ikcdab

The approach to the main terminal is via a tunnel that passes under the main running lines. Last Sunday's job was making the portal...

So now the harbour station is up and running, I can think about the main terminus, Charlton Bridge. The track plan is an enlarged version of Freezer's Minories. Enlarged in that it has additional goods and loco sidings. The baseboards for this run diagonally across the room and the whole station is around 5.5m long. First things first for me, here's the control panel. Cab control from either the red or green controllers with 9 sections. The routes are switchable from the rotary knob at the top. "Hand-worked" points are operated by either simple on/off switches or, in the case of the goods sidings, by s rotary switch. The two white LEDs to the left are for the "link sections" between this panel and the next. There is a shared portion of track that can be switched to either panel. The LED shows who has control. The control panel is linked to a switch panel underneath the baseboard: This holds the diode matrix for the route switching and relays for polarity switching on the turnouts. The chocolate blocks at the top will link to the track power feeds. The control panel is up and running, just no track yet!

And here is a close up of the Clyde puffer in the harbour with a non-prototypical j50 in the engine stub.

I spent some time in Japan in the summer of 2019. A lot of people were wearing masks and they do it for two reasons. Firstly, it's a very respectful society and if you have a respiratory disease it protects others. Secondly, if you meet lots of members of the public, then you wear a mask to protect yourself from what they might give you. Hence virtually all bus drivers and people serving in shops wear them to protect themselves. It's a great idea and somehow I think we will be doing it too in the future...

so now to the harbour station itself. This is set on a gentle curve and the idea is that the station is on a stone pier with sea on both sides. First the station building. I saw a picture of Fordingbridge station and also i like the design of Winchester. I therefore designed a building that took elements of both amalgamated into one structure. This is the result: The canopy was put together fairly quickly to match and an island platform building too: The edging is peco concrete platfirm edging. Dock walls are from Scalescenes as are the fishing boats made as a christmas project. Obviously at some point i need to create sea over the plywood for them to float on..... Here is an overall view of the station in its incomplete form:

Once the panel was in, i could start tracklaying, wiring and testing as i go. The first harbour infrastructure encountered is the goods siding. The turnout was made from ply sleepers and C&L functional plastic chairs. In this case i decided to ballast the turnout before installation, hence i now have my only ballasted section of track on the layout! This is an overall view of the goods siding in its embryonic state. Warehouse is just a placeholder at the moment, the plan is to have a large low relief warehouse with loading platforms...just not been built yet. The height difference of 45mm with the main line storage loops is evident here.

So the main work over the last few weeks has been laying out the harbour branch. This curves off the main line via a single lead junction and runs for approximately 12 metres to a terminus that is planned to sit on a stone pier jutting out into the sea. It is inspired by Weymouth Quay, but as you will see, in reality bears little resemblance except in my own mind. The branch curves outside and rises at a slightly steeper gradient than the mainline and ends up around 45mm higher than the mainline and its storage sidings. My approach to this whole layout has been to design it completely first, then build the various switch and control panels so that when the track is laid everything can be just plugged in and it should work... So the first stage was to complete and mount the control panel. Handy as this gives you an idea of the very simple track layout. The mistake i made was that i originally had the goods siding with a right hand turnout but after i had the panel graphic printed out, i changed the siding to that it sits to the "north" of the branch line. Hence the patch on my nice neat diagram correcting this.

Im stepping back in time a bit now, but keeping on the theme of signalboxes - of which i need four in total. Back last summer i came across a photo of Tulse Hill signalbox in Pryors Southern Signals. I immediately liked the design and, again, using Scalescenes techniques produced this one. It has been lying around for a little while now and last week it was finished off by the addition of the name along the front - slaters 5mm lettering carefully applied by my wife who is more dextrous than me for fiddly things. No interior yet so the roof is still loose and i have lost the chimney stack - so a little bit of finishing off required. Charlton Bridge station is modelled with colour lights so this box requires an operating desk rather than a lever frame.

A bit of a shock to realise that its two months since i have done any updating on this thread. But we have not been idle. So today is time for some updates. The last thing i mentioned was the construction of a signalbox for the harbour branch. Having done a bit of googling, i decided that Lymington Pier box was the one for me. Not only was is a harbour signalbox, but it was also a nice modern design and of a size suitable for my location. Luckily i found this website which had a drawing and some pictures. My approach is to draw up the building on CorelDraw, which is a package i have used for many years. Once happy, it can then be broken up into various layers and built up using various thicknesses of card and the Scalescenes methodology. Its also Scalescenes brickpapers. I did try cutting the windows on the cricut, but to be honest its not that good at cutting very small shapes and in the end it was just quicker and better to cut them out with a very sharp scalpel. It is now finished, but as yet no interior. This is getting to be a habit, i now have three signalboxes with no interiors (and hence loose roofs so that they can be fitted later).

If it was an admiralty railway then there is a good chance that there might be info at the Hydrographic Office in Taunton. They hold all of the Admiralty's mapping and charting records. They have a reading room (like Kew) where you can view their documents, though unlike Kew, you are likely to be the only visitor. No idea if they are open during the pandemic though.

The relief line West of Taunton is the "up / down relief". It's not between the main lines, but it is a bidirectional loop.

chris, haha, well said. I had forgotten about LB and KD.....

Scalescenes have easy kits you can download and build

I guess this thread will run out once every heritage station has been named.... Minehead is the overall best for me. Very attractive buildings with huge canopy. It's a proper terminus rather than a through station dressed up as one. And it is right on the beach. Exit the station, cross the road and your on the sands of the glorious Bristol Channel. Second is Blue Anchor. Again, right on the beach, even closer than Minehead is to the sea. Beautiful GWr signalbox controls traditional level crossing gates. Minehead and Blue Anchor are a pair. In 1874, Minehead was linked to the rail network to bring well-to-do visitors to the town and several posh hotels and villas were built to accommodate them. However, they did not want uncouth daytrippers despoiling the town, so Blue Anchor was developed to cater for those to keep them away from the posh visitors! Both stations are the best. Ian C.

Miss P got in before I did. The answer is on the name, "facing" point lock. Your points are trailing for passenger traffic so not required. The railways were careful with money and did not supply things that were not needed. If there was an occasional need for passenger trains to use the crossovers (think single line working), then the points would be clipped using what amounts to big G clamps. It's a pity because fpls are so rarely modelled. The western placed nice covers over theirs so they are very easily modelled. The southern didn't seem to bother (not sure why) so theirs are more complex to model. As for you second point, as far as I am aware, I have never seen 2 fpls worked from one lever in this situation, though that means someone will come along very soon with some examples.

Thats what I was thinking of doing. Are there any prototypical mainline examples?

Thats very helpful. I'm now wondering if I can create a recess in the embankment wall to accommodate one of these posts. I understand that red is the lowest aspect. But why the ARP hoods in this situation?

So I need to place two colour light signals in a deep, steep sided brick lined cutting. There is no room to have normal signal posts, so it will have to be mounted on the brick wall. I cannot find any pics of this, even though I know I have seen plenty in the past. Can anyone point me at some reference pics? For info, my model is BR(S) 1960s, 4mm scale. I am not looking to absolute prototype authenticity but would like the signals to look the part. I suppose I could sling a gantry across the cutting wall to wall and mount the signal heads on that. Is that prototypical? Thanks

So, how do I adjust the back to backs on loco driving wheels? Aren't they fixed solidly to the axles? How do I adjust them without wrecking the loco?

yes i have used this stuff. Cuts easily but flakes a bit. I stuck down with PVA with no problems. BUT the big problem is that it dents very easily. Only got to rest your hand on it a little heavily and you have a dent which you cant get out. Also it does break up easily if you drill into it or try and cut holes through the baseboard. On my new layout, i went for 3mm cork which i now consider is superior in every respect. I would not use the flooring underlay again.

Don't forget that the overall size is the finished size. You may have side walls to add onto the front that will make it wider. Normally there is a scale bar printed on the sheet to check the size.

If you bought it when it first came out and it has never run then I suggest that it's congealed lubricant. I would clean it all out and lubricate sparingly with good quality light oil.

I think that when you do something a lot, then you can become complacent and skill levels may drop. In the past, I have been happy to accept things I have done that were less than perfect. On my current layout i decided that if it wasn't right, then I would redo the job. I have stuck to this and it has paid dividends. I'm much more in the "get it right first time now".

I suppose it depends on what else the garage is used for. If it's just the railway and you can seal up gaps, then there is no reason it should be any dirtier than elsewhere. If you have to share it, then yes. My railway has exclusive use of my shed. I insulated like you and laid vinyl flooring which I keep clean. I don't do dusty jobs such as wood sawing and so far all is ok.

How did you insulate the garage?