Philou

Would you like to see part of the collection? I was told of the collection in the Autumn but sworn to discretion until the locos were checked. I had a few since last October. They worked straight from the box (as it were). One thing you may need to know (unless Peter has changed his mind), these locos were to be sold to personal callers so as to avoid post or courier as these are un-boxed. If you're interested, please give a call on 02 792 667 225. 02 920 667 225. Here is just a small part of the collection (the Aberdare has been bagged by me, but there are a couple of others ). There are also: Southern and pre-grouping constituent companies, LMS and LNWR, GWR and absorbed companies and a fair few Scottish pre-grouping. There weren't any LNER ones in the photos that were given to me. I forgot to say that time is also being taken in trying to identify the origins of the models as there are a lot of brass kits and perhaps more to the point, what the locos are. There are a couple of EM gauge ones in there too. Here are my four (ex-M&SWJR 0-4-4, 517, ex-M&SWJR 2-8-0 and 2-4-0 'Barnum' (EM )): Cheers, Philip

Hello @Lord of Narnia, I like your approach of making the support masts - they look very similar to the O/H masts that supported the trolleybus wires in Cardiff. I remember once, as a child, going to Bruxelles where my UK grandparents had an acquaintance, but I thought (in my mind) that the trams were 4-wheelers but of a style older than the PCCs (or have my childhood memories gone awry?). Looking at the O/H supports and off-sets, would they have really been like that? I ask as they seem rather modern, as opposed to brass shoes that would have been attached to the span wires on older systems. Anyway, good luck with the model. Philip

A picture or drawing of the geometry involved would be useful - however depending on the form of the junction intended - you can make a trailing junction by using a curved R/H point on the outer curve and a L/H 'normal' point on the inner curve (and vicky-verker for a facing junction) as mentioned above by @Michael Hodgson. That's what I'm proposing at several locations on a layout of my own. Cheers, Philip

Here we are - a quick drawing showing the ceiling in its approximate position. As you can see the highest part of the Malvern Hills 'disappear'. I could live with that, but would it look daft? To give an idea of the look, here's another with the top cut off at ceiling height: Unfortunately, from an operator's view all that would be seen is a vertical face (imagine a vertical slice through the hills). I'll work on this some more to try and achieve some balance aesthetically. Cheers, Philip

Happy New Year everyone, and I sincerely hope that 2022 will be an improvement on 2021! It hasn't all been turkey and Christmas cake and being at a loose end, I've continued with my 3D plan of the layout and started to place the landscape. You will see the general effect in the first picture below: I haven't carved out the railway yet as I decided that I wanted to visualise the landform before creating the cuttings and embankments as I can then allow for the cess and and parapets/retaining walls as necessary (you'll see what I mean over the next few days). What this first picture shows is that despite me wanting to make a visual statement regarding the Malvern Hills, it's just too much (height of 2.0m above floor level (not board level)). As you will see in the second picture, the Big Beam and the roof line co-incide with the landform, so clearly I'm having to review this - a case of less is more, I think: Cheers, Philip PS: I seem to have developed a short in the power circuit from the house to the barn - joy! Going to have to eliminate things one by one ........

I like 37 076 ^^ - got a proper exhaust tail pipe ................... , ooh ooh and skirts! If someone would make one with skirts, I'll have three, thangyouverymuch.

Hello chums, I'm in the outskirts of gay Paree and finding myself at a loose end (gave up on doing some waste plumbing with the BiL as we couldn't work out what was going on) and so I decided to have a look at the headache beam. Fortunately, I took the measurements with me and I was able to gen-up a drawing of the Big Beam and overlay the proposed layout. The plan is still very much WIP but the layout is correct in respect of location and height. It's the landscaping and building placement that has yet to be done. There two views of the layout. In both views the new stairwell is in the south-west corner (bottom left-hand side). There is sufficient clearance between the bottom of board and the stairs to access without a cranial collision and the stairwell is 1.0m in from the southern (bottom edge) wall for the layout - the maximum width of the boards being 900mm. In the first view, as I had originally 'seen' in my head, we can see the lowest part of the big beam coincides with end of Ledbury viaduct and the station throat of Dymented: There is about 200mm clearance between the track top and the underside of the beam. At this location, there is likely to be a lot of movement getting around the sector plate, activity at Dymented and getting to/from Ledbury/Pontrilas just at the point where headroom is very restricted. Here is the second view, with the layout rotated in respect of the beam: Access is still in the south west corner. In my humble opinion, having drawn things out (no claims of being super-accurate), this is the only way things can work correctly as we now have improved headroom at the point where it is likely to be busiest. However, it will mean that at all times, the cellar door will need to be kept closed if there is more than one operator. At the other end, there is very little activity as it's mostly Ledbury tunnel and the Malvern Hills. The two points in the tunnel will be operated remotely anyway and should anything untoward happen (derailment or electrical) access would be underneath or via cut-outs in the side in any case (it's envisioned that the Malvern Hills will be hollow). The only real drawback of the big beam, is that whichever way I rotate the plan, one side of the sector plate will not be easily accessible. I don't think that I can move it northwards in the plan above as the big beam is not central with the floor - had it been, I would have placed the sector plate directly underneath it. I think here, we have a no-brainer instead of a 'no brain-er' (sorry!). If you're wondering why the layout is hovering in mid-air, I drew it so that datum 0 (OS 0 feet) was the floor (the lighter colouring on the plan) - it happened that way so that I could relate my scale feet from the floor and not an arbitrary 0 on the board. It won't hover once the scenery is placed. Cheers, Philip

@JeffP, @Stubby47 In response to your thoughts of Sunday, I went and took a few measurements and today I went back into my 3D drawing of the barn and came up with a drawing. It's not the final iteration as the opening is not properly square - nothing in the barn is! However it shows the sort of doors I was thinking of - I haven't shown any framing - that will come when building. I also need to make adjustments stair-end as the door frames touch the stair stringers and that too will need to be adjusted. If the doors are open, then I shan't need a handrail as the doors will protect anyone going across - but if anyone falls in the direction of the stairs - well you can't treat stupid as they say - the stairs are there. However, I may place a short length of handrail along the door underside to assist in starting off, rather than grabbing the doors themselves. Beyond the underside of the doors then I will have a proper pair of handrails so no-one should go overboard directly onto the barn floor. When the doors are closed, then the problem goes away. I need to be able the have doors closed as the layout will occupy all four walls. Depending how I turn the layout (drawing of the headache beam to be done), that corner will either be Ledbury viaduct or the entrance to Ledbury tunnel and the fiddle yard. Here is the drawing showing three views, the last one in context placing it within the flooring (shown as OSB but it's now planking): There are other details to consider such as chamfering of the flap that is to open first and shut last so there's no pinching, or type of hinge, as what I have drawn is not necessarily available here etc. Open and shut case? Cheers, Philip There definitely won't be any updates as tomorrow we're supposed to be staying with Mrs Philou's sister and BiL near gay Paree and Mrs Philou gets to see her week-old granddaughter (awww - only kidding about the awww!). No updates until about the 28th. Merry Christmas everyone!

@Jack Benson I haven't scrolled back up to see what was in the other replies, but I recall that the Peco third (and fourth) rail on sale is Code 60. Insofar as the insulators are concerned, I had considered using small, round-headed, slotted (not Philips' head) brass screws and then painting the rounded part white to represent the porcelain. IIRC these would be placed every fourth sleeper. There are no doubt standards regarding height of the conductor rail above the adjoining rail and its distance from the rail - but I haven't have any. Cheers, Philip

Hello chaps, I DO have the filling of the wall to do, and I don't need the remaining planks to do that - so I can start that on Boxing Day (possibly not!). I do need your help thinking cap-wise: I need to make a two leafed cellar type door at the stair-well level with the floor so that I can walk on it when it's closed (and not fall down the well) and I shall want to put a lock on it for security. Any ideas of how to construct it? It has to be level so as to minimise trip hazards. Cheers, Philip

There we have it chaps. The last screw was screwed down about 15mins ago - No 915. There will be some to do when the remaining planks appear - I expect after Christmas now. I shall be at a loss for a while project-wise - but I have plenty of domestic chores to keep me busy (and out of mischief). Cheers, Philip In case there is nothing to report over the next few days (and certainly I shan't be allowed too much computer time during Christmas) let me wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year and here's hoping that 2022 will be better all round for everyone - cheers.

@JeffP Just had daughter No 1 on the 'phone saying that she's having to cancel her journey over here to spend Christmas with daughter No 2. No 2 is very upset as they haven't seen each other for over two years. Their Mum was due over too as she hasn't seen the grandson either for two years. He's 10 and over 5' tall now! Though he's half-French, he much prefers UK steam outline locos (good boy!). I'm sorry to hear of your wife's illness and how that affected your future plans to stay here. On a positive note it seems that the Omicron is far more easily transmittable, but less infectious. Easter is some time away and all we can hope that it eases off before then. A small update regarding the works in the barn: I have now screwed my 611th screw in the flooring (not ALL today). That's about 5 'runs', 9 to go. On, and there is light! Cheers, Philip

If you're a PC user, then there is SCARM (TT-3 A and B). There is a free version of limited usage (similar to Anyrail), and a pay-to-use which is unlimited - which is what I use. Cheers, Philip

@JeffP My lot this month were, poubelles, audiovisuelle and a new one taxe d'habitations vide (unoccupied flat within which I was working and Covid really messed up the timetabling for that and I missed renting out before the Jan 1st deadline and you take a hit for the whole year, unlike the UK where it's proportional). Next month it's the half-yearly UK income tax on my DWP pension. Sorry to hear that you have to do 90 day chunks - I'm lucky that I have dual nationality, so no problems from that perspective. Cheers, Philip

@MrWolf Where? I can't see any!! Ta boom tish! The attic within which I was when I were a lad and Noah in short trousers, looked very similar to yours before I set up my first layout - dark, cobwebby and dusty. At least yours has the luxury of being boarded under the tiles/slates. Ours was directly slated and not even any building paper between me and the elements. @JeffP You are right, it does feel good - especially as I've waited all this time to get started. I shall be slowing down for the next couple of months (Christmas and 2 income tax bills to pay, plus I'm sure Accurascale will want me to spend some money too). Handrails are a must and are on the list of things to be done next - I might see if I can buy some off-the-shelf ones rather than a few bits of battens . The bottom stairs are resting on the dusty earth floor of the barn - that will be removed, and a mortar pad will be made - I have a similar finish to do at the top to consolidate the stone wall upon which it is resting - two jobs to be done together. Insofar as lighting goes - natural light via a pair of small Velux, Veluxes? Velii? to go in once I start to do the ceiling (3-4 months away), and lighting will definitely be LED but I'm not sure whether battens over the circuit or panels here and there in the ceiling. Being indecisive, I shall probably have a mix. Whatever they are, I shall want them to change colour so I can emulate different climes and seasons. No pictures today. Cheers, Philip

@Stubby47 D'you know Stubby, that really touched me. Thank you and thank you all very much. I've never been very good at carpentry and it's only after 71 years on this earth that I seem to be getting to grips with it. I hope that what I'm learning will help me when I get started on the layout in early 2022. As for today's efforts, I proudly present the younger brother of the main staircase. This I can say is entirely my own work - no help in manhandling the stairs or assembling it in situ. My very first set of stairs. I have had the BiL who weighs in at 20st and Mrs Philou (she does NOT weigh 20st) go up and down a couple times without problem. I can also say that for the first time since 2007, we have a decent staircase to access the lower (and my railway room natch) parts of the barn: ...... and the stairway to heaven: Tomorrow"s job will be quite light (so to speak) as I have to get a spotlight up there (I have the cable, the plug and the LED spot - just need to assemble them as a unit) and then start on the drilling, countersinking and screwing of the floorboards. I will post a photo from time to time but there won't much to see for a day or two. Cheers everyone (gosh, I am so excited!!!), Philip

Cheers, chaps. Thanks for applause - it is really appreciated!!!

Lay'neez an' gen'lmun ................ I present to you the saga of stair erecting ................... On Monday evening having been to yet another birthday party across the road, two persons expressed their willingness to give me a hand to now drop the stair frame through the well and onto the mezzanine. So, at 10.30, Mr Mayor and I, up top, and Mr ex-Gendarme at the bottom with a cord pre-attached to the lower step - 'well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs' I thought - I didn't say it in French as they wouldn't have understood! Mr Mayor and I gingerly launched the frame through the hole - 'It won't fit' he said - 'Bloody will', said I 'there's a 5mm air gap for it to fit'. A bit of a 'left-hand down a bit' and 'right hand up a bit' and 'steady as she goes' with Mr ex-Gendarme acting as the tug and down she went. Mr Mayor had an oo-er moment 'Don't let go! It'll drop through!!' 'Nah', said I nonchalantly, 'There's a batten screwed to the joist lower down to stop it at the right height AND the two joist hangers on either side will wedge it anyway'. And so it came to pass. A quick 'blish' and 'blosh' with my rubber mallet and down it went ...................... ............ to the batten. 10 screws through the stringers and the top-most riser, that I had drilled out and countersunk on Sunday, and it was secured (there was a bit of a pull and push to get it tight against the joist). By 10.50 we had this (me putting the paired risers and treads in place starting with No2 and working my way up): and at 12.00 midday sharp, it was finished! Mrs Philou thinks I ought to put some handrails, she could be right: I've been and down it several times without any undue creaks and groans so all is well. In the afternoon, I dismantled the smaller stairs and that too is now in bits in the barn ready for tomorrow's construction. The pile of wood that was in the was has also been re-piled elsewhere. They're to go below the opening where the ladder is placed shown in the photo above. Mrs Philou was well pleased as our dining area is back to normal AND clear a day earlier than I had anticipated. [I think that she must like me (a bit at least) as a Mystery Christmas parcel arrived (I know it's for me as I was paying the VAT due when Mrs Philou came back from shopping on Saturday - she was rather miffed about that) and it was from Lord & Butler (I recognised the writing) but what is in the parcel? Must be fairly pricey as the VAT due was €29.] I am ever so chuffed (sorry!). My first ever stairs and done basically on the fly - 3D plan was drawn though, for the basic concept - and a mystery gift. Now what will tomorrow bring? I'll keep you posted. Cheers everyone, Philip

I did all my cards ready for posting on Monday. Monday I set to with my trusty electric screwdriver and dismantled the larger of the two stairs - gone by lunchtime from our dining area and into the barn. In the afternoon, I manhandled the two stringers and steps 1 and 13 (tread and riser as pairs) into the railway room and proceeded to reassemble just the stringer and the two steps. Having done that I then had a bit of angst wondering whether I had done the right thing, as an assembled unit (without steps 2 - 12) was already mighty heavy, and was it more dangerous to then drop it through the stairwell to the mezzanine level or should I have done the construction on the mezzanine and then raised it though the stairwell and into the railway room. It was getting late and I was cold having spent the early part of the afternoon planing the risers down to their finished widths and I left it as was. This was Monday morning with more wood in the barn: The stairs back in bits and trying to unwarp them a bit as drying in the house was perhaps a little rapid and the stringers had developed a distinct curl across their widths - lengthwise they were fine. Come Tuesday....................................

Oh!! All my wood has gone! And so has my scaffolding!! Just a big pile of off-cuts that can go into the burner (a couple of days worth): Now where did all that wood go? Well, up there of course : I did take some measurements of the big beams that I shall then draw onto the 3D plan. It'll take a day or so. I shan't do it this afternoon because as I managed to take all the scaffolding down before lunch, I really really really must do my cards now - but I never find the courage until it's almost too late. Cheers everyone and have a good Sunday, Philip

You may wish to know that at this point, the A470 passes through the valley on a viaduct (modern concrete) too, but due to the mining subsidence that still occurs there, the columns were built with adjustable supports so that if subsidence occurs the movement can be taken up. Cheers, Philip

Thanks chaps for your thoughts. @Andy Hayter Cor! When I read that ....... ...... I had that oo-er moment. I suspect ours flexes as well, though we had snow yesterday, there wasn't really enough to tell. @JeffP Yes, I have a pilot/countersinker by Wolf. Fits in the hexagonal drive of my Parkside cordless. Works well too. My clearance headroom is 1m73 (on a good day). When I'm in the mood, I shall draw this timberwork onto my 3D plan that is WiP. I may turn the whole layout about to see if my fiddle yard/sector plate could be placed under the low headroom area and leave the open end where there's more clearance. I go under that part without any issues. It means the Malvern Hills will be part of the beam - but I can live with that! I'll take some detailed measurements tomorrow. Insofar as the floor laying is concerned, I have no more planks, I have come to the end, and the end of the cantilevered section, that was the limit of the second iteration of the plan. It just leaves the outriggers to be covered and a lot of angled cuts. So not a bad point with which to end for today. Seeing as I've finished woodworking, tomorrow will be taking down the scaffolding, though I have to create a bit of space to stock it. It means then Monday is taking the stairs apart and re-erecting them in the barn. I expect the big one will take all day on its own. Cheers, Philip

The beams and posts: In this photo you can see the main post from which a pair of beams are raked back to meet at the wall plate of the wall (behind me): About 1/3rd the distance away from the post, is a queen post that holds up the roof ridge. From this queen post are two 200 x 200mm (8" x 8") beams that support the two pitches of the roof and their respective purlins: A supporting truss about midway. Note that the lower and upper timbers are at an angle - nothing is horizontal: The purlins are jointed over the main supporting beam: The meeting of the double beam with the wall. The uppermost beam stops short of the wall and is supported wholly by the double beam at this point; Here the beam is about 1.25m above my finished floor level. there will be about 400mm clearance between it and the baseboard, not a lot: In taking the photos not only did I find an axe (bonus) that must have been left when we re-roofed 10 years ago , but this: ROT!!!! Not a lot but enough to make me go eeek!! Must have wetted over the years and was only sorted when I did the roofing works. What to do? Leave well alone (treat the rot of course) and live with a duck under? I cannot see an easy solution that won't involve undoing the roof and some major new works. Of course, had I realised that the beam was THAT low (it looked an awful way up from the ground!), I would have set the floor 400mm lower and re-arranged the works accordingly - too late for that approach, I'm afraid. Cheers, Philip

Well chums, another satisfactory albeit short day working in the loft. I am at the distance at which I originally intended to have my layout. Following discussion and suggestions about this layout on the other thread, I am at the point of flooring over the cantilever section (hooray). There are about 7 lengths to go - but I shan't finish tomorrow as I shall have an awful lot of trimming to do due to the wall being at odd angles - the finishing line should be achieved on Sunday - missing planks notwithstanding. I rang my builders' merchant this pm, and he does have some in stock and so I have reserved 5 extra for finishing and making the stairwell trap-door - I haven't even begun to think how to make that. Monday will probably see the scaffolding come down and the space cleared for the two set of stairs to be put in place. If all goes well, they should be completely out of the dining area by Wednesday. After that will be the very boring job of drilling, countersinking and screwing the planks down - just fixed at their ends and centres at the moment. Here are a couple of photos of the works so far: In other news, I baked my Christmas cakes this morning, but managed to miss the postie, so sorry guys, your cards may be late this year . The next post concerns the beam and post arrangement that is probably going to cause me a few issues - engineering proposals would be welcome. Cheers, Philip

Pah! When Noah was in short pants I did this years ago in my bedroom - about 1964. I managed to get an 8' x 10' layout hinged against the wall, the ceiling being about 9' high. It took almost the whole room with just the end of my bed showing and the airing cupboard opposite. My mother went mad as the airing cupboard was on the other side of the layout. Being an awkward 14 year-old, I suggested she do as I did and crawl under!! Ooops!! Didn't go down too well. My solution was this: At the intended height of the layout, I fixed a wooden support with a wing-bolt far enough away from the wall so when the layout was vertical, my landscaping was clear of the wall. My end pieces of the layout were made from 3" x 1" and I cut and chiselled (no routers in them days) a slot in each side (at the mid-width) within which the end of the bolt was placed and pushed through. A wing nut was then secured on the inside edge (couple of washers too). At the free-end, the edge that would be closest to the ceiling in the up position, legs were bolted so that they were able to swing freely and always in the vertical position whether the layout was up or down. With a bit of grunt, I was able to raise the layout up from its vertical position and whilst raising I would start to drop it down and forwards until the back edge was clear of the wall - hence the slot to act as a runner. Once horizontal, I would push tight the layout tight against the wall and tighten the wing-nuts so that it couldn't then move. Raising it was the reverse, not forgetting to secure the wing-nuts when in its vertical position - reducing any unwanted accidents. It lasted about 2 years when due to the moaning by senior management, I unilaterally took over the loft instead (it wasn't being used) and I created a 27'1"x 7'6" layout in there instead. I recycled all the timberwork and baseboard too, but not the track. I went from sectional (Trix Twin) to what was then the modern Peco flexible. Never looked back. Cheers, Philip