David Todd Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 With just enough room to move around now that North Street is set up in the same room, I wanted to try out the track layout for the scenic boards. I still need to lay the loops in the fiddle yard, so I pinched some Peco Code 100 flexi and pinned it down around the Tillig pointwork, just to give me some idea of the finished look. I do quite like the way the curves "flow" but there's obviously room for improvement. I've included a pic of the actual location. All seems good at the moment. The curves do tighten up at each end, but the bridge carrying the shops over the London Road will be quite monstrous and should hide the curve at the station end a fair bit. Thoughts please! Knowing me, I've overlooked something obvious... geograph-3878099-by-Martin-Addison.jpg © Copyright Martin Addison and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence west_croydon_014.jpg west_croydon_015.jpg Look's a promising start Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
emt_911 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Pete I've had a good look and haven't spotted anything obvious that you've missed. Although, I could have missed it myself Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Thanks guys. The toe end of one point is perilously close to the baseboard join (<1 inch), so that will need beefing up with some copperclad. The block of pointwork has to pretty much go where it is in the pictures, to avoid baseboard cross-members underneath. I'm wishing I had a little more space between the tracks and the front baseboard edge as Tramlink has to be shoe-horned in there somehow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted April 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 20, 2015 Thanks guys. The toe end of one point is perilously close to the baseboard join (<1 inch), so that will need beefing up with some copperclad. The block of pointwork has to pretty much go where it is in the pictures, to avoid baseboard cross-members underneath. I'm wishing I had a little more space between the tracks and the front baseboard edge as Tramlink has to be shoe-horned in there somehow. Pete What are you gonig ot use for the tram? Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Pete What are you gonig ot use for the tram? Ian http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/modelling/reviews/mod4rev_hallingtramlink.html Halling made a limited number a few years ago for the LT museum. I just can't afford one yet... An RMWeb member does have one he's willing to sell but when I asked how much, my wallet needed CPR... I may start saving, as it would certainly set the scene. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Todd Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 halling_tramlink.jpg Halling made a limited number a few years ago for the LT museum. I just can't afford one yet... An RMWeb member does have one he's willing to sell but when I asked how much, my wallet needed CPR... I may start saving, as it would certainly set the scene. Halling via SEG Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Todd Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Croydon West ? you can, grab and slide the map. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 David, my head's swimming with possible layout names and I'm not going to make a decision anytime soon! I may just stick with... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Todd Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Was just trying to place the name of the road in the picture you presented us with Pete. Take it as Ruskin Rd, with London Rd, North end. in the far background ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Yeah - picture was taken from the Roman Way flyover, looking up Ruskin Rd towards the top of Tamworth Rd/North End. In my imaginary little world, Tramlink will come down Ruskin Rd instead of Tamworth Rd. I also need to figure out how to represent the dozens of lights that border the safe walking route for the Overground drivers as they change ends. Brass rod & fibre optics? I can't find anything commercially available that looks just right. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted April 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 20, 2015 Clear plastic / acrylic rod painted black where appropriate and an LED below? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 20, 2015 Would it be possible for you to move the pointwork a bit towards North End? Gets around the problem of point being close to baseboard join but also lets the reversing siding be a bit longer. Fitting the tram in looks very difficult. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Would it be possible for you to move the pointwork a bit towards North End? Gets around the problem of point being close to baseboard join but also lets the reversing siding be a bit longer. Fitting the tram in looks very difficult. You're right, it might be possible to shunt the pointwork an inch or so towards the station... I certainly would prefer more than an inch of track between the point and the baseboard join. If I move the whole block of pointwork much closer towards the station, I run the risk of making the curve even tighter. Also, I don't want the end of the short dead-end stub track disappearing under the road bridge. As for the Overground siding, I'm never going to fit an 8-car in there, the whole layout is only 11 feet long. As it is, it will hold 6 which is fine for my needs. In the pic (post #104 above), I've only used a single one metre length of flexi... it will actually continue further around the curve. With regard to Tramlink, I'm aware that I won't be able to model the full depth of Ruskin Rd or Waddon New Rd... shame, but I just don't have the space to go wider. The upside is that I'll have enough room to do the terraced houses justice on the other side of the railway line. Might even be able to squeeze in a representation of some back gardens this time... that was something I wanted to do on North Street, but with no room at all, I just had to make do with some back garden fences tight up against the backscene. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted April 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 20, 2015 An RMWeb member does have one he's willing to sell but when I asked how much, my wallet needed CPR... Good to know that some RMwebbers are out for every penny! It's used, so worth less than list price...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Good to know that some RMwebbers are out for every penny! It's used, so worth less than list price...... Having put my "diplomatic" head on for a moment... I suppose for an unused model that was only produced in limited numbers 7 years ago, some "inflation" is to be expected over the original price... If I now put my "usual" head back on... "HOW MUCH???"... I do scan ebay and the like from time to time on the offchance one appears... Ian (Oldddudders) did suggest a month or two ago to set the whole thing earlier and have a few trollies... certainly would have been cheaper! Edit: Just for Ian, there's some nice trolley shots at the West Croydon Crossing at this link: http://www.trolleybus.net/subhtml/Picture57.htm Apparently the first two shots were taken from the window of the barmaid's bedroom at the old "Railway Bell" hotel... I might have had other things on my mind... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 21, 2015 You're right, it might be possible to shunt the pointwork an inch or so towards the station... I certainly would prefer more than an inch of track between the point and the baseboard join. If I move the whole block of pointwork much closer towards the station, I run the risk of making the curve even tighter. Also, I don't want the end of the short dead-end stub track disappearing under the road bridge. As for the Overground siding, I'm never going to fit an 8-car in there, the whole layout is only 11 feet long. As it is, it will hold 6 which is fine for my needs. In the pic (post #104 above), I've only used a single one metre length of flexi... it will actually continue further around the curve. With regard to Tramlink, I'm aware that I won't be able to model the full depth of Ruskin Rd or Waddon New Rd... shame, but I just don't have the space to go wider. The upside is that I'll have enough room to do the terraced houses justice on the other side of the railway line. Might even be able to squeeze in a representation of some back gardens this time... that was something I wanted to do on North Street, but with no room at all, I just had to make do with some back garden fences tight up against the backscene. terraced.jpg I had taken the curve into account. If you move the pointwork nearer to London Road, you would need to change the angle at which you lay the pointwork a bit. This would give you curves at the front of the layout that are closer to the real thing but, ironically, may look less good on a smallish layout. That is because we are used to seeing the real thing through a telephoto lens. Did not think that you would get as many as 6 cars on that turnback siding. That will look good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Bus Driver Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 David, my head's swimming with possible layout names and I'm not going to make a decision anytime soon! I may just stick with... a_bit.jpg How about Croydon Siding? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted April 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 21, 2015 The Railway Bell brings back memories. First itme I ever got asked my age in ap ub. It was my 18th birthday that day!! The only time I went in there as just after that one of our friends went back in there another day and got punched by the drunk landlady / landlord (cant remeber which but think it was landlady) so we never went back in there under that name. It later became Arkwrights and for a while was very good for the range of ales, but sadly it went downhill and is now closed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeT Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Peter l am liking this very much, very interesting, looking forward to see how you tackle the 3rd rail ? watching with interest... George Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 21, 2015 The Railway Bell brings back memories. First itme I ever got asked my age in ap ub. It was my 18th birthday that day!! The only time I went in there as just after that one of our friends went back in there another day and got punched by the drunk landlady / landlord (cant remeber which but think it was landlady) so we never went back in there under that name. It later became Arkwrights and for a while was very good for the range of ales, but sadly it went downhill and is now closed. I had forgotten that one. Been in there with friends a few times during it's Arkwright days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Quick update... the fiddle yard is now complete with all track soldered to copperclad across joins and plenty of droppers. I bought a few extra points and have expanded a little on the 6 planned storage roads. There are 3 loops in the "down" direction, with one loop having an 8-car capacity but there are now 4 loops in the "up" direction, again with one loop having an 8-car capacity. All others can handle 6 coaches. I've also included a dead-end programming track. The NCE PowerCab doesn't have a dedicated programming output, so the programming track will be switchable. I'm not a huge collector of stock, but appreciate that extra storage capacity shouldn't be sniffed at! Next job is to lay the track on the scenic side... I'll take my time to get this right. Obviously I'm keen to connect the whole circuit and run a test train in each direction but I see no point rushing. More soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Would it be possible for you to move the pointwork a bit towards North End? Well... I did try! I worked out how far to the right I could move the block of pointwork but then no matter where I put it, at least one tie-bar was directly over a section of baseboard framework. The microdrives will have to go underneath the baseboard as I won't be able to hide them if I surface-mount them so there simply has to be unobstructed access below each tie bar. Note to self... plan that a little better next time... Back to Plan A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 The pointwork on the scenic side is now fixed in place with all wires drilled through. There's no putting off getting the Minx Microdrives tested and fitted... having heard a bad report recently relating to the fitting of these tiny motors beneath the baseboard instead of on top, I've used the supplied brass rod which is actually quite rigid. This meant enlarging the hole in the Tillig tie bars just a little. I've also made sure to keep the rod as short as possible with just one 90 degree bend. Hopefully this will help reliability. Everything has been tested and calibrated OK. If the motors need to be re-calibrated from time to time, I can live with that. Once I've fitted all four motors and they're working OK, I'll give the pointwork a quick blast with track colour and then begin to lay the C&L flexi track. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Having put my "diplomatic" head on for a moment... I suppose for an unused model that was only produced in limited numbers 7 years ago, some "inflation" is to be expected over the original price... If I now put my "usual" head back on... "HOW MUCH???"... I do scan ebay and the like from time to time on the offchance one appears... Ian (Oldddudders) did suggest a month or two ago to set the whole thing earlier and have a few trollies... certainly would have been cheaper! Edit: Just for Ian, there's some nice trolley shots at the West Croydon Crossing at this link: http://www.trolleybus.net/subhtml/Picture57.htm Apparently the first two shots were taken from the window of the barmaid's bedroom at the old "Railway Bell" hotel... I might have had other things on my mind... For a moment there I thought you were going to say you found Ian for sale on ebay....... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 26, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 26, 2015 Quick update... the fiddle yard is now complete with all track soldered to copperclad across joins and plenty of droppers. I bought a few extra points and have expanded a little on the 6 planned storage roads. There are 3 loops in the "down" direction, with one loop having an 8-car capacity but there are now 4 loops in the "up" direction, again with one loop having an 8-car capacity. All others can handle 6 coaches. I've also included a dead-end programming track. The NCE PowerCab doesn't have a dedicated programming output, so the programming track will be switchable. I'm not a huge collector of stock, but appreciate that extra storage capacity shouldn't be sniffed at! Next job is to lay the track on the scenic side... I'll take my time to get this right. Obviously I'm keen to connect the whole circuit and run a test train in each direction but I see no point rushing. More soon. west_croydon_016.jpg Since we have now persuaded you that exhibiting would be fun, extra capacity in the fiddleyard will be useful for running visiting operators' trains. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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