Focalplane

Hi Steve

The problem, as I now see it regarding the gas works, is the width of the goods yard.  The station itself will fit on a 2 foot wide board in 4mm scale, but not the gas works.  I have thought that the latter could be built on a separate stand alone board which could be attached to the side of the running layout.  The original space I had planned on using would have allowed this.

If the gas works side of the plan were to be against a wall or, better still, against an alcove on one side of an old fireplace, then the plan could be turned around with the back of the station building in front of the layout and the gas works in the alcove.  I don't have this opportunity at the moment.

My plan is to build the baseboards and then set out the current plan and see how it looks with the buildings in place.  We do have a strange situation here, where the layout follows the buildings rather than the other way round.  As the current plan shows, the main buildings do straddle the baseboard joints but your 1/2" bases will sit nicely within cutouts in the Sundeala.

By the way my first attempt at layout design was to use plain wallpaper liner, a pencil, the buildings and the Peco turnouts.  I have a photo somewhere. . .

Martin

Your last paragraph is indeed a fair comment of my head long rush to make Templot part of my tool kit. This is partly due to the fact that I already have the Peco Finescale track to emulate the track diagram (in condensed form) so it was easy for me to simply start learning Templot on a project I am already familiar with.

My successful single slip was made starting from scratch, outside of The grand design. But it did not give me the potential space saving I am looking for. I will keep trying to fit the double slip into the nine foot space.

As to Illustrator, I have been using this software for about 15 years so it is an established part of my tool kit.

i have noticed that WINE has chosen Windows XP for me. Is that what other Mac users use for Templot?

Best regards, Paul

Yes, you are right.  It's now been corrected.  Thank you!

Thank you, Martin!  Too late tonight but I will work on it tomorrow!

I have been using Templot for quite a while on my iMac without any issues (running under Wine).  Whenever Templot detects that it needs to install a later copy of itself, it does so without any issues too.  I am currently using OS Mavericks by the way, I am thinking of updating to OS Yosemite but have held off in case I get any issues with the non-apple software (like Templot) that I use - a quick read of the reviews for Yosemite indicates that people have encountered problems in this area.

 

Ian

Hi Ian

I am using Yosemite with no apparent problems, though I have not really tested Templot to the full as I really am at the bottom of the steep learning curve!

Paul

I did the same thing to a split chassis unrebuilt Scot a few years ago. It was my first attempt at a DCC conversion and was not as difficult as I thought it would be. The key, as you point out, is in the insulation of the motor from the chassis.

These locos are worth the effort as they run well, even better with DCC.

Looking good, this is the best way I think to start to learn the program.  I did similar with a signal box and through that process learnt many time saving techniques to employ in future designs.  I'd suggest for anything that you will be using more than one of, windows for example or doors, make them components.  Anything else make groups so they don't interfere with other geometry near them as you move things around.  Will you be planning to laser cut this building?

Hi Alan

No laser cutting yet, I don't have the space for Old Town.  Perhaps one day. . . .  just part of the research and learning process.  I have made some components and groups as well but sometimes they didn't work so well.

Thanks, Alan, most helpful.  Since last night's post I have been mostly awake with an ongoing Christmas virus but determined to forge ahead.  I have downloaded the b9c software and the .stl export extension.  I scaled down my simple turntable electric control panel in SketchUp to 4mm scale and, as you say, discovered that some of the detail was either lost or displaced.  So I then scaled in b9c software and was able to load the vat (virtually) with a number of control panels.

I have also been working on a SketchUp drawing of Stratford Old Town station, using a floor plan as a guide.  It will be too big to print on a b9c but is a useful learning exercise.

Well, I probably have 4 hours available at the moment.  I'm not going anywhere!

Alan, I am most impressed, as usual. I need to delve into all this a lot more, before diving into the deep end myself.

One question regarding SketchUp. Do you construct the parts in real dimensions and then scale down to 4mm:1ft? It would seem that this technique would lend itself to multiple scales as well as getting things like rivets right first time? This does presuppose that good drawings and/or the real thing is available to measure.

Looking good.  I suppose I had better follow your lead with 5724!

Update:

It appears the canopy is correct but there is a problem with the distribution of doors and windows along the platform wall.  In this respect the photos do not lie.

Lying in bed with the "Christmas virus" I have been spending more time on SketchUp.  I have now broken the project into several sub-projects to keep things simple.  Just a bit too ambitious with the total concept!

I should add that Comet stretchers do not have tabs that locate into slits in the frame sides.  This is unfortunate though the reason behind the design is, I think, to allow the stretchers to be located according to the needs of the model maker and the motor, gearbox, etc. to be used.  I think it would be easier to build a square and true frame if there were tabs and slits.  After soldering the outer sides of the frames could be filed and sanded flat prior to painting, so the end result would look the same.

Over on the French Railways Forum there is a photo of the 141R.1126 which is preserved and, probably, still in Toulouse.  Another one is up for sale in Switzerland.  Someone told me they were the same locomotive, but apparently, and thankfully for Toulousaine enthusiasts, they are different.  The combination of a ?Baldwin design with French style smoke deflectors makes for a very attractive and purposeful locomotive.

Looking very good indeed.  My own project is stalled for the time being until I get my airbrush booth set up in February.

I am glad you got the motor problem solved - I have yet to test mine with a decent load, so your motor swap may be in the cards for me also.

At least one person has used the kit to produce one of the last two Caprottis, 44686 and 44687....

Yes - see my next posting, already in line for posting at day's end.  Do you remember who it is and if there is a link as I can't find it at the moment.  But a very interesting story.

Don't do it!  The sickness will pass.

I made an L-Girder base when I lived in Houston (and had space!) and I liked the ability to design gradients and leave open spaces for the changing topography.  One of the issues I remember was the placement of switch motors within the design.  Fortunately Rix made some adaptors for the old solenoid motors that were available back then, so that they could be positioned away from potential snags.

I used fir and plywood for the supports and boards.  With the high humidity in Houston MDF wasn't really an option unless it was sealed.

Thanks for sharing all the detailed photos, a great resource for anyone contemplating this method.

Yes, a box cutter could be a Stanley knife, but it is a sort of generic term.  I bought another brand in France and it works really well.  I then bought one in England and it had a safety screw lock on it that prevented the blade from sliding out.  This locking device was clearly an after thought (for the UK market?) and soon jammed into place, rendering the tool useless.  I might add that, in trying to unjam the screw I could easily have done myself harm.  Instead I threw it away.

I hope you are no longer confuzzled (no French word exists for that!)

Thanks for sharing your experiences.  I am half way through a Comet chassis upgrade for the same Hornby superstructure.  All going well so far but I have been forced to put the project on hold for a few more weeks.

Yes, Steve, I could never have taken that shot of the Tramway Bridge in July.  Recently been to see Love' Labour's Lost and Much Ado About Nothing, both excellent, set before and after WWI with some of the same cast.  Excellent!

A great story behind this model.  It reminds me I have an Airfix 14XX half remodeled waiting for me to finish back in France (the one that "someone" knocked onto the floor in Houston in 1992, how we remember such travesties!)

Wonderful examples for us to try to follow!

A very useful entry for me as I have an unopened box of the GWR oil lamps for my Shipston Branch.  I am nowhere near fitting them but bought them anyway, just in case (the opposite of "just in time")

Thank you!

Have you read ' A History Of The S&MJR' by Riley & Simpson, published by Lamplight Publications, ISBN 1-899246-04-5. I was(still am !) tempted to build a model of Clifford Sidings, at the north end of which the Shipston to Stratford tramway once crossed by a bridge, I have fond memories of that location.

Not yet, but I have copies of other books that cover the S&MJR, including Maggs' Branch Lines of Warwickshire. There is also a useful website with many photos past and present:

http://www.smj.me

Yes, tourist towns (and Stratford is full of tourists even in winter) have always had a strange mix of locomotives, with freight locos rostered to pull excursions, etc. But never more so than in BR days.

So the best era to model Stratford Old Town would probably be the 1950s. Not quite as glamorous as the S&DJR, though.