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Great Windowledge Railway


Simond

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Hi All,

 

herewith a bit of history of the GWR - that is, the Great Windowledge Railway - the little known "East Quay" branch, Swindon's 7mm outpost in Sandgate, Kent.

 

The layout was built from about 1999 to 2007, during which time I was closely involved with the late Ken Stansfield's lovely "Swanage" layout, for which I did much of the electrical work, including DCC conversion, and point motor installation.  Having running rights at Swanage meant that I needed only a test track for my own locos & stock.  I also wanted to try out my own skills in scenic and other areas of modelling, as, though I had plans for something grander, I didn't have the space, money or time to build it, I thought that I might at least build some of the bits and pieces.  It remains a great shame that Swanage was never documented thoroughly and shown to a wider audience.

 

The baseboards are very light indeed, and were never intended to last as long as they have.  They are made from cheap 3mm plywood - the nasty splintery stuff with a thin veneer of something not unattractive, layered on a thicker middle layer of something similar to, but not obviously made of, wood.  They are stuck together with PVA and triangulated underneath to provide some significant torsional & bending stiffness.  They are supported on the windowledge for about 8 feet in the middle, and on a couple of brackets out from the wall either side.  The "town" end is also supported on the bookshelf.   They have sagged a little, however continue to serve their intended purpose very well.  I think it should be possible to build something similar, but from good quality thin ply, and have a stiff, rigid structure that remains lightweight and satisfactory for a prolonged period, but I'm not sure if it would happily manage the rigours of the exhibition circuit, which, of course, is where "lightweight" comes into its own.  The whole lot is across one end of our lounge, and my modelling workbench is underneath.  Mrs D is, on the whole, quite philosophical about it all, unless I use the lathe whilst she's watching tv...

 

The track is a mix of Peco and handmade using Marcway components.  The track nearest the front of the board is inset in wooden decking for about half its length.  There are a pair of inset rails 140mm gauge for a dockside crane, of which more (much more) later (much later!).  There is a long crossover to the arrivals loop which is joined by a three-way point, which I built to my own Templot design, using copperclad sleepers and parts from Marcway kits - although I didn't use the cast frogs.  There is a Peco leading crossover by the bridge, which is basically a "test reverse curve"  which I get all my locos to cross without binding and derailment.  The 3-way point provides the trailing crossover for the same purpose.  All points are driven by Tortoise motors (which are much cheaper if bought during business trips to the US, as is styrene strip - I used to buy £20 every trip!).  The track plan was eventually drawn out in Templot - jpeg attached.  Templot is fantastic, particularly when I am feeling patient!

 

 post-20369-0-34056400-1388582646.jpg

 

Wiring is a bit unconventional.  All the Tortoises are soldered to ribbon cable which runs back to plug & socket connections to the master board, which is itself a pair of veroboard / stripboard panels, aligned at 90 degrees to one another.  One board has all the motors connected, the other is connected to the control panel via a 25 way D connector lead.  The connections between the two stripboard panels are short lengths of wire soldered to both.  The idea here was to provide a simple and logical way of routing power and switching through the boards, particularly as the track plan is effectively three cross-overs, thus two motors and two frogs to switch on each of three levers.  All track and frog feeds, plus signals and layout lighting are routed through it as well.  It worked, but it was far more hassle than it was worth, and I wouldn't repeat it.  Excel document attached, picture below;

post-20369-0-84307300-1388587378.jpg

 

There are two signals on the layout.  One is a colour light, "up the tunnel" as the starter for what would be the up road out of the quayside.  The other is a SSS ground signal, sadly now rather battered, and broken, but which still operates, just, by means of a relay under the board.  I will keep the signal, and replace the relay with a servo, per Jon Fitness' thread, for my future layout.  You can see the colour light in the first picture - it is a scratchbuild of one of the signals in Adrian Vaughn's book.  When I dismantle the layout, I'll recover it, fit it with a ladder, and use it somewhere on the new layout.

 

 

post-20369-0-76220300-1388583615_thumb.jpg

 

The second photo shows the weighbridge and office, with the coal stage in the background.  The office is a resin kit, apologies, but I can't remember whose - it was a nice kit, comprising inner and outer walls, lots of furniture, etc.  I put interior and exterior lighting into it, but then had to line the roof with silver foil to avoid a rather unusual and spooky "luminous roof" effect!  The figures are largely S&D, the dray is an Andy Duncan kit.  Coal stage scratchbuilt from balsa, water tower & crane is another resin kit.  I didn't like the conical "parachute" top, so planked it in balsa, which remains far too clean!

 

The goods shed is Metcalfe, lit within, and without, and the office detailed with lights, desk, chair, stool, etc.  You can't see any of it unless you take the roof off, so that was an enjoyable diversion, or a complete waste of time and effort, depending on whether your glass is half full, or half empty.

 

post-20369-0-46633200-1388583641_thumb.jpg

 

post-20369-0-42464900-1388583664_thumb.jpg

 

These two photos show the "town" end of the layout - the bridge is made from foam-board, and is clearly strong enough to support the cat, judging by the footprints on the road...  The coal wagon was a particularly nice whitemetal kit, S&D I think, but please don't quote me!  The Austin 7 is a Finecast kit, and is really pretty - but Gordon Gravett's one is rather better done than mine, I suspect.  The terraced house is one of the Metcalfe kits, great shame they stopped making their 7mm stuff, as they were perfect for filling space quickly and cheaply - you could always replace them at a later date, and the opportunities for customisation were manifold - however, the bedrooms in mine remain devoid of the more lurid whitemetal figures available!

 

The warehouse fills space, but it wasn't really modelled on anything real, and it looks like it.  Remember the adage, "model what you see, not what you know..."  Well, I didn't.  Foamboard, and self-printed brick paper, as the bridge.  I use TurboCAD a lot, to draw and then print cutting templates for brass, plastic and wood - with these buildings, I simply printed them with bricks, glued the templates to the foamboard with spray adhesive, and cut round the edges!

 

post-20369-0-28339800-1388583688_thumb.jpg

 

The Scammel is probably just out of time - they were introduced in 1933 or 34, and I am basing my modelling on pre "shirtbutton", so between 1930 and 33.  I just liked it.  It will, eventually, be finished, and will have the same arrangement of lighting that the Foden steam lorry has - one wheel has an insulated bush, and is connected via a multi-resistor (I don't know what the proper name is, but it is a potted thing with typically 8 resistors each connected to a pin, and a common pin at one end - very handy) to LEDs in the headlights, and under the back deck.  The trick is that there are grids and manhole covers set into the roadway, and the truck can sit on them, either way round, as they are supplied by the DCC track supply, hence AC - not polaraised.  I used a similar approach to fit LEDs to the various Peco bufferstops around the layout.  These are a bit crude, and I will eventually replace them, on the new layout, with smaller ones, in proper lamp cases.  There are a couple more road vehicles in various stages of completion.  Stop buying kits, Simon!

 

post-20369-0-07980100-1388583709_thumb.jpg

 

The signal box is actually labelled "Ground Frame" but this would surely be incorrect in the real world - it would have to be a block station to have more than one engine in steam, I'm sure.  This again was a resin kit, and made up, and weathered very nicely.  Has a little brass stove with red light within, and a light in the ceiling - again, needed the foil treatment!.  Looks very cosy, nonetheless!  The corrugated iron sheds are resin too.

 

Usual disclaimers apply regarding any trade names I've mentioned.

 

And that's about it.  I'll post some more photos in due course, and will happily answer any questions.

Happy New Year!

SD

 

wiring matrix.xls

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Hi Simond. Nice atmospheric layout. I particularly like the skewed overbridge as I'm planning on puting in a similar set up on the extreme RH end of my station board. I'm probably goping to put the station building on the bridge, rather than houses.

 

Jon

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Thanks Jon

 

The bridge was an experimental scenic break - and it worked well enough to keep!

 

I drew the whole thing on TurboCAD and printed out a small scale version on light card, cut it out, and tried it. It's a very long time ago, but from memory, it all worked first time. I then drew the bricks, directly onto the cutting plans, which were all printed out, stuck to the foam board and cut out. I made some overlays for the arches, and for the corners, which I did in blue brick. In the end, only the arches were done in blue - the corners were left in maroon. Probably another case of modelling what I knew rather than getting some good photographic evidence!

 

I think your idea of putting the station building on the overbridge would work well - you could have footbridge steps coming down to the platform(s) - Skytrex do them in two widths if you don't fancy doing your own.

 

Best

Simon

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Hi All,

 

herewith a bit of history of the GWR - that is, the Great Windowledge Railway - the little known "East Quay" branch, Swindon's 7mm outpost in Sandgate, Kent.

 

The layout was built from about 1999 to 2007, during which time I was closely involved with the late Ken Stansfield's lovely "Swanage" layout, for which I did much of the electrical work, including DCC conversion, and point motor installation.  Having running rights at Swanage meant that I needed only a test track for my own locos & stock.  I also wanted to try out my own skills in scenic and other areas of modelling, as, though I had plans for something grander, I didn't have the space, money or time to build it, I thought that I might at least build some of the bits and pieces.  It remains a great shame that Swanage was never documented thoroughly and shown to a wider audience.

 

The baseboards are very light indeed, and were never intended to last as long as they have.  They are made from cheap 3mm plywood - the nasty splintery stuff with a thin veneer of something not unattractive, layered on a thicker middle layer of something similar to, but not obviously made of, wood.  They are stuck together with PVA and triangulated underneath to provide some significant torsional & bending stiffness.  They are supported on the windowledge for about 8 feet in the middle, and on a couple of brackets out from the wall either side.  The "town" end is also supported on the bookshelf.   They have sagged a little, however continue to serve their intended purpose very well.  I think it should be possible to build something similar, but from good quality thin ply, and have a stiff, rigid structure that remains lightweight and satisfactory for a prolonged period, but I'm not sure if it would happily manage the rigours of the exhibition circuit, which, of course, is where "lightweight" comes into its own.  The whole lot is across one end of our lounge, and my modelling workbench is underneath.  Mrs D is, on the whole, quite philosophical about it all, unless I use the lathe whilst she's watching tv...

 

The track is a mix of Peco and handmade using Marcway components.  The track nearest the front of the board is inset in wooden decking for about half its length.  There are a pair of inset rails 140mm gauge for a dockside crane, of which more (much more) later (much later!).  There is a long crossover to the arrivals loop which is joined by a three-way point, which I built to my own Templot design, using copperclad sleepers and parts from Marcway kits - although I didn't use the cast frogs.  There is a Peco leading crossover by the bridge, which is basically a "test reverse curve"  which I get all my locos to cross without binding and derailment.  The 3-way point provides the trailing crossover for the same purpose.  All points are driven by Tortoise motors (which are much cheaper if bought during business trips to the US, as is styrene strip - I used to buy £20 every trip!).  The track plan was eventually drawn out in Templot - jpeg attached.  Templot is fantastic, particularly when I am feeling patient!

 

 attachicon.gifGreat Windowledge Railway.jpg

 

Wiring is a bit unconventional.  All the Tortoises are soldered to ribbon cable which runs back to plug & socket connections to the master board, which is itself a pair of veroboard / stripboard panels, aligned at 90 degrees to one another.  One board has all the motors connected, the other is connected to the control panel via a 25 way D connector lead.  The connections between the two stripboard panels are short lengths of wire soldered to both.  The idea here was to provide a simple and logical way of routing power and switching through the boards, particularly as the track plan is effectively three cross-overs, thus two motors and two frogs to switch on each of three levers.  All track and frog feeds, plus signals and layout lighting are routed through it as well.  It worked, but it was far more hassle than it was worth, and I wouldn't repeat it.  Excel document attached, picture below;

attachicon.gifwiring matrix.jpg

 

There are two signals on the layout.  One is a colour light, "up the tunnel" as the starter for what would be the up road out of the quayside.  The other is a SSS ground signal, sadly now rather battered, and broken, but which still operates, just, by means of a relay under the board.  I will keep the signal, and replace the relay with a servo, per Jon Fitness' thread, for my future layout.  You can see the colour light in the first picture - it is a scratchbuild of one of the signals in Adrian Vaughn's book.  When I dismantle the layout, I'll recover it, fit it with a ladder, and use it somewhere on the new layout.

 

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6630.JPG

 

The second photo shows the weighbridge and office, with the coal stage in the background.  The office is a resin kit, apologies, but I can't remember whose - it was a nice kit, comprising inner and outer walls, lots of furniture, etc.  I put interior and exterior lighting into it, but then had to line the roof with silver foil to avoid a rather unusual and spooky "luminous roof" effect!  The figures are largely S&D, the dray is an Andy Duncan kit.  Coal stage scratchbuilt from balsa, water tower & crane is another resin kit.  I didn't like the conical "parachute" top, so planked it in balsa, which remains far too clean!

 

The goods shed is Metcalfe, lit within, and without, and the office detailed with lights, desk, chair, stool, etc.  You can't see any of it unless you take the roof off, so that was an enjoyable diversion, or a complete waste of time and effort, depending on whether your glass is half full, or half empty.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6634.JPG

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6637.JPG

 

These two photos show the "town" end of the layout - the bridge is made from foam-board, and is clearly strong enough to support the cat, judging by the footprints on the road...  The coal wagon was a particularly nice whitemetal kit, S&D I think, but please don't quote me!  The Austin 7 is a Finecast kit, and is really pretty - but Gordon Gravett's one is rather better done than mine, I suspect.  The terraced house is one of the Metcalfe kits, great shame they stopped making their 7mm stuff, as they were perfect for filling space quickly and cheaply - you could always replace them at a later date, and the opportunities for customisation were manifold - however, the bedrooms in mine remain devoid of the more lurid whitemetal figures available!

 

The warehouse fills space, but it wasn't really modelled on anything real, and it looks like it.  Remember the adage, "model what you see, not what you know..."  Well, I didn't.  Foamboard, and self-printed brick paper, as the bridge.  I use TurboCAD a lot, to draw and then print cutting templates for brass, plastic and wood - with these buildings, I simply printed them with bricks, glued the templates to the foamboard with spray adhesive, and cut round the edges!

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6638.JPG

 

The Scammel is probably just out of time - they were introduced in 1933 or 34, and I am basing my modelling on pre "shirtbutton", so between 1930 and 33.  I just liked it.  It will, eventually, be finished, and will have the same arrangement of lighting that the Foden steam lorry has - one wheel has an insulated bush, and is connected via a multi-resistor (I don't know what the proper name is, but it is a potted thing with typically 8 resistors each connected to a pin, and a common pin at one end - very handy) to LEDs in the headlights, and under the back deck.  The trick is that there are grids and manhole covers set into the roadway, and the truck can sit on them, either way round, as they are supplied by the DCC track supply, hence AC - not polaraised.  I used a similar approach to fit LEDs to the various Peco bufferstops around the layout.  These are a bit crude, and I will eventually replace them, on the new layout, with smaller ones, in proper lamp cases.  There are a couple more road vehicles in various stages of completion.  Stop buying kits, Simon!

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6645.JPG

 

The signal box is actually labelled "Ground Frame" but this would surely be incorrect in the real world - it would have to be a block station to have more than one engine in steam, I'm sure.  This again was a resin kit, and made up, and weathered very nicely.  Has a little brass stove with red light within, and a light in the ceiling - again, needed the foil treatment!.  Looks very cosy, nonetheless!  The corrugated iron sheds are resin too.

 

Usual disclaimers apply regarding any trade names I've mentioned.

 

And that's about it.  I'll post some more photos in due course, and will happily answer any questions.

Happy New Year!

SD

That's a nice little diesel loco poking out from the bridge.

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Chris

 

can't think what on earth you're talking about... :scratchhead:

 

It runs beautifully - though if you look carefully, she's sitting on a plastic bag...  to stop the motor getting cooked until I speak to Paul about a chip...

 

best

SD

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Hope you don't mind the comment, but the smoke stains on the bridge are upside down! They should flare out and become more diffuse at the top rather than taper in.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

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Hi Dave

 

thanks for the comment, and, no, don't mind at all!

 

note to self - "LOOK AT THE B*****Y PHOTO".  I think I might have mentioned that issue earlier in the thread.  :)

 

So I went looking, quick dive into Google Images, and could only find one with any obvious staining at all - might be copyright so the link is http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2009/11/09/tunnel-vision-could-see-reopening-of-rail-route-for-walkers-and-cyclists

and this seems to show a broad patch above what would have been the left hand track, but it doesn't go up very far at all.  I couldn't find another showing anything remotely like smoke stains, but then, I guess, it's been 50 years or so, it's probably washed off!

 

best

Simon

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  • RMweb Gold

This looks very nice. As others have said, lots of atmopshere. I especially like the wooden deck/planking between the rails. We don't see that modelled much.

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Mikkel

 

Thanks for your kind comments

 

The planking seemed "expedient" as I wanted to incorporate the crane tracks. I think for Porth Dinllaen, the majority of the inset track will be setts, but I think a wooden section will still be incorporated somehow.

 

For the record, it's all balsa, cut to approx 12" x 3" planks from a big sheet with a purpose made "scalpel blade on a holder" device. Mostly stuck down with evo-stik except where it needs to come up around the point blades for access, weathering is all acrylics. Rail level is about 0.5mm above plank level to allow for track cleaning, and to prevent things like brake gear, water scoops &c catching on it.

 

Best

SD

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  • RMweb Gold

Thanks for that info Simon, that wooden planking is very inspiring, I think. I seem to remember pictures showing something similar outside Paddington. I'll have a look in my books today. Do you happen to know of any other places where wooden insets where used across a larger area like that?

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Mikkel

 

Found a few photos;

 

A Great Western Gallery (Davis & Rivers) pg 68 shows Paddington platform 1 in 1927, planked. This was much more common than I realised - I found at least three other examples including Dovey junction, Blackthorn & Furze Platt Halt (I guess it was quite ordinary for halts - I am surprised by the larger stations) but this doesn't help the question.

 

Page 62 of the same book shows the quays at Fowey, there is a pier connected to the riverside line, by two wagon turntables. The lines appear to form a scissors crossover on the pier!! Can't see if the quayside is planked, the pier appears to be wooden, with inset track - but it's all covered in China clay.

 

There is inset track at Weymouth, but one of the photos I have appear to show Tarmac, but "Thro' the Lens" (Judge) shows something that looks suspiciously like planked infill in photo 165, a 1920's shot. Photo 66 shows Newquay harbour, and conjectures that horses were used for shunting, but the track is not inlaid at all - indeed, on the pier, it is laid directly on the timber deck.

 

Kingswear - can't tell the material, however, a photo in "Scenes from the past 19, Railways in and around Newton Abbot & Torbay" shows that the coal quay was actually a wooden structure, so whilst I'm not certain I conclude that these tracks were inset in wooden decking.

 

"Road vehicles of the GWR" (Kelley) plates 3 & 4 show light horse carts photographed in 1890 on what could be a wooden crossing, or inset track - unfortunately, the background is cropped in both plates, both carts built at Swindon, perhaps photographed there - seems unlikely to me that they would have posed a cart for photography on a crossing, so I guess there must have been some inset track somewhere at Swindon.

 

I guess that wood flooring is ok for people to walk on, and for rubber tyres, but the metal shoes on horses, and metal rims on cart wheels would have ripped up even good hardwoods relatively quickly, and softwoods would surely rot, and given that more skill would be needed to lay a good, well-fitting deck than to get a bunch of navvies to level dirt, and it costs more... so unless weight were an issue, such as on a pier, or noise were a problem (Paddington, perhaps?) I think the use of wooden decks was probably not widely justified. Interestingly, in a more modern context, I was told that the floor covering of Caterpillar factories around the world is end grain wooden setts - certainly was in the two factories I visited.

 

As I rather like the planking, I might have to justify it on the next layout by creation of a suitable pier...

 

Best

SD

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  • RMweb Gold

Hi Simon, thanks very much for this extensive info! 

 

I have had a look through GWR Goods services vol 2. Like you I also like those planked platforms. There is a photo of such platforms at Greenford in 1920.

 

As mentioned, photos show a wooden surface in the yard throat outside Paddington goods, partly as insets and partly in a narrow band alongside the rails - although I think it may be old sleepers rather than planks.  

 

I haven't found any other examples yet, but will post here if I do.

 

PS: Just found the photos in the Kelley book. Well spotted, that does look like inset track.

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Hi Simond. Nice atmospheric layout. I particularly like the skewed overbridge as I'm planning on puting in a similar set up on the extreme RH end of my station board. I'm probably goping to put the station building on the bridge, rather than houses.

 

Jon

Jon

 

whilst browsing RMWeb, I found this

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/76-stations-on-bridges-tyseley/

 

 

might be useful - cracking photos

SD

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Jon

 

whilst browsing RMWeb, I found this

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/76-stations-on-bridges-tyseley/

 

 

might be useful - cracking photos

SD

 

Thanks for that. It's interesting how much weight those steel girders can take!

 

My station buildings will be a little less overbearing than these, I hope. I'm going to locate the station building facing the bridge so that you can only see the front of it as it will be in low relief against the realistic vertical wall of sky forming the scenic break on t'other side of bridge. The assumption is that the steps go down on the other side (unmodelled) but there will be a waiting room of some sort on the modelled side of the bridge. A diagram would be useful so I'll put something together when my scenery plans are drawn up properly.

 

Jon

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  • 6 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Hi Simon, only just seen this. What a great photo, would make a really interesting model!

Mikkel

 

further to our earlier discussion, I found a reference to the Weymouth quayside.  "History of the Great Wester Railway 2: the Thirties" by Peter Semmens, pg 58 " From the passenger's point of view, the most significant change in the decade was the rebuilding of Weymouth Pier in 1932-3...... the old wooden structure had tapered very drastically, permitting only a maximum of four coaches to be berthed in the platform.  The new reinforced concrete pier ... no less than 36 coaches"!

 

best

Simon

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 10 months later...

The dear doctor must have been to visit...

 

post-20369-0-31153100-1445196126.jpg

 

 

the order is in for the double glazing replacement, so it's gotta go.

 

plans are well advanced for Porth Dinllaen's loco shed, as described in the thread.  I'll post a few more bits and pieces as I dismantle the Greater Windowledge Railway.

 

best

Simon

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  • RMweb Gold

Simon,

I cannot give that a 'Like'.  I assume that the new window ledge will only be wide enough for 00?  Life seems to get in the way of model railways quite often.  I am so glad mine has the word 'Grandson' firmly attached to it.  Look forward to the updates on the loco shed.

 

All the best,

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