Cornish lines in N.

[SRfanJV]

Rolling stock progress time around. 

3 years ago, at the start of the first Covid lockdown, I took to making up a number of 2mm association chassis'. One of these was a shark brakevan. I had plans to use the N gauge society body for this and I wanted one because I have seen a photo of a shark at Wadebridge. 

 

Having built the chassis so long ago, in the time since, EFE have released their N gauge shark. This is a lovely model, but as I had this chassis built, I didn't want to waste it. 

 

For a birthday present I asked for a second shark so that I could convert it for use on the built up chassis. The time finally came so I set to transferring the body across. 

 

There were a few tweaks needed. I was going to build my own buffer beams, but I ended up cutting the RTR ones off of the EFE one which worked well. There is a slight differnce in the chassis lengths, say half a millimetre, but I have managed to hide that fairly well. 

 

I also managed to use the ploughs off of the EFE one which was a relief as it would have taken ages to bend up news ones out of brass. 

 

Finally, B&B couplings were added, the vac pipes and a touch up of the paintwork. Im pleased with the way it has come out and will not form part of a ballast or engineers rake. 

Just the vac cylinder and some weathering to complete it now. 

 

A comparison of the RTR EFE model on the left and the modified one with a 2mm chassis on the right. 

[SRfanJV]

A very successful evening at the club last night with a number of members working on the Cornish Lines project. 

 

Keith has installed another MTB motor. This is an extra one in comparison to what we had planned to fit before its first show, but the old Peco solenoid was damaged. Therefore, it made sense to change it over.

This one controls the points into the yard sidings behind the station. 

 

Neil continued re-wiring the frogs/changeover wires on all the points on board 5. The new motors were wired in but we didn't manage the reconnect the polarity changeover wires at the time. 

 

I finally managed to install the backscene on board 3. This needed blocks putting in underneath the trackbed which were made up from sections of 6.5mm birch ply. I then then drilled out the wood and glued in the threaded dowels so that the backscene could be screwed in. 

 

 

Finally, forward planning is very important. Once Wadebridge is exhibitable from next year, we will be moving straight on to the 'new Padstow'.

Two boards have been built for a number of years as they were originally going to be used to construct Bodmin North. Sadly, that is a project that is many years away so I have donated the boards for Padstow. 

2 more boards were in flatpack form ready for construction so I asked David and Jeff to put them together last night using our trusted jig. Countless boards have been made from that over the years. 

Another two boards of this size are still to be made and then 2 squares boards will see the subframes for the layout completed. 

 

An overall view to finish. More shortly. 

[SRfanJV]

Sweating the small stuff.

 

Over the past couple of days, I have made progress with building up some of the smaller items that add the finer detail to a layout. I always like to get a lot of this done part way through a layout build, otherwise it tends to get forgotten about. 

 

First up, I have folded up 2 Eckon greenhouses for use in a couple of the gardens along the large row of terraced houses. One, I have glazed with glue and glaze, the other using thin clear plasticard. I must say that I prefer the traditional use of thin plasticard as I think it gives a better finish. 

 

The second construction was a Shire Scenes cast iron victorian gents lavatory. This was a nice kit to build, the only tricky part was some of the valance on the top.

 

I then made up what I beleive is a Severn models set of steps. It was tricky to get the steps to line up perfectly but otherwise it is a lovely kit.

These will be placed just beyond the turntable where the old 12 wheel LNWR coach used to be that was used for training purposes. 

 

Next, I made up some Shire scenes LSWR platform barrows and trolleys. These are fairly simple to construct if you have a hold and fold jig. 

 

Finally, I made a a couple of LSWR platform benches. These were a real pain to make up as the slats did not want to slot into the legs. In the end I separated each slat at the ends to enable them to fit.

Next time, I am going to try a different technique by separating the decorative loop from the legs first. 

 

All in all, a successful few days and more progress should be achieved at the club tonight.

 

[SRfanJV]

Another month has gone past. Where does the time go.....

 

Anyway, this last couple of week's focus has mostly been the locos that will run on Wadebridge.

 

My Union Mills T9 has been the first to get 'the treatment'. Looking at my 4mm model of 30313, I felt I could extract more potential out of the model.

 

Union mills Models were a small company up in the Isle of Man the owner of which has sadly now retired and closed the business. Each model had great haulage capacity, but lacked the fine detail of modern releases.

 

I set to by filing off the old moulded handrails. Once smoothed, I then drilled holes for the N brass handrail knobs and bent a 0.25mm piece of wire to the correct shape for the handrail.

 

Next, I added the cab roof supports which are also not supplied. I filed off a little bit of the cab side and then cut the wire to the correct shape which was 0.3mm if I recall. These were then glued in. 

 

The loco also needed lamp irons and vacuum pipes, so again, I used N brass vac pipes on the tender and a Dapol M7 example on the front. LSWR lamp irons were also from N brass, these were cut down a little to make a more scale representative height.

 

 

On the tender, I have added a proper handbrake stand and filed off the original moulded one. The coal door has also been drilled out. A shovelling plate will be added shortly. 

 

I have made a fall plate out of thin brass chequer plate to make the gap between loco and tender less noticeable.

 

The vacuum and steam pipes that run along the running plate have also been added and finally, I have made a start on the brake rigging using blocks from a Worsley Works T9 kit. 

 

The job which has made the biggest difference so far is the blackening of the wheel rims. It makes the loco look so much more pleasant to look at. 

 

The next jobs are to drill out the coal and replace with real coal. I will also add clack valves and separately fitted delivery pipes. New safety valves and a whistle will be installed as well. 

The model will then be painted and I will attempt to line it if I can and it looks right.

Next loco post coming right up. 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by SRfanJV

[SRfanJV]

The next locomotive to get an upgrade is an old Graham Farish original Bulleid Light pacific. 
I renumbered this loco to 257 Squadron a while back as it was a Wadebridge regular and the loco that I had the privilege of my first driving turn on after passing out at Swanage last year. 

 

I wanted to upgrade one of these models to see how much I could get out of them, especially with the new Dapol models supposedly being a year or so away. 

The biggest issue I have with these models apart from the overall lack of detail is the bogie. the wheels are too small and it plainly just looks wrong. I looked at putting in one of the new Farish Merchant Navy bogies, which will fit, but I needed to make up a new pivot arm as the one supplied is too small to fit the older model. I therefore decided to try the N brass replacement bogie, which needed making up, but it had to pivot arms supplied and was a detailed example.

 

Upon arrival, it was made up fairly quickly. the most challenging part was the addition of the bulleid firth etch design on to the wheels as you needed to be absolutely sure that they were central otherwise it would look like the wheel doesn't run true. 

 

After bending up the pivot arm and painting the bogie, this was then end result. 

I also painted the main driving wheel rims as per the T9, this makes such a difference to the overall look of the locomotive as it blends the wheels in and makes it look more of a model than a toy. 

 

Next, I decided to add the Stones generator which is seen on all light pacifics under the driver's side cab door. This provides the power to the front and tender lights as well as all of the lighting in the cab which can be seen below: 

 

This was a tricky fit as it initially fouled the bogie. I had to file of the bottom of the generator and push it up into the cab floor using the hole I had drilled as much as possible. you can see it in the photo below before painting. 

 

Finally, I have painted the top of the slide bar red which in reality holds and oil pot as well. The coarse nature of the model made it look worse, but adding the red paint has improved this area as well. The rear bufferbeam also received the same treatment. 

 

The next set of work will be to replace the coal with the real thing, add a fall plate, vacuum pipes and potentially add some of the pipework using the Farish Merchant Navy examples which I have ordered from Bachmann spares. If I can find some appropriate loco foot steps, then these will be added. SR route discs are also on order from Modelu.

 

A photo of the two locos in their current condition. More to do on both, especially the T9, but progress is being made. 

 

[SRfanJV]

Progress on Wadebridge has been quite slow in recent weeks due to various commitments, but Keith has been doing a sterling job changing the rest of the point motors over from Peco solenoids to slow action MTB 1 motors. 

 

This has necessitated a number of cuts to be made in the baseboard tops to slide the MTBs into and these have been secured using pieces of right angle metal bracket. 

 

A couple of motors have been mounted so that they can be removed from underneath the layout due to the mounting for the backscene being in the way. 

This has a plug in it do that we can un-plug and remove them easily.

 

I have taken the time to continue with the backscenes so that by the end of the year we will have everything working the scenic section clearly identified and the track fettled so that 2024 will solely focus on the scenery. 

The curves have been made using my usual method of scoring lines in at 1 inch intervals and then pour hot water on to help create the curve. 

 

Finally, my other half is responsible for this one. I was coerced in to purchasing these three 'for the kids' so that when we take the layouts out to exhibition Thomas the Tank can make a sneaky appearance for the younger viewers. I suppose we can't be serious all of the time now can we. At least my bulleid pacific is going off to be weathered shortly. 

[grahame]

This thread is new to me. There's some excellent and interesting work and developments on it.

 

[SRfanJV]

On 26/08/2023 at 15:47, grahame said:

This thread is new to me. There's some excellent and interesting work and developments on it.

 

Many Thanks for you kind comments. I am also following your outstanding work on London Bridge. A truly wonderful project in N gauge! 

[SRfanJV]

The last couple of months has seen varied amounts of progress due to work commitments and holidays. 

 

However, we have now managed to get all of the point motors on board 3 working again and testing has taken place. There is one issue to rectify which is a microswitch in one of the MB1 point motors not switching. We have had this issue before so we'll look into that. 

 

 

To enable the changeover to MB1 motors away from solenoid motors on the scenic part of the layout. It has been necessary to change all of the point switches on the control panels from non bias sprung switches to normal DPDT switches. This has taken time and more expense than you first think. 

 

Wiring has taken a while and the process of tidying it all up is now underway.

 

Another large job to sort was that the LEDs used to change via a microswitch on the old point motors. However, this is now redundant so all of the wiring was removed and the changing of the LEDs occurs directly via the new switches. 

It's like Blackpool Illuminations in low light!

 

Finally, board 4 which has 13 points on has now had all of the new MB1s installed. The task of wiring the. Up and attaching the rodding to the points has now begun. We are currently complete on 5 out of 13 motors. 

[SRfanJV]

Whilst Keith has been busy adjusting all of the point motor throes on board 3. I have finally finished wiring up the 13 motors on board 4.

In doing so, all 28 motors are now operational which is a big milestone. 

 

Some still need the rod and spring system to throw the points, but we are getting there. 

 

Down on board 6. I have finally repaired the level crossing gate mechanism. 

These gates have been scratch-built in brass. The control board for the servo's is a MERG kit that has been put together. This powers 4 Tower Pro SG90 servos. 

 

Once painted up again and detailed, these should be a real focal point in the town part of the layout.  

[SRfanJV]

Another month has gone by, but there has been a decent amount of progress on Wadebridge. Plus Bodmin General has also been set-up again. More on that later. 

 

On Wadebridge, Keith is now down to the final few point motors in terms of connecting them to their respective turnouts. He now has 4 left out of 34. I don't think he'll be wishing to do anymore for quite a while! 

 

Neil has made the new bridge base which takes the track over Polmarla Brook using 3.6mm birch ply. This will be permanently fitted once I have sealed the river bed and put in the base layer. 

 

 

Gordon then swooped in and cut a new piece of Cork for the bridge and the surrounding area. 

 

Neil then returned to working on the removable point motor cover on board 5. This has not been progressed in many months after some damage occurred, so it's good to finally get this moving again. 

 

Once everyone had left the club last night, I disassembled the whole layout and boxed it up. It's probably the first time that it has been boxed up in over 6 years. 

 

Why has this been done you may ask? 

Well, in-between Christmas and New Year, Bodmin General and Wadebridge are going to be set up in a hired venue in Salisbury along with the very well known 4mm model of Bournemouth West (which is also part of our club) to allow testing an further progress to be made. 

 

It will be the first time in 7 years that the entirety of Wadebridge will be set-up and painfully nearly 10 years since it was last joined up to Bodmin General. 

 

However, we are excited to get things moving along. Watch out for many more updates next week following the progress we make. 

 

In the meantime, I wish all of our readers, followers and members and fabulous Christmas.

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by SRfanJV

[AdeMoore]

Excellent stuff, shame the Salisbury venue is not open to the  public!

Super modelling of a location close to my heart.

Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Edited December 24, 2023 by AdeMoore

[SRfanJV]

On 24/12/2023 at 01:33, AdeMoore said:

Excellent stuff, shame the Salisbury venue is not open to the  public!

Super modelling of a location close to my heart.

Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Hi Ade, 

 

Thankyou for your kind words. 

 

We would have loved to open up to the public, but this was very much a working session. There were power tools and wood working machines etc in use making it completely unsuitable for the public on this occasion. 

 

Rest assured there will be opportunities to view all of the layouts publicly in the future. 

[SRfanJV]

What a few days it has been!

 

Bodmin General and Wadebridge have been set up in their entirety for the first time in 10 years and we did have trains running on both layouts. 

 

It was a mammoth 4 days that saw us take over a hall in Salisbury to set up both layouts and the very well known Bournemouth West. 

 

Below is what both layouts looked like set up together. 

 

Bodmin General was looking its usual self and it was nice to get this running again after 13 months in storage. A few detailing repairs were completed and plans made to finish off the station building and forecourt area. 

 

The main body of work took place on Wadebridge. 

 

Keith took time in sorting out the reverse curve that joins up Bodmin to Wadebridge in the fiddle yard area. The curve on Wadebridge's fiddle yard was too tight for the moguls to navigate, so he removed it and has put a new piece of track in. This seems to have remedied the issue . 

 

Here is a view of both fiddle yards together. We left the roof off of Bodmin's fiddle yard. You may note the line running down the back of Wadebridge. This joins up to Bodmin Road which is currently stored awaiting more scenic attention. 

 

Whilst I was browsing photos of Wadebridge on Ebay , I stumbled across the shed plate below. I thought that would make a nice additional piece for the layout. It will eventually be placed on the lighting gantry directory above the Engine Shed. 

 

We also had a visit from Craig Tiley the editor for the Railway Magazine as he was in attendance taking shots for a future article on Bournemouth West.

 

We have discussed the possibility of having Bodmin General and eventually Wadebridge getting an article in the magazine which would be fantastic. 

 

Now that Wadebridge is back at the clubroom, we will now focus on getting the backscenes fitted properly and I am very much looking forward to progressing the project in 2024. 

 

Buts that is all for now, I wish everyone a very happy New Year.

 

I'll leave you with a couple of other photos.

 

 

 

 

[SRfanJV]

Since we put both Bodmin General and Wadebridge up over Christmas, it has been very busy. A huge amount of progress has happened on Wadebridge and we are really are moving forward on all counts. 

 

First, some rectification work. We were very aware prior to putting Wadebridge up fully that the reverse curve on the East fiddle yard was going to cause problems. Simply, it was too tight at one end. As per the previous post, Keith has worked on this and now we have a fully working curve that the manor and moguls run through consistently. A video of this is shown below: 

 

Next. Historically, we have used wooden 9mm dowels to align our baseboards. However, over the years, I have got so fed up of the them splitting or breaking that I had enough. A good friend of mine had stock of some metal threaded dowel which we normally use to screw in the lighting posts, but they are suitable for dowels as well. I have now fitted these to the layout and the board heights and alignment is so much better. 

 

Now that the board alignment has been sorted, it has allowed me to focus on getting the backscenes fitted properly. Again, I have used the thread dowels to support these. However, they have been used properly this time and driven into the wood. Once fitted, the backscenes were simply screwed in using threaded cheese head bolts. 

 

There is still one more board to fit the backscene onto, plus some fettling, but it makes a big difference to the over all look of the layout. 

 

 

Above: Please ignore, the state of the cabling, this will be sorted in due course. 

 

At the other end of the layout and after a break of about 4 years, I have returned to looking at the scenery on the town board (board 6) 

 

The level crossing gates have been taken back to bare metal to allow further detailing upgrades to be made, such as brackets, lamps and the support rods. 

Whilst doing this, I have also made up new bits of fencing that surround the gates as per the countless number of photos I have of that area. 

 

 

I am now in the process of installing drain covers, which in reality were the covers of the level crossing gate control gear. I have also started to cut out the wooden step boards on the Padstow side of the gates. 

 

Finally, loco detailing. It's important on a project such as this to keep things moving on all fronts. Therefore, I have started the process of detailing a second T9, but this time I have started on the tender by lining it out. I had not attempted 2mm scale lining before, so I am very very pleased with how it has come out. However, the loco is going to be a different animal to line. 

 

The first photo shows the lining before adding the black pin stripe. This helps to make the lining look thinner and more prototypical. 

Then next photo shows how it ended up once finished. You can see that the lines are now much thinner.

 

I'll leave you with a shot of things to come perhaps....

[DLT]

Just been going through this topic, an excellent project.

Many thanks,

Dave.