Latchmoor Road

[tomparryharry]

Hi Folks,

 

My first foray into building a layout of my own.

 

I'm quite lucky really. I'd 'inherited' Streetley Sidings from a good freind of mine, one Jim Owers. The one proviso is that I exhibit the layout every year at the Wight Model Rail exhibition, normally in late October- early November.

 

Streetley is an inglenook,puzzle in a classic 3+3+5 set up. Add stock-Hey presto! Up & running! It's normally well recieved, and the puzzle can be completed in around 3-4 minutes. 

 

This led me to thinking about a 'hardcore' (ooh, err, missus) version of Streeley, which uses 16 (or, 24) wagons, instead of the normal 8 wagon set-up. Also, the wagons are all BR, so its all bauxite or grey, with some colour only lightly sprinkled in. In other words, you need to know the difference between a MINFIT and a MOGO.... Photos of the wagons will be available, for those who are hard of hearing.

 

As for size, I've gone for 96" x 16" (8' x 1'4"). This should give me enough space to run a 16 wagon puzzle. If I want to extend the puzzle size, then I can extend by adding another 4' module.

 

Where it all started, Streetley Sidings.

 

 

 

 

What to build it with? My first guiding principle is that I should use whatever I have to hand. Being a terrible hoarder, I've got stuff all over the place. Time to cash in an asset or two...I've got lots of plywood here, and I've also got a lot of industrial hard board. This should not be confused with the cr*p from Q&B. It's very, very strong, and weatherproof, to boot. Seeing as how a layout will most probably be kept in a dry enviroment, i resolved to use hard board to make the subframe, and top off with a 4mm ply.

 

I'd made some test pieces, to see how the hardboard reacts to bonding back-to-back. I was quite pleased to see that the strength improved dramatically. However, the weight also went up dramatically, too. Instead if using 2, 4" lengths to make a side member, I used 1, 4", and backed it up with a 1.5" backer. In a vertical plane, the 4" side member exhibits nearly the same strength as 2, 4" pieces. Just what I'm after....

 

I'll get some photos on next time.

 

Regards,

Ian

[tomparryharry]

Hi Folks,

 

Well, it's subframe time. I've gone for Stanley sawhorses. They are relatively cheap, accurate, and quite strong. Also, they are capable of being upgraded to accept the subframe for Latchmoor Road:-

 

 

As you can see, they are 'sided'. This allows for a longditiunal beam, front & rear. One guiding thought is that all of the subframe parts must not exceed 4', or 1220mm.As Latchmoor will be about 8', that means the beams must be cut down, with a joint mid-way. It's not ideal, but it does overcome the length issue:-

 

 

All the bolts are a standard 8mm, using either T or E nuts. Only the one spanner, and if I can find one of my old box spanners, the fancy combination spanner will go back in the set:-

 

 

So, I've bolted on the beams, and added 2 'end closers', these use the same 8mm E nuts, that fix the long beams to the sawhorses. The final assembly is fairly accurate, and very strong. The idea is that the long beams will provide 100% support across the length of the individual modules:-

 

 

 

With any luck, I'll get some photos of the hard board test pieces, and the module construction.

 

Ian

[tomparryharry]

Hi Folks,

 

Onto the base board modules. As I've said, I've got a lot of hard board hanging around here, can I use it? Firstly, I've made some test pieces, to see how stiff it can get. As an ordinary 5mm thickness, there is a lot of 'give when any force is applied. So, will doubling the thickness work?

 

 

 

I loaded the test piece to 5 Kg over 400mm, with minimal distortion. I think it will do! However, darned heavy! So, I've decided to lay in a 25mm strip, instead of the full depth of 75mm. This will, I hope, give me all, or most of the deflection properties, without the weight issue. As I plan to use the board in a vertical plane, the deflection is less of an issue, as long as its braced correctly:-

 

 

 

The bracing consists of 75mm hardboard, with 30mm corner blocks, glued in. I've spaced them out at approximately 12" centres. No screws were harmed in the subframe process. You can see the 25mm back strip here:-

 

 

The 2nd & 4th cross braces are deeper, at 100 mm. This allows the module to 'sit' between the long subframe beams, which keeps both modules in line, and stops any sideways movement:-

 

 

Finally, the two modules on the subframe:-

 

 

Hopefully, some info on the module tops, and some track planning next.

 

Ian.

 

 

 

 

[tomparryharry]

Hi Folks,

 

Well, I couldn't help it, could I?

 

As soon as I got the modules together, then it's out with the stock.... All work & no play, makes Jack a dull boy (so they say).

 

 

Luckily, I had some Peco 75 knocking about, so the basic plan looked ok. so, on with the top boards, which are 4mm ply, screwed & glued to the corner blocks, mentioned earlier. After this, came some cork underlay, and then the track.

 

The plan involves the standard shunting puzzle, but using 16 wagons. I'd like to introduce some 'off site' activity, so there is a modest fiddle yard planned in the future. In front of the puzzle is a 'main line', with a cross-over, to allow shunting from the main line, to the longer puzzle road. The main line also acts as a 'decoy'. The idea being that the puzzle will be operated by the public. However, as the locomotive 'shunts inside', there will be passing traffic on the main line, just to break someones train of thought (pardon the pun).

 

 

The ubiquitous pannier (9629) trips 3 around the decoy main line....

 

 

Hopefully, and thanks to some valuable advice from fellow RMWebbers, I'll get some photos up regarding the wiring, and point motors.

 

In the meantime, it's time to feed the dogs....

 

 

Ian

 

 

[maunsel]

Those poor dogs - they look half starved, and oh so neglected...................    

 

 

Eric

 

ps. a very nice simple shunting plank!

[tomparryharry]

Hi Eric,

 

Don't let that 'sad, sorrowful act' fool you. They are highly trained at sniffing out jelly babies, and other tasty morsels, at over 100 yards....

 

Thanks for the kind comment, but I'm only collating snippets gleaned on these pages, and hiopefully getting it right.

 

Regards,

Ian

[tomparryharry]

Hi Folks,

 

It's point motor time.....

 

I've got some H&M point solenoids hanging around here, so they're the obvious choice for me.... Free!!!

 

I did have some challenges using them, as it appears the smallest throw on the operating crank is larger than the blade closure on a Peco code 75 point. In order to overcome this, I've allowed for some 'lost motion' in the throw of the solenoid, via the operating crank & connecting wire.

 

Thanks to Bill Campbell (66C) of this parish, for providing me with some inspiration towards the process. I've used an amalgam of Bill's idea, coupled with the 'Clayhanger' hand operated arrangement, to come up with a slightly different process. I'd like to think it's my own idea, but most likely, someone else has done this before.

 

The kit of parts:

 

 

The parts consist of the solenoid, a large safety pin, a single electrical strip connector, a double connector, and a cotton bud.

 

The safety pin gets straightened out, and the safety head gets discarded. The 'blunt' end of the pin is formed into a 'Z' shape/profile. The single  connector losses it's outer covering, and has a pin soldered to it. The cotton bud looses its heads, and is inserted into the double connector:

 

 

The cotton bud tube is an ideal size to accept the diameter of the safety pin, and acts as a guide & support to the pin. I've just screwed it into the double connector, and this allows a large amount of adjustment. The single connector, with the soldered pin, acts as the operating arm from the safety pin. It is fully adjustable, via it's 2 clamping screws. I used a paper clip to make the operating arm. The clips I have here are just right to fit into the tiebar hole on the point. I did want to lose the cumbersome arrangment around the tiebar, but I needed to keep the detent spring, which hides inside the plastic. Ho Hum....

 

Lining up the solenoid crank, operating wire (safety pin) and cotton bud tube, with the tiebar hole, should give an accurate set-out. I must admit that it took a couple of goes, but it got there in the end:

 

 

Hand operation has proved that the system works ok. Now I'm off to find a 16v PSU.

 

Regards,

Ian

[DLT]

Streetley is an inglenook,puzzle in a classic 3+3+5 set up. Add stock-Hey presto! Up & running! It's normally well received, and the puzzle can be completed in around 3-4 minutes. 

028.JPG

Regards,

Ian

 

Thanks very much for letting me "have a go" on Streetley at Taunton today.  First time I've tried an Inglenook shunting puzzle and its really flummoxed me for a while.

3-4 minutes ??  it took two of us ten minutes or more!

Cheers, Dave.