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THE RAMCHESTER CHRONICLES


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Thanks Simon for the aove links which I will look at tomorrow.

 

Thanks also to Nick for his info re HMRS book which I will try to obtain. Well done for reaching nearly 2000 posts. Not the highest I know but very creditable.

 

Will keep you posted

 

Many thanks

 

Rod

 

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A bit more progress as track laying on the new board has been started. While I was busy with other related tasks Howard got stuck in and laid the beginning of the rear siding taking great care that it all lined up perfectly and maintained the flow of the curve at this end of the layout. The picture today shows Howard standing back from his hard work to inspect what he had done. The front two sidings are just placed in position to give an idea of what the finished section will look like.

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Rod

 

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10 hours ago, railwayrod said:

Taking great care that it all lined up perfectly and maintained the flow of the curve at this end of the layout.

That has worked very well! There is  nothing more unconvincing for me than a bunch of dead straight sidings ending mm from a curved running line!

 

I suspect thats partly because a real curve would often be following a natural contour which would equally affect any sidings. 

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Hi Hal.

 

I could not agree with you more. The real railways flow following the contours of the land and I was determined that Ramchester should try and replicate this. Both Howard and I do not subscribe to the "flat earth society" and the new bit will have a fall off at the front making the railway higher than the road/buildings which we plan to make and install.

 

Tomorrow I will post a couple of photos to show our latest bit of progress.

 

Rod

 

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12 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

There is  nothing more unconvincing for me than a bunch of dead straight sidings ending mm from a curved running line!


are you sure?


2C18F946-B37B-4ECA-9D4C-006631794481.jpeg.72dd4c30990eb4d2046e6860732839ba.jpeg

 

 

NLS map of West Float, Birkenhead docks, Around 1900.  
 

The nearer sidings look like they end about 6’ from the running lines!

 

it’s all long gone now.  There are warehouses on that site.

 

atb

Simon

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It would be one impressive fiddle yard, I counted 40 sidings.  
 

Of course the “fiddle” part would require arms some 5 feet long, equipped with a vision system...

Or autocouplers, of course!

 

I’m struggling with the measurement function on the NLS maps, but it appears that the fan is around 110m wide, which probably puts the curve at 60-65m, which is tight.  A chain is about 20m.  It would scale at about 4’.  
Pugs only I think!

 

 

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15 hours ago, Simond said:


are you sure?


2C18F946-B37B-4ECA-9D4C-006631794481.jpeg.72dd4c30990eb4d2046e6860732839ba.jpeg

 

 

NLS map of West Float, Birkenhead docks, Around 1900.  
 

The nearer sidings look like they end about 6’ from the running lines!

 

it’s all long gone now.  There are warehouses on that site.

 

atb

Simon

Prototype for everything!

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Thanks Simon for providing this info. It is really quite interesting how the real railways copied our models 150+ years before we planned ours!! They must have had a crystal ball me thinks.

 

Now back to business. A bit more progress to report on the new section of the layout. Howard and I got our heads together (not literally) and decided what shape the front of the layout should be. We wanted a two level "factory" with rail facilities on the upper floor and vehicle access down below. The new plywood was marked out and carefully cut to shape with a jig saw and a further piece of ply cut to shape and installed at the lower level. Our intention is to construct a brick retaining wall along the very front siding as far as the proposed building which will have covered rail access at the upper level. I hope the attached photos convey the essence of what we have in mind.

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The flapping piece in front is part of the original facia from the original  arrangement and once fixed it will be cut and shaped to the new scenic profile. A new bit will then be added to complete the front edge so that it blends into the bit around the curve leading to the tunnel. Then there are loads and loads of scenic work which will have to done which will take a great deal of time I suspect. However as one of our great poets wrote it is sometimes better to travel than to arrive.

 

We will see if that is true in due course.

 

Rod

 

 

 

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New Coaching Stock for Ramchester.

 

Today a large parcel arrived from Tower Models containing my latest purchase. For some time now I have wanted a rake of Mark 1 coaches in maroon livery with a M prefix and when Lionheart announced their intention to produce these I decided that they were the ones for me.

 

So here are some photos of the trio standing in Ramchester's platform - two brake 2nds and a corridor 2nd which it is hoped will eventually form a 5 or 6 coach rake of The Ramchester Express to the metropolis.

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The coaches are the DCC versions.

 

All for now.

 

Rod

 

DSC06114 (2).JPG

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They look good don't they Rod.

 

I've not had time to put mine on Notley and now have limited access so they will have to wait. I still have the CK on order to make a three car set which is the maximum I can get in my fiddle yards. 

 

Paul R

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Even more progress today as Howard completed the fitting of the final point motor together with a crank and wired it all up. In the meantime I worked on the last bit of baseboard construction after which we fitted the front facia (the projecting bit as on the photo yesterday). Once the glue has had time to set this bit will be shaped to fit its new location. We still need to cut and fit the remainder of the facia to join up with the piece around the curve. 

 

I am very pleased with my purchase of the Mark1 coaches, and I am sure the Ramchester Express will look great when I have a couple more.

 

More anon.

 

Rod

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

The modifications are steadily progressing. Unfortunately it has meant rerouting the stream so it doesn't come out too low when it reaches the new section of fascia. The lane from the coal yard is also being rerouted slightly.

 

thumbnail_IMG_20210412_165825.jpg.d83e2bd8b232191f678789a349ae6b8c.jpg

 

 

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Hello Everyone.

 

Howard just beat me to it by putting on the two pictures in the above post. So I thought that you might like to know what sort of hole he has to fill using his scenic skills. Here are a couple of photos which give some idea of the task he has set himself. The white rail curving round at the bottom of the photos is the re-routed curtain rail which holds the under baseboard curtains to hide what is underneath the layout. A new fascia will be cut shortly which will stop just above and about 3 inches in front of the rail thus hiding it from the normal viewing position. We have a lot of work to do to bring the layout back to its usual state but we are enjoying the challenge.

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More very soon.

 

Rod

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Just by way of a change from development work I thought it might be interesting to compare Howard's modified Mark 1's with the latest Dapol versions. Attached are a couple of pictures showing the Dapol ones on the left and the Lima ones as modified to the right. 

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The two to the left are the latest Dapol versions while the two to the right are Howard's modified Lima models. He replaced the bogies with (I think) Easybuild ones to lift the body up to almost the  correct height. He fitted flush windows to the sides and repainted the models in a more correct maroon than the originals. He carried out a fair bit of work to improve the appearance of his rake of 3 coaches including lining and re numbering them. I think that he has done a good job on these - what do you think?

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He has now taken these coaches home as Ramchester has invested in 3 Dapol ones with more to come.

 

Rod

 

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Another quick update. Today Howard and I cut out the new fascia board to fill the gap left from the mods that we have been doing. We then glued and pinned it in position but still have to do a little more trimming to the top where the valley reaches the edge of the baseboard. It will need to be painted but this can be done at a later date when the scenery structure has been completed. As you will see from the photos Howard has made a start on the foundations of the scenery which at the time the photo was taken was still clamped in position to keep it in place until the glue has dried.

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As I am not sure that I have mentioned this before when it comes to scenery I am the gofer and labourer while Howard does his work.

 

Still cant be good at everything can I?

 

Rod

 

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On 15/04/2021 at 15:39, railwayrod said:

 

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For me, the Dapols are better than various other attempts in having the proportions correct - particularly with the door windows.

 

I've said elsewhere I've come to the conclusion we all pick up these things differently. Whether it's just familiarity with the subject or some sort of brain recognition thing, I will instantly see if proportions are out on a model without having to compare to a photo, and it invariably then bugs me (I stress for my own use, not knocking other's efforts).

 

Conversely for the life of me I cant look at any sort of form and "see" more than a jumble of boxes and blurb. So I think it's how we are wired but I cant discount that I've just spent far too much time looking at trains!

Edited by Hal Nail
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Most of the new bit of fascia has now been cut to shape. The piece of hardboard we used was left over from when I made the fascia for Brückenheim and turned out to be just long enough with a few inches to spare. Various clamps and drawing pins are being used to hold things together while the glue sets.

 

IMG_20210421_165817.jpg.d7ed71a355097335c4441f7cd8767d99.jpg

 

IMG_20210421_165842.jpg.fe15bec50ea39a45c48e1b8eaf53da5f.jpg

 

 

Edited by HSB
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