Blog- Dave at Honley Tank's Blog - HONLEY TANK:- Progress on Bowton's Yard

RSS Fetcher · June 27, 2016

A few posts ago I reported starting work on modifying the hidden sidings on Bowton's Yard. This virtual rebuild of both hidden sidings is now complete.

One end represents Guidebridge and now has a system of train plus locomotive cassettes, along with loco storage behind the goods shed. This is much more flexible than the original single line and later-added short siding. The result though was to show up the poor storage at the Stalybridge hidden sidings and this led to my building a cross-over for that board.

Having completed that, I came to realise that this storage would lock locos out of use and that it would be useful if I could add a loco cassette system at that end too.

Some careful measuring up showed that I could probably juggle another 10" - 12" length increase on that board. In fact the decision was that the easiest answer was to make a new small board, mainly because, to accept cassettes, its bed needed to be some 6mm lower than the existing track bed.

Pictures tell the story more easily than words so' here goes:

I don't need any help to carry this baseboard! The new extension for loco cassettes at Stalybridge

Rather more locos on view than the layout needs but this is Guidebridge hidden sidings, taken from above the Bowton's Yard goods shed or warehouse, The train cassettes are about the same length as the layout's run-round loop. The loco cassettes will accept any loco so with a small loco it is possible to build up a train that can't easily be run-round! (wicked joke at exhibitions!!)

This is looking in the opposite direction to the above shot but nicely shows how the tracks into the shed have been extended to the hidden sidings and give loco lay-bye features, allowing a need for fewer loco cassettes.

Looking from the very end of the Guidebridge board, toward the layout's scenery section.

This is taken from the opposite end and shows Stalybridge hidden sidings. The camera is resting on the end of the new mini-board and it has shown the needed step down to accept loco cassettes.
Also in view are two shelf brackets which are part of the support system for 'Birch Vale'; i.e. one layout sits about 12" above the lower one's track bed.

Almost all the new cross-over appears in this shot taken from the layout end of this hidden siding. That apparent kink in the RH rail is not so apparent to the naked eye and certainly causes no running problems; - (the camera cannot lie!?!).
The line to our right is the head shunt for the yard, and the MDF with a hole in it is the stop-block. Originally this line terminated as one route of a 'Y' point, the other route being the 'main' line and the only train storage at this end. Shortening the head shunt has no effect on shunting moves and the space left by the shortening could, if need be, become loco lay-bye space.

I had to show you this; it's Margaret's craft room which I commandeered for building the cross-over. I have no such long, flat space in my workshop!

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