Blog- Fen End Pit's Blog - Stour Valley in P4, Yard entry built and a new chassis for an old loco

RSS Fetcher · October 29, 2016

The turnout leading into the yard got laid today, this leads off from the loop back into the double-slip in the yard. Once again I've been able to reclaim the V, switch-blades and tie-bars from the previous layout. The point was built on a copy of the Templot template off the baseboard and then stuck in position on the marks I had previously cut into the cork.

You'll see various tools sprinkled around the layout. The original box of 'Brook-Smith' gauges, the 10BA bolts which I'm using to solder the rail ends to at the baseboard edges and just showing your truly, a little mirror I use when aligning track. This is a really useful tool when laying track as it allows you to see along the line.

The view from the yard shows quite a pleasing line (along with the end of Fen End Pit!)

Progress on the layout is great, but it isn't the kind of thing you can take out on a Friday evening to work on around a kitchen table. I'd followed Marcus' EHertsGER blog and was most impressed with the chassis he was building for his F4 tank. I'd build one of these in about 1985 (gulp) and had several goes at the chassis, none of which I'd been particularly happy with. The original Gibson sprung hornblocks and absence of any 'turn' on the carrying wheels meant that it was a very poor runner and just couldn't get around curves. I'd rebuilt it firstly with a flexichas beam system, one beam at the front and a pair at the rear. I'd also toyed with attempts to make radial axleboxes before finally settling on a 'phony-truck' as Marcus has done (though I never thought up the name, he should patent that). This version using CSB (Continuous Springy Beam) to provide springing so I will be interested to see how it goes. The quality of the etchings (produced and sold by Rumney Models) is superb.

The High Level gearbox went together beautifully and the chassis folded up very nicely. In place are the axle jigs, designed to allow the coupling rods to set the position of the hornblock guides.

If that wasn't enough I've been drawing up baseboards for the rebuilding of Fen End Pit.

David<div id='attach_wrap' class='rounded clearfix'>

<h4>Attached thumbnail(s)</h4>

<ul>

</li>

</li>

</li>

</ul>

</div>

View the full article

Sign In

Blog- Fen End Pit's Blog - Stour Valley in P4, Yard entry built and a new chassis for an old loco

Recommended Posts

RSS Fetcher

Link to post

Share on other sites

Archived

Browse more

Our shows

Our magazines