Tor Giffard 2 1951-71 in P4 - North Devon/Cornwall LSWR (former routes)

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Evenin' all,

 

This clip

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GaViaWGrKY&feature=youtu.be

 

shows the distinctive style of stone bridge at Lynmouth which will be suitable for spanning the river/floodwater channel heading down to the River Torridge on TG. Also, the design of the channel and some of its flora can be seen. The distinctive bridge at Little Petherick, near Padstow, isn't planned for TG but the metalwork structure clips are a useful record to have.

 

Aluminium work at the mo is focussed on the first Barnstaple fiddle yard frame.

 

Some T9 action from the Bodmin & Wenford gala can be seen at

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61J9Cdu2hzI&feature=youtu.be

 

The T9 loses its footing on one of the clips with a noticeable change in the exhaust beat.

 

P4 wheelsets for the West Country pacifics and Beattie well tanks on TG are being commissioned from Ultrascale see

http://www.rmweb.co....ountry-pacific/ and http://www.ultrascale.com/node/40

 

Ensuring that the 1st frame is absolutely level and rigid before 'flatting' of the cork commences began with checking the 6ft long frame for sag or deflection by placing a 1m steel rule beneath/along the 'T' section longitudinals. 1-1.5mm sag isn't bad over 6ft but P4 track and wheel standards aren't noted for forgiveness, so this morning was spent producing custom length adjustable legs/supports for 6ft frames being built/tested/fettled in the workroom. Once positioned amidships these additional supports have allowed the frame to be aligned absolutely flatly. The idea of a levelling sledge has been resurrected to 'flat' the cork surface whilst the frame is in situ, with an old 2ft x 3ft mirror glass looking likely to be fitted with wet/dry sheets and towed to and fro. All 6ft frames will now be fitted with 6 adjustable supports/legs rather than 4. The 'end fences' will assist with rigidity once in place but it is safer to equip the frames properly sooner rather than later.

 

Using a sealant fillet around the junctions of the longitudinals/stretchers and underside of the sheet deck is not proving reliable in avoiding resonance, therefore all other frames will have a gasket (maybe as simple as a narrow Duck tape strip) of one sort or another between the sheet deck and any structural aluminium.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Evenin' all,

 

A productive day on TG with Colin has seen the levelling sledge in action for the first time 'flatting' the cork on the first frame, see

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5dgtN4q8dc&feature=youtu.be

 

Once the first cork layer is finished then the second layer will be laid on top. N.B. care has to taken with such as the levelling sledge to keep it even and to sand the entire surface of the frame, I work first all the way across in one direction and then return all the way to the starting point.

The angle grinder/slitting disc has also seen action slitting the first 3 inch wide strip of 1mm aluminium which once fettled will act as the first 'end fence' on its fiddle yard frame. Colin has worked on and fitted the 10 'L' brackets which will secure it to the frame. The brackets will be fitted on the outside of the aluminium so that in the event of a derailment in the fiddle yard the railway side of the end fence will be flat/smooth and unlikely to cause impact damage to stock. The end fence and brackets won't be fitted until the cork is finish 'flatted' (to avoid impeding the levelling sledge) and sealed with dilute PVA.

 

The linked traverser guide rail for the turntable is adjustable and this has now been set so that the turntable/cradle travels at a uniform distance across the end of the fiddle yard frame.

 

The sealant fillets can be seen beneath the frame, the overall result is actually very good with little resonance as stock passes across the cork.

 

At the risk of appearing more like a political party than a model railway builder....another 'U' turn. The collective result of the glue and sealants drying, the first cork deck layer being sanded flat and extra rigdity being offered by additional adjustable supports (at 3ft intervals) is that there is very little or no resonance as a Heljan hymek with ex ironstone hoppers moves quickly along C&L flexitrack placed on the surface of the frame. This suggests that a second layer of cork (and Evo-stik) would be an expensive luxury, rather than serving a purpose. This slight reduction in baseframe height will mean that flexitrack is bonded directly to the aluminium traverser cradle but that shouldn't be of any significance.

 

The first frame has now been finish 'flatted' and had its cork surface sealed with 2 coats of dilute PVA. The cork cut outs over the machine screws fastening the aluminium sheet deck to the stretchers have been filled with 'The Works' sealant/adhesive. This was scraped flat with a razor blade when first applied. Likewise a couple of errors where the Evo Stik had grabbed the cork before I'd aligned it properly had the resultant gaps filled with the same.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Aft'noon all,

 

Tracklaying is underway on TG, see clip below (includes a few scenes of the T9 and rebuilt West Country 'Sir Keith Park' first at this last weekends SVR gala)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQnwIkWQMIE&feature=youtu.be

 

The 50mm track centres and one sleeper edge were marked onto the cork first and then the 1m C&L flexitrack lengths had their end sleepers spot superglued in place. A 1m metre steel rule was then placed along the outside of one rail and a 2nd steel straightedge placed outside the other and light pressure applied to squeeze straighten the length whilst also pressing it down. Superglue was then wiped along the cork/sleeper joint on alternate sleepers along the length. Pieces of Duck tape maintained the position of the 1m rule but care was required to make sure that it didn't pull any of the cork surface away as it was removed. The small earthenware tiles are ideal for weighting the track flat whilst gluing but allowing the sleepers in the gaps to be accessed with the wire applicator. The Mk 1 eyeball is proving very reliable in detecting any imperfections in laying straight track when the lengths are viewed end on in good light .

 

The Ultrascale P4 wheelset conversions have been tested in the 2 Dapol class 22s and both run perfectly....a big thumbs up to Ultrascale!

 

Latest stock order is from Hattons for 3 x Bachmann Pillbox brakevans (2 in BR grey and 1 in bauxite).

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Miss Prism]

Suggest cut rail at 0.5m max for expansion/contraction purposes.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Hi MP,

 

Thanks for the tip, all lengths will be slitted with a disc cutter once I'm happy with alignment etc esp. those across baseframe joints. I'm wiring TG for traditional 12V DC operation with electrical buffers at the extreme ends of the layout. Dividing the end 1m length in two will provide for a dead 0.5m end section with push button low ampage preset operation allowing a train to approach the traverser when the mechanical lifting gate is held open/power (push to make) button held down. This will avoid impact damage with the lifting gates or traverser. The next 0.5 metre length will have the same low ampage supply continuously supplied to it, preventing locos/power units being stabled on it but acting as a speed reduction measure when approaching the end 'dead' section in a case of inattentive operating. The ends of the layout will therefore have triple protection to avoid impact damage to stock.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Miss Prism]

If you're laying across baseboard joints, suggest put 10 thou plasticard between the boards first, then lay track, cut through with slitter, then remove plasticard, a whisker of filing to clean the rail ends, then join baseboards again. Neat.

 

Edit: depending on the width of the subsequent disc cutter, plasticard thickness could usefully be 15 or even 20 thou.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Thanks MP,

 

Will be laying this frame first and then moving on to the linked traverser track/spacing to fiddle yard track ends but I'll remember your tip for the next fiddle yard frame.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[2ManySpams]

If you're laying across baseboard joints, suggest put 10 thou plasticard between the boards first, then lay track, cut through with slitter, then remove plasticard, a whisker of filing to clean the rail ends, then join baseboards again. Neat.

 

Top tip MP.

[2ManySpams]

Dave,

 

Are you wandering down to Loughborough show this weekend? The 'other' TG will be there. Would be good to meet up.

[Mallard60022]

The DCC Sound and smoke generator on that T9 are very, very good. Seriously though, those on train shots take me straight back to 1958/59 and trips from Devonport Kings Road to Plymouth North Road (after school) - happy days.

I really must try to get to this beautiful line next year. I had no idea it was so picturesque.

Looking forward to seeing the progress.

P @ 36E

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for the invitation. I would dearly like to but I'm rostered to work 12 hour shifts on both days in Crewe.

 

All good wishes for the show.

 

Dave

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

The DCC Sound and smoke generator on that T9 are very, very good. Seriously though, those on train shots take me straight back to 1958/59 and trips from Devonport Kings Road to Plymouth North Road (after school) - happy days.

I really must try to get to this beautiful line next year. I had no idea it was so picturesque.

Looking forward to seeing the progress.

P @ 36E

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm envious of your opportunity to sample them in service.

 

The B&W gala was excellent and so was the real ale. Of course the weather, after such a dismal summer, was the icing on the cake.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[2ManySpams]

Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for the invitation. I would dearly like to but I'm rostered to work 12 hour shifts on both days in Crewe.

 

All good wishes for the show.

 

Dave

 

That's a pity Dave.

[2ManySpams]

Good to meet you Dave, and thanks very much for helping put up Treneglos up at Loughborough show.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

No worries Chris, great to meet up with you both. Hopefully, I'll be able to come out to play tomorrow too. Treneglos certainly has the 'feel' of the prototype, well done!

 

Regards

 

Dave

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Aft'noon all,

 

At the request of the Treneglos guys I've gathered together more T9 action from the recent SVR gala, see

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMe1_2w-4_s&feature=youtu.be

 

30120 runs round her train at Highley, shunts it into the platform and departs for Kidderminster.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Aft'noon all,

 

Current baseframe progress on TG is dominated by preparation for wiring the prototype frame and working out the design of the lifting gates at the end of each of the eleven roads which will control access to the traverser. I'm aiming to wire the end track sections adjacent to the traverser such that the operating lever to lift the access gate is immediately adjacent to the push/hold power switch on top of the gate assembly. This, (when held down) allows limited electrical power to move the loco towards the traverser for stabling, or as required to allow access to the turntable/traverser for turning and releasing (with the gate lever held down too). RS components have supplied the automotive wire reels and switches for this phase. Westfield fasteners the lengths of M4 threaded stainless steel rod and 'The Metal Factory' for the lengths of 4mm dia. plain stainless steel rod intended for hingeing the door mechanisms controlling access to the traverser.

 

This clip shows the insulated holes through the aluminium deck/cork surface for wiring to the rails, phase one of the gate assembly and a few more T9 scenes at the SVR gala. This time at Hampton Loade waiting to pass the 'N' class heading for Bridgenorth.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXfwJIDhH24&feature=youtu.be

 

A useful addition to the reference shelf has been the latest 'Modern Locomotives Illustrated' covering the class 22 diesel hydraulics.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[2ManySpams]

Dave, Is the N Class a U?

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Hi Chris,

 

I understood 31806 to be an 'N' but I'm happy to be corrected.

 

Enjoyed your T9 scenes on Treneglos btw.

 

More progress with TG today as the 3 Bachmann Pill box brake vans arrived from Hattons and the top plate of the gate mechanism adj. the traverser was drilled for the push switches/trunking and wiring. Long lengths of (very reasonably priced) plumbers narrow bore tubing sourced from Travis Perkins to act as trunking for the 12V power wires (amongst others). Narrow cable ties will be used to secure the tubing to the aluminium framing of TG. Plasticised pipe insulation (similarly sourced) will double up as impact resistance once bonded to the base of each gate on the traverser approach, as a last line of defence.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[2ManySpams]

Defo a U Class - one of the ones that was originally a K Class River Tank and rebuilt as a tender engine after the Sevenoaks accident.

 

Extract from the Watercress Line site:

 

"31806

Another ex Basingstoke engine, 31806 is a member of the Maunsell U class, a rebuild of the earlier K class ‘River’ tank engines following the Sevenoaks rail crash of 1927. 50 of the class were built in 3 batches, 31806 being from the first batch. Nicknamed ‘U-boats’, the class were regular performers over the Winchester to Alton line."

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Evenin' all,

 

Hardly a major electrical project but the principle of the Linked Traverser approach circuitry is being proved as each length of flexitrack adjacent to it is wired and laid. Each of the eleven roads has an associated 'push to make' switch above it, see

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USd5donniYI&feature=youtu.be

 

....the plastic pipe trunking can be seen cable-tied to the structural aluminium of the frame. One of the Dapol class 22s with the Ultrascale P4 wheel conversion can be seen testing the trackwork. Current work concerns thinning the base of the turntable cradle, reducing its height to the point that the turntable track aligns perfectly with each of the fiddle yard roads.

 

The remaining clips are of Southern 'U' class 31806 at the recent SVR gala, first at Highley and then at Bridgenorth.

 

Latest stock on order is one of the new Dapol Westerns in maroon (hopefully less of an ordeal to be had with the P4 re-wheeling).

 

Conrad electronics of Bedford have supplied the solder tag strips for combining the 12V supply/return beneath the aluminium sheet deck.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Hi Tim,

 

The 3 baseframes currently under construction are visible in the videos that I've posted so far. This is a new style of layout for me so I'm having to design, build, test and fettle as I go, just to be sure that I'm not repeating any mistakes. This makes for slow but sure progress.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[2ManySpams]

Defo, a U Dave - it's got splashers! http://www.semgonline.com/steam/uclass_1.html

 

Two batches of U, those rebuilt from River tanks which had lower running boards and therefore deep splashers, and those built as 2-6-0s from the outset which had higher running boards and next to no splashers. Ns of course had smaller diameter drivers and therefore no splashers.

 

Good video and great progress on the fiddle.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Hi Chris,

 

...fresh back from a few days in the Felixstowe area, apologies for the delayed response.

I picked up 6 great colour albums in the Janes/Ian Allan landscape format fom Treasure Chest books in Felixstowe...they are having a serious sale. These give some great colour pics for weathering and detailing the various Maunsell locos and illustrate the differences between the different types.

 

Thanks for the gen and encouragement.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Aft'noon all,

 

Latest aluminium work is a re-think on the design of the turntable cradle. Due to the first frame only requiring a single layer of cork the thickness of the 'L' section base of the original cradle was too deep. 2mm aluminium sheet has now been used for the base with 2 lengths of 'L' section forming the sides of the cradle. Sheet aluminium on sheet aluminium is not a low friction solution, therefore, an alternative was 'Googled'. 'Omnitrack' http://www.omnitrack.co.uk/LD-m.php

offer a range of compact roller bearing based castors which looked promising. A conversation with one of their staff produced what appears to be the ideal solution....a pair of 'Saturn' style castors to be mounted each side of the cente spindle of the cradle with the ball bearing of each protruding through the bottom plate of the cradle, to roll on the aluminium disc of the turntable. A resin ball was chosen as hardened steel balls would eventually wear grooves in the aluminium disc.

 

A 12V power supply has now been wired through the gate gantry to the traverser, this includes a push and hold switch adjacent to the turntable mounted on the switch gantry assembly at 90 degrees to the fiddle yard switches, to avoid confusion with the other switches. The moving nature of the traverser/turntable assembly means that a flexible conduit/supply is required, without having wires draped over the Linked Traverser. RS Components offer lengths of flexible conduit similar to long springs, which can carry/house the 2 wires required. Once secured to the mid point of the switch gantry/gate assembly the conduit will carry the supply to the mid point of the cradle and slip rings can then be used to provide a supply to the cradle/turntable trackwork. Sliding contacts on the track ends adjacent to the end of the fiddle yard frame were considered but discounted as potentially more troublesome.

 

Early electrical/rail locating testing of the traverser relative to a fiddle yard frame and test running of locos between the two is proving flawless. The push to make 12V power supply switch for the turntable/traverser is already likely to be re-located onto the turntable so that sliding the locating bolt that locks the turntable into position relative to each of the 11 fiddle yard roads reveals the switch that can energise the track on the turntable, thus, movements cannot be made onto or off the turntable unless the rails are locked in position. This phase cannot be completed until the ball bearing castors from Omnitrack have arrived/been fitted and demonstrated to work. Current efforts are focussed on filing the rail ends of the fiddle yard exactly flush with the end of the aluminium sheet and cork deck to minimise the chances of snagging the rail ends and ripping them off the cork substrate. The traverser guide rail will then be finely adjusted to keep the turntable track in close proximity as the traverser moves across the fiddle yard.

 

More progress with the fiddle yard/traverser junction. The clips show the track ends of the fiddle yard being fettled for exact height and level as well as filed exactly parallel across the 11 roads. A precious liquid vital for sanity whilst doing such fiddly work. Preparing the traverser cradle for the ball bearing carriers involved using the slugbuster to cut 1 inch holes adjacent to the hole for the spindle/bearing. The saturn style ball bearing holders for the turntable cradle arrived today and the first two have been fitted to turntable 1. An advantage with this approach is that the bearing carriers are height adjustable (by fitting shims between the cradle and the bearing carrier disc). Rotation of the turntable is now virtually friction free (which could be a mixed blessing).

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtK4Ui7ZcgM&feature=youtu.be

 

Just to round off a productive day the paint cans have made an appearence, with the traverser cradle and turntable assembly being primed ready for application of Southern coaching stock green. HMRS Southern style 7mm Pressfix transfers ordered for lettering the frames.

 

18 thou' brass sheet and 2mm plasticard has been ordered from Eileens from which the slip ring assembly for the top of the cradle will be constructed. The rings will be 'scrawked' from the brass sheet whilst the plasticard will be used to sandwich and insulate the assembly around a 1 inch wooden centre.

 

Following a few experiments the 'slugbuster' was used to punch a 1 inch hole in the brass sheet, cutters were then used to trim a 5mm ring around the punched hole. This brass ring was then hammered flat and filed round. An old wooden curtain pole then had several short lengths cut off, these were sanded to shape and drilled to take a tube spindle and 12V power wires. Two power wires were then soldered to the back of each ring and used to hold the discs in place in the assembly. The wooden discs will act as insulation and backing/support between the four brass rings. The aluminium work to support the slip ring assembly in the centre of the turntable cradle is underway.

 

 

Cheers

 

Dave