islandbridgejct

I'm going to guess that the pile on the left is sleepers and that the item to the right is about the right size for a stores shed.

I don't think it's a dunny which, as far as I know, is an Australian bog. Presumably there's already a gentlemen's convenience on the platform, connected to the drains.

On 06/11/2020 at 11:29, Dave John said:

The extra bits at the top and rhs form a powered downfeed, controlled by the lever and dog clutch. Those have formed really well in the printing. 

I have no doubt Dave is correct and knows far more than me. We had a more modern pillar drill in the metalwork room in school in the 80s, and I recognise the handle indicated with the green arrow as the one for pulling the drill down so that it would engage with the metal we wanted drilled.

There was an option to move the drill bit forwards or backwards, and left or right. I'm going to guess that the blue arrow is forwards / backwards, and the orange is left / right.

I'd then guess that the depth to which the bit will engage is regulated by the table height, rather than by any adjustment of the drilling mechanism.

That then leaves the red handle, which I'm going to guess engages the clutch behind it to engage or disengage rotation of the drill. That's probably superseded by the electrical switch gear.

As everyone else has said, fantastic modelling. I'm currently trying to teach myself Autodesk Fusion after TurboCad, which I spent ages getting to grips with, ceased working on a new Mac OS, and I'm interested to see the range of things you can print and the level of detail that has become possible over the past few years.

Alan

An excellent video, disproving the frequent criticism that P4 doesn't work.

I particularly liked the ride behind the C2X at the end - it had the feel of those old 1950s cine films you find on the web, of lines near the end of steam and the end of their lives, where the cameraman is being bumped around and the image is quite grainy. It's amazing that you can now do in 4mm scale what people could just barely manage in 12" scale at the time.

Excellent detail. If you have a stench pipe, should you not have a lavatory outlet leading into it?

(Terrible how putting in an exceptional level of detail only prompts requests for more. Sorry.)

Alan

Very nice work. I don't usually post unless I have something to say, and I don't have anything worthwhile to say, so I'll just shut up now and follow quietly. Do keep posting.

Alan

That really is very nice, and so good I had to watch it twice.

Alan

That's very clever, and gives a nice smooth movement to the signal - not like the 'snap' one sometimes sees.

Alan

I can confirm that the GSR extended smokeboxes to make room for superheaters, so it’s likely the Western did the same. Do you need to move the chimney to the middle of the extended smokebox? If you don’t, I suspect the ejector would eject straight into the superheater pipework.

A nice model. Looks good in black. 

Alan

Well that looks more real than the photos.

Does the ground fall away on the far side of the platform to need such a high plinth?

As above, and fantastic tips on buffers and boxes too!

I really don't know. I'd have guessed that the preference would be to put it at the station throat and have the station porter run down to open a manually operated set of gates that would be released from the cabin and that would in turn release the signals that protect them, labour being cheap in those days; but that really is just a guess. I know Claremorris had a crossing about 500m or so east of the station which had slotted signals protecting it: the signalman released the signal but it didn't move until the crossing keeper opened the gates and then pulled his lever for the same signal; but that was different because the gates and points couldn't be controlled from the same place.

I'll look forward to seeing what you decide on.

Alan

Edit

Updated to add that Tuam station, on the line from Athenry to Claremorris, had its signal box at the south end of the station and a hand operated set of gates at the north end. Kiltimagh had a crossing at each end and the box was at the south where the station throat was located. Charlestown had its box near the throat and manual gates at the far end. These were all on a line built to light railway standards.

On the GSWR mainline, Buttevant had its box at the crossing, at the far end from the station throat, as did Rathmore. Headford Junction, just down the line from Rathmore, had the box at the junction, away from the crossing which had its own crossing keeper's cottage.

So I think I've just demolished my own argument: you can put it at whichever end you like, and it may depend on what your railway company did.

Alan

May I offer some thoughts on signal box location? The ones I've seen have been located at the station throat, where the largest complex of pointwork is located. Presumably this is to make it easier for the signalman, as he doesn't have to throw too many distant points. The only exception I've seen has been in small suburban stations where the cabin is located beside the level crossing, presumably so the signalman can monitor the road traffic before closing the gates (or is it opening them?) Where there is both a crossing and a goods yard and complex pointwork, as on your layout, I'm not sure which would take precedence, and there are no doubt many exceptions as well.

Alan

Thanks. I suspected a Barry scrapyard connection, but didn't think it would be sufficiently notorious to have a wikipedia posting. It's an interesting connection. Thank you for taking the time to explain.

Alan

Hm, I may be confusing you with an actual Barry. May I ask, who are the Barry 10? Should I be campaigning for their release?

Or have they been scrapped?

Alan

I like that. I’m working my way through your blog, and I thought the grass around the barn was too orange before, and looked like late August to me. This is much fresher: late May or early June.

I’m enjoying the blog. I usually only read threads, but I looked this up because I liked your American thread and your involvement with Grantham.

Alan

A 40ft bridge? I'm glad you're modelling the Caley and not the North British.

Alan

Very nice work. There really is no comparison between handmade track and the commercial type. Is the rail code 86 bullhead? It looks lighter.

Alan

I see the hole is small, but do you need structural steel to support what's above it? You may not, but it would pay to be sure before the flats above being to subside. You've already had one half tone fall on the last layout....

Apart from that, it sounds and looks great.

Alan

That's a shame but probably not entirely unexpected. Probably better to know now than have a trip to court with the judge telling you that, in France, a train is for [yada, yada, yada]

Knowing the French over many years (but not too close up), I imagine there must be some rule somewhere that prohibits everything except what is expressly allowed on the principle: tout ce qui n'est pas autorise est defendu.

That of course is closely followed by the maxim: tout ce qui n'est pas interdit, est obligatoire. (I hope my grammar's right on those.)

It's an interesting idea. I'll be interested to hear how you get on. Will you try to get your local commune onside, or wait until one of your neighbours informs them what you are up to?

Alan

Thanks for that post - I'm considering the merits of both, and of Proto-Cab battery control, at the moment, so it's interesting to hear some balanced pros and cons.

I recently discovered your blog and am very much enjoying your lovely models.

Wenlock, if you'd like genuine pre-Edwardian steam sound, you could try the RPSI in Belfast - No 186 is nearly 140 years old, and plenty of clips of her on the internet. Converting the sounds to DCC might be more difficult though. I presume there are some similarly ancient preserved specimens lurking on the other island?

Best wishes and thanks,

Alan

I'm at about the same stage. I've done 4 straights but haven't sorted out soldering yet, and am plucking up my courage for pointwork. From what I've read, you need to remember your gauge widening, and you'll need 2 of the triangular gauges to do that, 2 points on the outside and single point on the inside, otherwise you get gauge narrowing. Iain Rice's "Approach to Finescale Track Building" is good for demystifying things. I got a copy from one of the specialist booksellers, I forget which.

I think to get the exact curve you'd need to tape the paper down with masking paper and make sure the board is completely steady relative to your centre point, 4 ft away.

Keep posting. I'll be interested to see how it works.

All the best,

Alan

Scalefour Society has templates for LNWR track in 30ft and 60ft lengths dated 1914. I don't know if that means they were laying both types at the time, or that those were the lengths in existence. I don't know what lengths other LMS constituents were using either. 45 ft lengths seem to have been fairly common in the 1900 to 1910 period and would likely still have been in use 20 to 30 years later. I hope that helps.

Alan