Warspite

Dave I've only just caught up with this. What a great find, especially for those of us fascinated by the East Midlands ironstone workings. Thanks for the link. Stephen

Thanks Chris. Regards Stephen

Chris Have you any thoughts on where to source suitable 'modern' brakes? I also want to replace the brakes with more modern ones and move the sandboxes and sandpipes to the front of my K class. Stephen

Chris That is very nice. The close-up of the inside of the cab looks especially convincing. Are you sure it's not the real thing ... Really looking forward to my blue black red DCC sound fitted MW. Stephen

Chaz Have to agree with everything Simon has said. I picked up this thread mid way through 2012 and really enjoyed seeing the layout develop over the years. I've been fortunate to see Dock Green a couple of times and it is a superb layout that positively exudes atmosphere and captures the time and place. I'll be sad to see it go. Stephen

Neil That really is a beauty. I changed my order from blue to black. Wish I'd chosen the red one now! Stephen

Steve Good to see you back on here. The layout is looking great ... can't beat China Clay in O gauge. Even Mrs Warspite agreed! Take care Stephen

Hi Giles If it's not Oxford, what is the origin of this beautiful Morris model J van. Would love to get hold of one. Looking forward to seeing it in action. Stephen

Hi Barnaby It's good to take a break from the layout building occasionally and the hut looks like a very nice kit. Enjoy it ... then get back to the layout! Stephen

Hi Richard Thanks for the information about the R/C work on your 0-6-0T. I do like the idea of constant charging when the loco is left standing. If charging is done in this way, presumably there is no requirement for a charging socket or have I missed something obvious? Stephen

Thanks guys. Don't worry about wandering off topic, after all, I raised the issue of R/C. I'll look back at the articles in the Gazette but, as I said to Chris K, my main concern would be the size of the components in very small locomotives, albeit 7mm scale. Stephen

Chris I thought I'd read on here about your Photocab fiited Minerva Pannier. My doubt would be trying to fit receiver, battery, decoder, speaker etc. in something like my Manning Wardle H class which, as you well know, is somewhat smaller than a 57XX. Not much space in there! I know Paul Chetter had lots of 'fun' fitting Zimo decoder, speaker, smoke unit and Stay-Alive in such a small loco although the last item wouldn't be needed with the Photocab. Stephen

Hi Barnaby Thanks for your suggestion. I do like the geometry of the curved turnouts but they're rather big, 513mm long compared with 382mm for a Y turnout, a difference of 131mm or over 5”. I did try putting one into the plan but to keep the length of the shed and coal stage sidings, I needed to skew the layout slightly and also shorten the top hidden siding. I’m not sure many ironstone quarries had curved turnouts in their yards although there looks like a gentle curved one at Cranford. I’ve seen Y points in some of the photos, for instance there was a very short one in the yard at Blisworth. On a more practical note, I already have a number of Y turnouts from the old layout and the Setrack RH turnout I acquired some months ago so I’ll probably run with my revised plan and see how it looks ‘on the ground’. Stephen

Chris From all the quarry yard photos I’ve looked at, the track is barely visible due to all the ‘gunk’. Where it can be seen, it looks like chaired bullhead, as you would expect, although there is some spiked track and even some with concrete sleepers! The photo below shows a section of track I salvaged from the old layout with the rather run-down look I tried to create which I want to repeat in the new layout. I guess it’s about finding the balance between authentic grungy track and smooth running although ‘Stay-alive’ on my locos (Ixion/Minerva, of course!) certainly helps. However, just think what we could do if the locos were radio-controlled … ! Stephen

Thanks David. What you've said makes perfect sense. In the past I’ve told myself ‘less is more’ and obviously got carried away this time! I've also found that some of the ironstone quarries used fairly short turnouts as both space and cost were factors in their own track design so the Y points seem to work on both counts. Stephen

Simon I'm using Peco 124 bullhead track with Y turnouts. The turnout to the crushing plant is a Setrack one I got some time ago to try in an industrial setting and the exit angle suits that location. As the plant is disused, the track will be overgrown and I won't necessarily use the curved part. I don't mind the geometry of the Peco Y points as it is an industrial yard and they are reasonably space saving. Yes, I know I should be building my own track. I've been toying with the thought ever since I got into 7mm but I just don't have the confidence (or the skill) to attempt it. Every time I go to Telford, I hang round the C&L stand and look at 'Kit in a Bag' and other bits and then walk away shaking my head. One day perhaps ... Most of the weighbridges in the quarry yards had gauntlet tracks and I was tempted to show that in the track plan. I just need to have a go at putting one in using Peco components ... unless I try a short section of C&L track. No, let's not go there! Thanks for your advice. Stephen

Due to lots of other distractions, progress on the new layout has been very slow. However, since my last post, I have taken the opportunity to think again about the track plan. This was the plan I had originally developed, combining some of the elements from ironstone quarry yards I had researched. Although this plan ticked most of the boxes, my main concern was that it looked too busy and cluttered. Ironstone quarry yards were generally (though not always) simple affairs and I had perhaps fallen into the trap of putting in too much track in too small a space. I decided therefore to go back to basics and work out what sort of yard the ironstone company would have built with working quarries on both sides of the yard and a separate line to the exchange sidings. All loads between the west quarries and the exchange sidings would have passed over the ‘weighbridge track’ and this would have been the 'main' line before the quarries were opened on the east side. The track plan should reflect this as the ironstone company would not necessarily make major modifications to the layout. I’m still undecided about the redundant crushing plant but if I include this, it should be linked to the opening of the new lines to the east quarries. The revised layout is shown below. I want to limit the ‘straight lines’ of the layout (difficult in a 4:1 rectangular space), but as I’m using three link couplings, I need to balance that with the difficulty of uncoupling on a curve. One other advantage of the revised plan is that the hidden sidings are closer to the operating side of the layout. Again, any thoughts, ideas or improvements would be really appreciated! Stephen

Hi Barnaby Great to see some good progress, despite the 'real world stuff' getting in the way. My own distinct lack of progress is because the real world stuff won't go away! The baseboard looks very good. Stephen

Chris and Chris Fully understand the position which is beyond your control. I can only speak for myself but I'm more than happy to wait for what should be a cracking little loco. Stephen

Hi Barnaby Good to see that you've got the 'mojo' back. Health issues aside, something like a house project can take a lot of time and effort and the model railway takes a back seat ... as I quickly discovered! Looking forward to seeing progress on the yard when you get the plasticene working! Best wishes Stephen

Giles One word. Stunning! Stephen

Hi Barnaby I will be using Newplast on the new layout. It seems to last well, is very easy to work with and you can paint it straightaway without any treatment. It is a non-drying product but for me, this is one of its advantages as it does give you a lot of flexibility. In time, it will harden and become a little brittle but this has never caused me a problem. I would suggest trying some on a small area and see how you get on. I've found another photo from the old layout showing the ground cover (in progress at the back). The grass banks, footpath, road and track 'gunge' were all created with the plasticene, painted and then covered with various textures. Hope this helps. Stephen

Chris Thanks for this. That's very helpful. By the way, did you surface-mount the servos or place them underneath the baseboard? Stephen

Thanks Simon When I did the 'on-the-ground' research back in 2016, it was fascinating to see how nature had taken over with no trace of the old quarry workings and incline. Even some of the locals I spoke to didn't know of the existence of the old ironstone workings. The steepness of my 'altered reality' line to the exchange sidings on the ex-LNWR line gives me the justification to use more powerful industrial locomotives than would normally be the case with a relatively small quarry. As if I need an excuse anyway ... Stephen

Me too! The 'Erebus' book that is, not the 16mm Hunslet! Looks a fascinating read (only looked at the photos so far ...). And, Happy Christmas to everybody on here. Stephen