Jump to content
 

Focalplane

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,910

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Focalplane

  1. Focalplane

    Module 1 Ready

    By Focalplane,

    As noted yesterday, the lightweight frame needed more bracing to support the flexible polystyrene sheet. This support was added today, as well as bracing ready for joining Module 1 to Module 2. Two metal alignment dowels will be used as well as nuts and bolts.
     
    The three photos show the progress so far:
     
    1. Completed framework with additional strips to hold pre-existing structures in place:
     

     
    2. Polystyrene sheet added to frame (it was not cemented when I took the photo):
     

     
    3. Three structures added but not screwed down:
     

     
    Not much progress perhaps, but I am taking this slowly and deliberately. I might speed up the process when I tackle the remaining three modules.
     
    I have now heard that the OO-SF track gauge is on its way after a few weeks of waiting for stock to be replenished, so I could start on track building next week. Pete Llewellyn at C&L Finescale has been most helpful.
  2. Focalplane
    A progress report after two days. Module 1 is the first 3' x 2' baseboard which includes the station platform, goods shed and weigh bridge hut.
     
    I should mention here that the structures you will see on the photos were all made by Steve (steveNCB7754) and purchased last year when I first mentioned that I was looking at starting this project. Steve's models are superb and I hope I can do justice to them with the rest of the layout. (Steve, the station has been slightly disassembled on purpose, please don't panic!)
     
    As noted in the previous post, my baseboard design has the philosophy of light strength. So the materials are minimal but with a honeycomb approach that seems to be working out well. The frame consists of MDF base/skirting board material available here in France, strengthened with strips of 15x15 and 10x20 mm pine. On top of this is a 20mm thick sheet of polystyrene board used for insulation in the real world. This has sound deadening properties but is quite soft so has to be treated with care. It also needs plenty of support so additional supports will be added where necessary prior to gluing to the framework.
     
    The buildings were designed to sit in the layout, so openings in the polystyrene sheet have been cut and a sub-frame added to screw the buildings to. There will be interior lighting as part of the project, so the buildings will be removable.
     
    The copper clad flat bottom OO-SF track will be built in situ on a cork road bed. The design used Templot © and some of the photos below show the print out for this module. See earlier posts for more details on the track plan design.
     
    Well, enough writing, how about a few photos.
     
    The weather here has been warm and sunny, so the balcony/loggia has been my workshop. Here the basic frame takes shape:
     

     
    Meanwhile, the Templot prints were taped together and placed on the polystyrene sheet, together with the three structures. The Earl was added but is swamped by the height of the platform, yet to be sunk into the polystyrene.
     

     
    The structures need a sub-strate to be screwed into:
     

     
    Next the polystyrene sheet was cut so that the structures could be test fitted. The Earl looks a lot better for it!
     

     
    The view from the other end, looking toward where the buffer stops will be:
     

     
    And a bird's eye view:
     

     
    Unfortunately this photo shows some serious buckling in the paper template which won't be present in the final version!
     

     
    Tomorrow will see additional bracing added to the frame and then the polystyrene glued down.
  3. Focalplane

    Caprotti Update

    By Focalplane,

    It's been a couple of weeks but I have been working on the Caprotti Black 5. It's slowly coming together with a lot of fettling around the cylinders, motion, etc. No photos to show at present.
     
    Most of my activity has been on the Shipston Branch.
  4. Focalplane
    Quite a few hours later and the gas works is beginning to take shape. The smaller buildings are now missing, and the larger gas holder is just a cylinder, but the house, retort house and older gas holder have been advanced to include many of the details seen in the various photos and films. Think of this application of SketchUp as being a palette for painting a picture of something that no longer exists. Accurate scaling can come at a later date.
     
    The front view, as might have been seen from SteveNCB7754's bedroom window:
     

     
    And the view from the other side:
     

     
    Windows are still missing where I have no evidence to place them.
     
    The lattice girders for the older gas holder frame were fun to construct.
     
    Well, this project can be put aside for a while, I really need to get back to the Comet Caprotti kit building project.
  5. Focalplane
    All else has been set aside while I try to reconstruct the gas works, based upon available plans and photos and the excellent descriptions by SteveNCB7754. This is a rough start but the main buildings and gas holders are more or less in position. None of this is accurately scaled (or even estimated) as yet but the basics are provided by the air photo and the old ordnance survey map.
     

     
    There's a lot more to be done!
     
    Edit: changed view to perspective, now the gas holders look about right!
  6. Focalplane

    Copper Clad Sleepers

    By Focalplane,

    I've been busy cutting up copper clad strips for regular track sleepers this afternoon. A laborious, monotonous process. Which reminded me that back in the early 1970s the copper clad sleepers (we called them PCB sleepers back then, short for Printed Circuit Board) came already cut to size and gapped. Not these days. On the other hand the longer strips for turnouts were the same width as the regular track sleepers when they should be wider, 4mm vs 3.3mm. So there is give and take between then and now, I suppose.
     
    I have to admit that I don't remember PCB sleepers being all that expensive back then. But then copper prices have risen a bit!
     
    The irony of all this activity is that I can't start track building because I cannot get hold of the right OO-SF track gauge. C&L Finescale are out of stock for maybe 4 or 5 weeks.
  7. Focalplane
    Using a well known "on line air photo service" I have annotated the remaining vestiges of what made up the gas works and the coal yard:
     

     
    I think it should now be possible to scale off and build the gas works diorama as an add-on. Quite when this will happen is anyone's guess! One possibility, though, would be to "build" it in SketchUp.
  8. Focalplane
    Well, this is not the end, but it is certainly the beginning. Using Templot has been interesting, challenging, rewarding and at times frustrating. The latter is due to my being on the steepest part of the learning curve. I have not given up on the double slip, though the current design is actually more prototypical. The problem is, by sticking to OO-SF criteria, I have had to extend the basic area from 9'x2' to 10'x2' whether I use the double slip or not. This is not a space problem dictated by any particular room dimension, but rather one that defeats my hope to have the scenic layout on three 3'x2' boards. Now one of them will be 4'x2'.
     
    I have taken my Templot output and imported it into Illustrator in order to superimpose a rough outline of the various buildings (the actual models are not with me at the moment, in fact they are in France, which is where the layout will be constructed). Here it is:
     

     
    The curved entry is prototypical but greatly exaggerated. This will allow the "fiddle yard" to be connected after an additional scenic corner piece. This will also accommodate the headshunts on the "main" line and the siding. So the complete layout will be L shaped, probably 12'x6'.
     
    The track will most likely be built using Code 83 FB nickel silver rail soldered to copper-clad sleepers. The rails will come from old Shinohara track I bought in the 1980s. Strictly speaking the rails should be BH but here the question is not one of accuracy but expediency.
     
    The next step for this layout will start when I get back to France. The baseboard frames will be assembled, some Sundeala (or its French equivalent) will be applied and the print out of the track plan will be used to set out the sleepers.
     
    Meantime I might have a little side project - a scale plan of Stratford-on-Avon Old Town on Templot - which would keep me very busy!
     
    Edit: delete second attached file in last paragraph.
  9. Focalplane

    Templot on the Mac

    By Focalplane,

    Although I already have Peco track for Shipston, I am slowly but surely moving toward a better looking OO-SF look and design. Several years ago I used Templot for a while, working under a PC emulator on my Mac (I have been a Mac user since 1992), but the emulator was expensive to upgrade and really didn't seem to be that reliable. Templot fascinated me in that it appears to have a steep learning curve for those of us who have done a lot of CAD and vector based drawing on computers. This is because it has what could be called artificial intelligence based on the inherent design of points and switches. It controls the mouse rather than the other way round, might be one explanation for what it does. The ability to plot out accurate templates for building custom track is the end product.
     
    Which means that Templot and self made track would be a very good option for Shipston. Back in the 1970s I made quite a lot of track using bullhead rail and PCB sleepers. So I asked a few questions on the track laying forum and got some strange answers. The reason for this was that I had asked the question of where I could source "PCB sleepers". The answer was that they are not called that, they are "copper clad sleepers". Well, so they may be today, but all those years ago they were made of printed circuit board, which, of course, happens to be copper clad fiberglass. The PCB term continues to be used in North America to this day.
     
    So, where do we go from here, you might ask? I have a Mac, so how can I use Templot? Happily Martin Wynne came up with a solution which did not involve either me buying a Windows machine or him porting Templot over to OSX! I had never heard of WINE, WINEBOTTLER or CrossOver, but these are the inexpensive solutions for running some (not all) Windows software on a UNIX based operating system (Linux or OSX). I have downloaded a 14 day free trial from CrossOver and also have the updated Templot2. So far, so good, Templot runs very nicely under WINE. All I have to do now is climb the relatively steep learning curve and design the track layout in Templot. Retirement is proving to be a very busy time!
  10. Focalplane
    24 hours later and a new Templot arrangement is complete, following my studying up the instructions to build a single slip from a diamond crossing. But I have yet to fill in the details to make the double slip as the instructions suggest it is best to leave modifying the crossing until later. I have taken that suggestion to heart! But it does make sense not to plough straight into the difficult bits, honestly.
    So here is the new plan, utilizing a future double slip where the crossing is now:

    This now should allow the placement of both goods shed and cattle pens as well as providing space for the coal yard.
    I feel the plan could do with a bit of tweaking. Although the main line into the platform looks straight on the Ordnance Survey map, photos show a slight curvature beyond the end of the platform. Likewise the sidings appear to be quite rough in places, though whether I will model this aspect remains uncertain.
    But there is certainly progress being made.
  11. Focalplane
    Now, I am sure there are lots of improvements to be made and I think there may also be a few hidden errors, but I am beginning to understand Templot and have drawn up my initial interpretation of the branch line terminus layout.
     

     
    The branch line enters the station at upper left (the lower track is a headshunt) with the single station platform top right. The release loop has an end loading dock at the right hand end. The third track down passes through the goods shed and also serves the cattle loading dock. The bottom siding serves the coal merchants and gas company. The short spur to the left was to the small engine shed.
     
    The layout is 9ft by 2ft in three 3ft by 2ft boards. Plus a fiddle yard. As drawn there is not enough space for both cattle loading dock and goods shed, but there could be if the two turnouts circled in red were to be collapsed into a double slip. I know that double slips are not a feature of small, insignificant branch lines, but this has to be the one major concession I need to make.
     
    The problem is, I have yet to work out how to make a double slip in Templot!
     
    For some photos of the prototype:
     
    http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrss539.htm
     
    http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrss538.htm
     
    http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrss1002.htm
     
    http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrss950a.htm
     
    And an old survey map:
     
    http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrssmap.htm
  12. Focalplane
    While I still had some enthusiasm for the Caprotti (before falling ill with the virulent/vile/virus cold that managed to mar Christmas) I did manage to bend the cab roof into shape and fit it. I then cleared the workbench and took these photos and forgot about them:
     

     

  13. Focalplane
    The kit building starts today. I am choosing to build in the sequence suggested by the Comet instructions. The first phase starts with the running plate and this is as far as I got today.
     
    Generally I have had few problems, though folding up the initial large brass running plate etch was not so easy (see first post by Mallard60022 in this category for a comment on this aspect of the kit). Everything so far is brass, so relatively high melt solder has been the order of the day. Comet have a good philosophy of creating spaces where the solder will not show, as you will see.
     
    The basic running plate etch looks like this:
     

     
    After folding according to the instructions:
     

     
    Some tack soldering has been applied to the folded side plates:
     

     
    Very little solder can be seen from above:
     

     
    But below it is a different story. The bolt is for fixing the body to the frame. Those holes are where the solder goes:
     

     
    Turn it over and there is very little solder to be seen and much of that will be hidden anway:
     

     
    Meanwhile at the front end:
     

     
    Next etched top plates are soldered onto the stiffened running plate sides, giving detail and additional strength:
     

     

     
    One top side has been completely soldered:
     

     
    And now the other:
     

     
    The running plate sides have been filled with solder and filed smooth:
     

     
    Next front detailing including the buffer beam:
     

     
    The AWS plate will not be used and was cut off:
     

     
    Next the basic cab framework was folded up:
     

     
    And soldered, together with outer detailed etches:
     

     

     
    And that is it for December 20th.
     

     

     
    Keeping flat plates flat and right angles at 90º are the key aspects of the build so far. Following a few small additional details to be added, the instructions suggest that the basic frame be build next so that the two can be trial fitted together.
  14. Focalplane
    In an earlier post I discussed Arthur Jordan's definitive book on the S&MJR and showed a quick attempt at using the floor plan of Stratford Old Town Station for a SketchUp 3D model. Since then I have progressed slowly up the learning curve and have realized that I need to keep things simple for the time being. So, no interiors this time round.
     
    As well as Jordan's book, the good old reliable warickshirerailways.com site provides numerous photos of various vintages, including one or two in colour:
     
    http://warwickshirerailways.com/lms/smjsa174.htm
     
    The entire structure is long (except for part of the platform edge) so this is what I have to work with.
     
    First I loaded a scan of the floor plan into the xy plane of SketchUp and scaled it to match the dimension quoted:
     

     
    The progress so far is shown here:
     

     
    No canopy, no chimneys, no windows in place. In fact the details are largely lacking at the moment. But it has been rewarding to create a virtual station that no longer exists in reality.
  15. Focalplane
    At the end of the last post there were a couple of small details to be added, then the instructions suggested that I jump ahead and start to build the frame so that the running plate and frame could be tested for fit prior to installing the cylinder support, etc.
     
    I have built several Comet chassis, including the Royal Scot, so this should have been easy. But three constraints made the task longer and just a bit perplexing. But let's follow the progress:
     
    Here is the nickel silver fret and instructions:
     

     
    I have the Comet frame assembly jig and had purchased hornblocks so that the driving wheels could be sprung. But it soon became clear that this frame design precedes the Comet hornblock springing system (the instructions refer to third party options only). So I jettisoned the idea. The hornblocks will be used elsewhere.
     
    The frame assembly jig was attached to the parts after much broaching of the axle holes to fit the brass bushes:
     

     
    The jigged frame was then offered up to the running plate and a significant problem emerged:
     

     
    Part of the frames interfere with the front of the running plate - the offending area is highlighted with the craft knife:
     

     
    The instructions include a sketch which clearly shows this area of the frame sides to be correct, so I decided to carry on and then cut off the offending area later.
     
    I folded up and soldered the stretchers and began to fit them onto one side frame:
     

     
    I then re-attached the jig and completed the stretchers on both side frames. When I had finished and jockeyed some of the stretchers to be square and was satisfied the frame was true, I tried to remove the brass spacers of the assembly jig; one of them would not come out! It was surrounded by soldered stretchers. So I had to undo some of the stretchers and refit them after retrieving the jig.
     
    In all of this I forgot to take photos - no surprise really.
     
    But then the frame was complete (minus brakes, etc. which will be fitted later) and I marked up the front of the frame that had to be removed and cut it off with a razor saw. A good fit was obtained though the front stretcher did have to be moved to give a tight fit behind the buffer beam:
     

     

     
    It looks as though this is it before Christmas, but the model is in good shape for the return after the festivities. And my finger tips need a rest from holding hot brass. Stay tuned!
     
    Seasons Greetings to all!
  16. Focalplane
    When I am resident in the UK, this will be my "projet du jour". I have a reduced workbench made from a B&Q kitchen cabinet door complete with Dremel, Antex soldering iron and the basic tools to complete a kit, except for the painting thereof. That will be done later.
     
    I bought the Comet Ivatt Class Five Caprotti kit some time ago (the receipt says February 2014) but added all the necessary extras at the time for a total cost of £220. I subsequently bought the optional horn blocks so that the driving axles could be sprung.
     
    This first entry is all about "opening the box". Progress in the coming weeks will be slowed by Christmas activities, etc., but I intend to take my time anyway and detail the progress on this blog.
     
    First of all, here is the box sitting on my small work bench:
     

     
    The box itself came beautifully packed and will be useful for carry and storing the locomotive when it is completed.
     

     
    The contents come in numerous packages. I have laid the basic kit out here. The tender is on the right, the engine on the left:
     

     
    Next up, the additional pieces that I ordered to complete the model, at least up to the painting stage. These include motor, gearbox, wheels, pickup, horn blocks:
     

     
    And last but not least, the basic instructions. There are additional downloads from Comet that are invaluable, making for a comprehensive set of instructions. Also, individual packs within the box contain their own instructions.
     

     
    All in all a somewhat formidable set of parts, though there is one simplification that the early Caprotti design has - no outside gearing is visible as the rotary poppet drive was installed between the frames. My next post will consider the options that are available from the kit - several different variants are covered - and my selection of an individual locomotive.
  17. Focalplane
    Today I took advantage of B&Q's Senior Wednesday promotion and saved 10% on the purchase of the 4" x 1" nominal framework for the baseboards.
     
    Note I call this "lumber", a relict from my years in Houston, Texas. There is a common thought that the UK and the USA are two nations divided by a common language. This is a very real observation. After over 10 years in Europe I still think sheetrock (gypsum board), trunk (boot), and lumber (timber).
     
    Lumber in the UK seems to be better quality than that in France and the price may be better as well. My numerous visits to various "bricos" in France makes for an interesting observation: some things should be bought in France, some things should be bought in the UK. For example, UK paints are generally better than French paints, but French paint brushes are for the trash can (oops, US English there!). Then again, French box cutters, as they are now known, resist the employment of safety screws that, quite honestly, have ruined those I bought in the UK to the point that I bought one in France specifically to use in the UK. The French have a better understanding of "common sense".
     
    OK, let's move on. The framework has been cut using my radial saw ready to be exported to France for future assembly for the Shipston Branch layout. While this is still a few months away, this is still some back room progress. As my previous generation would say. "patience is a virtue"!
  18. Focalplane
    Stratford has wisely invested its tourist wealth to include many facilities that benefit locals as well as tourists, and at this time of year, on a gloomy Sunday morning, a surprising number of people were out and about along the river side, walking or cycling the Greenway, even kayaking over the weir by Holy Trinity Church. We had chosen a three mile walk from the Greenway carpark to the town, visiting the Tramway Bridge, then taking the Tramway Walk south, then back to the starting point for hot chocolates in a BR Mark I coach converted into a café.
     
    The route takes in bits of both the Stratford and Midland Joint Railway (S&MJR) and the Stratford and Moreton Tramway (S&MT).
     
    The car park at the northern end of the Greenway explains the history of the immediate area, which was the junction and crossing point for the GWR and S&MJR routes. An excellent map is included which over the years has amazing escaped any graffiti!
     

     
    This includes a surprisingly detailed map of the Stratford Old Town station and shed complex, the subject of my previous posting. No need to design the layout from scratch, it is here!
     
    The Greenway follows about 4 miles of the old GWR trackbed from Stratford to Cheltenham, part of which has been preserved at the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway. In theory the G&WR could claim back the track from their current target of Broadway all the way to Stratford. All it needs is money and a lot of courage to face off Sustrans who have taken over the Greenway for walkers and cyclists. Instead of following the GWR we headed east on the trackbed of a 1960s connection from the East to the South. This was for a short lived boom in iron ore shipments from Northamptonshire to South Wales and was the last gasp for the S&MJR.
     
    The first evidence of the S&MJR comes as a short piece of track and a buffer stop:
     

     

     
    This is a sort of memorial to the fact that the Stratford Relief Road (it is not exactly a true bypass) uses the old S&MJR land and is roughly located where the engine shed (21D) used to be.
     
    Further evidence of the Stratford Old Town station is visible on the north side of the road where the Up Platform edge remains, almost hidden in the undergrowth. You can see it in the first of the two buffer stop photos.
     
    The path next arrives at the River Avon where the S&MJR railway bridge was re-used as the foundation for the Relief Road:
     

     

     
    The parts retained are clearly visible as the foundations for the newer concrete arches. This is a wonderful example of how even impecunious Victorian railway companies could build structures that have lasted the test of time.
     
    We next joined the many throngs out for a pre-lunch Sunday walk along the riverside park until we reached the Tramway Bridge:
     

     
    This photo was taken from the town side of the river, so the original tramway would have started on the left and then crossed the river, heading for Moreton (and the branch to Shipston).
     
    Nearby there is the preserved wagon and piece of track from the S&MT:
     

     

     

     
    Included is a fine memorial to William James, the entrepreneur who had the vision of building a steam railway from Stratford Canal Wharf to Oxford. This forward thinking man was not able to convince the establishment that his steam railway would be safe, so it ended up being horse drawn and he in debtor's prison.
     
    A cartoon of the Tramway is also at this site:
     

     
    The map shows not only the principal wharfs served (platforms were not called that at the time) but also the part that later became the Moreton to Shipston steam light railway.
     
    We recrossed the Tramway Bridge and walked along the preserved embankment down towards the original crossing of the Tramway over the S&MJR.
     

     
    This location is now a roundabout with very little evidence of the bridges that once existed. And so, back to the Greenway for hot chocolate!
  19. Focalplane

    Baseboard Joins

    By Focalplane,

    One of the negatives about portable layouts is the fact that they come in separate boards which must be joined and unjoined from time to time. Damage to the ends of the boards is easy to do during transportation as well, so this problem is both practical and aesthetic.
     
    Legge Lane consists of two small baseboards, 93 cm by 40 cm. They easily fit into the boot of my car so have been transported between France and England and are due to be taken back to France later this year. While in England I have been trying various things out as well as rebuilding the turntable. This is a report on my experiments with the baseboard join.
     
    The framework of the baseboards is built from very stable hard wood (a light colored wood from Thailand that is often used for furniture making and was part of a futon bought in Texas that became surplus to requirements a few years ago. The two boards bolt together and become "as one" with virtually no problems registering the track across the "gap". I originally laid the Peco code 75 track across the join and then cut the rails with my Dremel. But now the track on the turntable side has been removed, leaving me with the following scene:
     

     
    The photo shows the join and the beginnings of some scenic tests with black "cinders". But I have also had the idea of masking the join with a sleeper-built crossing aligned next to the edge of one board. The sleepers come from a bag of sugar pine HO sleepers I bought in Canada a few years ago.
     
    The next photo shows a vertical bird's eye view of the join:
     

     
    This shows my approach to tying down the ends of the rails as they are extremely vulnerable during transportation. This is accomplished by drilling 2mm holes deep into the baseboard and frame below and gluing a length of 2mm copper rod I just happen have had had in my modeling junk box for about 50 years! The top of the rod is then trimmed to be the right height to touch the nickel silver rails. Careful application of flux and solder and the track is bonded to the baseboard.
     
    While I was doing this I also started to add sleepers for the boardwalk:
     

     

     
    The gap is still visible from one side, but effectively masked when looked at from the other side. The most important result is that the eye is taken away from the gap and focuses on the boards.
     
    I then started on track laying on the first engine shed road. This shows how the tracks are pinned down. The next photo shows two copper rods inserted into the baseboard and trimmed to the correct height. The rod used is also shown.
     

     
    Next the track between edge and turntable was trimmed to fit and pinned down before the two copper anchors were soldered to the rails:
     

     
    By this time I had also painted some of the sleepers. The complete engine shed road is now in place and that is as far as I got this weekend:
     

     
    (A couple of comments. The cinders are medium size from Woodland Scenics. I think fine size would be much better. It looks more like coal than cinders at the moment. I will also mix some regular dark ballast in with the cinders and make the ground surface a lot less uniform. Also, when I tested a locomotive on the turntable I found one of the springs connecting the supply to the bridge rails was stuck and therefore not making contact with the rail above.)
  20. Focalplane
    Without intending to do so, my research into how the GWR might have made an agreement with the LMS to connect Shipston to the Stratford and Midland Joint Railway cross country line has raised some interesting issues.
     
    These don't relate to the Shipston Branch as such, but do have some bearing on my fictitious parallel project, the Legge Lane MPD. This is based on a small MPD "somewhere in the Midlands" with a strong LMS flavor but set in the BR era. Many of the locos I have purchased or will purchase for the Legge Lane project would have visited the SMJR, even if only occasionally. This is because, as the "Shakespeare Route" there would have been excursions as well as a freight service that employed many of my RTR locos. I have slowly accumulated photographic evidence that the following BR(M) classes were employed on freight trains during the BR era:
     
    Midland 3F, Midland 4F, WD 2-8-0, LMS 8F, LMS 4MT (43xxx), LNWR G2A, Standard 9F, Standard 4MT, LMS Black 5
     
    In addition, Western locos were also employed, including Halls, 43XX, 2251, etc., even a Dukedog on SLS specials.
     
    And it might not be a stretch to allow visitors of much greater renown, for example a Jubilee or a Patriot, on a Shakespeare Birthday special.
     
    To a large degree, this is the joy of designing a layout around an anachronism which joined lines operated by different companies (or regions under BR). Almost anything could have happened, and probably did.
     
    To offer evidence for this, the turntable at Stratford was replaced with a larger one in order to accommodate Great Central Atlantics in the days when Edwardians liked to visit Stratford.
     
    Perhaps Legge Lane could be transformed into Stratford upon Avon 21D at some time in the future?
     
    http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1565-the-legge-lane-mpd-blog/
  21. Focalplane

    The Warley Show

    By Focalplane,

    For the first time since being back in modeling I find myself with a ticket for the Warley Show, 10 days from now. I have usually been working in Africa during the past few years but this year I am not, so Birmingham NEC here I come! I have been told that the show is very crowded, but with so many opportunities to meet vendors, see demonstrations and (probably) spend money, the crowds hopefully won't put me off.
     
    So I have been making a list of traders I want to visit and hope that they may have the bits and bobs I am looking for. The list makes for interesting reading. Well, it may or may not be interesting, simply consider it as a typical needs list:
     
    Brassmasters E44
    Fowler tender rails x 4
    Alan Gibson E46
    Sprung plunger pickups - 2 packs of 10
    Coach wheels for GWR long clerestory
    C & L Finescale A35
    Doweling for baseboards x 8
    Flux
    Dart Castings E31
    Coach gangways for clerestory GWR?
    Sylmasta A 49
    Razor saw
    Micromesh?
    Plastic angle for TT bridge, 1.5 x 1.5 mm
    Swann-Morton D 08
    Scalpel blades
    Keen Systems C18
    Close coupling coaches?
    Corridor connectors?
    Mercian Models E35
    Model railway baseboards D11
    Southwest Digital A08
    ESU products
    Sunningwell A24
    TSC decoders
     
    Inevitably there will be items that are not on the list that will suddenly become "most wanted".
  22. Focalplane
    The prototype for the Peco Kit is the Cowans Sheldon 70ft preserved turntable at Yeovil Junction. The Yeovil turntable is Grade II listed:
     
    http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1392981
     
    Photos of the Yeovil turntable do reveal a common ancestry but Peco simplified the design of their kit.
     
    Research into Cowans Sheldon turntables demonstrates a wide variation of detail with the same basic design being sold with manual, electric or vacuum drive. When it comes to painting, the Yeovil example is probably a good "go by".
     
    With regards to the electric drive, I am interested to know how the electric cable would be connected to the rotating bridge. One system would be to have connections near the hub of rotation, possibly as concentric wiper contacts. But flooding of the turntable well would be seen as a potential problem. This question is largely academic as examples of working electric drive turntables do not show any cabling - it must be hidden.
  23. Focalplane
    More research while I am away from home for the week and I have finally identified the best option for a Dukedog that might have served the Stratford-Shipston branch. I had previously decided on 3203 as there is a period photo of this loco at Tyseley on warwickshirerailways.com. But more Internet research using the GWR.org.uk site has done better. 3207 was first allocated to Tyseley's sub-shed Stratford upon Avon. Perfect.
     
    The next batch of Bachmann Dukedogs is due next year and I have pre-ordered one in GWR shirt button livery.
     
    I have also given some thought to how the GWR would have overcome the problem of running steam locos alongside the main road south of Stratford. It would have made sense to create a junction at Ettington station with the line then following the Fosse Way south towards Ilmington. A typical winding, follow the contours, branch line. None of this will be modeled but it is important to know that the would be's make some sense.
  24. Focalplane

    LMS 6235 goes DCC

    By Focalplane,

    6235 is getting all the attention these days. I decided to look under the "bath tub" casing this afternoon and found that drilling out the rear chimney is not on. But it appeared that hard wiring a DCC chip would be straightforward. So that's what I did. Incidentally, if I had had a sound chip and speaker I am sure this would easily fit in the locomotive shell, right where it should be. Tenders don't chuff and whistle!
     
    The chassis is grounded to one side of the loco's pickup, but the good news is that the motor is already insulated and the motion is isolated from the chassis. I decided to photograph the relatively easy installation, which after testing for potential grounding problems took about 30 minutes.
     
    The first photo shows the as-is wiring for DC:
     

     
    The various components are shown. I cannibalized a TCS M1 decoder from another kit.
     

     
    Next I removed the capacitor and unsoldered the wiring. It was important at this stage to make sure the tender wires were not mixed up with the loco wires as that would create a short:
     

     
    Next I soldered the pickup wires (red and black to the decoder) and shrink wrapped the joins.
     

     
    I then soldered the motor wires (grey and orange to the decoder) and shrink wrapped the joins.
     
    I decided to mount the decoder in front of the worm gear, this is where a speaker enclosure should fit, in which case the decoder might go at the very front of the casing. The photo shows it inside shrink wrap but in the end I simply glued a piece of the rubber to the chassis and then mounted the chip with blue tack.
     

     
    It is useful to test the installation at this stage, before replacing the casing.
     

     
    As a new decoder, the loco started under loco setting 03 and worked very nicely, though the step up from 1 to 2 of 28 was quite abrupt, this no doubt due to the size of the driving wheels and Hornby's sales force's attitude to thrill small boys with high speeds around radius 2 curves! Altering the CVs will make for a much smoother operation.
  25. Focalplane
    As noted in my previous post the fret of lamp brackets is truly beyond my capabilities. A decent desk light from Maplins helped to prove this as I could actually see that it wasn't going to work out to my satisfaction. The lamp brackets on the Dean Goods require an L shaped piece of brass which is then bent twice, one on each limb, to create the required shape. The fitting is then glued with CA to the front of the buffer beam. Well, this is the theory. In practice I simply could not get it to work. So, sadly, I have given up. Lamp brackets are important add ons, though, so something will have to be done. Maybe, as noted in the last post, I can simply use some 0.7 or 0.5 mm wire. This will require drilling a hole for each bracket into the front of the buffer beam, then adding a simple 90º bent piece of wire. One bend instead of three should be simpler! And the one hole can always be filled in if it doesn't work. Enough for this evening, try again tomorrow!
×
×
  • Create New...