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Showing results for 'Templot' in blog entries.
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So while that sorts itself out, time to start wiring the double slip. Pretty quickly it became apparent that having somewhere to mount switches might be an idea! Well, I've got some ply - nope, too thick. Dammit, why have you never got some hardboard lying about like it always was (for some unexplained reason) back in the day. Eyes cast round the loft... oh look, the wallpaper pasting table. Reaches for saw... Above : I feel no guilt. I hate wallpaper. One control panel. Controller fitted - started to look like a train set now! With the control panel made, I then decided to mount the controller on it. I don't know why I wasn't going to do that, but I happy I did. The controller is back out at the moment while some umpteen year old white gloss goes off. The plan (ha!) is that the board will be mounted on two cup hooks and a strut to allow it to be folded down out of the way when not being used. It will also be far enough away from Mission Control to avoid playing trains while recording - that way lies madness. And broken things. Expensive broken things. Anyhow... The control panel got given a coat of white gloss (because I had some to hand), and then a second coat (hardboard doesn't take paint all that well) and while these were drying it was back to the track. I finally gave up waiting for the Peco point timbers and decided that I would go ahead and replace the timers where required later. So out came the craft knife to cut away the Templot plan that the points were built on, only where necessary as I half expected everything to explode, but it didn't. So offered it up and cut away the sleepers on the plain line - this is a bit brutal, I had to use drill to cut the webbing under the rails and then use the multi-tool to cut away the chairs then slide them out - the Peco plastic used in their sleepers is remarkably resistant to a craft knife. Putting the points back in place revealed the contacts to the point blades, to stop the blades rising above rail height and to provide electrical connection, were going to be a problem - but then one fell off. Plan B. With the demise of Maplin, there is nowhere locally to buy copper-clad board, not that they'd be open anyway, so after pondering the possibilities of robbing something from a bit redundant electrical equipment I decided to make something. To one of the removed plain line sleepers I glued some brass off-cuts ('original' Araldite - it takes 14 hrs to go off fully but seems to me to stick better than 'rapid') to solder the point blades to. I was worried the glue wouldn't work with Preco plastic since it feels exactly the same as the mixer/spreader supplied with the glue, but all was good. When it had gone off the new ti-bar was soldered to the blades, making sure with packing the brass made contact with the underside of the running rails. Again I wound myself up into a stew after reading articles etc about switching the point blades together with the crossing vee for electrical conduction, but figured I could add this later if needed. I also got in a stew about bullhead meets flat-bottom rail, but following prototype practice found that soldering the rails works just fine, as does just leaving a gap for electrical isolation of the common crossing - I guess if the track were more curved that might be a problem, but it isn't here so it isn't. Above Using rail joiners (cut in half so they'd fit) the points are in their final position before fixing. The hole and screw positions for the Peco Twistlock point motor have been made, I don't have a point motor yet. In a timely fashion the point timbers arrived. The two sleepers at the point toe were dealt with as outlined earlier and two nice shiny new full length bearers inserted. I did consider cutting the 'bent' sleeper away, and may well do that before ballasting. Yes, I did remember to move the plain sleeper on the lower exit road! Apart from the infamous Peco 'bent' sleep this al looks much more prototypical. Fitting the chairs to the new bearers was a bit of a poser. You can 'click' the chairs, both bullhead and flat-bottom flavours, to rail if you have full access, but the level of applied violence required makes it impossible when in situ. I got round this by cutting the chairs in half and sliding them in, fixing with EMA Models 'Plastic Weld', which works a treat - you get a couple of minutes to shuffle things round and then - bang, it's stuck. Where the joiner got in the way I just filed a bit of the chair away to allow for it (won't work on flat-bottom rail). So there it is, with the possible exception of the bent sleeper (which looks bloody awful). With the points in place the desk-tidy tippler was pushed around to see what happened. Bearing in mind I made these points about six years ago and never used them I was pleasantly surprised that everything worked well. Using multi-tool I honed a bit more off the rail face where the blades meet the stock rail on one side, more for aesthetics than functionality. View the full article
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Inevitable Irrational Rationale For Highly Improbable Scenario
Miserable posted a blog entry in Soddingham-under-Piddle
The era wasn't going to be an issue : BR blue is the best train livery ever (there, I said it), not least because that was the colour when I worked on the Railway. It is going to be set in Somerset. Or Wiltshire. Or, for technical reasons, Aberdeen. Plan A was a simple wagon repair facility but... Technology Ramble Alert ... I had bit more room than it looked, about 14ft x 3ft, with a 4ft wide bit for the last 3ft. So, out with Templot and... well, I admit it, building one set of points was great, but I know I'd never actually do it again thus leading to Soddingham 3.0 (4.0 if you count the never-really-intended P4 edition) never actually happening. So, Peco. I thought about Marcway, but not for me, I like 'proper' chairs etc. Templot is a superb tool if are designing a layout where you intend to make everything, but it's way over the top if your are using ready-rolled points (and the Peco geometry makes template creation very long winded), so, as Martin (Mr. Templot) advises, I tried Anyrail. It won't run under Wine on my Linux laptop, but happily is ok on my Linux desktop, and it is rather better than I expected. In fact does exactly what I wanted. Enter the baseboard size, load the Peco O templates and join the gaps with flexi track. It really is that easy! One of my issues with ready rolled model railway track, well the points at least, is that, after working with the real thing and playing for hours with Templot, the 'flow' of the track is all wrong, your eye derails. So, what to do? After a spot of infinite monkeying with Anyrail a solution sort of presented itself: by sticking to curved and Y points (and a double sip, because that's the law) it turns out the rafter jutting itself in the way provided the solution by making me 'sweep' a bit. Using curved points not only avoids horrible-looking sharp curves but saves a lot of space too - assuming you've ruled out 'medium' radius straight ones on the grounds of looking way too sharp. I'll still have those dreadful bent sleepers Peco insist on using (yeah, there's probably a production reason or something) and the blips on the tie bars, but it's not so bad in O (I could cut them off, but taking a saw to a £100 piece of track makes the old ring twitter a bit) and I can live with it. The main thing is I think the layout has a flow to it, and that's what I wanted. Result. As I slipped in there, like Topsy, it just grewed. A bit. And gained a two(ish) coach platform. And the ability run-round a 4ft or so train, though passenger stock would have to be shunted from the platform to reception road to do it - not that it would fit anyaway. No Mk 1s are on the shopping list, they just take up too much room in general - as would a DMU. And DMUs don't actually do a whole lot really. It also turns out that the goods shed road has ended up about 3m long! This good news came about because I thought about how I'll actually be using the layout, which is basically a bit of shunting puzzle playing and a lot of scenery making - in between bouts, or indeed R&R from, musicing. Just me, a gronk and whatever wagons come up on eBay at the right price. I thought about a 'proper' fiddle yard, but I just know I'm not going get up and wonder down there, ducking under the aforementioned rafter, just to run-round when the point of the thing is a chill. So basically the 08 hauled train disappears into a tunnel after inordinate amounts of shunting, waits until I fancy another go. The final design - Plan Z-143.23/98. To me, by making everything a bit curved, this captures the spirit of the real thing. The result looks far more like it was designed on Templot rather than Anyrail. Back To What I Was On About... Unless Amazon make a spectacularly favourable mis-delivery, there will be no passenger service to Soddingham, at least that we ever see, despite the platform. Somehow the place has retained a fair amount of wagon-load traffic, some coal, stuff that goes in goods shed, and whatever goes in whatever wagons I manage to pick up. Wagons also come and go without stopping for tea, part of the Westbury/Frome/Cranmore/Radstock trip working (which was actually a Class 47 turn, the one time we did it with an 08 it took all week just to get there). For whatever mystical reason the gronk lives at Soddingham in it's own little siding - a shed would be pushing it a bit. Another bit of luck from having the somewhat transparent passenger service is that Soddingham has retained it's signal box with an implausible number of dummies (ground signals) - a relic, I'm assured, of the GWRs 1930s habit of signalling nearly every possible move. While Soddingham is a bit of a sleepy backwater in many ways, there is evidence of better days ahead. This is evidenced by the brand new points and concrete sleepered, branch line track laid in preparation for new the quarry line. Well, I had to use them! This all sounds like a done deal, but I spent and long time agonising over whether to go ahead - it might not be the worlds biggest layout, but the basics, track, point motors, an engine and a few wagons soon mounts up, especially when you are looking at RTR/built kits to buy. Cue Rails Of Sheffield. While investigating prices of stuff I wondered found a (brand new) double slip at a very good price indeed - way cheaper than eBay or anywhere else. Cool. Now I have a thing about 08s, in blue obviously, but in a lot more years than I care to remember of playing trains I'd never actually owned one - I guess when you are younger it's all about the expresses or somethng. I wonder... Yep. They had a Dapol one in, in blue with TOPS number. And, again, the cheapest in town. At 3.00am out came the card - Soddingham is on. View the full article -
Inevitable Irrational Rationale For Highly Improbable Scenario
Miserable posted a blog entry in Soddingham-under-Piddle
The era wasn't going to be an issue : BR blue is the best train livery ever (there, I said it), not least because that was the colour when I worked on the Railway. It is going to be set in Somerset. Or Wiltshire. Or, for technical reasons, Aberdeen. Plan A was a simple wagon repair facility but... Technology Ramble Alert ... I had bit more room than it looked, about 14ft x 3ft, with a 4ft wide bit for the last 3ft. So, out with Templot and... well, I admit it, building one set of points was great, but I know I'd never actually do it again thus leading to Soddingham 3.0 (4.0 if you count the never-really-intended P4 edition) never actually happening. So, Peco. I thought about Marcway, but not for me, I like 'proper' chairs etc. Templot is a superb tool if are designing a layout where you intend to make everything, but it's way over the top if your are using ready-rolled points (and the Peco geometry makes template creation very long winded), so, as Martin (Mr. Templot) advises, I tried Anyrail. It won't run under Wine on my Linux laptop, but happily is ok on my Linux desktop, and it is rather better than I expected. In fact does exactly what I wanted. Enter the baseboard size, load the Peco O templates and join the gaps with flexi track. It really is that easy! One of my issues with ready rolled model railway track, well the points at least, is that, after working with the real thing and playing for hours with Templot, the 'flow' of the track is all wrong, your eye derails. So, what to do? After a spot of infinite monkeying with Anyrail a solution sort of presented itself: by sticking to curved and Y points (and a double sip, because that's the law) it turns out the rafter jutting itself in the way provided the solution by making me 'sweep' a bit. Using curved points not only avoids horrible-looking sharp curves but saves a lot of space too - assuming you've ruled out 'medium' radius straight ones on the grounds of looking way too sharp. I'll still have those dreadful bent sleepers Peco insist on using (yeah, there's probably a production reason or something) and the blips on the tie bars, but it's not so bad in O (I could cut them off, but taking a saw to a £100 piece of track makes the old ring twitter a bit) and I can live with it. The main thing is I think the layout has a flow to it, and that's what I wanted. Result. As I slipped in there, like Topsy, it just grewed. A bit. And gained a two(ish) coach platform. And the ability run-round a 4ft or so train, though passenger stock would have to be shunted from the platform to reception road to do it - not that it would fit anyaway. No Mk 1s are on the shopping list, they just take up too much room in general - as would a DMU. And DMUs don't actually do a whole lot really. It also turns out that the goods shed road has ended up about 3m long! This good news came about because I thought about how I'll actually be using the layout, which is basically a bit of shunting puzzle playing and a lot of scenery making - in between bouts, or indeed R&R from, musicing. Just me, a gronk and whatever wagons come up on eBay at the right price. I thought about a 'proper' fiddle yard, but I just know I'm not going get up and wonder down there, ducking under the aforementioned rafter, just to run-round when the point of the thing is a chill. So basically the 08 hauled train disappears into a tunnel after inordinate amounts of shunting, waits until I fancy another go. The final design - Plan Z-143.23/98. To me, by making everything a bit curved, this captures the spirit of the real thing. The result looks far more like it was designed on Templot rather than Anyrail. Back To What I Was On About... Unless Amazon make a spectacularly favourable mis-delivery, there will be no passenger service to Soddingham, at least that we ever see, despite the platform. Somehow the place has retained a fair amount of wagon-load traffic, some coal, stuff that goes in goods shed, and whatever goes in whatever wagons I manage to pick up. Wagons also come and go without stopping for tea, part of the Westbury/Frome/Cranmore/Radstock trip working (which was actually a Class 47 turn, the one time we did it with an 08 it took all week just to get there). For whatever mystical reason the gronk lives at Soddingham in it's own little siding - a shed would be pushing it a bit. Another bit of luck from having the somewhat transparent passenger service is that Soddingham has retained it's signal box with an implausible number of dummies (ground signals) - a relic, I'm assured, of the GWRs 1930s habit of signalling nearly every possible move. While Soddingham is a bit of a sleepy backwater in many ways, there is evidence of better days ahead. This is evidenced by the brand new points and concrete sleepered, branch line track laid in preparation for new the quarry line. Well, I had to use them! This all sounds like a done deal, but I spent and long time agonising over whether to go ahead - it might not be the worlds biggest layout, but the basics, track, point motors, an engine and a few wagons soon mounts up, especially when you are looking at RTR/built kits to buy. Cue Rails Of Sheffield. While investigating prices of stuff I wondered found a (brand new) double slip at a very good price indeed - way cheaper than eBay or anywhere else. Cool. Now I have a thing about 08s, in blue obviously, but in a lot more years than I care to remember of playing trains I'd never actually owned one - I guess when you are younger it's all about the expresses or somethng. I wonder... Yep. They had a Dapol one in, in blue with TOPS number. And, again, the cheapest in town. At 3.00am out came the card - Soddingham is on. View the full article -
I can happily report that the brass dowels work quite well and all the scenic boards aligned first time. Dowels in place and before boards bolted together Furthermore, by a coincidence or was it some long forgotten element of my plan the height from the floor to the bottom of the scenic boards is 100cm which just happens to be the one of the predetermined heights allowed for by my Aldi adjustable trestles. This is pretty handy as any for the obvious reasons. Happily the bottom of the dropped scenic boards is 1000mm from the floor The scenic boards are dropped and the track bed will be carried on risers this is because the junction sits on a reasonably wide ledge cut into a hillside – the land thus falls away one side and rises on the other. Using an open top design will allow those areas where the land is below the track level to be modelled with greater ‘feel’ for the way land works. Those familiar with the Bodmin and Wadebridge will know that Boscarne Junction is the location where two single lines become one. The two single lines take the traveller to Bodmin (SR) later Bodmin North, and Bodmin (GWR) later Bodmin General. The latter is now the HQ of the Bodmin and Wenford Heritage Railway. The single line to Bodmin North in fact also branched just after Boscarne Junction at Dunmere Junction whence the famous Wenford Bridge goods line made its way along the Camel Valley to the foot of Bodmin moor. The single line made up form the two Bodmin branches went of course to Wadebridge where it joined the North Cornwall Railway and ultimately Padstow where the famous Atlantic Coast Express terminated. Bosmelin is of course Boscarne Junction and the track plan is pretty simple. It comprises 4 parallel lines. Each of the contributing companies had a running line separated by an exchange siding, while the fourth line was a loop siding added to accommodate greater volumes of China Clay traffic and used by the SR and BR(S). In total there are only 7 points/turnouts. Having pondered upon the merits and challenges of using OO-SF, EM and P4 standards I have decided to use PECO’s new 4mm Bullhead OO track chiefly because I just don’t feel I have the time to make a layout this size with finer track – not to mention the cost of re-wheeling all the stock. But this is not to say that the layout will be OO in mentality. I favour the finer scale approach to modelling and thus everything – except the track gauge and wheel flanges – will be (to the best of my ability) modelled with the fine scale ethos in mind. Thus the track plan was conceived and planned as if it were to be P4 and indeed is based upon a Templot plan based upon a 25″ Ordnance Survey Map of 1907 (I think). It follows therefore, that should eventually I decide that ‘broad gauge’ is achievable I can simply substitute the track. I say ‘simply’ but by using the PECO track the actual turnouts are a different geometry so I have had to adjust the plan slightly to accommodate these. No curves anywhere are intended to be less than 915mm radius (thats 36″) but having said that in one or two place a very slight tightening has been needed but we taking a few mm only which is really insignificant. Couplings will be a mixture of 3 link and an auto coupler of some sort where wagons need to be separated. Most stock will remain in rakes and you cannot beat 3 links/screw/instanter for realism when running. Which auto coupler I shall use, I am not sure yet. Possibly, S&W but I also want to investigate Dinghams. It won’t be Jackson. They might be almost invisible but, couplings are not invisible in reality and they’re a bit fragile and need regular maintenance. Any way the track bed is next. I’ll leave you with a track plan drawn up in the free version of Anyrail. Bosmelin – Track Plan – Anyrail. PECO OO Bullhead track View the full article
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I can happily report that the brass dowels work quite well and all the scenic boards aligned first time. Dowels in place and before boards bolted together Furthermore, by a coincidence or was it some long forgotten element of my plan the height from the floor to the bottom of the scenic boards is 100cm which just happens to be the one of the predetermined heights allowed for by my Aldi adjustable trestles. This is pretty handy as any for the obvious reasons. Happily the bottom of the dropped scenic boards is 1000mm from the floor The scenic boards are dropped and the track bed will be carried on risers this is because the junction sits on a reasonably wide ledge cut into a hillside – the land thus falls away one side and rises on the other. Using an open top design will allow those areas where the land is below the track level to be modelled with greater ‘feel’ for the way land works. Those familiar with the Bodmin and Wadebridge will know that Boscarne Junction is the location where two single lines become one. The two single lines take the traveller to Bodmin (SR) later Bodmin North, and Bodmin (GWR) later Bodmin General. The latter is now the HQ of the Bodmin and Wenford Heritage Railway. The single line to Bodmin North in fact also branched just after Boscarne Junction at Dunmere Junction whence the famous Wenford Bridge goods line made its way along the Camel Valley to the foot of Bodmin moor. The single line made up form the two Bodmin branches went of course to Wadebridge where it joined the North Cornwall Railway and ultimately Padstow where the famous Atlantic Coast Express terminated. Bosmelin is of course Boscarne Junction and the track plan is pretty simple. It comprises 4 parallel lines. Each of the contributing companies had a running line separated by an exchange siding, while the fourth line was a loop siding added to accommodate greater volumes of China Clay traffic and used by the SR and BR(S). In total there are only 7 points/turnouts. Having pondered upon the merits and challenges of using OO-SF, EM and P4 standards I have decided to use PECO’s new 4mm Bullhead OO track chiefly because I just don’t feel I have the time to make a layout this size with finer track – not to mention the cost of re-wheeling all the stock. But this is not to say that the layout will be OO in mentality. I favour the finer scale approach to modelling and thus everything – except the track gauge and wheel flanges – will be (to the best of my ability) modelled with the fine scale ethos in mind. Thus the track plan was conceived and planned as if it were to be P4 and indeed is based upon a Templot plan based upon a 25″ Ordnance Survey Map of 1907 (I think). It follows therefore, that should eventually I decide that ‘broad gauge’ is achievable I can simply substitute the track. I say ‘simply’ but by using the PECO track the actual turnouts are a different geometry so I have had to adjust the plan slightly to accommodate these. No curves anywhere are intended to be less than 915mm radius (thats 36″) but having said that in one or two place a very slight tightening has been needed but we taking a few mm only which is really insignificant. Couplings will be a mixture of 3 link and an auto coupler of some sort where wagons need to be separated. Most stock will remain in rakes and you cannot beat 3 links/screw/instanter for realism when running. Which auto coupler I shall use, I am not sure yet. Possibly, S&W but I also want to investigate Dinghams. It won’t be Jackson. They might be almost invisible but, couplings are not invisible in reality and they’re a bit fragile and need regular maintenance. Any way the track bed is next. I’ll leave you with a track plan drawn up in the free version of Anyrail. Bosmelin – Track Plan – Anyrail. PECO OO Bullhead track View the full article
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I can happily report that the brass dowels work quite well and all the scenic boards aligned first time. Dowels in place and before boards bolted together Furthermore, by a coincidence or was it some long forgotten element of my plan the height from the floor to the bottom of the scenic boards is 100cm which just happens to be the one of the predetermined heights allowed for by my Aldi adjustable trestles. This is pretty handy as any for the obvious reasons. Happily the bottom of the dropped scenic boards is 1000mm from the floor The scenic boards are dropped and the track bed will be carried on risers this is because the junction sits on a reasonably wide ledge cut into a hillside – the land thus falls away one side and rises on the other. Using an open top design will allow those areas where the land is below the track level to be modelled with greater ‘feel’ for the way land works. Those familiar with the Bodmin and Wadebridge will know that Boscarne Junction is the location where two single lines become one. The two single lines take the traveller to Bodmin (SR) later Bodmin North, and Bodmin (GWR) later Bodmin General. The latter is now the HQ of the Bodmin and Wenford Heritage Railway. The single line to Bodmin North in fact also branched just after Boscarne Junction at Dunmere Junction whence the famous Wenford Bridge goods line made its way along the Camel Valley to the foot of Bodmin moor. The single line made up form the two Bodmin branches went of course to Wadebridge where it joined the North Cornwall Railway and ultimately Padstow where the famous Atlantic Coast Express terminated. Bosmelin is of course Boscarne Junction and the track plan is pretty simple. It comprises 4 parallel lines. Each of the contributing companies had a running line separated by an exchange siding, while the fourth line was a loop siding added to accommodate greater volumes of China Clay traffic and used by the SR and BR(S). In total there are only 7 points/turnouts. Having pondered upon the merits and challenges of using OO-SF, EM and P4 standards I have decided to use PECO’s new 4mm Bullhead OO track chiefly because I just don’t feel I have the time to make a layout this size with finer track – not to mention the cost of re-wheeling all the stock. But this is not to say that the layout will be OO in mentality. I favour the finer scale approach to modelling and thus everything – except the track gauge and wheel flanges – will be (to the best of my ability) modelled with the fine scale ethos in mind. Thus the track plan was conceived and planned as if it were to be P4 and indeed is based upon a Templot plan based upon a 25″ Ordnance Survey Map of 1907 (I think). It follows therefore, that should eventually I decide that ‘broad gauge’ is achievable I can simply substitute the track. I say ‘simply’ but by using the PECO track the actual turnouts are a different geometry so I have had to adjust the plan slightly to accommodate these. No curves anywhere are intended to be less than 915mm radius (thats 36″) but having said that in one or two place a very slight tightening has been needed but we taking a few mm only which is really insignificant. Couplings will be a mixture of 3 link and an auto coupler of some sort where wagons need to be separated. Most stock will remain in rakes and you cannot beat 3 links/screw/instanter for realism when running. Which auto coupler I shall use, I am not sure yet. Possibly, S&W but I also want to investigate Dinghams. It won’t be Jackson. They might be almost invisible but, couplings are not invisible in reality and they’re a bit fragile and need regular maintenance. Any way the track bed is next. I’ll leave you with a track plan drawn up in the free version of Anyrail. Bosmelin – Track Plan – Anyrail. PECO OO Bullhead track View the full article
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I can happily report that the brass dowels work quite well and all the scenic boards aligned first time. Dowels in place and before boards bolted together Furthermore, by a coincidence or was it some long forgotten element of my plan the height from the floor to the bottom of the scenic boards is 100cm which just happens to be the one of the predetermined heights allowed for by my Aldi adjustable trestles. This is pretty handy as any for the obvious reasons. Happily the bottom of the dropped scenic boards is 1000mm from the floor The scenic boards are dropped and the track bed will be carried on risers this is because the junction sits on a reasonably wide ledge cut into a hillside – the land thus falls away one side and rises on the other. Using an open top design will allow those areas where the land is below the track level to be modelled with greater ‘feel’ for the way land works. Those familiar with the Bodmin and Wadebridge will know that Boscarne Junction is the location where two single lines become one. The two single lines take the traveller to Bodmin (SR) later Bodmin North, and Bodmin (GWR) later Bodmin General. The latter is now the HQ of the Bodmin and Wenford Heritage Railway. The single line to Bodmin North in fact also branched just after Boscarne Junction at Dunmere Junction whence the famous Wenford Bridge goods line made its way along the Camel Valley to the foot of Bodmin moor. The single line made up form the two Bodmin branches went of course to Wadebridge where it joined the North Cornwall Railway and ultimately Padstow where the famous Atlantic Coast Express terminated. Bosmelin is of course Boscarne Junction and the track plan is pretty simple. It comprises 4 parallel lines. Each of the contributing companies had a running line separated by an exchange siding, while the fourth line was a loop siding added to accommodate greater volumes of China Clay traffic and used by the SR and BR(S). In total there are only 7 points/turnouts. Having pondered upon the merits and challenges of using OO-SF, EM and P4 standards I have decided to use PECO’s new 4mm Bullhead OO track chiefly because I just don’t feel I have the time to make a layout this size with finer track – not to mention the cost of re-wheeling all the stock. But this is not to say that the layout will be OO in mentality. I favour the finer scale approach to modelling and thus everything – except the track gauge and wheel flanges – will be (to the best of my ability) modelled with the fine scale ethos in mind. Thus the track plan was conceived and planned as if it were to be P4 and indeed is based upon a Templot plan based upon a 25″ Ordnance Survey Map of 1907 (I think). It follows therefore, that should eventually I decide that ‘broad gauge’ is achievable I can simply substitute the track. I say ‘simply’ but by using the PECO track the actual turnouts are a different geometry so I have had to adjust the plan slightly to accommodate these. No curves anywhere are intended to be less than 915mm radius (thats 36″) but having said that in one or two place a very slight tightening has been needed but we taking a few mm only which is really insignificant. Couplings will be a mixture of 3 link and an auto coupler of some sort where wagons need to be separated. Most stock will remain in rakes and you cannot beat 3 links/screw/instanter for realism when running. Which auto coupler I shall use, I am not sure yet. Possibly, S&W but I also want to investigate Dinghams. It won’t be Jackson. They might be almost invisible but, couplings are not invisible in reality and they’re a bit fragile and need regular maintenance. Any way the track bed is next. I’ll leave you with a track plan drawn up in the free version of Anyrail. Bosmelin – Track Plan – Anyrail. PECO OO Bullhead track
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When building a ‘model railway in the landscape’ the planning process is comprised, essentially, of three elements which are all inter dependent. Make an alteration to one and this will impact the other two. The three elements are the baseboards which must support the track and give a foundation to the landscape The track plan which must nestle in the landscape and look as though it was an integral part and lastly the landscape itself, the landforms, rivers, woodlands, embankments etc. All three elements must be juggled and adjusted to arrive at an acceptable compromise – for all model railways are a compromise at the end of the day. I’ve been juggling with Bosmelin for a long time, too long in fact, and eventually a stake must be hammered in the ground or in our hobby a saw applied to piece of wood. And so I find myself at the point of commencing the construction of the main scenic boards for Bosmelin. My Templot plan has been ready for a while and is as close a match to Boscarne Junction as can be achieved based on the 1907 25″ OS map. Of course it is rare to be able to adopt a real location without some adaption. For Bosmelin the overall length of the junction to 4mm scale has been cut by about 300mm and the alignment of the diverging branches to Bodmin SR and Bodmin WR will need to be changed but by and large the actual model track layout will be pretty close to the real thing. The problem will be the points, turnouts or if you prefer crossings and switches. The use of Peco ready to lay point-work produces a fixed and rather ‘straight’ geometry. Whereas the plan requires a bespoke set of switches to maintain the integrity of the subtle curves in the layout. So it seems that I shall have to construct the point-work. I have made a point before and it’s not to difficult provided you take your time, don’t rush, use quality gauges and follow instructions or guidelines. The point-work will be built to 4SF or OOSF standards which means that the track guage through the crossing will be 16.2mm and the flange way will be 1mm. This is of course the EM Society standard with the gauge reduced to 16.2mm which is designed to give better running through the crossings as the wheel is supported at all times. Standard RTR stock will run through. the crossings provided the back to back measurements are refined to not less than 14.3mm. Effectively what is being done is to remove ‘OO slop.’ Elsewhere the track guage will be 16.5mm. More details about 4SF can be found online at http://www.4sf.uk To finish here’s a couple of snaps of a baseboard under construction and the templot plan.
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When building a ‘model railway in the landscape’ the planning process is comprised, essentially, of three elements which are all inter dependent. Make an alteration to one and this will impact the other two. The three elements are the baseboards which must support the track and give a foundation to the landscape The track plan which must nestle in the landscape and look as though it was an integral part and lastly the landscape itself, the landforms, rivers, woodlands, embankments etc. All three elements must be juggled and adjusted to arrive at an acceptable compromise – for all model railways are a compromise at the end of the day. I’ve been juggling with Bosmelin for a long time, too long in fact, and eventually a stake must be hammered in the ground or in our hobby a saw applied to piece of wood. And so I find myself at the point of commencing the construction of the main scenic boards for Bosmelin. My Templot plan has been ready for a while and is as close a match to Boscarne Junction as can be achieved based on the 1907 25″ OS map. Of course it is rare to be able to adopt a real location without some adaption. For Bosmelin the overall length of the junction to 4mm scale has been cut by about 300mm and the alignment of the diverging branches to Bodmin SR and Bodmin WR will need to be changed but by and large the actual model track layout will be pretty close to the real thing. The problem will be the points, turnouts or if you prefer crossings and switches. The use of Peco ready to lay point-work produces a fixed and rather ‘straight’ geometry. Whereas the plan requires a bespoke set of switches to maintain the integrity of the subtle curves in the layout. So it seems that I shall have to construct the point-work. I have made a point before and it’s not to difficult provided you take your time, don’t rush, use quality gauges and follow instructions or guidelines. The point-work will be built to 4SF or OOSF standards which means that the track gauge through the crossing will be 16.2mm and the flange way will be 1mm. This is of course the EM Society standard with the gauge reduced to 16.2mm which is designed to give better running through the crossings as the wheel is supported at all times. Standard RTR stock will run through. the crossings provided the back to back measurements are refined to not less than 14.3mm. Effectively what is being done is to remove ‘OO slop.’ Elsewhere the track gauge will be 16.5mm. More details about 4SF can be found online at http://www.4sf.uk To finish here’s a couple of snaps of a baseboard under construction and the templot plan. View the full article
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When building a ‘model railway in the landscape’ the planning process is comprised, essentially, of three elements which are all inter dependent. Make an alteration to one and this will impact the other two. The three elements are the baseboards which must support the track and give a foundation to the landscape The track plan which must nestle in the landscape and look as though it was an integral part and lastly the landscape itself, the landforms, rivers, woodlands, embankments etc. All three elements must be juggled and adjusted to arrive at an acceptable compromise – for all model railways are a compromise at the end of the day. I’ve been juggling with Bosmelin for a long time, too long in fact, and eventually a stake must be hammered in the ground or in our hobby a saw applied to piece of wood. And so I find myself at the point of commencing the construction of the main scenic boards for Bosmelin. My Templot plan has been ready for a while and is as close a match to Boscarne Junction as can be achieved based on the 1907 25″ OS map. Of course it is rare to be able to adopt a real location without some adaption. For Bosmelin the overall length of the junction to 4mm scale has been cut by about 300mm and the alignment of the diverging branches to Bodmin SR and Bodmin WR will need to be changed but by and large the actual model track layout will be pretty close to the real thing. The problem will be the points, turnouts or if you prefer crossings and switches. The use of Peco ready to lay point-work produces a fixed and rather ‘straight’ geometry. Whereas the plan requires a bespoke set of switches to maintain the integrity of the subtle curves in the layout. So it seems that I shall have to construct the point-work. I have made a point before and it’s not to difficult provided you take your time, don’t rush, use quality gauges and follow instructions or guidelines. The point-work will be built to 4SF or OOSF standards which means that the track guage through the crossing will be 16.2mm and the flange way will be 1mm. This is of course the EM Society standard with the gauge reduced to 16.2mm which is designed to give better running through the crossings as the wheel is supported at all times. Standard RTR stock will run through. the crossings provided the back to back measurements are refined to not less than 14.3mm. Effectively what is being done is to remove ‘OO slop.’ Elsewhere the track guage will be 16.5mm. More details about 4SF can be found online at http://www.4sf.uk To finish here’s a couple of snaps of a baseboard under construction and the templot plan. View the full article
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Gordon Thanks, looks like a goo idea, one of the issues is the paper holder in my cheap HP printer, if the guide is narrowed it prints off centre, plus one (long) border is nearly 1" wide. However cutting with a straight edge and scalpel is easy enough its just lining up the sheets on 2 axis I have issues with Plans which go on boards I use as rough guides, for building turnouts, crossings and formations I build them off board and take extra care when attaching pages together When building I try and keep formations as small as I can. Its also easy to rearrange the pages within Templot to minimise the number of pages required for each formation. I also try where possible not to have page joins through crossings on the build templates etc
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Gordon I use a scalpel knife to trim the sheets, I do find it a bit hard keeping all the pages square though. The main platform bays will form the datum line, along with the roads to Wrenford and Bodmin Parkway lines. From these everything else will flow according to things like structures and baseboard joints. I did think about swapping the crossover into the goods yard with the turnout into the engine shed, however not only keeping it truer to the subject it is based on, it will also add additional operational interest for instance engine shed to workshop 4 moves rather than two. I am also considering adding one or two extra sidings in the goodsyard/workshop area, but will depend on how they look in relation to the existing track and buildings As for my track building skills, thanks but its more down to the skills of Martin Wynne designing Templot and Len Newman and his skills in product design with C&L and Exactoscale. Not forgetting all the knowledge and help I have gleaned form members here, on Templot Club and demonstrators at shows.
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The Trackwork IS for Turning
RedgateModels posted a blog entry in Rhywbeth Fel Pwll Glo or Something Like a Colliery
Some trackwork finally! The handbuilt turnout section has been wired and fixed down along with the conveyor pit and associated road. Last night I got the tortuous looping curve section bonded down and started to look at the Peco Y that joins up to the boxfile. Slight deviation from the Templot plan for the curve as I had to straighten out the turnout exit to allow the Farish 0-6-0 chassis to run through. The road through the conveyor pit was always just a temporary placeholder as when I did the plan I had no real idea how the conveyor was going to sit As you can see, the Y is wired but not fixed down yet. I have modified both Y's removing the overcentre spring and adding a frog feed wire as relying on blade contact to power the frog as designed was not going to be reliable enough for me. The frog for the fixed crossing where the NG leaves the complex leading up to the Y will also be switched by the Y motor. So once the route is set from Y through to dual gauge section all will be good. For the Standard gauge track that leads onto the boxfile the Y will have to be reversed. This may change as I'm closely following developments at MERG where a new frog juicer design is evolving. If this is suitable I'll try it for the fixed crossing. Track is stuck down with runny Loctite Superglue, cured with Deluxe Materials Rocket Blaster cyano accelerator. Pin track in place, which is easy with 6mm of foam core underneath, flow the cyano around the sleepers, allowing it to flow underneath, then a quick zap with the Blaster, job done Getting closer to the point where the boxfile gets permanently stuck in position ...... -
Just spent an hour playing with a few ideas in Templot Both exit routes have sidings as per the older track plan, but added the loco works (top middle) as it is now
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As you sat, thanks to the skill of Martin Wynne using Templot now has become very easy for most things, and as it happens Bodmin fits into the space I have providing only one exit is used. As for the station building it will be a very basic form of kit bash- owing to my limited imagination and building skills, Still with what has been used as my DIY workbench freeing up its been a welcome relief to start it. The good thing is the delay has altered my mind to build it to EM gauge rather than 00SF
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For once a major step forward, Thursday I visited the timber yard and got a sheet of 9 mm ply stripped down. Only one error in getting too many of the 3" strips cut in half, thankfully a had an offcut at home which I could cut 2 strips from. Thursday was a preparation day and made one board yesterday and the second today A full length view station area top left, entrance to the engine shed bottom left and goods yard bottom right. The Templot plan is a bit of a mess, its an old one which is a bit angular and was designed for 00SF gauge, I converted it to EM, but as I am going to alter it slightly I did not bother realigning the turnouts and plain track, as they will be altered Last night I roughly scaled up the North London Groups Bodmin plan which is on the internet, I am not going to build a scale model of Bodmin station, but kitbash a couple of Wills Station buildings, just wanted an idea of the station area building sizes and platform length and width, my trailing crossover is roughly in place. As said before I will be using a bit of modellers licence, it will have a second platform, a goods shed will remain, possibly a third siding at the station end. A single road engine shed. As for the loco works I will do something not quite certain yet Two more boards to be built, the next 4' board will have the engine shed and works, A 4 th board will be L shaped 2' x 3' will have both curved exit routes (the bridges will form a natural break) and a short 5th board will hold a fiddle yard Cassettes? Still a good step forward and will allow me to more focused
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Afternoon all, Following the recent post and demise of my Meeth 2mmFS DJLC entry I promised to share my alternative proposal. Part of the decline of Meeth was that it had no real layout future beyond the competition - more time should have been spent thinking this through long game One idea I have previously toyed with in BCN, even in 7mm scale was a model of Treviscoe clay dries. The thing that killed off the 7mm one was the thought that I would want to purchase a class 37....so 7mm toe dipping on a budget was never going to happen Despite my excursion into Scottish railways (which I have thoroughly enjoyed) my real interest has always been in China clay so this seemed the natural choice (admittedly Meeth was also a China clay proposal) I have always been taken by the John Vaughan image of a class 37 edging past a dries building so it was time to revisit this but in 2mmFS. I was aware of a rather nice 4mm layout on the forum loosely based on the Trethosa/Treviscoe dries area so it was natural that I first message Kevin to see if he had any objections to my project. I outlined to Kevin that whilst his layout was inspired by the area my would be an extract of the prototype as per my usual preference albeit condensed as required to try and capture the flavour - I sent my track plan and Kevin graciously replied that he had no issues with it especially as mine was based on the prototype and was a different scale - he has even offered some photographic research help - top bloke So the idea is to create an extract of the area between the two sheds which are connected by a high level conveyer of some sort. The 600mm x 234mm (approx.) 2020 DJLC competition area was overlaid on a google earth type snapshot and the area to be modelled was drawn over crudely in CAD - no Templot this end am afraid... Outline sketch...plan and very very very loose elevation (for Mikkel)... Crude CAD drawing...plan and elevation of fascia... Ditto but with overlay on google earth type image... This gave the following scenario which would have a FY each side. The idea is that trains can arrive, shunt wagons into the dries building and collect later on. Perhaps the odd passing freight too on the front line. The era would start early eighties so clay holds but could expand to include CDA’s and also Cargowagons (As found during Internet searches) I have a rake bought for a Moorswater and Mark (46444) weathered one superbly...and has offered to complete the rake. The next part of the process for me was to make a 1:1 mock up to test the idea with rolling stock. This would help gauge train lengths etc. The area was printed out at work full size and foamboard of varying thicknesses cut in preparation. This time I have decided to increase the front viewing window from my usual 200mm to 250mm...the jury is still out on this. The dries buildings have been guesstimated from pictures but I need to do more detailed drawings before they are built. The lighting has been integrated in the fascia with my usual methods and is a return to the IKEA strip lights I used in BCN. Am still pondering the Fiddle Yards but may use sliding perspex as per Kyle...how much of this will be on view is still being considered. Here is the mock up made last weekend and posed with various rolling stock to help me decide whether it’s worth pursuing. The main idea is to try and build it for May 2020 however (a) if it does not get finished it might be presented as a work in progress (b) it has a life beyond the competition in that it could be offered as an alternative to Kyle which will no doubt start to retract from exhibitions in the distant future. View from RH Fiddleyard... View from LH Fiddleyard... 37 arrives in loop on CDA’s... Front end view...not sure whether to reduce down viewing portal... Wagons left for loading and departing... 37 on Cargowaggons...this one was expertly weathered by Mark (46444)... Passing through with Cargowagons...that yellow is ouch! The two circular structures will be the China clay vats (name escapes me!) This link to the Flickr photo sums up the area to be modelled quite nicely...but modern day...(not sure if image shows as I just added the link to it...Mods - I can delete if it’s a problem?) That’s where I am at with it. I am quite happy to return to a China clay layout as I have most of the stock from my Coombe Junction - Moorswater layout. I am off work this week for 1/2 term so may look to make some initial progress. As always, comments welcome! Pete
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I have finally started the trackwork, at Scaleforum I bought a bag of part used Exactoscale turnout timbers, which equated to the best part of 3 complete frets, I have in my cupboard a box of PSM code 75 NS rail and a few bags of C&L 2 bolt chairs. I also bought a pack of C&L baseboard alignment dowels and time has come to start building the layout. In addition I have a 2 meter pack of Exactoscale EM fast track bases First up will be the platform trailing crossover. Temporarily I will fit it on a length of 9 mm ply to give me a test track for some locos I am both building and converting to EM gauge, I will also use it to test platform heights and distances I made a plan in Templot with 10' track centres as there will be a row of water stand pipes between the platform road and the run around track. Still a few chairs to be added. Tiebars initially will be copperclad timbers for testing, also bonding wires will need fitting A very untidy work bench and a close up of the crossing I have used 2 bolt chairs on the crossover though the Exactoscale fast track bases have 3 bolt chairs. I will see how noticeable they are on the test plank I will go and get the birch ply tops and ends cut to size in a week or so.
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Trackwork #3
RedgateModels posted a blog entry in Rhywbeth Fel Pwll Glo or Something Like a Colliery
OK, first draft of the pointwork etc is done, some fettling to do but it's removed from the build board and had a quick clean. Isolation gaps next and some wiring then I can test the running with a real loco or two! I'm also thinking about making the narrow gauge track move to the centre of the standard gauge, without sharing a rail etc towards the fiddle yard exit, then I can make dual gauge cassettes that can be rotated easily. Fire up Templot again! -
Trackwork #2
RedgateModels posted a blog entry in Rhywbeth Fel Pwll Glo or Something Like a Colliery
Slow progress but getting there. Some changes from the Templot plan to reality but pretty close. It all looks a dog's breakfast at the moment as heat from the soldering and all that flux has made a mess of the tape etc holding the sleepers down. I'm sure it will all clean up and once painted will be okay -
Trackwork #1
RedgateModels commented on RedgateModels's blog entry in Rhywbeth Fel Pwll Glo or Something Like a Colliery
Dry run and it's changed now thanks to a few on the Templot forum. it's now looking like this as you can see I've made a start 🙂
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Time to Start Track Building
hayfield commented on RedgateModels's blog entry in Rhywbeth Fel Pwll Glo or Something Like a Colliery
Good luck with the project, dual gauge trackwork is something I would like to have a go at, but too many other interests. Been trying to follow the Templot design thread topic and am looking forward to see the progress -
Time to Start Track Building
RedgateModels posted a blog entry in Rhywbeth Fel Pwll Glo or Something Like a Colliery
Well after a quite a while getting back to grips with Templot and a LOT of help from @martin_wynne I have a track plan finalised. There will be some changes in levels, as the exit road(s) will have a small incline through a rocky cutting and the siding leading off the Y will be for side tippers unloading into to conveyor that takes spoil over the loop track onto the raised hillside at the back. It really got complex at the front of the layout, with all that mixed gauge trackwork and even a couple of "half K" arrangements so that it is impossible to set a road that causes derailments - also meant that the narrow gauge exit from the dual gauge does not need any moving switch blades The half K on the right is wrong I know, I might have yet another go before I start building, but the roller gauges will help me position it better anyway. Oh and it's OO-SF, I'm hoping that the 1mm flangeways will not lead to too much wheel drop of the OO-9 stock. I might be able to tweak some of them to 0.75mm depending on back to backs etc, we shall see. -
Templot Time
Mikkel commented on RedgateModels's blog entry in Rhywbeth Fel Pwll Glo or Something Like a Colliery
Maybe there's help to be had in the Templot forum? -
Templot Time
RedgateModels posted a blog entry in Rhywbeth Fel Pwll Glo or Something Like a Colliery
So after some playing around with flexitrack and standard turnouts I have come to the conclusion that fully handbuilt is the way to go at least for the points! It's been a while to say the least since I used Templot, but managed a first go at roughing out a plan last night. As you can see all I've done is overlay some OO track over the N (for 00-9) so far. need some help I think from @martin_wynne to create some turnout templates with a small enough radius and large enough crossing angle for my purposes. That will come later. The section of dual gauge is far too tight, I'll need to break it up into sections so I can ease that curve. Will mean that the rest of the loop will be tighter but the NG stock can take it!. Next steps? I want a stub siding where the "a" is on the plan, will be fun fitting that in but I need somewhere to park a standard gauge loco for shunting purposes.
