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Charlton Bridge - 4mm BR(S) - Building Bridges


ikcdab
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So now to the track layout. Templot has been my friend and I have spent many hours designing, tweaking and refining to get exactly what I want. I highly recommend this software for anyone who wants to do proper flowing track and the support and help from the developer, Martin, is first rate. The basic premise is a large double track oval minimum radius curves of around 1.8 m with transitions from the straight, in fact I don’t think there is any straight track on it. Off of the double track oval is a double junction spawning a double track branch line that descends at 1 in 90 and goes underneath the oval and emerges into an enlarged “Minories”. Platforms should be able to accommodate seven coach trains and I have added a good yard. Also off of the double track oval is a single lead junction that spawns a long single track branch line leading to a terminus based on Weymouth quay.

There is a fiddle yard consisting of two loops off of each of the main lines.

Again the track will be SMP, but after having been not quite happy with the visual appearance of soldered track previously this time I am going for ply sleepers with C&L plastic functional chairs. Point work will be operated by servos triggered by MERG servo drivers. I am very keen on the route setting and the main terminus has the servos worked through a diode matrix to provide 10 different routes but more of that later.

16670432065751372773374031037843.jpg.cead11af26818f85053ffd40c33a087d.jpg

 

Edited by ikcdab
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Ian

 

Having shed envy, but ensure you have plenty of insulation mostly to keep you warm during the winter, but to stop wild temperature swings which would play havoc with expansion/contraction. Might even be worth experimenting with a few (3/4) yards of track laid now and see how much it contracts over the next 6 months

 

The plan also looks very interesting, echo's of Bath come to mind along with a standard west country branch line coupled with trains going round and round (something I find quite therapeutic )

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49 minutes ago, hayfield said:

Ian

 

Having shed envy, but ensure you have plenty of insulation mostly to keep you warm during the winter, but to stop wild temperature swings which would play havoc with expansion/contraction. Might even be worth experimenting with a few (3/4) yards of track laid now and see how much it contracts over the next 6 months

 

The plan also looks very interesting, echo's of Bath come to mind along with a standard west country branch line coupled with trains going round and round (something I find quite therapeutic )

Ah well yes.  There are some 12 large  rolls of wool fibre insulation in the walls and roof. 

The walls are all made of 3 x 2 framing. Lined on inside with 12mm osb. Then stuffed with woolfibre. Outside is wrapped in moisture proof membrane, then clad. The roof is the same but 18mm osb and covered in coroline sheets. Have done a lot of testing on the temperatures recently. Last weekend it was 30c in the garden, shed interior stayed around a max of 25c. 

I'll post interior shots later.

No chance yet of testing cold temperatures of course,  but will have heating. 

Ian

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Here are pics of interior.  As said, it's lined with 12mm OSB throughout. The roof is 18mm OSB, but ceilings are 6mm ply with the insulation laid between the joists as per a standard house.

20200511_100550.jpg.9ba9bc61d27851c2787bb8178832c215.jpg

 

20200730_135559.jpg.b678c2498e5b57cda3f299b3cf7b068f.jpg

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3 hours ago, smallman28 said:

Nice space although if it were me and I had that much room I would be going up in scale from 00 :D

Well each to their own! I want full length trains and wide radius curves. A larger scale would compromise that and I have a lot of oo already anyway.  

Ian

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Very nice Ian

what a huge space. Plan looks good with plenty of space for scenic details.

 

just make sure you have plenty of good lighting.

 

I use LED batons they look like a normal strip lighting fittings 

but are far superior in lighting and very beneficial in the low cost to run and give out minimal heat.

 

i shall keep checking in on your progress 

dan

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2 hours ago, Pigwife007 said:

Very nice Ian

what a huge space. Plan looks good with plenty of space for scenic details.

 

just make sure you have plenty of good lighting.

 

I use LED batons they look like a normal strip lighting fittings 

but are far superior in lighting and very beneficial in the low cost to run and give out minimal heat.

 

i shall keep checking in on your progress 

dan

Hi Dan,  I have installed 4 LED batons. Each claims to be 6000 lumens, so 24000 lumens in total.  Yes they are vastly superior to ordinary strip lights and the total cost was just under £100.

Ian

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My railway room was a built by the previous owners as a music studio so is already insulated and brick built too! It's similar size to yours, about 7m long x 3.8m wide. 

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  • RMweb Gold

I too have a serious case of shed envy. I'm in the middle of project bigger koi pond right now so I have no chance of a bigger shed.

Regards Lez.  

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  • RMweb Gold

I'm a bit of a butterfly so have been making lots of different parts for the new layout.

Here are baseboard members. (The red lines on the track layout above).The baseboard will be open frame with the trackbed from 9mm ply. These cross members are made of three layers of 6mm ply to give a light but strong support. This is not a new idea. The ones you see here are where I had several cross members of a similar size so it was easy to make up a big sheet and chop it into 100mm strips.

Trickier is around the ends where each member is a different length. I am thinking of batching these (for example all the ones between 400mm and 500mm) and then cutting individuals to the correct length within the width of the outermost spacers. Not sure yet!

Ian

 

20200813_112747.jpg.6e94fda4b4fc69a62354dadf1cc363ac.jpg

 

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On 11/08/2020 at 09:35, ikcdab said:

Well the promise is that we turn the garage into the new ping pong room....

Ian

 

I bet that idea gets batted back and forth...BOOM BOOM!!

 

Seriously, though, that's a great looking shed with plenty room and well lined.

 

Best


Scott.

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  • RMweb Gold

We had visitors last week and so work got delayed, but this week its back to normal.

I am building this layout in a series of building blocks. Having completed the single lead junction, i have now turned to the double junction. This sees the main line curving away to the right with the branch also curving right on a slightly larger radius. Using C10 turnouts made templot recomend a movable diamond crossing. Initially i was a bit phased by this, but I have been calmed down by wise words on the templot forum to the effect that these are easier to build than fixed diamonds. We shall see.

First step was to print out the templot templates and fix them to 3mm cork, then trimmed to the ballast shoulder. This lot was then fixed in turn to 9mm ply and the ply cut to baseboard width which here is 30mm either side of the centre lines.

Next step was to chop up some 0.8mm ply into 4mm strips and cut the sleepers to length. These were painted/stained and fixed with pva to the template. This has given me a very secure foundation for the track.

Holes were drilled for electrical connections. see below.

20200821_122707.jpg.0d7a799b8721d27810671aafff6bc71f.jpg

 

next step is to make the crossing vees. I use the method suggested by @Brian Harrap which uses no jigs and allows any angle. First a piece of rail is folded in half and soldered.Then the vee is carefully opened up to the correct angle using the template as a guide. temporarily held in place by a piece of copperclad.

20200821_100936.jpg.9c41d89bf2eba34e869432fd8e351013.jpg

 

Then it is carefully filed to a blunt nose:

20200821_103210.jpg.4a1a22a8b724c6b9d7088ed83145cc19.jpg

 

lastly, using straightedges and flangeway guides, i solder it all up to the wingrails on 0.3mm 3mm wide brass shim to make a complete unit. this can then be superglued directly to the sleepers in the right position.

20200821_122605.jpg.6cfe2be3aebc62b4e8c6291ad1780e95.jpg

 

Here are the set of 4: a 1 in 8 and 1 in 12 for the crossing and two x 1 in 10 for the two turnouts. displayed here over the edge of my desk as i had also attached droppers.

Then to build the unit. Hope to get some progress on that tomorrow, but i am running very low on rail and i am waiting for a delivery. No sign of the postie yet!

 

 

 

 

Edited by ikcdab
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I'm  not entirely sure i am happy with the 1 in 12 vee, I think the taper is too long and is slightly hollow. I may well chuck this one and remake it when i get more rail.

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Ian

 

Looking very good, the one thing about the society filing jigs is that they both allow the correct angles to be filed and with a bit of practice hold the rails in place whilst being soldered.

 

My one concern is how you hinge the switch rails ?

 

Just out of interest why is it a switched diamond rather than a diamond crossing

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14 minutes ago, hayfield said:

Ian

 

Looking very good, the one thing about the society filing jigs is that they both allow the correct angles to be filed and with a bit of practice hold the rails in place whilst being soldered.

 

My one concern is how you hinge the switch rails ?

 

Just out of interest why is it a switched diamond rather than a diamond crossing

Easy answer....cos templot told me. Seriously, I  understand that switch diamonds were used for angles shallower than 1 in 8. On my crossing, one vee is 8.75 the other 12.02. So templot by default makes it a switch diamond.

I think there is enough length in the rails to avoid having to hinge them, there should be enough natural flex just as on ordinary turnouts.

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Ian

 

Watching your skill sets I can see no reason why you could not build a diamond crossing rather than a switched Diamond. But if its been discussed in Templot then there is something I am not aware of. Certainly building it on a curve increases the difficulty.

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9 minutes ago, hayfield said:

Ian

 

Watching your skill sets I can see no reason why you could not build a diamond crossing rather than a switched Diamond. But if its been discussed in Templot then there is something I am not aware of. Certainly building it on a curve increases the difficulty.

It certainly isn't possible in 00, Carlisle is EM.

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23 minutes ago, hayfield said:

Just out of interest why is it a switched diamond rather than a diamond crossing

 

 

Hi John,

 

On the UK prototype fixed K-crossings are not permitted flatter than 1:8 (on some pre-group lines it was 1:9), and then only provided all 4 legs are straight. If there is any curving the limit is lower.

 

The reason is that the risk of wheels mis-tracking is too great, i.e. taking the wrong road as they cross over the K-crossings.

 

With wider than scale model flangeways, and especially if they are on a curve, I suggest lower limits. Say 1:7.5 for P4, 1:7 for EM / 00-SF / 0-MF, 1:6 for 00-BF / GOG-F as the flattest angles for fixed K-crossings.

 

Switch-diamonds are much easier to build than fixed K-crossings. There are no K-crossing check rails needed -- which on a fixed K-crossing need to be very accurately positioned, and on a slip because of the wider flangeways are very difficult to find space for (especially in 00).

 

The only downside to a switch-diamond is the need for two extra point motors. Even that is not really a downside because it makes the electrics much easier -- just treat a switch diamond as two turnouts toe-to-toe for the polarity switching at the V-crossings.

 

The setting for fixed K-crossings or movable (switch-diamond) in Templot is at real > K-crossing options.

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

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Michael and Martin

 

Thanks for adding to my knowledge, I guess with 00 gauge smaller radii is the norm and I have not seen plans from either C&L or Exactoscale for switched diamonds (accepting the latter is leaning more to P4 rather than being universal). 

 

Thanks again I stand corrected (must keep up with Templot Club topics)

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