Ron Heggs

A map of the area around the viaducts and Great Northern Junction - The trackwork being constructed/laid is to the left on the viaducts

Hi, John I enjoy building everything from scratch where possible, and starting again with straight lengths allows me to get back into the rhythm, and also match the prototype as closely as possible (inspite of the track being in 00 gauge). The half lengths recently delivered from C+L range from 450-460mm, which I take to mean that they were cut from 910mm (3 foot) lengths. If they are now selling 1 metre lengths this would be far better I have a supply of Exactoscale plastic locking fishplates left over from previous track builds, but will require some additional supplies shortly The ply sleepers were a trial which is working out just fine - 300 x 300mm ply sheets give about 760 plain sleepers each (using the balsa stripper and the guillotine), and also allow the cutting of timbers for turnouts, etc. to match exact requirements To stain the the sleepers. I pour the wood stain into a spare half-pint glass (of course) and drop the sleepers in, wait a minute or so, pour out the stain back into the bottle, and dry out the sleepers on newspaper in the sun for about 10 minutes, and they are all ready to use Typically my method for construction is - Threading the chairs is getting to be reasonably enjoyable - counting them on (in Spanish) 22 + 1 reversed + 22 + 1 reversed to each 455mm rail length (with 480mm rails this would be 23+1+23+1) Notch the midpoint on the top of the rail, and fix split fishplates to both sides of the rail. Repeat this on the second rail with a set of opposing chairs Fix a complete set of 46 sleepers to the template, and glue (MEK) the two end chairs in position fix a 600mm straight-edge touching the rail at both ends, move the remaining chairs into position, and with the rail tight to the straight-edge brush MEK over every chair. Leave for 5 minutes, reposition the straight-edge to the opposite side of the rail, brush MEK on all the chairs now exposed Repeat for the second rail, using three track gauges in lieu of the straight-edge Then finally ease the track assembly from the template, using a 9mm Stanley knife with the blade fully extended Looking forward to the first turnout which will located at Great Northern Junction, just about another metre to go Cheers Ron

I think I may have just tripped over the starting line Cheers Ron

The Castlefield and Cornbrook Viaducts' decks have been covered with 1.5mm neoprene foam (on styrene decks) and 1.5mm cork (on ply decks), and a few lengths of track placed with a view to checking the inter-track spacings. This is necessary as the viaducts' widths taper and are all on a slight curve - The ply triangle section - top right is the entrance to the carriage sidings

Not gone away or suffering from shock - just de-sprueing and threading 1000's of chairs on to rail, and of course fixing to sleepers. Will have the first 10m of track completed tomorrow ready to lay

The etches are now being processed The cost was a little bit of a shock, but did include all the one-time photo set-up costs and courier delivery - certainly a whole magnitude over the styrene cost of just under £6. The additional sections will be a little cheaper. Still it is going to save on-going rebuilds of disastrous UV destruction of the outdoor sections of the viaduct, if built in styrene Ron

Hi, Jamie Anchoring the rail/track is a non-starter, since the track is either running over the plasticard deck of the viaducts or the 30mm thick foamboard baseboard. This also precludes the use of brass screws doubling up as anchors and droppers. The droppers are 1mm2 solid copper cores soldered to the underside of the rails and pushed through the foamboard to terminal blocks fixed to the supporting timber frame. On the viaducts the droppers are fed down inside the piers/supports and then through the foamboard. The internal part of the layout doesn't suffer from too wide a temperature variation, it is the external section which will be dealt with accordingly, i.e. anchoring the rails to brass screws fixed in the concrete bases Cheers Ron

Hi, Mark The expansion/contraction is an important issue, as well as the electrical gapping. I have all the necessary plastic fishplates at the ready Cheers Ron

Hi, All The main problem is that the rail lengths are only 455mm long (i.e. full 910mm lengths cut in half to prevent postal damage between UK and Spain). So can only make one 240mm track section per rail length. I could of course make a 455mm length with a false gap at say 227.5mm, removing two sleepers and shuffling the remaining sleeper gaps to match. The actual gaps will be used as electrical breaks, and any continuity made by connection to adjacent droppers from the rails of each section The missing 12.5mm approx. half inch may not be that noticeable in the midst of all the trackwork. The sleepers in the central section of the shorter length need adjusting to indicate a rail joint Ron

Completed the first eight 240mm (60ft) track lengths last night - total 1.92m. Have been splitting the remainder of the 300mm x 300mm ply sheet into 3.5mm spills ready for chopping into sleeper lengths - that will give me an additional 486 sleepers along with the remaining 46 from the last cutting session - this will allow the assembly of a further 11 track lengths (2.64m). Almost half way to the 10m target before track laying commences

Thanks. The archived photographs don't show both sides of all the track. Mainly pictures of trains in the various platforms and some approach tracks. It all seems to reflect a reasonably logical approach Cheers Ron

Have been studying a few pictures of the tracks from the viaducts into the station with a view to getting the chairs/keys pointing in the right directions The main approach tracks have the keys pointing out of the chairs towards the oncoming traffic, except for those next to the rail joints, which are in the opposite direction, presumable to clear the joint The tracks alongside the platforms are a mix - some have the keys pointing in opposite directions in alternating pairs - which for terminal tracks is reasonable. The release roads have the keys pointing into the station, again this is to be expected Elsewhere including all the multiple crossings, etc. there is a real mix some are in one direction, some in the opposite - appears to depend on the true traffic flow directions (one way or the other or both) and the length of individual rails between joints Hope we haven't got any Key Inspectors watching Have to ensure all the track pictures are just a bit fuzzy Ron

Found a suitable piece of 42mm thick worktop offcut, which is flat , 600mm long by 130mm wide. Taped a length of Templot print-out to it. Added two 3mm strips of double sided tape, and fixed 48 sleepers - enough for two 60ft (240mm) lengths of track, and started laying rail Finished 60ft length on the left, and rail threaded with chairs on the right. Have sorted the chairs into two containers - one for each of the two 'key' directions Finished track Finished track to the left, and rails awaiting fixing, to the right Plastic rail connectors and wire droppers will be added when the track is being laid - need about 10m of track making before track laying can commence

Have cut a number of strips from 300mm x 300mm ply sheets, ready to be cut into individual sleeper lengths for the trackwork. These have now been treated with wood stain. The closest colour to dirty aged timber I have found is Wengue. This leaves the ply a mid to dark grey brown This first batch should provide about 200 sleepers for the first lengths of straight track. Rail is NS BH with Exactoscale and C+L chairs. Just need to set-up a suitable sized portable work surface for the initial track builds which will be used on the viaducts

Hi, Lee The drawing files sent to the etchers include all the un-etched faces hatched in black. These drawings would not show up the details very well on this thread because of the displayed reduced size - the rivets are only 0.33mm diameter - most of the drawings are approx. 250mm x300mm. The tags (each 0.5mm width - half etched thickness) holding all the items are placed on the rear hatched face - not shown on the drawings above Ron

Hi, Jeff It's only 21 sheets for the first of three viaduct spans At least the plastic shortage should end now - ... and no I was not responsible for supply problems affecting Bachmann and Hornby . Although they seem to be getting back to normal now Today's modelling was the continuing card/foamboard construction of the brick viaduct arches/walls/sides - hope that's not going to cause a run on card and foamboard Cheers Ron

They're going to have to count them twice - once on the prototype, and again on the model . It might just cure them of their habit or is it a calling Cheers Ron

Hi, Jamie The use of etchings is a necessary 'evil', because of the effect of UV on styrene on the outdoor section of the layout. I would have preferred to hand build the remaining viaduct sections. The only modelling benefit is that more detail can be provided, such as 'rivets', and structural elements which would have been too fragile to make in styrene Cheers Ron

Etch drawings - Span Beam - Front & Rear (mirrored) - 20Thou Brass - 2 copies Span Beam - Front & Rear (mirrored) - 10thou Brass -1 copy Deck Beam - Front & Rear (mirrored) - 20Thou Brass - 2 copies Deck Beam - Front & Rear (mirrored) - 10Thou Brass - 11 copies Deck - Front & Rear (mirrored) - 20Thou Brass - 1 copy of top and 2 copies of bottom Overhead Beam - Front & Rear (mirrored) - 10Thou Brass - 2 copies Now await the cost estimate from the Etchers

All the drawings for the etches are complete, and ready to be sent to the Photo Etchers This may be a stupid question, but does anyone want to see the drawings ?

Have completed the CAD 3D assembly drawings - Underside view of viaduct assembly - minus the deck plating Close-up Overhead view Close-up The etch drawings for the two span beams are completed. Four copies of 0.5mm (20 thou) sheets, and 1 copy of 0.25mm (10 thou) sheet required for each pair of span beams. The deck beam etch drawings are about 25% complete - fewer rivets on these

Using AutoCAD, the ARRAY function enables multiple copies in row and/or column, at using specified spacings. There is also a 3DARRAY function for row,column & level copying To array in angular directions, you either rotate the drawing or the x/y/z axes first

Hi, Ozzy Have used the Archer transfers before - a bit expensive, but a quick fix for the odd area The latest 'rivet count' for the first two span beam etches is 29903 , with the deck and deck beams still to draw Looks like I will be punching well into next year Cheers Ron

Thanks - Have been following this thread for a while - the tracklaying in high temperatures has been noted before

I think that will be when the punching starts