Les1952

By the way The arrangement I have with Trevor is that he builds my baseboards and I wire up his layouts. Simple, really..... Les

Fiddle Yard Points Ready It is some time ago but I was talking about the trailing points to be used on the fiddle yard exit. Mr Simon has now done the exit points for Hawthorn Dene colliery and for Rise Park (the Newark mob's replacement for Farndon Road). This shows a right and a left, together with an unmodified point for comparison. The blades are removed, cut short and a piece of white card glued below the point. The shortened blades are then araldited back into place, arranged so that all manner of wheels run through without derailing. The blade is then connected permanently to the adjacent stock rail by soldering a small wire loop into place and the point tested again to see that wheels still run through it. Insulfrog points are necessary to avoid having to switch the frog. However very few, if any, locos with short wheelbases will use the roundy-roundy part of the layout. We did have one problem- the sixteen new points I bought from Wendy in Kirkby in Ashfield proved unsuitable. Peco have changed the design (very unsporting of them after all these years). The blade now pivots differently in the middle and the new ones aren't suitable for conversion. The pic shows an old type (upper) with a new type below it. As a result instead of buying two batches of new points I've had to scour eBay, Grantham Railshow and the N-gauge show in Leamington to get eight lefts and eight rights in medium-radius insulfrog code 80 points. Such is life... Les

As promised, diagrams. First one shows the side of the base- 4" deep 3.6mm ply (that's what I like, good old fashioned mongrel units..... Sorry it isn't straight- put in scanner wonky and software only has 90 degree changes of angle. The shaded areas are those strengthened by use of 9mm ply as a sandwich filler. So the side is two pieces of 3.6mm ply, 9mm apart, with the filler intermittently placed along it (or so that's how I read it) Trevor using his industrial hot glue gun toy again. Plan of the framing is this- the sandwich at the end might only be a single 9mm ply, but I'm not sure. It will have a split hinge on one side and a gate latch on the other to fasten it, with aligning dowels to make sure it lines up properly- one board resting on a ledge protruding from the other. Top of this will be flat 3.6mm ply except for a cut-out for the underbridge and its approaches. Before I take the ply to Trevor's I've got to lay out the line of the track along the front to work out exactly where the drop for the bridge will be, and get approximate locations for the fiddleyard entry points so the cross-pieces can have cutouts to clear any point motors. The ply for the baseboards is now standing on end in the workshop. Plenty to do... All the very best Les

Baseboards specified No new pics this time. having done a little testing the width of the baseboards is now fixed as 2'9". This will allow a symmetrical fiddle yard with 5 roads (10 trains each way). I've ordered a box of Code 80 for the fiddle yard and got 6 lengths of code 55 for the front of the roundy-roundy and the correct Setrack (R2 and R3) curves for the ends from Wendy in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Discussion with Trevor has also now finalised the baseboard design so tomorrow I'm off to get the timber cut Boards will be made of 4mm ply with strengtheners and corner blocks of 9mm ply- the aim is to make it as light and strong as possible. Hopefully the two boards face-to-face won't be that much hevier than Furtwangen Ost's one board. Sides will be 4 inches deep to allow for a pair of Dapol signals on the roundy-roundy bit. Basically the main board will be two flat tables with a cut-out to allow me to model part of the slope to the sea and the underbridge will be included. The colliery level will be a separate flat (but not level) table installed above it after the roundy-roundy is laid- at that point the colliery railway design will be finalised. The backscene will be added last. I've mislaid Trevor's diagram of the baseboard frame, but if it turns up I'll scan it and post it. Movement at last! Les

I can see Simon's building from where I'm sitting- it does rather make the Scenecraft model look a bit solid and lumpy Les

Repairing Damage I noticed recently that a lamp was broken- of course it was the one on the front where it would be the easiest to spot..... Veissmann lamps are nor exactly cheap. However I noticed at the Grantham railshow last weekend some lamps on the Finishing Touches stand that didn't loop to dissimilar- at least the heads are hexagonal and fluted. One of these is now in situ. Next job (not all that urgent) is to see about some dummy overhead wires to go with the new masts- a job maybe for a trip out later in the month. Must get on..... Les

The Underbridge The two overbridges I looked at appear to have been raised at some stage as they are flat at the top. This was done on the ECML around Darlington in the ffifties/sixties, so I assume these would have been done in the same period. Looking at the underbridge from the seaward side (looking West) there is a variety of brick (repairs?) but apart from being shallow it is quite a standard arch. At least it gives me a brickwork style if I end up with a tunnel mouth. Standing in the middle of the river running down the footpath a view of the underbridge from the landward side (looking East). Looking at how different the two sides are I wonder if the landward parapet was demolished by a derailment at some time? I've got enough to go on now to finalise what I'm doing ready for getting the baseboards bought and cut over the next couple of weeks. All the best Les

Two more pics. Not one of the better pics but thuis is looking across the colliery site towards what the map gives as Tower Street with no houses left, and Abbot Street behind it. The pics I took are a bit variable- there was a fair bit of moisture in the air. A better one looking the other way- this is looking towards the car park from Tower Street, so I suspect the shaft would be the fenced off area in the middle distance. I've got some of the South end of the cutting where it runs onto embankment, and of the underbridge to sort out next. All the very best Les

That makes a lot of sense. Somewhere I've a pic I took of the one at Prince of Wales Colliery- but I can't recall ever having seen a cage in the open air to compare it with...... To answer Simon, I used to travel from Durham (where my then girl friend lived) back to Hartlepool (where I lived at the time) and generally used to try to avoid the United bus which went all round Peterlee (one came through Easington I seem to remember) in favour of the Trimdon if possible as the fastest or the Gillett Brothers if I'd missed the TMS. Similarly if travelling between Hartlepool and Newcastle I'd try and avoid the extra half-hour of going round the coast on the 40 and get the more direct bus via Houghton-le-Spring, always assuming I'd arrived at the wrong time (as usual) to catch a train. I'm back at home now- it was a day trip. I'll have another go when the weather improves but I think I've enough information to get the general plan finalised, or at least as far as getting the baseboards made and the roundy-roundy installed.. I didn't get to see the viaduct but looking at it on Google Earth the arches seem to have been strengthened and I'm not entirely sure it is worth all the extra baseboard construction problems to incorporate it. I never found the steps to the foot crossing over the railway, and can't find any trace when following the footpath along to the East of the railway, though I did find some ironwork behind the railway fence that had been burned off at ground level- it never occurred to me to photograph it. I'll remember next visit.... The A- streets. I assume they are Ashton Street, Abbott Street etc, which would make the pithead off to the right of these houses- the name on the end wall says Office street so I assume the ones going up the hill are Charles Street and Castle Street. All the very best Les

it didn't have any ladders at the sides. Another angle of it It is also nearer the top of the path than I thought- I never got up to that point, turning off to the bridge. This is from Google Earth. Looking at it, it might be where the shaft was. Les

Field Trip Report Part 1 Coo, wasn't it wet yesterday and this morning. A 7am start from Newark saw me arrive in Easington just after the rain had finished. I didn't get as far as the viaduct over Hawthorn Dene, the ground was waterlogged even on the higher ground. This is the cutting where the railway runs alongside the site of Easington Colliery. Track bends in the right direction for the layout and there are two useful bridges- the one I'm standing on and the one in the distance. Above the second bridge is a farm, the name of which doesn't occur on Google Maps. I'll have to get an OS map for this bit. Now a poser. This erection looks like it might be hiding a shaft or something nasty, but I don't know what it is. The rise behind can't be the site of the levelled pit heap, I'm sure, as I understood the stone was tipped onto the beach. Having left Newark in decent weather the only protection I had with me was an umbrella. The guy on the horse thought I was mad. I think the coastline on the left in the far mist is the bit leading to Hartlepool, probably the bit just South of Blackhall.. More pics tomorrow. Les

A little more progress. Not much to report other than the first end of the screening house is well on the way to completion and the second one has been started. The wall will never make the N-Gauge Society's modelling competition (and the second one certainly won't) but when added to the other three walls and given a roof and weathering it should look OK from normal viewing distance. It still needs touching up and a window sill adding, together with the boarding at the eaves. I've booked myself a trip up to the North East next Thursday to get some pics of Hawthorn Dene and the railway viaduct and cutting. This should help me refine the plans a little. I'm waiting to hear when the pithead kit will be available- both the Farish ones have now gone. Plenty to do Les

I've just put the A2/2 wheel-to-wheel against one of my V2s- the rear drivers do seem to have been moved forwards by about a millimetre, but I've not had it apart to investigate. OTOH the rods are plain section rather than the original fluted. I hope the picture helps. All the very best Les

Apart from taking off the front pony truck and b******ing up the loco to tender drawbar I suspect very little. It has a Chinese pacific bogie mounted where the pony truck pivots from but mechanically otherwise appears little different from the original V2 chassis. The drawbar was a lash-up and parted company quite early on- I've replaced it with a spare Farish one which holds the tender about 1mm further back than I really want but gives no problems. The Jersey Lily I bought from the estate of a deceased Lincolm MRC member had the same hopeless drawbar, and had been converted from a 4-6-0 to a 4-4-2 without any addition to its pickups- on Parnhams it runs double-headed with a UM so the latter can push it over places where it can't find any power...... Haulage wise it can manage the same as my Foxhunter A1s, about 10 to 12 coaches most of the time. Fortunately anything over 8 coaches will look silly on Hawthorn Dene as the layout isn't going to be big enough for long trains to melt into the scenery. All the very best Les

Back from holiday- let progress resume. Two weeks in sunny Buxton rehearsing and performing "Iolanthe" then "The Sorcerer" has left me quite knackered and ready for another holiday. Gresby is still up in the workshop, but is moving out in a couple of weeks. By that time Trevor will be back from holiday as well so baseboards can commence. In the meantime the end wall of the screening house is taking shape on the third attempt- all being well it will be ready to photograph by the end of the week. I've also bought a WD and after a few teething problems mostly connected with the back-to-back of the third pair of coupled wheels being too narrow, it is running well. Haulage capacity is mid-thirties of hoppers which is enough for this layout. Total number of hoppers so far- 67. Here they are behind Dapol "Evening Star" - one of the locos for the Newark Group "Rise Park" layout which is also starting this month. Hopefully the WD and one or two of the other locos can be videoed before Gresby gets put away. All the very best Les

I've been doing some testing on Gresby before Mr Simon packs it away again. This is an early Dapol B17 running my entire fleet of 21-ton hoppers. http://youtu.be/wEm80VHY5cU A different B17 STARTS the same train (67 hoppers and a brake). Also running the train today A3 "Lemberg" and 9F "Evening Star" Note the camera fail at the end when the blutack holding it in place gave up the ghost... All the very best Les

The 9F is the later weathered one that the Chinese factory forgot to put the centring springs into- it even has the holes drilled. My earlier 9Fs all have springs retrofitted. Took Papyrus out this afternoon- my video of it on the heavy fish train. On the other hand dismantling my A4 to retrieve the drive shaft I lost inside it seems to have upset its riding.... Remedial work to be done. All the very best Les

With all due respect to Dave, I'm not sure he would have lost as much traction as he thinks making a 1-Bo-Bo-1. The Life-Like E7 chassis used on the TPM (?) Class 56 kit is an A1A-A1A, and these pull very strongly indeed (usually better than a Grafar 47 of the same vintage). I supect it comes down to the weight distribution, and much less is carried by the outboard axles than the inboard set. However, you can't fault the logic of going for all-wheel drive. All the very best Les

Am I alone when looking at the CAD to think that Heljan and Hattons may have missed a trick? Partly this comes of spending some time at two shows last year drooling over a pair of O-gauge A4s with digital sound and synchronised smoke drifting through a shed yard...... The speaker for the digital sound has been placed under the chimney- presumably to concentrate the sound in the right place. Could it not have been fitted either further back down the boiler of even in the bottom of the firebox leaving room for a substantial synchronised smoke unit? A Beyer-Garrett with sound and decent smoke, now there's a prospect in OO. All the best Les

More toys the visit a few weeks ago to the NGS Worldwide Group show at Retford produced a trio of 2-10-0s (partly on the basis of do one up to sell and keep the other pair). The one for doing up was past hope of repair unfortunately. This is the second worst- a suitably grotty Roco class 44. I had one of these several years ago when they first came out but it was sold when I changed scale. A more recent one by Minitrix proved too poor a runner so it was sold cheaply. Of course a Class 44 is far too heavy for the Bregtalbahn so it won't come out to play at exhibitions. It has taken me about 3 days tweaking to get it running as new- a sentimental item to spend much of its life in the showcase. Never mind........ postscript- thinks, that wall behind needs sorting, where it was cut back for clearance really shows up. A touch of weathering needed in the imminent future.....

Hardly started..... Wendy had one set of points in stock (SL396 nedium left insulfrog code 80) so have ordered 7 more lefts and eight rights to go with it. Union Mills do a D20, J25, J26 and J27 in N, together with a J39. Farish have just brought out a WD, which apparently is "on the boat". I've heard some rather poor reports of its haulage capacity, so one only of these to start with until I've had chance to see for myself.- really I'll need a pair. I also have a G5 converted from an M7, which just needs me to pluck up courage to move its dome. No Q6 unfortunately- the 2mm one looks nice but building it is beyond me and the only professional builder I know (David Temple) won't touch 2mm finescale. All the very best Les

VERY nice and very ambitious. What part of the country are you located in? Les (Bingham MRC)

Almost a month off but some progress to report... I managed to find the coal drops this morning, and discovered I'd not glued the three sections together very well (whew). They are now separate and can be built in left-handed format as shown below. Tomorrow to Wendy's to order 8 pairs of left-hand and eight pairs of right-hand medium insulfrog points for the fiddle yard. Converting them to trailing points is a job for Mr Simon before he moves out. Half are for Hawthorn Dene and the others for Rise Park & Top Valley (the Newark N-gauge lot's new layout). They'll buy another 8 pairs of each in mid August. That is the pointwork for the two fiddle yards which are identical except for RP&TV's being 2 feet longer. Still on course for baseboard building to start in September.....

Incline almost done Not a lot of modelling done in the last month- exam marking has been a little frenetic this year. However a few chances to escape to the workshop have resulted in the relaid incline being almost grassed, and both Combinos tweaked so they cope with the gradients and tight turns. The bare incline. Note that I've replaced the N-Brass masts with more substantial Sommerfeldt ones. Next job is to get some overhead wires sorted. Erfurt Combino on the new ramp. This is actually a single-ended car, but I'll keep it with the doors towards the viewer - fortunately both ends of a Combino are outwardly idfentical- on the model even to the extent of having a control desk at the back- presumably for shunting. This is the rear of the car....

The Hiroshima set was secondhand and is a lot less smooth in operation than the Erfurt one, which set me back nearly £170 of my PayPal balance- the Bambino isn't that much less expensive so it will be a few months before I can get one- hopefully in time for the next exhibition outing in October. They don't do a seven-section Freiburg car- yet. A 7-section car will just fit the passing loop and the dead sections in the fiddle yard- anything longer hasn't a chance. I may yet thin out the Modemo cars- the more track-sensitive of the two silver and blue cars can help fund the Bambino. What got cropped out of the lower picture was the rake of part-weathered 21-ton hopper wagons intended for Hawthorn Dene Colliery which are being stored in the station because I keep burying them on the workbench....... All the very best. Les