West Kirby Town: narrow gauge may be coming to town.

[Simond]

Nowt wrong with Peco, but Templot & hand built will always look better IMO.

 

and if you do it yourself, it’s substantially cheaper too.  
 

 

[2ManySpams]

The days of the rail replacement bus are numbered!

[pwr]

If I was starting again I would hand build the points. I've never been happy with the Witham end crossover on Notley.

 

Paul R

[Dmudriver]

7 hours ago, pwr said:

If I was starting again I would hand build the points. I've never been happy with the Witham end crossover on Notley.

 

Paul R

 

If they're standard Peco points, you can replace them with Mike's kits, Paul.  It's what I did with the points in the sidings/stabling point area.  On the other hand, that could add to a long list of "things to do"!!

 

 

Rod

[JeffP]

Sorry if this has already been stated, but what standards are points laid to?

[Dmudriver]

52 minutes ago, JeffP said:

Sorry if this has already been stated, but what standards are points laid to?

 

It's 0-MF standard (31.5 mm gauge, 1.5mm flangeways). 

 

HTH

 

 

Rod

 

 

 

 

 

[Dmudriver]

Some more work done today.  I've cut the rails and fitted the chairs for the Down track.  I'm not gluing them down tonight (or even tomorrow) as I want a couple of Butanone-free days.

 

Even though I've got a big fan to blow the fumes away from where the liquid is applied, I suspect they are still floating about inside the shed, and I'm not convinced they're doing me a lot of good!!  So, as I say, I'll leave it for a couple of days - maybe until next week - and then I'll use the Butanone with the nearer shed door open.  Here's what the workstation looks like:

 

 

Anyway, back to what I have done!!  Here are a couple of pics of the track set up with the spacers in use - from each end:

 

 

 

 

The eagle-eyed reader will have noticed (did you?) that, in the last pic, there's a chair missing.  That's because the fishplate virtually covers the sleeper and the chair won't sit square on the sleeper.  So my solution is to cut a chair in half and glue the pieces up against  the fishplate (but not, hopefully, to the fishplate).  The finished result is virtually unnoticeable from normal viewing distance.  Here's a close up of it:

 

 

I've decided that I'll do the same with the insulating fishplate on the opposite rail.  At the moment, I've shortened the fishplate but I'm not convinced it holds the rail properly (see the third pic, too) , so I'll replace it and cut the chair in half as I've done here.

 

So, that's it for now.  If I can do anything tomorrow, I'll check out the bus bars for the feeds to the main lines: otherwise, it'll be Friday.

 

More soon.

 

 

Rod

[bgman]

3 hours ago, Dmudriver said:

I'm not gluing them down tonight (or even tomorrow) as I want a couple of Butanone-free days.

 

Hi Rod,

 

When I made my Greenwood points it was the first time in many years I had used Butanone. 

 

I hadn't realise how potent it was and each time I used it I wore a small mask with the window open. It certainly does the job but wish there was an odourless version of the same product. I've tried other adhesives but I find this to be the quickest to use.

 

Great to see you've cracked it with the replacement crossover.

 

G

[Hal Nail]

On 12/10/2021 at 20:18, Dmudriver said:

though it will come under the heading of "the electrics".

 

Sounds more like over-running engineering to me!

[pwr]

18 hours ago, Dmudriver said:

 

If they're standard Peco points, you can replace them with Mike's kits, Paul.  It's what I did with the points in the sidings/stabling point area.  On the other hand, that could add to a long list of "things to do"!!

 

 

Rod

 

Hi Rod

 

Yes you are roight and yes it would put them on a long list of things to do. I am afraid the whole geometry of the Witham end crossover is wrong caused by a left hand feeding a right hand as the line curves nearer the end of the board meaning the loop diverges away and I am not happy its prototypical. I would have to design the whole lot so it flows better.

 

One for much later in the build. I haven't really touched the scenery and buildings yet and want to get the station building done soon.

 

Paul R

[Hroth]

On 12/10/2021 at 22:34, 2ManySpams said:

The days of the rail replacement bus are numbered!

Not if the Open Golf starts just as the Engineering occupation ends...

 

On 13/10/2021 at 19:58, Dmudriver said:

Some more work done today.  I've cut the rails and fitted the chairs for the Down track.  I'm not gluing them down tonight (or even tomorrow) as I want a couple of Butanone-free days.

 

Even though I've got a big fan to blow the fumes away from where the liquid is applied, I suspect they are still floating about inside the shed, and I'm not convinced they're doing me a lot of good!!  So, as I say, I'll leave it for a couple of days - maybe until next week - and then I'll use the Butanone with the nearer shed door open.  Here's what the workstation looks like:

 

 

Anyway, back to what I have done!!  Here are a couple of pics of the track set up with the spacers in use - from each end:

 

 

 

 

The eagle-eyed reader will have noticed (did you?) that, in the last pic, there's a chair missing.  That's because the fishplate virtually covers the sleeper and the chair won't sit square on the sleeper.  So my solution is to cut a chair in half and glue the pieces up against  the fishplate (but not, hopefully, to the fishplate).  The finished result is virtually unnoticeable from normal viewing distance.  Here's a close up of it:

 

 

I've decided that I'll do the same with the insulating fishplate on the opposite rail.  At the moment, I've shortened the fishplate but I'm not convinced it holds the rail properly (see the third pic, too) , so I'll replace it and cut the chair in half as I've done here.

 

So, that's it for now.  If I can do anything tomorrow, I'll check out the bus bars for the feeds to the main lines: otherwise, it'll be Friday.

 

More soon.

 

 

Rod

 

Neat work, well done!

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Hroth
Ruddy autocorrect...

[Dmudriver]

I think I've sorted the electrical problem!  I found that, if I joined up the new Down line track to the rest of the layout with the fishplates, everything worked as it should.  Just unfastening one fishplate gave me the same problem.

 

So I reasoned I must have a break in the bus bar(s) and that break was being bridged by the track.  Sure enough, after a lot of time under the boards, I found it: two choc blocks joined by a single piece of thick wire had somehow come apart.  How, I don't know, but it's now fixed and the bus bars are doing the job they should be doing and feeding the rest of the layout beyond the new crossover.

 

There's still a dead bit between the crossover and the sidings but that is due to a dodgy fishplate on one rail and no feed from the bus bar (I took it out when I lifted some of the old track for the new).  That's nothing special to fix and I need to wire up the crossover anyway.

 

I did find something else I'd missed, though!!  I've not bonded the switch blades to the stock rails!!!  Things work fine at the moment as the blades and the rails are clean:  once painted and after the track has been cleaned a few times, that situation could well change, so bonding wires will be fitted!!

 

Nothing more done tonight.  More soon.

 

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

No much done today as it's been such a lovely autumn day that I've done some work in the garden.  It's not my favourite pastime and I've got a low maintenance garden, but "low" does still mean "a bit of"!!  Still, it looks good when it's finished.

 

I was thinking about those choc blocks last night and thought, from the way they were set up, that it's likely that piece of thick wire had never been in one of them.  So I remedied that.

 

Today I also took delivery of a 6-pot frog juicer:

 

 

The plan is that this will replace the 2-pot one I have on the stabling point points: for those 2 and for the other 3 points in the sidings.  The 2-pot one will be transferred to the new crossover.

 

I ran a couple of DMUs over the crossover and found the running was not that good at all.  Having checked the voltage, there was nearly 16V AC on all of the tracks (phew!!) and the rough running is due to dirty track and/or dirty wheels.  Another job to add to the list!!

 

However, I'm having a couple of days off now - starting by getting up at 0615 tomorrow.  When you've been retired for a few years that's a bit of a culture shock!!  Got 2 alarms set up so far!!

 

So, more next week sometime.  Have a good weekend one and all.

 

 

Rod

[Hroth]

I thought a frog juicer was a kitchen blender.... 

 

 

[Barnaby]

Interesting times down at WKT Rod and my how good does your track look now.

Staying on theme with what Hroth is saying I see you be making some six - frog soup soon. 

 

Best

[bgman]

2 hours ago, Dmudriver said:

6-pot frog juicer

 

Much like the Marmite syndrome, personally I like both and use the Juicer on every layout.

[Regularity]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

I thought a frog juicer was a kitchen blender.... 

 

 

What’s green and goes red at the flick of a switch?

[Dmudriver]

1 hour ago, Barnaby said:

Interesting times down at WKT Rod and my how good does your track look now.

 

Thanks, Barnaby.  I've said before that I am really pleased with it - and still am.  The ride over the crossover is so much smoother now - a video will follow in the not-too-distant future - before the ballasting, certainly.

 

I'm now turning my thoughts to replacing the station throat pointwork - 2x right hand, 2x left hand points and a single slip.  I made them from C&L B6 kits but built each one separately rather than building them all together in situ.  The ride over them is a bit rough, but with a 10 mph speed limit nothing is too obvious.  At least my trackwork is improving with experience!!   You never stop learning, do you?

 

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

The trackwork is complete - and a rake of empty coaching stock has run over the crossover (hand propelled) in all directions with no problems at all.  Just nice and smooth!!  I've tried a DMU but that dead section rather spoils the effect, so electrics are the next part of the job.

 

Here are some pics of the finished track laying job - electrics, sleeper staining, rail sides and ballasting still to do!!  However, once the electrics are done I can start playperating again!

 

 

 

And finally, the best bird's eye view I can manage within the confines of the shed:

 

 

I've refitted the damaged buffer stop in the stabling point and the repaired Down Inner Home signal is due to be delivered this week.  However, I'll leave fitting that until I've done the ballasting - don't want to damage it again!!   I've got some Stop boards that a friend has printed off for me (thanks again, Keith!!) so I'll fit one of those (plus the phone) once the electrics are done.  As I've said before, it'll be quite interesting with all incoming trains having to stop for instructions.

 

So that's it for tonight:  I'm still recovering from a fab weekend in London with my daughter, visiting my granddaughter who's at Uni down there.  Plus, Uber river taxis to the Emirates cableway and a visit to the Postal Museum, including a trip on Mail Rail (the underground Post Office railway between sorting offices.  Fascinating!!)

 

More soon.  Watch this space.

 

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

I've made some progress with the electrics.  All of the feeds from the bus bars are now fitted - one feed per separate section of rail.  Here's a pic of some of them - sorry it's a bit blurred!

 

 

 

The wires are a bit obvious at the moment but once painted and surrounded with ballast, they'll be virtually invisible.  Honest!!  I know some modellers like to solder the feeds to the underside of the rail but for me, it's too much bother.  I solder the wires into the web of the rail and, to be honest, I've had trouble finding the feeds that exist already - once, as I say, painted, ballasted and sprayed.

 

I've also moved the 2 pot frog juicer and connected the wires to the frogs:

 

 

The wires from the bus bars will be fitted in a few days - I can't do anything for the next couple of days.  So, things are still moving!!

 

More soon.

 

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

The electrics are finished!!  I've added the bus bar wires to the 2-pot frog juicer and fitted and wired up the 6-potter.  ("Pots" are my own expression as I'm not sure what the correct term is!!).  Pics here:

 

 

 

I've wired in the 2 hand operated points in the stabling point.  The other 3 points will be added to the frog juicer later as they are working OK at the moment, fed from the Tortoise motors.  Looking at the pic it's a bit cockeyed but you can't notice that from the normal operating position!

 

Finally, I've bonded the switch blades on both points to the relevant stock rails.  Pics here:

 

 

 

The pics are really cruel cropped close ups just to show how I've done it.  From normal viewing distance they're hard to see, even before ballasting and painting.

 

I've run a couple of DMUs and the Mark 1s hauled by the Class 25 over them and the running is really good.  I tried to do a video but the batteries in my camera need recharging!!  I did one on my phone but it wasn't good enough to show!

 

So it's now onto painting the sleepers and rail sides, followed by ballasting and spraying with track dirt - not sure yet whether to do that light or heavy: I'll decide at the time!!  Light does appeal at the moment, to show the newly laid formation and, as I'm pleased with it and proud of it, I may just very lightly spray with track dirt.

 

That's it for now.  More soon.

 

 

Rod

 

PS  Have had a couple of days of aircraft related activities, just to mix things up a bit.  Son and grandson took me to the Air Museum at Duxford (the final part of my significant birthday celebrations!) and, after an overnight stay in Thetford, plane spotting at Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Coningsby.  2 long but very enjoyable days - and completely different from railway modelling!!  And no, I'm not going to add an airfield to the layout!!

Edited October 26, 2021 by Dmudriver

[bluestag]

Regarding the Butanone, or any other solvent or paint: if you can smell it you are breathing it, and that is not good for your brain nor your lungs.

 

You need a proper mask, paper is useless.   A charcoal mask.   It looks like something worn during the trench warfare of WW1, and for good reason.    Except your eyes are not covered.

[Hroth]

17 hours ago, Dmudriver said:

The electrics are finished!!  I've added the bus bar wires to the 2-pot frog juicer and fitted and wired up the 6-potter.  ("Pots" are my own expression as I'm not sure what the correct term is!!).  Pics here:

 

 

 

I've wired in the 2 hand operated points in the stabling point.  The other 3 points will be added to the frog juicer later as they are working OK at the moment, fed from the Tortoise motors.  Looking at the pic it's a bit cockeyed but you can't notice that from the normal operating position!

 

Finally, I've bonded the switch blades on both points to the relevant stock rails.  Pics here:

 

 

 

The pics are really cruel cropped close ups just to show how I've done it.  From normal viewing distance they're hard to see, even before ballasting and painting.

 

I've run a couple of DMUs and the Mark 1s hauled by the Class 25 over them and the running is really good.  I tried to do a video but the batteries in my camera need recharging!!  I did one on my phone but it wasn't good enough to show!

 

So it's now onto painting the sleepers and rail sides, followed by ballasting and spraying with track dirt - not sure yet whether to do that light or heavy: I'll decide at the time!!  Light does appeal at the moment, to show the newly laid formation and, as I'm pleased with it and proud of it, I may just very lightly spray with track dirt.

 

That's it for now.  More soon.

 

 

Rod

 

PS  Have had a couple of days of aircraft related activities, just to mix things up a bit.  Son and grandson took me to the Air Museum at Duxford (the final part of my significant birthday celebrations!) and, after an overnight stay in Thetford, plane spotting at Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Coningsby.  2 long but very enjoyable days - and completely different from railway modelling!!  And no, I'm not going to add an airfield to the layout!!

There was RAF West Kirby, but it was an initial training square-bashing station, with no aircraft at all... Until grubbed up and returned to farmland, the concrete roadways of the place were much liked by learner drivers, I remember being driven around the place by my uncle, who did his National Service in the RAF and probably spent some time there.

 

An oddly named place too, situated more or less in the centre of a triangle formed by West Kirby, Meols and Greasby!

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Hroth

[Dmudriver]

Sleepers and rail sides ** now painted. 

 

 

Ballasting to start tomorrow though I've not got much left.  I put an order into Geoscenics yesterday (late) so I'll have to wait for that to come: I'll be able to get some done, however.

 

Watch this space.

 

 

Rod

 

PS  **  Only the sides of the rails you can see!!!

 

 

Edited October 28, 2021 by Dmudriver
To add PS.

[Barnaby]

As Arnie says "I'll be back"........................ to look over the ballasting done tomorrow, looking good.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2021 by Barnaby