Andy Ross

You got it. On the mock up board I had fitted pins into the rails and holes drilled in the tyres. This would mean I would need removable sections of rail for the different locos. The idea is that this will drop into the pit and it will hold the wheel sets in position for wheeling. All that will be visible will be chocks for the wheels and four post that will go under the axle boxes.

Yes it is for use with the MoD loco but what does it do? I don't know if it will work but if it does, I will need a different version for different loco types. Andy

Having been away on holiday I am now building up to taking the the new Main Baseboard on an outing. The new version of the display will be at the Warley Model Railway Club open day on Sunday 19th Feb. Before I went away I managed to get the crane track rails installed and one of the cranes to run the full length. Today the second crane was tried and worked ok. I have just run the main structures up and down as I don't want to disturb the crabs from the travel frames until I get to Warley as it is too easy to disturb the ropes. It is not easy to video but I will give it a go tomorrow. I have also got an Item going on the printer tomorrow - can anyone guess what it is - there is a clue on the side . Andy

With the weather getting even colder I applied for another concession to bring the baseboard back into the house. On Saturday morning I was set back up in the kitchen, this time with the main board. First job was to secure the two pre built mock ups in place. The short crane test rig had two of the support legs removed, one as it needed the roof support adding and the other as there was already one in place on the door section and the two sections overlapped in place. During the week I had cut and solders all the roof support H sections onto the columns. Yesterday these were all added to the baseboard along with the crane sections. The next job was to fit the copper clad for the crane rail into the slot in the top of the beams. Unfortunately when I went to the shelf for the packs of what I thought were 3mm copper clad, it turned out I only had 4mm. So an order to be placed today. So instead I decided to look at assembling some of the pitched roof for the boiler shop. Of the nine trusses I need, I made five before I ran out of angle, so there is enough to see how this will go together. Originally this was going to be fixed and all soldered to the uprights but I have now decided that this section needs to be removable to gain access for maintenance etc. The north lights section will remain fixed. Most of today has been spent looking how to make it removable and at the same time hold it in position and locked in place. I think I am there with three trusses in place. The other two will be added during the week. I also added some longitudinal rails along the sections near the roof line which is stiffening the hole structure up. Andy

Peter The shots with the roof on look more than all right to me and you can hardly see any issues with the back wall. Also, when there is some stock on the layout I am sure it will detract the eye to the point it will not be there at all. The camera is also effectively getting closer than the public will at a show. Andy

With the track finished yesterday, today I removed the mockup sections from their original temp baseboards and transferred the assemblies to the main baseboard. The door assembly went on with no alternations. The section used to demonstrate the cranes was not originally going to be used as part of the layout as I thought I would need this to service the cranes. As it happens this is not the case as I have a small stand that I built the cranes on that is more the adequate for maintenance and repairs. To use this section on the layout I have had to attack it with the grinder to get the crane tracks beams to line up. I have also had to remove one of the uprights to add the roof support. s. I also did a check to see if I have enough column and crane tracks built. Due to using the mock up there is more than what I need. I laid everything out loose and took the photo below - it give a real idea of size of when it will all be done. The columns are now on the bench waiting for the roof supports to be added during the week. I have to say I am really pleased with progress since I collected the baseboards. Andy

Today has been a first and a bit of a milestone. I finished the gapping of the test track as shown in the diagram in the previous post. There were a couple of section of the infill strip had to be re-soldered when I had done but otherwise it went better than expected. Once this was all done it needed testing. I fitted some temporary links across the base board. The frog on the point still needs a switch fitting and a working lever. The testing went well as can be seen in the three videos showing three different locos on three different gauges and yes all Hunslets. Standard gauge 05, Heljan. 2'6" Gauge 150HP Rack Adhesion Mines Locomotive, Scratch built by Mike Edge. 2' Gauge 28HP from KBscale kit built by me. I think there are three more in the cupboard to build. The photo below shows all three on the track. Next job is to start transferring the sections of structure from the temporary test boards to this one.

Progress update. After running out of the strip for the check rail in the test track I managed to locate and order some more last week. I did do a small amount of ballasting last weekend but this was more of a test. Saturday I completed the track with all the check strip and today I managed to complete the ballasting. The test track has been a challenge with 7 rails and 5 check strips I am glad it is complete. You may be asking why am I ballasting it, as all the track will either be in concrete or covered in cobbles. The ballast sets rock hard and will keep the track in place until the in fill is added. This is specially important for the test track as it needs two isolation gaps along the length as can be seen in the sketch below and this will weaken the sleepers if I am not careful. The green section will need to be switched for the different narrow gauges selected. When all the ballast has dried over the next few days I will do the gapping and all being well we might have a loco move next weekend.

With is being a bit warmer I spent the afternoon in the garage and got all the rail in place, Including the check rail on the front siding. This included the rails around the pit. I still have the strips for the concrete to put in and I will hopefully get down what I have tomorrow. The good news is I have located a supplier. So just need to work out how much I need. MoD loco positioned over pit. Phots copy-write - Hunslet Engine Company Same loco in same place.

Boxing Day afternoon was spent continuing the multi gauge test track over the base board joint. All seven rails were soldered in place with just a short length left to do to get to the pit. The strip used to edge the concrete is still to go in. The problem is that I don't have enough of the the 3mm x 0.25 mm strip to finish at the moment. The other problem is that I can not remember were I got the 150mm long lengths that I have been using. So I will get up to, and over the joint and then work the other way out of the shop from the pit. I have decided to have a break from the cold. Just before Christmas I got the latest etching back from PPD. These are for the Wheel Shop Steel work. I have made the outside wall column up. This took quite a while as I worked out the best order to solder this up. The good news is that it looks like the photo I have. I have balanced the crane beam on the upright for reference. It is suppose to be a bit warmer tomorrow so I should be able to get on with the track in the garage. Andy

Spent this afternoon in the garage with both boards up and laying all the sleepers right up to the pit. Just need to check exact length of pit. I asked Peter to cut this out a bit longer than it should be so I could do a final tweak at this stage.

Before I can start laying sleepers for the track on the main board I needed to transfer the door mechanism from the trial board to the main one. This is because some of the bolts are under the track. I had asked Peter to leave some clearance in the cross braces which worked out fine. What I didn't take into account was the mechanism beams have the doors soldered on and it was a bit tricky getting them into place. I still need to fit the motors but I am modifying the brackets to give some vertical adjustment. now this is all in place, tomorrow I will remove the door assemblies - leaving all the slides in place so. I can get on with the track. Andy

So with the day off today I got on with the small board multi gauge track. I had put a couple off the extra rails in during the week but the first thin strips for the concrete went in today. The 3D printed gauges work really well and hold the strip vertical - I wish I had a version of this when I was building the miles of tram track for the old layouts. By the end of the day I had managed to finish as far as I can go with the multi gauge track and the siding. The next section will go over the baseboard joint. Tomorrow the board will be relocated to the garage and the concession to use the kitchen counter will be withdrawn. (for now). The next job is to swap the door mechanism from the test board on to the main one so I can then continue laying the track. Andy

Tonight there has been more activity track laying. Started on the standard gauge on both lines. Used bought gauges for this but the printed ones fitted so they should be ok for the multi gauge. If I get chance tomorrow night I will add some more rails. Andy

I collected the baseboards on Friday from Peter Kirmond and I have already made a start. All the holes were drilled for the structure yesterday and the test track, track plan was spray mounted onto the narrow board. Today has seen track laying. The the first section of the multi gauge test track and the only point was built years ago. it's been on a bit of foam board and did not want to come off without a fight. It's now glued down to the board and sleepers glued in place for the rest of the track. I have currently got a concession to work in the kitchen on the breakfast bar due to the cold in the garage. But I need to stop 6 inches short of the joint and then put both boards up to get across the base board joint - this will have to be in the garage. It is hoped that by the end of the Christmas holidays all the track will be down right into the shed area so I can then start looking at putting the structure up. One of the next jobs that need doing is to take the door mechanism off the temporary board and mount it on the main board as the track goes over some of the fasteners. These are going to be locked in place to become permanent studs as you will not be able to remove them. Andy

I also now have a lathe in the garage. But it will be a waste of brass bar for just under two metres of track that would never be used again. Let’s see what happens.

My good friend Peter Kirmond has started the construction of the baseboards and has vert kindly been sending me updates. During the week he has been prepping all the parts for the outer frames and cross beams. He started main construction yesterday with the photos below showing the progress to date. . Plan mounted to the plywood using spray mount. Special tool to counterbore the holes for the thin head bolts to be used to mount door mechanism. The blocks of wood on the drill base act as a stop so all the counterbores are the same depth. The assembly starts taking shape. Continuing today with bracing starting to go in. The diagonals will be next. At the same time the smaller board for the muligauge test track is also coming together. This is amazing progress by Peter. At this end I have been drawing up a track gauge for the multi-gauge test track. The first section I used a bought gauge for the standard gauge and then used a vernier to gauge the other rails. But this was only about nine inches and with nearly two metres to do I thought I would try and print some gauges. Not sure how they will react with the heat but there is only one way to find out. No mater how long they last they will not be needed again so hopefully they will survive long enough. I have managed to get 10 on to the build plates of the printer so I will have plenty of spares if they start breaking up.

This is definitely getting real now. Peter has ordered the wood so within a week or so they will be done. I need to stock take the structure bits as I might have a couple of lengths of crane beam to assemble. As soon as I have some photos, I will put them on here. Andy

A little bit of the Hunslet project has made it to The NEC for the Warley show. The two MoD locos under construction are in the Leeds model Railway Society display case.

That’s why we are just doing the boards for now. All the front panels, facia, light support, legs etc. will be added later.

Its official - I have finally finalised the phase one design of the base boards and the drawings will be passed on to my friend Peter Kirmond at the NEC next weekend. This will include a full size plot of the top with all the slots in for the pit and the door mechanism. I have purchased three sets of adjustable trestles to use as legs for the time being which will allow the boards to be a different levels for different stages of building. I also found some thin head bolts for securing the door shaft brackets etc. the holes will only need counter boring 1.4mm deep keeping everything flat on the baseboard top. I have also obtained the special counter bore tool. In Addition I finally sorted the etch out for the wheel shop structure. I had finished this months ago but it also had a lot of parts for the Snowdon loco included on the sheet which I have now 3d printed. I have removed all these parts and re-nested the parts on the drawing and sent it off to PPD today. This makes both types of uprights/crane supports and the crane tracks. I have made the tracks so they will accommodate a working crane but this is way down the priority list at the momnet and will probably only work on the long travel. See photo of actual wheel shop below. It's been a long time coming, but we are finally moving onto the next stage. No more mock ups and trials. All these will now be but put into practice. With all the prebuilt structure available we should see some real progress in the New Year.

Sunday was another good day at the show apart from an intermittent short on one of the crane crabs that would still not go away. At one point I thought I had found it, the flange of one of the wheels was just rubbing on the underside of the dummy gearbox for the Auxiliary hoist. But this on its own could not be the problem. Fortunately, fellow member Ian Morris spotted some binding on the diagonally opposite wheel. This again was the flange catching the edge of a hole in the bed plate that should have been clear but was not by a fraction of a millimetre and could not be seen. With a bit of digging and scraping with a scalpel the problem was final solved. There was also a lot of talk over the weekend about the baseboards and this is now moving forward. The plan is to have these by the end of the year. I was also talking to the York Show Exhibition manager, and I have committed to hopefully having the main board with most of the structure mounted by Easter to form part of my demonstration display. I seemed to remember saying at one point in this project I would not give myself deadlines and I was not even in the pub when I said this. Andy

Today has been a good day at the Leeds show both for the display which has had some good positive feed back and for the club as well due to good flow of visitors. I need to do a little maintenace on one of the crane crabs in the morning but generally everything is good. Mike Edge also brought along a couple of Hunslet Diesels to add to the display. The standard 388hp 0-6-0 looks small next to the MoD 0-4-0 but this is due to the Mod loco being built to German loading gauge. The show is open tomorrow (Sunday) 10:00 to 4:30 if you want to came along and say hello.

All set up for the Leeds show at the Grammar School. One of the cranes has been stunbborn today but after some tweaking they are both working ok. The workshop section is looking full with the MOD loco for wheeling, a Snowdon rack loco in build along with a Bord na Móna. The small loco on the test is a 2" gauge 28hp mines loco for India. If you have the chance please come along and say hello.

So with our exhibition at the weekend at the Leeds Grammar school I have managed some last minute 3d printing. After a serious rummage through the Davis and Metcalfe files at work I found a manual for dual operated train brake valve arrangement. Although it was not a detail drawing there was enough basic dimensions to do a 3d drawing. The connection between the master valve side and the slave leaver is actually a chain. This would have been too small to print so it is just a representation of a chain. I also found a drawing for sand ejectors so they were drawn up. They are very small but they finish off the sand boxes. although these are not very visible with the loco on the track, you will be able to see them when the loco is suspended on the crane. They are set up to print as a set of four. The view below also shows the 3d printed brake gear. Not sure how long this will last but it is quite flexible so should take a knock. Also in the view is the drawer pockets and axillary air reservoir. I know I have already mentioned it but don't forget it is the Leeds exhibition this weekend at the grammar school. If you come along, please say hello.