gismorail Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 Well first bit of point work has started to appear today in the form of timbers for the station end of the layout. I intend to stagger most of the track joins as it's an area that I feel can lead to a 'weak' spot in the formation. As the first formation of point work is fairly near to the base board join I am going to integrate the rail to the join so that there are no track joints near the board edge. On past layouts I have soldered the rail to the top of a brass screw which on the whole has been fairly reliable but can spoil the appearance of the track so I am trying copper clad pcb board with the sleepers scored out to give the impression of the sleepers continuing across the board joint. To make this I have routed the space between the sleepers out on a milling machine . PCB boards glued and nailed at base board joint Final picture showing the work up to now 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signaller69 Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Hi, having followed the Northgate thread and living not far from Chester (Flint) I have only just caught up with this project, amazing what you have achieved in less than a month! Looks to be some good operating potential too. I also read the Hornby Mag article regarding that cassette fiddle yard design and may look at using the system in future, my only concerns being my ham fisted-ness when turning them to get the loco at the right end, and avoiding damaging the "pins" in transit etc . . . so it will be interesting to know how you get on as it looks a very versatile system. Looking forward to further instalments! Martyn. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Well first bit of point work has started to appear today in the form of timbers for the station end of the layout. I intend to stagger most of the track joins as it's an area that I feel can lead to a 'weak' spot in the formation. As the first formation of point work is fairly near to the base board join I am going to integrate the rail to the join so that there are no track joints near the board edge. On past layouts I have soldered the rail to the top of a brass screw which on the whole has been fairly reliable but can spoil the appearance of the track so I am trying copper clad pcb board with the sleepers scored out to give the impression of the sleepers continuing across the board joint. To make this I have routed the space between the sleepers out on a milling machine IMG_0001 (516x600).jpg IMG_0002 (600x446).jpg . PCB boards glued and nailed at base board joint IMG_0005 (250x600).jpg Final picture showing the work up to now IMG_0004 (600x133).jpg Very good Martin, but WOT THE EKK are you doing up at this time of Day? hahha Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete4690 Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Great work!! Will be following this post for sure! I originally come from Cheshire from helsby, where I used to live there at the bottom of my road, was the old line to Mouldsworth, had long been ripped up though I was say 11 at the time when I lived there so a good 15 years ago! I used to play up on the old line and take my dogs for walks along it, past the old station which is now lived in! I've always wanted to do a little end to end style layout of the helsby part of the Mouldsworth line, this post may have just given me the inspiration!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 Hi, having followed the Northgate thread and living not far from Chester (Flint) I have only just caught up with this project, amazing what you have achieved in less than a month! Looks to be some good operating potential too. I also read the Hornby Mag article regarding that cassette fiddle yard design and may look at using the system in future, my only concerns being my ham fisted-ness when turning them to get the loco at the right end, and avoiding damaging the "pins" in transit etc . . . so it will be interesting to know how you get on as it looks a very versatile system. Looking forward to further instalments! Martyn. Hi Martyn glad you are enjoying my ramblings about my latest creation. I know what you mean regarding turning the trains and intend to add a separate loco only cassette to reduce that risk. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 Very good Martin, but WOT THE EKK are you doing up at this time of Day? hahha Andy you know what it's like just got involved cutting timbers and gluing them in place and hey-presto it's past midnight ...go to bed and mind is racing with ideas ...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 Great work!! Will be following this post for sure! I originally come from Cheshire from helsby, where I used to live there at the bottom of my road, was the old line to Mouldsworth, had long been ripped up though I was say 11 at the time when I lived there so a good 15 years ago! I used to play up on the old line and take my dogs for walks along it, past the old station which is now lived in! I've always wanted to do a little end to end style layout of the helsby part of the Mouldsworth line, this post may have just given me the inspiration!! Your the second member to remember the old Mouldsworth line at Helsby I must post that picture of a J10 on the turntable just pasted the bridge from the station. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete4690 Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 I saw that picture this morning from Google, I need to find myself an aerial photo of the station area, for reference for the layout I want to build, any photos at all seem to be few and far between... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 Well Saturday morning came and even though I had been burning the midnight oil till the early hours I was up bright and early with all good intentions of setting off in the direction of The Great Electric Train Show and I just popped into the ' man cave ' to see how the glue had set from last night shift ( yes we all do it ) ..... (well the PW gangs had been drinking in the Chumley Arms till early hours and I got the feeling that the local's weren't to happy with the influx of foreigners into their community and things were starting to get a bit 'heated' so I made the decision to keep them occupied and push onto the next phrase of the point work operation ..... ) So it was that the soldering iron was fired up and bull head track started to be cut to length, shaped and teased into position and track work started on Saturday morning and after two shifts the first track formation was completed. As I have already mentioned this is my first attempt at fully hand built point work and by that I mean built to fit a location rather than working from a predetermined template. I made the decision that I would build the main turn outs from copper clad timbers and solder simply for the strength aspect but would also try the C&L Chair and Sleeper Method between the turn out formations which would be a totally new experience for me in 4mm although I had tried this system in 7mm to some degree of success. Well it's all a lot smaller in 4mm and the tiny three bolt plastic chairs are the very devil to handle ..... I also found that unlike the 7mm chairs the 4mm ones seem to have a fair degree of 'flashing' on the bases and within the jaw of the chair which needs filing before even attempting to thread them onto the rail .... OMG patience is the key word for this type of track construction but it was my intention to try a couple of new things during this layout build as a trail prior to building a much bigger permanent layout based on Wrexham Central . The plastic chairs are fixed to the plastic timbers with Butanone solvent glue which does do the job as far as fixing is concerned and it is advisable to work in a well ventilated space as the fumes sure could put one into 'orbit' The plain track that I'm using is C&L with the slightly thicker sleepers so that it matches to Peco code 75 track work and I have tried some of these timbers alongside the aforementioned chair / timber to judge the visual effect and also the 'ease' of construction. The top track is a mixture of both types of track work just as a comparison for the future In the last picture the top track is C&L chair & sleeper and the lower one is base sleepers from the C&L plain track. I will leave my view of the visual effect until painting and ballasting has been completed but with regard to building I would consider my sanity before embarking on constructing a whole formation by the chair & sleeper method.. Although the point blade tie bars have still to be installed which I cannot do until I have worked out the size of hole required in the base board for the installation of the servo for point operation I have been test running items of stock from a basic coach bogie / and three axle milk tanker and a full coach and following an 'easing' of a couple of 'tight' spots the running appears to be good. The full test with a locomotive might well prove this wrong but until I have sorted the electric's this will have wait till then. (I have heard that since the PW gangs heavy drinking session on Friday night in the Chumley Arms the elders of the village are organising the ladies of the local parish church to provide tea and sandwiches and Godly instruction in the village hall in the hope that such behavour will not be repeated. ) The above statement might well seem strange but I understand that when Chester Northgate station was being constructed in the late 1800's such things did happen ...in an attempt to curb heavy drinking by the navvies. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Trackwork looks superb Martin, pity you couldn't make it to GETS, it was good and a nice selection of different types of Layout. Really looking forward to your next instalment of the Tales of The Chumley Navies, (and their Wives) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 I have over the last twelve months I've been experimenting with Kadee couplings on my 4mm stock and the first exhibition with Northgate shed the stock which was operating the brewery sidings was fitted very quickly prior to the show and considering they were literally thrown into the nem boxes they operated really quite well. The uncouplers which i used were the 322 & 321 magnets that are literally set between the rails and to be honest are a little unsightly but are the only ones that I could used as they were fitted as an after thought after the track had been laid / ballasted etc. As I have made the decision to stick with the Kadee couplings I am in a position with Chumley End to install the hidden magnets which are totally hidden from view and I'm led to believe have a much stronger magnetic pull and are therefore are much more reliable. The two which are available are the 309 'magne-electric' which is fitted beneath the base board and can be controlled at the press of a switch when uncoupling is required and therefore there is no problem with stock becoming uncoupled when passing over the magnet so I will install some of these on the main running lines.The installation of this type requires a hole cutting in the base board and I will show how this is fitted when I get to install one The second is the 308 hidden magnet which is placed below track level after having 'dug a pit' into below the track and is a single permanent magnet measuring 2" x 1 1/2" and is 3/8 in depth and has a steel plate which sits below the magnet which intensifies the magnetic strength. The hole is made in the base board where location is required The steel plate is placed at the base of the hole The magnet fits on top of steel plate I then cut some plastic card to bring assemble level with cork track base Once happy with level the track is laid across the magnet Some test uncoupling shows that the installation does work well and the magnet is a great deal more effective compared to the 322 / 321 magnets The 'Magne-Electric ' uncoupler 309 (you can tell that their made in America can't you described on the pack as 'under -the-ties-Delayed-Action') A hole write through the base board is required for the installation as the assemble fits from beneath as shown in pic 2 Plastic cross member sits across the top of the hole level with cork underlay the electro magnet is then fitted from below the base board and screws in place The whole assemble is the protected from later ballasting by covering with cooking foil The electro magnet is activated by a 16 volt DC power source (at least 1.5 amps) The kit comes complete with a bridge rectifier if you want to power from an 18 volt AC power source. As I mentioned earlier the big advantage with this uncoupler is push button activated so this eliminates any couplings being activate on the passing train so I have sited them on the main running lines and the other type have been positioned in the sidings. I hope this installation has been of interest to anyone following this thread and if your thinking of going down the Kadee route its not difficult install these uncouplers it just requires some forward planning before the track goes down. The Chumley End navvies did get tea and sandwiches in the parish hall at the end of their shift plus some religious instruction about the evils of drink. I'm not quite sure how this was received as the gang were summoned to other work further down the line where their brutish skills were required to haul some further iron road into shape. The locals seem to be much more calm about the coming railway as local labour has been working the site today in the form of civil engineering works . As engineer to the construction of Chumley End yard I do have some concerns as to what the PW gangs have been up too as I have been finding flat bottom rail off cuts around the site but my instructions were to lay the formation in bull head rail ......... Never mind we did find a use for the off cuts 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 Come on Martin, haven't you removed those weights yet? . :no: We need an update. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 Come on Martin, haven't you removed those weights yet? . We need an update. Some people are just so impatience ......... just because your at a loose end with no Layout ..... As it happens I finished the track work today so there...... been a slow old process as mentioned before have tried a few things that are new to me. This was mainly building point work in situ to suit the location and I have found that there's of lot of 'thinking' ahead needed perhaps not one of my best skills to be honest but think I've managed to do a fairly convincing job ..... I have also glued the track down rather than pinning which has been my normal method in the past. I've read of so many people fixing track in this way and was very impressed in the results that 'Coachman' has achieved on his Oswestry layout so thought I'd give it a go. Having tried it I like it ..... With the C&L track pinning sure would have been a no no.... and I have found that the final lining up as very straight forward . I have used PVA wood glue which takes a will to set leaving plenty of time for adjustments using the mirror method as described in an earlier post. Just couple of shots showing views of track layout from both ends of the layout. Still got a couple of tie bars to install on some of the point work and also got to lay the track over the coal drops which need to be built first..... To be honest I'm not sure whether there were any coal drops around the Cheshire area but I know that when I have seen them on layouts it has always been a feature that I have fancied modelling. Many of the ones that I have seen have usually involved a raised siding involving a ramp which I felt I did not have the room accommodate so I have opted for the type that uses the lay of the land to effect the drop. With this I mind I started work on this part of the layout last thing today ..... Firstly I marked out the area of track bed that requires cutting out I then cut out the marked area And also the front of the layout needed reshaping and the final bit of wood work that enclosed the area of the coal cells. Well, that's the progress to date on the layout I will update once more work as be completed .......... That good enough progress Andy 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 Some people are just so impatience ......... just because your at a loose end with no Layout ..... As it happens I finished the track work today so there...... been a slow old process as mentioned before have tried a few things that are new to me. This was mainly building point work in situ to suit the location and I have found that there's of lot of 'thinking' ahead needed perhaps not one of my best skills to be honest but think I've managed to do a fairly convincing job ..... I have also glued the track down rather than pinning which has been my normal method in the past. I've read of so many people fixing track in this way and was very impressed in the results that 'Coachman' has achieved on his Oswestry layout so thought I'd give it a go. Having tried it I like it ..... With the C&L track pinning sure would have been a no no.... and I have found that the final lining up as very straight forward . I have used PVA wood glue which takes a will to set leaving plenty of time for adjustments using the mirror method as described in an earlier post. IMG_0005 (327x600).jpg IMG_0006 (409x600).jpg Just couple of shots showing views of track layout from both ends of the layout. Still got a couple of tie bars to install on some of the point work and also got to lay the track over the coal drops which need to be built first..... To be honest I'm not sure whether there were any coal drops around the Cheshire area but I know that when I have seen them on layouts it has always been a feature that I have fancied modelling. Many of the ones that I have seen have usually involved a raised siding involving a ramp which I felt I did not have the room accommodate so I have opted for the type that uses the lay of the land to effect the drop. With this I mind I started work on this part of the layout last thing today ..... IMG_0001 (600x240).jpg Firstly I marked out the area of track bed that requires cutting out IMG_0002 (600x290).jpg I then cut out the marked area IMG_0003 (600x331).jpg And also the front of the layout needed reshaping IMG_0004 (600x302).jpg and the final bit of wood work that enclosed the area of the coal cells. Well, that's the progress to date on the layout I will update once more work as be completed .......... That good enough progress Andy Brilliant mate, just brilliant, thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AireValley1962 Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 Really terrific work! Shall be following with interest! Cheers, William Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signaller69 Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Coming on rapidly, like the look of your trackwork, hope the navvies and P.way gang had a well deserved pint after doing that lot??! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 Coming on rapidly, like the look of your trackwork, hope the navvies and P.way gang had a well deserved pint after doing that lot??! The PW gangs had a very heavy drinking session in the Chumley ~Arms once the foreman had let them off site , he has a reputation as a hard task master and following earlier drunken behaviour he was under pressure from his lords and masters to get the job completed as soon as possible What the men don't know is that their next job is over the Shropshire border and there's no public houses for miles .....and the work is for the military so there will be no slacking tolerated Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Then they can pop down to Swad and make a start on Willsbridge whilst I'm in Wales next week, hahha. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 Then they can pop down to Swad and make a start on Willsbridge whilst I'm in Wales next week, hahha. Hi Andy You'll have to have words with Edward William Watkin about that he is a man with great ambitions and is very much the driving force behind many railway enterprises in the area. I have heard that he has plans to develop his companies into a new railway company which he intends to call 'The Great Central ' It might even get him a knight-hood 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Hi Andy You'll have to have words with Edward William Watkin about that he is a man with great ambitions and is very much the driving force behind many railway enterprises in the area. I have heard that he has plans to develop his companies into a new railway company which he intends to call 'The Great Central ' It might even get him a knight-hood How about Sir Gismo of Carrog? hahha Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 How about Sir Gismo of Carrog? hahha Well thankyou 'Lord Swadlincote of Derbyshire ' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 Been busy with work and have had new windows fitted to the cottage over the last week , wow couldn't believe the dust and it showed all the cob webs spent last weekend cleaning up I was so ashamed..... Anyway managed to get some work on the coal drops done tonight....... had plenty of time to figure the best way of building a structure that hopefully looks fairly convincing and workable . I realised that some of the scenic part had to the constructed prior to fitting the trackwork over the drops as there was no way of adding the brickwork once it had been put into place as well as applying a certain amount of weathering all of which can be detailed once the outlaying ground work has completed. In the final construction a wall will added behind the coal drops to keep the goods yard traffic safe from what is a scale 8 foot drop into the coal merchants bagging pit. My research has revealed that this was the ideal height for the coal to be released from the hopper wagon's without turning the coal into dust . The most crucial part of the construction was making sure the gauging was correct over the drop areas and it was my intention to hold the rail in place using the C&L three bolt chairs that I had purchased for some of the point work construction which I felt would make a fairly neat job especially with the structure being right at the front of the layout. I think I mentioned during the construction of the track work that I have found the C&L chairs very fiddly and that this is not helped by the amount flashing left on the plastic moulding I have also found that some of the recent batches for chairs that I have bought the actual jaw of the chair is also is closed up with flashing which makes threading the chair onto the rail more or less impossible without opening it up with a craft knife, this in turn makes the chair lose on the rail which does not give me a great deal of confidence of the stability of the track over the drop areas. With this in mind I searched for another solution as to hold the rail in place on the beams over the drops and finally settled for cutting the chairs off some surplus C&L ready made track and threaded them onto the rail then glued them in place whilst the held in place with track gauges as shown in the above photograph. The above photograph shows the resulting attempt in close up as well as showing the metal tie bars over the drop area. Its not ideal that I have had to leave the original sleeper beneath the chair but feel the effect is not too badly compromised. The final shot shows the coal drops from the other side looking towards the head shunt and the station area. Once the scenery around the area is completed and the drops have had coal added along with the coal yard accessories and yard office I think it will make a nice point of interest in quite a prominent area of the layout as well is adding to the depth of field. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Superb Martin, some really excellent modelling, well done young Sir. :locomotive: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 Many thanks Andy that is praise indeed. Have enjoyed the challenge as to how to construct this interesting bit of railway infrastructure as well as researching the history of such facilities. I'm not really sure as to whether the Cheshire Lines Committee would have gone to the trouble to sanction such a construction but considering the problems that their experienced on the Winsford branch in earlier years it was important that a good impression was set for this venture. Chumley End is serving a rich farming area which is dominated by the Chormondley and Peckforton Estates so plenty of coal will be required for the working estates and the local communities. One of the advantages of being able to site the coal yard right at the front of the layout it means that a more spacious area can be modelled around the general goods yard. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 Well I know I'm supposed to be starting the electrics for this little essay in Cheshire Lines might have been ....and honestly after doing some work on the house this morning and having gone as far as I could .... I went into the shed to start trying to 'short circuit' the North Wales National Grid.. ...... but the clean state of the coal drops started to wrangle me ....well who's ever seen anything to do with coal being clean ..... So out came the paint and weathering powers just to give them an authentic look ............... Now that's better ............Mmmmmmmm better get on with some sparks I suppose . 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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