Beggarwood Lane - a 00 third rail Southern Region layout (DCC)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Its just over a week until Beggarwood Lane goes to our club's own exhibition in Basingstoke.

 

Impossible to make know exactly what stock will be there but there should be Spratt and Winkle coupled stock in the yard.

Many EMUs including a 13 car Boat Train. Hopefully at least one 4VEP after wheel flange reduction.

A number of interegional trains including block freights. At least one 2-Hampshire unit. A 4TC with Class 33/1. Other Southern Region locos such as Class 73 and 71. Possibly a 4TC/REP combo. Four or five 2-EPBs coupled together. 2-BIL and 2-HALs may make an appearance. An inspection saloon and loco might make a short train. Units that are DCC’d but can’t run for some reason could be parked in the MU sidings.

 

We will probably try to run a very frequent service but with no service trains doing two laps or more on the trot. Doesn’t mean we won’t be asked to test run a loco for someone who wants to buy one from a stand at the show.

 

 

Regards

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Just four days until Beggarwood Lane appears at our Basingstoke exhibition.

 

Due to a lurghi I'm about six days behind with my prep.

 

I've just made a DIY collet to hold Hornby 4 VEP wheels in order to turn down the flanges:

The tube is steel. The wheel set shown is a standard flanged spare part. The Hornby 4 VEP flanges are much deeper and use inside bearings. My long term plan is to fit outside bearing wheelsets to most of the bogies on the units.

 

I will put the collet in my milling machine and turn down the flange with a lathe tool firmly clamped in a machine vice bolted to the mill's compound table.

 

Hopefully the jubilee clip is sufficiently light that the mill wont be unbalanced too much.

 

I might try and turn a taper onto the inside of the collet to give greater grip.

 

Hopefully I might be able to have more than one 4 VEP running on the layout for the weekend.

 

Regards

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Just two days to go until Beggarwood goes to our clubs exhibition in Basingstoke.

 

Just painted most of the cinema black as well as an extra DCC cab holder to go on the front of the layout for the goods yard operator. Its extra deep so when the cab is put in it doesn't block the view of the layout.

 

Also set up the mill ready to turn down the flanges on Hornby 4 VEP wheels (they are too deep for Beggarwoods track). Rigged a dial test indicator to indicate when the lathe tool is exactly at the right depth. Digital Vernier caliper is at the ready to measure the flange diameter.

 

Still got to make copy of Raspberry Pi/JMRI software for interface between NCE DCC command station and tablets and smartphones. Route number tables and track diagrams still to be printed.

 

Regards

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Beggarwood Lane is all boxed up and ready to go to the club's show at the weekend.

 

All operator info is printed as are the cable plans for the show as a whole.

Just about to make a backup of the software for the Raspberry Pi interface to the DCC command station.

Printed side of cinema to stick onto plywood shell.

DCC command station, cabs and spares to be packed up. Got to get cash in case I get a chance to get round the traders.

Spare DCC decoders and Kadee couplings to pack, new stock boxes to sort.

 

Regards

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Beggarwood had been put up at our show in Basingstoke and everything tested seems to be working.

 

Its in the gym which one of the smaller halls at the show and tends to be missed by some visitors. The gym is between the main school hall and the sports hall. So to see Beggarwood after going into the main school hall walk straight ahead and you will find your self in the gym.

 

It may be one of the last model railway shows in the UK for a few months.

 

 

Regards

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

I've finally had time to select, compress/crop a few photos of Beggarwood Lane (taken in a few spare minutes on Sunday before our exhibition opened) - but with stock on it.

 

We normally have a club open day a couple of weeks after our exhibition but I guess that's postponed. On Sunday we got a requirement to get the layout ready for photography within three months. Then the UK government's advice on COVID19 changed and has complicated things but made Beggarwood much less important for now.

 

Take care.

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

[Csalem]

Impressive looking layout.

[Ian Morgan]

"Gronk" and "Rudolph Castle" also visited Beggarwood Lane during some time off from our GMRC layout "Santa's Globetrotting Vacation".

 

 

 

[NIK]

2 hours ago, Csalem said:

Impressive looking layout.

Hi,

 

Thanks, there's still major buildings to be done at the right most scenic board and it was pointed out at the show that we need to disguise the holes in the backscenes more if we are going to exhibit in well lit rooms (most exhibitions are poorly lit and if we put a lighting rig on the scenic part that may help take the emphasis off the fiddle yard approaches).

 

What the photos don't show is the frequency of trains or their speed. We had a new operator at the week end who normally drives local busses. He seemed intent on seeing how fast he could run the 14 coach parcel train.

 

We aim to get a detailed layout with a high frequency of trains and maybe to inspire modellers and keep those who like to see lots of trains running happy.

 

Due to it being our own show and the loss of helpers due to COVID19 we couldn't operate the goods yard most of the time. Only one point failed and that was linking the incline to the interregional spur so we couldn't use the spur either. At least the failure wasn't on the mainline.

 

The Hornby 4 VEP that had had its power car flanges turned down ran ok at speed albeit with a lot of noise from the trailing car flanges as it bounced over the points.

 

I didn't get my 4 CIG remotored in time for the show or my 6 car Hastings unit but part of the CIG sat in an EMU siding.

 

 

Regards

 

Nick

[NIK]

Hi,

 

I've just bought a Bachmann Class 117 in Blue Grey and although its mainly intended for my future layout based on the Reading to Tonbridge line it got me thinking about the full range of DMUs that could be used on Beggarwood Lane.

 

Beggarwood has a non electrified spur that leads to interregional goods yard on the lower level and to the West London Line.

 

The WLL track is a dead end at present and has no space for a run round loop.

 

I've asked in a separate topic on RMWeb what DMUs used the West London Line over the years and did 3 car Class 117s in Blue Grey ever run on the line?.

 

Class 119's did run to Kensington Olympia and I've got an MTK Class 119 with an old chassis under it plus two DC Kits to make plus brass sides and ends for another Cl119.

 

If we could sort out some DCC automated couplings for Class 73's and a way of detecting when a loco has coupled up to some coaches we might be able to recreate the Class 73 plus 2 Mk1 coaches that at one time used to run from Clapham Junction along the West London Line. Not sure where we would store a Class 73 off scene to back onto the coaches for the return leg.

 

 

Take Care.

 

Nick 

[Geep7]

117's did run from Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction, but only as 2-car units in NSE in the mid-90s. I haven't seen any photographs of them in Blue & Grey though.

[NIK]

12 minutes ago, Geep7 said:

117's did run from Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction, but only as 2-car units in NSE in the mid-90s. I haven't seen any photographs of them in Blue & Grey though.

Hi Chris,

 

Some of the operators of Beggarwood are more into NSE livery than me so they may provide a Cl117 NSE power twin or two when COVID lets us get back to running the layout. A two car unit might enable us to have two trains in the same dead end track - maybe a loco and Managers saloon on an inspection train sandwiched in by a 2 Car Cl117 or  2 car Cl101.

 

Many thanks.

 

Nick

[chriscleveland]

On 20/03/2020 at 11:15, NIK said:

Hi,

 

I've finally had time to select, compress/crop a few photos of Beggarwood Lane (taken in a few spare minutes on Sunday before our exhibition opened) - but with stock on it.

 

We normally have a club open day a couple of weeks after our exhibition but I guess that's postponed. On Sunday we got a requirement to get the layout ready for photography within three months. Then the UK government's advice on COVID19 changed and has complicated things but made Beggarwood much less important for now.

 

Take care.

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

how nice beggarwood looks with with the majority of buildings built and in place 

[London Southwark]

20 hours ago, NIK said:

Hi,

 

I've just bought a Bachmann Class 117 in Blue Grey and although its mainly intended for my future layout based on the Reading to Tonbridge line it got me thinking about the full range of DMUs that could be used on Beggarwood Lane.

 

Beggarwood has a non electrified spur that leads to interregional goods yard on the lower level and to the West London Line.

 

The WLL track is a dead end at present and has no space for a run round loop.

 

I've asked in a separate topic on RMWeb what DMUs used the West London Line over the years and did 3 car Class 117s in Blue Grey ever run on the line?.

 

Class 119's did run to Kensington Olympia and I've got an MTK Class 119 with an old chassis under it plus two DC Kits to make plus brass sides and ends for another Cl119.

 

If we could sort out some DCC automated couplings for Class 73's and a way of detecting when a loco has coupled up to some coaches we might be able to recreate the Class 73 plus 2 Mk1 coaches that at one time used to run from Clapham Junction along the West London Line. Not sure where we would store a Class 73 off scene to back onto the coaches for the return leg.

 

 

Take Care.

 

Nick 

Selhurst allocated class 205 and 207s were used on the Clapham Junction - Kensington olympia shuttle service as well 

[NIK]

3 hours ago, London Southwark said:

Selhurst allocated class 205 and 207s were used on the Clapham Junction - Kensington olympia shuttle service as well 

Hi,

 

Many thanks. We have a few Kernow/Bachmann 2H Cl 205 but I don't know whether 2H's ever worked the West London Line.

I've got an MTK 3H but it is a poor comparison to the Bachmann 2H.  Also got DC kits and Southern Pride 3H's to build. Probably the best bet for now is to use MJT parts to build a centre car to go with the Bachmann 2H, try to mix paint to match the Bachmann and if that doesn't work then to weather all three coaches.

 

I've got a MTK Cl207 that might do until I can build some of my DC Kits and Southern Pride Cl207.

 

Any kit built unit has to be capable of getting up the 1 in 40 gradient to the mainline. However the gradient is fitted with DCC Concepts powerbase so the addition of DCC Concepts magnets should be enough (providing the motor bogie doesn't slow down too much on the up slope).

 

The experimental gradient/curve calculator I use should help with working out what trains can make it up the gradient with its 36" radius near the top.

Might have to attach some track and powerbase to a test base board to see what speed various kit built Multiple Units will negotiate the gradient and curve.

 

Take care.

 

Nick

 

 

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Beggarwood Lane should be up and hopefully running at our clubs open day:

 

Basingstoke

 

Saturday September 4th 2021 10:30-15:30

 

6 club layouts will be on show, or being worked on in our clubrooms and the adjacent scout hall.

 

Free entry, light refreshments available. Trader with new and second-hand model railway products on sale.

 

Stratton Park (off Pack Lane) Basingstoke. RG22 5HL

 

What3Words ///stocks.shock.charm

 

One of the uprights for the passenger footbridge went missing at our club's last exhibition in March 2020. That has been replaced (not sure how many Ratio kits have been bought to finish this multilevel footbridge).

 

I hope to run my new Bachmann 4-BEP as part of a MLV/4CEP/4BEP/4CEP boat train.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Beggarwood Lane actually ran at our clubs open day.

It hadn't been powered up since the first Covid lockdown and the non scenic boards had been in storage. Some of the non scenic boards had taken some damage to the woodwork.

Two points in the goods yard that had been damaged in the previous 18 months more or less worked after temporary repairs. One servo wouldn't move and was eventually found to have failed. A servo from the not yet operational industrial branch was taken to replace it.

The open day was very busy especially in the the morning although I found it hard to tell ex members from relatives of members and members of the public. A couple of visitors said they had missed model railway exhibitions so that could explain why this open day was busier.

Later in the day a piano wire link in one of the point motors kept falling out. I tried to hold it in with some masking tape but the servo mount broke and we lost half the sidings in the clockwise fiddle yard for the last few hours of the show.

 

The last open day a dog came in to the hall, chewed my sarnies and peed on my stock boxes.

The year a different dog came in but got its timing wrong and I'd eaten my sarnies. This time it got chased out before it could cock its leg.

 

Stuart ran his MLV/CEP/BEP/CEP boat train as I didn't have time to get a decoder in my BEP.

Not many derailments in general even though one of the baseboard ends had split.

 

By the afternoon both fiddle yard operators were confident enough to work the layout from the front. The DCC numbers of the trains were in the recall stacks of the NCE handsets and we could remember the route numbers (route 77 is track 7 in the fiddle yard, 122 is track 2 to track 2 via the loop on the front of the layout).

 

We have a potential invite to a local model show in 2 years time and an offer from an ex member to help operate the layout at exhibitions.

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

Edited September 11, 2021 by NIK
Extra info

[NIK]

Hi,

 

A year on and Beggarwood Lane has been run at two more club open days. The last one was last Sunday the 4th September.

 

Largely worked ok but due to lack of space in our club hut there was no room for the goods yard operator. At present the goods yard is set up for front operation. The video monitor was temporarily screwed in place inside the model cinema and the video sent from a Raspberry Pi computer seemed to run all day without problems. Despite a generous four weeks to work on the layout with it all set up and help by others a few point mechanisms played up on the day so that will need looking into.

 

Had an odd one with the NCE Power Pro DCC system - some problems with an EMU boat train advanced consist. Sometimes the consisted train  wouldn't start again after having been brought to a halt in the fiddle yard. I suspect there may have been other advanced consists containing one or more of the same DCC addresses held in the NCE command station from previous operating days and this was clashing with addresses in one or more of the 'cab' recall stacks.

Will try to set command station back to its defaults and see if that solves it.

 

The layout was looking good with details being added apart from the last scenic board where I need to pull my finger out and finish the cinema and build the signal box (based on the one at Battersea Park -thus adding a South London line touch to the layout).

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

The scenic boards of Beggarwood are back and running in time for our clubs next open day in Basingstoke on Sunday the 23rd April (search for BNHMRS).

 

The DCC points decoders accidently got reprogrammed with the wrong addresses and it took a while to sort things out again.

 

A number of point servo mounts which failed after the hot weather in the summer have been replaced with Dingo servo mounts, some from Santa's Globetrotting Vacation from the Channel 5 competition - we couldn't get a buyer for it so its been dismantled for parts.

 

More scenic details have been added to the layout and the drop on section with the housing estate screwed down.

 

The club's exhibition in March did amazingly well despite the food for catering going up in price - we should have enough to pay the electric heating bill.

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Beggarwood Lane is up and most of it is working. One of the fiddle yard sidings might be out of action and a short loop. Some more point microswitches had gone out of alignment. A three way point was got working by hitting the rails with the side of my fist.

 

Its been quite a long winter and most of the layout has been stored against a wall of the club hut. Due to the cost of electricity at the moment the club room has been cold for a long time.

 

A short on one of the scenic boards disappeared after I gave it a hard Paddington Bear like stare and wiggled a couple of wires. Once the track circuit and signal wiring is in all the wiring will be tied to the layout.

 

A newly DCC'd Hornby Javelin was tried out on the layout. I was very impressed by its slow running. My Hornby Pendolino is very coggy but its got a factory wired or fitted decoder and its designed to haul more coaches at speed. Maybe if I attached all the unit coaches it would improve.

 

Beggarwood lane is being used by our Junior group today so they will probably give it a good work out.

 

Regards

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

 

[Ian Morgan]

12 hours ago, NIK said:

A three way point was got working by hitting the rails with the side of my fist.

 

A short on one of the scenic boards disappeared after I gave it a hard Paddington Bear like stare and wiggled a couple of wires.

 

 

Getting technical again?

 

See tomorrow at the Basingstoke Club Open Day.

 

 

[50033]

My boy and I popped in for an hour earlier on and I must really Thank Marcus of the junior section. My boy took a liking to him and dragged him round for quite a while. Beggarwood looks impressive and I’d love to run my stock on it. I’ll really must try and come along each week and join up. 

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Peter, a club member who helped out on Beggarwood Lane found out that the footbridge over the mainline was perfect for propping up a smartphone in order to record video in landscape format.

 

Hopefully he will put the video on Youtube so I can link it here.

 

Most of the layout worked and we have good evidence that we need to replace most of the servo mounts with a better type.

 

Regards

 

Nik

 

[NIK]

Hi,

 

We had a few spare minutes at the open day to try and work out how fast a train already on the layout would go at.

 

We didn't have a proper non conductive measuring tape to measure the distance round the layout.

I'd done an estimate of 57 feet as an average for the mainline using the layout boundary dimensions, but with a piece of cable I measured 61 feet going via the outside siding in the fiddle yard.

 

With three Bachmann 4 CEPs consisted together it worked out at 99.8 mph on speed step 126 of 126. DCC track voltage was probably 14.2V, so subtract about 1.5V for the DCC decoder bridge rectifier to get the max motor voltage. DCC bus wiring is very chunky so there might not have been much voltage drop with the three EMUs.

 

That's 3 miles an hour faster than a sample 4 CEP on my DCC test track. However that is basically a circle with 3rd radius curves, is quite dusty and is not that flat.

Beggarwood has minimum 3 foot radius curves and the track was cleaned just 5 hours earlier.

 

Still almost 100mph is impressive on handbuilt points on the scenic boards and a leading curved point at the entrance to the fiddle yard.

 

We will have to get a proper sewing measuring tape and get an accurate number for the distance.

 

I'm planning to fit at least one speedometer to the layout so that the speed of trains can be monitored.

 

Ideally I'd like excess speed displayed to the operator, maybe as part of the cab display.

 

When very young visitors are present the train speeds tend to go up.

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

Edited April 24, 2023 by NIK

[NIK]

Hi,

 

While waiting for my car to be repaired I thought I'd do some more research on localish services on the West London Line as Beggarwood has a spur to the WLL.

Photo from before detailing was added. The West London Line spur is on a 1 in 40 gradient from the higher level mainline.

 

I'm concentrating on push-pull services as at the moment the spur ends in a 5 coach dead end off scene.

 

So far I've seen the following photos online:

 

Blue Class 33/1 with Blue Grey 4 TC.

Class 101 2 car in Blue Grey

Class 101/117? 2 car in Blue Grey and NSE.

Class 117 2 Car in NSE

Class 207 Oxted in Blue Grey

Class 119 3car? in Blue Grey

Class 117? 3 car in Blue Grey (not sure of colour of centre car)

 

The 33/1 and 4TC we've got and tried - needs couplings that align vertically - going to try Hunt magnetics.

Got some Limby Cl101s, I think at least 1 in Blue Grey.

Demotor a Lima 101 and make connector to couple to Bachmann NSE 117?. Will one mini motor be enough?.

Hopefully Bachmann 117 (got in NSE) can be coupled as a 2car?.

I think I've got a Southern Pride Class 207 in B/G to build.

Cl119 - Tricky - got an old MTK in Blue Grey, may try Silver Fox parts on a Bachmann 117 chassis?.

Cl117 in Blue grey - got - needs DCCing.

 

Regards

 

Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

Edited April 28, 2023 by NIK