LMS Bess

Soldering, decaling, now cutting flex track ... what's next, actually running a train? It turns out there's a short Peco set track piece which added on to a standard Hornby straight fills that gap in context (according to Anyrail). As all this is code 100 it might work. Here's the results of tonight's end-of-pier scribble anyway - just a 'possible' as I slosh ideas around - as you can see the nearest we can get to a 'boat train' on this shelf is one carriage and one utility van, which would simply turn up on the down (middle) track, cut off loco, then be pulled back into staging; however a little train of four wagons/shorter vans can enter, and either end up shoved into the headshunt at bottom right (which is what they've done in pictures I've seen, for whatever reason) or left on either the down track or the track closest to the boat to load or unload. Interchangeable backdrops might be fun, with either a passenger or cargo ship. The rails on the real pier were embedded - doable I think, I've made road crossings before, though I'd probably leave the points as is and live with it. The overhead crane is an interesting feature. I noticed there's a Dapol (I think ex-Airfix?) crane cabin and boom that looks similar to the ones at Folkestone; there might be potential to make this functional or even motorised (but this is a bit faraway twinkle in the eye). I'm restricted to this length of shelf because I'm in a rental flat and can't be putting up own shelves, and that's the shelves that are there, and I'm using the floor space for my N scale stuff (N.B. I'm well aware of the downsides of floors, and was warned, but there are no kids or pets, the modules are stood on little 1cm 'feet' clear of the dust level, and I find dusting the track every single day and giving it some IPA now and then leads to acceptable functioning - it's a compromise to get 'around the edges of the room' operations like the American fellas do with their real estate ... though I did run my GP40-2 over a moth the other day.)

Okay, just playing around with the Peco medium turnouts on Anyrail (just because I'm really taken with the three link coupler idea). I've got a question here - in the diagram below, you can see I've made an approximation of the trackwork at the end of the pier, involving turnouts mirroring eachother. Using OO Hornby setrack parts, it's quite straightforward although the tracks end up a bit too far apart. Using the Peco turnouts, instantly the whole thing looks better and less toy-like (takes up more space lengthwise but perhaps a happy tradeoff), but, I was wondering how one would go about filling the gap between turnouts with straight pieces - would you just cut a length of the flex track to fit, or is there a part? And how challenging is cutting the flex track - anything to watch out for?

Do you know the part number for the Peco streamline medium? I'll try out those on Anyrail

(I'm entirely willing to work through a load of experiments and difficulties w couplings by the way, all part of the fun)

Re couplers I was actually planning on using Smith's three links. I gather you can prevent buffer lock with these by running a bit of wire across the buffers or installing sprung buffers? Also, decals ordered today.

Today's excitement is unceasing as I've just received some more bits of Hornby oo track I put dirt cheap bids on. Few more points and short straights and curves. So I can try actually laying 'em out. Some of the less knackered sections might even be usable. I've been fiddling about with Anyrail but now to see what's what in real life. And! Some SR wagons and vans. Quite a lot of the latter in fact as I didn't realise how cheap oo stuff goes for on eBay. Chucked a load of 2 quid bids about. Oh well, nice problem to have

Ah yes now. Competition between railway companies. I love reading about it. The ferocity of the competition is the same between America and Britain, but the form it takes here is so ... recognisable.

Aha - all useful. I find on micro layouts (which this is going to be) adding in figure movements adds a lot of operation interest - on my N setup (modern image US) when I can be bothered I have the second of the two loco crew come out (represented by a little figure in a hi Vis based on a bit of see through plastic) and 'set' the points/check the couplings as would happen in real life. He sometimes also rides on the front car when propelling a rake as happens (talks to driver on walkie talkie). With this I'd probably get a guard and a shunter and have them involved in the action. So also figures that have 'come off the train' and are 'walking to busses' could work here.(Maybe even weighted and on strings controlled from above - a truly bonkers thought that has crossed my mind before.)

Now down on the next bit of sidings I spied what might be a bus station, but, could it be a loading facility for rail to truck? Particularly the way those vehicles are backing up to the building makes me wonder.

And here we have it, after much searching Britain from Above website had a front view (complete with our hero the R1) ... appears to be a solid front. Maybe it's for the carriage cleaners (evidenced by the long thin platform between the tracks at right). Or maybe shadow obscures coaling stage but its relation to the track seems off for that. There was another interesting part too, coming up next post

And it's a bit of a stretch to have them breaking out through the carriage sidings I suppose. You'll all be excited to know I've found another aerial photograph of the area *from north* i.e. from the direction that makes a better model - I'll just need to get on laptop to post it. A shadow maintains some mystery about the hut, but ...

And ... there's a picture of the sidings area from the north. The building only shows up as a blur but with the eye of faith I think I can see it has an open front (which would tally with coal stage). I've emailed the owner of that website to see if there's a bigger picture.

Incidentally, an interesting find, Folkestone during the Dunkirk Evacuation: http://dunkirk1940.org/index.php?&p=1_377#:~:text=In 1940 Folkestone was a,a high-profile military presence.&text=Many locals had left Folkestone,town were forced to close. Including some details of specific ships. That has potential - perhaps some crowds of servicemen wandering about - one would assume some of them would be keen to sample the delights of Folkestone; or, big steamer in service as a troop ship in the background painting. (My company of 1/72 chaps are all in Tobruk style sadly or I could press them into service. They've been having an easy time since the Covid outbreak.)

And it might explain why there's a door on the back

Certainly it looks the eastern goods yard is very cramped for space and iirc there were several engine sheds there that all got disused and the R1s were stabled up at F Junction. So ... the western sidings might be where a coal stage would end up

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/folkestone_harbour/index13.shtml ^ The full picture for context

Ah - now, that 30' makes sense, I'd grocked it being slightly smaller but, five 6' planks running horizontally makes 30', and if that darker square on the wall is a door, I note it's about one fifth the length of the wall ... which suggests interior posts spaced to accommodate said planks, but miss a row for the door. I suppose we can assume symmetric door on the other side. Squinting at the 1946 view I feel like there might be a window in the corner as well.

I have another prototype question to test you with. This one is about lineside huts. As any micro I make for this R1 to go on will be my first foray back into OO since ... it must be at least twenty years ... the first thing I'm going to attempt is a brutally simple switching diorama based on the west hand sidings at Folkestone, with probably one points for now. I want to feel my way back into the scale. These are referenced as a carriage siding but I can see freight rolling stock in some pics. The sand, nasty grass and ballast I can handle. Backdrop painting can account for the rest, depending on viewer position it'll either be a bit of Folkestone or just the sea, maybe with boats. Still the sidings present a conundrum, as you'll see in the attached compo picture. At first I thought the hut was one of those SR concrete huts (for which there's a model available or I can make own). On closer inspection though it looks like dark creosoted wood walls with metal roof. Then I wondered if it's a grounded goods van - but it looks too wide? Can anyone take an educated guess, and are there other standard SR huts than the concrete ones that this might be? I have experience of miniature plank on frame construction from an old NYC station I made once. I'm ... just about willing to go through it all again (I say now). Be easier in 4mm scale. I've squinted at the lamp post next to it and I think it's an SR swan neck type.

They must be, as the insulated joiners haven't been required in any of the projects I've done with Kato.

Ahh yes, makes sense.

Was the sand delivered in sacks?

Awesome. I'll report back on my splitter attempts. Come payday I'll be getting decals for the loco body and there may be some crew figures on the way too. Aye I would normally feed points from the toe, but I find I usually want another power feed into the section beyond the points as well due to the questionable conductivity of the points. That's interesting about the insulated joiners being required, can you tell me more? This isn't a thing with Kato points, they must engineered around it. Looking at a Hornby points piece on my desk I can see there's potential for the current to ... go backwards where it's not supposed to (again we reach the limits of my technical lexicon).

Ah, okay. So this would work to, for example, put a power feed either side of a set of points?

Or to put it another way, how to make own three way splitter?

Quick question about wiring, as I'm used N scale Kato stuff where it's largely done for you ... If I want to take the two leads from a DC controller and split them into three or more feeds, is it just a case of soldering in extra wires to the + and - leads each or does it need anything else?