Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[5BarVT]

No.39 is my favourite, a most useful word.  I assume exported from Glasgow/West of Scotland.

I hope youse all appreciate it.

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

Yesterday and today I made a start on another tidying-up job, namely the front fences at Paddington and Penzance.

 

First I fixed all the remaining loose joists in place at Paddington and Penzance, so that the baseboard is now well supported throughout the loops. That went well.

 

The next bit didn't go so well. I went to buy some 3mm MDF from Bunnings, with the intention of having it cut into 150mm strips. The nice man said that he couldn't cut strips narrower than 300mm, as his machine wouldn't support them firmly enough to ensure that the width stayed constant. I didn't fancy spoiling a whole 8 x 4 sheet, so instead I bought several 4 x 2 sheets, which I will have to cut into strips myself. A shame, as I was hoping to save time and also get nice clean accurate cuts. Never mind.

 

The next step was to cut all the joists back flush with the baseboard edge, after which I cut some short lengths of 42mm x 19mm pine and screwed them under the ends of the joists. These will act as cleats, so that when I fix the fences to the layout I won't have to screw into the end grain of the joists. They will also support the joints between sections of the fences.

 

 

Incidentally, I have tidied up the trains in the loops ready for the next train in the sequence, which is no 79 (the 1415 SX St Blazey - Wheal Veronica class K china-clay empties).

 

When I have cut and fitted the strips, the bottom edge will be level with the bottom of the L-girders which the top edge will project approximately 10mm above rail level, This will protect the stock and at the same time leave the solebars visible so that when I fit the coloured dots for the wagon routing system the operators will be able to see them easily.

 

When I fit the fences, I will also have to move the switches and EB1 circuit breakers for the loop point motor groups, as they would otherwise be a) inaccessible and b) invisible. I will mount the switches on the fences themselves and I will also add external LEDs to the EB1s on the fences near their associated switches. In readiness for this I screwed some extra terminal blocks under four of the joists.

Edited July 18, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[St Enodoc]

In other news, I placed the order with Harold at Modratec for the St Enodoc lever frame today. Only (only!) 30 levers this time.

[Stubby47]

Rather than 3mm ply, have/had you considered perspex?

[Stubby47]

Rather than 3mm ply, have/had you considered perspex?

[Stubby47]

Rather than 3mm ply, have/had you considered perspex, at least in those places where needed?

[Stubby47]

Seriously, have you?

[St Enodoc]

On 26/01/2020 at 12:38, St Enodoc said:

Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese New Year and we celebrated with some traditional Singaporean food cooked by Veronica from her mother's recipes. Last night was also Burns' Night, so I toasted the Immortal Memory with a glass of Highland Park, for no better reason that it was at the front of the shelf and easily accessible.

 

Today is Australia Day, and for those who are not so familiar with life in this wide brown land I can do no better than refer you to Richard Glover's article in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald (other newspapers are available...):

 

https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/bunnings-snags-and-the-meaning-of-girt-42-ways-to-tell-if-you-re-australian-20200121-p53tam.html

So you did well with the 42 ways?

 

Try this:

 

 

[St Enodoc]

6 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Seriously, have you?

You're having the same trouble as I am with multiple posts!

 

I won't need perspex round the hidden areas but I'm certainly considering it for some key areas on the scenic area, for example where signals will be close to the edge of the baseboard or where the track is elevated on an embankment.

[Stubby47]

I only thought you could have taller walls but still be able to see the solebars, and/or see the LEDS.

[St Enodoc]

56 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

I only thought you could have taller walls but still be able to see the solebars, and/or see the LEDS.

Ah, I see what you mean.

 

If the fences were any higher they might get in the way of reaching across and/or remarshalling stock. I think they will be OK but if not I can always add a perspex extension.

 

The LEDs will be mounted within the fences from behind and the fences will hide all the cr@p under the baseboards from view. Eventually there might be drapes too but that's a long way off.

[Barry O]

Are there things I can do when we come back to you..if I survive the qidlife of Wa??

Baz

[St Enodoc]

13 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Are there things I can do when we come back to you..if I survive the qidlife of Wa??

Baz

Well, how about:

 

- installing all the uncouplers

- ballasting

- building the signals

- weathering all the stock

 

That should take you the best part of two of the three days you're here...

 

Seriously, probably not much but I certainly appreciate the thought.

 

Enjoy the wine tour!

[Barry O]

A bit of ballasting or weathering could be appropriate..altnough you do need so e u couplers...

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

44 minutes ago, Barry O said:

A bit of ballasting or weathering could be appropriate..altnough you do need so e u couplers...

 

Baz

I've got enough for Porthmellyn Road, recovered from the old St Enodoc layout fiddle yard. Like everything else, "all I've got to do" is install them...

[Jesse Sim]

5 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

So you did well with the 42 ways?

 

Try this:

 

 

10/10 seems imma true blue 

[St Enodoc]

I've made a start on the front fences for Paddington and Penzance.

 

Last week I modified the wiring to the point group switches and circuit breakers so that they can be mounted on the straight parts of the fences in locations corresponding to the group of points they supply.

 

Here's the set-up at Paddington Up end:

 

I've used green LEDs for this rather than the red on the EB1s themselves, as to me green indicates a normal condition whereas red indicates a fault.

 

Next I cut some strips from the MDF I bought last week. It wasn't as difficult to do this and get the edges straight as I had expected. I didn't bother with the jigsaw but used a hand saw, making gentle cuts at a shallow angle. A bonus was that I got four strips out of each panel - although the panels are nominally 600mm wide they are in fact slightly more, so the wastage from the saw cuts worked out just right.

 

I started at Penzance Up end, where there is a step in the baseboards at the end of the Chapel Sidings.  There are two sets of screws - the upper ones screwing into the edge of the plywood (tut, tut) and the lower, longer, ones screwing into the cleats. I added more short screws to hold the fences firmly against the baseboard edge. There was a bit of trial and error involved in doing the first strip, largely to my misreading the rule and square, and you can see some of the results of the errors here. No matter - they can be filled later.

 

I worked along the straight edge at Paddington with another two strips, each of which had to be shortened so that the joints coincided with the joists and cleats. The right-most of these strips holds the Penzance Down end point supply switch and LED.

 

Finally for today I fitted the fourth strip to the front of the Chapel Sidings. The MDF is just forced into the curve and the screws hold it in place. This is as far as I can go at this end until I start the timber work for the branch.

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[Barry O]

Very neat!

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

23 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Very neat!

 

Baz

Thanks Baz. I'm pleased with the way the fence hides the joists, wiring, motors, etc. from view. I think that eventually I'll hang some drapes from the L-girders to hide the shelves, boxes and trolleys as well.

[Stubby47]

Can you still get all the boxes out from under the boards?

 

The one marked 'Pictures', for example, seems to be taller than the bottom edge of the fascia. 

[Clive Mortimore]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Very neat!

 

Baz

I agree with Mr O

 

Trouble is some people are neat and tidy like UDJ and some are like me, if the wires hang down and it works why bother.

[DougN]

I have a serious issue with our local bunnings now... the sausages only come in a piece of bread rather than a bun! 

 

The other one was there is a second verse to advance Australia fair...  this is supposed to be mumbled through as no one is to know the words! Jesse can you confirm this!

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Stubby47 said:

Can you still get all the boxes out from under the boards?

 

The one marked 'Pictures', for example, seems to be taller than the bottom edge of the fascia. 

Stu, the bottom of the fence is level with the bottom of the L-girders. The angle of the photo is a bit deceptive in that regard. In theory there is about 100mm clearance to the top of the boxes, although some are over-full and I have to press the flaps down when I pull them out or push them in. When I get some of the branch baseboards built I'll be able to rearrange the trolleys and shelves to make room for more.

[St Enodoc]

47 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I agree with Mr O

 

Trouble is some people are neat and tidy like UDJ and some are like me, if the wires hang down and it works why bother.

Because when (not if) it stops working it gives me a fighting chance of finding out why and fixing it!

[St Enodoc]

42 minutes ago, DougN said:

I have a serious issue with our local bunnings now... the sausages only come in a piece of bread rather than a bun! 

 

The other one was there is a second verse to advance Australia fair...  this is supposed to be mumbled through as no one is to know the words! Jesse can you confirm this!

Round here they've always been like that. A standard serving is one slice, a snag slit lengthwise, some onions, loads of mustard (other condiments are available) and another slice on top.