RMweb Premium Ray H Posted December 8, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 8, 2015 Sorry to hear of you problem Brian. Another way to aid joins on curves, especially with short lengths of track is to remove the rail from the sleepers and gently add a curve to it by running it through your fingers "bending" it lightly as you go. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 Sorry to hear of you problem Brian. Another way to aid joins on curves, especially with short lengths of track is to remove the rail from the sleepers and gently add a curve to it by running it through your fingers "bending" it lightly as you go. Thanks Ray - tricky stuff "going round the bend", especially with my tight curves (circa 30 inch radius). I'll remember your advice for another time. Regards, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 The situation has been retrieved and I'm now moving on. The excess ballast in the repaired area was hoovered up this afternoon and the adjoining baseboards under the outer curve painted grey - see below. A piece of track has been prepared (sleepers spaced, curved and sprayed) to go down tomorrow. Getting there - slowly Regards, Brian. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock67B Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Morning Brian, Thought I'd better make clear that my 'like' rating on post #550 was not referring to your cock up (and we've all made plenty of them!) but rather to the way you reacted to the drama and appear to have effected a remedy. Kind regards, Jock. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Bogie Posted December 10, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 10, 2015 (edited) Apologies to Brian for straying off topic but I just have to record that Jock's last post confirms that he is a real gentleman. Edited December 10, 2015 by Bogie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 (edited) Morning Brian, Thought I'd better make clear that my 'like' rating on post #550 was not referring to your cock up (and we've all made plenty of them!) but rather to the way you reacted to the drama and appear to have effected a remedy. Kind regards, Jock. Hi Jock, Yes I know what you mean - people on the dreaded Facebook put "likes" against bad news. But fear not, I certainly didn't take it the wrong way. I just thank you for taking a publicised interest in my ramblings. Best Regards, Brian. Apologies to Brian for straying off topic but I just have to record that Jock's last post confirms that he is a real gentleman. Hi Bogie, Absolutely and totally agree...and no problem with going off topic. Regards, Brian. Edited December 10, 2015 by Brian D 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 (edited) I have managed to get into the shed for a few hours today and progress is steady. The final piece of plain curved track has been cut to length to fit between that part of the curve already laid and the crossover - see below. It all seems to fit so I thought I'd better check clearances again, just to be sure. Just about OK for the Thompson rake on the inner curve passing the Mk1 rake on the outer curve but probably best for the passengers not to stick their heads out of the window! On plan and with these 60ft+ coaches, the bends look severe but from a much lower viewpoint they look fine to me - see below. This is my B17 with the mk1s passing the loco depot and heading towards the station throat taken from the skew overline bridge - now a shot from the usual viewpoint. I've just left the shed having sprayed and sleeper gapped the last curved section. Hopefully this will be laid tomorrow and then I can get on and energise this area. Regards, Brian. Edited December 11, 2015 by Brian D 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock67B Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Morning Brian, More absolutely lovely shots, the B17 is a beauty - keep this up and you'll make me an LNER fan! Joking apart, I'll definitely have to get a B1 at least as the one we had in and out of Hurlford was popular with the drivers, apart from being deemed 'under braked' for unfitted and loaded 16T minerals. Kind regards, Jock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) Morning Brian, More absolutely lovely shots, the B17 is a beauty - keep this up and you'll make me an LNER fan! Joking apart, I'll definitely have to get a B1 at least as the one we had in and out of Hurlford was popular with the drivers, apart from being deemed 'under braked' for unfitted and loaded 16T minerals. Kind regards, Jock. Good Evening Jock, Thanks again for your kind words. Nearly all of my shots on here are 1.3 MP camera phone pics. I generally use ("open with") Microsoft Office 2010 (which has a simple picture editor feature) to reduce them to below the RMWeb 1.0 MP limit but I also use Photoshop Elements on the loco shots (like the B17, Deltic, A3 etc) to crop the pics and lift the shadows, to highlight the underframe/valve gear area which generally gets them below the 1 MP limit. I had a long wait for the B17. Hornby announced it yonks ago and it was severely delayed in arriving from China. Such a lovely Gresley engine though and a sweet runner. I'm tempted to get another with the group standard tender. And now there is a Hornby B12 and Q6 coming and I won't be able to resist either. Didn't some of the B12s get drafted up to Scotland if I remember correctly? Regards, Brian. Edited December 12, 2015 by Brian D Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock67B Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Evening Brian, Yes the B12s migrated North in the early thirties I believe, but stayed up around Aberdeen and Elgin on the old GNSR lines. The B1s took over after a few years though! Not my region but I do have an interest in anything steam, Kind regards, Jock. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 It's official. He's halfway round the bend The twin 90 degree(ish) bends are laid and the outer one is even energised - see below. The inner curve remains un-energised as there are a couple of point motors to install on that section. Hopefully, later in the week, these will be installed and the inner curve energised. Meanwhile, I've been giving some further thought to the branch off the branch so to speak on the other side of the layout. This is the plan previously posted and to which I have been giving some thought. As you can see it really is the shortest branch in the world and also involves a single slip point which I am keen to avoid. So I have come up with another (cunning) plan to address these issues as follows. This gives a much longer run on the branch from the main station but, to emphasise the separation between the double track main line and the single track branch, I have incorporated gradients . I am still keen to incorporate viaducts so this means two, each on a slope, one on the down gradient and one on the up hill gradient . Challenging or what? Utilising 1 in 40 gradients I can generate roughly 3 inches (75mm) difference in level and therefore I reckon I can squeeze in an underline bridge at the entry to the fiddle yard over a road which then crosses the branch on a level crossing. I've looked long and hard at the revised track plan and how it affects the main station but I can't see any draw backs. However, I thought I'd float it here for any comments. Regards, Brian. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ray H Posted December 14, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 14, 2015 Brian My only comment is that you'll have to run "wrong line" so to speak on return from the branch but then I suppose you're almost doing the same thing with arriving freight trains. Have you got enough width in the shed to slide the traverser far enough out for the track nearest the operating well to link up to the running line nearest to the window? I wonder if you have another option now you've introduced gradients? Could the branch be on the outside and climb up - possibly steeper than 1 in 40 to get the required clearance and sit over all or part of the fiddle yard? This may allow you to have a wider fiddle yard and if it was angled so that the buffer stops were pointing towards the door (rather than the end shed wall) you might be able to increase the length as well. Could you use a multi road turntable style fiddle yard with the pivot in the middle so that you might be able rotate it parallel to the windows and clear of the operating well when not in use? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Brian My only comment is that you'll have to run "wrong line" so to speak on return from the branch but then I suppose you're almost doing the same thing with arriving freight trains. Have you got enough width in the shed to slide the traverser far enough out for the track nearest the operating well to link up to the running line nearest to the window? I wonder if you have another option now you've introduced gradients? Could the branch be on the outside and climb up - possibly steeper than 1 in 40 to get the required clearance and sit over all or part of the fiddle yard? This may allow you to have a wider fiddle yard and if it was angled so that the buffer stops were pointing towards the door (rather than the end shed wall) you might be able to increase the length as well. Could you use a multi road turntable style fiddle yard with the pivot in the middle so that you might be able rotate it parallel to the windows and clear of the operating well when not in use? Ray, Yes, I recall we discussed the "wrong line" issue before and I'm happy with that, my argument being that the station limits start at the "bottom of the U", if you know what I mean. This point is also where I intend locating the signal cabin for the main terminus. There may be an overline bridge here as well so I was thinking of modelling an elevated (3 storey?) box on the lines of that at Billingham. I fear that your suggestion of having the branch rising on the outer would necessitate tighter main line curves than I would wish. Please also note that the cross-over at the bottom of the U has been laid and major surgery would be necessary to redesign the branch junction at this point I think in order to access all 4 main terminus platforms from the branch which is possible as currently envisaged. I am trying to restrict the baseboard width both sides of the shed to 2 ft max leaving 2.5 ft (the same width as the shed door) as the operating area. I'm not sure that your suggestion re the fiddle yard will maintain these constraints but I will certainly look into your suggestion further. Thanks again for your constructive comments. Regards, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 The following comment is worth exactly what you paid for it... Operationally, what does the branch give you? It looks to be a very basic run round with one siding as you've drawn it there; will that give you enough operational enjoyment to be worth the hassle of building the slopey viaducts etc? If it will, then great, if not then maybe consider either ditching the branch or having the destination off scene. If you will get your enjoyment from building the scene rather than operating then forget what I said. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock67B Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Evening Brian, I'm not 'expert' enough to comment on the rights and wrongs of the track, but I do think the scenic area with a double viaduct would look superb. You would be letting yourself in for a lot of scratch building though! Good luck with whatever you decide to do, Kind regards, Jock. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 The following comment is worth exactly what you paid for it... Operationally, what does the branch give you? It looks to be a very basic run round with one siding as you've drawn it there; will that give you enough operational enjoyment to be worth the hassle of building the slopey viaducts etc? If it will, then great, if not then maybe consider either ditching the branch or having the destination off scene. If you will get your enjoyment from building the scene rather than operating then forget what I said. Hi Zomboid, Thanks very much for your comments. Operationally, the branch will be served by local passenger shuttle trips and pick up goods trains from the main station - all part of the mix of operations at the main terminus in terms of arrivals and departures. A simple goods shed and coal yard are situated either end of the run round loop so some shunting will require using the single main line and closure of the level crossing. If I have limited time in the shed I could just run trains between the branch and main stations. I'm still undecided on the main station's name but I fancy running in boards saying "Station A - change for Station B" with signage indicating platforms 3 as the branch service departure/arrival platform. I'm looking for as much scenics as possible in the relatively confined space with as many bridges as possible (it's the structural engineer in me I suppose). A lot of this will be challenging but why settle for less? Hopefully I will enjoy both the build and the operational aspects. As they say "there ain't no gain without some pain". Regards, Brian. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Evening Brian, I'm not 'expert' enough to comment on the rights and wrongs of the track, but I do think the scenic area with a double viaduct would look superb. You would be letting yourself in for a lot of scratch building though! Good luck with whatever you decide to do, Kind regards, Jock. Evening Jock, I'm no expert either so that's all right then You've hit the nail on the head about the scenics Jock and as you can see from my reply to Zomboid, because of my career background, I want as many bridges as possible. I also want to model some water, a river, over which these viaducts will span. One thing that concerns me though with the viaducts is that they may not really be feasible being as close together as I've shown them. Perhaps a couple of single span bridges on the staighter track near the fiddle yard. There are still elements of making it up as I go along but I'm enjoying it hugely. Best Regards, Brian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 18, 2015 Author Share Posted December 18, 2015 A quick update follows. Both inner and outer curves on the bend are now fully energised so I've had fun running different trains trains in and out of the 4 main station platform roads and round the curve. I need to buy more points before I can start on the goods arrival road/exchange siding and goods yard and headshunt. So, no more track laying this side of Christmas except perhaps for the two loco spurs south of the turntable. Today, A1 "Great Central" made an appearance (photo taken from the usual view point). I have experimented adding brick paper to the inside of the turntable well but have abandoned the idea - the very tight clearances between the rotating deck and the well sides were further reduced by the thickness of the brick paper and stopped the turntable revolving at one point. The well wall will be painted matt grey instead to represent concrete. I am also building the free Scalescenes "coal office" download - this is basically a brick hut to locate in the loco yard as a sort of mini bothy. Regards, Brian. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 The mini bothy is complete and was plonked in position in the loco yard as shown below... ...and in close up. Not bad for a freebie. The photo background is temporary by the way. I obviously need to merge one panorama into another more effectively in this area. After that, some local services were run. Firstly the L1 and Gresley non-corridor stock. The coaches are Kirk kits built long before Hornby released their (expensive) Gresley (and Thompson) versions. Rivit counters look away now. When building the Kirk kits, I quickly learned that my bogie building skills were wanting so these coaches are fitted with Bachman Thompson bogies with the footboards from the kit added. Secondly, the Metro-Cammel dmu. They are posed together here in adjoining platforms. That's all for now. Regards, Brian. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 There is nothing major going on on the layout at present but some 2 mm x 2 mm Evergreen "L" arrived in the post today - this to replicate check rail in the loco yard, more of which another time. I have also received more grey board in the post, this to build the Scalescenes church which will require 10 A4 sheets of 2 mm thick card and 7 sheets of 1 mm - gulp, could be a slow build. In the meantime... ...also posted here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/106203-2015-christmas-cards-add-yours-here/page-2&do=findComment&comment=2138216 All who follow my ramblings get my special gratitude at this time. I hope you and yours have a great Christmas. Best Regards, Brian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock67B Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Lovely card thank you Brian, Mine is a simple wish from Joanna and I that you and all your family have a wonderful Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for sharing your modelling with us, which I have found entertaining and instructive. Look forward to developments in the coming year, Kind regards, Jock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 Lovely card thank you Brian, Mine is a simple wish from Joanna and I that you and all your family have a wonderful Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for sharing your modelling with us, which I have found entertaining and instructive. Look forward to developments in the coming year, Kind regards, Jock. And all the very best to you and yours Jock. Thanks again for your many kind words and interest. Best festive Regards, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 My first post after Christmas features some new acquisitions kindly provided by Father Christmas :) Firstly, I had to have one of these - a diesel brake tender. I just remember when diesel traction ousted steam (Q6, J27, the odd WD) on the Durham coast colliery workings when English Electric Type 3s (aka class 37) displaced all steam on these trips accompanied by the ubiquitous brake tender. Here is my reconstruction. Firstly taken from the overbridge... ...and from the usual view point. A close up of the dbt. The dbt comes with two headcode lamps at each end which I understand are removable. One of the things I must post up in the shed is the list of 1950s/60s headcodes for both steam and diesel traction. It may well be the case that the headcodes on both the loco and dbt are wrong for a colliery trip - apologies if so but once the layout is fully operational I will endeavour to have locos with crew and the correct headlamp codes fitted. I've always fancied some of these to justify a "mechanical horse" or two in the goods yard so here is my mini-Condor arriving (again, I suspect the headcode is wrong - apologies). A pack of three of Bachmann's finest, slightly weathered. Meanwhile, I have given the turntable well inner its first coat of grey and cut some expanded polystyrene to make up the ground levels adjacent to platform one and the station building...work in progress. Regards, Brian. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Nice additions Brian, very nice indeed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Nice additions Brian, very nice indeed. Thanks Andy, The Diesel Brake Tender is a Dapol special for Hornby Magazine. It has a nice bit of weight to it so no problem pushing it through point work. Regards, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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