The Nth Degree Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 History Gillet Bay is a small but prosperous estuarial town in west Wales, home to about 3,000 people. It has a number of small industries that produce highly regarded products that are distributed nationwide. It's also a popular excursion destination, having a pretty fishing port and the ruins of an 11th century fort. This south bank of the estuary is the industrial hub, while the north side is mainly residential and agricultural. The two halves are connected by an ornate iron bridge, another popular tourist attraction. The previous wooden bridge was destroyed by a storm and separated the two halves of the town for over 8 years while the new iron replacement was argued over, designed, cast and installed. During this time the local shipping agents and ferrymen made a handsome income from the busy, and expensive, passenger and goods movement across the river. It was during this time that councillors and industrialists recommended the building of a railway to relieve and economise on the captive river traffic. It soon became apparent that bridging the river with a railway from the south would be financially prohibitive and would be unlikely to repay its investment. Therefore, in conjunction with the new the bridge, the railway would be built to service the goods and passenger traffic from the south bank, linking up with Whitland on the GWR South Wales Main Line, which is also shared with the Pembroke & Tenby Railway. A small wharf rail-linked to the terminus would provide shipping facilities to Ireland and barge traffic to and from the Midlands. (end of part 1) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 The new branch Financiers and the Directorship consisted mainly of the local business proprietors, having a vested interest in its success. Prominent investors and board members included John Owen, a slate quarry proprietor whose products were of such high quality that his slate sheet was used in the finest billiard board tables and exported worldwide. Jones' Brothers lead and silver mine transported hundreds of tons of ore by mule and were keen to speed up the process and increase the volume from a particularly rich seam. Barry Jones' saw mill and lumber yard was so keen on the proposed railway that he relocated his entire mill to the newly built wharf site to take advantage of the rail network and the river service. Of the smaller investors, Dafydd Evan's dairy herd was the hailed as the finest in the county, if not the whole of Wales. His breeding stock are in great demand, particularly in the South West and East Anglia. The new railway would cut his shipment times dramatically and be of great benefit to the welfare of the animals. Several small coal and agricultural supplies merchants banded together to rent dock space on the livestock siding and have put up a line of rail-fed stalls to sell their products. The branch line was a challenging build, both financially and in engineering complexity. Traversing many steep gradients up to 1:33 and some very tight turns, down to 8 chains in some places, required the necessity for very small locos and short wheelbase stock. In addition, the final run down to the terminus had to be blasted through a granite spine between two peaks which provide a dramatic backdrop to the south bank. This dictated, for cost purposes, a single line with several passing places along the route. Due to the limited space available in the station area, a small turntable was used to replace otherwise lengthy pointwork to provide two small sidings for an engine shed and a short stabling/maintenance line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Operation Now 1889, the railway has been operating for five years and although passenger traffic has declined, goods traffic is growing steadily. The trackwork has already seen some improvements from its original Vignoles rail construction and now carries bullhead rail throughout the branch. During this upgrade, the small goods yard was moved from the riverbank to the south side of the platform line to take advantage of the extra space available. This reorganisation required the platform length to be almost halved, but has not affected passenger capacities to any great degree. The original siding to the wharf area now spurs off the platform runaround, requiring some tricky shunting manoeuvres. There are 4 regular passenger services on weekdays from two 3-carriage passenger sets. These services are supplemented by a regular Saturday Extra and a Market Special on the first Tuesday of every month. There are also specially arranged Sunday excursions with destinations either on the GWR line or the Pembroke and Tenby. These usually have an extra coach, depending on demand. Goods services are quite busy. Passenger-rated goods are carried in the Guards section of the brake coach but if this is insufficient it is not unusual to add a platform van to the train. Goods services are usually run twice a day in each direction but this can be increased depending on arrivals or departures from the wharf. Goods trains usually consist of five wagons or less due to the restricted space available and empties are carried away at every opportunity to free space on the yard sidings. A third engine can be employed for emergency shunting or extra goods work. Below is a current plan of the terminus. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyvern Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 It might be easier to replace the current fiddle yard with a turntable fiddle yard as you can simply turn the whole train around rather than having to reverse around stock. just a thought. cheers Guy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Hello Guy, I know what you mean, it would be easier and quicker but I'd be stuck with fixed rakes and that would drive me insane with boredom. My plan is to have the fiddle yard serve as a marshalling yard as well. That way I can make goods trains by a (yet be decided) random method to provide a bit of interest and would make every session different. I've got a while to decide exactly what to do yet as I'm only just building the baseboard (pics below). Hopefully I'll be cutting the sector plate soon but first I have to find a way of printing out the track plan to size so I can pinpoint exact locations of all critical references. Thanks for advising though, and it was a shame to have missed you at the Feb meeting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 The foamboard baseboard has mostly been completed and cut to slot and glue into place. I will probably put in diagonal braces within the matrix to prevent twisting as much as possible. I found a great method of constructing a sector plate on 2mm NEAG blog and will use this as a guide to construct mine. I'm also looking into making small turntables too but this is proving to be a bit more elusive. The size is 120cm x 40cm x 6cm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Nice board. Will the back scene be curved or straight? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Thanks Devon. I hadn't really thought of a back scene but if there is one it would probably only be small to separate the fiddleyard and scenic section. I will think more about this later though. It's not going to be leaving the house except in a skip or club event. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Before I was struck down by a bear-killing bug a couple days ago I started on the sector plate. I've cut out the wedge plate piece and will use this as a base for the sector section to slide on. I've got some small rollers that I can fit the the outer edge of the sector to provide smooth movement. It will pivot on the centre section of a DVD case and DVD. I've yet to file them smooth. The pivot assembly will be secured through the centre (though they do click together quite nicely) and will be controlled by a lever. The only place I can put this lever is above the sector plate which will mean I'll have to be careful not to knock off anything on it. Wizard's sleeves are not welcome... I'll wait until I'm feeling better to finish it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Not sure about the size of your pivot, clever idea but judging that your sector plate is over 300mm by the ruler in the pictures it may offer too much droop to ensure accurate alignment. Are you putting some sort of wheel at the non pivot end? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyvern Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Sorry about missing you at the last meeting, unfortunately I had the sniffles so thought it best to duck out rather than pass on my germs. You seem to be making speedy progress, the only thing I would probably advise is that you make your baseboard from plywood as it will give your layout a much stronger foundation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 Hello Devon, thanks. The moving sector part is currently 265mm long (though I could extend it and probably will beyond the pivot). The rule I have is 40cm long and I think you've been deceived by perspective! I have some small rollers that I will have a look at adapting to provide smooth movement of the plate. The whole pivot assembly (from the DVD and case) is only 2.5mm high when connected so my challenge is to find a rolling mechanism that is the same height to fit to the sliding end. Wyvern, I'm still getting over a wretched illness too. My glands are the size of lemons! Really difficult to swallow and talk sometimes. I appreciate your concerns over the baseboard and I will look at that method for my next, bigger, layout. Using foam board is really speedy and I can work at midnight, which is typically the only spare time I have right now, without waking the neighbours with power tools and choice language. The whole layout will be strengthened when it is mounted to a fold-down shelf to keep it out of the way when not in use. Plus, for the most part it's a learning exercise more than anything right now. Shelf idea below. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Hope you get well soon, my sons layout is hinged to the wall in the same way you are thinking of and has been fine, I used a shelf to mount the top latch so he has storage for stock as well, plus it keeps the dust off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyvern Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Get well soon - the cold I had made me feel pretty wretched and I am glad I am over it. Iteresting idea about how to store the layout, its always a problem if you don't want it to take up too much space. I accepted that I was going to permenantly set mine up so not so much of an issue any more. Certainly getting on and finding out what works and what doesn't is a good philosophy. I am certainly more of a builder than a planner! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 A quick update on this - I can't stand it when I'm following something and then it all ends suddenly, so I should set an example I suppose. In broad daylight and with no remorse, I robbed the baseboard for another project. Shame on me! The project is still a goer but as I have to build all my stock from scratch* or from kits it's going to take some time to get everything together. A loft or shed would be nice too. (*Term definition pending.) Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Lol. Maybe build a bit of stock as you go? Mathieson do the PO coal wagons, and some of the other GWR wagons are being 3d printed see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1009-ian-smiths-2mm-finescale-ramblings/ As for locos I would suggest the same process, decide on what stock you want and then use an existing chassis with 3d printed body. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/351-will-js-random-adventures-in-n-gauge/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 Maybe build a bit of stock as you go? Thanks Devon. I've been following both of those blogs closely, especially Ian's. All my spare time is being used up either reading this site (NOT productive!), working on my scratchbuild (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53634-fox-walker-0-6-0st-2mm-scale/) or wrapped up in my O gauge obsession. I have a plan to deck out my loft or shed with both scales - 2mm and 7mm. Plus there's always that live steam fantasy I keep dreaming about... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Thanks Devon. I've been following both of those blogs closely, especially Ian's. All my spare time is being used up either reading this site (NOT productive!), working on my scratchbuild (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53634-fox-walker-0-6-0st-2mm-scale/) or wrapped up in my O gauge obsession. I have a plan to deck out my loft or shed with both scales - 2mm and 7mm. Plus there's always that live steam fantasy I keep dreaming about... Pretty much sums up my problems..,., Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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