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

[NIK]

Hi,

 

I've ordered two Bachmann Class 117s in Blue Grey with sound.

 

I'm thinking the Class 33/1 with 4TC will be the main train and a 3 car Class 117 with sound will be the backup.

We only have the one line in the fiddle yard that connects the clockwise and the anticlockwise mainline so we shall have to work out how to use that line with two trains. The Class 33/1 with 4TC can form other trains - it could form a 33/1 with 2 x 4TC service on the mainline and then leave one 4TC in the fiddle yard.

 

The second Class 117 with sound may be the donor chassis for a class 119. I've got a couple of DC kits class 119 kits.

 

We might be able to get two 3 car units in the dead end of the West London spur so that might give some more flexibility. That would mean two 3 cars coming off the West London line in a row - I think some Redhill to Reading trains got diverted via the WLL so maybe that could be the excuse.

 

I have this mad plan to add a gradient between the WLL spur to join it to the anticlockwise part of the fiddle yard. This requires a 1 in 20 gradient so probably only DCC Concepts powerbase fitted trains will be able to climb it. However anything should be able to go down it.

 

I should set up a curve of the representative radius and gradient and see what climbs it although I do have a curve and gradient predictor under development that might help.

 

Regards

 

Nik 

[NIK]

Hi,

 

I've seen a few more photos of push pull trains on the West London line.

 

One is a Class 121 in Blue seemingly as a route learning unit. I've got a Dapol 121 in Blue - at least I've found the box.

 

One is a Class 122 in Blue as route learning unit.

 

A Hastings 6L on a rail tour. I've got a MTK 6S which needs a better motor bogie and I've also got a DC Kits 6L to build.

 

Class 73 propelling an LMS type Inspection saloon - got.

 

Regards

 

Nik

[Ian Morgan]

There will be more stuff running up and down the incline than is running on the main line soon 😟

[NIK]

12 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

There will be more stuff running up and down the incline than is running on the main line soon 😟

Hi,

 

As of the last few days there are problems with 4 points on the mainline so running on the West London Line spur may be one of the few options for the following weeks.

 

I've dug out my curve and gradient predictor and its looking like a Heljan Class 33 wont haul a 4TC up a one in 20 gradient with 33" radius curves. Its predicting the drag will be equal to the traction.

 

However it might not take very big magnets fitted under the Class 33/1 to increase the traction as the curved 1 in 20 gradient and its summit would have DCC Concepts PowerBase plates under the sleepers.

 

I'm off to search for that Blue Class 121, its got to be somewhere - I haven't taken the chassis to use in something else.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Beggarwood Lane has just been put up for one of our clubs (BNHMRS) twice yearly open days. 

The latest open day is today (search for BNHMRS online).

 

Test locos have been run round but its quite a complex layout so some of the less well used tracks may not have been checked yet. 

 

Members will probably be running whatever stock they would like to give a good run round.

 

Probably wont be using the goods yard for a couple of reasons one of which is the chap who normally shunts his spratt and winkle fitted goods stock is going to be in the other hut raising funds for the club by selling off surplus model railway items.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[NIK]

Hi,

 

The open day seemed to go well with more club layouts being shown than in recent open days.

 

Beggarwood ran reasonably with only one point having to have an adjustment to the servo mount (it was a warm day). Typically it was a facing point that provided access to three fiddle yard sidings so it needed a quick fix.

 

I picked up a second hand Bachmann Blue=Grey 4 CEP with Howes DCC Sound for £250 from one of the trade stands. Not sure what I'm going to do with it - Beggarwood has no level crossings or public foot crossings so use of horns might be limited - perhaps I can suggest a trackside work team be added to the layout so that sounding of horns on the mainline might be justified. The sound chip does seem to have auto brake squeal so maybe the 4 CEP could be used on ECS moves to and from the carriage sidings.

 

Beggarwood is now up for two months so probably there will be a lot of members allowing them to stretch their legs.

 

Today a newish type Hornby HST went round the layout in 20.56 seconds at max DCC speed step. We are going to get a surveyors tape to measure exactly how long one circuit of the layout is so we can work out the scale speeds.

 

Regards

 

Nick

Edited September 4, 2023 by NIK

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Beggarwood's two months being all up in our club room has ended and just the scenic boards are now up until December when the whole layout should go up again. One problem that was found remains to be fixed -  the Juniors that ran short wheelbase locos over the junction under a bridge found a dead frog.

 

It looks like it may either be a microswitch problem or a dodgy track feed. Of course the bridge is not removeable - that would be too easy.

 

Also the third rail was found to be way too high in places so lowering the third rail may be a project to be done this month. I had a mad idea to run a very low voltage medium current through the third rail that could be detected by magnetic sensors on Electric stock and used to control third rails sparks effects on board the stock. During fitting of the third rail I had asked for the third rail to have wires attached at each end but that didn't happen. So maybe if the third rail is going to be relaid the wires could be added at the same time.

 

Bachmann have announced the Refurbished 4 CEP in various liveries and the EFE Bulleid Raworth Co-Co Electric Booster loco. So could be an expensive time ahead.

 

During the construction of Beggarwood there was a debate about putting BR SR 'Tramway' overhead in the goods reception road.

 

Now that the Hornby Class 71 is going to be joined by the Co-Co perhaps we should look at it again.

 

Unlike Pete Watermans latest OO layout we don't have the option of putting chunky hidden tensioners at both ends of the overhead wire as one end of the wire will be on full view in the goods yard.

 

Regards

 

Nik (on behalf of BNHMRS - still looking for members)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Beggarwood Lane is up in the club rooms for December.

Some of the third rail was being lowered to a more scale height to avoid some of the newer stock catching it but that work has been suspended so that trains can run uninterrupted until the end of the month.

 

A very close up view of some of the detail that's being added to the layout.

 

Out of interest the length of the clockwise mainline circuit was measured with a long plastic tape measure. It turned out to be 60 feet and six inches. It was found that one Hornby 4VEP power car did 130mph at max DCC speed step and a Hornby Class 153 did 125mph.

 

Both units have self contained motor bogies similar to those used in the Limby (ex Lima) locos and DMUs. Frustratingly some of the points in the fiddle yard had problems with the feeds to the frogs but it may be due to problems with positioning of the microswitches and it was a very cold day. Result was the speed tests had to go through sidings with an S bend in it so not the lowest friction route.

 

Not wasted work on the speed tests as the layout may be used briefly for testing an RFID system and that system is designed to work up to 120mph.

 

We are hoping to move to a new club room where layouts like Beggarwood can be up most of the time. Importantly it will have toilets both for the disabled and the able bodied. The access will be much improved and layout work should be more fun for young and old with more space.

So any donations to the new club hut fund would be very gratefully received - an internet search for BNHMRS should find us.

 

Nik (on behalf of BNHMRS - still looking for new members)

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Most of Beggarwood Lane is being taken down and shouldn't be up again until after our club's exhibition on the 9th and 10th March 2024.

 

Work will resume on lowering the third rail. One of the points on the mainline on a scenic board is playing up and as the microswitch isn't operating it will need to be looked at pronto.

 

Beggarwood was up at the time of the last Junior meeting and the layout got tested quite well.

 

In addition to thinking about stock for the West London Line spur other stock is being considered for future shows. The EFE Booster is due soon and the refurbished CEPs are out.

 

I've ordered a Dapol OO Class 59 with smoke generator just to see how it performs when smoking.

 

It might be nice to have smoke fitted diesels going up the gradient on the scenic boards and also starting up in the interregional exchange sidings.

 

Beggarwood also gets used for running whatever stock members have including South African steam.

I think our platforms are built to an old British model standard so clearances can be very tight. 

 

Beggarwood is going to have an NCE SmartSwitch added to the DCC accessory bus so that the MERG DCC point decoders can't be accidently reprogrammed.

 

Just to end with we are fundraising to complete our first new club hut. So any donations such as via the BNHMRS website would be gratefully received.

 

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

Edited January 10 by NIK

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Before most of Beggarwood Lane was taken down for a scheduled break some more of the tracks were measured for length. This could allow planning for running a greater variety of trains at open days etc.

For instance there is two feet between one of the carriage siding walkways and its point (green line on picture). So two locos could be parked there.

 

The layout has just acquired its first SR Booster in BR Blue via Alton Model Centre. So maybe the Booster could sit in front of some old EMUs or DEMUs in the back carriage siding?.

 

Just to end with we are fundraising to complete our first new club hut. So any donations such as via the BNHMRS website would be gratefully received.

 

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

Edited January 10 by NIK

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Beggarwood is largely down for an extended period while another club layout has its wiring completed in time for our exhibition on the 9th and 10th March.

 

The SR C-C booster loco was tried out on a few tracks and the jury is out on whether the large wheel slop causes problems on the layout. I noticed one coupling was drooping and that may have caused a tendency to derail. Once derailed  it had a tendency not to re-rail itself on trailing points but that may be due to our third rail which is in the process of being lowered.

 

The loco has not been timed yet to see if its fast enough for passenger trains.

 

One of the revised Hornby 4 VEPs in SWT livery has been ordered for evaluation of the cab ends, roof ventilators and the chassis.

 

Our open days are a free for all stock wise so hopefully the new VEP once DCC'd will get a run out at out next open day on the 7th April. I might try and sneak the Jaffa Cake 4 CEP into a carriage siding.

 

If we get enough funds and a following wind the layouts may be in our new club hut.

 

More scenery is being added neat the tracks and could encroach on signal sight lines and signal locations so we need to get signal positions finalised. We have a signalling engineer in our club so we need to run the finalised plan past him.

 

We now have a Just Giving link on our BNHMRS website for fitting out our new hut, so any donations  would be gratefully received.

 

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

[NIK]

Hi,

 

No work on Beggarwood Lane planned this week at the club as we prepare for our annual exhibition at the weekend where this time we hope to raise some money towards the interior of our new club hut so that we can get it signed off by the building inspector and we can move in.

 

Beggarwood is planned to all go up after our show. A lot of third rail has been lowered.

 

In addition to a block of flats a 1960's industrial unit has been started for the right hand end of the scenic section. It looks a lot cleaner than the Victorian warehouse to its left and the 1930's flats to its right but I guess it should do.

 

Scenery was starting to encroach on the site for a shunting signal for the carriage sidings but after consultation with our newly retired signalling engineer its going to be replaced with three ground position light signals.

 

We've started to look at whether the viewing public will be able to see the aspects.

Once the layout is up we can put a bit of string on the floor to represent the barriers and then see which if any of the ground signals can be seen straight enough to be seen.

Will probably fit all three ground signals with surface mount LEDs plus wires as it will be difficult to retro fit them.

 

Signalling the carriage sidings has brought up the problem of how to signal bidirectional lines.

There are understandable route numbers for the three sidings, and for routes that are unidirectional I was going to add clearing a signal to the end of an NCE macro.

 

That's not going to work for bidirectional routes where the signal to be cleared depends on the direction the train is going to go. We may have to look at the NCE macro number allocation to find macros that are both spare and where the number indicates which direction the train is to go.

The NCE Power Pro macro numbers go from 0 to 255.

0 to 9 have been allocated to routes in the goods yard in order to speed up shunting (less buttons to press on the hand held cabs etc).

Some of 10 to 99 are allocated to routes on the clockwise and anticlockwise mainlines.

Some of 100 to 199 are allocated to routes associated with the loop on the anticlockwise mainline.

Some of 200 to 255 are allocated to routes associated with the spur with the gradient.

 

Some of 100 to 255 are used linked to other macros to extend them as NCE Power Pro macro can only have up to ten instructions each and some routes involve setting more points than that. So they are reserved but not typed by the operators (hopefully).

 

Regards

 

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

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Only the scenic boards for Beggarwood are up at the moment as its another big club layout's turn to be all up in our old club hut.

 

The new much bigger club hut is hopefully three weeks away from being habitable. Its taken about thirty years of fund raising to get this far and is presently costed at quarter of a million pounds if you include donations of materials and time from local businesses and loan of building equipment.

 

The plan is that when we move across, one layout from every major category (such as OO steam, OO diesel and electric, N gauge, O gauge ) can be up continuously. There will crucially be more room to work on models. The junior group have had to put up with very limited space this year as various layouts have had to be put up to get them finished for exhibitions.

 

Beggarwood Lane has an invite to an exhibition in October so preparation has started for that. Some more Dingo servo mounts are being assembled to replace more of the MERG 3D printed servo mounts which we are having an increasing number of problems with. Last summer's heat seems to have made things worse.

 

Work is being done on using the bidirectional track in the fiddle yard. I can't recall it every being used. There are some NCE routes for it and some partial routes so hopefully we can practise using those routes once we are in the new club hut.

 

To fully use the line down the gradient which links the West London Line spur and the interregional goods yard the bidirectional track needs to be used if trains are to be turned back in the fiddle yard.

 

This is due to Beggarwood having a roundy-roundy fiddle yard rather than dumbbell continuous run fiddle yards.

I'd probably seriously consider dumbbell fiddle yards in the future if planning a similar layout - I think it reflects many real railway operations with passenger services going one way and then coming back later in the day. Freight in open wagons is a different matter as the freight carried in one direction may be different in the other direction.

 

Hopefully there may be some training once in the new hut of extra operators to help at the October exhibition.

The numbering system at least for mainline routes to and from the fiddle yards are easy to work out.

So to go from track 1 in the FY back to track 1 in the FY an operator presses the following buttons on one of the NCE cabs:

Macro

1

1

Enter

 

Regards

 

Nick

 

 

 

 

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Two more MERG servo mounts plus microswitches have been replaced with Dingo servo mounts and switches. One had been causing problems and the other broke possibly having been attached to the baseboard with a flat head screw rather than a pan head.

 

A returning club member assembled a load of Dingo mounts, centering the servos with a servo tester.

 

Once the servo mounts had the microswitch cables soldered on they were screwed to the baseboard with pan heads and the MERG Servo4 servo drivers had their end stop and speed settings updated using a MERG Servoset box.

 

One of the points was at the entrance to the anticlockwise fiddle yard tracks so without a reliable point motor half the mainline couldn't be used.

 

The other point was a trailing only point so replacing the servo was not so important but needed to be done before the layout is put up for the long run in to an October exhibition (and the Grand Opening of the new club hut plus the September club open day where layouts and a few traders are to be spread over at least two large huts).

 

I'm expected to finish my model cinema by October and I've just bought a new lighting invention which might make a DIY neon light for the side of the cinema. Only tried it out this evening but its looking promising.

 

Regards

 

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