Simond Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 Hi Chris Don't worry, the loco shed baseboards are drawn, and if you look through the PD thread you'll see some of the track, the turntable, and the water tower / coal stage. There's no shortage of things to pose on it either! All the best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 All good things come to an end... Last passenger service And the final rain, including the shunters truck... Some "behind the scenes" and "under the scenes" to follow Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Sorry about the weird orientations of the photos it's the iPixies again. So now, dismantling... Overview of the layout The Metcalfe terraced houses, as mounted to the skew bridge How I powered the lights on the steam lorry The back of the terrace, no small room in view! And under the arches - literally. Foam board and self-printed brick paper. You can see the copper tape I used for the wiring. I'd repeat this for lighting, but not track power, it's simply not possible to get adequate cross sectional area, for anything more than a few cms run. And the colour light signal - scratch built from a picture in Adrian Vaughn's book. This lived on the up line under the skew arch. If I were building it today, I'd use coloured LEDs but this has GOW bulbs - the colours seem to have faded. I've just removed all the Tortoises, & under baseboard wiring, so now boiling water to get the track up... Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Well, apart from making a thorough mess which I now need to clear up, all the track came off the boards with almost zero hassle, and no damage, apart from my right index finger which now has a Peco-fishplate-shaped-hole in it. Whilst I let that stop bleeding, I will go & get the wet-dry vacuum cleaner and clear up the water, plaster & wood debris. Then it'll be a case of dismantle the boards and take the remnants to the tip at the weekend. The track was glued down with PVA to a soft black foam. I think it was the stuff recommended by Norman Solomon in his articles for MRJ. It seems to have lasted well, and prevented the track from drumming (not a major issue on a shunting puzzle) and was just about perfect when I poured on the hot water & left it a while - I could poke a screwdriver under the sleepers and lift the track with almost no effort, and no damage. The only downside of the foam was that it was quite pricy if I remember correctly. So I've recovered two Peco points, two copperclad points, and my copperclad tandem-crossover combination, the first copperclad I built, along with three full lengths of Peco track and some shorter bits. I also have all 7 Tortoises, the colour light signal and a ground disc that did work, but will need fettling. So there's plenty of bits of track for the future fiddle yard. Unless anyone wants any further info, I'll leave it with a few last photos. Including the eponymous Windowledge. Curiously-oriented view showing a tortoise & some wiring - but also the very light ply from which the baseboards were made. Track ripped up Control boards (see first post) hanging on their wires Tortoises - each fitted with a ten way ribbon cable & a two way choccy block for the frog Control board one side Control board t'other side Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 And, as they say in the movies... (Wiki commons) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted December 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 21, 2015 I think you had sufficient pleasure to make the effort worth it. Peter Denny in his Wild Swan books commented he was sure he had lifted more track than he had laid down so you are in good company. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 Hi Don, Thanks for the thoughts. The GWR was a source of entertainment, a test track for DCC decoder's and all sorts of experiments, scenic and functional, and a great learning experience too. It was built way back in the mists of time, I think in 1999 (we moved to this house in '98), and it survived in a 40' container on the Romney marsh for three years whilst we were in India (and went back together and worked without much bad language on our return) so it definitely owes me nothing. And I've still got all the track, and most of the scenic bits apart from the ground cover, so when the proper PD layout starts, I've got a few bits & pieces to alleviate the bare boards, and a load of track for the fiddle yard. The next step is PD Loco, for which I have the turntable, the coal stage and the CAD for the shed, based on Aberystwyth (and more than enough loco's!). Unfortunately, I think I missed the boat to get timber delivered for the holiday, so I guess it will be a few weeks before trains run again. All the best to you and yours for Christmas & the New Year Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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