Warren Branch

[lmsforever]

I totally agree  I am reworking my layout in sections as I get inspiration  makes it more interesting  am thinking of the next section now.

[RobAllen]

18 hours ago, MrWolf said:

I think that it's a matter of picking one part of it and getting that bit built absolutely as far as possible and moving on.

A few modellers I've seen on YouTube have made similar comments. Mixing it up a bit between all the different bits of the hobby from scenery, operations, rolling stock, the work bench, etc. appears to help.

[chuffinghell]

On 12/11/2023 at 17:25, MrWolf said:

That reminds me to tidy mine up, it's a mixture of satin black and matt black due to general carelessness!

As daft as it sounds I’ve used Humbrol black Matt 33 acrylic because that’s the only black paint I’ve got

 

It goes on nicely and does actually dry matt. It actually goes further than you think, I’ve only used half of an 18ml pot and that’s on bare plywood

 

Not sure if you can still get the big pots though, all I can seem to find are the dropper bottle

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by chuffinghell

[Fishplate]

On 12/11/2023 at 14:39, chuffinghell said:

The ‘black dog’ had a part in their removal

 

Really sorry to hear that Chris. There is lots of positive help on RMWeb and I know the written word can be read differently to how it would be said. I know a positive/ supportive/ encouraging comment can be read as a negative if the recipients mind is not in the right place

 

I am sure none of the contributors to your post want anything but a positive outcome for you. Knowing your eye for detail, and the effort you put into making everything you do as prototypical as possible, I hope you can find your way back to inspiring the rest of us with whatever you decide to concentrate on next. Hopefully will we see you reinstating the Warren Sheep. 

 

ps I am grateful to @Gopher for introducing me/ us to the concept of Sheep's "Clankers". I must remember to bring up in conversation with my son-in-law who has a small herd and successfully shows sheep locally. Although to pick up on another point,  I suspect showing sheep avec Clankers would not put him in the prizes . . . .

[Winslow Boy]

6 hours ago, chuffinghell said:

As daft as it sounds I’ve used Humbrol black Matt 33 acrylic because that’s the only black paint I’ve got

 

It goes on nicely and does actually dry matt. It actually goes further than you think, I’ve only used half of an 18ml pot and that’s on bare plywood

 

Not sure if you can still get the big pots though, all I can seem to find are the dropper bottle

 

Bit like being charged the same price for the packet of biscuits, only to find when you open them that there are five fewer - shrinkflation I believe it's called.

[chuffinghell]

Looks better with the fascia painted…

 

 

….and the Warren Branch totem in place

[NHY 581]

Looking good, Chris. 

 

For info, I use blackboard paint on the framage for the Sheep Continum layouts. I apply using a small roller and it gives a nice finish. Drys quickly as well. 

 

Rob. 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by NHY 581
Termites

[MrWolf]

It's been a while since I saw a panoramic view of Warren, the whole scene flows nicely and it always looks like there's something more behind the station.

[chuffinghell]

14 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

It's been a while since I saw a panoramic view of Warren, the whole scene flows nicely

Thanks Rob

 

16 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

it always looks like there's something more behind the station.

There is!…..Behind the station are the stairs to the first floor 🤪

[Pete Haitch]

Yesterday I was looking at the first two pages of this thread as I'm considering building a base-board.  (I could buy one but that would not help my 'farmyard finesse' standard of carpentry) Frankly I'm in awe of your workmanship. Your latest panoramic picture I find equally as impressive - the composition as well as the execution. I guess it is proof that you need good foundations to build a silk purse - or some such metaphor. Thanks so much for sharing - you set a high bar; but it is something I can aspire to in the hope of at least reaching some-way towards it.

 

On 21/10/2018 at 16:22, chuffinghell said:

Slightly over-engineered

 

 

[chuffinghell]

5 hours ago, Pete Haitch said:

Yesterday I was looking at the first two pages of this thread as I'm considering building a base-board.  (I could buy one but that would not help my 'farmyard finesse' standard of carpentry) Frankly I'm in awe of your workmanship. Your latest panoramic picture I find equally as impressive - the composition as well as the execution. I guess it is proof that you need good foundations to build a silk purse - or some such metaphor. Thanks so much for sharing - you set a high bar; but it is something I can aspire to in the hope of at least reaching some-way towards it.

 

 

 

 

Very kind, thank you

 

Although I have been considering re-engineering the fiddle yard and going for a cassette arrangement instead of the traverser

 

 

[MrWolf]

10 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:

 

Very kind, thank you

 

Although I have been considering re-engineering the fiddle yard and going for a cassette arrangement instead of the traverser

 

 

 

That's what I'm doing now because there's not enough room for the original fiddle yards at our new address. There is just enough room for a curve around the ends and a shelf on the wall incorporating a cassette.

[lezz01]

Oh goody fiddle yard angst! I'll order in a bulk bag of popcorn.

Regards Lez.

[chuffinghell]

20 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

Oh goody fiddle yard angst! I'll order in a bulk bag of popcorn.

Regards Lez.

I think I’ll be okay because it’s an engineering thing and doesn’t involve sheep

 

I’m aware that cassettes offer many advantages

 

The following suggestions were made by others in the early stages of construction and I’ve had time to mull them over

 

1) if I had separate loco and rolling stock cassettes I can just move the loco from one end to the other easily

 

2) I could build a rack above to store each rake and use as required

 

3) having locos and rolling stock virtually hanging over the edge of the board/traverser is a bit scary (especially if you’re clumsy) so having cassettes is safer

 

I’m sure there are things I’ve forgotten

 

I’ll more than likely go down the lengths of raw* aluminium angle route (*ie non anodised or other surface finishes) attached to a timber base

 

 

[RobAllen]

31 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:

I’m aware that cassettes offer many advantages

Building a fiddle yard is in my future, soon, so paying attention as that traverser looks fantastic.

You have articulated the advantages of cassettes well, but are there any disadvantages? I guess that long rakes of coaches/wagons get unwieldy when lifting to/from shelves. Anything else to consider?
 

Edited November 15, 2023 by RobAllen

[chuffinghell]

3 minutes ago, RobAllen said:

Building a fiddle yard is in my future, soon, so paying attention as that traverser looks fantastic.

You have articulated the advantages of cassettes well, but are there any disadvantages? I guess that long rakes of coaches/wagons get unwieldy when lifting to/from shelves. Anything else to consider?
 

I’m sure there are disadvantages but at the moment the pros are out weighing the cons……unless anyone says otherwise

[lezz01]

How about a cassette on a sector plate that way you get the advantages of both systems.

Regards Lez. 

[chuffinghell]

This was the original plan, please excuse the mess the fiddleyard has been used as additional work space 

 

 

The minimum 2nd radius curves with a straight in between to allow coaches to ‘snake’ without buffers locking

 

The plan was to have seven tracks on the traverser which would mean six locos and size rakes of rolling stock hanging over the edge.

 

Now, I have 1100mm to play with from the end of the curve and my longest possible rake is less than 1000mm so I could have a 100mm fixed section, a number of 250mm loco sections and a number of 750mm rolling stock sections

 

If I were to use all locos and rolling stock in one session I’d need to make ten loco cassettes and eight for rolling stock, alternately half the amount and just alternate between sessions?

 

The track is currently 50mm off the edge which shouldn’t be a problem but I could do this

 

 

But I’d have to double check there is no potential buffer lock issue

 

[Tortuga]

Are you likely to be propelling stock around the ‘S’ curve, Chris? I’d’ve thought most of your trains would be hauled into the scenic section, run around and hauled back to the fiddle yard, so there shouldn’t be any buffer locking as the buffers won’t be touching - unless you’re shunting really long trains around that 180 degree curve?

 

Having said that I don’t know how many push-pull trains you have / are intending to run, as those will involve propelling movements in one direction through the ‘S’ curve - could those trains use different couplings that negate buffer locking?

[chuffinghell]

12 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

Are you likely to be propelling stock around the ‘S’ curve, Chris? I’d’ve thought most of your trains would be hauled into the scenic section, run around and hauled back to the fiddle yard, so there shouldn’t be any buffer locking as the buffers won’t be touching - unless you’re shunting really long trains around that 180 degree curve?

 

Having said that I don’t know how many push-pull trains you have / are intending to run, as those will involve propelling movements in one direction through the ‘S’ curve - could those trains use different couplings that negate buffer locking?

Very true that none will be pushed, all will be pulled in and pulled out…

I think it was more so for coaches and the articulation of the bogies potentially causing an issue but I can’t recall 

 

That said I don’t think leaving it as it is would cause any problems

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by chuffinghell

[Tortuga]

12 hours ago, chuffinghell said:

Very true that none will be pushed, all will be pulled in and pulled out…

I think it was more so for coaches and the articulation of the bogies potentially causing an issue but I can’t recall 

 

That said I don’t think leaving it as it is would cause any problems

 

Since it’s second radius I doubt you’d have any problems, certainly with RTR coaches.

 

Removing (or reducing the straight) in the ‘S’ curve as you shown in your last photo would reduce the amount of overhang of the traverser when loaded, but you’d lose two tracks.  
 

I like traverser fiddle yards, but they have to be narrower than the full board width to work best. You could use a loco lift to move locos from one end of the train to the other of course.

 

I’m in the middle of re-planning how Alsop fits in my railway room. My preference is to have traversers as the fiddle yards as they give maximum length of storage sidings, but, like you, the approaches are on curves to maximise the length of the scenic section, which puts the fiddle yard feed track close to the wall, limiting the room for a traverser to move.

Cassettes would be a better solution in this case, but I don’t like the idea of moving 5 to 6 foot cassettes about, so I’m going with points arranged to provide maximum length of sidings instead.

I am considering using shorter cassettes to make up the length of a couple of sidings as they will be used to turn complete (short) trains.

Edited November 16, 2023 by Tortuga
Additional details

[chuffinghell]

This is what I was thinking (not an original system I know)

 

 

 

 

The short length after the curve is fixed and powered

[chuffinghell]

Possibly stackable?

 

 

Getting ahead of myself now

[Harlequin]

1 hour ago, chuffinghell said:

This is what I was thinking (not an original system I know)

 

 

 

 

The short length after the curve is fixed and powered

 

You've got two methods of alignment, the clips and the slot in the surface.

 

Might be simpler to avoid the slot, just set the "cassette table" at the level of the bottom of the slot. Then it's really easy to slide cassettes around to make up the train at the front. The less often you have to lift cassettes the safer their contents!

 

The cassette table surface can be made from an offcut of kitchen work surface or a melamine-faced shelf board, for example, to help the cassettes slide around more easily.

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Harlequin

[RobAllen]

I like the channel cut into the baseboard for it.  Seems easier than raising the rail.

Further comment: Though, that's a good point by Harlequin about lifting in and out. 🤔

Edited November 16, 2023 by RobAllen