A searchlight story......

[beast66606]

I don't think the IB was removed, just the head changed for something newer...

 

Does anyone happen to have any photos of these IB's please? I'd like a numberplate to suit....

 

Andy G

 

The IBS between Eccles and Attleborough definitely went at some stage around then - as Russ says a lot of the IBS were removed - presumably to cut maintenance costs as the traffic no longer required the headway.

 

but gone on the last one in the box..

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pwayowen/6953854996/

 

Can't see the sense of doing away with it.

 

Removes the unsignalled shunt into forward section (potentially over the crossing, not sure of the distance), it forced the engine to run to Thetford and back again using normal lines. It was probably cheaper to remove it than provide an advanced starter.

[russ p]

With regards to the IBs I read somewhere that they were installed in the 50s for the extra holiday traffic the line had to cope with when the M&GN closed

I could never really get my head around the semaphore IB at Thetford , why it was classed as one. It may have been something to do with the closure of Thetford East

[uax6]

As I didn't want to remove the original bulb holders I had to work a way of fitting the new bulbs in. This took a bit of thinking about, and a phone call.

The original bulbs have a base like this:

Three bayonet pins in a y formation. This left me thinking for a while, and then I phoned the people at Bedazzled, explaining the problem. They were very helpful, and although they didn't have anything with the y formation pins, they did suggest that if the lamp wasn't going to be subjected to any vibration, that a normal two pin base with one of the pins removed would fit and the springs on the bottom should keep it in place. With that I ordered four of their BC to MR11 adapter bases, which arrived the next day.

 

I took them apart (the boards are only soldered to the bases, so come apart quite easily, although three hands would be useful!) and started to hack them about. One pin was removed from the base and then I unsoldered the wiring from the contacts at the bottom. I wanted to keep the wiring standard in the signal head, so decided to keep the return on the outside of the base, and to link the two contacts together (ie main and secondary filaments in the bulb) so that the led would light whatever the wiring actually was.

 

 

This gave a bulb like this:

 

After trying it in the head I discovered that the PCB stopped the base going into position, and that it was a little high, so I then took one apart again and cut the board to fit inside the base. I used sidecutters and files, and did it so that the board sat in the flair of the base:

 

The base was then put in the head to check and to line up the led:

 

With the view from outside:

 

Looking good (not sure what that strange dark patch at the bottom of the lens next to the close up is, it wasn't noticeable to the eye!)

 

I now just need to secure the pcb into the bases....

 

Andy G

[uax6]

To make the hernia work, I bought a Velleman timer kit ( 1s-60H Pulse-pause timer, MK188) and sat down to make it with Annabelle my 8 year old. She hadn't played with this sort of thing before, so I got her to pick out the components and fit them to the board, and I soldered them in place. This process was stretched over two sittings, with bed time getting in the middle!

Here's the unopened kit:

 

The components:

 

The board:

 

The instructions:

 

after the board was completed I spent a little time doing some wiring. The yellow lamp needed a new loom, so I used a length of three-core 0.75mm mains flex to make that up, and them I terminated the supply lead. This was run into the adjacent shed, and temporarily made off onto the PCB. This is because I wanted the test the board, and also because I will need to make up a full relay set to have it working properly when the searchlight arrives.....

 

Here is the board:

 

I set it up on 1 minute pause (So it starts at yellow) and then 1 minute pulse (green), so that I could check it worked. Heres a video:

 

I then changed the settings to a random pause time (in minutes) with a much shorter pulse time (in minutes), so that it simulates a train approaching and passing the signal.

 

Its also quite bright at night, at dusk it looks like this:

 

SWMBO just rolled her eyes, but Annabelle was impressed that the PCB worked...

 

Andy G

Edited September 1, 2016 by uax6

[beast66606]

The IBS between Eccles and Attleborough definitely went at some stage around then - as Russ says a lot of the IBS were removed - presumably to cut maintenance costs as the traffic no longer required the headway.

 

 

With regards to the IBs I read somewhere that they were installed in the 50s for the extra holiday traffic the line had to cope with when the M&GN closed

I could never really get my head around the semaphore IB at Thetford , why it was classed as one. It may have been something to do with the closure of Thetford East

 

A bit more information

 

In the 1967 Supplement No.1 to the 1960 Appendix the following IBS are noted as removed

 

Shippea Hill Down IBS - 1m 1215yds from Padnall

Shippea Hill Up IBS - 2m 538yds from SH

 

Eccles Road Down IBS - 1m 1080yds from ER

Attleborough Up IBS - 2m 74yds from A.

[beast66606]

Eccles Road Down IBS - 1m 1080yds from ER

Attleborough Up IBS - 2m 74yds from A.

 

Attleborough Up IBS - base

 

 

Eccles Down IBS - base

 

[uax6]

Its been a bit of time since I've done anything on the signals in this thread, domestic work getting in the way, but this afternoon I had a bit of a loose end and with the SWMBO and Annabelle relaxing in the garden, I decided to do some faffing around.

 

Hopefully a post will be arriving soon for the searchlight, which has made me think that I need to get on with things to make it work. The electronic timer that is in use on the Hernia could of course be used to drive the searchlight head, but with a few mods to give three aspects (and in due course probably will be modded to do this), but I also want to be able to work her from a groundframe. Now cast your minds back up thread, and you will remember that I acquired a Sykes circuit controller. The plan was to use this to pull off the searchlight to green. This would emulate the LNER and its wire-worked searchlights.

 

So I went to the pile of 6" posts (from fence panels that I acquired for firewood that had once upon a time been along the platforms at either Waterbeach or Littleport) and selected one about 4'6" tall. None of the posts are perfect, but this one was the best overall. I then dug out a 14" crank and the weightbar and casting and the sykes controller. These were arranged on the post and then the crank base was coach bolted into the post, and the weightbar casting was secured with pole bolts, drilled all the way through the post. Sadly the post spalled as I knocked one bolt through, but that will be on the back side where it is going so won't be seen. The controller was screwed on with two 2" posidrive screws:

 

 

The other side with the controller lid off:

 

The top of the post was cut at a slope, but I had a casting that used to sit on top of a timber doll somewhere in the Ely area. Sadly its seen better days, and a lot of the bottom of the casting has long since disappeared:

 

This meant that it rattled around on the top of the post, so a bit of lateral thinking so me routtling around in the wood pile, where I found some bits of 2" lath that were just the right thickness to pack out the post so that the lid fitted. They were nailed to the top of the post thus:

 

And the end results was this:

 

Which looks pretty good.

 

I just need to buy two concrete repair posts to put in the ground, so that the post is hung between them, not touching the damp fen ground, and then paint the post (white or black?) and the remaining castings.

 

Andy G

Edited May 27, 2017 by uax6

[uax6]

Things are moving on here now. Look what I picked up over the weekend:

 

 

It's a proper Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co 6 5/8" diameter post for mounting signals. One thing I will say for it, the boot is seriously heavy. Not hernia heavy, no this is the Full Monty heavy! It requires two people to lift the boot end, and even then its not easy to move about! The boot is marked WB&SCo Ltd, you can just about see it here:

 

A better picture of the boot:

 

The white bracket you can see in the first shot is also a Westinghouse part, and fits perfectly. The plan is to fix it towards the top of the post, so that when the searchlight is mounted on top of it, the sighting board clears the roof of the little shed. I have a finial that will fit on the top (only just, but I have seen a picture of a fat post with the finial just about sitting on top), and then I'll add an SPT near the boot. As you can see I was going to paint the post white, but I think that the silver looks much better, and hopefully won't pull your eye so much, so I will get the paint tin out at some point soon. Firstly I need to dig a hole to cast a base. As the ground is fairly soft (the joys of being on the fen) I'll make it about 2' deep and the width of the gap, so that hopefully it will spread the weight nicely and stop things falling over. Oh how I love digging holes!

 

Andy G

 

 

Edit: Heres a link to one of Dave F's lovely pictures, this one taken at York. Note the WBSC 'fat' post and finial, and also the same 16" offset bracket as mine. I'd like to know how those finials were held on, as I think they are just one pattern, with an inner ledge to sit in a 5" tube. I will drill this inner flange in three places and put bolts in, with the heads spaced at the inner dia of the post.....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidwf2009/5643478195/in/album-72157626428981187/

Edited May 30, 2017 by uax6

[chris p bacon]

I reckon you pinched that from my garden.......Might explain why the Moggy was slow getting away.

[uax6]

I did think about taking the van and putting it on the ladder rack, but it would have just killed it. I've moved some heavy things before, but this has to be the heaviest thing I have ever moved, ever.....

 

I was slow away as I didn't want to break a half shaft on your drive.....

 

Andy g

[chris p bacon]

I was slow away as I didn't want to break a half shaft on your drive.....

 

Andy g

Yeh....all that power ....

[LNERGE]

I did try and put it in something nearly Moggy sized but could feel my back coming apart as i tried to lift it.

[uax6]

It's really far to heavy, it can't be cast iron, it's more like lead...

 

Andy g

[uax6]

I've done some more work on the post this week. The hole has been dug until its below the water table, but I haven't taken a photo of the hole, but it does appear in the background of the ones below.

 

I've welded up the metal work to go in the hole. Here's how I did it:

 

20mm stud was cut in half and then threaded through the centres of the four holes in the boot, and done up tight:

 

Then some 12mm stud was welded across the big studs:

 

Then the studs were wound down lower in the boot:

 

Then some more 12mm stud was welded to the 20mm stud. The bit of basket was lying around and looked like it was asking to be used. This will help to tie together the offset part of the hole (there will be concrete across the width of the passage between the two sheds, but the post will sit against the large shed, and therefore there is a turning moment on the bit against the little shed, which the bit of tray should help to bind that bit together):

 

I've also cleaned the post and boot with a wire brush in a grinder. The paint is on very well, so only the rusty bits were cleaned back, the post was then given a coat of grey primer/undercoat (the boot will just get blacked again, when the post is upright):

 

I then cleaned up the finial for this post, and then the bits of the wire op-d post, and gave a coat of grey or white as required:

 

The steel post will go silver, as will the offset bracket, hopefully this week.

 

Andy G

Edited June 3, 2017 by uax6

[uax6]

Following a chat with LNERGE, he said that I might find it easier to have large 'bands' on the Sykes circuit controller. Bands are basically the contacts, and in this case the wipers that rotate are only about an inch wide, meaning that I will have to set the wire run and the movement quite precisely to have it work, and temperature could make it difficult to maintain.

 

So I bought a strip of 2" wide 34thou brass and marked it up around the wipers, and then roughly cut it out:

 

As I didn't want the full width strip all the way along (it looks horrible), I decided to give it a bone type shape, and the wings bent upwards, which left me with this:

 

Then, because I needed to locate the strip and it also didn't have any insulation around the holes (to stop it shorting on the fixing screws) I decided it needed a flange up the outside of the existing wipers. With the help of this base plate (that was just lying around in the cess outside the box):

 

... and my gate adjusting spanner, I knocked them round to look like this:

 

I then cut the wings back so that they just lapped over the bottom wiper, and assembled it into the casting:

 

This arrangement should make it a lot easier to get the thing to work reliably. I've just given it a coat of black paint....

 

Andy G

 

[uax6]

For once my timings worked out and today I have poured the base for the post. It wasn't pleasant as the hole was full of stagnant water (with a decidedly 'foul' smell to it) so the majority of the mix was dry. This wetness also didn't help the setting up of the metalwork inside it, but fortunatly as the hole got more full the steelwork set in better. The main base was shuttered around the top to give a square base under the boot, the rest of the hole just being left at a lower level to be covered with slate to match in with the rest of the area. I almost forgot the tube down the middle, but this was put in just in time. Its the hockey stick from a toilet cistern to the pan, and lengthen on with some 40mm waste pipe. It runs at an odd angle to get back near the surface by the little shed. It will be cut off flush with the concrete when it has set..

 

I've also painted the post and bracket in silver paint:

 

Heres a close up of the lettering on the bracket:

 

Just have to wait for the concrete to set, so hopefully next friday I'll be able to lift the post into position....

 

Andy G

 

 

[anroar53]

Things are moving on here now. Look what I picked up over the weekend:

 

DSC08049.JPG

 

It's a proper Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co 6 5/8" diameter post for mounting signals. One thing I will say for it, the boot is seriously heavy. Not hernia heavy, no this is the Full Monty heavy! It requires two people to lift the boot end, and even then its not easy to move about! The boot is marked WB&SCo Ltd, you can just about see it here:

DSC08048.JPG

 

 

 

A better picture of the boot:

DSC08047.JPG

 

The white bracket you can see in the first shot is also a Westinghouse part, and fits perfectly. The plan is to fix it towards the top of the post, so that when the searchlight is mounted on top of it, the sighting board clears the roof of the little shed. I have a finial that will fit on the top (only just, but I have seen a picture of a fat post with the finial just about sitting on top), and then I'll add an SPT near the boot. As you can see I was going to paint the post white, but I think that the silver looks much better, and hopefully won't pull your eye so much, so I will get the paint tin out at some point soon. Firstly I need to dig a hole to cast a base. As the ground is fairly soft (the joys of being on the fen) I'll make it about 2' deep and the width of the gap, so that hopefully it will spread the weight nicely and stop things falling over. Oh how I love digging holes!

 

Andy G

 

 

Edit: Heres a link to one of Dave F's lovely pictures, this one taken at York. Note the WBSC 'fat' post and finial, and also the same 16" offset bracket as mine. I'd like to know how those finials were held on, as I think they are just one pattern, with an inner ledge to sit in a 5" tube. I will drill this inner flange in three places and put bolts in, with the heads spaced at the inner dia of the post.....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidwf2009/5643478195/in/album-72157626428981187/

Bracket would probably be a bit too big to fit on my signals !

 

Andy.

[uax6]

With the concrete having had almost a week to go hard, the shuttering was removed:

 

The pipe was cut down to stand about an inch proud of the slab, just in case a bit of leveling was required.

Before I forgot, a 6-wire telephone cable was passed up through the slab and into the post, to come out in the hole about a foot up from the boot, and a 7 core was passed all the way up the post to come out of the top.

The post was then man handled up into position. Bits of wood being used as packing to make sure she sat down over the studs. A couple of close calls when she decided she didn't quite want to be where I wanted her, but she dropped down quite nicely in the end. A couple of washers were required under the foot to get her level, so some grout will have to be mixed and forced under the foot in due course.

 

The bracket was then attached loosely with one u-bolt (at the top of the casting) near the bottom of the post, and then carefully slid up the post to a position where it looks like the searchlight will sit. The other bolt was then added and both tightened up. The finial was then popped on top, although it won't sit flat as the 7-core is coming out of the top of the post and the finial is sitting on top of it.

 

 

Hopefully friday I'll get the case in place. I need to dig out the SPT I have, and sort out a mounting band for it as well.

 

I'm not sure if she'll stay painted silver, as SWMBO may not like being able to see the post. I have two ways round this, either grow a plant up the post or paint it black. I fancy the black post over the plant, but if this is the outcome, I'll ask to get the whole thing erected before the paint comes out, so that I can at least have photos of it in the correct colours.

 

Andy G

 

[The Stationmaster]

I hope you're using the correct shade of 'silver'.  Oddly there was a  difference between the 'silver' colours used by different BR Regions although I could never understand why.

[uax6]

Yes, its the silver from the tin I had, horrible chassis paint that has a matt finish, not the bright ally finish that some have...

 

Andy G

[uax6]

Today, after laying some paving slabs, I have, with the help of a friend, I've got the head fitted.

Firstly the head was bolted to the socket, and then the two of us lifted the head into position on the bracket. The sighting board was removed for this, and then put on after it had been nipped up.

 

At this point I decided that the head was too high up the post, so with a ratchet strap hooked over the top of the post and adjusted to stop the bracket running down the post, the u-bolts were slackened and the bracket rocked down the post to a better height.

 

At this point the mech was tried in the case, and it does fit, but unfortunately my replacement door catch is too big and prevents the door from shutting, so the mech has been removed again and I'll attack the catch another day.

 

 

Some arty shots:

 

The post will need touching up where the bracket was slid down sadly.

 

Thanks to LNERGE I've also now got a searchlight ladder top:

 

and this nice period ID plate:

 

I will probably get a bit of time on Sunday to have a further play, and fit the hood (you will find out then which one!) and maybe sort the catch out.....

 

Andy G

 

 

 

 

[uax6]

Last night I made a new catch, two M4 brass bolts, four nuts and a strip of brass.

 

 

Today I've had a faffy morning, doing stuff until it became too hot to do anything...

 

First job was to drill the post to take the wire to the head. A 20mm enox cutter was used and the result is this:

 

Which nicely matches this one of LNERGE's:

 

It would appear that originally they would have been fitted with a flexible conduit from head to post, but at some point that stopped happening.

 

The 7 wire was past up into the head, and then terminated off:

 

The mech was then placed into the head, note the new catch:

 

I then spent time faffing with bulbs. I want to use a low wattage bulb, so that I can continue to run it off the solar panel. This one was tried:

But gave surprisingly poor results. The best was a 21W brake light bulb, which gave this result:

 

But that flattened the battery very quickly, so I'm going to have to see if I can work something with a single Superbright LED.....

 

Andy G

 

Edited June 18, 2017 by uax6

[uax6]

I suddenly had a thought halfway through the afternoon.... So I thought I would try it. I removed the front lense from the case (remember that this was a non-original one, which I thought might work as a replacement for the cats-eye one that it originally had).

 

I then put in a 5W tail lamp bulb, and with a bit of fiddling around (basically winding the bulb right in) I have this (excuse the washing, it was too good a day not to have it out!) from the drive:

 

 

From a seated position at the bench:

 

Stood up on the patio:

 

From underneath, showing the hot spot:

 

And lastly a close up of the smooth lense:

 

So it would appear that there is a case of too many lenses spoil the broth!

 

Another day will see me try out the colour changing, as than needs a bit of 6v, and I have lent out my multi-meter at the minute...

 

I'm just left with sorting out some more solar panels (I've got some dotted around the garden that can be hooked onto the battery for this) so that it can all be self powered....

 

Andy G

[LNERGE]

After you left Thursday i had a report of L track staying occupied after the passage of a train. I had a hunch that it was nothing to do with the track circuit and headed straight for my ENJ11 (H7). The mechanism was failing to return fully to danger and a stick relay is included in L TPR path to ensure correct operation of the mechanism for the passage of every train. The circuits are exactley as they were for Hackney & signal. Great to see it working but a pain in the arris rail as regards the mechanism. I'm about to go out and have a go at fixing it.

[uax6]

Now that is a pain... But it's good to see it wired properly, and it working. What it probably needs is a bit of constant temperature to help it along a bit....

 

Andy g