Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[FarrMan]

23 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

We're 12 miles ish south of Newquay Airport, just about in the 'oh sh*t there's a problem' zone, but should also have a good view of any successful launches.

Perhaps an even better view of unsuccessful launches?

Lloyd

[Stubby47]

27 minutes ago, FarrMan said:

Perhaps an even better view of unsuccessful launches?

Lloyd

 

That is slightly the worry...

 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

You've nothing to worry about.  A country that can barely manage to string OHLE isn't going to be launching anything anytime soon. 

[5BarVT]

1 hour ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

You've nothing to worry about.  A country that can barely manage to string OHLE isn't going to be launching anything anytime soon. 

Of course we are, we’re World Class - a politician has said so.

Paul.

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

I think he said 'we're well beaten' and this was misheard as 'we're world beating'

[St Enodoc]

8 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Yup. As Tony Koester put it in Model Railroader many years ago "Never, ever solder under the baseboard in shorts."

Yup. And as Tony Koester should have put it "Never, ever solder under the baseboard when not in shorts."

[Gedward]

10 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Yup. And as Tony Koester should have put it "Never, ever solder under the baseboard when not in shorts."

My soldering can cause shorts. 

[St Enodoc]

As far as the signal box and Camping Coach siding are concerned, last week's discussion was very helpful but I've decided not to make a final choice until I've set out the track round to Treloggan Junction and Polperran, so that I can see the bigger picture more clearly.

 

Notwithstanding, the discussion has confirmed the position of 10B point so I laid that today. While the glue was drying I started marking out the track layout for St Enodoc Down end on a piece of ply.

 

This took a lot longer than I expected, as although I'd drawn the full-size layout on paper and in theory all I needed to do was to transfer that to the ply, I actually had to do a fair bit of tweaking to get the curves exactly where I wanted them to a) provide the right gangway width between the new board and the existing main line boards; and b) match the three existing points. The key to it all is a spot on the single line curve that is in effect a datum with regard to the side and end walls of the railway room, which took several trial-and-error attempts to locate. I think I've got it all right now, including the short sections of straight track in the middle of the reverse curves as recommended by Mike @Michael Edge. I created those by offsetting the curved sections by about 3 or 4mm and drawing a tangent between them. The straight sections have turned out to be about 50 - 60mm long.

 

By the time I'd done all that, though, it was too late to lay the two short pieces of track to connect 10B point to 10A point and the Loop so, with luck, I'll do that tomorrow and also make a final check on the new board before marking over the pencil lines with a permanent marker (and then making a final final check before getting the jigsaw out).

 

No time for photos I'm afraid and anyway the new board is covered in card templates, paper plans, Tracksettas, rulers, squares, pins, pencils, an eraser and all sorts of other gubbins at the moment, so I'll leave those until I've got a bit further on.

[St Enodoc]

Less time than planned for layout work today, as "we've" decided to go to the cinema this afternoon. However, I did manage a couple of hours this morning.

 

First I laid the two short lengths of connecting track either side of 10B point. The straight piece on this side shows up well enough due to the white glue not being completely dry. The curved bit between 10A and 10B points is under the brick at the moment. I also fitted 10B's point motor but haven't wired it in yet.

 

I took this photo after I'd tidied up from yesterday.

 

While the glue was drying, I had another look at the new board. The first job was to offset it by 3mm away from Porthmellyn Road so that the 3mm MDF fascia will be flush with the ply front of the existing boards. That's the reason for the two sets of marks next to the end of the St Enodoc station board at the bottom of the first photo by the way.

 

I checked yesterday's work and it all seemed to make sense, so I re-marked it, with the offset, in ink. The only bits I haven't finished are the tangents for the reverse curves. I've an idea of how to make a little tool that will simplify this task, which I might do tomorrow.

 

The three parallel straight lines on the left are 1100, 1200 and 1300 mm from the wall behind St Enodoc and are there to help set out the datum. The datum itself is on the 1200mm line, just where the curve of the single line kisses it. That point is 1700mm from the wall next to the lifting flap (behind me).

 

You might just be able to see two pencil lines near the bottom of the photo. These represent curves of 24" and 28" radius, as placemarkers for the start of the Wheal Veronica china-clay works branch. Until I go further round the bend I can't fix the final alignment for that.

Edited June 28, 2023 by St Enodoc
Images restored

[Barry O]

Wots a "cinema"???

Baz

[Northroader]

When John Wayne and the Marines come on, remember to stamp your feet in time with the music. It drives the usherettes crackers.

[St Enodoc]

33 minutes ago, Northroader said:

When John Wayne and the Marines come on, remember to stamp your feet in time with the music. It drives the usherettes crackers.

Wot's an "usherette"?

[LNER4479]

I prefer to listen to the wireless or put on a gramophone record. Especially a Peter Handford Argo Transacord one...

[FarrMan]

15 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Wot's an "usherette"?

From the word's construction, either a little usher or a female usher (or would that be an usherene?).  Next question - what's an usher. Someone who ushes. From that presumably an usherette is a little man that tells you to shut up!

 

Oh. Someones going to do that to me now.

 

Lloyd

[Killybegs]

4 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

I prefer to listen to the wireless or put on a gramophone record. Especially a Peter Handford Argo Transacord one...

Gosh, I'd forgotten about those!

[St Enodoc]

16 hours ago, FarrMan said:

From the word's construction, either a little usher or a female usher (or would that be an usherene?).  Next question - what's an usher. Someone who ushes. From that presumably an usherette is a little man that tells you to shut up!

 

Oh. Someones going to do that to me now.

 

Lloyd

Sorry Lloyd, I forgot  the irony button. Down here in our local multi-screen cinema usher(ette)s, of whatever gender, are an extinct life form.

Edited April 11, 2021 by St Enodoc

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

I prefer to listen to the wireless or put on a gramophone record. Especially a Peter Handford Argo Transacord one...

I've only got one Peter Handford LP - "World of Steam". I haven't played it for yonks. I must dig it out sometime. Thanks.

[St Enodoc]

I rounded off a good weekend's work today by wiring up the new track and points.

 

 

Here's the new track at 10B point. You can see that I couldn't resist adding a short temporary piece where the Camping Coach siding will go. It's not long enough for the coach but might come in handy as a loco spur until I get the Up end pointwork built and installed.

 

Finally I built a temporary point control panel for St Enodoc, using the same piece of MDF that I used before for Porthmellyn Road. All the points operated nicely although I had to change the little switch over from N to R on some of the motors.

 

I suppose I should ballast the new track and also fettle the existing ballast in the station before I start the Down end trackwork. We shall see.

Edited June 28, 2023 by St Enodoc
Images restored

[5BarVT]

Glad to see the signalman’s duster at Porthmellyn Rd.  But hanging over all the levers?

Nice to see it coming on.

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

2 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Glad to see the signalman’s duster at Porthmellyn Rd.  But hanging over all the levers?

Nice to see it coming on.

Paul.

After dropping something behind the levers and having a tricky job fishing it out before it found its way into the interlocking and jammed the whole lot solid, I decided to use an old bit of rag to stop it happening again!

[Barry O]

I wonder how many real miles the China Clay Opens have done over the years? A lot I would suggest!

 

Baz

[t-b-g]

On 10/04/2021 at 10:15, LNER4479 said:

I prefer to listen to the wireless or put on a gramophone record. Especially a Peter Handford Argo Transacord one...

 

 

I had the pleasure of paying a visit to see the Millhouses layout of John Brighton a while ago, when such things were legal. He has steam sound records, converted to digital files and playing on "loop" when he operates the layout. Although the sounds are not synchronised with the running of the trains in any way, having that ambient "real railway noise" managed, to me and to others who have experienced it, to create a much more railwaylike atmosphere than any DCC sound I have heard. The rumbling of heavy trains over rail joints and the noise created by carriages and wagons, plus the proper "depth" of sound was really effective and the random whistles and the odd shout from people or the hiss of signal wires really added something.

 

Roy Jackson had some Handford recordings taken from by the flat crossing at Retford. As he had models of the trains that were on the recording, we once tried to play the recording and drive the trains to the sound. We never did get the articulated dining set over the crossing at exactly the right time but we had fun trying.  

[St Enodoc]

11 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

 

 

I had the pleasure of paying a visit to see the Millhouses layout of John Brighton a while ago, when such things were legal. He has steam sound records, converted to digital files and playing on "loop" when he operates the layout. Although the sounds are not synchronised with the running of the trains in any way, having that ambient "real railway noise" managed, to me and to others who have experienced it, to create a much more railwaylike atmosphere than any DCC sound I have heard. The rumbling of heavy trains over rail joints and the noise created by carriages and wagons, plus the proper "depth" of sound was really effective and the random whistles and the odd shout from people or the hiss of signal wires really added something.

 

Roy Jackson had some Handford recordings taken from by the flat crossing at Retford. As he had models of the trains that were on the recording, we once tried to play the recording and drive the trains to the sound. We never did get the articulated dining set over the crossing at exactly the right time but we had fun trying.  

That's quite true, Tony. A friend of mine used to have a large layout based on Middlesbrough complete with steelworks and shunting yards. He played (loudly) unsynchronised generic railway sounds, which was very effective.

[St Enodoc]

On 10/04/2021 at 13:14, St Enodoc said:

The only bits I haven't finished are the tangents for the reverse curves. I've an idea of how to make a little tool that will simplify this task, which I might do tomorrow.

Here's the tangent tool:

 

It's just a piece of card with the ends offset from a straight line. The idea is to place it between the curves so that each of the centre bits kisses the curve, then draw along them, remove the tool and join up the gap.

 

Why not just use a straight edge? Because it's far easier to see where a tangent kisses the outside of a curve than the inside.

 

I haven't actually tried it yet but I can't see why it shouldn't work.

Edited June 28, 2023 by St Enodoc
Images restored

[FarrMan]

5 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Here's the tangent tool:

 

It's just a piece of card with the ends offset from a straight line. The idea is to place it between the curves so that each of the centre bits kisses the curve, then draw along them, remove the tool and join up the gap.

 

Why not just use a straight edge? Because it's far easier to see where a tangent kisses the outside of a curve than the inside.

 

I haven't actually tried it yet but I can't see why it shouldn't work.

Looks useful. As you say, much easier to get a tangent from the outside of the curve rather than the inside, and your tool should do the trick nicely.

 

Lloyd