rdr

well a long pause for me on this due to a move from one workshop to another, then a house move which is just to become finalised, so work will start in the next month ish.

with the central terminus idea, you could start at one corner and run to the opposite diagonal corner. You will gain another 1-2m depending on your curves.

i'm having to try it again today, lets hope it works again, nothing else does.

it opened fine, RM forum is the key.

straight after typing the last message i could get into gmail ok, so i've rebooted and again and i have no access.

So here goes let's see if i can get in after i've posted this post.

it's bonkers, just after posting this topic i could get into gmail ok, so i thought "lets reboot" and no access again. IE sees it straight away and i've reloaded chrome with no change.

for some strange reason i cannot get into my gmail account from a google page, i've ticked and unticked the the option that allows access to gmail if not signed in to google with no difference. After a while maybe an hour i get access, but if i open IE i can get on instantly.

Has anyone got any ideas?

We are in full compliance with regulations as all passengers have been fitted with dual retention tanks for solid/liquid waste?

i guess the problem lies with the control of such retention tanks, especially when the control valves are lubricated with noxious substances.

I beg to differ, you are totally wrong I'm afraid and it would contravene the current Building Regulations.

 

I will say no more than contact your Local Authority Building Control.

 

Sorry to have taken up this thread.

Oh well, not to worry. 

i'm not sure if this has been mentioned, would it be possible in your attic to make a completely self supported room in there which would just sit on the attic floor. Theoretically you've not altered the attic or made any habitable alterations to it, so no regulations would be affected. Essentially it would be like putting up a tent in your attic.

I watched the videos of the traverser working, i have to have that, definitely.

i like that, i've seen a thread on here with one set in a station. Got to do it, well found guys.

It also gives me a bit more length in each siding

a few slight changes to the track plan, a more simplified layout that flows a lot better. Added is a run around in the container yard and the station has a more smooth flow. Gone are the head shunts and this has opened up areas for container storage and parking for the station and container yard.

I think i fell into the trap of trying to have too much in too small an area, and the new plan hopefully works better.

Getting into a bit more detail, the dock has been shortened to house just one ship to keep the water area in one board, and in the plans you can see the 5 equal boards marked out.

The first two house a 2.9m traverser that has a 320mm static end for loco storage. The third board is the entrance to the container yard and station and has the second loco storage area for the traverser, The fourth holds the first half of both the container yard and station and the fifth board has the rest of the yard, the station and also the dock.

The upper plan has the rough plan of the station area, dock and container area added.

Time to start construction, as i can't think of anything else to change. Anyone have any thoughts of changes that could be made to improve it, please shout them out, i won't be offended.

Hi, nothing much to add right now, i got side tracked into rebuilding my slot car track to fit into the framework. 

for those without Templot here's a pic of the track plan.

The door is on, captive nuts installed, ready to add the braces on each board then it's the layout surface.

All the layout frames are to size and have been tested in the box. Next job is the end door and this has to be structural so when closed it makes the box solid.

For those with Templot, here's the basic design. The lower spur is the station and the upper spur is the container yard, and between the two is a dock, this will make the layout viewable from either side. I had thought of running the freight and passenger lines in through two different tunnels rather than using the three way point, but i think this way gives a more curvy look and makes the traverser easier to operate. The traverser has 2900mm long roads with fixed 300mm extensions at both ends to hold locos.

The station can hold a full length hst set and the container roads hold a similar length.

intermodal e-e 6.box

The pic in post 34 was to make sure the frames fit correctly, and yes they are a bit longer than they need to be. The finished length fits perfectly and holds the box in place quite well, and is long enough to have an end plate to keep all the layout boards firmly in the box. 

The first three slots from the bottom are for the scenic boards one, two and three and the last one holds board four, the first half of the traverser. The fifth board is fixed to the top of the box and is the second half of the traverser, so the box becomes the storage and the stand for the layout. Each frame will also have two cross braces to support the layout surface, giving it a lot of strength and stiffness.

I'm currently designing a set of swing down legs that will be mounted on the side of the box and will keep the box at the required height. I've also designed a set of wheels in case the whole thing needs to be moved on it's side or end.

Each layout board has removable legs and will have a support on one end for the next board to keep everything perfectly aligned.

The stock will be kept in purpose built boxes that will take up the space alongside the layout in front of the wheel arches next to the rear doors, the ships bridge, the cranes and computer will be kept on the front passenger seat.

PS. the wooden slat and crossbar are there for support in construction only.

Further on the sides have been trimmed down to finished length and the top fixed board has been aligned, also one of the frames is slotted in.

Well the test fit went well, all the bits seem to be in the right place and are a nice snug fit. 

i've made up a box using the leftover ally sections for the now 5 x 1600mm x 1000mm baseboards to transport them in my estate car, i just need to tweak the sizes a fraction to get it all in.

I'll order at least one of the ships and the gantry crane, it'll need a fair bit of modding but it's a good start.

just had a nose at the scalescene kits, i'll have to try one of them.

Thanks Stevey, I'll have to look for that one. Have you seen the Deans Marine Fairwind, it's a smallish container ship but looks the part. I'm planning to have two of these on Intermodal unless i fancy scratch building them.

Rather than go down the usual wood frame baseboard construction and mess about with dowels and sockets to get the joints smack on, i remembered i had bought some aluminium bed frames from ikea years ago for £2 ish each. I bought eight which was all of them that were left, if for nothing more than the ally sectional framework thinking i could make some machine enclosures for my big mills. 

They measure 64" x 80" in old money, 1.6m x 2m in metric and are "L" shaped extrusions and have steel angle brackets for the corners. There are short legs that finish off the corners, which can be added too, to increase the length for a workable height.

Here's a pic of the frames set out.

Here's a close up of the corner posts