Aberaeron Station

[Les le Breton]

Not sure that the reason livestock wagons were coupled next to the loco was to aid watering. I think it was to reduce "surge" as the train accelerated and decelerated - think of the effect of loose coupled wagons on their occupants. This was the reason why virtually all cattle wagons were fitted with vacuum brakes (or at the very least, through pipes) by nationalisation. In order for these to work, they had to be marshalled next to the engine with any unfitted vehicles behind.

 

Watering would not have been a consideration - legally, livestock had to be fed and watered after a certain number of hours (can't remember how many!) and for this, they were usually released into cattle docks and then reloaded if they had not completed their journey. Buckets of water in a moving cattle train would have been something of a health hazard.

 

David C

Thank you David C for your insight into how livestock wagons were coupled. I understood that quite early, railway companies supplied adjustable, internal walls for cattle wagons, to keep the animals safe. In the case of Aberaeron, it is more likely for cattle to be leaving the Welsh pastures on the up line, therefore allowing the rostered locomotive to prepare the train in readiness for the journey before the animals are safely on board, as you have suggested.

        There are only three reasons for stock arrivals at Aberaeron that I can think of:-

1. Animals purchased from afar to improve the Gene pool of a farm. These are likely to be looked after very carefully and i.m.h.o. more likely to be coddled in something like horse wagons with accompanying supervision by a farm worker.
2. A collection of animals that didn’t reach the required price from a far- away auction. This is probably unlikely, as the good farmers of the environs of my model would only send away stock knowing their true value.
3. Animals owned by a farmer moving all his stock to a new address. These events were rare in the early 20^th Century so, for railway modelling the era following the company grouping, complete farm removals can thankfully be ignored!

        Thanks again David C, I am very grateful for the help and advice given by RMweb members like yourself, helping me with my layout.

[Siberian Snooper]

Thank you for your advice Siberian Snooper, any addition which makes uncoupling more fail safe makes a lot of sense. Have you by any chance had experience with electro-magnets?

I'm fascinated by observation about livestock movements. I had no idea at all that livestock wagons would remain attached to the loco. I imagined that a loco shunting livestock into the cattle pen siding, would beat a hasty retreat, to give the animals more peace and quiet. In a similar vein, a loco of a  newly formed train with departing animals, would wait  until they were all safely loaded before coming to collect them.

 

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."

 

Terry Pratchett

I have been involved in operating several exhibition layouts that use electro-magnets, they were inserted before track building. The cork base was laid and when dry a rectangle was cut about 20mm long and 10mm wide and a piece of steel sheet cut and fitted, the sheet was packed to make it flush with the top of the cork,packing is usually card, ceral box is useful for this, this is then glued in and once dry a hole the diameter of the electro-magnet core is drilled throught the packing and board in the centre of where the steel sheet will sit. The electro-magnet is then fitted and checked that it will be in contact with the steel. Wire up the magnet, we use a push button to energise the magnet, a piece of set track is placed on top and a couple of wagons fitted with Sprat & Winkle couplings tried to ensure all is ok. (The piece of steel sheet is used to increase the area of the magnetic field, off cuts of steel are fron car body repairs.) Once happy, you can lay your track in the normal way. Some sort of marker is helpfull, to ensure you can find the magnets once the track has been ballasted, a bit of paper over the steel stuck with varnish will hopefully prevent the steel rusting when you ballast.

[Les le Breton]

I have been involved in operating several exhibition layouts that use electro-magnets, they were inserted before track building. The cork base was laid and when dry a rectangle was cut about 20mm long and 10mm wide and a piece of steel sheet cut and fitted, the sheet was packed to make it flush with the top of the cork,packing is usually card, ceral box is useful for this, this is then glued in and once dry a hole the diameter of the electro-magnet core is drilled throught the packing and board in the centre of where the steel sheet will sit. The electro-magnet is then fitted and checked that it will be in contact with the steel. Wire up the magnet, we use a push button to energise the magnet, a piece of set track is placed on top and a couple of wagons fitted with Sprat & Winkle couplings tried to ensure all is ok. (The piece of steel sheet is used to increase the area of the magnetic field, off cuts of steel are fron car body repairs.) Once happy, you can lay your track in the normal way. Some sort of marker is helpfull, to ensure you can find the magnets once the track has been ballasted, a bit of paper over the steel stuck with varnish will hopefully prevent the steel rusting when you ballast.

Thanks again for your clear and detailed advice, you've made an old man happy.

[Fat Controller]

Thank you David C for your insight into how livestock wagons were coupled. I understood that quite early, railway companies supplied adjustable, internal walls for cattle wagons, to keep the animals safe. In the case of Aberaeron, it is more likely for cattle to be leaving the Welsh pastures on the up line, therefore allowing the rostered locomotive to prepare the train in readiness for the journey before the animals are safely on board, as you have suggested.

        There are only three reasons for stock arrivals at Aberaeron that I can think of:-

1. Animals purchased from afar to improve the Gene pool of a farm. These are likely to be looked after very carefully and i.m.h.o. more likely to be coddled in something like horse wagons with accompanying supervision by a farm worker.
2. A collection of animals that didn’t reach the required price from a far- away auction. This is probably unlikely, as the good farmers of the environs of my model would only send away stock knowing their true value.
3. Animals owned by a farmer moving all his stock to a new address. These events were rare in the early 20^th Century so, for railway modelling the era following the company grouping, complete farm removals can thankfully be ignored!

        Thanks again David C, I am very grateful for the help and advice given by RMweb members like yourself, helping me with my layout.

You might see animals brought down from higher inland pastures at the end of summer for fattening (Transhumance)- we still see this here in Kent, when animals are brought down from farms in the Downs to the coastal areas.

Many railways had dedicated vehicles to carry 'stud' bulls; they were usually referred to as 'Special Cattle Vans', the GWR ones bearing the code 'Beetle'. They became redundant with the introduction of efficent vacuum flasks and liquid nitrogen.

[Les le Breton]

You might see animals brought down from higher inland pastures at the end of summer for fattening (Transhumance)- we still see this here in Kent, when animals are brought down from farms in the Downs to the coastal areas.

Many railways had dedicated vehicles to carry 'stud' bulls; they were usually referred to as 'Special Cattle Vans', the GWR ones bearing the code 'Beetle'. They became redundant with the introduction of efficent vacuum flasks and liquid nitrogen.

I honestly thank you Fat Controller for your help, adding another tangent to the conundrums of  livestock, in prototypical, railway modelling. I include in this, conundrum, the possibility of modelling livestock arriving in the cattle pen and boarding the train.

Perhaps the most satisfactory answer to these difficulties, is to suspend reality by not modelling any cattle involved in the travel by train at all, just have a train arriving with the alleged animals and have them moving invisibly to and from, suspending reality! Then the only animals visible on my layout will be resting, after a very long moo in the fields. How does Sodor cope with such difficulties with prototypical modelling?

Edited February 6, 2017 by Les le Breton

[Fat Controller]

Model Dexters- they're so short you wouldn't see them in the wagon. 

[Les le Breton]

Model Dexters- they're so short you wouldn't see them in the wagon. 

Dexters midnight runners could well meet the criteria required for prototypical accuracy. However, looking at "GWR Branch Line Modelling" I now know that in 1925, 376 trucks of livestock moved that year. Thus livestock movements by rail are really important.  Merci encore Monsieur Fat Controller for your suggestions.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Les le Breton

[Les le Breton]

Hi y'all, instead of flooring our attic, which will house the things that are cluttering the space in our garage earmarked for my model of Aberaeron, I managed to build the first of my scenic baseboards. It isn't totally complete, the undercarriage will not be fitted until I have determined the exact positioning of turnout motors etc.

 

 

They need a bit of tidying up, but I'm pleased that it sees robust and yet quite light. Just two more scenic boards and the fiddle yard to build.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Les le Breton

[Les le Breton]

Baseboard 2 built today, hooray!

Baseboard 3 built today, (16th February), engineers' dowels next then.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Les le Breton

[Les le Breton]

I have now managed to fit Engineer’s Dowels and connecting bolts, with captive nuts, to connect the three main scenic boards, but this posting is a little bit off piste for Aberaeron

 

I have for some time, slowly been working on the future rolling stock for the layout, to while away the evenings as an alternative to the dire, haunted fish tank.

 

Since the current, understandable business of railway manufacturers is on the “when it’s gone, it’s gone;” model, I realise that appropriate stock needs to be purchased when available.

 

Last week I received my beautiful H*****’s, David Jones, GWR 48xx 0-4-2t fitted by the same emporium with a Locsound, V4 6-pin sound decoder (ex 54-800).

 

I spent a whole day yesterday, trying to get my loco to interface with my Hornby e-link Rail-master software. I have managed the process of getting the software to recognise other “foreigners” (not Hornby) before, is it because the V4 chip is new or just that it’s too difficult for the software? I have added the message that arrived on Rail-master below.

 

 

I have sent the details to support@rail-master.com and hope they can advise me what to do but, I am beginning to fall out of love with e-link. It may well be the time to move on to another system like Gaugemaster Prodigy Express 01, Prodigy Advance 02, or NCE. I hope Aberaeron will be enabling the heart of railway operation to be more prototypical; to quote Iain Rice in Railway modelling the realistic way,

 

” The engine driver may be lord of his locomotive but he’s always subservient to the signalman.”

 

I propose therefore that my DCC control will only be used for locomotive control and an arrangement of switches will separately operate turnouts and signals, changed by the pull of a lever or switch.

 

What would you do in my position with a limited budget?

Edited March 1, 2017 by Les le Breton

[sdw7300]

I have now managed to fit Engineer’s Dowels and connecting bolts, with captive nuts, to connect the three main scenic boards, but this posting is a little bit off piste for Aberaeron

 

I have for some time, slowly been working on the future rolling stock for the layout, to while away the evenings as an alternative to the dire, haunted fish tank.

 

Since the current, understandable business of railway manufacturers is on the “when it’s gone, it’s gone;” model, I realise that appropriate stock needs to be purchased when available.

 

Last week I received my beautiful H*****’s, David Jones, GWR 48xx 0-4-2t fitted by the same emporium with a Locsound, V4 6-pin sound decoder (ex 54-800).

 

I spent a whole day yesterday, trying to get my loco to interface with my Hornby e-link Rail-master software. I have managed the process of getting the software to recognise other “foreigners” (not Hornby) before, is it because the V4 chip is new or just that it’s too difficult for the software? I have added the message that arrived on Rail-master below.

 

Screenshot_1.jpg

 

I have sent the details to support@rail-master.com and hope they can advise me what to do but, I am beginning to fall out of love with e-link. It may well be the time to move on to another system like Gaugemaster Prodigy Express 01, Prodigy Advance 02, or NCE. I hope Aberaeron will be enabling the heart of railway operation to be more prototypical; to quote Iain Rice in Railway modelling the realistic way,

 

” The engine driver may be lord of his locomotive but he’s always subservient to the signalman.”

 

I propose therefore that my DCC control will only be used for locomotive control and an arrangement of switches will separately operate turnouts and signals, changed by the pull of a lever or switch.

 

What would you do in my position with a limited budget?

 

After a fair bit of research and head scratching I went for the NCE for loco control only and points controlled via a homemade control panel. The idea of having to dial in an address to change a point or a signal whilst a train is moving sounded like a recipe for disaster (although a lot of people manage).

[Les le Breton]

Thanks you sdw7300, sharing your experience is a great help. However, the future of my e-link may be longer than expected.

 

Not wanting to give up my quest, for a working 48xx while waiting for help, I started to investigate if there was a fault with my own preparations. Firstly I decided to check the cable connections between my e-link pod and the track. Using my circuit tester I discovered that there was an intermittent, faulty connection in one of the pluggable terminal blocks! Taking no chances I changed this connection, and gave the test/programming track another clean.

 

After setting things up again I tried to get the loco accepted by Railmaster and had to delete the loco stored with an inoperable CV list. This only deleted the faulty record when the computer was re-booted. Then, with a clean sheet on the screen and more mouse button activity, voila, 4825 moved with sounds!

 

RESULT!

 

[Les le Breton]

Today I managed to use the PECO turnout templates, to get an idea how the track will work out.

 

 

The Loco shed end of the layout

 

 

The double slip with cattle dock siding

 

 

The terminus end of the track

[Les le Breton]

            I am planning to use Peco Smart Switch servos to operate my Code 75 turnouts. I have been struggling to decipher how I should wire the spaghetti of connections without damaging my electric investment. I have looked at numerous postings on BRMweb and further afield, including Brian Lamberts’ brilliant website.

            I would therefore be really grateful if you could use some of your precious time to peruse the two diagrams I have included, hoping you could advise me whether they are correct.

 

By combining the operation of servos 1 and 3 with one switch, the main line [the top line of the diagram,] is protected from movements arriving from servo 4. (Like an interlock system?)

The switch of servo 4 is redundant on the control board.

All contributions to help would be greatly appreciated.

Typical pitfalls I created has informed this edit today!:-

1. To forget that the frogs are at the opposite end of a turnout where the  switch and its’ servo are positioned!
2. To forget that route indicator lights are positioned on track at the switch end of the turnout!

 

Please allow the doors to close. Try not to confuse this with “Please hold the doors open”. The two are distinct and separate instructions.

London Underground driver announcement.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Les le Breton

[Les le Breton]

I have been tinkering with the wiring for the double slip point and used the following logic to arrive at the edited diagrams in  my last post. I hope it makes sense now! Apologies for my tardy development of Aberaeron, owing to domestic arrangements!

Edited April 17, 2017 by Les le Breton

[Les le Breton]

          After a long holiday in Morbihan I have returned to modelling Aberaeron. I managed to fit, scenic baseboards undercarriage reinforcement, three     for each baseboard. Using the templates and track alignment drawing, I was able to find suitable positions for the 3.6mm ply, which didn’t clash with the likely sites for turnout motors and frog connecting wires.

The guide lines are rather faint but the photo shows how useful the templates are.

Using a glue gun is less messy than using plasterer's scrim and PVA.

I have also managed to add reinforcement to all three scenic boards.

[Les le Breton]

        Hi folks, whilst on holiday, I have been pondering signalling Aberaeron. Having followed the “Station Masters” brilliant advice and knowledge, in the RMweb, “GWR Signals and where they go?”, I realised that when I reinforced the baseboards, I avoided adding the ply in places where turnout servos would be planted, and forgot completely, the planting of semaphore signals!

        I would be grateful for any advice. At present I don’t think the management will allow an extension to the dockside, (the red dotted line), so for all intent and purpose I am building a terminus.

 

• The top, red track is the main line, exiting stage left, with the station above;
• The long, parallel blue line, has the loco shed at the left end;
• The left hand black siding is for loco coal and sand;
• The brown siding is alongside the cattle dock (a private siding in the prototype);
• The right hand, lower tracks are three goods sidings.

          All contributions and help to advise me would be gratefully received.

 

Passengers must stay with their luggage at all times or they will be taken away and destroyed.

Sign at Paddington Station, London

Edited May 18, 2017 by Les le Breton

[Les le Breton]

It’s amazing how life gets in the way of railway modelling! In between grand-child minding, hospital visits for my better half and a visit to Morbihan to repatriate my Blaze, I have only squeezed in time to paint a gangers’ hut.

 

 

Then started to solder power feeds, to my turnouts which isn't photogenic, but the Breton flag is, in mho.

 

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen, sorry about the delay – someone forgot to fill the choo-choo with diesel.

The guard of a London to Oxford train

 

 

[sdw7300]

Love the painting of the hut. Having visited Aberaeron a couple of times a year for the last 35 years, I think the stone colour is spot on for the area.

[andyram]

This looks a promising project. I will follow with interest.

[Liam]

I know this lovely narrow gauge railway a few miles from Aberaeron (not the WLLR in case you're wondering!)

[sdw7300]

I know this lovely narrow gauge railway a few miles from Aberaeron (not the WLLR in case you're wondering!)

Teifi Valley Railway? Lovely little railway.

[Liam]

Teifi Valley Railway? Lovely little railway.

Nope. But I'll give you a clue: bar a few weekends a year it's privately owned.

[Les le Breton]

        Hi folks, I’ve managed to continue with Aberaeron over the last few days, perhaps it’s better described by pictures. As my layout lives in a garage I thought it prudent to paint the baseboards, to reduce warping. After the white undercoat, I used a brown tester paint to give a rural feel to the baseboard tops.

 

 

I soldered droppers for the turnout’s power and frogs.

Next I drilled holes for the droppers, as well as the switch access for the servos.

 

 

I ensured that the droppers were O.K. and that the servo orifices were large enough.

 

 

This enabled a test for my Airfix Autocoach on code 75 turnouts, success.

 

 

With the turnouts taken off I started to glue the track underlay

 

 

It was kept in place like this!

 

 

I am hoping that after all of the underlay is completed, I’ll be able to work from under the board to drill through and reinstate the cable runs.

What follows this, will be an evaluation of how deep to place the magnets beneath the track, to operate my Sprat and Winkle couplings.

 

It’s no good telling the politicians to go to hell because they’re building it for us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Les Dawson

Edited June 8, 2017 by Les le Breton

[Siberian Snooper]

I find uptight under the sleepers, works best, that way you can hide them under the ballast. Remember to mark the position, so that you can place a marker of some sort once you have finished the scenics. We use a few chairs or suitable figure to mark the location.