Dragon Steels, South Wales metals traffic 1990-1992

[Barnaby]

Hello Wayne there are several ways to achieve the movement you require, here's one way.

This way uses micro-switches but you could front drive it with your slide switches mounted on a sub panel horizontal to the track bed.

If you want to use your switched but mounted vertically you would need to fit a fulcrum / bell crank to convert the up-down into a front to back movement.

 

This system is easy made from spokes and choc-blocks and there are various other ways using snakes etc I can show. Nod to Shortliner for this.

You may want to have a read through this topic for some ideas.   http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/54069-manual-point-control/  the link also shows how the bell crank changes the direction of movement.

Edited January 4, 2014 by Barnaby

[Wayne 37901]

Hi Barnaby,

 

Thanks very much for that, it's really helped me a lot. The lower drawing is similar to what I have installed but I think I'll revisit it and have a tweak.

 

 

 

Thanks again

[br2975]

Here's my "two pennyworth" Wayne.

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We can swap notes and you can crawl underneath at the Cardiff Show this October.

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Brian

[Wayne 37901]

Hi Brian,

 

Thanks for posting that up. it's similar to what i had in mind but i just couldn't visulise how to build it (electrics isn't my forte!).

 

In the end for Dragon Steels I went for piano wire for the points purely as a mechanical linkage and the DPDT switches for changing the polarity which you have to remember to do manually with each point change. Granted it's probably an unusual way of doing things but it does work and once I've sorted the fiddle yard out and got something to stand the layout on it can then see it's first actual workings.

 

 

 

Other than that there isn't much else to report, the scenery continues to be worked at but I keep thinking it doesn't look right.

 

 

Cheers

[Wayne 37901]

Good morning,

 

Just thought I'd give a quick update as attention has now turned to stock building.

 

One of the main traffic flows into Dragon Steels will be billets for rolling so a start has been made on some BDAs for this. These use the Cambrian kit as a basis. I know Bachmann make an excellent BDA but I already had the kits and couldn't justify amy spare cash to purchase 3 or 4 Bachmann wagons at around £22 each. (modelling on a budget an all)

 

For the billets themselves I'm thinking of using Plastruct/Evergreen square section cut to length, although as real billets are cut to length using gas torches getting mine to look right might prove tricky.

 

 

More soon

[bobster]

Just seen this - First class work - Look forward to more.

[Arthur]

Wayne, here are some billets which I made, for the BCB project, from Evergreen square section.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/57246-black-country-blues-rolling-stock-workbench/?p=934136

 

Billet ends are not flame cut, they are cropped off by a flying shear. A device which grips the billet as it comes out if the rolling mill, moves with it for a few feet, whilst two vertically moving blades shear it into two. It then flys back to it's original position, grips the billet, and crops off the next length. Steel soft enough to roll is readily cut this way. Billets are semi finished products, they do not need a high quality finish as they require further work before they become a usable end product.

 

The ends on my billets came out remarkably well just by chopping them off with a heavy blade, just good luck really.

 

Flame cutting, slow and requiring fuel, would be reserved for cutting cold steel sections.

[Wayne 37901]

Hi Arthur,

 

Thanks for posting that up, you've captured the look of steel billets very well. I've been following some of the BCB stuff and was very impressed with the whole project.

 

I think I'll follow your method of making the loads hollow to save material. I see what you mean about the cropped ends, you can just imagine the shears in action cutting the billets. I imagine it was quite noisy, although I did read from the Celsa website that they use gas torches for billet cutting. Maybe noise is the reason for that?

[Arthur]

Could be Wayne, it is a noisy operation, a kind of resounding 'thunk' which does travel. It could just be modern practice to gas cut, seems a bit wasteful on fuel, but maybe that's what they do.

 

Yes, you'll be surprised how much Evergreen section a 'block' of billets will use up if you make it entirely from continuous strips. If you make up several that can quickly use up a few packs and the cost mounts. The other advantage of making them hollow is that you can glue in a metal weight if you want.

[Wayne 37901]

Thanks Arthur,

 

The BDAs are now in the process of being painted.

 

Apart from that I've been doing some research on the next loco I'm going to to model which will be allocated to the metals sector but in a different livery to add a bit of variety from all the blue chevrons, but more on that soon.

 

 

Cheers

Edited March 23, 2014 by Wayne 37901

[br2975]

A couple of shots showing the ends of billets cast at the Tremorfa works of Celsa (UK).

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Brian R

[Wayne 37901]

Thank you Brian.

 

Dare I say it, but I think I might be right about the gas cutting as the ends of those look too 'clean' to have been cropped by shears in my opinion?

 

Also gives a nice view of the colour which might be tricky to replicate, although having seen Arthur's billets over on the Black Country Blues thread I think he's captured the look quite well.

 

I was wondering if those short billets ever leave by rail? Was thinking I could load some into SPAs for a bit of variety, I'm sure I've seen pics of SPAs carrying short billet somewhere. Being able to justify an SDA would be nice as well, although I'd rather not use the old modellers licence too much as these were only used on billet traffic to Rotherham.

 

I've now finished painting the first BDA and it's now awaiting lettering and weathering and of course a load of billets.

 

 

More soon.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Wayne 37901

[br2975]

Greetings Wayne

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Please excuse any erratic typing, just back from The Butchers (Llandaff) !!

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In a previous post you asked about the short billets leaving by train.

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Generally they only moved from the EAF billet bank to the 15" (?) billet bank - a distance of about 200 yards for rolling into sections.

This involves drawing the loaded 'SB' wagons from the billet bank alongside the EAF into a headshunt, then propelling them into the 15" mill billet bank, a distance of about 400yds.

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I don't believe the short billets left the site ..... and when required, due to demand, additional 15m billets were brought into Castle Works as opposed to being railed out.

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Years ago they came from Scunthorpe, Rotherham and Hamworthy ( Poole ).

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Here are two pics of BDA wagons loaded with ether billets (taken at Tidal) or 'rebar' en-route from the Castle Works to Tidal (and eventually Rotherham).

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Brian

Edited March 26, 2014 by br2975

[class"66"]

Can get alot of detail from those wagon photos!!!  

[Wayne 37901]

Thanks for posting those up Brian, they'll be most useful. The pictures I've been looking at show billets running the length of the wagon so I'm basing mine on those. Some wagons are also loaded with rusty looking billets as well as the blue/grey looking ones.

 

 

Thanks for the info re the short billets. Maybe I could justify an SDA arriving with some billet from Rotherham.

 

 

Cheers.

 

PS: Hope you had a nice evening.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Wayne 37901

[Worsdell forever]

Those in the photos look brand new, in fact the heat haze in the second photo of post 136 proves that! I don't suppose they would need to be in the stock yard long before they start to dull and go a bit rusty.

[Wayne 37901]

Just a quick update.

 

The BDAs are now all painted and awaiting lettering and I'm now trying to get a worn weathered look on the wagon floors. Even in the early 90s these wagons were over 20 years old and the costant loading of steel took it's toll on the wooden floors.

 

I've been experimenting with different paint mixes and techniques but haven't yet found a look that I think looks right.

 

I'll post a picture when they're complete.

[Fat Controller]

Just a quick update.

 

The BDAs are now all painted and awaiting lettering and I'm now trying to get a worn weathered look on the wagon floors. Even in the early 90s these wagons were over 20 years old and the costant loading of steel took it's toll on the wooden floors.

 

I've been experimenting with different paint mixes and techniques but haven't yet found a look that I think looks right.

 

I'll post a picture when they're complete.

The BDAs were rebuilt from wagons originally built in the 1950s (unfitted Bogie Bolster Ds), so it's quite likely that the floors were closer to 40 years old!

There was another way of loading short billets, using modified BDAs ( known as BFAs). These had one bolster at one end quite a bit higher than the others. The first layers of billets would be laid on the three lower bolsters; once the load reached the height of the  higher bolster, then loading would start from that end. This meant that the wagons could be loaded to their full 52t capacity, rather than a lot less if the shorter billets had been loaded on the centre of the wagon (depending on billet length, this might only be 32t)

[Wayne 37901]

Hi Brian W,

 

Yes fully aware of the true age, I was assuming that when converted to BDAs they might have had new floors fitted.

 

Regarding the BFAs, I do have plans to include at least one by way of a possible additional billet service from Scunthorpe with one or two SDAs.

 

As you rightly say, the reason behind the raised bolsters was to make use of the wagons cappacity in addition to better weight distribution. This is also why they replaced standard BDAs on Llanwern slab traffic.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Wayne 37901

[br2975]

Wayne

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A couple of shots of the modified bolsters on BFA wagons - taken at Tidal during 2005.

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There were several there at the time - I've never seen them in the works proper, but that doesn't mean they haven't been used for ASW traffic.

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Brian R

[br2975]

I took several shots of BDA B950192 in 2007 - to show the deck of the wagon, which, like a number of others was protected by wire mesh.

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ASW bought some redundant YNW & BDW wagons from Healey Mills around 2001/2002 which apparently had plywood floors - the firm went into receivership before the wagons entered service. I have some shots of them in my files.

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Brian R

[Wayne 37901]

Good evening Brian R,

 

The second wagon in your first post shows best the look I'm trying to achieve and it also shows nicely the rusty colour of the stanctions.

 

The shot given me an idea for another method of painting to try. I have another BDA that isn't yet painted acting as an experimental wagon before I tackle the floors on the painted ones.

 

I'll post up a picture of it during the week.

 

 

Cheers

[bobster]

Great detail in those photo's - very useful.

 

Cheers, Bob.

[marc smith]

Once again, lots of cracking photos from Brian R
C'mon Wayne - I want to see this layout finished!

Marc

[Wayne 37901]

Indeed, thank you Brian.

 

 

Marc - I'm trying, I want it finished as the next project awaits. Doesn't help when modelling time is restricted to when the other half is rostered for an evening shift as I currently have no workbench at home, all modelling being carried out at my folks place.