awoodford
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Posts posted by awoodford
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Quote: "Is it not working automatically from the link?"
It's OK, the link points to the right place. It's just the page won't load... a local problem I assume. I get the Internet through public library computers, which are riddled with Net Nannies and Policies, so I guess there's something in there that they take exception to. Alan. -
Quote: "For those who don't click on the link you are missing much of the story."
Sadly I haven't been able to access the website for over a year, for some unknown reason, so I appreciate being able to catch the 'match highlights' here at least. Keep them coming. Alan.
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Thank you Edwardian for the review, which I came upon by chance while idly scrolling through the forum and being hooked in by the word Amberdale. Like others here, I remember this layout from the MRJ article, and was blown away when I saw it then. I'm not an internet shopper, but I'll certainly be scrutinizing the exhibition bookstands in hopeful anticipation of finding the book there.
As an aside, an even earlier version of Mr Harvey's ECR featured as Railway of the Month in the December 1957 edition of RM, when he was no'but a teenager, if I've done my sums right. Although that layout was very much of its time it inspired me as a youngster, and the article makes for interesting reading in the light of what he was to go on to achieve. As he writes there... "Indeed even now I am thinking of my next effort - which I hope will be a distinct improvement on the present layout - but that is well in the future." Aah, bless. Be careful what you wish for...!
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Quote: "How many of you are attracted to the post by the pictures?"
I for one appreciate the highlights from the operating sessions shown here, as my 'heritage' internet access can't cope with the full session from the website. Ok I accept that's my problem, which could be overcome by throwing money at BT and upgrading to the 21st century. In the meantime however I would be sorry to miss out altogether on the everyday story of Altonian country folk.Alan.
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Very impressed by this layout at Shipley. Searching for more info brought up this thread. Award well deserved.
Alan.
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Here are a couple of links that might give you some operational ideas. Although they are American they could be adapted for British operation. The first is a prototype example showing just how complicated shunting a simple track arrangement can be...
http://oscalewcor.blogspot.com/2010/09/stretching-simple-spur.html
The other is a layout build by Conrail Joe in the US subforum here. Note the use of 'props' (point and de-rail locks in this case) for slowing down the operations...
Alan.
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On 18/04/2019 at 23:44, St Enodoc said:
H Eric Fisher had an earlier layout called something like the Cornwall and Devon Railway. I've seen a write up but it wasn't in the Modeller. Possibly an MRC from the 1950s?
Yes that was the one I was thinking of. If I remember rightly the model was a representation the main line between Exeter and Truro, including all the stations en route!
Alan.
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That model of the ECML is quite wonderful. It brought to mind the model by S.F. Page (Longdon, Newborough & Easthyde Railway) that appeared in 60's RM, which represented a sizeable chunk of the line between Kings Cross and Peterborough, complete with a 3 track version of Kings Cross. I've always had a soft spot for those layouts that go in for such extreem compression of main line subjects. Anyone remember Eric Fisher's model of the GWR mainline in the West Country on 3 or 4 levels? I think it was described in a 1950's or early 60's Model Railway News.
Alan.
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On 15/04/2019 at 10:02, Nearholmer said:
Didn’t it have a Hellingly Hospital loco pretending to be a diesel, or maybe it was a tiny little Planet?
As the builder of the original EM Horselunges layout (it was later upgraded to P4 by new owners), I can tell you that the original intention was to run the layout with the Hellingly Hospital electric loco under wires, but I soon decided that was impractical for an exhibition shunting layout, and a variety of small industrials were operated instead. These included two Planets, a Simplex, a Muir Hill tractor, a Ruston 48DS, and a Head Wrightson vertical boiler loco, all powered by Tenshodo SPUDs. At the time I belonged to the Hull Miniature Railway Society, as did Steve Flint, who as an RM photographer encouraged other members to write for the magazine, which is how the Horselunges article came about. The Hull club had a good contingent of fine scale modellers, which was a strong motivating force for keeping up with the standards of the time, boosted by inspiration from contemporary MRJ articles. With a move away from the district, a period out of the hobby altogether, and no longer having the patience I once had, my modelling has admittedly regressed since then. However my current Tweedale layout, which is chronicled in the blogs area here, still follows the tongue in cheek attitude that lay behind Horselunges (just not to the same standard!), and is now driven more by a nostalgia for articles from the 50s/60s magazines rather than current thinking.
Alan
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Another uncoupling system that may be worth considering is Roger Nicholls 'Yorkshire Kadee' system (as it is known). It is extreemly simple (and cheap!) but works very well with Inglenook Sidings type of layouts where the points all face one direction. It operates with hook and bar type couplings, but involves removing the hook from one end of the stock. A tuft of bristles is inserted in a hole between the sleepers at uncoupling spots. When the wagons are pushed over the tufts the hooks are lifted, but when pulled the hooks pass straight through the bristles and the wagons remain coupled.
Hopefully the image below will make things clear. A couple of tufts can just be seen between the sleepers on the two tracks, and were installed after the track was ballasted. I use plumber's hemp for the bristles but other materials could be used (I believe RN uses Woodland Scenics long grass). The tufts are held together with glue and cotton and are a snug fit (not glued) into holes drilled between the sleepers, where they can be adjusted by moving up or down slightly. A spare untrimmed tuft can be seen on the platform.
One downside for a 'have a go' layout might be due to the small size of the uncouplers. Quite slow and precise control is needed to avoid overshooting the tufts when uncoupling.
Alan.
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Good to see your layout at the Scarborough Show. Very nice.
Alan.
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It would be as well to check beforehand that you can get the loco and wagons around those sharp radius curves. If you are using hook and bar couplings you may need to extend the hooks. The reverse curve from the set of points at the top could cause problems. It might be better to go directly from the point into the inner curve. Alan.
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It looks to me as though 'unravelled' is on the right track. Having had a search around the internet, I think they are needle-beams, traditionally used to support walls while underpinning the foundations. So they could have been pushed through the piers at a later stage while strengthening the bridge at some time.
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I don’t know what they were for, but I’ve seen them elsewhere, in particular on a small girder bridge over a stream where I lived as a kid. At the time it amused us to use them for swinging under the bridge from one side of the line to the other, rather than scrambling across the track (southern electric third rail and all that). I suppose it’s possible the bridge was converted from arch to girder at some later date if the bars were indeed concerned with supporting an arch.
Alan.
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By complete chance, I once shared a flat with Alan the builder of 'Horselunges' and made some of the wagons (HM&ST prototypes) and one of the locos for it in a swop for an exquisite M&CR signal box, which i still treasure.
Ha, so you must be D. Long time no see. And I still have the loco and wagons.It was nice to see Horselunges mentioned. I built the original layout in EM in the mid 90's, and it went to shows for about 5 years before being sold on. It was later converted to P4 and generally upgraded by new owners, and returned to the the exhibition circuit. I've not heard of it for a few years so I don't know if its still around.Best Alan.-
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Yes indeed. Well worth investing in another 6 issues. I'm particularly intrigued to see the Mallorca trams article in the next issue, having 'discovered' the line on Google maps recently. Alan.
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A great achievement, and a wonderfully amusing thread.
Good for you, Alan.
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Thanks Moxy, it looks like you are right. I should have thought to consult that useful website myself. I suppose the published track plans were intended to show how the stations could be modeled in a compressed form.
Alan.
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Well I'm glad I took the chance and subscribed to SRI at the beginning... its a great little magazine. It was nice to see the Thunder's Hill article. I've been very impressed with Mr Bossom's modelling ever since seeing some of his 3mm wagons on a visit to the Bexhill club rooms way back in the seventies. I think better captioning of some of the photos is needed though. Just where is the location that B/W photo in the Halifax article? I thought at first it might be Pellon, but it doesn't quite correspond to the track plan given, so I'm none the wiser.
Alan.
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I quite like the idea of the line passing through the market. After all, in the Ambler article it states that after leaving the NWR station goods yard at Patiala, the PSMT passed through the walled city before heading out into the country. I can just imagine it passing through an ancient archway in the walls before entering the city.
Alan.
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Actually aren't we asking the wrong question here? What were the road surfaces actually made of in India back in the teens and twenties? Were they mcadamed at all? This could have a fundimental effect on the way the train behaves too...
According to the Day article..."The road itself, like many Indian roads in the flat country, was for the most part on a raised embankment to keep it clear of the water when the surrounding land is flooded. According to a sketch provided by Mr Bowles, the embankment was 20ft wide at road level and the centre strip, about 8ft wide, was metalled. This left soft 6ft shoulders at each side of the metalled strip. The monorail was laid on one of these shoulders so that the balancing wheels ran along the edge of the metalled surface, leaving all but six inches or so of it clear for other traffic."The Ambler article mentions there were issues with the road wheels wearing the road surface. Also he says of the closure, "The road seems to have been too good for the health of the monorail and one's guess is that the rapidly-growing competition of road traffic made it not worth while to get over these other difficulties."Alan.-
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You say you've been collecting bits - have you sourced suitable double flanged wheels yet ? Ideas I have are to use some of the Langley ones, or use two standard wheels boss to boss.
No I've not found any double flanged wheels. I was intending to experiment with adding extra flanges to normal wagon wheels - possibly using metal washers or even plastic discs. The profiles will be all wrong, but so long as it stays on the track that's all I ask of it. In 4mm, I'd probably run the loco on 2 axles with (oversized) 12mm wagon wheels and no motion, hiding it all behind a skirt so it couldn't be seen anyway. A bit of a cop out, but to do it properly looks like a challenge too far for me.Alan.-
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Alan, I enjoyed reading those two articles. Have you also got the 1962 Railway World one by John R Day that is referred to?
I've not seen the Day article, and while I would be interested to read it, I've not made any real efforts to track down the magazine.Alan. -
Heh, it looks like I've been pipped at the post (as usual)... I have the PSMT earmarked for a future project. I've been collecting together bits, but I need to finish my current project before I start on anything else, and that'll be a while yet. I'm proposing to use a magnetic system for moving the loco. For a simple circle of track, my solution would be to lay a circle of normal track beneath the monorail track base. A weighted loco chassis or SPUD would run on the normal track, with a door-catch magnet mounted on top of the chassis, so that it is just below the monorail track base. Another magnet is attached to the underside of the free-wheeling monorail loco, so it gets dragged along by the hidden power unit underneath.
See sketch below...
I've mocked up the idea by attaching a magnet beneath a OO wagon, and moving another magnet along under the baseboard. It moved the wagon just fine, so I think the idea will work. I've not tried it with more heavyweight 7mm stuff though.
Thanks StEnodoc for posting the photos of the points. I wondered what sort of arrangement was used, and hadn't seen any photos before.
I would thoroughly recommend anyone (even if you're not into monorails) to read the 1969 Railway Magazine article and later reappraisal, at the links below...
The line's bizarre history, the tracking down of the builder in later years, the rediscovery of stock and equipment in a shed 40 years after the line's abandonment, the subsequent preservation, and the mystery of the lost locos, all makes for an absolutely fascinating story. Worthy of a TV drama!
All the best with the project, Stubby47. I'll be following progress.
Alan.
AFK (Altonian Complementary Railways)
in Overseas Modelling
Posted
I was sorry to read of the demise of the AFK website. However it should be noted that at least some of the AFK pages have been captured by the Internet Archive and can still be accessed. Unfortunately it appears that the photos have not been included. Still, the words of wisdom survive, and those fans already familiar with the AFK, may be able to follow the stories by filling in the pictures with their imagination!
Alan.