Alsop-en-le-Dale (third time lucky?): a return to the drawing board

[Tortuga]

Many thanks Lez. I’ve had a quick glance at it and from that it seems to confirm my (and John’s) assumption.

I’ll have a more detailed read before I put solder to track though!

[lezz01]

Your very welcome mate.

Personally I find tandem turnouts a total pig to build and wire up. I much prefer building slips to tandems. The suggested build sequence for tandems from both the EMGS and S4 socs. just doesn't work. I have thought about writing a new manual sheet for it but I'm a little wary about it as it's a bit of a can of worms and going against accepted perceived wisdom isn't easy.   

Regards Lez.

[Tortuga]

I agree that the 3-way was a pig to build. If I did another one (touch wood I won’t), I’d look at using an EM template as I’m still not 100% sure on the sleeper spacing in spite of hours shoving timbers around on Templot.

I’ll reserve judgment on the wiring until I’ve attempted it!

[lezz01]

Well if you are using DCC then just use autofrogs for the crossings. If not then you can either go with micro switches or multi pole switches. I have a number of TPDT switches that I used to use for slow action turnout motors as they can throw the switch blades, change polarity or feed a mimic panel although I like to use micro switches from the turnout mechanism for mimics as you need to know that it's actually thrown the turnout, if you rely on the switch you don't know that it's thrown the blades for sure. 

Regards Lez.    

[Tortuga]

I’m intending to use wire in tube to operate all points and signals from a miniature lever frame with mechanical interlocking and use micro switches at the tie bars to change the polarity of the common crossings.

 

It looks like wiring and point control is going to have to wait until I can turn the board over to work on its underside though - fitting the point mechanisms underneath is the limit of what I can do working from underneath!

[Tortuga]

Managed to snatch a couple of hours on the layout earlier; cutting rail chairs to represent the various special chairs around the common crossings and working on extending the blind siding / headshunt.

I got the buffer stop removed intact, extended the cork trackbed and added in extra sleepers, but was called downstairs for Daddy Duty before I could add chairs or rails and reinstate the buffer stop.

[Tortuga]

Not a huge amount done since I last posted: good weather and T’Missus forced me to do jobs in the garden and we spent a week in the Peak District. In the intervening time I;

1) reinstated the buffer stop

2) lengthened the headshunt and demolished the buffer stop in the process

3) finally visited the site of Alsop Station and took lots of photos

4) visited Hartington signal box and took some more photos and some measurements 

5) visited the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway and bought loads of books

6) rebuilt the buffer stop

7) installed the final two securing screws on the siding where it crosses the board join

8 ) soldered the siding rails to their respective securing screws

9) started putting sleepers and timbers in place around the board join

These are the books I bought;

Only the top left covers my line and most of the photos are in my other books, but it does have an extract from the freight timetable for 1953 which is going to be helpful. The others are more for general interest although I’m hoping the bottom right one will help me get colours right - especially when weathering wagons - once I get to that stage!

Edited April 25, 2022 by Tortuga
Removing stupid emoji

[Tortuga]

As mentioned above, I have finally managed to visit the location of Alsop and take some photos. I probably should have done this before starting on the layout, but I was pleased to find I don’t seem to have made any massive blunders!

Not much remains other than the trackbed, now part of the Tissington Trail, and I found it hard to work out where various structures stood. I had hoped the little bridge north of the platforms was still there, but apparently not;

This is the foot track that originally ran down toward the village, the bridge under the line being roughly centre of the photo. Looks like I’m going to have to guesstimate the depth of the embankment and bridge!

 

This is the trackbed through the cutting to the south of the station. I’d guesstimated the angle of the cutting sides to be about 45 degrees and it doesn’t look like I was too far out. From period photos the right hand slope is more exposed rock rather than the undergrowth seen here, though the left hand slope was more like it is currently; less trees though!

 

I’m going to have to trim the landscape to the front of the layout to match the actual slope; I’d assumed it to be more flat than this.

 

To be continued…

[Tortuga]

I found the loading gauge or at least what’s left of it! This sits between the toes of the turnouts that form the ‘goods loop’ or will do on my layout as this is one area I’ve had to compress. The cutting slope seems to vary between 45 degrees and near vertical along its length.

 

I think this is the yard office / weighbridge. I’ve only seen a couple of period photos showing this location and they’re both from a distance. There was definitely a building here, but whether this is it or this has been built on the footings of the original building, I’m not sure. I also don’t know what the little concrete bobble is - any thoughts?

 

Finally (for the moment) a general shot of the yard area looking south. The cars to the right are stood along the line of the siding, with the furthest one being roughly opposite the location of the signal box (as far as I could tell). This is more or less the present day view of boards 1 and 2 of the layout. Having now visited the site, I’m pretty confident that I’ve got the shape of the land more or less correct - apart from needing to make ground level at the front of the layout into more of a gentle slope.

[MrWolf]

The concrete bobble is a bollard to protect the corner of the building against damage from vehicles turning past it.

Looking at the roof and footings of the building, I'd say it probably is the old weighbridge with the front window knocked out to provide a shelter.

 

[Tortuga]

Those were my thoughts as well, although I thought it seemed taller than I’d expect such a minor building to be? Having said that, it makes sense to repurpose an existing building rather than build a new one.

 

Heres a shot of one end:

Might that green patch at the bottom right edge indicate the position of a step to the former office door?
 

This is the only period photo I have (that I can post - image found on a random internet search) which shows this end of the yard:

Certainly looks like the same building and there’s definitely a door at that end… I’d say the rendering is more recent though? 

Looks like there’s two windows at the front there or is that just me?

(I tried to do a zoomed in crop, but it didn’t work)

[Tortuga]

I can see I’m going to have to do another site visit, armed with tape measure and notebook and without small children and T’Missus in tow!

 

At least the office and signal box (the one at Hartington is the same type) still exist - the station buildings are a different matter entirely!

[MrWolf]

I'd say that was the door and the brickwork blocking it has been salvaged from the front of the building.

Getting a magnifying glass to the old photo, it looks like there's a fanlight above the door, which would give you a ceiling of 8'6" or so. It also looks like there's two windows in the front. Chances are that the edges of the new opening were once the outside edges of the windows and they simply cut the brickwork down to ground level.

[Tortuga]

6 hours ago, MrWolf said:

…it looks like there's a fanlight above the door, which would give you a ceiling of 8'6" or so…

Pardon my ignorance, but what’s a fanlight?

Also when you refer to a ceiling, I assume you’re meaning inside the building; does that directly translate to any external features?

[Tortuga]

One step forward and two steps back.

Sleepers fully installed around board join and rails cut through.

Four rails out of eight no longer soldered to their securing screws.

 

Argh!

[lezz01]

A fan light is a window above a door. Typically they are semi-circular but not always, they are also not always above a door, they can also be above another window.

Regards Lez.  

[MrWolf]

45 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

Pardon my ignorance, but what’s a fanlight?

Also when you refer to a ceiling, I assume you’re meaning inside the building; does that directly translate to any external features?

 

This is a late Victorian fanlight of the type I was referring to,, the small window above the door. Above that is a soldier arch of bricks.

 

 

The door of your building would probably have been four plain recessed panels,, a little less elaborate than illustrated.

 

Below is a true fanlight in the Georgian style.

 

 

No need for explanation!

 

This is a bogus fanlight door from the 1980s and an abomination fit only for firewood...

 

[Tortuga]

Many thanks for the help with my questions regarding the weighbridge office @MrWolfand @lezz01. That’s gone on my “what to do next once track on Board 1 is complete” list.

 

First I’m going to sort out the soldering of these rails to their blasted screws and cut the rails at the south end of Board 1 so I can separate the boards again, then I fancy working on something that ISN’T track as it’s currently doing my head in!

 

The choices are (in no particular order):

- wiring the first board (essentially linking the droppers up and fitting micro switches for common crossing polarity)

- fitting point operating wires (kind of linked to above)

- drawing up scale drawing of the weighbridge (might need a second site visit for that, but I’m in the area this weekend)

- ditto, but for the signal box

- building signals (two LMS ground signals and a LNWR starter for Board 1)

- finishing off some 16t mineral wagon kits (I have four from years ago, which I built, painted, stripped and are now in various states of assembly waiting for me to fit finer underframe gubbins)

 

What do folks think I should go for next?

 

[Tortuga]

Well that went didn’t go too badly. Another sleeper and some chairs to fit at this end and a couple of sleepers to fit at the other and I’m going to take a break from track building.

[Tortuga]

Remaining sleepers and chairs installed at the board joins.

 

…and for my break from track building? I got out the part-built wagons, looked at them, put them away again… and added the checkrails to the turnout forming the Ashbourne end of the goods loop…

 

…best to finish building all the track first.

[Tortuga]

Better late than never!

I missed posting on the precise 1st anniversary of this thread and I think I’ve been pretty good at posting regular updates, so here’s a quick comparison between then:

and now:

 

Most of the pointwork complete, some scenery formers and a buffer stop. The layout now has a permanent home on a secure frame in the loft and I now have the motive power to run the daily timetable. In the process I’ve acquired rudimentary soldering and plastering skills and improved my woodworking abilities.

 

Next steps are:

1) Wiring this board

2) Finishing the two points of the goods loop

3) Installing wire in tube point control

 

I’d add signalling, point rodding, ballasting and increasing rolling stock to that list, but those three items are the priority.

 

[Tortuga]

Last update was back in May and unfortunately a combination of work, other jobs and the summer heat has meant a complete lack of progress on anything railway related.

 

The extreme heat resulted in some temporary warpage of the goods loop track, although this has disappeared with the return to more normal temperatures. Looks like I’m going to have to remove a tiny amount of rail to prevent the same thing happening in future.

 

More concerning is the tandem point where one set of blades has ceased to operate in a satisfactory manner. Some fettling and adjustments seem to be on the cards…

 

What I have done, however, is play around with Templot again. After the “fun” of removing and reinstating a load of plasterboard and plastering it to give me a straight (ish) wall, I wasn’t looking forward to doing the same at the opposite end of the loft where there’s a funny corner intruding into the layout space. So I’ve compromised.
 

The line enters a short cutting before entering the long over bridge that carries the A515 so I’ve chosen to narrow the width of the layout and allow the track to pass closer to the wall corner than I originally planned. It means the platforms will be curved along their whole length instead of straight and I’ll have to disguise the corner with a tree that never existed, but I won’t have to faff around with yet more house modification before I can focus on the layout, which is a major plus!

 

1:1 track plan laid out on the dining room floor. If you zoom in, the corner in question juts into the top left corner of sheet d/16. The track plan starts on Board 2; the toe of northernmost goods loop turnout is just poking out from under the shopping bag. About half of the platforms will be on Board 2, the rest on Board 3 together with the small underbridge, while the turnout that forms the north end of the loop and the cutting and south portal of the A515 over bridge will form Board 4.

 

Thanks for looking! Don’t expect any significant progress anytime soon, as I’m currently under a deadline to partially redecorate our bedroom and construct a built-in wardrobe before Christmas!

[MrWolf]

It's still a few steps forward, whatever way you look at it.

 

KBO.

[Tortuga]

This week I has mostly been butchering wood.

The result is a simple frame for the main boards to sit on, which runs the length of the railway room, secured to the wall on one side and supported by fixed legs on the other. No photos as it’s just a simple frame and the railway room is an absolute tip at the moment.

I still have to make frames to support the fiddleyard boards along the short walls and I’ve discovered an error in my calculations that means I need to conduct serious surgery on the layout boards I’ve already built.

Of course, I’ve only discovered this error after I’ve made it impossible to take the boards apart…

[Graham T]

You didn't hire Bodgeit and Scarper from Chuffnell R to build the boards did you?