My next adventure - North Quay

[Ian Morgan]

I had  decided to retire my Freshwater layout after its appearance at the Warley show at the NEC last year. After 12 years in the making, I wanted a break. Maybe to spend more time on some of the club layouts, and maybe to start a new, fresh challenge for a personal layout. (I am not ruling out a Rolling Stones type 'Comeback' tour at some point, but then I have not decided what to do with Freshwater yet).

 

I had a few ideas for a new layout in my head (don't we all?) but most would be too large and complex to tackle single-handed.

 

Then I had an email inviting Basingstoke Club members to the 40th anniversary exhibition of the Euskirchen Club (Eisenbahnclub Euskirchen e.V.) in December this year. Euskirchen is Basingstoke's twin town in Germany, and we have taken a few layouts to their shows, pre-Brexit and Covid, and they have reciprocated bringing their layouts to our show.

 

Some quick research seems to indicate that taking a club layout by road this year would be a lot more hassle than previous visits, with Customs (Carnets), several Low Emissions Zones to register for, and the german requirement for winter tyres in the winter.

 

So, how about building a small 2mm layout that would fit in an aluminium flight case that I could take by air or Eurostar?

 

I eventually found some laser cut baseboards and a not-too-large flight case they could fit into, and a bit of a track plan that could fit. Part of the North Quay at St Helens on the Isle of Wight. It will not be a faithful reproduction of the real place, but I hope it will have a passing resemblance. It will have 7 points, a run round loop (partly in a fiddle yard) and a kick-back siding. Hmmm, sounds a lot like Freshwater.

 

Anyway, baseboards have been built, modified slightly to fit the flight case, and are ready to be painted. I have some track components to start me off, and an order for the rest is with the Association Shop 1, waiting for the annual stock taking to be completed. It will be a tight schedule, but I feel I am off to a flying start.

 

 

[bécasse]

In theory you still need a carnet - but at least if you go by Eurostar you will find out at the controls at St.Pancras if you have a problem.

[Ian Morgan]

1 hour ago, bécasse said:

In theory you still need a carnet - but at least if you go by Eurostar you will find out at the controls at St.Pancras if you have a problem.

 

That is true, but how will they value a micro layout to calculate any duty they intend to levy if I don't get one?

 

The carnet is likely to cost more than the layout.

 

 

 

 

[snitchthebudgie]

18 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

 

That is true, but how will they value a micro layout to calculate any duty they intend to levy if I don't get one?

 

The carnet is likely to cost more than the layout.

 

 

Indeed.  But we had no trouble taking half-a-dozen N gauge modules by van to Stuttgart for the NCI meet.  They were our possessions travelling with us - nothing commercial involved - though we did have a list and pictures of what was in the boxes, and a letter of invitation to the exhibition.

[bécasse]

29 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

 

That is true, but how will they value a micro layout to calculate any duty they intend to levy if I don't get one?

 

The carnet is likely to cost more than the layout.

 

 

 

 

So you are taking the layout but no models to run on it - and no tools either? The valuation would be whatever the Customs' officer chooses to say it is and, as a minimum, there would be a significant additional penalty for non-declaration, the officer could however decide to confiscate everything (and, if you were travelling in a vehicle, the vehicle as well). Remember that it is the value which is taxable, not what it cost historically, and the mere fact that you are taking it to be exhibited in Europe demonstrates to the officer that it must be valuable.

 

You might well get away with it but if you don't the penalties are significant. Remember this is what the British voted for, while the way that the British Government has handled the whole situation merely encourages the authorities in Europe to take a harsh line.

 

I might add that if I order a railway book which is only available from a British supplier who isn't registered to collect Belgian TVA (the bigger ones are but tend not to handle specialist books), I end up having to pay around another €30 in taxes and charges on top of the book price and postage, something I didn't before Brexit.

[Ian Morgan]

4 hours ago, bécasse said:

...significant additional penalty for non-declaration, the officer could however decide to confiscate everything (and, if you were travelling in a vehicle, the vehicle as well).

 

 

One of the reasons to go by train or fly.

 

4 hours ago, bécasse said:

Remember this is what the British voted for, while the way that the British Government has handled the whole situation merely encourages the authorities in Europe to take a harsh line.

 

Although it is not what I, personally, voted for, we are a democracy so it is what it is and we have to get on with the new reality.

 

I do not plan to take tools, and will only have a small amount of kit bashed rolling stock that ran on Freshwater, so confiscation would not bother me too much.

 

I will declare it though, and see what they say.

 

So, on with layout building.

[Ian Morgan]

Not the most up-to-date gov.uk page, but this implies I can declare by conduct or orally personal belongings up to an Allowance. Not found what that allowance is yet though.

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-how-to-declare-personal-goods-you-bring-into-or-take-out-of-the-uk

 

 

[bécasse]

Since you are going to declare it, I recommend making a list of everything that you are taking, the separate parts of the layout, each item of rolling stock, the controllers, etc together with your realistic valuations thereof, noting that everything is more than six months old. You would have had to do that for the carnet anyway. Hopefully the Customs' officer will look kindly on you.

[Ian Morgan]

So, the baseboards are ready for painting, to protect against damp and to prime them for scenic work.

 

As I said, I had to cut down the height of the backscenes to fit the flight case. I used the offcuts to create an end frame so the two main boards can bolt together for transit. Track ends on baseboard edges will have suitable gaps so they don't get damaged. I will get a photo of that later.

 

I also cut strips of the offcuts to form vertical timbers along the entire frontage of the layout that will be the quay side. I cut up a lot of coffee stirrers using a nice little mini table saw I picked up last year. These formed the horizontal timbers of the quay side, and a row along the top form the edging, which will allow any infill for the dock side to be level with the track sleeper tops. It also masks the laser cut 'comb' tabs. Here it is in the raw state. Hopefully it will look better when suitably painted.

 

[Ian Morgan]

Here are the two main baseboards bolted together ready to fit into the flight case:

 

 

And here is the complete 1.5m long layout, including fiddle yard, sprayed with grey primer. The underside is white. It is sitting on top of Freshwater in its transport case/lighting gantry, showing it is pretty much the same length as the scenic board of Freshwater, but a lot lighter.

 

 

Note the quayside extends along the front of the fiddle yard. I am experimenting with having basic scenery on the fiddle yard (ballast, brick walling and some greenery) to make the layout look a bit tidier, but with the fixed scenic break from the main layout. I still need to cut a hole for the trains to enter the layout, but need some track down to get the correct position for a minimum sized hole. With the hole near the front of the layout, I am hoping the sceniced fiddle yard showing through it will make it less distracting.

 

So now I have to start putting together and laying lots of 2mmFS EasiTrak so it may be a little while before the next post and photos.

 

 

[Chris Higgs]

On 31/03/2024 at 19:36, Ian Morgan said:

Not the most up-to-date gov.uk page, but this implies I can declare by conduct or orally personal belongings up to an Allowance. Not found what that allowance is yet though.

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-how-to-declare-personal-goods-you-bring-into-or-take-out-of-the-uk

 

 

 

This. so far as I can work out, only relates to the UK customs side of things,  the EU customs is another story. If I recall correctly, the allowance is 350 euros (or it might be 450 euros).

 

However, I travel regularly to and from the EU. It is a long time since I have even seen anyone even manning the customs posts on the French side either at Dunkerque or Calais, let alone actually checking anyone. Neither have I ever seen anyone checked at the Dutch airports. Once they had all proved they could confiscate lorry drivers' ham sandwiches, they quickly grew bored of it and lost interest...

 

Chris

[2mmMark]

I've travelled out of the UK with The Pizza, which has a flight case that meets the carry-on size requirements. 

On 2 trips to the USA,  there were no customs or carnet issues, just security checks. 

Other trips were pre-Brexit European visits one on Eurostar and the other driving.

Having travelled on business with IT equipment requiring a carnet, my advice would be to avoid if at all possible.  It's a tedious and time-consuming process at the end of a trip when you're usually quite tired.

[Ian Morgan]

Since assembling and painting the baseboards, I have been collecting and assembling the stuff I need for the next phase: track, point motors and electricals.

• Plain track is EasiTrak code 40 bullhead rail inserted into plastic sleeper bases, supplied by the 2mm Scale Association
• SR buffer stops are etched nickel-silver kits supplied by the 2mm Scale Association
• points are EasiTrak B7 kits, produced by FiNeTraks for the 2mm Scale Association (a joy to assemble)
• Servo mounts are Dingo Low Profile Mk2, required because the baseboards are quite shallow.
• Electrics are Merg CBUS modules, salvaged from other projects.

So, now I am ready to start laying track 🙂

 

[Ian Morgan]

So, track laying is now complete on the fiddle yard and one of the scenic boards:

 

 

OK, it does not look like much, but there has been a lot going on below decks. It has a Merg DCC Command Station, servo operated points controlled by Merg CBUS modules, and point crossing switch modules that sense the signals going to the servos to operate the latching relays to switch frog polarity. This is not all, as I have not fitted the uncoupling magnet mechanisms yet, and some other electically operated items I am toying with.

 

I took the fiddle yard and scenic board to the club Monday evening to complete the wiring and setting up, and trains ran for the very first time. I had one feed dropper wire detach itself from one rail, but apart from that, it ran pretty well. So, once the minor faults identified have been fixed, and the wiring tidied up with some cable ties, I can proceed with track laying on the other scenic board.

 

 

There will then be a lot of test running before, and after, applying ballast. I want to get it all running smoothly before I start on the scenic work.

 

For anyone interested, the wiring colour coding is:

• blue and yellow - DCC track feeds
• black - 0V for power supplies
• purple - 15VDC from the mains power supply
• red - 12VDC, derived from the 15V power supply via a 'buck' converter module
• pink - frog droppers
• green and white - CBUS CANH and CANL lines

 

Servo leads are beyond my control, but fairly obvious as they are three wire ribbons.

 

Edited May 28 by Ian Morgan
Added wire colours

[Ian Morgan]

For those of you not savvy to the Isle of Wight railways, here is a part of the O.S. 25 inch map of the harbour at St Helens.

 

 

My layout is loosely based on the North Quay part, drastically shortened. A couple of connections back to the left hand 'entrance' line are omitted, but the gas works, engine shed and quayside will be represented, if all goes to plan.

 

The line curving down at the bottom of the image ran to the terminus at Bembridge.

 

[Ian Morgan]

I have just finished laying the track on the second scenic baseboard. When the glue is dry, I can start connecting up all the dropper wires, install the servo point motors and the associated control board (Merg CANMIO). Then I can start test running before starting the next big job - ballasting.

Hopefully I can get a photo of the complete layout later this week.

 

[bécasse]

I realise that your layout is, in effect, only inspired by St.Helens but you may be interested in knowing how the place was worked, certainly from Uncle Mac's time in the Island onwards, since I haven't seen the details written up anywhere else.

 

The branch carriages were normally stabled and cleaned in the platform at Bembridge overnight. I have a sneaking feeling that they might have been worked back to Ryde SJ on Saturday nights and returned first thing Sunday morning to facilitate a changeover but that is a reasoned surmise not a known fact.

 

The first movement on the branch on weekdays was the arrival of the goods from Ryde SJ in the down platform at Brading and it was then promptly propelled to St Helens and into the Quay with the brake van leading. The brake van was stabled at the Quay and wagons (the majority) for the Quay shunted into the required sidings. The loco (Terrier* later O2) then returned to St Helens platform with the few wagons for Bembridge, propelling them thence without any brake van, the guard riding in the loco cab. On arrival outside Bembridge the guard went forward on foot to unlock the frame and work the points to allow the wagons to be shunted into their appropriate (of 2) sidings. The loco then shunted on to the stabled carriages and continued to work the day's passenger service, running round the carriages at each terminal. Water and coal were available at Brading but it is possible/probable(?) that the loco was changed to enable servicing during the day by LE working(s) to/from Ryde SJ (certainly the main line locos were changed over by LE workings to/from Pier Head). Any shunting required on St Helens Quay during the day was done by hand (or possibly borrowed horse).

 

At the end of the day, the loco would be detached from the carriages, and run round them via the turntable but would then pick up any empty wagons (shunting them as necessary) and return directly to St Helens with the empty wagons, the guard again travelling in the loco cab. At St Helens the train would shunt back on to the quay, pick up any empty wagons and the stabled brake van, and then proceed directly on to the main line at Brading and on to Sandown. There the wagons would be stabled overnight, ready to be attached to the daily goods to Medina Wharf via Merstone and Newport the next day, while the loco returned with the brake van to Ryde SJ.

 

Post war there were sometimes no wagons for St Helens and in this case the morning goods would be propelled straight through to Bembridge and the brake van stabled (and added to the evening train) there, the only time that a goods brake van was normally ever seen at Bembridge.

 

The other variation in working happened if there was a loco scheduled to go into Ryde works but it was the wrong way round (chimney first to Pier Head) which could happen until the Merstone line closed in 1956. Such locos were put on the afternoon Bembridge branch turn and, on the final visit to Bembridge were turned on the turntable before working the goods to St Helens and Sandown, the only time (typically several occasions a year) when the turntable was used as a turntable rather than just as a sector plate. Obviously this could only be done for O2s after the 1936 turntable rebuild, apparently being one of the justifications for that rebuild.

 

When we exhibited our pioneering P4 Bembridge layout half-a-century ago we knew that the goods was propelled in, so that is what we did, but we didn't know the full story which emerged subsequently.

 

* Pre-1936, as well as Terriers, the Southern had used ex-IWR Beyer-Peacocks and one or two other pre-grouping oddities on the branch. Because it was short and all but level it was the ideal place for small older locos to eke out their final days.

Edited June 12 by bécasse
Asterisked note added

[Ian Morgan]

Thanks for that interesting information @bécasse. There is very little in the books I have covering the quay. However, it does not explain the existence of the engine shed with water tank that appears on maps and in a couple of the rare photographs of the quay, if locomotives were not serviced or stabled there.

 

(photo found on Facebook - photographer unknown, sorry)

 

[bécasse]

The Bembridge branch was authorised, built and eventually (it took a dozen years!) opened by the independent Brading Harbour Improvements and Railway Company, improvements to the harbour, draining of a large area of what had been sea and the development of the quays at St.Helens forming a significant part of the task (the company-built embanked road between St.Helens and Bembridge remained a railway-owned toll road into the 1970s).

 

The railway was actually worked from opening by the Isle of Wight Railway (which owned and operated the Ryde SJ to Ventnor line) but the shed at St.Helens was provided to house the branch locomotive which at that period towed a short rake of what might be termed tramway carriages. That all changed with the improvements and rationalisation of the early Southern Railway period, which, of course, affected the whole of the Island railway system, not just the branch. Apart from the simple coal stage and water column at Brading (and, of course, the turntable at Bembridge) no other locomotive facilities ever existed on the line. There was originally simple signalling at St.Helens and Bembridge, the removal of which (it served no useful purpose) was part of the early Southern Railway improvements.

[Ian Morgan]

Today I have added the first uncoupler servo to the layout. It covers the two tracks entering (or leaving) the fiddle yard. I use DG uncouplers on my stock.

 

The mount is fabricated from two pieces of L-section aluminium. The two neodymium magnets are glued to the angle using Gorilla epoxy resin (particularly smelly). Two more magnets were used on the other side of the aluminium to hold them in place while the glue set, otherwise the magnets try to join each other.

 

The two small holes in the baseboard were drilled from above, through the track centres to aid in positioning the mount and magnets.

 

The first three photos show the uncoupler in the 'deactivated' position. The magnet poles are parallel to the tracks as well as some distance from the tracks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final photo shows the uncoupler activated, with the magnets flat against the underside of the baseboard. the magnetic field is now projecting vertically up through the tracks.

 

[John Brenchley]

Thats very useful Ian. 

Lots of ideas for me to consider when I come to fit uncoupling magnets - what thickness of baseboard do you find the magnets will work through?

John

 

[Ian Morgan]

This is 4mm MDF with EasiTrak laid directly on top. If you need more oompf then just stick another magnet on top of first ones (they stick to each other very strongly - just watch them fly around the workbench!).

 

These are 6mm diameter magnets, other sizes and shapes are available.

 

 

[bécasse]

4 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

This is 4mm MDF with EasiTrak laid directly on top. If you need more oompf then just stick another magnet on top of first ones (they stick to each other very strongly - just watch them fly around the workbench!).

 

These are 6mm diameter magnets, other sizes and shapes are available.

 

 

I have found cylindrical upright ones, the same height as the baseboard thickness and with quite a small diameter, to be the most effective ones. I fit them by drilling a hole matching their diameter between a pair of sleepers and just pushing them into the hole, fixing them with a drop of liquid adhesive.

[Caley Jim]

What @bécasse suggests is OK for fixed magnets, but if you want to be able to 'disable' them in the way Ian is doing, you would have to drill bigger holes that would give clearance for the movement of the magnets.

 

Another way to aid the transmission of the magnetic field through the baseboard is to drill holes and glue in short lengths of 6" nail, or other soft iron rod.  The magnetism will only be effective when the magnets are in contact with, or in close proximity to, the bottom of the rod.

 

Jim