Going Dutch

[Brian Harrap]

My inlaid track parts are offered for experimentation if desired. Not quite like having Brian Harrap locally on the team, but OTOH these can be simply dropped in the post to even as far away places as Scotland.

 

Andy

Give the Reichert stuff a try, could save a lot of faffing about using my method, Brian

[Jon Gwinnett]

I'll order a set to try out. Andy, which postage opinion do I need? Is it the yard length of track one?

[jonhall]

However, until now, one key element was missing, the ubiquitous MaK 6400/6500. There have been kits, and various other MaK locos renumbered to look like the 64s, but the only vaguely accurate model ws fromMarklin/Trix and that suffered from hopelessly under scale running gear, particularly the bogies.

 

 

 

Jon, What are the difference between the NS 64 and for instance the Lilliput MaK that they have done in NS livery. I bought one of the latter relatively cheap yesterday, but its going to need a repaint and new handrails.

 

thanks,

Jon

[Jon Gwinnett]

Hi Jon,

 

The liliput ones are of a shorter prototype, really one of the industrial series. I'm not sure if they represent any precise prototype - unlike the Rocky Rails and Piko examples (the Piko one appears in inappropriate liveries, but is a real loco.)

 

My best guess for the Liliput is a German industrial.

[shortliner]

Jon - I don't know if these are worth a look - they are for PECO turnouts etc, but might be for setrack http://www.shapeways.com/shops/recreation21 Look at "Track system" and below

Edited October 13, 2014 by shortliner

[yorkie_pudd]

Jon have you got any further in the construction stakes and final track design ?

[Jon Gwinnett]

I was dreading that question! No, this has sat without progress, partly through my failure to pick a final design I like, and partly because I have been distracted by other ideas, (North & west route in 4mm, East Anglian blue diesels in EM, Zillertalbahn in HOe etc!) it may well get resurrected but I need a spark of inspiration for a final design which is currently lacking.

[yorkie_pudd]

I can see where your coming from and I wouldn't`t say there was anything to dread or call it a failure as said other stuff has come up, but the important thing is you realize what you need out of it and haven't got the right design yet.  its better to leave it then jump in to build it then realize it don't work and months later rip it up to start again. as with many layout Ive read about the best comes out with slower planning till you know what you fully want and it will run how you had in the original thoughts. mind you there is always the oh I could fit that in there factor - I'm sure the right plan will pop up soon.

[Jon Gwinnett]

Al (Barry Ten) may have inadvertently kick started my mojo. He mentioned in another thread doing a Dutch version of Cogirep, and the little lightbulb in my head went on. A mirror image of Cogirep transposed to my Dutch dockside would work well. The 4ft by 18" approximate dimensions would fit across the back seat of the car (just, I've tried a four foot long board tonight to be sure). I think Al extended the Fiddle yard on Cogirep, and the boot of the car would allow for another three feet of Fiddle yard. At present I'm thinking of making the front of that board a scenic continuation of the quayside, backed by a pair of Walthers Bud's trucking kits bashed into one long building, with a single line (the equivalent of the front left line on Cogirep) running between it and the dockside. Alternatively, it could a coal loader, although I'm undecided whether to have that along the back road instead.

[Jon Gwinnett]

One possible treatment showing what I have in mind - coal loader on dockside as view block for fiddle yard:

 

VR-203-1+TXL-kolen_Awhv_27052013-2 by Dennis Koster, on Flickr

 

The loader itself could be a simpler design, like this:

 

DBS 6520 at Amsterdam Westhavens, March 6, 2011 by cklx, on Flickr

Edited October 20, 2014 by Jon Gwinnett

[yorkie_pudd]

great pictures there and a nice simple loader system as you say for on/off scene application. good to hear mojo was helped back and keep the bulb burning brightly.

[Jon Gwinnett]

I've tried mocking up "son of Cogirep". For orientation, the fiddle yard board would be to the right. Still undecided if the coal loader should be on the rear road on this board, or on the extension of the bottom right line in front of the fiddle yard. The other main industry would be a pair of Bud's trucking kits kitbashed together to give one long industrial unit, for receiving incognito shipmnets (possibly a steel stockholder, or white goods distribution centre, or something). The left hand two roads would give scope for a longer run round if a further board could be added in future.

 

Possible new Dutch layout design, main board. by jongwinnett, on Flickri

 

Thoughts and suggestions welcome.

[doctor quinn]

Hi Jon,

Like the track layout, would the coal loader be better on the front right track so that you could push empties through into the fiddle yard and drop loads into the hoppers then pull the loaded train out?

 

Nick

Edited October 25, 2014 by doctor quinn

[Jon Gwinnett]

That's got me thinking! I had thought to physically model the coal loader as a view blocker in front of the fiddle yard, but if it was "assumed" then I could work loads/empties as you suggest. My thought had been to contrive some sort of chute/hopper arrangement through the backscene so that the loader "worked", but if that could be hidden it might be easier.

[Jon Gwinnett]

Local big orange shed had some surprisingly decent 5.5mm nominal ply in stock, and have cut it into 400mm strips for me, two 1200 long for the main board, four 900mm for two extension/fiddle yard boards, the off cuts will also allow for a 335mm extension for use with the main board at home, enabling runaround at both ends.

 

My thoughts so far are to form each board from a giant L girder formed by two sheets of 400mm ply, giving an integral backscene, with the track bed raised up on 50mm Knauf foam boards. These will give rigidity without the need for cross bracing, and raise the track to enable a dockside feel. At the moment these might stay at 300 mm deep, leaving a lip to be sceniced as the water in the dock.

 

Still to be resolved before construction begins-

 

How to join boards (split pins, sprung latches, clamps?)

Do I need a subframe to enable underboard wiring, or do I bury it in the foam board.

Legs - do I attempt to incorporate integral sockets at the rear of each board.

It's probable that I will drill lightening/access holes in the bottom board. Do I do these cookie cutter or one single picture frame style?

I'd like to keep the line of the backscene at the rear of each board - how then do I access the staging tracks?

 

Electrical connections between boards can be by way of banana plugs on the bus wires.

 

What else do I need to consider? And what have I completely forgotten?

[shortliner]

Jon - FWIW I use M6 bolts and Tee-nuts with washers to join boards, and feed the power through them (Wire soldered to washer on one side, and soldered to tee-nut on the other, 2 per board) means you don't leave the banana plug wires at home

[Jon Gwinnett]

Holy thread resurrection Batman!

 

 

Six years have passed in the blink of an eye, and very poignant to see the last post from dear Jack, sadly missed as he is.

 

 

In that time, I have dabbled in three different gauges, four scales, and achieved, mostly, naff all. All the Dutch/Continental stock was disposed of, but I never quite lost the urge. Then last summer we went to Amsterdam for a city break, my first time in the county since childhood, and that reignited a spark. Still nothing much happened until we went into lockdown.

 

 

Like many others, I used lockdown as an excuse to being a new project, Natland Wharf:

 

Untitled by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr

 

This was thrown together from redundant track and odds and ends from the loft. I was surprisingly pleased with it and it made me think, again, about what I might fit in my available space, which has coalesced into a space 1.5m long and approximately 300mm wide

 

 

Although I don’t have any more leisure time in lockdown (indeed, am working as hard if not harder than before) I do have the money I’m saving by not commuting, so I decide to treat myself to some stock, spurred by the discovery of the Piko sound fitted 363, various examples of which have lurked around Amsterdam Westhaven yard for years.

 

 

Another key inspiration was the discovery of the “Minimax” module format. Put the two together and this is the result:

 

 

Untitled by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr

 

Untitled by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr

 

 

Its early days yet, and I have some pre-cut timber on order to make this first board up. There will be a small extension on the right-hand end to complete the run round loop and act as a mini “off-stage” area.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Jon Gwinnett
Spelling

[Jon Gwinnett]

Made a bit of progress on the warehouse today:

 

Modified Wills Modern building. Walls increased in height by 1 panel and the beginning of interior framing, partly because the interior will be visible and partly because it adds strength and rigidity to the otherwise fairly floppy walls! #1/87 #HOGauge by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr

 

Modified Wills Modern building. Walls increased in height by 1 panel and the beginning of interior framing, partly because the interior will be visible and partly because it adds strength and rigidity to the otherwise fairly floppy walls! #1/87 #HOGauge by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr

[Jon Gwinnett]

The Good:

A two steps forward, one back, day yesterday. The good - most of the track I needed turned up, and I got the base for the warehouse made (out of a piece of 3.6mm ply and a sheet of 20 thou black plastikard, joined using Pritt Power Glue):

 

Crossings by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr

 

However, that was as far as the good things went.

 

The Bad:

Not all the track arrived, and I am still waiting for two lengths of concrete sleeper flexi to finish off roughing out the track.

I was determined to avoid the impression of sleepered track through the level crossing – and had a plan to use 2mm MDF in place of the sleeper base – the code 100 track is more than strong enough to retain its gauge over that short distance, but what I hadn’t counted on/had forgotten to take into account, was that the sleeper base on the code 100 track is very slightly less deep than on code 75, so whereas a piece of 2mm MDF was a neat fit under code 75, when glued to the code 100 it raised the track slightly at the crossing, causing a small but noticeable hump.

 

The Ugly:

Being code 100, it was fortunately strong enough for me to rip off the mdf, and then spend 2 hours chiselling out the mix of superglue and hardener that had filleted the joins. If we weren’t still in lockdown in Scotland would I have bothered? Probably not, I’d have probably cursed my stupidity and gone and bought a couple of lengths of replacement track today, but we are in lockdown, so I persevered.

 

I will redo the crossings using 60 thou plastikard and less aggressive glue, before adding the Wills Modern cosmetic parts.

 

The Future’s Looking Bright:

The timber for the real baseboard is due to arrive today, as well as the two lengths of track. This will enable the temporary shelf to be replaced, and I can then hopefully make progress.

The eagle eyed will be wondering why I have switched from Code 75 to Code 100 – my ham-fisted efforts with the level crossing probably emphasise my lack of finesse, and the attraction of the insulfrog simple wiring appeals, so I’m giving the Code 100 a try and will see if I can disguise, or at least minimise, its visual impact, as shown well in this post by @Neils WRX :
 

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Jon Gwinnett
Typos

[Jon Gwinnett]

Although the concrete track arrived, sadly the timber for the board did not, delayed in transit according to TNT. So apart from adding the last pieces of track to the temporary board, all I achieved today was cutting the under track pieces for the level crossing.

[Neils WRX]

Thanks for the positive comments on my track. Just read your thread from the start. Your layout could also do with a 600 “Gronk”, not sure if a Roco do a sound fitted version.

 

Like you I to have got rid of most of my Dutch stock over the years, the Lilliput 6400 was too short, I did have a 2200 and 2400 as well.

 

Look forward to following this thread with interest.

 

Stay safe,

 

Neil

 

 

[Jon Gwinnett]

Hi Neil,

 

Yes, a "bakkie" is pretty much essential, although when I first started thinking of the layout they had disappeared from the Amsterdam scene.

 

However, in the intervening period at least two have appeared - I’m not clear if they were covering for periods when the 363s were unavailable or simply different contracts, anyway, although I don’t have a photo of it in Amsterdam, a model of this handsome beast has found its way into my collection - unfortunately not yet sound or dcc fitted and I need to figure out how I will squeeze sound into the tiny cab, which is pretty much the only available location

 

Dieselloc Railpro 601 rangerend te Stapelplaats Crailoo nabij Hilversum. by Dicky.1952, on Flickr

[Neils WRX]

3 hours ago, Jon Gwinnett said:

Hi Neil,

 

Yes, a "bakkie" is pretty much essential, although when I first started thinking of the layout they had disappeared from the Amsterdam scene.

 

However, in the intervening period at least two have appeared - I’m not clear if they were covering for periods when the 363s were unavailable or simply different contracts, anyway, although I don’t have a photo of it in Amsterdam, a model of this handsome beast has found its way into my collection - unfortunately not yet sound or dcc fitted and I need to figure out how I will squeeze sound into the tiny cab, which is pretty much the only available location

 

Dieselloc Railpro 601 rangerend te Stapelplaats Crailoo nabij Hilversum. by Dicky.1952, on Flickr

 

Excellent !!! According to the internet people seem to use a Zimo decoder with a UK class 08 sound file.

 

Looking forward to watching progress.

 

Stay Safe,

 

Neil

[Jon Gwinnett]

The timber (9mm birch ply) for the baseboards arrived from woodshopdirect (no connection other than a satisfied customer), very neatly packaged and accurately cut to size, so that even with my limited woodworking skills a neat box frame was soon assembled:

 

New baseboard by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr

 

Unfortunately it didn't stay that tidy for long...

 

Or is it just an expensive shelf by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr

 

Last night I laid the first track, on the short run-round extension piece:

 

First track down on the run-round extension by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr

[Jon Gwinnett]

Since those photos were taken I’ve put down the trackbed (Diall 2.2mm extruded polystyrene underlay) with its handy 1cm square printed grid and pinned down the track:

 

Track laying begins by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr
 

And the final result by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr