

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I've also started adding some rock debris which will be augmented with dead grass etc later. I'm awaiting a cast resin tank that will sit in the area between the bridge and office hiding the other 2 slide switches. The access to the main line will be fenced off with gates across both the access road and the line.

 

Dave

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  • RMweb Gold

Some more rock debris added to the process end of the operation. I've more to add under the drops at the side of the conveyor which feeds the elevator.

 

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I'll weather the conveyors, supports, elevator and loading hopper next and after that i can think about adding the smaller details, pipework, pallets of slabs, large stone blocks for the cutting area etc.

 

Dave

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  • 2 months later...
  • RMweb Gold
9 hours ago, DanielB said:

What a great layout. Any progress recently?

 

Thanks very much, I'm afraid there hasn't been any progress. I've been busy doing a GNR C1 scratch build followed by an X class Peckett. Also just finishing a major fencing and hedging project in the garden too (i need a new back!!) but fingers crossed i'll be back onto it before Xmas. 

 

Dave

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  • 1 month later...
  • RMweb Gold

Some free time lately has allowed a little more progress. At the left hand side of the layout where the lines disappear under the road bridge to the quarry and main lines i've added another area that hides the dpdt slide switches. This houses a small hut and 2 fuel tanks. These tanks are to be connected to the main plant via the pipe bridge shown. I'm presently wrestling with the pipework so once the bridge has received some toning down they will be added. Also added has been some ground foliage.

 

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Dave 

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