andypops Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 After a serious case of moddeler's apathy, I have restated work on this project. A message I *almost* posted last night: "I give up. I am having too many problems with my wiring of the point motors, frogs and microswitches. When I manage to get a switch into position, the glue seeps through and glues the damn thing in one position. I have 11 shorts and I can't see what is wrong. Added to this, there are a lot of small but important details which I have not got right, and I think will annoy me. So, tomorrow I will be ripping it all up, and if I get the urge to do it again, I will be making it in code 100 insulfrog, with no point motors or lights or anything fancy. A classic case of biting off more than I can chew. Cheers" However, I didn't have a working internet connection, so the message didn't get posted. And It's a good thing! On reflection this morning I decided that ( a ) no model is ever perfect, and ( b ) I shouldn't give up. I'm pleased to report that after writing a detailed list of all the issues, and working through it methodically, I've finally completed the wiring of the track, fixing every single issue. I still need to include an accessory bus and wire the point motors to the control board, but I have everything in neat tidy bundles ready to do in one fell swoop. In terms of scenery, I can really make a go of it once the wiring is done and I can get trains running, to look at clearances etc. Until then , I'm just making little pieces and painting them accordingly (as you've seen in previous posts!) Photos will follow, but in the meantime I'm just letting you all know the thread isnt dead! All the best, Andy P.S. I really can't wait to get things running, even though it isn't complete I have been massing a whole load of new stock which is still boxed, waiting to visit! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melly Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Just a quick note. I would like to upload some pictures, but aparrently the file size limit is now 2Mb, instead of the previous 10 Mb limit. Most of my photos are taken with my iphone, and I can't tell it to take smaller files. And the majority are above 2 Mb (although under 2.5 Mb!) So,Unless the website staff change this back, I won't be able to show people what I've been doing. Andy - use Infraview to re-size the pictures - normall to circa 200-300 kb! http://www.irfanview.com/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melly Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Andy - have you ever been able to track down any pictures of the small wagon repair shed that was just north of the College Bridge off Burcott road? I've been looking on-line for ages as it would make a great cameo! I can still picture it in my head with a Turbot on the concrete apron having an axle change. Need to get to the Library next time I visit and see what I can get from the Archives!! Regards Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 Hi Ian, That sounds great as a small cameo! Don't know it fits completely with my era, as I'm rooted in the post 1980s, during / after which there has been a huge amount of rationalisation at Hereford, I've got a great book, by Gordon Wood, entitled "Railways of Herefordshire". It's a brilliant read, if a bit pricey (£20), and I highly recommend it - lots of pictures for cameo inspiration! All the best, Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Nice and dirty ! Keep it up - I haven't got the courage to weather much yet, I have reduced the glare from a couple of Hornby pallet vans but not owning an airbrush at present reduces the options. You don't need an airbrush to weather, I'm doing my wagons slowly by hand as practice for making a start on locos. Those 2 wagons look good Andy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 As Dr. Nick in the Simpsons says: Hi Everybody! Please be aware this is a bit of a bumper update. This is what I've been up to over the last...quite a few months. So it has built up a bit, and there are a lot of pictures. Mobile users be warned! Sorry the picture quality is low - this is for 2 reasons. Firstly, I've taken the pictures on my iphone. It should be up to 8 MP, but whilst its visibly nowhere near that, it tends to be the quickest way, rather than breaking out the SLR! Secondly, I've resized the pictures to the "recommended" sizes - whilst this isn't my preferred option, there's nothing I can do about it. So, on with the pictures. Firstly, the layout might not look like not much has come on, but I have been really very busy. The majority of point motors were removed and rewired, to give more reliability and to tidy up the underside of the board, and then to allow the installation of the control panel. This is the "loom" coming out of the underside - a lot of wires for just 7 solenoids! The panel has switches for individual PMs, a (coloured) master switch each for track power and accessory power, and two other switches for lighting. At the moment, I will likely require switches for buffer stop lights, yard tower lights, and any other lights I decide to fit! As you can see, it's a very basic, untidy arangement at the moment, but I can obviously tidy it up a bit in the future. I've decided on the panel being proud of the baseboard for ( a ) ease - it's easier to mount like this rather than doing anything fancy, and ( b )I think it'll fill the space quite well. When I really thought about it, there was very little else I could fit in the space, other than a tiny cameo. But IMHO this should frame the headshunt quite nicely. Above the control panel, the scratchbuilt "warehouse" has been placed roughly in position. No doors fitted at the moment, although these are painted and ready to go, depending on if I think it's needed. TBH I might just blu-tack them in place; this allows me to shunt & dump wagons out of the way when I'm actually playing with the layout! Here is a picture of the engineers checking the clearances using a nice new railfreight BDA, and dropping off a few wagons of much-needed ballast! On the subject of rolling stock, I have been working on / painting a lot of wagon loads and accessories, not to mention actually weathering the wagons using my birthday present (airbrush!). The wagons had a couple of heavy coats of Railmatch sleeper grime mixed 50:50 with brake dust. I think (although the pictures don't give the wagons justice) that they look much better now, far closer to the real thing I pass every day at Alexandra Docks Junction! A nice, clean 09012 "Dick Hardy" waiting at a signal on my sidings layout with another ballast wagon. Shunter was an absolute bargain from the (fantastic) Hereford Model Centre [no affiliation]. The trouble is, the loco is so pristine that I'm too scared to even attempt to weather it! (forgive the over-zealous flash) Here's a bit of a "back of a fag-packet" sketch I made earlier, of the overall layout, and the general detail I want to include. I'll talk more about the bridge (bottom / front left) in a later post. This is the wagon loading road. As you can see,two BDAs fit in with ample clearance to the other sidings. The goods flow to be loaded / unloaded are from the warehouse into vans or onto bolsters, or for the loading / unloading of wood from OTAs for onward transport by road. I currently have 3 Hornby OTAs, and 1 Bachmann OTA. So, the next thing I need is the timber lorry...and since they aren't commercially available, I decided to scratchbuild. This is the "donor" vehicle: The plan was to create a skeleton structure which I can mount directly onto the trailer, with the minimum of fuss. This includes a whole bunch of these fellas: And fits onto the trailer like this: (before) (after) So far so good with this - except I ordered the Kato crane grab-arm from a certain well-known website over 8 weeks ago. I still have no news of it, and until it arrives I can't finish the front portion of the trailer, since I don't know how much room to allow for it to be mounted! My final word on this - GRR. I think that's enough for tonight - I'll hopefully put some more bits up tomorrow, depending on if I get many comments here! Please feel free to add any comment / critique of my modelling so far, I would really appreciate it, because it'll help me to improve. All the best, Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 Hi, Merry Christmas! I know I've not been posting (m)any updates - but I am an exceedingly busy person (although, aren't we all?!). Hopefully I'll have more to report soon. In the meantime, spare a thought for the poor old permanant way gang, who're using the Christmas Day shutdown to re-lay a section of track along the baseboard join (the troublesome offcuts used before were wooden sleeper, and horribly out of gauge... Lets just hope they finish soon, so that the presents can get run-in next trip working makes it through! All the best, Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 And just to show you all what the Permanent Way gang elves get up to on Christmas eve... The BDA was "borrowed" from the neighbouring yard, so the sections could be lifted before the engineering train arrived. The PW fellas have found a few longer sections to put in, in place of the numerous small sections. We all know how much CRW (continuously welded rail for the uninitiated) has smoothed modern railway journeys. There shouldn't be any derailmemts due to the track now! They've also shaped the gradient over the join, for more reliable running & easier shunting. A gratuitous shot of my cobbled-together lighting gantry (currently out of use, until commissioning by the contractor). And a view from overhead, once the sections have been infilled with spare sleepers. Much tidyer. Although the picture makes things look like they're at an odd angle - this will be dealt with before permanent fixing! Once the S&T technicians have arrived to solder the droppers for these sections, it's just the ballasting left - the question is, will one MFA be enough? Or will spare have to be sourced from the nearby quarry at Moreton-on-Lugg?! Finally - my favourite picture taken on the layout so far: Merry Christmas one and all! Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phixer64 Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 I think that the yellow skip in the background, is way over scale, otherwise, looking good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 I think that the yellow skip in the background, is way over scale I think you have a point there! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Looking good keep up the good work David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Hello, I've got a few more pictures of the work going on. It probably won't seem like much has changed, but I've been doing things which take me a while - wiring the accessory bus (or should I call it a loom, with the number of wires there are...) and ballasting in the new sections of track, and the points. I hate ballasting, I always make a hash of it, and the ballast in the pictures is still wet. Once it dries, I can finally crack on with the next jobs, such as Painting the rails Static grass section of wasteground at the front - maybe incude a cameo; a burnt-out car perhaps? Finishing off the model of the bridge External fencing for the Network Rail area Fixing & Lighting the warehouse and so on... In the meantime, a rake of JGA hoppers has arrived from the menders in Crewe, and has to reverse in order to access the stone loading point north of Hereford. Rather than a propelling move over the nearby crossing, somebody decided that it would be safer to have a reversal (and runaround) at Burcott Road. Luckily I managed to get a few snaps: (NB the layout is DCC controlled, but the 37 is unchipped at the moment so the lights are all on in both directions) A heavily weathered 37514 arrives. The state it's in, it looks like it'll be withdrawn soon? A contrast to the clean, reconditioned JGAs! The headshunt is blocked by a couple of MFAs used for the recent permanent way works, so the local shunter is whistled up to clear them And they're dumped clear of the runaround loop I really like this view Now the headshunt is clear, the tractor can draw the rake forward and run-around Finally, in an atmospheric shot we se 514 prepare to couple, and then depart with the rake And finally, a few shots of the stars in this show: 08630 - 37514 - notice the more heavy weathering on the one side! I hope you've enjoyed having a look at what I'm up to, and please give me any comments you may have. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for looking, and in case I don't post again before, Happy New Year! Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Just an idea, but does anyone have any recommendations for what I can use for the back scene? Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Latest pictures look good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold griffgriff Posted December 30, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 30, 2012 The Christmas track renewals look to have been well worth while (all that overtime) I hope the work was completed punctually and no fines were incurred Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Thanks for the kind comments guys. I think I'm going to use the last bit of free time this Christmas to carry on while the urge is there! Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Nice little modern image setup.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 It's been a while... Two reasons. Mostly too much to do and too little time to do it (work), and secondly I can barely get to the layout! I live with my parents at the moment, and all of my worldly posessions are piled up in my childhood bedroom, with the layout is on top of it. A final excuse - if it's needed - is I had pretty serious abdominal surgery in mid-February, with absolutely no lifting / stretching for 2 months, and pain possibly until the same point next year. It's certainly still hurting... The last time out, we saw a lot of P-Way work going on. It's been tidied up to the one end of the yard now: And a slightly different view shows a startling development - a different customer has been using the sidings: These are some overviews showing a lot more detail. I've still got things scattered about though, please forgive it! These are some shots of the warehouse end. I have plenty more to do there though. The next shot shows the other end. This has probably seen little change since the last photos. However, it's the business end. And from my original plan of a simple layout, I've realisesd that I can use this for everything from mid 1980s to present day. So, showing the most modern "Freightliner" itteration, containers can be loaded and unloaded here. Using "Freightliner" stock gives me the chance to have some containers - and these are some of the good Bachmann 20' containers, and excellent C-Rail Intermodal 20' "tanktainer" and "reefer" containers, loaded into some of the equally excellent Dapol KTA/KQA Wagons And a closeup of the C-rail containers: This is a self-painted (unbranded) 40' container on the lorry which I was originally (and still am!) planning to turn into a timber wagon. And then showing it representing a typical spot in the loading / unloading zone. When the containers arrive, the shunter which takes the cut is a Kernow rail commision of the Bachmann class 08 in a fantastically applied "Freightliner" livery (pre-weathered), "Terri". Sequence below: And the shunter back on point: (someone really ought to get S&T to fix the buffer stop light, or rig an emergency replacement...) As you can tell - I like class 08/09s! Onto the next era - from the more modern day, to early-mid 2000s with EWS. We've seen lots of photos of my EWS stock, so I'll only add a couple. This is my (sound-equipped) 66068, whiching is pulling a few of the Bachmann BAA/BZA wagons, which have been so heavily weathered that they finally resemble those which work in and around the South Wales area. And since we've already seen the 1990s shot of a class 37 pulling some stone wagons in an earlier post, we'll jump straight to the mid-1980s, where a passenger-type 37/4 has been "borrowed" to test the viability of a timber working, to take timber to the nearby mill by road. A nice view of the very good Bachmann model of 37427 "Bont Y Bermo": We can see the train arrive, draw a wagon away, and test the loading using a 1:87 model of a volvo wood-loading tractor: This is the volvo loader / unloader: And testing the loading dimensions - all seems well! So, we can see how the layout lends itself to my silly massive collection of stock, from the 1980s-present day. I'll try to get more done in the near future. Comments always welcome. Andy EDIT - excuse for not posting since New Years - see above! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 101 posts Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_1066 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Bet you're glad you didn't rip it all up now! Looks good and has come on a treat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 Hey there, As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the origins of the layout was to be loosely based on the Hereford yard, which took a number of freight flows. Although the yard was in the "up" direction at Hereford, modelling it in the "down" direction instead allowed for the fictitious "yard" / siding to be used for reversals, which is the way I've been running and demonstrating it so far. However, this was getting a bit boring, and I've been looking into (and modellnig) the freight flows instead. Originally my plans were for the rail-served warehouse to be the focus - but then this only requires vans, or even open wagons (think similar to Tremorfa works, Cardiff), with nothing really done outdoors. (unknown source - although I believe they may have come from Flickr or Brian's fantastic postings, and I will remove these if I'm infringing anyone) As I said, railhead transfer of van-freight is basicaly "unseen" - going from wagon to lorry to destination, and from a modelling POV, "boring". So I want to maximise the other part of my layout - the "siding" - a bit more. And I'm doing this with the freight flows. In my most recent pictures (set in a modern context), the siding is a great place for loading / unloading containers. I'm sure we can all imagine a tangental universe, where local sidings exist to transport the huge number of ISO containers we see every day on the roads on liner / pickup freights.But the original plan (following the Hereford yard route), is that timber was loaded / unloaded at a siding in the yard, for onward transport (by road) to the local sawmill at Pontrilas. To model this, I needed OTA timber wagons, timer loading vehicles, and Timber transport trailers. OTA wagons are easily available (Bachmann & Hornby); the Volvo HiLift L180C shown previously is now available in HO scale from Corgi, but nobody makes timber trailers. I had a go at making a frame to fit a container trailer previously, but with such poor results I opted to scratchbuild. So! In a roundabout way, I'm introducing my attempts at a timber trailer, built to prototypical size (within legal limits, unlike some prototypes!), using varying sizes of plastic strip. I started by making the base, struts and mudguards, which are the main elements of the trailer body. The frame, once together, just resting on the lorry. I would like to point out that the sample container to the left of the model is used to store a solvent to help clean the plastic, and nothing more sinister!! I just have a lot of these available (from work), and they are perfect for modelling! The struts this time are 1mm x 2mm plastic strip, with mitres cut at aprox. 45 degrees (by eye). These are much closer to prototypical scale than the previous effort. And finally, once finally together (please forgive the distortion that the struts appear to have in the photos, it isnt there in real life - and in fact the struts are often bent out of shape anyway!!) And as I mentioned before, comparing the struts from what I was going to use previously, we can see a massive improvement between the two. Just painting to do now! Hope this is interesting to somebody! Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 Hi, Does anyone have any experience with timing circuits? I've just been gifted a kit for an adjustable interval timer, and I was thinking that I could have building lighting and the yard lights controlled on say a ten-minute cycle using this? Is it possible? Andy Edit - more info It's a Velleman MK111 Kit, as seen here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Nile Posted June 22, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 22, 2013 Is it possible? Not with that circuit.According to the specs , on time variable from 0.5 to 5 secs , off time 2.5 to 60 secs. It is more suited to a flashing light , so more disco than warehouse! It could maybe be used for zebra crossing lights. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Thank you. I could always use it for a flickering light on a building to make the place look a bit run-down I suppose - otherwise it can go into the bits box. I'm sure I'll use it somewhere! Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypops Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 I have another question... I hate to waste things. I really don't like to throw anything out without trying to salvage it - see the earlier posts with the sleepers! These were made from offcuts from laying the track. A while ago I was given a lot of old steel track which was no good for model use due to corrosion. But I'm wondering - can I re-use the metals for anything? I'm thinking at the moment about a CWR (continuously-welded-rail) thing, or cutting it up to BDA length and using it for loads there. The CWR tain would be a lot of scratchbuilding, and after the timber trailer I don't think I have the strength! Other than cutting it up for scrap loads, what else could I do? Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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