Hills of the North - The Last Great Project

[Enterprisingwestern]

2 hours ago, D-A-T said:

As an outsider may I suggest a Dumb Waiter may assist Mortimer with his domestic duties….

That and the provision of a small silver bell to summon him.

 

I would have thought it would be the other way round?

 

Mike.

[The Stationmaster]

3 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

 

 

 

I am not keen on ladders at the best of times, let alone carrying a tray of tea cups up one.

 

I am looking forward to being the maestro of the refreshments for Hills of the North.

If you ask nicely he will probably install oneof these for you -

 

https://www.stiltz.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAiA0cyfBhBREiwAAtStHAh9sn9RV6zwjgcQuX5sXATC_9JWfjUq-9N9Eog8ae5ylE70gYLbIRoCGZUQAvD_BwE

 

[Clive Mortimore]

17 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

If you ask nicely he will probably install oneof these for you -

 

https://www.stiltz.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAiA0cyfBhBREiwAAtStHAh9sn9RV6zwjgcQuX5sXATC_9JWfjUq-9N9Eog8ae5ylE70gYLbIRoCGZUQAvD_BwE

 

Now that does look good, but I bet one of the blighters will turn the power off when I am between levels. 🥴

[30368]

17 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I bet one of the blighters will turn the power off when I am between levels. 🥴

 

Life can be cruel Clive.

 

Surely you could fashion a lift from a few cut and shut washing machines and the odd unwanted sun lounge?

 

Good that you are involved in this brill project.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[5BarVT]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

If you ask nicely he will probably install oneof these for you -

 

https://www.stiltz.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAiA0cyfBhBREiwAAtStHAh9sn9RV6zwjgcQuX5sXATC_9JWfjUq-9N9Eog8ae5ylE70gYLbIRoCGZUQAvD_BwE

 

First reaction to the first photo was “Beam me up, Scotty”.

Paul.

And, my, can’t we go off topic on here!

[LNER4479]

[5BarVT]

Count me in!

Paul.

[LNER4479]

3 hours ago, 30368 said:

 

Life can be cruel Clive.

 

Surely you could fashion a lift from a few cut and shut washing machines and the odd unwanted sun lounge?

 

 

 

 A bit like this, you mean?

 

Edited February 20, 2023 by LNER4479

[Buhar]

Gerard Hoffnung and the barrel springs to mind.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zZUJLO6lMhI

 

[5BarVT]

I had exactly the same thought.

How do you make so few words last a whole 7 minutes?

Brilliant in ‘58, brilliant in ‘76 when I first heard it, and still brilliant now.

Paul.

[Enterprisingwestern]

8 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

I had exactly the same thought.

How do you make so few words last a whole 7 minutes?

Brilliant in ‘58, brilliant in ‘76 when I first heard it, and still brilliant now.

Paul.

 

Imagine trying to make that mainstream nowadays, the snowflakes would have a field day.

 

Mike.

[LNER4479]

So, with the lights all done, time to start kitting out the balcony.

 

Oh the smell of freshly sawn timber, the whirr of the drill ... happy in my work.

 

Not too shabby, even though I say so myself. Just needs its knobs on

 😆 

 

Meanwhile ...

 

Some further structure work in progress. This will be the duck under for the Central operator.

 

And now with board fitted, with white paint drying. This should be sufficient to lay the fiddle yard tracks such that the WCML board can subsequently be installed on top. Note the cassette handling area to the left of the white paint. This is inset so that the cassettes should be at the right height for the adjacent track. The little spar of wood between the turntable and the new board is only temporary, to maintain the minimum 2ft spacing, with the legs vertical. It's since been removed, with the board itself now holding everything steady.

 

More soon, abw

Edited February 26, 2023 by LNER4479

[Barry Ten]

51 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

So, with the lights all done, time to start kitting out the balcony.

 

Oh the smell of freshly sawn timber, the whirr of the drill ... happy in my work.

 

 

 

Looks like you've come round to my train room and nicked half my tools ... same workmate, same cable reel, same jigsaw, same clamps...

[BWsTrains]

1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

Note the cassette handling area to the left of the white paint. This is inset so that the cassettes should be at the right height for the adjacent track.

 

Are your cassettes already built, i.e coming here from some earlier life?

If not I've a suggestion for wiring them to the main you might find useful.

[LNER4479]

They're for rakes of coaches only. Much hand-balling - true fiddle yard!

[Fishplate]

8 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

Are your cassettes already built, i.e coming here from some earlier life?

If not I've a suggestion for wiring them to the main you might find useful.

 

Hi  @BWsTrains whilst @LNER4479 isnt, I am interested in powered cassettes. Have you put your method elsewhere on RMWeb?

 

I am looking at a "scenic cassette" that can be swapped out as required, but will remain in place for most of the time. So looking for unobtrusive connections if possible. I haven't spent much time pondering a solution as yet for my project, link in my signature below. This is due to various hiatuses (hiatii??) in getting my project built. 

 

Consequently I can often be found hanging over fiddle yards at exhibitions . .  .

[BWsTrains]

46 minutes ago, Fishplate said:

I am interested in powered cassettes. Have you put your method elsewhere on RMWeb?

 

@FishplateI'll get back to you on your topic as it's not relevant here. I've some links which I can share but have things planned for this evening (which it already is here!) which mean it'll be tomorrow.

 

Colin

Edited February 27, 2023 by BWsTrains

[LNER4479]

And so, after a modicum of tracklaying:

 

What coaches I have on the layout at the moment positioned on the newly laid fiddle yard sidings. This is not the full extent of them - they will continue to the left of this view for at least four more carriage lengths.

 

This view shows the arrangement more clearly, including the cassette handling area. The reason for pairing the tracks is to allow space for the supports for the running lines above ...

 

Like so (temporarily - and gingerly! - positioned just for now). Only the nearest road and the cassette area will be easily accessible; in practice, the other three roads will be used for storage of three of the prestige (named) express sets: the Royal Scot, the Midday Scot and the Thames-Clyde express. Happily, the Waverley can be stored at the Edinburgh fiddle yard, as it appears southbound through Carlisle first.

 

In practice, each of these sets appears twice during the sequence for no more than 30-45 sequence minutes and is otherwise stored as a fixed formation set. Other sets will be remarshalled accordingly - either as quick turnarounds in the station or using the cassettes. Not quite sure yet how the Caledonian is dealt with but I'll figure it out somehow!

 

Meanwhile ...

 

An inviting space awaits to be filled! This measures approx 16ft by 9ft - many would kill to have that sort of space available for model railway activities yet here it's 'just' a sort of elevated lounge cum viewing area. Still, I've waited over 30 years to have such a facility overall.

 

Sorting / boxing in the electrics you can see on the left comes first. Previously this was 10ft above ground level, out of harm's way. Might even be able to use it as the power supply for up here (to keep the beer fridge running) 🤔

[St Enodoc]

2 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

This is not the full extent of them - they will continue to the left of this view for at least four more carriage lengths.

Will they be working by, say, November? Just asking...

 

4 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

An inviting space awaits to be filled! This measures approx 16ft by 9ft - many would kill to have that sort of space available for model railway activities yet here it's 'just' a sort of elevated lounge cum viewing area. Still, I've waited over 30 years to have such a facility overall.

Some form of gate across the top of the ladder would be highly desirable.

[LNER4479]

... not to mention the two foot gap to this side of the ladder (not obvious in that last photo; can be seen more clearly in the earlier photo, viewed from the ground, looking up. There's a long list of things to do up there, in truth ... but we'll get there.

 

Running in November? Unfortunately, that clashes with show season, when some of the boards have to be dismantled to get Shap (GETS, October) and Grantham (Newcastle, November) out of there. Also, the temperature is starting to drop in there that time of year. Main running sessions will be summer based ... for future reference(!)

[LNER4479]

Remember this?

 

Actually I had to look back myself - this was end of Jan.

 

Time to add the detail. This is a way of doing door hinges; the sides didn't have any provision for such, so had to mark and drill the holes / slots accordingly. Does make a difference though.

 

Now with handrails and handles ...

 

... not forgetting the undergubbins.

 

Work has also progressed on the WCJS 6-wheeler.

 

Roof work also completed.

 

And here they are last night ...

 

... posed on a section of track you might recognise (perhaps?) that, all being well, they should be running on in just under five weeks at the York show. The paint shop now beckons 

 

[LNER4479]

Meanwhile ...

 

Work continues on and above the fiddle yard. There's now the supporting structure for the WCML running lines. A bit of time measuring and adjusting to get a consistent gradient.

 

And with the WCML trackbed board back on top.

 

The bubble of the spirit level has just breached one of the lines. My calcs make that somewhere in the region of 1-in-130 to 1-in-150, as intended (ie, hopefully within the capacity of a single-headed train)

 

Plenty of room for coaches beneath in the working area of the yard, even with 2x1 battening in use.

 

More soon.

[St Enodoc]

6 hours ago, LNER4479 said:

The bubble of the spirit level has just breached one of the lines. My calcs make that somewhere in the region of 1-in-130 to 1-in-150, as intended (ie, hopefully within the capacity of a single-headed train)

I tend to prop up one end of the level with a bit of something that corresponds to the desired gradient (so if you want 1 in 100 and your spirit level is 1m long, use something 10mm thick) then adjust until the spirit level is indeed level.

[LNER4479]

That's exactly what I do John! It's a 3 foot level and a small piece of 6mm off cut hovering around the end was bringing it more or less level.

 

For this stretch, the gradient will be what the gradient will be as both the top and bottom of it are now fixed datums. The original calcs from the plan had it comfortably north of 1-in-100 which is what I'm aiming for. It's actually more important that it's a steady gradient all the way up so I'm using the position of the bubble to try and achieve that - the floor's far too uneven to rely on. I noted that you had an issue in that respect with your scheme recently?

 

When I built the Shap Wells boards for the exhibition version it was engineered the other way round so to speak as I knew what gradient I was aiming at - the boards are five feet long and each set of legs is progressively 17mm taller. There's a mark on the level that 'calibrates' this gradient accordingly, this time using a 9mm offcut. That way, I can check whether the floor of the exhibition hall is actually level or not(!) and we haven't unwittingly got a false gradient.

 

All good fun!

[Bloodnok]

1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

It's actually more important that it's a steady gradient all the way up

 

This. People obsess over what the gradient number is, where a smooth, steady gradient with a slow entrance and exit (vertical curves) at each end is far more important. If it ends up as 1:150 or 1:120 is far less important than keeping it consistent.

 

1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

- the floor's far too uneven to rely on.

 

Hah, the joy of working in old buildings. One of the layout projects I'm working on is housed on the third floor of a building built in the 1700s. There's 80mm of height difference in the floor across the area the layout is in (roughly 5m x 8m). Given the low point is roughly in the middle of one side, the floor is already steeper than 1 in 50 in places.