RMweb Gold gwrrob Posted April 3, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 3, 2011 Very neat and tidy Andy.I have quite a few photos of the Kingsbridge branch as you might expect.PM with your wants and I'll see if I can help. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beresford Junction Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Hi Andy Great thread, and since I'm starting a points/signalling sub project myself I'm keen to follow your updates in that area. Cheers, and keep the updates coming. Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted April 3, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 3, 2011 That's about a 100 times neater than my wiring. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Looking very neat. I will bring some copies of the KB plans to Taunton RM meet, as well as "secret" pics of station. Will get an electronic copy from dad of stn plans for you. What scale you want? Please note that they are for personal use only and are copyright, as well as not fit for publication yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 Looking very neat. I will bring some copies of the KB plans to Taunton RM meet, as well as "secret" pics of station. Will get an electronic copy from dad of stn plans for you. What scale you want? Please note that they are for personal use only and are copyright, as well as not fit for publication yet. Many thanks for the kind comments about the wiring. Hopefully it will make it a lot easier to trace faults if one should arise. Thanks devondynosoar118 for the offer of the plans, 4mm is the scale I am working to. Unfortunately I will not be able to get to the Taunton meet nso have a good day. I have managed to run a loco on individual boards and hand changed the points it shouldn't be long now before I can run a loco the full length of the layout and switch points using the panel. The great thing about this hobby is you learn something new every day and nearly always meet really friendly and helpful people. Many thanks all Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 It's aliiiive!!! :lol: At last all the boards have been wired up and the final Kadee#309 uncoupler was delivered from Nairnshire Model Supplies and fitted. So i bit the bullet and with the help of my son we assembled all four boards, connected them together electrically and plugged in the control panel. In goes the extension lead and then plugged in two power supplies for the points and the uncouplers. AT least nothing went bang . Just the satisfying sound of Tortoise point motors setting themselves. So we ran through all the point switches and they all moved then we placed two Kadee fitted truck on the layout and tried out the uncouplers. Great they all worked, some a bit finicky but that's down to the push to make switches not working properly and they might need to be changed over at some point. So far so good, I then tried to run some locos on the layout. On goes the Digitraks, on goes the power and it works, I have sound and lights. Does the switching on the crossing V's work. You bet it does. We were able to succesfully run two locos over the full length of the layout, including the cassette fiddle yard. There were a couple of stutters but that is down to some dirty track and wheels on the locos. Next job I suppose is to clean the track. To say I am pleased is an understatement, it's great to at last see something running. Now I can go onto the next step of more testing and tweaking, maybe changing those temperamental push to make switches. Then I can think about platforms and ballasting . Keep watching this space for the next exciting installment of Salcombe Harbour. Some more South Devon Magic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted April 8, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 8, 2011 That is very good news to hear that it all works as you wanted it to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benbow Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Someone once said 'all you need for DCC is two wires'........ Nice neat work there..why does mine always look like a knitters nightmare?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 Just a quick update. Took the layout down to the club last Sunday and set it up for some more test running. I started to run a Class 37 over the turnout to the harbour branch and realised that it was broken, the switchblade having come away from the tiebar . Well we tested the rest of the layout but had to change the point later in the week. Luckily I had not ballasted the line. The last part of the week I have been building up the platforms using 12 x 4mm timber strip. This will be topped with 3mm MDF as a solid base and covered with 3mm cork. This should bring it up to 3ft above track level. Once this is done the detailing can start to take place. I hope. I will post some more pictures of the layout as soon as I can but I am off to the Epson and Ewell Model Exhibition tomorrow. Below are some more reasons to model South Devon A study in motion 2-8-0 Avon Estuary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted April 16, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 16, 2011 I can tell you that the mud in the Avon estuary is very sticky and every so slightly sinky and as for stinky when you have waded through bits of it, well, I'll let you imagine that part. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 I can tell you that the mud in the Avon estuary is very sticky and every so slightly sinky and as for stinky when you have waded through bits of it, well, I'll let you imagine that part. I know that from experience having once had to pull a boat out on to a trailer. The only way we could do it was to wade out and pull it into firmer ground for the trailer to stand on. Still a beautiful place to while the hours away , take some photgraphs or fish. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 SALCOMBE PLATFORMS ARRIVE I have been doing a liitle work on Board One this week having installed the platforms for Salcombe Harbour. I borrowed the idea from an article I read in Model Rail. This used 12mm x 4mm timber strip in 3m lengths from Homebase. These were attached to small wooden blocks glues and screwed to the base along the platform line scribed by a pencil and the longest coach I have. The strip was cut to length and shaped before being stuck to the blocks and base with PVA. It was held in place with small spring clamps until dry. When the main structure was complete stiffening spines were glued in place across the centre of the platform to support the top. I did make an error in the size of strip I used. This was because I had cut the cork from the Platform area back to the baseboard therefore the rail top was 3mm higher than if I had stuck the strip directly to the cork. What I should have done is probably purchased 16mm wide strip. On top of the strip wood I stuck down a sheet of 3mm MDF cut out with the aid of a paper template and trimmed back to the platform face with a very sharp chisel and sanded smooth. The platform surface was still to low to be 3ft above rail level so to increase the height a further 3mm of cork was stuck onto the MDF. This brought it up to just below the 3ft level and allows a little for placing the final platform finish and edging stones. Once everything was stuck down and sanded smooth strips of Slaters Stone sheet were cut to size and attached to the platform faces with Evostick and leftg to dry overnight. The next job will be to paint the faces before applying the edging stones and platform top. This form of platform building makes a strong but reasonably light structure and because of the 3m length of the timber strip its makes long platforms on a curve or straight possible without any joins in the structure. The solid top gives a nice level surface for place station structures and items on. The station building will be bedded in to the final platform surface. The next job after this will be to place the cattle dock using the same idea and think about inlaying the quayside tracks so that I can get on and develop the harbour walls. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Nice work. Am doing the same job on Kingsbridge! Sent your station plans today. Our geologist John a.k.a. Combe Barton says the stone work on the branch is reef limestone and is laid un-coursed due to the nature of it's dressing into blocks. This means scribing the blocks for the buildings in DAS clay, or Scalescenes do a paper for it. t. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted April 22, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 22, 2011 Those platforms look to have come out very nicely Andy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Our geologist John a.k.a. Combe Barton says the stone work on the branch is oolitic limestone and is laid un-coursed due to the nature of it's dressing into blocks. This means scribing the blocks for the buildings in DAS clay, or Scalescenes do a paper for it. Ah - sorry, it's not. Oolitic Limestone is the Bath Stone type - I think that the photo you showed me is reef limestone of Devonian age probably from Plymouth. I think I'd better post more detail later with the arguments. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 Nice work. Am doing the same job on Kingsbridge! Sent your station plans today. Our geologist John a.k.a. Combe Barton says the stone work on the branch is reef limestone and is laid un-coursed due to the nature of it's dressing into blocks. This means scribing the blocks for the buildings in DAS clay, or Scalescenes do a paper for it. t. Many thanks for the comments and I look forward to seeing the station building plans Those platforms look to have come out very nicely Andy. Thanks Kris. I am please with the way they have turned out so far. I think the next job will be to paint the sides before I can think about finishing the tops and ballasting I have been playing around with the paints tonight on a scrap peice of walling. As per Geoff Taylor of Dewsbury fame I wanted to see what the harbour wall and platform walls might look like. Not sure if they should be a bit more grey as in the stonework around Plymouth or kept the orangey/brown colour that I have here. What do you think? Once again thank you everyone for the kind words, help and encouragement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted April 22, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 22, 2011 Part of the wall would be a nasty slimy green. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 Things have been slowly progressing with the layout. I was able to erect it and and have another running session to check out the turnout I had to replace. Things seemed okay, but I am still having trouble with the push switches for the uncouplers. These might have to changed for something more robust. Some of the stone sheet has been applied to the harbour wall on board one and what a difference it makes to the look. Kris said: Part of the wall would be a nasty slimy green. I know I will have to paint on a tide line but i wanted to wait until I had all the wall up and the model ship built so that I can gauge where to put it. Meanwhile I have been playing around with windows for some of the warehouses. They have been drawn up in Adobe Illustrator and then printed onto a single A4 label sheet. Each window can then be cut out and mounted onto some clear plasticard. If I need to change the colour of the windows I just choose another in Illustrator and then print it out. HOpefully it will look okay when they have been stuck into the buildings they were meant for. PRINTED LABEL COMPLETED WINDOWS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Good idea, looks very effective. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted May 6, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 6, 2011 Good idea, works well in 4mm. Last time I did it in 2mm I printed directly onto acetate so that I did not have to cut out each pane of glass. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Good idea, looks very effective. Good idea, works well in 4mm. Last time I did it in 2mm I printed directly onto acetate so that I did not have to cut out each pane of glass. Thanks for the comments about the windows. I have been quite pleased with the results and look forward to fixing them into some buildings. Meanwhile I have been making a start on the harbour wall on the main boards. I have used Slaters stone sheet and stuck it on with a very slim layer of Evostick adhesive. When dry the walling was trimmed to the top of the quay. I purchased some 3mm x 6mm Evergreen strip to top the wall off with capping stones. This was stuck to the surface with Plasticweld. These stones are a scale 9inches in height and will enable me to fill up to the track with Das clay scribed to represent stone setts. Here are some pictures of progress so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelling Mike Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Hi Andy, That's a great looking project you've got going there. The harbour looks like it's going to be a treat. I'm particularly interested myself as I'm quite familiar with South Devon, with family connections in that part of the world - a very pleasant part of the world it is too. Those pics of Totnes and Buckfastleigh brought back memories of visiting the South Devon railway a few years back. Best of luck and I'm looking forward to seeing progress. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 Thanks for the comments since I was last on. Things have been a bit slow recently but small jobs have been done. Test running of trains has thrown up a problem with the switches used for the uncouplers, they do not always provide a positive contact. So I am thinking that something a bit more beefier will need to be fitted to the control panel. The harbour wall is coming along with some more of the capping stones scribed and fitted. Next will be to tackle the inlaid ttack and quay side stone work. Still to do with model railways, but not mine, I have started a channel on Youtube called Highlandman Videos showing some of the layouts I have filmed at shows. All of them inspirational and some of them members of RMweb. I hope you like them. Click here for details. As soon as I have some pictures to post I will put them up here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 Things have been a bit slow on the modelling front. I bit more has been done to the harbour walls on the main boards but we have mainly been running trains to see if we can catch any problems. The only one I have really found is the push to make switches for the electromagnetic uncouplers only work intermitently so they will definitely need changing to something more robust. In the meantime while on a trip down to Devon I was able to film some of the South Devon Railway at Staverton and just outside Buckfastleigh. Hopefully this will give you a flavour of what branch lines in South Devon were like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n97Jc4X7KRg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn1 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Hi Andy What a cracking video! I must vist the SDR one day! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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