Upper Hembury, East Devon - a GWR / SR Branch line

[BWsTrains]

Yet another Design of Storage Cassette.

 

My inspiration for this again came from @nickwood, who presented his excellent design of cassettes used to transport stock to/from Shows. Details are here

https://tinyurl.com/w4aphou

 

but sadly now minus the photos. Instead of track, Nick used aluminium angle, a very good idea when you plan to do lots of moving around.

 

In contrast, my main needs were compact to store and easy to attach to the layout, powered or unpowered. My design was based on a suitable length of 12mm ply with coated 3mm MDF for the sides.  I later added foam spacers to the side (my storage tub was a roll away and stock tended to jump off the rails too often)

 

The angled ends were necessary to mirror the geometry at the connection point.

 

 

One big advantage of DCC is that powering the cassette can be direct from the DCC power bus, no need for contact points at the end of every cassette. The connections were via a 5.5mm power plug and socket as shown here.

 

 

 

 

 

The wiring of the two sockets is reversed so the cassette can be connected in either sense, power always inserted on the left facing the exit.

Simple plastic card stops at each end are removable for stock movements.

 

Lessons learnt from Mark I.

 

I'd make the cassettes a little wider than in my design which was constrained my my storage tub dimensions (available width /6 so that 6 cassette rakes could sit side by side). This would allow for more generous foam thickness on the walls.

I'd use 3mm pine plywood rather than MDF, it's more tolerant of the odd minor inaccuracy when drilling, etc, overall a friendlier material

 

I retro fitted cross braces of aluminium rod (~3mm) glued into holes at the top of longer storages, 2 in a 750mm cassette. They strengthen the structure and serve as convenient handles (ensure WELL glued in!)

 

Connection to the Layout

There can be a lot of flexibility in the design chosen.

 

I had a support tray as long as my longest cassette which slotted in under and butted up to the connection point at the correct height.

 

The cassette was aligned with the track end by means of a single solid rod in the tray which mated with a matching hole in the bottom of each cassette. This rough and ready approach worked remarkably well for me.

 

feel free to ask questions if there's anything I've glossed over, this was all 3 years ago now.

 

 

Edited December 11, 2022 by BWsTrains

[longchap]

Thanks Colin for this excellent and very useful write up, now safely tucked away.

 

Bill

[5BarVT]

22 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

A 300 mm gap which I can easily fit into for my attempts at a Maradona emulation. I'm thinking it'll be easy enough to have the front (exit) panel removable in case access at the entrance proves necessary.

I remember when 300mm was plenty for me to get through.  It isn’t now . . .

Time (advancing years and girth) may prove the necessity!
Paul.

[BWsTrains]

Moving to the Station end, I've gone back to some track-laying today. Here are the two curved Left Hand B7 turnouts which make up the crossover at the station end of the run around. They fitted together seamlessly.

 

The base for the station platform and forecourt has been cut to size and I'll be popping on a temporary top to check for running clearance with my 58' coaches. Presently the base stands at 12mm which is 8mm above the rail tops.  The required platform height is 3ft (= 12mm at scale) so the upper surface required is a further 4mm. The plan is to add a 2mm card surface to the base and then on this to mount the 2mm thick edging stones and platform surface.

 

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by BWsTrains
track level photo added

[BWsTrains]

Today, the final piece of the main track-work. Now all that remains to be laid are some lengths of sidings and spurs plus the line to the tannery works.

 

In the runaround loop there is a final turnout leading to a short section of track and a loading bay which will also serve as a parking place for incoming Brake Vans. It's required position places it about 40mm on from the entrance to the run-around crossover and again the flexibility of using the turnout kit came in handy.

 

The Right B7 turnout has a reverse curve (-2186mm) so is on its way to becoming a "Y". The required extension of the main road can be seen here in the Templot plan and was added easily enough by extending the stock rail the required amount as well as the rail extending from the "V" crossing and then adding four sleepers from some flex.

 

 

The above photo shows the kit part way into the build, webbing has been cut to allow curving and the stock rails hold things temporarily together while the switch blades are cut to size and installed.

 

The final steps are straightforward and building on the template in situ speeds both the build process and fitting which occur in parallel.

 

Fitting sleepers onto the exit road extension makes for a tidy marrying of the sleepers of the two exit roads as they can be cut to size to fit during installation. It's more difficult to do this if offering up two sections of track to the turnout to make joins just 4 sleepers away from the frog.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2022 by BWsTrains

[checkrail]

Lovely flowing trackwork.  Enjoying seeing this develop. The track is the railway - the locos and stock just optional extras!

[BWsTrains]

Some very welcome help has been on hand here and the last two days have been productive.

 

The influx of young Christmas visitors has brought me some welcome aid in the shape of young J from Perth and local granddaughter S. Both were keen to lend a hand with some of those tricky jobs where extra input makes a huge difference, in this case completing the station end installs. Also smaller more nimble bods are better suited to crawling under the boards when wire feeding is required.

 

(I should let them know that two hundred years ago children of their age had to work down coal pits in far more cramped conditions but I might hold that thought until my jobs are in the bag. My family lived in the appropriately named Coalpit Heath, Glos, but seem to have had the good fortune to work on rather than under the land, hence mostly surviving into their Eighties! )

 

So, with the remaining incoming visitors due midweek from Sydney we now have a fighting chance of having all the important turnouts wired up and operational, end to end. Expectations have been running hot that operating trains will be seen this Christmas, disappointment not an option!

[BWsTrains]

Over Christmas, all went well for my visitors with various demos and some modest operations, which was a relief in one regard but served to remind me how much remains to be done!

 

Now P&Q has returned and we've recovered a little, I've turned my attention to checking and fine tuning the Storage traverser. As my grandson J (12) reminded me, I have a lot of independent variables to manage here, tricky. 

 

Key points:

 

1) the traverser tray movement is controlled by a stepper motor stopped when a thin wire (not shown) reaches a photo-interrupter. These are positioned to match track separations but can be manually fine tuned individually. The screws allow for a rotation which moves the sensor point very finely to 0.1mm

 

 

2) the tracks were adjusted to give the same separation, a length of spare rail cut to length served as a handy tool.

 

3) The approach roads needed to be held perfectly in line and at the same required separation but retaining ability to adjust the pair sideways for fine tuning. This was done on a 2mm aluminium mounting plate.

 

 

It ended up being an iterative process to get the sensor positions and the approach roads to optimum placement.

 

I knew there would be a minor difference in the tray stopping positions between forward and reverse movements, i.e. the wire approaches the sensor from opposite sides. The fine wire has a finite width and on the drive assembly under test this led to ~0.3 to 0.5mm variation in the stop points between the two movements. It was rewarding that when assembled and tested the equivalent variation measured as <=0.5mm despite the tray being centre driven and hence the edge is 460mm from the line of drive.

 

My 2-6-2 Small Prairie with its free floating front / rear wheels is the most demanding of alignment but when fully aligned it worked well on all lanes, as will be seen later.

 

The traverser drive and control system were designed for me by my very good friend Graham Jackman and it is a piece of work I'm deeply grateful for, especially now that it has fully shown its worth in action. He has had his design published in Silicon Chip who hold the copyright. Those interested can see it at p92 of the December 2022 edition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by BWsTrains
acknowledgement of G Jackman's contribution

[BWsTrains]

Two Videos

 

The first shows the traverser in operation, in a sequence of movements Small Prairie 4539 moves from Track 3 via Track 5 to Track 7 of the storage tray.

 

Traverser Storage in Operation

 

 

 

The second shows 4539 moving from the runaround track across two curved B7 left turnouts, onto the B7 Single slip and then a B7 Right turnout (converted to a "Y") in the storage access approaches.

 

Test run #4 1 Jan 2023

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by BWsTrains
video links update

[Wayne Kinney]

Nice videos! The traverser works great and the loco runs nice and smooth through the Finetrax pointwork!

[Brinkly]

Greetings Colin,

 

I have only just discovered your thread this morning and I'm very glad I have! I'm very impressed with your use of Wayne's point kits and your traverser! It really is excellent. I look forward to seeing Upper Hembury progress. 

 

Happy New Year to you,

 

Nick. 

[simonmcp]

Sorry if you have mentioned upthread but which soundchip and soundfile is in the small prairie? It is the most realistic UK  steam sound I have heard.

[john dew]

Happy New Year Colin!

 

Excellent videos - you must be delighted at how smoothly the traverser operates. Congratulations on achieving your self imposed deadline of "trains running by Christmas".

 

Talk to you soon

 

John

[BWsTrains]

7 hours ago, simonmcp said:

Sorry if you have mentioned upthread but which soundchip and soundfile is in the small prairie? It is the most realistic UK  steam sound I have heard.

 

Youchoos, glad you like it.. This version has the "Active Braking" mode and I find the coasting to a stop, as used in the video, very effective.

[Fishplate]

On 14/12/2022 at 11:26, checkrail said:

The track is the railway - the locos and stock just optional extras!

 

As a 12" / 1ft Permanent Way Designer, I can only agree 👍.

 

This is all looking very nice @BWsTrains. 

[nickwood]

Looks like you’ve got that traverser tweaked to perfection.

[BWsTrains]

Traverser Operations

 

My plan has been to have three possible options for loco and stock movements happening "off stage", exploiting the features of the design

 

1) Loco runarounds.

I've been advised that Branch operations such as Main (GWR Cullompton or SR Sidmouth Jct. heading to Branch, Upper Hembury would operate with loco heading on the Down, running around, then returning on the Up heading the train in reverse. It not being usual to have a turntable at the small Branch terminus.

 

Hence, the returning loco needs to complete a 2nd runaround while at the traverser and today's post looks at my plans being tested out in the flesh. Fortunately the cassette mechanism from my previous layout was readily converted to use on UH, simply setting the approach angle to head on, a few quick cuts and you have a working cassette 

 

 

As the cassettes were already pre-wired, I just needed to connect the flexi-lead into the bus and plug in.

 

 

The loco was backed into the cassette and the combination shifted to the access point on track 1

 

 

The loco pulled off perfectly, ready to go out onto the approach road and complete the runaround procedure. This was a simple case but to access a free track, it might be nescessary to move the traverser tray to bring a free line to a cassette loading point.

 

 

At present, the support connections to the end of the layout are temporary, to enable testing. I'm not planning to have permanent fixed lines there as the cassettes option offers much more flexibility

Edited January 4, 2023 by BWsTrains

[BWsTrains]

Traverser Operations - (continued)

 

2) Rotation of Stock (head to tail)

Not likely to be much used but the storage cassettes are easily rotated and are powered for operation in either direction

 

3) Loading Stock from a long Storage cassette.

I have several of these, about 760mm long from the former layout but loading them with just a 300mm gap and a banister beyond created several challenges

 

How to make a secure loading platform which did not compromise my access space at the traverser end? I drew on those old interlocking wood puzzles for some inspiration.

The horizontal slats will hold a load if they are inserted into the end and under a second joist, fine but this makes them over 500mm long.

The second challenge was fitting them between the balusters and then locking in place.

 

My solution is best understood by seeing it in reverse, dismantling is a very rapid process in pics 1-5 below

 

 

 

1) pull out the narrower support, this comes straight back between two balusters to give 2

3) pull out and remove the concealed key (access from beneath) this has locked everything rigid once assembled.

4) rotate the front support towards the user so it can be removed between the two balusters to give 5)

 

A simple lock allows a long support to be laid on top of the forward support and this in turn takes the Cassette.

 

 

easy access and removal makes it a convenient loading point for stored cassettes

 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by BWsTrains
typo

[BWsTrains]

The Saga of my search for a decent Class 48xx model

 

From my teens in Somerset, my strongest memories of Branch line locos were those of small Prairies and Class 48xx, the latter on the Strawberry  Line from Yatton down to Cheddar and Wells. So those locos went high on my must have list once I got serious about Branch rather than mainline operation.

 

The short version of my mission to get a "decent" Class 48xx goes as follows:

 

March 2017 - Avoiding the Hattons / DJM release, simply enough by reading of the many problems being encountered by members here soon after release, problems which, as far as I could tell were a triumph of design style over substance. OK if you want you loco in a display cabinet but not if you want robust operation. 

 

Next, exploring the issues with the various Airfix / Hornby releases led me to trying out the late 2017 model R3589 which promised some improvements, albeit in the same 40 year old bodywork. It was not to be, a variety of issues listed and explored here New Hornby 14xx  finally convinced me to move on, the Saga continued.

 

Next was a 2008 Hornby release, R2778, conveniently sporting the GWR Monogram, numbered "4869", perfect for my needs and I got lucky by finding a rare fine working pre-owned version. It's only limitation was the dreaded traction tyres which on a loco with 4 wheel pickup# reduced effectively to 2 was a problem in need of fixing.

 

The recommended solutions,

1) buy spare Hornby wheel set (permanently out of stock) or

2) an old dud Airfix model as a donor for a replacement axle.

 

Selecting the latter my story then took on a decidedly interesting twist!

 

A suitable dud Airfix was duly purchased, just 8 quid I recall, but when it arrived, it most clearly was not what it claimed to be. Some poking around and questions on line identified that I'd acquired an old Kays 14xx kit, lovely body but dodgy motor with a short, front end half chassis.  I can't remember who it was but some kind soul suggested this would be a great project where I could build a decent chassis and get a fine working model. You'll note of course that I still didn't have a replacement axle for my 4869.

 

This brings me to early 2019. The details are now blurred but @DougN and I were in contact and as he lives about 7km from here he kindly offered some help should I go down the kit build path. Lots of helpful advice followed on what I'd need and after some reflection I figured I'd give it a try, put together the necessary orders and awaited their arrival. 

 

This is a good point for a break, because that's exactly what I had, just two months shy of 3 years in fact, thanks to COVID. Doug and I met up for the first time just Friday last. TBC.

 

# It's true the trailing axle has pickups as well, but as far as I could tell these were close to useless. Earlier versions of this model used plungers on the back axle but these in turn had their own problems.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by BWsTrains
correct a link + add'n

[BWsTrains]

The Class 48xx Saga continued.

 

It didn't take to long to find another Airfix and this one went under the "surgeon's knife", yielding up its precious axle which I fitted to 4869.

 

At that time my very basic layout of Code 100 with insulfrog turnouts was intolerant of poor runners and while 4869 was "OK", long curved points at slow speed were a challenge. From here it was a steep learning curve which I've documented previously, addition of wheel wipers, a decent stay alive etc turned an average runner into something perfectly acceptable

 

.

 

[BWsTrains]

Fast forward three years and the long planned / delayed catch up with @DougN happened last Friday.

 

With Doug's advice and having read a little about chassis kit building I'd selected the straightforward Comet 0-4-2, a High Level gear box and Mashima motor. In a little over three and a half hours magic was performed in front of my eyes. The Kay's body imposed a minor constraint being about 2-3mm too short to take the full Comet length but the axle holes aligned with the body correctly so a few snips and everything else went together with barely a hitch.

 

Having been shown some of Doug's own builds I can appreciate how basic the Comet kit is in comparison. However in my brief research I came across two comments about kitbuilding a 0-4-2, if you're starting kit building don't start with an 0-4-2 and secondly that axle compensation can be problematic with this wheel base combination.

 

The assembled core of the kit runs freely enough at this early stage so I'm optimistic it'll more than meet my needs.

 

 

 

 

1450 will need a number change but that can wait, now I'm keenly anticipating the next stage with the gearbox and motor.

 

Along the way I learn a lot about soldering techniques which will come in handy on a number of kits in my collection and much else was covered. It was a steep learning curve but most worthwhile. Thanks Doug!

Edited January 9, 2023 by BWsTrains

[DougN]

I am glad I could show you how Colin. Other than a hand model the chassis as a standard Comet offering was accurate and well thought out. Now we need that gear box and pick ups. 

 

Hows that home work coming being a coat of paint? 

 

 

[BWsTrains]

5 minutes ago, DougN said:

I am glad I could show you how Colin. Other than a hand model the chassis as a standard Comet offering was accurate and well thought out. Now we need that gear box and pick ups. 

 

Hows that home work coming being a coat of paint? 

 

 

 

Thanks Doug,

 

I was thinking to try a test run on the remnants of the fret but need to pick up the Tamiya rattle can on Wednesday when I go past Metro Hobbies. Then it might be too hot for a few days but I'll get there soon enough. Some exterior window repairs required my painting "skills" today.

 

Colin

 

[M.I.B]

Excellent work Colin.  I shall follow this built for certain.

[BWsTrains]

Not a huge amount to report, other than I've acquired the necessary rattle cans, to, as the Stones sang, "Paint It Black". My chassis that is.

 

Meanwhile, the not too distant arrival of our annual full house termite inspection has focused my attention onto resolving the disorder (=mess) under our house, which includes a fair bit of my modelling storage and workshop.

 

To me this is rather like those sliding tile solitaire puzzles, much shuffling required before even a modicum of order appears. Today I think I reached that key point but it's a long haul to finalise things before the termite man comes to call (on a Thursday morning). I might relate (to those interested) some of the fascinating things he's found when exploring remote and inaccessible corners of our domain on previous visits.

 

Hence, looking ahead, this is to alert that Topic news will be intermittent during the next month or so. There's a lot which needs to be done but mostly not that exciting to write up apart from progress on the 1450 chassis build. Elsewhere I've a fair bit of tidying to do of the turnout installs and various related wiring. I think my Mark I mimic Panel needs to be replaced now that CDU driven turnouts are reducing in number and Cobalt installs take their place.

 

Other things on the agenda include installing some uncoupling locations for my Kadee stock, getting additional materials ordered for my various scratch buildings, etc. etc. @KNP has provided most useful guidance in this regard and that's identified a few gaps in my supplies.

 

We are in peak summer now, so the garden consumes a lot of my time.  In the absence of a new UH pic, here is one from a week ago of my vegetable patch, the tomatoes at bottom left (San Marzano) have topped out their stakes (1.5m) this morning which is not bad going for just the 7 days since the photo! I need to add extenders to give me an extra 400mm height. Nets are to keep those darned Rainbow Lorikeets away from the peaches and plums. A never ending war. 

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by BWsTrains