Philou

I would check that you can reach into all the corners from where you propose to have your operating well - 900mm would be a good rule-of-thumb - errr - as it were. For terraced houses you couldn't do better than to try Scalescenes ones - come in low relief (front/back) and full width. Fairly easy to hack about to create some variety and its pay once and copy as many times as you want (no connection - just a happy customer). For speedy build, there is Metcalfe and other makes. I like the idea mentioned above of an urban station hemmed-in by walls and the like (think Liverpool Lime Street). Variations of Cyril Freezer's 'Minories' plan abound all having that slightly gloomy feel about them and plenty of bridges to divide up the scene (do avoid the bus-on-a-bridge scenario though ). Good luck - the first few steps are the hard ones, Philip

Well, didn't happen. I did however, restore the lights in the barn that were attached to the old beams by re-attaching them onto the new joists. Funny, same lights but being higher up and angled differently means that there is a much better light spread. I did notice that whilst it only took me 15 minutes to take them down, it took me 2 hours to put them back up! Perhaps news tomorrow (keeping fingers and eyes crossed). Cheers, Philip

Hello chums, Following a week of great inactivity, this greeted me this morning on opening the barn door: The SiL came yesterday afternoon and in 45 minutes he and I (mostly him) had cut down all the remaining beams and lowered them onto the floor ready for collecting next week. It means I now have clear space under the new joists and a heck of weight removed from the existing retained beam. I'm keeping the scaffolding in place as it means that I can use it to start my new floor. Once a couple of square metres are laid upon which I can walk safely (ie screwed in place), it can be removed. Downside is that in the interim, I have no space to stock my new flooring as it may arrive this pm as my builders' merchant is going to the timber yard/sawmill today to do some 'shopping'. Hopefully, my order will be ready: One thing that the recent exercise showed up was that my new joists (or new beam) didn't move or flex noticeably when subjected to an individual load of 100kg+ when centrally placed on a joist - so it's looking positive for when I'm up there semi-permanently (ie back indoors to be fed! ). I've also ordered additional flooring with which to fabricate a new set of stairs (the design in SketchUp matched my expectations with minimal cuts and wastage - so good to go there too) - all I need are the materials! Cheers, Philip

I ask the question as I'm curious - Why? Why are the axles being painted/resistors? Are the systems that you are using for DCC? (I'm going DCC only). If all of this has already been explored in detail, to save you repeating, just point me in the right direction. Thanks. Cheers, Philip

Just as well I didn't include an errant 's' either! I just created the list thinking that I should have added a note to say to @ejstubbs that we would need to search further via images on the web dating from the period to home in on the station - which seems to have been done. I did the route quite a few times starting from Ledbury to Paddington and return but that was in the 90s and to be frank I didn't take too much notice of the trackage at the time as the HST didn't call at all stations. I thought Honeybourne of interest due to its junction with the MOD depot at Long Marston. Cheers, Philip

I thought I ought to post up the SiL's efforts of yesterday seeing as I have none of mine to show: Nice clear space unencumbered by the two beams and the stairwell ready for some stairs. Cheers, Philip

@McC Pssst ...... don't tell her that I've already got a few stashed away! Cheers, Philip

If between Oxford and Worcester: The stations are: Hanborough, Combe, Finstock, Charlebury, Ascott-under-Wytchwood, Shipston, Kingham, Moreton-in-Marsh, Honeybourne, Evesham and Pershore - pretty much in the sticks for the most part! Cheers, Philip

@JeffP Oo-er, I feel for your back. I did mine in 1976 as being a proud new first-time houseowner and wanting to move the washing machine, I didn't know that thing was loaded with concrete blocks! Had a weakness there ever since - though not had anything for the last 10 years (touch wood!). Today has become a non-day - nothing but 'phone calls and visits (my birthday today) and in an hour I have an unscheduled council meeting. I'll try again tomorrow morning, early! On the plus side, Mrs Philou who must have noticed that I have a penchant for trains, gave me a nice Accurascale steel carrier. Very nice thought! Cheers, Philip

Chums! Good news! I left on a bit of a downer being at a loose end having no materials with which to work and being the weekend, I wasn't going ask my neighbours to help in taking down the original beams in the barn. Added to that, on Sunday pm, whilst packing the spa away for the season, Mrs Philou decided to take a short route off our sundeck. She fell, taking a step back onto air, and fell backwards about 1.0m. Fortunately, no RUD (Rapid Unplanned Disassembly) ensued, nothing broken, not even visible bruising. She was understandably, shaken (but not stirred) and is recovering - enough so to comment this morning that I am not very versatile with the vacuum cleaner. "Well, ya boo," I thought," you're better then!" Went to see the doctor this afternoon and he gave her some non-ibruprofen based anti-inflammatory tablets and a script to have a general scan/x-ray of her back just-in-case. This evening, my son-in-law called round to see how things were and to look at what had been done in the barn. He saw the two beams that are blocking my stairwell and he said 'Get your chainsaw ready, and I'll do them with you now'. He went to get his endless chain, whilst I busied myself in putting fuel and chain-oil in the saw and when I came back, the one was already on the floor. 'Wut?' 'It was only softwood and I shouldered it down onto the scaffold and then onto the floor'. Oh, the advantage of being young and wiry. The second beam was strapped to the endless chain, itself being attached to one of my new joists, one minute cut with the saw and it too was free. Down on the floor, the stump just pulled out of the wall and that was it! 10 minutes tops! Next Tuesday he's coming to take the others down and take them away. He did have an ulterior motive for taking them down as wants to build a small log cabin for his son/my grandson. So, tomorrow I remove all the carp in front of the new staircase so that I can get its measurements BEFORE I move it and find it's too short. If too long, I can adjust a little, but I shall need to be careful in so doing and not cause a hazard due to differences in step heights (the risings). Using his endless chain that he has so helpfully left behind, I should have little difficulty in raising it into its new position - it only took two of us to bring it across the road and heave it onto the mezzanine level - so here's hoping that I shall some news to add tomorrow evening. Cheers, Philip

@Michael Hodgson I hope you made a full recovery. It was around 1970 that I saw this particular overhead arrangement. I've just had a look on Streetview but there doesn't seem to be a tram line anymore where I thought I saw it. The trolleybuses are still running. Cheers, Philip

The trolleybuses in Cardiff originally used the patent 'Callender' head that was bronze (or brass) that not only swivelled left/right along the axis of the pole but also 'nodded' to align with any imperfections or droop of the contact wire. They weighed a massive 8lbs and were tied to the pole by means of a cord should one be detached from the pole following a dewirement (as they did from time to time - cue the conductor taking the bamboo pole from under the 'bus and chasing the errant pole). Due to the concerns of possible severe injury caused to the public, Mr Cununder the Transport Manager of the time, designed a lightweight head weighing in at about 2lbs. This head only had the horizontal swivel and no 'nodding'. By removing the 'nodding' action, dewirements were much reduced and there was no discernible extra usage of the carbon insert . The foundry of the Cardiff Corporation Transport undertaking were very adept at casting their own special fittings - heads, frogs, crossings etc. Another Cardiff design was a very short presolenoid run up to the electrofrogs (just a few inches rather than a couple of feet) as it very much reduced the burning out of solenoids as did happen on other systems where the trolleybus may have been held up within the section and the frog held open. I happened to see the system work just the once and it was indeed very quick - really 'click-clack' and that was it. It is right to say that the 'bus had to be coasting or drawing power for the system to work (possibly using back EMF?). Some overhead junctions that were very lightly used (short or return to depot only workings) were hand operated by the conductor (no linesmen for the trolleybuses - don't know if there were pointsmen for the trams though). I really missed the trolleybuses whose demise were probably influenced by the motorbus lobby - all following London's lead. Cardiff's system was a youngster, less than 30years old (1942-1971), when it closed definitively. They are however, bringing back trams, both street- and train-trams (search for Cardiff Metro on t'intertubes if interested). Cheers, Philip

Interesting photo @jwealleans of your van though I note you say 'refrigerator' and @The Johnster says 'refridgerator' (bursts into song). Who is correct? Cheers, Philip

This is a really interesting topic - love it! I am a fan of trolleybuses as I lived in Cardiff until my thirties and the system was in use until January 1971 - can you believe already 50 years ago! Insofar as Cardiff trams were concerned (gone before I was born) most had reversers at their terminals (I don't know if the frog was operated by the conductor or sprung) whereby the tram would reverse and the pole would follow a diverging route pass a sprung point and the tram continuing in reverse would then draw the pole forward and through the now correctly returned frog. The tram and pole would then continue in the 'right' direction. Insofar as I can tell, at junctions the frog was operated by the tram itself. The tram would take a diverging route through the pointwork with the pole continuing a short distance along the straight ahead line. The pole now at an angle to the tram would arrive at the frog that had a lever hanging down with which the pole would push and operate the frog. I think there was only one balloon terminus for trams at Roath Park. On the other hand, all the trolleybus routes had balloon terminii (though a few reversers were provided until the routes arrived at their definitive ends) save one route at the Docks terminus in Bute Street (Tiger Bay) (Route 16 originally became Route 14). It was always a reverser until the abandonment of the route. There is a film of it in use on Youtube. Oh, it was also the only single decker trolleybus route in Cardiff (possibly the only one in the UK?). I was intrigued that the reverser existed as it ran parallel to the balloon terminus of the Nos 6 and 9 routes. It was the same electricky as the routes reconnected at the Monument terminus at a standard balloon terminus! I have a question relating to both tram and trolleybus overhead: How were the bronze hangers that were attached to the span wire (similar to those shown in the photo above) insulated? The blade holding the contact wire was fixed inside but if there was no insulation there would have been a direct short between live and neutral in the case of the trolleybus system as there was no other form of external insulation on the span wire prior to its attachment to the traction pole - but what at the actual interface between the contact wire hanger (?) and the span wire itself? In response to the OP's original question, that I took to mean tram - tram overhead, I have never seen pantograph and trolley pole using the same contact wire. What I did see in Montreux (possibly Vevey) was a trolley bus (pole) - tram (pantograph) contact wire along the same route. In this instance though the two were interlaced over a short distance BUT the trolley pole was deliberately dewired by a built-in deformation of the trolley-bus overhead (the pole being attached to an auto-rewinder) so the the pole never came into contact with the tram overhead. IIRC, it was to allow the tram to pass at a pre-determined point on the route. Once passed, the conductor had to reconnect the trolley pole to its contact wire. Didn't have a camera and as I was driving I couldn't stop and take in any other details. Cheers, Philip

@The Stationmaster He is a one-man-band and doesn't seem to take much time off - beside which 'round these 'ere parts there are no 'proper' restaurants - can't say rough'n'ready as it's not a fair description, but the villages are so small there just isn't a large enough clientele to be open everyday, some do well at lunchtime - mainly pizza type - and others do better in the evening - but they're not open every day, or evening. Most people go home for lunch - hence the two hour closing time at midday. Out here in the sticks, shops tend to open early in the morning and close later in the evening than in the UK and so they make up their hours by having a longer lunch. I can't speak for larger towns as it seems more hit and miss. It would seem that the smaller the shop the more likely it will be closed over lunch. Don't forget that in the UK a lot of shops did shut at 1pm 'til 2pm and then there was half-day closing on Wednesday. Cheers, Philip

My local builder's yard is very good - usually always there even during lunch (other than on collection/delivery and there is always someone on duty) and he will deliver for a small fee (about €20) which suits me as the last load was over 1T and in 6.0m lengths. He allows me credit provided I settle at the end of the month - good again as my pension is paid into my UK bank a couple of days before and as UK/France transfers normally take no more than 1hr (weekends excepted) I can pay him before the end of month. @ikks If I laid my stuff out on the floor, I'm sure Mrs Philou would soon have it off the floor - and me! Cheers, Philip

No flooring this side of the weekend - maybe I'll have news on Monday. The two old beams are still waiting to be removed - we need to be mob-handed due to the weight of them. I certainly couldn't do it on my own as I can just see me being lifted in the air on the end of the rope ....................... ! Wood collected and cut and all the kit was back indoors by 3pm. Have a good weekend one and all, Philip

Hello chums, Altogether a better morning. All the posts are up (even on the recast pad) and secured. I'm at a loose end . Tomorrow will be a change of plan - unload the trailer, take it and the large circular saw out of the barn, reload the trailer and down to the tip - err - recycling centre. They're very good as they recycle just about everything - household waste excepted. Then return to where my logs are stocked, fill up the trailer, back to the barn, unload and pile, go get another load and if time permits start cutting - which will save time as I can off-load direct into the log-cutter. However, whatever I do, I shall have to be quick (me?) so that I can re-park the trailer and the saw in the barn before nightfall - trailers and big machinery tend to disappear (not from our village, but I shan't want to be the first). Maybe my flooring will arrive too by Saturday. If not, there are the two big beams to take down anyway. Or of course, I could carry on with my WIP plans Cheers everyone, Philip

@JeffP I know what you mean! My neighbour has a wonderful set of wood machining tools dated from the inter-war period - all made from cast-iron and originally belt-driven. He's converted them with 3-phase motors. One of them is a huge planer that he used on my Elm planks to square them up when I rebuilt a staircase in the house. He also has a modern Swiss-made machine that seems to be able to do just about anything - circular saw for panels, routers, planing etc. The only problem is that his workshop is so crammed full of machines and 'things', that if you need to work on anything longer than 2.0m - you can't! My barn looks uncluttered in comparison! I'm hoping that I shall be able to sweet talk him in cutting some plywood panels to size for the layout. Onto today's foray: Harrumph!! I only managed to shatter one of the concrete pads that I cast the other day. Problem was two-fold - The one post I cut was a tight fit so tight that it became bash-fit and that's when it crumbled to dust and of course, the concrete hadn't gone off enough. Undeterred, I removed the post, trimmed off about 2.0mm (which I should have done in the first instance) and used it for the second post. It went in reasonably well, just a light tappity-tap and it was in and then secured. I recast the pad and I shall just have to be patient. Tomorrow I have two othes to do - but the pads for those I cast some time ago. Looking on the bright side of life - tee dum tee dum etc., I completed all my noggins and 'fingers' - stabilisers I suppose - just after lunch and I now have one complete sub-floor . Here are a few photos: As my flooring hasn't arrived yet, it looks as if I'm going to have to go Friday and do some log gathering and cutting as I haven't brought in any winter supplies yet. The weekend will be reserved for the removal of at least two of the big beams the are obstructing my stair-well. Cheers everyone and take care out there, Philip

Bit of a slow day - I just couldn't get started properly this morning. It was shimmying up and down the ladder all day yesterday wot probably dunnit - honest. Any way, once underway, I attacked the 'fingers' and some more of the noggings. If I do as much as I did today and hopefully more awake, it will be done by tomorrow afternoon. Then onto the posts - I expect the whole lot to be done by Thursday pm. On the weekend, I hope to tackle the stairwell by taking down the two original beams that are in the way. I have a staircase lurking in the barn. It came from a neighbour's house who was chucking it out, it was fairly modern, for something even more modern! The downside, it's only 80cm wide and if I have club members over, I should have preferred 1.0m (the French equivalent of Building Regs require it). One thing though, until I heave the staircase out of its hiding place, I won't know if it fits! Maybe some photos tomorrow showing the works to date. Cheers, Philip

Given the after-effects of Covid, I've got used to paying with 'no contact' which I prefer. I understand though the terminals are not free AND you have to have a wi-fi connection that is not always available so credit/debit cards may just not be a viable option especially for smaller exhibitions/clubs. Our forthcoming show is free as we have the Parish Hall for free (otherwise it's €600 if we charge) and we probably wouldn't have enough footfall to cover the cost otherwise. We shall have a box for donations at the exit - no coshes or lock-in - if the public want to. We shall make some money on food and soft drinks (definitely cash only). Cheers, Philip Edit: Sorry, I missed the bit where @Kris already mentioned wi-fi.

I'm in the process of doing 'that' layout as I type this. Started three weeks ago and I'm at the stage of putting noggings in between the new joists of the railway room - it's 3m up in our barn. Arrival of flooring materials is awaited as there seems to be a shortage over here. My plan is fairly big - 7.80m x 6.30m (26' x 21') approximately and has been in gestation for about 4 years. However, the grand plan was formed over 40 (yes - 40!) years and I've had to wait. Really, I've waited too long but it's under way. As @Phil Bullock has said it'll be down to what you want to run that may dictate specific details of your layout. Just because I can, I'm having two prototypical stations, one still exists and has quite short platforms, so short that when HSTs stopped there, the last three coaches were not in station. The other was demolished (probably at the time of Dr B) but had longer platforms that can just accommodate the equivalent of a HST. I shall be having a branch - well two branches that connect at one branchline station - this is my Rule 1 as the branches from the two stations could never have joined up geographically, though the two stations did. What am I going to run? The stock I've collected over the years has been eclectic - again 'just because' - but over the last few years I've become more focussed (but have been known to get side tracked all too easily) and I'm really concentrating on the North - West line and Welsh Marches area but over a long time span - 1922 onwards (thought some stock pre-dates that too). I happen to really like modern block train workings (not for everybody). As they're freight they shan't be stopping at my stations so no need for long sidings BUT BUT the fiddle yard will be 4.0m long to accommodate the freights (and even then I think it may be tight). Over ambitious? I won't know until it's time to lay the track - I have half of it stock. There is enough to lay at least one continuous circuit right away. I think it's important as it'll be something tangible - something to show - something to allow that stock to stretch its legs after all this time. As for managing the construction of the boards, I'm not having any duck-unders and my access is from below so no doors in the wall. Even though I have no intention of taking the layout to exhibitions (too big and probably not of a high enough standard) it will be modular for ease of access if and when things go wrong (I'm looking at you point motors). Additionally, if and when I pop off, there won't be any need to tear it to bits to take it away! And what led to the design? Just happened to live in the town with the short platformed station and it was geologically interesting and the other I chanced on an old black and white Edwardian photo with two express trains in station and a very busy yard with a mixed branch line train waiting for the right of way. I thought it would make a jolly good model and away it went. I will say that the RMWeb collective were very good (and kind) when I showed the plan, which after a few tweaks and ideas became the final Magnum Opera - Dymented!! Yay Don't wait too long - do it! Cheers, Philip

Not much to report today and definitely no photos! Just been noggin' away. I've broken the back of it and no more going up to the top of the ladder as tomorrow's work is accessible without much need of the ladder. My fears that the pieces that I pre-cut were too short were mostly unfounded. I did have to cut two new ones though, the rest went in fine. I think the problem came about as the ladder was resting at the mid-point of the beams causing them to bow and hence the larger dimension - doh! After that, it'll be adding 'fingers' to the free end of the joists so they touch the house wall - should there be any movement in the wall-plate or the big beam. Then it'll be the remaining posts - I struck the bits of formwork today but as the concrete is still 'green', it'll need to dry out some more. Cheers, Philip

@The Johnster I like your take 'impressionist' in dealing with the area around Glyncorrwg (was part of my 'patch' when I worked for Mid-Glam. County Council). Chimer of this parish, did also remind me that at the end of the day the difference in height at Ledbury station and the hills beyond is only of the order of 200' which is approximately 800mm above my proposed track level - so not too high as to worry about compression as I have the space and height to go full-scale. I shan't be doing Ledbury tunnel full length, mind. I lived in Ledbury for about 4 years and quite liked the town. I caught the HST (full length) from there to go to London a few times (dep. approx 6.30am arr. 8.50am or so). Return journey was always interesting as the platform was about three coaches short - so getting aboard at Paddington, you had to remember to board towards the country end! It's partially why I decided to base my layout on Ledbury as I can model the station at a prototypical length and yet run a full length HST! Win win all-round I say. Pontrilas, my other station, of course no longer exists, so in my world it has remained and co-exists with Ledbury. As the station platform there was longer it is conceivable that HSTs could have called there, but I don't think they have ever travelled over the North-West on revenue earning service - or have they? Where or how am I going to operate the layout. The straight answer is that I don't really know. I envisage that the layout will be in four distinct districts - Ledbury, Pontrilas, 'Dymented' and the fiddle yard. I shall probably be sat down and I have set the layout height at 900mm above floor level - which happens to just about coincide with the true scale height of the stations above sea-level (my floor being 'sea level') - clever, eh? I AM going DCC and the club is setting up their new layout to be DC and DCC. For the DCC side of things they are incorporating a lot of RJ11 plugs so you can unplug your controller and set yourself up any where - hot desking I suppose! (I shall NOT be walking around with a controller other than for trouble shooting (faulty pointwork or some other problem)). If I do the same, it means that I can control the whole thing from one or any spot and if some club members (or RMWebbers of course - you're all most welcome Vin Jaune and Comté cheese will be available - yum) come my way, then we can simulate four 'signal boxes' and operate the layout as if it was the real thing. (On my own, I'll be happy to do roundy-roundy or have a shunting session in one of the three station yards). Oh, and because Ledbury tunnel is single track, there is absolutely no option of having two trains let loose on the main to just go round and round in opposite directions - they will need to be driven! In my OMO mode, trains that start at Ledbury will be passing through Pontrilas only and vicky-verker. However, trains at Dymented will go to Ledbury OR Pontrilas as neither of the branches could ever have been connected (Ledbury and Pontrilas are connected geographically but there were very few trains that linked the two directly. Mike, The Stationmaster, did kindly show me an extract of a WTT that did list the one train. Cheers everyone and here's hoping I get those noggins done by end of play tomorrow. Philip PS: I called in to my builders' merchant on Saturday and he was mildly optimistic that I could have my flooring by the weekend

Interesting to see the torpedo wagon in shot too. Cheers, Philip