Harlequin

Here are the updated drawings. [Click to enlarge] I think I've captured all the relevant changes but if not, just let me know, as and when.

Yes, no problem. It's pretty easy to change and I enjoy doing these drawings. I'll post up a revised Signal Diagram and Levers list referring to the signals as they are currently arranged. When you're happy with that I'll send you a PDF. And I'll do a further revised set of drawings whenever you've settled on a revised signalling design. Phil

It's really useful to see this kind of experimentation being carried out. Is there a 3D printing technology that would produce the fine detail and smooth surfaces of the injection moulded parts we're all familiar with?

Thanks! I haven't found Helston station building yet but I'll certainly go and have a look now. The idea for the tearoom (or "refreshments room" as I'm now calling it) came from the back-story of Hampton Malstead. After the original broad gauge train shed burned down, severely damaging part of the original station building, the company decided to build a new improved facility. They wanted to provide better accommodation for staff members on site and improve the service for the many visitors who passed through the station. It's really interesting trying to put together a building in a Victorian style compared to a contemporary building. Thick walls, fireplaces and chimneys everywhere, little or no internal sanitation... :-)

How about: 2ft deep scenic board, 2ft 6in well (same width as a normal doorway), 18in fiddle yard board. 2ft wide end boards and the whole thing either 8ft long, or better 10ft long if you can do it.

Clockwork? Luxury! When I were a lad our trains were made of wood and we had to push them ourselves!

Hi Steve, Given what Mike has said above, please let me know what changes you'd like to make to the diagram. Obviously it partly depends on whether you want to change your model or have the diagram reflect the model as-is. Regarding signal 20 being pushed back alongside discs 16 & 17: Maybe you could suspend a short arm or a centre-pivoted arm under the bay platform canopy. In the meantime, here's a new, much more expressive layout for the levers list: [Click to enlarge]

To clarify: I was worried that a traverser only appears to have room to slide down one more road from your two feed lines. So a traverser could only have a maximum of 3 roads that can be connected to the scenic layout - and one of those could only be connected to the top-most feed line.

Thanks Mike! The photos will be a big help! Edit: Your advice about signal 20 has just clicked. (I was not thinking about the real track properly. Lesson learned.) Would a third disc on the same post as 16 and 17 be acceptable instead of moving signal 20 back? When I was a little boy living in Hermitage our neighbour, "Uncle Jim", was a signalman and my Dad and I visited him in his box one day. Unfortunately I can't remember much about the experience except that I was allowed to pull a small lever at the far end of the frame, which I think was to (un)lock the crossing gates, and I couldn't do it! I was only about 7. Then later on, when we had moved and had a nice little layout, Uncle Jim came and told us, at length, where all our signals should go. I can't remember much about that either... I really should have paid more attention!

Hi Mike, I'm just the office draughtsman on this diagram and Steve (SIGTECH) has the final say but just to clarify a couple of things: I think you're saying that the FPL levers were usually pulled to lock the points - to use completely non-technical language. Correct? Regarding signal 20 and discs 16 and 17: The current idea is that disc 16 reads from the parcel dock through the crossover to the main line connection at point 8. And disc 17 reads from the parcel dock to the loco shed. A train in the bay platform may be standing in advance of discs 16 and 17 so should there be a disc/signal to show that the crossover is in the "normal" position for exit from the Bay platform? Or is signal 20 enough to do that job? If none of the above sounds right to you, what would you recommend? Thanks for taking the time to give us your advice!

Hi CM, Have you seen "Edwardian splendour in 6' x 4'" int this month's (Feb 2018) Railway Modeller?

Yes, I was going to suggest something similar. The outside corners are valuable real-estate and it's easier to avoid baseboard joints out there. Here's a design that I did with sidings outside a small main circuit: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/110147-kings-tawton/page-2&do=findComment&comment=2913648 Notice also that you can start your passing loop further around the curve and run sidings parallel to the main line for some distance for a more realistic feel.

I'm not sure if the station building will be of independent origin or GWR yet but it's fun to doodle:

Most people advise not to go anywhere near MDF as a surface because it will require a lot of support (unless it's very thick and thus very heavy) and the dust created when cutting it is a real health hazard. Also, PSE will warp unless you buy the very best quality and/or you can either keep it attached to something so that it can't move or control the humidity carefully. The best advice seems to be to use good quality ply throughout for baseboard construction - both for the top, the sides and the bracing. (Maybe with some PSE to help make joints.) Properly designed boards made from ply should be strong and light, warp resistant and should maintain straight and square edges for reliable track joints.

Here's the latest update: Where things are still unsure I've left them alone (e.g. FPL lever sense) but I will change them if Mike advises or if you just prefer them to work differently in your model.

Hi Steve, No problem! I'm enjoying learning the technicalities and I'm keen to get the drawing reasonably correct. Ah yes, and I can see now another way that I misunderstood those two discs... My understanding of FPL levers is that it was most common for the lever to be "out" (pulled) to unlock. The other way around also happened but was less common. Lever names: I'm putting together info from various web sites and making educated guesses but if there's a definitive GWR or BR(WR) document out there I'll follow it. I'll make some changes and post a new drawing later.

I've never investigated XTrackCAD, even though I've seen plenty of people using it here. (Shame there isn't a Windows 64bit version but it is open source with source code archives so this might be fixable.) Be careful when you use the download page to only download the [Edit:] installer for your machine [/Edit], not any of the other rubbish that the page tries to push at you. Edit: The Windows version of XTrackCAD is a very old-fashioned style app. Not very user-friendly, IMO.

Hi Steve, About discs 16 (top, reading for line on left) and 17 (bottom, reading for line on right): The Bay to Dock crossover is normally in the "straight through" position. I think that would be the normal state for crossovers and that's how I've drawn it. So, will those two discs show clear when the crossover is in it's normal position (i.e. most of the time) and "danger" when it is set to crossover? If so, I hadn't twigged that... Or have I got them the wrong way round? I'm getting more confused the more I think about this! (I think it is standard for the topmost disc to read for the leftmost line.) Edit: I think I know where I'm going wrong: I should be thinking about routes, not just the state of the next points. I'll make sure I use the term "Parcels dock" everywhere. You're probably right about signals for your era. So #4 and #5 are small arms and is #21 also a small arm?

Hi CM, Welcome back! I'm a recent returnee as well and it's really interesting to see that so much of the hobby remains the same while other parts have really moved on, not the least of which is RMWeb itself. It's a great resource and a vibrant community. I think you've already realised the main issues with your current plan and they mostly come from the restricted width of the boards and thus the tight radii of the curves. I think also that the goods sidings are not long enough to do any useful shunting and you've got too many places where tracks cross baseboard joints. It sounds like you've got plenty of space so if you could expand your baseboards a bit you'd make it easier to produce a good design. Maybe go up to 2ft6in by 5ft boards to give a total area of 5ft*10ft in a more symmetrical arrangement, like this: If you do have a bit more width then you can open up the radii a bit, solve the reverse curves problem and make the loops and platforms longer like this: (I.e. insert the curving side of a straight point into the curve just before it straightens out.) And similarly, to get a smooth run into your inner sidings, continue the curve with another point immediately following on:

Hi Steve, I'm glad you like it! Yes, I think The StationMaster would have to answer some of your questions. I'll leave you to rub a signal lamp with an oily rag and summon him forth ;-) Shazam! My suggestions are: Signal number 5, Goods Home, would be a smaller armed siding signal, possibly centre-pivoted. Signal number 21, Goods Starter, would be a smaller "ringed arm" signal. What's the name of the tunnel?

Hi Philou, I think scottystitch was suggesting running two lines into the traverser (or turntable) separately. I.e. the anti-clockwise take-off from your main circuit and the clockwise take-off would arrive at the traverser/turntable separately without joining together. That would mean you wouldn't form a triangle of track and so wouldn't get "polarity" conflicts on the baseboard tracks. However you would still have to switch the "polarity" of the rails on the traverser/turntable depending on which line it connected to on the baseboard (I think) so I'm not sure it gains much. A DCC AutoReverser is easy to wire up and once fitted you should be able to forget about it. It will then allow you to drive any route you like without stopping to manually change polarity. Furthermore, you don't have to think about which direction on the knob is "forwards" on the part of the track controlled by the Auto-Reverser - forwards is always FWD on the controller.

Sagebrush is a member of the Artemisia family and several varieties are commonly grown in UK gardens. The most well-known is "Powys Castle" and it does get woody and leggy over time, just the like photos of American Sagebrush on Wikipedia... Hmmm...

Just saying it's a possible solution that this layout could make use of more easily than most. It has some advantages, one of the biggest being to completely eliminate the point ladders and thus shorten the peninsula or lengthen the fiddle yard roads. Obviously it has some disadvantages too. To change locos: Drive train onto fiddle yard road, turn fiddle yard 180 so the same road is now connected to the layout, uncouple and drive loco off turntable, rotate to new position and reverse loco onto different stock. In fact you could have an array of loco spurs on the main baseboard to store locos ready to back onto whatever stock you liked. Advantage: No loco handling so no fingerprints, no broken details. Disadvantage: Would need precise engineering. P.S. Don't forget brake vans have to swap ends as well.