Inspection Pits

[Heinz57]

Hi all,

 

I will be including inspection pits in the shed on my new layout, however I want to do them differant to the typical Peco 'trough' style pit. Instead I'm interested in doing the 'open' style similar to the ones at Nevile Hill...

 

 

 

(Disclaimer, these are not my photos. They were found on Google)

 

It looks like they are actualy at two levels, outside of the rails is just low enough to put you at head height with the wheels whilst between the tracks is lower again to allow you to walk under the train.

 

So my question is what is the best and easiest way for me to acheive this? I will be doing it on two tracks across a length of just under 4ft. So they will be quite long! I know I'll need to drop a big section of the baseboard, but thats about as far as I've got!

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

[iands]

1 hour ago, Heinz57 said:

Hi all,

 

I will be including inspection pits in the shed on my new layout, however I want to do them differant to the typical Peco 'trough' style pit. Instead I'm interested in doing the 'open' style similar to the ones at Nevile Hill...

 

 

 

(Disclaimer, these are not my photos. They were found on Google)

 

It looks like they are actualy at two levels, outside of the rails is just low enough to put you at head height with the wheels whilst between the tracks is lower again to allow you to walk under the train.

 

So my question is what is the best and easiest way for me to acheive this? I will be doing it on two tracks across a length of just under 4ft. So they will be quite long! I know I'll need to drop a big section of the baseboard, but thats about as far as I've got!

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

Hi Matt,

Not sure what period you are looking to model, but here is a drawing of the Maintenance Facilities Building for the East London Line project from 2008. It is a four road shed, built to service 4-car class 378 units (although it was later extended to accommodate 5-car units). As you will see, maintenance "access" was on 3 levels. It might give you some ideas. The rails are mounted on blocks, see also attached couple of photos.

 

NXG Board 04 - Maintenance Bld Sections.pdf

 

 

 

I have one or two more photos if you are interested, but they don't really show the "pits" detail you are seeking.

[Heinz57]

Hi Ian,

 

Thanks very much for your help. The diagram is very interesting, its given me loads of ideas not just for the pits but the entire shed! I am modeling modern image so if you do have any more photos I would be very interested in looking if you are willing to share, I'm sure they will definatly give me some insperation and ideas.

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

[ikcdab]

I would suggest that plastruct girders are the way to go. Make these up on a plastic sub-baseboard and glue the rails to the girders. You just need to ensure that you have the uprights vertical to maintain gauge.

[iands]

5 hours ago, Heinz57 said:

Hi Ian,

 

Thanks very much for your help. The diagram is very interesting, its given me loads of ideas not just for the pits but the entire shed! I am modeling modern image so if you do have any more photos I would be very interested in looking if you are willing to share, I'm sure they will definatly give me some insperation and ideas.

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

Hi Matt,

 

A few more photos for you. I don't know how useful they will be, at the time I took the photos the pits themselves weren't the main topic.

This one sort of shows the three levels of access.

 

This one is looking along the unit at "platform level". You can see how close to the unit that the platform and upper access staging is.

 

This one shows the view out of the drivers window when entering the MFB, shows the buffer stop and access steps down to the lower level access.

 

Reached the data limit for now, will post a couple more tomorrow.

 

[turbos]

Or you could use a mixture of pit wall types.

Haymarket 6 road.

 

[iands]

Hi Matt,

 

Three more photos for you, hope they are of some use.

 

 

 

 

The reason for the unterminated wires was due to the MFB still being "in the construction phase" and not yet commissioned. However, it was approximately 90% complete by the time of the photos and was available to store a unit overnight during the ELL testing phase. On the day(s) I took the photos, the unit was made available (together with a driver and driver manager) for us (Telecoms) to run over the route for GSMR testing/commissioning.

[Heinz57]

Thanks chaps,

 

Ian those photos are most helpful. It looks like in that depot there is a horizontal steel or concrete lintal on top of the supports that the track sits on, am I right?

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

[45125]

One  of the important things with inspection pits is the type of traction using them and the level of maintenance been carried out.

 

[Heinz57]

14 hours ago, 45125 said:

One  of the important things with inspection pits is the type of traction using them and the level of maintenance been carried out.

 

 

Hi buddy,

 

My layout will be a HST servicing depot, and will carry out all levels of maintenance to them. Similar perhaps to Leeds Neville Hill or Bristol St Philip's

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

[iands]

21 hours ago, Heinz57 said:

Thanks chaps,

 

Ian those photos are most helpful. It looks like in that depot there is a horizontal steel or concrete lintal on top of the supports that the track sits on, am I right?

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

Hi Matt,

 

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you, I've been looking for more photos to help answer your question. Basically, yes, it is an "I" beam sat on top of the blocks, with the rail chairs bolted to it (and the rails sat in the chairs). I couldn't find any better photos of the MFB showing this detail, however, I attach a couple of photos from the Wheel Lathe building that has the same arrangement. Hopefully these show the "I" a bit clearer.

 

 

[turbos]

For a bit of inspiration and interest, a very rare picture of an empty 6,7 and 8 roads at Haymarket Depot. 8 road (the nearest) is used for HST power car maintenance, 6 and 7 are for complete ScotRail HST rakes and class 170 maintenance. The extraction hoods are aligned for 170s except at the ends of 6 and 7 roads which are aligned for HST power cars.

 

 

[Heinz57]

On 19/06/2021 at 14:28, iands said:

Hi Matt,

 

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you, I've been looking for more photos to help answer your question. Basically, yes, it is an "I" beam sat on top of the blocks, with the rail chairs bolted to it (and the rails sat in the chairs). I couldn't find any better photos of the MFB showing this detail, however, I attach a couple of photos from the Wheel Lathe building that has the same arrangement. Hopefully these show the "I" a bit clearer.

 

[SNIP]

 

Hi Ian,

 

Thanks for those photos, they give a great view of the pics. Perfect for me!

 

I think what I might do then, is use an 'I' beam created from either brass or Plastruct that I can solder or glue the rail to. These could then be sat atop a series of 'concrete' pillars created from plastic. Should be strong enough?

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

Edited June 20, 2021 by Heinz57