dale159

Hello again, Here are a few photos of progress since the last post in mid October Fiddle Yard mostly complete Brain hurts just looking at it never mind thinking about how I'm going to wire it up! I'm going for a pair of thick Copperclad strips (marketed for O gauge point building) at both ends of the lifting board, I'm thinking about cutting the foam back at the edges and mounting them on some MDF or ply for extra rigidity. Over to the other side of the layout Throat for the 3 Southern platforms laid, I wanted the main up and down to be either side of a single island. More foam going down. Hornby platform needs narrowing on this island. Off scene throat from the station back round to the fiddle yard laid out for a rouge idea where to glue the last bits of foam. Dale

Have we seen a trio of GatEx 387s in service together on the GWML before? https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:G59266/2021-11-24/detailed Then went empty to Swindon Cocklebury Dale

Next up GWR https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C91304/2021-11-12/detailed Dale

Hello Again, Another long time between posts, I have been plugging away at track laying recently First 9 tracks round the corner and into the fiddle yard, I stopped each one where a full length would overhang the end. I made the gadget across all the tracks with some offcut pieces of MDF and plasticard to give 12 equally spaced track centres I just slide it along the board with the handle pushed against the side and using a pair of straight tracksettas I could lay 2 tracks at once, it has been really useful. Today I have laid the ladder up the right hand side of this board leading into roads 17-20. Fitting point motors to these 5 points is going to be interesting given the frame of the layout is in the way underneath, some sort of cranked arrangement will be required even more so the trailing point at the bottom of the shot as there is a cross-member almost directly beneath the tie-bar and neither can I chisel a piece out of it as there is a screw about 15mm from the top of the timber. Next post likely when I have completed this end or arrived at the other end of the fiddle yard! Dale

Worse still the location of it is preventing anything from the Plymouth side accessing Laira depot. Dale

Nice work. May I ask what wheels it is on? The standard Hornby wheels are a bit underscale and I found on my old layout the 3rd rail lifted the bogie frame up off the running rail thus the loco ground to a halt. Ended up swapping for equivalent Hornby wheels for a 92 which also necessitated swapping the 73 motor casing for one designed for the 4VEP to accommodate the larger wheels. Dale

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-58216521 Gets my approval. Dale

Hello again, I've been keeping busy recently gluing down trackbed and the underfloor insulation foam I will be using in the fiddle yard. Seeing how to get 5 track into 20 on 1 board. As this insulation foam is slightly thinner than the trackbed foam I have decided to lay the fiddle yard with code 100 track, the difference in height between the two types of track bases offsetting the differing heights of the 2 track types almost perfectly. Station area Checking platform clearances as will be crucial to where I glue the next piece of trackbed down. I have finally produced a full track plan on XtrackCAD. That hasn't come out as clear as I'd hoped so I've made a PDF version Brixington Town Plan.pdf The main fiddle yard will have 12 roads of which - Roads 1-9 (1 being nearest the front edge) will be for use by the 'Western lines' Roads 1-3 being for the exclusive use of the inner most Western loop Roads 4-6 available to both Western loops and Centre road through station Roads 7-9 for use by outer Western loop and Centre road Bi-directional centre road through station can access roads 1-9 Roads 10-12 will be for use of the 'Southern lines' although road 9 could be used by either or for transferring stock between the two All 12 roads in the region of 3m in length. Plus 2 kickback sidings for light engine holding And then - Roads 13-20 a further 8 sidings for the Southern on the diagonal board above the stairwell Roads 21&22 hidden off scene behind the Southern entry to the layout bottom right of diagram Roads 23&24 for the Southern top left of diagram. Lots of Code 100 track to source probably second hand for fiddle yard use, looks like I'll be needing 5 3 way points, 10 left hand curves, not so many right curves and numerous short radius straights. Dale

TfW now on RTT. https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:CDQ?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt Some of their loco hauled services may not show allocations yet. Dale

Hello again. Had another track laying session on Thursday night - had to cancel previous Tuesday. Just to finish off the shelving units - 3rd miniature unit made from offcuts I also further modified my stock box rack to have the same low friction feet so it too can now be moved around without having to empty it. Much better! Now, track laying Here is the current state of play, the double track junction on the foam is now loosely pinned down with all necessary dropper wires in place and holes drilled for point motors. The next phase will be working towards the station on the Western Region side including the facing connection to the Southern Region side, once that point top left is in place we will be able to fill in the gap back to the double junction. Dale

I could have done that but I would have needed to buy another 1 maybe 2 sheets of 18mm MDF and another 6mm sheet. Cutting 1300m lengths from an 8x4 sheet is quite an inefficient use of the material as it left me with some quite big offcuts that weren't quite big enough to make another unit. Plus I'd already cut the pieces I needed before I read your post last night, better still I've got enough bits left over I'm thinking of making myself a spary booth. Dale

Good Evening A job that has been on my to-do list for a while - building a pair of shelving units to fit under the layout. I spent a whole afternoon measuring up each different type of box used by each manufacture and how many of each type I had so that I could design the units to hold as much as possible. First unit built and put in situ - all 18mm MDF with a 6mm back. Had to cut a hole in the backs of both units to allow access to sockets. Second unit built and in situ, first one partially filled. Both units sit on 8 70mm diameter low friction Teflon feet which means I am able to slide the units out from under the layout relatively easily even when full I've still got a few boxes mainly wagons left over so I may build another smaller unit using some of the offcuts of MDF. Possibility of some track laying early part of next week. Dale

Hello again - I'm still alive! Not much to report on the layout of late but progress is starting to be made once more. With the help of my friend Simon (occasional visitor to RMweb and mentioned repeatedly on this thread over the years) we have formulated at track plan of sorts and started laying out track. It all hinges on the double junction at the end here, where the 'Western Region' lines (Left hand pair) and 'Southern Region' lines (Right hand pair) diverge, the plan is for the scenery to continue on the Western region side around the corner with the Southern region lines disappearing under a bridge/into a tunnel and giving the impression that they curve away to the right. There will be other crossovers leading into the station throat but exactly what goes where is still a bit fluid until the junction is laid. Track will be laid on Woodland scenics foam underlay with the larger 2'x1' sheets used under pointwork. Hopefully more progress to report more going forwards! Dale

I think this particular bridge is on the Spa Valley Railway just out of Tunbridge Wells West as the A26 doesn't cross the Hastings - Tonbridge mainline - currently closed between Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells Dale

Busy Sunday in store for The AA/RAC/other chosen 4th emergency service then. Dale

Perhaps they won it on Bullseye in the 80s Dale

I'd like to see this formation for real...... https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/W68336/2020-10-25/detailed Dale Edit - has now been corrected was showing load 18 9 car 801 + 91 set throughout.

It'll either the LED refresh rate vs camera shutter speed or the unit is Aux tripped and drops to 1 tail light to prolong battery life. Dale

Good Afternoon. Backscene framework is complete. And clad in MDF. I wasn't planning to have anything joining the backscenes between boards but as is the way with wood one backscene leans forwards and the adjacent one leans backwards so I have fitted a pair of small wooden dowels at the joins much better while not 100%. More track planning this evening and over the next few days. Dale

Hi. I didn't draw up any plans I just made it to fit around one of the boxes. Boxes are of the 10l size which are marketed for A3 paper size. I have allowed 510mm depth, 350mm width (could probably have got away with 345mm) and 90mm in height. The aluminium angle used is 7/8 inch square. Total dimensions including framework are 550mm deep, 1150mm wide and 950mm high, having expanded it to take the 3 extra boxes I have cut 90mm off the legs so it is still the same overall height it was beforehand. Hope this helps Dale

Good Evening A couple of bits and bobs from the last fortnight. The Stock box rack rebuild has been completed and I am much happier with it. And onto something new, backscenes. I wouldn't be lying by saying the backscenes on the old layout were a bit of an afterthought compounded by making them out of the last couple of warped sheets of ply in stock at Trago Mills. Not so this time. This time they will be mounted to a lightweight frame screwed to the top of the board, the backscenes themselves will be made of 6mm MDF. I have started to work on a track plan (Lining paper in above picture) but its not finished yet although the basic principle remains the same as the old layout. Dale

Good Evening. Baton fitted between the legs with the board just resting on the top Also an ideal place to mount an LED strip light for my Workbench, I've also fitted a 6 way extension lead underneath useful for soldering iron, controller and such. In other news Wickes have come good on the timber front so I can finally finish off the corner boards and rebuild my stock box rack to take 21 boxes (previously 18) and the boxes will slide on aluminium angle runners rather than the angle brackets and bits of steel wire. Dale

Admittedly that would be the ideal solution but having just been up and looked at it again, if I were to do that the ends of it would be right in the middle of the large holes I pass the electrical connections through (I also don't have a suitable piece of timber to hand - see previous complaints about lack of stock in local hardware stores and nothing leftover from the old layout is long enough). Another thought that has just occurred to me is to fit a piece between the two top cross-members of the legs which the board could then rest upon, I do have a suitable piece of 2x2 timber to do that. Dale

That's Excellent Rich, I'll get myself something like that when the time comes. While working at my new workbench on my 153/155 yesterday sat on a chair with the layout pretty much at eye level I noticed there was a considerable dip at the rear of the board that I have built around the air vent. I think part of the problem has been in the way i built this board further compounded when I put the top surface on in situ to avoid having to take half the layout down (as it is one of the two with 4 legs) well my laziness has resulted in substandard job so this morning I set about putting it right. I took the board right back to its frame and where I had previously used a pair of 90 degree angle brackets on the bottom corners I have replaced them with a pair of wooden blocks same as used to strengthen all 90 degree corners and I also did the same on the inside edge where previously I just relied on the screws being tight to do the job, I then nailed the top surface back on while it was on the flat(ish) floor, result much much better. Dale

Workbench time! I've never really had a proper workbench before, Before I bought my own place any project on the go was undertaken on a couple of off-cut pieces of white Conti-board and an old wooden breadboard to which I bolted a small vice! All change now as now though Yesterday I picked up this desk at a reasonable price from a Charity shop, the drawers will come in useful for any modelling tools and part finished projects, It fits perfectly under the layout, I think a light of some sort might be required though as its a bit dark under the layout! Here is the basis of my 119. A Lima 117 but has a chassis transplant with a Hornby 121 as well as Hornby wheels on the trailer cars, I also have Peters Spares exhausts and Black Cat Technology Head and Tail lights to go in same as my Blue Grey and NSE 117s featured previously. This picture taken on my phone doesn't show how shiny it is! A trip to some paint stripper can't come soon enough then I will need to sand down all the 117 door handles and hinges, modify the headcode boxes, test fit the 119 sides and then I can mark up where I'm going to need to cut away for the 119 windows. The 119 overlays come with clear acetate foe glazing although I might retain the Lima glazing inside for a bit of extra strength, Cab side windows and Windscreens will be flush glazed. The first actual item on my workbench is a spot of backwards engineering sort of. Almost a reversal of reality converting a pair of Hornby 153s back into a 155 using the older style Hornby ex-Dapol bodyshells which need about 4-5mm* cutting off the bottom to marry up with the newer chassis which has far better solebar detail. One of the chassis is unpowered made up of spare bits. *3rd unit lucky, 2 others where sacrificed while I got this right with an alpha cutter. The motorised car retains all the original circuitry and I am currently trying to get the lights to operate by jumping a plug and socket across to the trailer car making use of the redundant contacts at the no.2 cab end although this doesn't seem to be working I wonder if I have broken wire somewhere. Going back to the 119 a moment, Paint stripping a complete model is something else completely new to me, I think i will use IPA from looking at various other peoples threads and obviously I need a suitable vessel to put it in while in use. Dale