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Parrot Hall - 80/90?s 25kv NW suburban in OO.


kevpeo
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Kendal show did produce some code 75 fishplates, so the sector plate track work is now all laid and the ‘’spaghetti’’ added below –

 

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Dead simple, with the same two colours of wire as Loch Dour!  As you can see two lengths of copper clad were glued under the baseboard and a feed from each rail added. This is repeated under the sector plate and the two connected with just enough ‘’slack’’ to allow the sector to swing.  According to the test meter it all works and I’ve tried all the tracks using a test lamp with 12v and all roads are live. I may even connect up the DCC kit later and run the first locos! Kev.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks David. To be honest not much has got done, due to Coppell’s impending trip to ‘’Model World’’ Brighton. The fiddle yard is complete, but I did come across a complication. When the sector plate is swung fully over this happens –

 

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Now this isn’t an issue with analogue control, as the road would be dead if not connected. But with DCC the tracks are live all the time, so you can see what might happen!!!

So, to combat this, the two outside head shunts are not live all the time, only when the L/H locating pin is engaged.  A sort of interlock!  As you can see, this is achieved with a couple of links from the track to the pins –

 

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Some ‘’L’’ section brass has also been added to the end of the long copper-clads to prevent the pins falling out.  Kindly donated by OzzyO from his offcuts pile! Kev.

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  • RMweb Gold

A very simple and elegant solution to a potentially expensive problem. The only thing that I would be inclined to do would be to put some insulating sleeving over the handle of the sliding pin on the ones that are used as interlocks, DCC can give you quite a bite if you have sweaty fingers. My cassettes for Foxglove have gaffer tape on the sides as insulation after learning from experience.

 

Andi

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The only thing that I would be inclined to do would be to put some insulating sleeving over the handle of the sliding pin on the ones that are used as interlocks, DCC can give you quite a bite if you have sweaty fingers.

 

Andi

 

I must admit, I hadn't thought of that Andi ! Added to the ''to do'' list. Cheers, kev.

Edited by kevpeo
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  • 3 weeks later...

Not much to report on Parrot Hall due to being ‘’snowed under’’, but some plotting has been afoot with C&L templates –

 

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You may notice a change from the original plan. No surprise there!  What was to be the siding on the right side is now to be one of the routes from the yard. The track on the left will become a disconnected road with the foreground point ‘’plain-lined’’ with some of the rail still in place and some removed, i.e., it can still be accessed from the sector end as a siding. This is due to this track only being accessible from two of the three ‘’freight’’ roads on the sector plate.

So I now know I need one B6 L/H point kit plus a point sleeper kit from C&L at Trainwest.  Does anyone know whether C&L/Exactoscale’s concrete sleepered flat bottomed track is Pandrol clips or cast chairs.  I have e-mailed them, but so far no reply? Thanks, kev.

 

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  • 6 months later...

Blimey, the 10th of March was the last post!  Well 'shock horror', I've actually got something done -

 

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A wagon!  A Cambrian 'Tench', the first wagon built with Parrot Hall in mind.  Well it's a start!  And on top of that astonishment there is this -

 

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The first (almost a) point is also nearly done. I need a lie down! Kev.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Kev,

 

Looks like you are making good progress and like the finer trackwork you are using, what was the concrete sleeper track like ie: pandrol clips or chairs? I like the replacement sleepers too will add to the realism. Tench looks superb too.

 

All the best

Mark

 

Hi Mark. What possible reason could you have for being up after 1am eh?  It's my first go at building 'hand made' track so it's a bit of a learning experience. Although RMweb helps! The concrete sleeper fixings are the old style 'S' shaped Pandrol clips and are very nice, if a little 'flat'. I carved these off on the bullhead track and used C&L chairs. Get some sleep! Kev.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've been having a play after fixing the cork for the 'main lines' down yesterday -

 

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The track has been cut to length after trying the pointwork in slightly different places to find the optimum position. This has led to this being the final layout -

 

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Nothing is fixed down yet as I still have to fit the tie-bars and droppers to the 'working' point and didn't want them in the way!

Kev.

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Is it just me or is there something wrong with the point nearest the camera?  Shouldn't the two outer rails be the plain ones, and the blades be on the inside?  It looks like you have blade / solid / blade / solid?

 

Or is it a point that's been "plainlined"?

Edited by cromptonnut
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Hi Kev,

 

I missed you previous reply until today. Can't complain too much on the sleep front as she is very good so far but we are usually still up at 1am.

 

The trackwork looks very good, that view along the layout has a nice flow to it and the added realism of a rationalised track plan with the plain lined point is excellent.

 

All the best

Mark

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Track laying has commenced -

 

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As I've gone for ''scale'' track (in OO ?) I'm laying it without track pins on the scenic sections. This is being done by weighting the track into position with my trusty class 37 blocks (which have been removed over many a bass-reflex speaker fitting!) and then fixing with a dab of cheap 'pound shop' superglue at the ends of the sleepers. This then seeps under to fix the track, well so far it has! The track will of course be fixed further when ballasting commences.

 

The 'main lines' in the foreground have since been moved out of the way to allow the cork 'trackbed' and two strips of hardwood at the baseboard edge to be sanded and sealed with varnish. I don't like the cork to go right to the baseboard joint, as I prefer something 'solid' to fit a copper clad sleeper to. Kev.

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Well all the track is now stuck down in it's final position so attention has moved to the baseboard joint -

 

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As you can see the last sleeper on each board has been replaced with copperclad strip. These were epoxied down into position before the following day drilling through them to allow for the only track pins on the scenic section of layout!  Even the holes for these were countersunk so the heads disappeared as much as possible. Before I solder the rails to the copperclad I'm adding droppers alongside the rails into the just visible holes from 0.5 wire so they should just about disappear with any luck. Next job wires, and not the overhead ones! Kev.

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