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Machen


Rods_of_Revolution

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I figured I had better make a start on my entry, the aim is to create a working diorama of Machen Quarry as it is now. I have produced the below graphic which should give a rough idea of the area I'm modelling. The Google Earth imagery must be out of date as on my visit there a couple of months ago the loader seen in the bottom left had gone.

 

machenmap.jpg

 

The idea is to have an 08 and couple of wagons, the 08 I already have, the wagons I plan 3D print; The wagons will probably be Hanson hoppers. The stone loader should be operational and will mostly consist of 3D printed parts.

 

The board will be constructed from thin MDF and No More Nails and shall be designed in a way that at a later date a fiddle yard could be added.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome,

 

Kindest Regards,

 

Jack

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I have started to create the loader; I will use a 6mm x 100mm elastic band for the conveyor belt, the belt will need to be carefully tensioned so the structure will resist deforming but the driving rollers will still create enough friction to move the belt. Extra details will be added using brass wire.

 

machenloaderrender001.jpg

 

Cheers,

 

Jack

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  • RMweb Gold

That's an impresive start !

 

How will you be powering the conveyor belt ?

 

Stu (who's been itching to make a working conveyor belt but who has never worked out the details...)

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Thanks,

 

I aim to have it motorized, I'll be using a gear and worm drive no doubt salvaged from some childhood rolling stock! The larger wheel on the far right of the conveyor in the image above will be where I'll mount the gear, the worm and motor will be mounted along side. I may add a couple of resistors into the circuit to prevent anyone from "overspeeding" the conveyor!

 

Regards,

 

Jack

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Hopefully this "exploded" render will better illustrate how the conveyor will be powered, what the kit will comprise of and give a sense of scale with the Class 59s. I don't know whether the worm drive will actually work, the maths I used to create it says yes, real life says....We'll wait and see :laugh:

 

machenloaderrender004.jpg

 

Regards,

 

Jack

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  • RMweb Gold

Why don't you cannabilize an old ink jet printer, and whip out the motor and the toothed belt and associated cogs and gears!

 

Reassemble as a conveyor belt........you might need to gear it down a bit more but the belt and cogs are what you are after.

 

Regards

 

Richard

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Why don't you cannabilize an old ink jet printer, and whip out the motor and the toothed belt and associated cogs and gears!

 

Reassemble as a conveyor belt........you might need to gear it down a bit more but the belt and cogs are what you are after.

 

Regards

 

Richard

 

Thanks Richard, I'll keep that in mind as there is a very real possibility the 3D Printed gears will fail to work!

 

Cheers,

 

Jack

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As a location close to my heart, and where I spent many a happy hour - wish you all the best with this project 'Rods'.

.

Without wishing to hijack your thread, I hope these shots speed you on your way . . . . .

.

Brian R

post-1599-0-22031500-1312571690_thumb.jpg

post-1599-0-97219500-1312572066_thumb.jpg

post-1599-0-13477800-1312572155_thumb.jpg

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Made a fair bit of progress with the baseboard. Here's a shot showing the progress so far, I've hastily propped some cork bark against the back to help with the visualization of the finished layout.

 

machen001.jpg

 

It's made up of strip wood and 5mm MDF, I like 5mm MDF as you can easily cut it with a Stanley knife. The whole lot is held together with "No More Nails" and the odd panel pin here and there, though the panel pins are purely to hold bits together whilst the NMN dries.

 

Just need the loader from Shapeways and then I can lay the track and begin the sceneics; In the mean time I'll build the tunnel mouth, not a complicated structure but an important part in creating Machen.

 

Cheers,

 

Jack

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  • RMweb Gold

Hi Jack,

 

Only found this due to your comment on my thread.

 

Looks to be a very nice project in the making . Do you have all the rolling stock you need for it..apart from the 08 ;)

 

Keep it coming!

 

Pete

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Hi Jack,

 

Only found this due to your comment on my thread.

 

Looks to be a very nice project in the making . Do you have all the rolling stock you need for it..apart from the 08 ;)

 

Keep it coming!

 

Pete

 

Thanks!

 

The plan in the long run is to print some Hanson hoppers, though I already have test 3D prints of a MRL box wagon, so perhaps I will do those and/or the Hanson hoppers. For photos, once the layout is complete, I'll talk nicely to my mate(ewsjo on here) and borrow some of his auto ballasters or various other suitable rolling stock he has. All the stock I own at the moment is 80s China Clay based!

 

Cheers,

 

Jack

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Mendip boxes sounds good! :yes: Ideal candidate for FUD, perhaps? I'm still getting nightmares of cleaning up that one in white detail lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtlGu0TkC9s

Progress is looking good so far, looks so much better on a PC screen than on a picture message!

Are you planning to include a model of a photographer strutting up and down across the bridge...?

 

jo

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Yes, it'll probably only take 10 mins or so to make the walls of the MRL Box nice and thin, should be much cheaper to print too!

 

Update, tunnel mouth has been completed and I have started building up the banks with paper and PVA. Once I have the loader I can lay the track so everything lines up correctly. Need to pay a visit to Weston's models too at some point to get a few bits.

 

machen002.jpg

 

Cheers,

 

Jack

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What a model in the making !!! I thought about doing Machen before opting for Mon Bank, really looking forward to seeing the loader in operation. Ive got some decent pictures of the place if your interested ?

 

Regards

 

Bluebird.

 

Thanks, any pictures you have would be great, can never have too much reference material. Do you want to post them here or would you like me to PM an email address?

 

Many thanks!

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Hiya, here they are I hope its in order to post directly onto the board ? just a selection plenty more if required.

 

Looking towards the Loader on the long loop.

228874_2301076608060_1283545591_2721569_6232282_n.jpg

 

The other side of the loader/tunnel looking towards Machen Village.

293915_2301077728088_1283545591_2721574_4690786_n.jpg

 

The old tunnel.

291778_2301078608110_1283545591_2721577_1192057_n.jpg

 

292821_2301078688112_1283545591_2721578_2318793_n.jpg

 

291714_2301078848116_1283545591_2721579_136816_n.jpg

 

Overview of the slightly flooded quarry loading area.

292629_2301079088122_1283545591_2721580_3634035_n.jpg

 

The other side of the tunnel.

292084_2301079288127_1283545591_2721581_5399008_n.jpg

 

The loader + 08

228892_2301084048246_1283545591_2721601_2074594_n.jpg

 

293620_2301084688262_1283545591_2721604_3732162_n.jpg

 

Up the loader.

262466_2301085168274_1283545591_2721607_5686410_n.jpg

 

294878_2301085768289_1283545591_2721610_3478670_n.jpg

 

262982_2301087048321_1283545591_2721616_4794844_n.jpg

 

291750_2301089088372_1283545591_2721625_5352199_n.jpg

 

185382_2301091688437_1283545591_2721635_5815401_n.jpg

 

185525_2301094808515_1283545591_2721650_4096378_n.jpg

 

Pretty much the condition of the track at the complex !

223789_2301078448106_1283545591_2721576_4316076_n.jpg

 

Regards.

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Hiya, here they are I hope its in order to post directly onto the board ? just a selection plenty more if required.

 

Thanks, Bluebird, these shots are really helpful! I should have taken more myself but on my visit I was chasing a railtour leaving Machen back down to Newport!

 

Really appriciated!

 

Many thanks,

 

Jack

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update, Shapeways currently have a massive backlog with the Frosted Ultra Detail material, this means I won't receive the loader for almost 2 weeks. This has forced my hand and means I have had to crack on with the scenery.

 

Anyway, still very messy at the moment but hopefully you can get an idea of how it will look when finished. Sorry the picture is a little naff but I didn't have time to set the SLR up on the tripod so freehand phone it was!

 

machen003.jpg

 

Regards,

 

Jack

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  • RMweb Gold

Taking shape Jack - I guess when the loader comes, you will have broken the back of it and have 2 weeks to finish off.

 

Is that a GHQ tractor? Am sizing one of those up to use as a basis of my Moorswater tractor...

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Taking shape Jack - I guess when the loader comes, you will have broken the back of it and have 2 weeks to finish off.

 

Is that a GHQ tractor? Am sizing one of those up to use as a basis of my Moorswater tractor...

 

It's from a Japanese company called "Maruka", they are 1:150 scale and very cheap, I bought mine from a Japanese company on eBay for £5. It's fully movable, so you can pose it how you like. I think you could bash it into the sort of tractor you're thinking of, though it is probably a bit big so would need to be made a little smaller.

 

Cheers,

 

Jack

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