The Furness Valley Railroad

[chaz]

Has the engine shed got (or be modified to have) a through line?

 

You could then add a second entry into the turntable from there.

 

 

Dave

 

 

The engine house is a laser-cut kit from Kitwood Hill Models. It is very flexible and can be made up with through roads if required. My current thoughts are that the two lines into the shed are fed from the turntable but my first priority is to complete the oval so that running is restored! Planning of the terminal and the colliery junction was only done to check that it will in fact work in the available space, although whether there is a connection to the turntable from the colliery branch is a decision I ought to take before the track for that route is laid. 

 

Before I do anything to the terminal (and that includes the turntable and shed) I will finish the west end of Stoke's Ferry and do the scenic work for the rock cutting. It does occur to me that the hole for the turntable well should be cut before any track is laid across that baseboard - I lay the track straight over baseboard joins.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

I now think I can see how the passenger traffic might be operated on the colliery branch. A doodlebug comes down from colliery, arrives oh the track behind the turntable and stops to set down the passengers. It then pulls forward clear of the turnout of a spur that leads to the turntable. It can then reverse onto the turntable and be turned. Reversing back off onto the colliery line it can the pick up before setting off back up the valley. By this means the colliery passenger service doesn't need to work into the terminal.

 

Chaz

[Night Train]

Simon's turntable kits are really good. I am sure you will be happy with it.

[chaz]

Here's a snap showing how the extra connection to the turntable from the colliery branch fits in.

 

 

And this photo' shows where I think the engine house will go. All the curves in this arrangement are to 24" radius. That white pillar is part of the structure of the roof. I have left enough room between it and the adjacent track to be able to encase the bottom part of it in a building.

 

 

The piece of card with the red edge represents the footprint (including any roof overhang) of the engine house. The black lines are the track centre lines. The option exists to have doors at both ends so that a small engine yard could be put behind the shed with the tracks extended by the length of a loco - maybe one track could have an old, very rusty, abandoned loco - I have a couple of Bachmann moguls one of which could do the job.

 

Chaz

Edited July 24, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

Simon's turntable kits are really good. I am sure you will be happy with it.

 

 

Have you built one? Any chance of a photo or two?

 

Chaz

[Night Train]

Not yet. I have a custom item "in the works".

 

I have seen a couple though and they are excellent and well worth the reasonable cost.

[Loconuts]

Don't forget you will have to add some extra roads for Loco servicing containing Coaling facilities, Sanding tower and Water tank. Also a ash pit with facilities to store cars on to take it away plus if your you are coaling from Gondolas they need tracks. That's two extra tracks. You have extra things like Lub store and Mess facilities. Also a road to store the Cabooses on.

 

All the extra roads can be taken off the Turntable. Don't forget the inspection pits in the engine house.

 

John

[chaz]

Don't forget you will have to add some extra roads for Loco servicing containing Coaling facilities, Sanding tower and Water tank. Also a ash pit with facilities to store cars on to take it away plus if your you are coaling from Gondolas they need tracks. That's two extra tracks. You have extra things like Lub store and Mess facilities. Also a road to store the Cabooses on.

 

All the extra roads can be taken off the Turntable. Don't forget the inspection pits in the engine house.

 

John

 

 

Well now, all decisions on the loco servicing area are some way off. I cut the hole for the turntable this morning and moved a support cross beam (to avoid having to cut a section out of its top), so the die is cast and there will be no wye. I looked again at it yesterday and the curve to the colliery branch would have had to be really tight. Everything is eased by dropping the wye and all of the curves can be 24 inch radius.

 

My next task is to lay the colliery branch and make and lay the two LH turnouts off it. This will restore the continuous oval and running will be possible again. Then I need to move back down the line eastwards towards Stoke's Ferry as there is to be a rock cutting as a scenic feature and a view blocker between the two stations which, as always, are much too close together.

 

Chaz

Edited July 26, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

This suggestion from a Model Railroader discussion site. Don't know of a prototype

 

Curved Wye.png

 

Rgds Andrew

 

 

I just looked it up to check - this arrangement was used at Grantham (UK) to replace two turntables. There was also a turning triangle at Doncaster shed but it didn't have the diamond crossing that they had to use at Grantham because of limited space. 

 

Chaz

Edited July 28, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

Progress

 

 

Photo taken this morning. Ties are glued in place on the new alignment which passes behind the turntable. The mark of the original alignment which was temporarily laid with Peco OO can be seen. In the foreground is a remaining length of Peco which leads out of the staging and the adapter plate which joins the code 100 of the Peco to the code 82 of the spiked track. The Peco and the adapter will be hidden behind something scenic.

 

 

This evening I have a yard of rail on the inside of the curve spiked down and have just started on the outside rail.

 

Chaz

Edited July 28, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

Progress

 

The mine branch track is spiked and awaits ballasting. 

 

 

The slight wiggle in the track just before it comes level with the hole for the turntable was unintentional - entirely the result of my not being able to sight along this stretch - the photo was taken at arm’s length with the camera held just under the sloping ceiling. From the usual operating position the deviation is not so apparent.

 

 

A view from the other direction with the curves to the terminal station (name pending!) and the turntable sketched in with card templates.

 

 

My next job is to replace the two paper switch templates with the jig built switches themselves. Then the Tortoises, their DCC decoder and the wiring will need to be installed - at that point running round the oval will be restored. 

 

Chaz

Edited July 28, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

More track progress

 

The switches leading to the coal mine branch are now laid. 

 

 

The line from Stoke’s Ferry leads in from the right. The first switch will be the line leading to the terminal station (I really must give the town a name) with the ties laid for most of the curve. The second switch will connect to the turntable. The mine branch continues and curves round to the staging (fiddle yard).

 

 

A view from the other direction. The ghost of the old temporary Peco track oval is visible. The area inside that semi-circular curve will probably have some of the town in it - I will make up some quick place-holder buildings later (probably much later!). A grade crossing may take a road into that far corner (a nice reason for some whistle action - long, long, short, long!).

 

 

A near vertical view of the two switches painted and fixed in place. I have extended the switch stand timbers with the piece cut off from the other side. In due course a couple of EDM harp stands will be fitted.

 

When I lay a length of plain rail I solder a rail-joiner to one end of it with a dropper wire soldered to its underside.The switches have five dropper wires - one for each of the four rails at the heel end of the switch and one for the crossing (frog). This approach, with every rail given its own wire, means that the rail joiners are not relied on for electrical connection - they are there to maintain the alignment.

 

Before trains can run over the restored oval using the mine branch as a temporary main line I need to fit the two Tortoises to the switches and wire everything up.

 

Chaz

Edited August 5, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

I hate fitting Tortoises. It's a job that can only be done by putting in the fixing screws into the baseboard top from underneath.

 

 

The rectangle of MDF fixed to the back of the baseboard allows me to do all the wiring, today's job :-( , much more easily. Seated on a cushion on the floor the tags etc will be at eye level.

 

Chaz

 

 

[chaz]

Well, I spent four hours today on the wiring but it proved a bigger job than I had anticipated (how unusual   ) so it will carry on into tomorrow. I won't bother posting again until it's done when I will post photos of the first train over the new metals.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

I spent a ridiculous length of time searching for my box of crocodile hookup leads this evening - never did find them. In the end I improvised some temporary connections to get the bus feeds to the crossing switch (in the Tortoises) the right way round. Finished the wiring under Coal Mine Junction at about 21:15 - too late to run a test train. 

 

Still here's a snap...

 

 

From L to R

 

tagstrip with 12V DC (two red wires) for the Tortoises and the DCC (brown and blue) bus

 

double row tagstrip

top row for orange droppers to brown bus

bottom row for green droppers to blue bus

 

tagstrip from Tortoise #10 - wiring from motor to tagstrip done on the bench before installing

 

 

tagstrip from Tortoise #9

 

MERG accessory decoder - programmed to addresses 9 -12 

channels 11 & 12 will be wired later when the trackwork progresses

 

The two white wires (both with traces of rust coloured paint from when I sprayed the switches) are the droppers from the crossings (frogs if you must!)

 

Big tidy up tomorrow and then some test runs.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

I have decided that the town with the terminal station should be called "Dixon" (Sue's maiden name). There are three real Dixons in the USA, joined now by the imaginary Dixon PA.

Of course this isn't set in stone and I may change my mind as I did with Stoke's Ferry which was originally going to be Benton or Bentonville.

 

WTS

 

Chaz

[Loconuts]

Did you see the turntable in the NG&SGSL this issue?

[BG John]

I have decided that the town with the terminal station should be called "Dixon" (Sue's maiden name). There are three real Dixons in the USA, joined now by the imaginary Dixon PA.

Of course this isn't set in stone and I may change my mind as I did with Stoke's Ferry which was originally going to be Benton or Bentonville.

 

WTS

 

Chaz

Founded by ancestors of Dock Green's famous policeman, who emigrated?

[N15class]

I keep getting told I should go DCC it's only 2 wires, and they say strange things when I say it's just as many as DC. Glad to see you've only got a couple of wires under there.

[chaz]

I keep getting told I should go DCC it's only 2 wires, and they say strange things when I say it's just as many as DC. Glad to see you've only got a couple of wires under there.

 

 

Peter, there are lots of good reasons for going DCC, just as there are lots of good reasons for using DC but neither will run with just two wires unless you have the simplest of track plans. The "two wires" thing was always misleading. What the FVRR doesn't have is any control panels, but the wires that would have gone to switches now go to accessory decoders.

 

Just as many as DC? You may be wrong there - DCC may need more wiring than DC, I have to put wires in to carry the bus and the Tortoise power to the accessory decoders (and we mustn't forget the extra wiring that might be needed inside each loco) - but if you want to eliminate wiring then opt for battery power and radio control.

 

Chaz

Founded by ancestors of Dock Green's famous policeman, who emigrated?

 

Oh, you sussed it!

[chaz]

Did you see the turntable in the NG&SGSL this issue?

 

Yes I did. I take the mag' and think that one of its great strengths is the quality of the drawings that it features.

 

Chaz

[BG John]

but if you want to eliminate wiring then opt for battery power and radio control.

 

 

 

Oh, you sussed it!

You should see my workbench at the moment! I'm wiring up my test radio control system, and there's plenty of wires, but in a very small space, and requiring a magnifier to see what I'm doing. All done in comfort sitting on a chair though, with hopefully just two wires round most of the layout to supply DC power for point servos, rather than have batteries all over the place.

 

Evening All!

[chaz]

You should see my workbench at the moment! I'm wiring up my test radio control system, and there's plenty of wires, but in a very small space, and requiring a magnifier to see what I'm doing. All done in comfort sitting on a chair though, with hopefully just two wires round most of the layout to supply DC power for point servos, rather than have batteries all over the place.

 

Evening All!

 

 

Live steam or clockwork then to avoid wires. Hang on, what's so terrible about wires anyway?

[BG John]

Live steam or clockwork then to avoid wires. Hang on, what's so terrible about wires anyway?

Live steam is even more challenging, and I'd want radio control if I couldn't sit on it! Can you get decent clockwork mechanisms? Anyway, I enjoy wiring the electronics more than wiring layouts!

[81A Oldoak]

Live steam or clockwork then to avoid wires. Hang on, what's so terrible about wires anyway?

"What's so terrible about wires?" Answer: dirty track and wheels, fragile current collectors, unnecessarily complicated chassis, stay-alive units, polarity switching on points etc etc. I won't go as far as to say, yet, that DCC will end up like VHS and CDs, but true wireless control via RC must be the real goal and is surely only a matter of time as we crack the problem of miniaturisation of receivers and batteries. I have some Tam Valley Depot equipment to try in a loco, but I'm held up only by sourcing suitable batteries that don't threaten to explode or spontaneously combust.

 

Regards,

 

Chris