Coombe Barton

Or maybe something like a selection of standard doors and windows and surrounds, and things like chimneys, other building furniture that could be combined with John's stonework and brickwork so that regional and size variants could be made. Then of course we'd get into the Stone No 1 and Stone No 3 debate ... But didn't other companies have the same sort of standardisation? Could the idea be extended?

Coombe Barton Workbench For the past twenty five years I've been using half of an old church notice board as a modelling workbench. However age as taken its toll and the ply is seriously delaminating. So this is the construction of a replacement. I can now incorporate features that will make life easier that I'd neglected to do for the past quarter century. I've been using the modelling workbench for a whole variety of things, sometimes including railway modelling. However from the modelling perspective I looked at what the processes were that I had to follow and try to separate them, then looked at the tools and materials needed for each process so that I could accommodate them. Processes for the workbench (not an exhaustive list) with the general tool types needed. Trackmaking - cutting, drilling, fettling, soldering, solvents Control mechanism construction (panels, lever frame) - cutting, drilling, fettling, soldering, swearing Loco building - cutting, drilling, fettling, soldering, electrics, clamps Rolling stock building - cutting, drilling, fettling, soldering, solvents, clamps Building construction - drilling, scalpels, straightedges, adhesives, clamps Treemaking - soldering, cutting, messy painting, clay, scenic materials Detail construction - anything Painting, spray and brush - paints, airbrushes, fume extraction, brushes, thinners, drying time The purpose of this decision process is to have the common tools to hand and then move specialist kitsets in when I need them. I'm particularly good at spilling liquids, so have decided that all pots of liquids will live in a deep container, and then when I'm using them (which will usually be one or two at a time - flux and solvent are not normally part of the same operation) I'll put them into an Ikea food container - having tested the reaction of the fluid on the base first. The bottle is held upright and centred by a stripwood frame that's a push fit inside the container. More on this later. The bench dimensions are to suit me and my workshop site. Parts list: 4ft x 2ft 3/4" ply. (or if in new money, 1220mm x 605mm 18mm ply) 2 off 8ft lengths of 3/4" x ¼" hardwood strip for edges (2 off 2420mm of 18mm x 6mm) 2ft of 2†x 1†(600mm of something that's deep enough to hold the board on the table to stop it being pushed backwards - see later for construction) Depron 3mm foam to stick on underside to protect surface it’s lying on. (I’m also using this for tracklaying). You could also use cork – I did for the original version and that lasted 25 years. 8ft of 1 3/8†x ¼ “ hardwood (2420mm of 35mm x 6mm) for tool rack Brackets for tool rack – I used some 35mm sq beech I had lying around Copydex, screws, panel pins, matt varnish. The total cost was less than £35, sourcing the timber and glues from Wickes. This is a view of the finished article in use, finally starting the High Level Pannier chassis I bought to do over Christmas! I decided that my available space was 2’8†wide. Funnily enough this was about the width of the previous version. It can be picked up by one person without too much danger to doors and other furniture. And it also gives a 1’4†remainder that slices neatly in half to form the back and side boards. Rough cutting diagram Please note that the dimensions are approximate. Lengths have to be judged at time of construction because the back is slightly longer than the base. After cutting sanding the edges (I used a belt sander) reduces the splinter count markedly. Construction Screw and glue back to base making sure that the total length of the back including the stripwood trim is the length of the base plus twice the thickness of the ply. I built it this way round, to screw the back into the sides, but equally I could have screwed the sides to the back. After fitting the back the stripwood edging went on round the back. For the sides I cut a chamfer at the top front of the sides to save the knuckles when reaching for the tools (believe me, it’s necessary if you’re me), then edge with the ¾†x ¼†hardwood all round strip, glueing (PVA or Copydex) and pinning (panel pins). The edging is to prevent splinters. Then comes the fixing of the retaining piece. This is the lump of 2 by 1 that is screwed to the bottom of the base to hold it against the edge of the table. It needs to be fitted sufficiently far back from the front edge of the board to take the clamps of the vices and clamps I employ. Precise measurement is not required (about 3†will do and it needs to be well fixed (I used six screws) because you’re pushing against this a lot of the time. Photograph and diagram of this: It’s important that it’s parallel to the front edge of the base, otherwise you’ll find it difficult to visualise right angles as when you push it back on the table you’re supporting it on it’ll not be square. It may not seem important but if it’s wrong you’ll soon know. A friend made of these following my original pattern and it wasn’t quite square. It was disorienting to work at. In this diagram I also show the foam/cork, but this is not fitted yet – it comes after the toolholders have been built. Toolholders I looked at the price of jewellers bench toolholders and coughed. They do the job, but ... So it was back to Wickes for 8ft of stripwoood, 1 3/8†x ¼†this time. A toolholder must fit the tools in use. I also had the remains of the ¾†x ¼†strip left, and some 1 ½†square beech from which I could fashion brackets. I wanted racks for pliers, screwdrivers and needle files and somewhere to put clips, solders and the small stuff that doesn’t fit in racks. As a picture is worth a thousand words, here's 4000 words. After cutting the wider stripwood to fit between the cheeks of the board, and determining the size and shape of the brackets it then came to making the toolholder. 8mm holes seem to be about right, so marking out a suitable spacing to fit both the board and the tool so that they can be grabbed easily is a matter of experiment. I came up with staggered holes at 30mm centres 12mm from each edge of the strip, laying two strips in parallel. The diagram and photographs show it far better than any description. The boxes for solders and clips are glued together. When allocating tool space I think it's important to separate the sharps from the rest, hence knives and drills are in plastic containers at the back of the board - handy but somewhat protected against stray hands and crys of 'Ouch!' Then the whole thing is turned upside down and Depron glued to the bottom with Copydex. To seal a coat of quick drying Ronseal matt varnish (dried in 20 minutes) sealed the dust in. This is the basic board with the common tools for the processes identified at the start. Then there’s the anti spill trays and the adaptations for the various tasks. These are all extras and will get built when I need them. The Anti Spill Tray This is some sort of tray with wooden inserts to hold the bottle of fluid. There's a large base - less easy (but not impossible) to knock over. Construction is a matter of cutting wood to length and screwing together. neither the frame nor the bottle need be a perfect fit - it just needs to be able to hold it upright reasonably securely.

If that one is 'leaning to the right' I imagine that the next door neighbours may be a tad worried.

Measure twice, cut once, they say. This one fell at the 'measure once' stage. The layout was designed to have four boards 3' 6" long, 2ft wide and one 2' square. It's portable and would have to be stored, and the design takes care of this. It also has to fit in the back of the car, a Focus estate. That's where the problems come in - I made an assumption (which is the mother of all cocks ups). So now there are four boards 4' x 1'9", two mainly station, one mainly river and one fiddle. The disdvantage is that I lose 3" off the scenery the length of the layout. The railway is unaffected. A decided advantage is that I simplify the cross-baseboard point and signal controls. I can still run trains 3ft long plus loco, I can still give myself problems shunting, all I wanted to do. I want to store all boards in their 'proper' orientation, i.e. right way up, so that things have less of a chance of dropping off (who am I kidding) I was at the stage of about to start to buy wood - but fortunately hadn't placed any orders. So now back to the drawing board to replan.

Following a great deal of help from RMWeb members here http://www.rmweb.co....al-box-diagram/ and here http://www.rmweb.co....ease-crossover/, the signal box diagram is now finalised. Levers 1 - Home 2 - FPL 3 - Main to loop and trap 4 - Main to goods 5 - Dummy main to goods 6 - Dummy main to loop 7 - Dummy loop to main 8 - Starter 9 - Adv starter 10 - Shunt 11 - Dummy from goods to main 12 - Spare 13 - Engine release 14 - Dummy for engine release Lever 12 will control the Loco shed point - it should be lineside but with this lever arrangement it's just too darned convenient.

Just found "We have also placed orders to have the following kits produced: ... GWR 48xx 0-4-2t. This was commonly known as the 14xx later." from http://www.davidgeen.co.uk/catalogue/mitchelldesign.htm

There's also the Transport History collections at Brunel at Uxbridge - http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=4130&inst_id=34&nv1=search&nv2=

Alex Jacksons This is a schematic of the position of the electromagnets for uncoupling Alex Jacksons. That's as far as it's got apart from more component buying.

http://www.buildinghistory.org/ has a section on railways http://www.buildinghistory.org/buildings/railway.shtml

I teach Research Methods to undergraduate and postgraduate students and the biggest difficulty that any of them seem to have is not identifying what to research but in keeping an adequate record of the source. For academia this is quite straightforward as there are recognised referencing systems, but in this freeform original research the source and location of the record is vital if you need to go back to it again. As much of this research is going to be original (and as such publishable) this is going to be quite important. Maybe in this (and I know this extends the scope of your original query) it would be valuable to look at how oral history researchers record their information. You may find the Oral History Society webpages of use. http://www.oralhistory.org.uk/ P.S. And if you have to go this far, Consent Forms are a good idea.

There's also http://www.old-maps.co.uk/ - various scales depending on area. Input by postcode or town/area

Stock Building Well, I've been buying, now all I have to do is build it. Partially completed, left over from the last time I was modelling, are a Churchward 45xx, and a 14xx on a Perseverance chassis, and complete (00) Mainline 57xx and 2251 Collett goods. eBay has provided me with another 14xx body and bits, eBay also provided me with another Airfix autocoach. I can now build both an A30 and an A28 version. At Warley from Dart Castings I collected a Frogmore AA3 brake van. The 57xx has a acquired a chassis, 54:1 gearbox and motor from High Level and wheels and bits from Alan Gibson, who has also provided stuff that I can use to complete the partially completeds. I'm also using the re-engineered Dart Castings Autocoach Detailing kits, From both Chris at High Level and Colin and Chris of Alan Gibson I ordered by phone in the afternoon and got the bits, complete and well packaged, the morning of the next day but one - and this was in the busy Christmas period. First Impressions - instructions Now this is out of the box stuff, and based on reading the instructions only. The High Level instructions are comprehensive and very well detailed, and uses real language. Seven A4 pages of how to, a parts list and etch identifying diagram and three pages of exploded diagrams of the build. By following the instructions I'm confident I can build this up. The Alan Gibson bits don't need much in the way of instructions, but what is provided is very sensible and straightforward. However a magnifying glass proved useful to read them. The Dart Castings material for the autocoach is three pages of instructions, a kit list and four pages of exploded diagrams. Reference is made to publications. The Frogmore kit of the AA3 brake van proves just how good the other instruction sets are by providing a contrast. Whilst all the basic assembly sequence is there the part identification and exploded diagram are not, There are photographs, but on my copy the ink was running out on the inkjet printer. An example of the basic nature of the instructions: "7) Fix end upright angle irons". I'm going to have some fun with this one! First Impressions - Engineering High Level - I'm going to enjoy building this one. The thing about good engineering is that it's immediately recognisable. The etch is clean and I have no doubt it'll do what is says on the tin. Alan Gibson stuff is also well engineered. It will also do what is says on the tin. Dart Castings detailing kit is a vast improvement over the previous version that was not very well receive in MRJ9. It's going to be more of a challenge as I;m not sre like the Airfix underframe that much I may play with some alternatives. The Frogmore A3 van is etched from a single sheet of 0.3mm brass and is clean. It will be something more of a challenge because as I've mentioned the parts are not identified. So to start The instructions and other materials have been photocopied to A3 so that my ageing eyesight is not too stressed. And there's a week before I have get back to work. And to continue I'm using this blog as a record. I've decided that (because I can) I'll document and photograph the builds so that I'll be able to ask for help with stuff I find difficult and have a history to relate. This will be mistakes and all. Chris at High Level will be getting an order for his 14xx chassis and (when the tender's available) another for the Collett goods. He tells me that he's engineering the chassis to suit a Dean Gods as well. Bogies and underframes on the autocoaches are going to be interesting. I'm tempted with Hubert Carr's MRD offerings. I talked with him at ExpoEM (this was before I'd made concrete plans) and am interested in his coach construction philosophy. I'll be talking to him again when he's at Watford Finescale (why is their website for 2007?). Otherwise I'll use the Dart Castings bogies. I'll use their sideframe castings anyway.

I remember seeing the broom and bucket process on Reading Station in the early 1970s, admittedly being applied as quickly as possible. Whitening was the target, not neatness.

Thanks for this. I dropped the idea because of other constructional factors I've introduced (more later in the blog) so it's become impractical. I am still using cranks and pulleys, but on a larger scale and confining the above ground rodding to cosmetic. I remember Much Meddling - thanks for the link.

The Timetable The branch loco has been a 517 and then a 48xx/14xx. The branch is operated using a staff and ticket system. 5:15am: Early turn fireman books on, fires up and moves loco from shed to water and coal up. He then cleans the shed pit of ash. 6:00am Early turn driver books on and oils up, before moving to platform where the first auto coach is stabled. 8:07am First auto to the junction mainly with pupils to the Grammar School. (staff) 8:47am Return of auto. After passengers have left uses the engine release crossover to move to couple up to the second auto trailer which is kept in the road past the cattle docks as the next trip is usually crowded people going to market at the junction. (In this universe it??™s always market day at the junction). To get back to the platform it has to go to the end of the run round loop and set back. (staff) 9:07am Auto with two coaches departs for junction. (staff) 10:55am Auto returns from junction and drops second auto coach. (staff) 11:10am Auto departs for Junction (staff) 1:07pm Auto returns from junction and moves complete over the engine release crossover to the shed siding so that goods can use station to sort. (ticket) 1:15pm First crew book off and second crew book on. Auto loco coaled and watered 1:45pm Daily goods arrives from junction, runs round and clears engine release crossover. Starts sorting yard (staff) 1:55pm Auto moves back over engine release crossover to platform 2:00pm Auto departs for junction (ticket) 2:00pm When auto has cleared goods loco continues sorting yard 2:35pm Goods departs (staff) 3:04 pm Auto returns from junction. After passengers have left uses the engine release crossover to move to couple up to the second auto trailer (staff) 4:00pm Auto departs for junction (staff) 4:52pm Auto returns from junction with schoolchildren and market shoppers. Drops second auto coach. (staff) 5:33pm Auto departs for junction (staff) 6:59pm Auto returns from junction. (staff) 7:25pm Auto departs for junction (staff) 9:07pm Auto returns from junction. (staff) 9:10pm When all passengers have left, the engine uncouples from the auto coach and runs over the engine release crosser to the shed road, fill the boiler, drop the fire and move the engine into the shed. They then book off. Cattle Market A cattle market is held four times a year, at Lady Day, Whit, Michaelmas and Martinmas, or the nearest Thursday following. The dates are 25th March, 15th May (usually), 29th September and 11th November. For these occasions large number of cattle trucks are in motion and extra trains have to be fitted in around the normal timetable. Extra locos are employed to move the extra traffic. For these days the second auto coach is kept coupled to the branch auto except for the lunchtime coal an water handover. The engine release area is not large enough t accommodate two auto coaches and an 0-4-2 tank, so extra ingenuity is employed. Cattle specials often run to 9pm or 10pm

Full Signalling In a small Great Western branch line terminus full signalling is something of a rarity. Moretonhampstead is one example where there's a full signal box Princetown's another. Other branches operated with porters acting as signalmen using various ground frames, local to or remote from the turnouts. So I've decided to make things difficult for myself and specify full signalling with working ground signals. The diagram indicates what's proposed. There's the home and the starter. There is a fixed distant (allows me to get away without a lever for this one) offscene towards the junction. Ground signal protects the run round at each end, the catch point at the end of the run round. The goods roads are protected by the ground signal off the main line and the signal working with the exit catch point. The story is that there was an accident caused in part by the slightly curved nature of the site preventing good visibility and in more prosperous times the company installed full signalling. This probably is a lot oversignalled for a piddling little branch line terminus, but I'm already practicing my swearing for when I build and install them. Added 7 November 2009 Following some very helpful advice from The Stationmaster on http://www.rmweb.co....424entry17424 the new schematic is posted below

So here's the plan. It's 14 ft x 2 ft. There is a 2ft x 2 ft town extension at the right hand end, but this is purely scenic. Four 3ft 6 in by 2ft boards, but the end of the fiddle yard will have a short single track extension to enable a run round there without excessive handling. However for cattle fairs the extension may be as long as 3ft. I'll be detailing this later. The track is completely flat, but the illusion of the third dimension comes from the track crossing the river valley and a gentle landscape slope through the station area. More altitude can be introduced in the town. Note: I'm assuming that this should be a thumbnail linking to the full image. If I discover there's anything different I'll edit. Buildings and structures: Station Building and Goods Shed adjacent the platform as indicated. Cattle loading dock opposite station building. Engine shed off loop, with watering and coaling facilities. Signal bx, the lonely little rectangle by the loop. In the station yard a mill and various warehouses. The mill may turn out a bit like the one at Dartington, and the warehouses will probably have elements of those at Totnes Quay. River Valley: Think a smaller version of the Dart at Buckfastleigh. The outlet mill race flows into the river near the bridge. Calm pools and small waterfalls here, the main energy of the river being generated further up in the hills, but not that far away. Baseboard Construction: Ply, 5.5 or 6mm. 5.5 mm seems to be more available. Framing is ply as is cross bracing. The location of those will be decided when turnout, signal and uncoupling magnet positions are determined so that they don't get in the way. There's no backscene as where buildings are cut they will show interiors. Control: Analogue control - I'll be building my own control units. Turnout and signal control by manual interlocked lever frame. Layout Storage: Because of the necessity for protection and the preservation of a little family life it will be disguised as furniture. I have thoughts, but need to draw out a full sized plan first to see if will all work.

Progress? Loads of decisions, not much action except buying tools. We have a plan - Ashburton with signals but without the train shed. And with a river. An xtrkcad plot will be posted soon We have a timetable - based Ashburton Working Timetable 1948. We have some experiments in track - they work. We have some exhibition visits under our belt - only two, Expo Em and ExpoEM North. We've spent some money - bits, kits, tools and gauges. We've still got a lot to do.

Coombe Barton Coombe Barton is a small town west of Exeter and east of Penzance. It lies on the southern slopes of the granite moorlands and thus is sheltered from the worst of the weather. The town takes its name from its deep valley location, or coombe which is possibly of the same derivation as the Welsh cwm, and the parish's most important farm, or barton. This latter may have been derived from the Old English (Anglo Saxon) beretun, meaning enclosure or barley-yard. The town owes its excellent deep and rich soils to the effects of the Ice Ages. Not that ice actually came as far south but the close proximity over a long period caused a deep cold that eroded the tops of the moorland and the meltwater deposited the detritus as it flowed away. The legacy is that the town is plentifully supplied with water which benefits both agriculture and the industry that has grown up. On the moors above Neolithic farmers left their mark - the hut circles, the enclosures for stock, the standing stones and trackways, speaking of a climate more temperate and forgiving than that now applying to the moorland. The heavily wooded valleys such as Coombe would have been largely impenetrable but home to animals to hunt such as wild boar. Through the Bronze and Iron Ages it is assumed that the area of Coombe developed as more land was required for an increasing population and trees would have been cleared to provide such land. Only the most incompetent of farmers could fail to get a decent living from such land, and there would have often been times of surplus. Trade with the rest of the island and what was to become know as continental Europe had been carried on for centuries. The Phoenicians had, apparently, something to do with this trade, as Herodotus of Halicarnassus mentions the Cassiterides, or Tin Islands, in The Histories, and it is supposed that this refers to the south west of Britain. The Roman occupation left this part of the country alone. Their client kingdom, called now, and presumably then, the Dumnonii, continued to trade with the occupied territories, presumably in agricultural products in exchange for luxuries. However there have been relatively few archaeological finds of the Roman period in the area. The first documentary mention of Coombe Barton occurs in the Exon Domesday, where the entry is: The Canons of Exeter hold COOME from the King. Osbern the Priest held it before 1066 and paid tax for 4 virgates of land there, however. Land for 12 ploughs, 5 ploughs there. 4 slaves, 9 villagers and 14 smallholders. Woodland 25 acres, pasture, 60 acres. Formerly 100s, now 60s. 12 cattle; 7 pigs; 70 sheep; 45 goats. As communities of the time go, this was of the larger variety. Coombe Barton seems to have missed the initial trade in tin. After the creation of the office of the Lord Warden of the Stannaries in 1197 various towns of the area were at times granted the right to coigne, or assay, tin for its purity. As most of these towns were on ancient trackways from the moorlands where the tin was streamed it seems strange that Coombe was not granted this privilege. It could have been that the place was not that accessible to packhorses bringing the tin as the valley is rather steep sided and other places more favourable. It was during this period that the Barton came into existence. The largest farm grew larger and may at times been fortified. The generic name for this type of farm is a Barton and the name of the small town changed. It was granted a market charter by Edward III in 1352 which is the first documented use of the name. Apart from this it seems to have kept itself out of the notice of the many wars and periods of strife that occurred in England. However Coombe did not miss all the Tudor disruptions of 1497 - the An Gof rebellion against taxes of Henry VII had the active support of many and in 1549 the introduction by a very young Edward VI of the Book of Common Prayer, in English not Latin, caused some of the more adventurous and hot headed to join in. Quite a few did not return, Blackheath and Crediton being the sites of their last resting places. The necessity for oak for ships under Elizabeth I enabled more land to be cleared and then the cattle rearing for which Coombe Barton became famous could really take off. It was not long before drovers routes down the valley gave better access, and farm carts could move about more freely in the right season. Upland sheep also became a cash crop, the wool being spun and woven initially as a cottage industry, and then as mechanisation enabled by water power from the streams coming from the moorlands, as a larger scale enterprise. The restoration of Charles II brought a change in fortunes for the family of the barton. Because of the support and hospitality freely given to the King's father, himself and his supporters both during Civil War fighting and while Charles II was in exile, Richard Coombe was made a Baronet and the King granted favours and land. Sir Richard de Coombe, as he became, politely declined offers of land in London town saying that he could better serve Charles by ensuring that he and his armies would benefit a reliable supply of food and leather. The King agreed, money flowed and a new house was started. The original barton remained the centre of farming activity. Richard, however, never completed the new house, preferring life at the centre of his business and used the money to expand his business interests - a mill here, a tannery there, a weavers shop elsewhere and so on. Fortunately for his family and the town these interests mostly prospered and on his death there was a thriving community. His memorial in the church of St Michael befits his standing as a gentleman with his roots firmly in the country. Animal husbandry and associated business interests do not change on the whim of fashion as everyone needs to be fed, so the political changes of the next century and a half left the family relatively untouched. As far as they could the then new technologies of water power were brought in to assist in the more labour intensive operations. But the main brake on growth was in transport, getting the goods produced in the town to market. Drovers and carters competed for the business, and the coming of the main line railway shortened their routes. In 1850 or thereabouts Sir Humphrey de Coombe and many other local traders proposed a branch that would join the main line and so give direct access to markets up country. Acts of Parliament followed and the branch was started. As with many similar ventures problems with contractors, lack of experience and difficulties with the line itself ate into the money but in 1860 the line finally opened. The first train was greeted with festivities and public celebration. The line broke even at best, but it did provide the avenue for easier access to markets for the supporters. Cattle markets took place weekly throughout the year, and major markets four times a year stretched the station and the local hotels and inns to capacity as buyers from up country congregated. Special cattle trains had to be laid on to cope with the demand. Mergers and acquisitions followed, the line being purchased by the Great Western Railway Company on February 6th 1891. Conversion from the broad gauge took place during the weekend of 21st and 22nd May 1892. Two world wars, grouping and nationalisation followed, then road transport started taking its toll, the line finally closing to passengers on 7th November 1963. Goods traffic, mainly cattle, continued until after the Martinmas Cattle Fair of 1967, after which time road transport was used. Little remains of the railway today. The track has been converted to a footpath and cycleway, the engine shed is the servicing garage of a transport company, the pit still being in use for servicing. The goods shed, station building and cattle pens have been replaced by light industry. Coombe Barton Station In its valley location there was not a lot of room to spare for building the station, hence its rather small compact design. Flattish land is a scarcity in this area as it is in the narrow valley bottom. Beyond the valley land climbs steeply, so preventing the expansion without considerable engineering. The station consists of a single platform with station building, a goods shed behind the platform served by a siding from the main running line. From that a return siding serves the mill. The engine shed line comes from the run round loop, and a small signal box completes the major railway buildings. The station yard houses the coal merchant, a feed merchant and similar enterprises. The Railway Hotel is set across from the entrance to the station and land adjacent houses the cattle market. The town occupies the sides of the valley where possible and spread further as prosperity increased. However it is unable to spread much down the valley owing to the steepness of the valley sides. So in its history the layout of the station was not able to change much. The buildings remained much as they had been built, still serving their original purpose. The descendents of the original backers continued to enjoy the contact with "them up country" for their markets. However declining revenues, the greater convenience of road transport, the buses, the trucks finally spelt the end. It lasted just over a hundred years. The reality All this is in the mind. After a twenty year break I'm returning to modelling. It will be for my pleasure as I don't intend to exhibit. The gauge will be 18.83mm as that was where I left off. I've always wanted everything to work mechanically, so the lever frame will interlock and control the signals and turnouts. The ground signals will work and will be lit, as will the buildings and, of course the signals themselves. Technology for that will be fibre optic from bright LEDs tempered by theatrical gels to give the correct colours. Control will be analogue as there are only two units of motive power required. Rolling stock will be mundane, an auto coach, cattle wagons, open and closed wagons for general merchandise. Motive power, a 48xx/14xx and a 45xx which I already have as part builds. Ruling radius is 5 chains in the station, with B6 turnouts. Trackwork - I have a load of material from Ian Rice (?) - same as C&L, so will be handbuilding again. Buildings will be built for purpose. There is no pressure to get things running. The visible area is less than 8ft with a traverser beyond acting as ???up country??�. It will sit behind and alongside my desk. Trees will be an important part of the disguise. Period? I'm torn. Do I go for the 1930s, the heyday of the GW pre-war? Do I go for the summer of 1947, just pre-nationalisation? Or do I go from my earliest memories in the 1950s of North Road Station, Laira Shed and Marsh Mills to Yelverton? Each has their attractions. To kick start I'm off to ExpoEM in Bracknell on Saturday 16th May. Fortunately the summer when I'm not teaching is approaching, so I have more time to reflect what I want to do. I probably have much of what I need already. Model developments over the past 20 years seem to revolve round much better etching and detailing, a greater availability of tooling. I have to restock - a son and a toolbox mean inequitable distribution ("Dad, can I borrow - "). Maybe a lathe (the mortgage is paid off in a two months) and some press and milling tools. What drives me is attention to detail. Even if no one can see it I'll know that it's there, and fiddling to get things right is quite relaxing. I haven't set myself any timescales - it'll come when ready. But the major difference between now and twenty years ago is the computer and CAD packages, so drawing up and replicating is easier. I'll be designing everything, including a storage system, before I start building. And the storage system will be built first just after the baseboards and covers so that it'll fit away and be undamaged as far as possible. I think that major mechanics should all work before any modelling is done - retrofitting with large hammers and saws does not do much good to delicate construction as in my hands they appear sometimes to take on a life of their own. Ply (probably 6mm) laminated for strength in the frame and for lightness otherwise is my past favoured material. Undecided The major questions I have to answer before any build can take place: Couplings - 3 link, Alex Jackson, Sprat and Winkle or what? have to define this for control mechanisms. Turnout control - Others have made a scale control system work - Is it strong enough or should I go for a sub-baseboard control and have the visible stuff move in sympathy but not do the work of control? Signal control - I can't see scale pulley and wire working. Are there any examples in this scale (4mm) Control. I've used Gaugemaster in the past - bearing in mind that I'm not going for digital (I do too much fiddling with real digital systems for that to be of any interest, and anyway, with two locos what's the point) Portescap - has demised, apparently. I have motors for the two I have, but what's the best form of motive power nowadays for small tanks. The name, Coombe Barton This has deliberately chosen to be location non-specific, there being examples of this name in both Devon and Cornwall, but not together, apart from a pub near Crackington. If you have been reading: Thank you. My process of building will be a slow one. It always was, so I don't see any change there. As I said I'll be visiting ExpoEM in order to consider the next part of the process loop. Then we'll just see how it progresses (which may be more slowly than I had imagined as on Friday a colleague requested my help on some research - and that's going to take some years). Originally posted on Tuesday 5th May on previous RMWeb And now the original replies Post by pwr on Mon May 04, 2009 2:34 pm Have you thought about DCC. Don't use it myself as I am firmly wedded to analogue but I have been impressed by the possibility of realistic sound. Just a thought Paul R Post by Coombe Barton on Mon May 04, 2009 2:41 pm pwr wrote:Have you thought about DCC. Don't use it myself as I am firmly wedded to analogue but I have been impressed by the possibility of realistic sound. Just a thought Paul R I have, and rejected it. My job is digital anything, including video and sound generation - I want a change. Sound at this scale doesn't really appeal. John Post by westrerner on Mon May 04, 2009 4:01 pm Love this history. I keep trying to think of one for Wencombe. ALAN Post by artizen on Tue May 05, 2009 12:37 pm Glad to see you have tried DCC and discarded it. I went to a local show at the weekend and the steam sound on most locos was pretty ordinary to say the least. Being in a huge open shed didn't help but the diesels sounded so much better. I like the idea of mechanical linkages between your fingers and the turnout - it seems so much more realistic than a stud and probe. Plus you have the satisfaction of slowly pulling the point blades across at any speed you desire. Nice to see a few photos when it gets going. Sounds like you want to set the standard pretty high which is always a good thing. Ian Hodgkiss Post by dseagull on Tue May 05, 2009 1:07 pm The back story is superb, really sets the scene before the baseboards have even been cut. Will be keeping an eye on this one for sure Post by Andy G on Tue May 05, 2009 2:52 pm Hi, If you're thinking about AJ's as couplings you'll want to check out the latest jigs that we've produced at Manchester, http://www.palatinemodels.co.uk. Not all our own ideas, but the Graham Turner jig certainly makes production of the coupling a lot, lot simpler and consistent. Regarding control of turnouts I think most (all?) people still rely on under baseboard techniques of one form or another. I know Steve Hall managed to get some rodding working but I'm pretty sure that the layout actually used more traditional techniques. I'll be watching this thread as GW and P4 ticks my boxes. Andy Post by Andy G on Tue May 05, 2009 3:01 pm Just read a bit more of the opening text. I see that you have obtained some C&L track/parts second hand. I'm presuming therefore that you won't be 100% sure of their history and therefore when they were produced. Where am I going with this? Well on Slattocks Junction we've had a couple of major disasters with C&L product bought around ten years ago before the present proprietor took over. Firstly a lot of the functional chairs have gone brittle forcing the replacement or strengthening of turnouts and just recently we have discovered that our particular batch of flexi track was produced with poly-propylene (or something like that) and will not take paint capable of withstanding a light scratch with a finger nail, i.e. about the same as a loco being clumsily placed on the track. We therefore are in the process of replacing all of our scenic trackwork (on an 18'x11' layout). I would therefore advise some degree of testing your items before plunging in. Andy Post by Coombe Barton on Tue May 05, 2009 9:15 pm Andy - thanks very much. The stuff I have was produced under the Ian Rice label and I bought them 20+ years ago. I do intend to test them (after I've been to ExpoEM and got some butanone solvent) before committing myself to work on the layout proper. I've been finding out various solvents and the information I've been forwarded from the EMGS says that the latest incarnation of the chlorinated Mek-Pak is suitable for ABS plastic. Wonder if anyone has experience of this as it's potentially less of a hazard. John Post by Coombe Barton on Tue May 05, 2009 9:52 pm artizen wrote: Glad to see you have tried DCC and discarded it. I went to a local show at the weekend and the steam sound on most locos was pretty ordinary to say the least. Being in a huge open shed didn't help but the diesels sounded so much better. I haven't tried it - but my overweening memory of watching steam trains as a kid was not 'chuff, chuff' but 'rattle, rattle' and birdsong. I 'do' sound professionally so am fairly immune to its supposed attractions at this scale. Sound doesn't scale. A model King will never be the real King thing at the head of the Cornish Riviera Express, and I really do have better things to spend my money on. artizen wrote: I like the idea of mechanical linkages between your fingers and the turnout - it seems so much more realistic than a stud and probe. Plus you have the satisfaction of slowly pulling the point blades across at any speed you desire. It's the total operation that woos me, not just the running. I read about working point rodding, but can't find it now. I have some in stock, so will see if I can make it work cosmetically with the main force being generated by stuff underneath the baseboard. For signals I remember some articles about under-baseboard mass to generate the bounce. artizen wrote: Nice to see a few photos when it gets going. It'll be some time before there's anything running, but I'll be keeping posted with progress. artizen wrote: Sounds like you want to set the standard pretty high which is always a good thing. Dave and Shirley Rowe have a lot to answer for. John Post by Coombe Barton on Tue May 05, 2009 10:00 pm dseagull wrote:The back story is superb, really sets the scene before the baseboards have even been cut. Will be keeping an eye on this one for sure. From the description, can you tell the prototype plan this has been lifted from? It's quite well known. John Post by Coombe Barton on Tue May 05, 2009 10:06 pm Andy G wrote:Hi, If you're thinking about AJ's as couplings you'll want to check out the latest jigs that we've produced at Manchester, http://www.palatinemodels.co.uk. Not all our own ideas, but the Graham Turner jig certainly makes production of the coupling a lot, lot simpler and consistent. Thanks again Andy. I need to see a few examples to decide what I want to do. AJ I know is almost invisible if the wire is blackened, and I've used it in the past, I have a load of Sprat and Winkle but am a little put off by the bulk. Three/screw link I've also used but the heavenly hand is a little much, sometimes. AJ scores on most counts and I've taken note of your jigs. What I need to do is decide what I'm doing so that I can build the infrastructure into the baseboards. John Post by BlazeyBridge2 on Wed May 06, 2009 12:37 am Coombe Barton wrote:From the description, can you tell the prototype plan this has been lifted from? It's quite well known I think I could Hazard a wild guess. This does look like the beginnings of a most splendid project. Mickey Sheffield Hallamshire Area Group Post by artizen on Wed May 06, 2009 3:40 am Whoa! Working point rodding! Beat me with a large stick! If you can get it to work then it will be sensational to watch(?) I fully agree with working signals and interlocked turnout control - more for peace of mind when setting the road rather than actual prototype practice. At least you know you not about to have a head-on between two very expensive models when you get distracted. I have no room on my current diorama for a Modratec turnout control box because the interlocking rods take up so much room but it is definitely the way I will be working if I can make it fit - even if the layout ends up being all diesel and modern image with DCC!!! You say sound doesn't scale - a bit like listening to a live concert on headphones at home? Maybe we could try sound effects on our layouts through headphones (wireless of course) so we can catch the full nuance of the live performance in stereo without disturbing everyone else in the house. Sounds better to me than trying to stuff tiny speakers into small boxes and then pointing them downwards. I think a full performance from a model can only be achieved through at least two speakers anyway for extending the tonal range if nothing else. Now how do I chip a set of headphones and what code do I use? Ian Hodgkiss Post by Coombe Barton on Sun May 10, 2009 2:00 pm I have now located the stored rolling stock and locos that I haven't seen for 20 years - and discovered that neither has the duster or vacuum cleaner. I didn't realise I had so much stuff! Found what I was looking for, the Airfix auto coach. This will be finished using the details in MRJ9 and the accompanying 14xx as in MRJ1. Unless, of course, there's better kits out there now. I've also discovered a Collett goods, a 57xx, a B set, thirty or more wagons I'd forgotten about - so I'd better get to ExpoEM next week and start finding out what I should be doing. The main mechanical undecided is still couplings. I need to see what other people are doing. That will decide something about baseboard building - what method of uncoupling. And then there's the period 1930s, 1947 or mid 1950s? (the last one I remember - just). Whichever period I'm going to stick to the normal, some might call the mundane. I want to model the typical everyday - at first, anyway. So at Expo EM I'll be stocking up on gauges and jigs. And looking at purchasing plans to develop what I have. John Post by Coombe Barton on Sat May 16, 2009 9:11 pm After ExpoEM some decisions. Couplings - Alex Jackson - bought the jigs. Controllers - build them myself. DEFINITELY NO DCC Point and signal control - build the lever frame myself. That way when I cock it up it'll be a load less expensive. And it'll be fun building it too with all manual control. Point rodding - keep the functioning stuff under the baseboard. Small details, as long as they don't intrude, work. Shopping round for tools is definitely worth it And what I have still get to decide: Period - 1930s, 1947 or mid 1950s Whether chassis kits are worth the money or am I just as well trying to build my own. What lathe/mill do I get? And yet to discover: Reasonably priced supplier of brass rod and bar ditto drills Will also have to talk to the optician about magnifiers - eyes suffering from the effects of age. And now having made these decisions, and got the track templates as part of my introductory EMGS membership pack, I can start to plan in a more concrete fashion. John Post by signalmaintainer on Mon May 18, 2009 3:36 am Looking forward to seeing the development and progress of this layout. All sounds very well thought out. I especially enjoy the history! Curious about DCC and sound: I can see why someone who works with something similar every day would go with "low-tech" DC. I like DCC only for the simplicity in wiring it provides and the constant voltage applied to the rails. Other than that, it's a pain as far as installing decoders in non-DCC friendly locomotives. There is a certain appeal to DC that I can understand in that light. As for DCC sound, I too agree that in the smaller scales, even OO, the quality and resonance are less than satisfactory. I had Soundtraxx decoders in use with an HO scale switching layout I built several years ago -- EMD first-generation switchers. Got to the point were sound was a distraction, nuisance, and even annoying. Turned off the sound and actually enjoyed the layout more. I'd like to have sound with Lyth Valley, but it's not a high priority. Modeling the typical, everyday is a good course to take. It really makes for the most realism. Paul Schmidt