Pencarrow: nothing to see, move along please.

[2ManySpams]

A wiring diagram / notebook ?

Everything is already labelled Stu and having the trackplan on the underside really helps work out what is what.

[Simond]

Looks most excellent, Chris.

 

And much, much tidier than the underside of PD.

 

Whether, long term, my quick & dirty approach will prove to be a burden remains to be seen.

 

I too have Tortoises, but as you know, I don’t have to cope with sectionalisation for analog DC. I have fed every rail because I opted for C&L plastic fishplates (although I did cheat and use part-cut-through rails and half-fishplates in places)m but I only fitted one feeder.

 

I do wonder whether a one-piece triangular baseboard 12’ x 6’, even mounted on castors, might one day prove to have been a bad idea, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it!

 

Best

Simon

Edited March 18, 2018 by Simond

[gwrrob]

Just noticed you made the 100 following mark, well done that chap.

[2ManySpams]

Just noticed you made the 100 following mark, well done that chap.

Good job other folk are keeping track of this stuff! 1/4 million views and 100 followers. Does that mean I can have a beer? ;-p

[bgman]

 Does that mean I can have a beer? ;-p

 

 

Just the one ?

 

Fill ya boots, you deserve it !

[2ManySpams]

Looks most excellent, Chris.

And much, much tidier than the underside of PD.

Whether, long term, my quick & dirty approach will prove to be a burden remains to be seen.

I too have Tortoises, but as you know, I don’t have to cope with sectionalisation for analog DC. I have fed every rail because I opted for C&L plastic fishplates (although I did cheat and use part-cut-through rails and half-fishplates in places)m but I only fitted one feeder.

I do wonder whether a one-piece triangular baseboard 12’ x 6’, even mounted on castors, might one day prove to have been a bad idea, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it!

Best

Simon

Cheers Simon,

 

It's tidy because I don't really know what I'm doing and have to work systematically so that everything goes from A-A and B-B etc. The plans you did really helped as there were things on them I hadn't thought about - feeds for the crossover microswitches for instance.

 

Pencarrow is sectional primarily so that I'm able to move it around and out of the way when needed - the room does serve as a bedroom every now and again. I doubt planning permission would be approved for a large fixed layout!

 

I suspect you'll get away with a single feed in your situation. An advantage of a single fixed board is that you don't chuck it around the place. Flexing boards can play havoc with soldered joints - always folks out with soldering irons after setting up at shows.

[2ManySpams]

So having done the wiring on Board 3 the next job is fitting the switch rails to the two plain turnouts. I may attempt one end of the double slip to see how that goes, then again I might not...

[2ManySpams]

View from the naughty seat:

 

 

Currently contemplating point rodding. Why? Well because determining where the cranks and compensators go needs to be done so that the rebates in the platform face can be positioned.

 

 

In the photo above the block of wood bottom right) shows where the ground frame does. This ground frame operates the loco release crossover. So there's a rodding run from the ground frame to cranks (green pen) along the platform face with cranks at the turnouts (red and blue pens). That's the easy bit.

 

A recess for a compensator will also be needed between the red and blue pens.

 

The ground frame was mechanically# released from the signal box, so a rodding run is required between the two. An additional recess will be needed for that compensator somewhere around the blue pen.

 

Scale distances are as shown in the following sketch:

 

 

 

# it says electrical release on the copy of the Bodmin North SB diagram I've posted previously but I think this is an error. Photos of the ground frame and of the rodding along the platform face appear to indicate it was mechanical.

[muddys-blues]

That trackwork is stunning.

 

Craig.

[2ManySpams]

That trackwork is stunning.

 

Craig.

Thanks Craig.

 

It's my first real go at track building in any gauge so I'm really pleased with how it's turning out.

 

Enjoying adding a bit of detail too, including the various bolts and fixings around the crossing...

 

[2ManySpams]

One point blade in on the double slip, recycled from the catch point that was removed. Just 7 more to go.

 

 

Time to run away!

[bgman]

One point blade in on the double slip, recycled from the catch point that was removed. Just 7 more to go.

rps20180324_163132.jpg

Time to run away!

Deep breath, bottle of ya favourite beer..... get on then !

[2ManySpams]

Deep breath, bottle of ya favourite beer..... get on then !

Pub stopped play.

[2ManySpams]

After faffing around with other stuff and putting off the inevitable, I've continued the casual attack on the double slip.

 

 

Second point blade filed from rail and temporary installed which enables one further lot of slide chairs to be fixed down.

[2ManySpams]

And now making up the special long slide chairs from a combination of C&L bits and (white) plasticard.

 

[2ManySpams]

With Mike Stationmaster's help over the last few days I think the platform end FPL Bar issue has been solved.

 

Now that I know what I'm looking for I've been trawling through SR books covering the NCR and wider afield across the Withered Arm. So what have we found?

 

A terminus station with a single platform which has a starter signal and facing turnout at the platform end. Padstow.

 

This is what they did...

 

 

This was an option described by Mike a few pages back but here is a local prototype of the solution being used. The FPL Bar runs along the straight point blade and closure rail.

 

Happy to have found a solution that was applied locally by the SR just down the road from Bodmin.

 

Just the problem now if how to reproduce it in 7mm and keep the turnout working...

[Hal Nail]

Apologies for a novice question - what was the actual job of the fpl? Is it simply to ensure the points are consistent with the signal, or a secondary lever to make it harder to accidentally change them at the wrong moment?

[Mark Forrest]

Apologies for a novice question - what was the actual job of the fpl? Is it simply to ensure the points are consistent with the signal, or a secondary lever to make it harder to accidentally change them at the wrong moment?

Primarily to stop something like this happening:

http://www.railcar.co.uk/images/108/york-1979.jpg

[Stubby47]

Potentially, almost any point could be 'facing', so were fpl's only used on points where passenger carrying stock would be passing?

[2ManySpams]

Novice answer...

 

A Facing Point Lock (FPL) is applied on turnouts where the blades could be moved in the face of an oncoming passenger train. The mechanism seems to me to have several features:

1. It physically locks the blades in the position of either normal or reverse. Until the lock was released by the signalman the turnout could not be changed.

2. Three bits of rodding, one from each of the blade tips and the locking stretcher(?) confirm that each part is in the right location - ie all normal or reverse. This presumably would detect a broken stretcher bar and both blades being against stock rails.

3. Links in to the signalling so that unless everything is OK the signal to travel over the turnout can't be released

 

A FPL Bar is an extra safety device that registers the presence of a train before/on the turnout and prevents the route being changed. They needed to be slightly longer then the longest stock wheelbase, so by the time Bulleid coaches were introduced the standard appears to be 50'6".

 

Terminology all wrong but I think that's about it.

[2ManySpams]

Primarily to stop something like this happening:http://www.railcar.co.uk/images/108/york-1979.jpg

Ooops

[2ManySpams]

Potentially, almost any point could be 'facing', so were fpl's only used on points where passenger carrying stock would be passing?

Short answer is yes - hence why only two turnouts on Pencarrow need them. They don't appear to be installed on loco release crossovers.

[Hal Nail]

Primarily to stop something like this happening:

http://www.railcar.co.uk/images/108/york-1979.jpg

Er... not all that effective then?!

 

Cheers for all the replies chaps - looking forward to seeing the working ones on Pencarrow!

[Donw]

The primary requirement was that there should be something to prevent a facing point being moved while being traversed by a passenger train. With a FPL operated by a second lever this was normally assumed sufficient to prevent accidental operation particularly as once a move over the point was signalled the signals should hold the lever through the interlocking. The fouling bars are a means of locking the point by the presence of a vehicle. If a train was to stop partially across the point there could be a danger of the signals being restored releasing the locking and allowing the point to be operated if the fouling bars were not there to protect the train.

 

Don

[Stubby47]

The primary requirement was that there should be something to prevent a facing point being moved while being traversed by a passenger train. With a FPL operated by a second lever this was normally assumed sufficient to prevent accidental operation particularly as once a move over the point was signalled the signals should hold the lever through the interlocking. The fouling bars are a means of locking the point by the presence of a vehicle. If a train was to stop partially across the point there could be a danger of the signals being restored releasing the locking and allowing the point to be operated if the fouling bars were not there to protect the train.

 

Don

 

Ah, that's very clear now, thanks Don.