Focalplane

You'd still be a long way off Llanfair P G! To think I used to be able to say that in full when a lot younger! Paul

Simon It will be interesting to see how we progress. I'll be in Warren's area of Wales in July so plan to visit and meet the guy "at home". Does Atb mean All the Best? I can't keep up with all these acronyms! Best wishes, Paul PS Your latest Duchess Princess Coronation video is great!

Toddington is our nearest heritage station/shed and I have to admit that I often visit but never ride these days. That may partly be because the last time I rode on the line was 12 years ago, doing my fire and drive and that was a very special trip, impossible to be repeated. I do like the SVR and the WSR though - long journeys and good, varied scenery. The most we've done on the Llangollen line is to have hot chocolates and Bara Brith at Carrog station. But one day we will take the train though as Larry says the motive power at the moment is not very exciting. Foxcote Manor went AWOL before I knew it! Paul

The Churchward mogul, or class 43XX/93XX, was the work horse of the Ruabon Barmouth line until the Midland Region took over with their Ivatts and Standards. I like (and own) an Ivatt mogul partly because they were also numerous around Oswestry, my trainspotting base, but no Standards will grace Penmaenpool, even though there are many many photos of the 75XXX class (end of steam pilgrimages being the reason). Their big cousins, the Manors, were also used to haul the heavier trains, but the performance of the moguls on the old Cambrian system is legendary. Two Churchward moguls would be appropriate for Penmaenpool and my original plan was to order a Heljan Mogul but there is no firm date for their release. I am keeping my order going for the time being but a new plan has emerged. Warren Shephard's kit covers all the variants and comes recommended. I have been in contact with Warren and my main question is concerned with rolling the boiler and smokebox as Warren supplies the etches flat. Warren posted a short video on the subject and has also explained that the brass is "half hard" and does not need annealing before rolling. The video can be found here. So my plan is to buy the kit at the beginning of June. The next step is to go through all the photos of moguls on the line, particularly the date the photo was taken, then focus on which locos were likely to work through Penmaenpool in the period 1956-59. Paul

This evening I completed all the modular uprights and managed to use the last four planks of "good wood" to set up the beginnings of the fourth wall framework. This includes two special uprights either side of the entry door to support a hinged flap. Although I am currently agile enough it is very probable that I won't also be so, hence the hinge flap design now rather than later. Originally I had planned to have the scissor crossing on the flap but this is no longer necessary so it will be positioned to one side of the doorway. The added stability should be a bonus. I have also been researching an alternative to the Heljan 43XX and this is discussed (or will be) on my workbench thread. Paul Edi to add: Her Upstairs got me off track with some IKEA purchase and I managed to delete a long text on the 43XX subject. I'll try to replicate it tomorrow morning so hang in there! Bon Nuit!

Good to have you back on line, Andy! As to movies, well, the room was a cinema and it is in France so filming should be de rigeur! (I grew up on French movies - before I was 12 I went, with my parents, to see Brigitte Bardot in an "A" movie at a cinema on Birmingham's infamous Broad Street, so let me think about this one!) More progress today in between those "honey do's". Paul

I have ordered two more goods vehicles, this time from Minerva - the Iron Mink and the Gunpowder Van, both in BR livery. The latter is a natural for Mid-Wales, given the number of stone (rather than slate) quarries that existed in the area. The nearest was at Arthog and is a most interesting place to visit - our daughter in law swam across the "lake" which is only accessible by an old tramway tunnel. The nearest gunpowder factory was Cookes at Penrhyndeudreuth (near Porthmadog) and they supplied most of the explosives needed in both the slate and stone workings in and around the old Cambrian system. I remember a line of steel vans in the siding at Penrhyn and being told that they were for transporting explosives - that would have been around 1957. No photos of the ongoing L-Girder construction, once I have the materials the progress can be quite alarming, the third side of the room is almost complete with cross members in place. Paul

I am not going to do more work on the track, I just wanted to get back in the groove before starting more woodwork. This afternoon I acquired more L girder timber and have started on the third side of the room. This will be where the platforms will go on the scenic model and the Dolgelley fiddle yard with turntable in front and below. The plan is complete the framework on all four walls, including the lift bridge across the doorway, then lay the hidden tracks and test everything before adding the upper deck scenic boards. Her Upstairs made a rare visit yesterday and commented that this was obviously a long term project! She also noted, and I agreed, that she really shouldn't try to tidy things up as I might never find anything again. Leroy Merlin had only 6 lengths of quality timber when I need 12, so another wait before I have all the material to complete the framework. Paul

If I provided this link before I apologize, but it shows the goods shed, cattle pens and weigh bridge as modelled in their Shipston setting: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1581/entry-16070-status-report-before-a-hiatus/ Access to the goods yard was by gates at the end of the yard. The space between coal siding and the goods shed was actually wider than modelled. There was no room to model the gas works. Sadly. Paul

There is another reason for not moving the pens! Shipston represents one of the oldest branch line termini in the country and its layout does make a lot of sense, serving a small country town with a range of goods services including cattle, sheep, horses, lumber, coal and general goods. There was also an end loading dock. The country's "smallest" gas works was also located next to the yard and coal was offloaded over the gas works yard wall from wagons in the coal siding. In the reconstruction below the coal siding ran along the wall to the right. The gas works managers house still stands but everything else is long gone. Yes, I know Carrog never had a gas works! Paul

More track bed additions and track that has been placed but not glued. In this view the track going toward the double slip if from the Dolgelley fiddle yard. The distant right track goes to the Barmouth fiddle yard. Looking from the other side of the double slip, the nearest track comes from the Barmouth fiddle yard and trains to Penmaenpool would go across to where the autotrain is standing. I have been playing with the two Tortoises that will power the double slip. At first I thought the clearance is not there but then I remembered that the point motors can be offset. I now need longer piano wires as the ones I am using have been trimmed already. I seem to remember that thicker wire is recommended for Gauge O so maybe it is just as well. At Coachmann’s suggestion I have contacted Youchoos and will order a Zimo sound decoder for the 14XX. By the way, I have not yet had the chance to mention this here, I acquired Larry’s Minerva pannier and it is a beauty. The Youchoos sound file is actually from a Hall, but it goes very nicely with the 8750 class. The 8750 is a Croes Newydd loco so is perfect for Penmaenpool and could have been loaned to the sub-shed while the regular loco was in works. I now have four tank engines so it is time for some more tender engines to join the party. I may kit build a 43XX next. Paul

My first soldered track layout used wire in tube switches and I liked the result. I just happen to have some Tortoises so wiring is the name of my game at the moment. I may use a manual system in the fiddle yards though. The new goods yard plan makes good sense, Shipston had lots of room for vehicular access though photos rarely show any vehicles in the yard! Paul

I do find the Peco instructions a bit confusing, possibly because they expect you to use their point motors and microswitches, etc. Last evening I struggled to understand the wiring of their Gauge O double slip and then realized that they had omitted the all important track feeds on the diagram. Paul

Now back in the railway room and the first priority has been to lay some cork on the hidden tracks that will pass under Penmaenpool station. The most important part is a double slip that allows trains to be sent to either fiddle yard and also to surreptitiously send a loco or entire train from one fiddle yard to the other without being seen. There is also a loop at the back, currently a shelf for storing tools, that bypasses the double slip. This will allow continuous running around the room without passing through the station. This latter loop is a luxury but will be useful for storing a complete train, or trains, out of sight. Here is the beginning of the track laying, though no track will be glued down for some time to come: I am using the Dapol autocoach as the test vehicle. The layout of the double slip seems a little odd but the skewed appearance is necessary for lining up the tracks between the eventual supports for the scenic baseboard above. Paul

I have tried to take the journey before, when living near Béziers, but at the time the bridge was closed "for repairs". I drove by several times during the "closed for repairs" period and saw no activity. The problem is that the line is often closed due to permanent way work and buses are substituted. If the word "autocar" features in the timetable, this means that some of the journey will be by bus. So do check to avoid disappointment. Paul

Nothing to do with Penmaenpool except that we visited the Viaduc de Gabarit on the way back to the railway room with house attached. Here is my post on the Sud de France thread. Paul

Another day, another bridge, though this one has been featured before. The Viaduc de Gabarit is located on the Clermont Ferrand - Béziers single track line that now has a very limited service, largely due to the construction of Autoroute A75 which includes another iconic bridge, the impressive Viaduc de Millau. That the line remains open at all is largely due to the Viaduc de Gabarit, Gustav Eiffel's second most famous project but in many ways a much more useful structure compared to the Paris landmark. The line reaches an altitude of around 1,000 meters in the vicinity of the viaduct and winds its way down south toward Millau. The obstacle is an incised river, La Truyère which has been damned to form a huge reservoir. The viaduct was started in 1880 and completed in 1884 and consists of cast iron, painted a red oxide colour, sitting on piers of locally quarried granite. The viaduct is visible from a rest stop on A75 but on this journey we decided to make a detour down to the reservoir and stretch our legs, taking photos as we walked. There is plenty of parking and several hotels with restaurants: This is my favourite photo of the visit, taken from the west side of the bridge on the road toward the south. Even the sun tried to shine on an otherwise cloudy afternoon: Classic Eiffel engineering: The huge main piers: Another view of the bridge, taken from the road bridge just above lake level:

Andy How much inside detail did you expect? I think a load of dirt and rust would be enough, unless of course they were earning their keep with a load of coal, stone or "minerals". My 2 cents, that's all! Paul

Andy I feel your pain regarding uploads/downloads. I have decided to close my Flickr account and so began to download 5,500 images. Flickr allows up to 500 images per zip file and these could be as large as 2.6 GB. Well, that ought to be fine with ADSL, but I found the larger files would "time out" every five minutes. Searches suggested it was my ISP's limitations or Flickr being too busy (they are being taken over by an outfit called Smugsmug, the name being enough to put me off completely). I finally downloaded the last file this afternoon after 2 days of downloading. As I get older the internet seems to get slower and more complicated. Or is it me? No, not me, of course! Paul

This time next week I should be back working on the baseboard framework. I now have all the 50 x 50 mm timber for the legs to complete the framework but still need a few lengths of local timber for the L Girders. Hopefully Leroy Merlin will have some fresh stock. Having a break from the layout has reminded me of a few items I might have overlooked, one being the super-elevation on the 6 ft radius curves in each corner of the room. The lean into the curves will be gradual even though the transition curves will be minimal. I am hoping that the effect will suggest that the missing transition curve is actually there. I plan to create the super-elevation using the upright supports but with some sanding down of the 3/16" cork underlay as appropriate. There has been some chatting on RMWeb about 7mm point rodding etc., and I agree with those who say that a model without it just doesn't look right. The question then needs to asked, how much detail is really necessary? I like Modelu's 3D printed stools a lot, particularly if used with square rodding (as seen in period photos of Penmaenpool) but still need a good source of all the cranks, pulleys and so on. Wills 4mm components are too large for OO gauge layouts but also too small for 7mm, so, although I have some packs I won't be using them. One of the aspects of the track infrastructure that really needs attention is the grease stains on the ballast associated with keeping all the moving parts in working condition. Likewise where steam locos come to rest there should be evidence of that fact! I have a good example from Bishops Lydiard on the West Somerset Railway but cannot locate the photo at the moment. Paul Edit to add the photo:

George I really like Jim McGeown's kits, having made the two LM locos and two guards vans. Sadly his range doesn't include any more locos that I would use. They were my first 7mm kits and were the perfect introduction. I would recommend that certain white metal castings be replaced with brass castings though. Jim's instructions are also second to none. And he rolls the boilers! Best wishes, Paul

Andy The rodding may not be all that it could be, but I think that when the ballast is added and appropriate grease stains are applied to the ballast you are going to have a very good representation. It is scary to realize that the rodding stools should be spaced approximately every fourth sleeper. My longest distance at Penmaenpool is from the signal box to the engine shed which will be about 3 meters for two rods (there is a catch point as well but that would be operated in conjunction with the point from the main line. George T's photos from last weekend on the NYMR are a great help as well (Thanks, George) but I would imagine the system there is not going to be exactly the same as the GWR designs as seen between Ruabon and Barmouth. This is where your non-prototype Rule 1 model has an easier ride than my as near as possible prototype model. For example, I have looked at the Skytrex offerings on line and at shows and not one comes close to what was built at Penmaenpool, which is a pity. As to the lighting, I just passed my 4mm scale platform lamps on to Larry. I will be using other 4mm scale lamps for inside lighting so I will be following your search for 7mm scale platform lamps with interest. The idea of having night time scenery in a dark (ex-home cinema) room is likely to be a challenge! Best wishes, Paul

Andy When you next relax have a look at warwickshirerailways.com there is a good description of Shipston’s goods yard there which can be applied to your layout. Paul

Looking good! Are you going to keep the existing track inside the goods shed? Paul

It was the wind that worried me about an outdoor garden layout in southern France. The French name their winds and our region has two, the NW one being the stronger with the possibility of a week of high wind at 60 mph. But then came the house with the home cinema! There is a prototype though, coming down to Denver from the Moffatt Tunnel there are weighted box cars planted on the side of the track to provide a shield. Paul