SteveBedding

Good to see you've got your mojo back.... I've always liked the clean, elegant lines and simplicity of this layout - and then it's going really filthy... Keep up with the great work - with lots of pictures please

Looking very tasty Pete, Being able to see 'inside' the layout is a super idea and one that will give a great perspective to the viewers; I also like the digital picture frame concept - that could be a bit of a trend setter I think (if the domestic authorities allow you to borrow it...) . How about trying jelly beans in addition to the jelly babies - you could bring in loads of 'beans', swap them over when the wagon is out of sight, and the drive out the wagons loaded with the 'babies'... ...or if done the other way round, you could call it a 'jelly baby crushing plant' . Keep it coming please

Interesting point Pete, It has been in the back of my mind that the cross pieces being placed between the sleepers could lead to 'interesting' ballasting but I hadn't got around to asking the question... (I'm glad the cunning plan has provoked some good suggestions and so I think I'll give it a go ) ...but having got home with good intentions on the layout front - I've seen the pile to get through and my conscience got the better of me. Oh well, next available 'modelling slot' will be Monday night

Thanks for that Kris. The more I look at it, I can see that your suggestion makes more sence than my original idea. Well, I think that if can persuade myself to postpone the ironing for another couple of days, then I might give version 2 a go this evening....

The cunning plan... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELXNOPoCVgg&feature=related ...ah, no not THAT cunning... As has been discussed, the suggestion that the crossing can be held together with 3 cross pieces (shown in Red on the diagram below) can sometimes lead to instability - and with problems in removing from the jig itself. My particular experience was that the residual 'flex' in the wing rails caused the knuckle to form a pinch-point; whilst this would not be a problem with soldered rail, the Easitrac crossing is effectively suspended 'free-floating' and this constriction will cause later problems! The 'cunning plan' is to use 4 cross braces (shown in Green)... ...this should improve the stability of the wing rails; the 5th brace (Yellow) is a possibility if still looks a bit 'iffy' . Additionally, having 2 braces on the wing rail will act to straighten the last part of the length before the knuckle thus easing the alignment of the wheels as they hit the nose. One last thing I have learnt in all this is just how damned hard it is to see which is the right way up for 2mm bullhead rail! Even with my most powerful magnifier it is difficult to get a really clear view of the end profile... ...I now suspect that my previous test track was built upside down - oops . However, a simple indication has been identified from one of the workshop videos - the bottom is rounded! Well, club night tonight, ironing tomorrow, school run Friday, Warley on Sat - there goes another week

Bryn Very nice - looking suitably used and abused, but not too unloved...

Pete I think that there have been 3 iterations of the jig. Mk 1 - made from Paxolin with 'markers' for 3 cross pieces (this is the one shown in the Easitrac guide). Mk 2 - same as Mk 1 but made from milled aluminium. This apparently led to some problems with being too effective a heat-sink - initial feedback supposedly said soldering was limited to 145 solder...) Mk 3 - Milled aluminium (as per Mk 2) but with a large channel milled out from the underside (left to right) and the cut out under the rear of the nose (top to bottom). This was to firstly reduce heatsink effect, and secondly, to allow for better filleting of the nose. Additionally, the three 'markers' for the cross pieces have been omitted as these were only there as a guide and not necessarily applicable in all cases... I got this info from the Easitrac workshop demo videos on Utube - better info maybe available from the VAG; I think if your jig is a Mk 2 then there is a way to get it changed/upgraded to a Mk 3, but again ask on the VAG. Having made one crossing using the aluminium jig I do recognise that the heat-sinking effect is quite significant; that coupled with the 'wrong' type of solder made the finished item a bit of a hash. Never mind, I reckon I can get enough for 2 attempts per 500mm length of rail so I'll persevere and attempt to make several more before I really start to sulk... I have a cunning plan on how to tackle the next one - so I just need to get out of work (!) so I can crack on with the important things

Pete Thanks for the comments. Like Kris said, I used pieces of scrap brass etch to make the cross braces. I had originally tried to use .5mm steel (spring) wire but this was not going to solder; in the end I used 0.0020" brass, approx 1mm (excuse mixed units) taken from the edges of old kit etches. Now I know why I hoard things - there'll always be a use for that piece of 'junk' that you carry around for ages This makes it a lot more robust and the whole crossing comes out of the jig quite easily. Kris Thanks for the tip - for future attempts I'll use at least four cross braces. I've a feeling that one of the suggestions from a previous workshop was to use 4 pieces, but for this one I simply followed the 3 positions marked up on the early jigs.

To say that progress has been slow of late would be an understatement! Being laid up in bed for a week, with no inclination/ability to focus on the layout, was swiftly followed by the urgent task of getting ready for SWMBO to come home - it's taken 7 months for her 'internal transfer' at work to come through and for us to be collocated! Yippee :D Upside - the 'chef' is coming home, no need to drive 150 miles at weekends, and scenery assistant will be on hand ; Downside - must tidy house, may loose 'railway (dining) room', and remember that 'yes dear...' is no longer a safe answer when she's in thumping range... Anyway, some progress has been made - though more in the form of two steps forward, three leaps back... With the track plan on the boards, I have started to experiment with fixing down the sleepers for the crossover on board 3. I had had concerns over how well a PVA glue would work in stick to the varnished paper track plan but I was extremely/pleasantly surprised on how well it worked! The copper clad sleeper will be used as the power feed - which then raised the question of exactly which position to put it! This was was on of those cases where although I had 'planned' where it should go, there was going to be no substitute for a practical test - also (as the PVA glue was so effective) lifting the sleeper if in the wrong place, was going to be a real nightmare... Solution - build a 'crossing' and see exactly where it will fit! Out come the association jigs, some rail, and soldering equipment, and following lots of study of the Easitrac instructions and the Utube videos - a crossing is borne! Ah! In my defence I wish to make it very clear that this is my first ever attempt at something like this... ...it looks better in the pictures than I think it is! Whilst the concept is very clear, and the jigs make the process straightforward, in practice it is not as easy as it initially seems (I had sort of expected that ). I definitely need to practice making a number of these before I'll be happy... Several points do immediately spring to mind: Check the 'temperature' of the solder - I used old electrical solder which may be 225 rather than 188 that I had hoped, The aluminium jig is a major heat-sink which can be problematic, Make sure the wing rails don't slip when soldering... There is nothing insurmountable in this so I reckon with practice they'll come together quite nicely. So in the meantime I'd better order some more rail and some proper solder and crack on. Back soon...

Well it looks like a done deal then - I'm guessing that there were probably a few more when you first considered the extension but they appeared to have mitigated/ignored! (and frankly your second negative is no excuse - surely you can justify the odd Cornish pixie in the forest...). As Kris said "You know that it makes sense don't you"

Shush Kris - SWMBO might think I'm having fun playing... The actual scheduled running for Calne was mainly 54xx and 14xx with the auto-coach (from Chippenham & Westbury), and the 45xx with B-set or general stock (Bristol Bath Rd or Swindon). The 57xx were mainly reserved for freight traffic - but as you noted, almost anything could/did happen when stock (especially loco's) came out of Swindon ex-works. This does however mean I have to find a way to convert a 57xx to represent a 54xx... The conversion of the Farish 57xx is mainly cosmetic and will require the chimney and dome to be replaced; the curved top of the smoke box will need to be milled flat down to the level of the panniers, and the smoke box door will need to be replaced after it has been also milled flat. It will need a new chassis and larger wheels (5'2'' = 10mm rather than the 9/9.5mm used on the 4'7.5'' conversion) - this will need changes to the splashers. All very simple in theory, but lets see what happens... ...I think I'll run 57xx in the meantime As to converting the 2251 - I have absolutely no idea as yet

Thank you ... Another slight diversion (or perhaps more procrastination…) Since I could see the layout in its entirety (almost), this seemed an appropriate time to have a little play around and look at how the rolling stock would/could look… ...just a selection of the various passenger combinations that will be running: 14xx with Autocoach. 45xx with B-Set. 2251 (or other) with larger 'special' train. (the 57xx is loitering around the factory sidings with a siphon) These are straight out of the box and will need a lot of work to bring up to standard - there's enough to keep me going for a while yet! The signal box and goods shed are correctly modelled for Calne; I was fortunate to have them made by David McDonald several years ago (when considering the layout in N); some of his other models can be in detail here. ...it's good to have a standard to aspire to...

Now that normality has been resumed (half term is over), I have been able to get back to the layout. I had (sort of) anticipated moving towards track laying, but as I looked afresh at where things were, I realised that there were still quite a number of little jobs that needed to be done first! So, before the fun - the 'floor' for the cassette's on board 3 (along with the cross braces) was finished and the scenic divide fitted. A couple of quick coats of primer and varnish and job's a good 'un... Having previously worked out how to stick down the track plan (thanks again to all who contributed their wisdom and experiences), it was a simple, albeit time consuming, task to carry out. With the track plan fixed to boards 1 & 2, key features have been highlighted / marked-up... ...whilst most of the track-work is comprised of bullhead rail, one of the sidings (cattle / loading dock - black outlined area) remained using flat-bottom rails - this is indicated by the yellow highlighted section... ...and finally a close-up of the end of the loading dock. The flat-bottom rail can be seen, along with the placement of the 'track' across to the southern sidings (see the discussion in posts #48-#56); the blue highlighted section represents the area where the additional guard rails will need to be fitted. Finally, I have highlighted the locations of each of the tie-bar in red as a reminder - it also allowed a simple check of the fitting/spacing for the Tortoise motors. I have to admit that as work on the actual track approaches, I am becoming increasingly apprehensive; although this is one of the main reasons why I chose 2mmFS over N, I am most definitely about to leave my comfort zone and jump into the deep end . The decision has been made - next week I'll start on the track for board 3; two curved points and simple track work - should be a reasonable starting point...

Such a simple but elegant solution - look forward to seeing it in operation this weekend

I'll second Kris' "Wow" ! You say that you think it has been slow going, but from what we can see it definitely is worth it - you have certainly captured the character and futuristic lines of the prototype . Hopefully we'll have WSI back up and wired in time for you to run it...

Oh what a lovely idea - if only I could justify 'Sibyl' my beloved and cherishes '69 Austin 1100 on my layout... ...but the Calne Branch closed before she was built

With this week being half-term, I was invaded by a swarm of locusts (translates to 2 growing teenagers...); whilst escaping to the garage to avoid the sounds of the X-box, guitars, Hi-Fi etc was a frequently used option, occasionally I had to prise them away from the electronic paradise they call their room! After several days of excessive feeding - my definition, but not necessarily theirs - it felt that they needed to get out and have some exercise... ...a perfect excuse for a walk around the old railway . I have this recollection that when I was (age unknown) approximately 3ft tall, my Dad would schedule the family holidays near some railway landmarks that he needed pictures of... ... good idea methinks, so having measured the appropriate son, off we went to 'shoot' the landscape... Looking specifically at the gully and culverts (on board 3 - which has the easiest scenic profile): First task, north side - one son to take the picture (well it was down a steep slope into a stream...), second son as the measure... ...with a known height of 5"9' I can now scale the culvert where the stream exits, Second task - south side entry culvert... ...at which point No2 son started to question why he seemed to be the one always standing in the stream... This was actually a repeat of a series of photos that I had taken back in July, but following a minor technical hitch (OK I was having a stupid moment) I managed to delete the folder of pictures, and the backup... . There is very little (nothing really) left of the Station, but regular visits (before the developers put another housing estate on the site) have given me a good mental picture of the topology of the surrounds; this gives a basis to understand the landscape that pictures of the station depict.

Thanks for the suggestion Kris I had considered this, but shelved the idea. I want to get the track and basic electrics sorted before the landscaping; also, the details of the landscape (especially around the private sidings area) are going to be dependent on the buildings (Harris' hangar and the 3 factory buildings etc) and I haven't got beyond the concept stage for these . The gross shaping of the build-up of the foam base can be done (but not necessarily fixed) in parallel with the track work but not the final skimming with sculptamold. That said, I am aware that I'll have to be careful when mixing 'wet' activities with the electrics.... ...lastly, and possibly more most importantly, SWMBO wants to get involved in the scenic work so I don't dare get too far into it without her involvement...

Progress - of a sort... Lots of little tasks in getting the track-bed to a final condition ready for... ...wait for it (drum roll in the back ground!) ... ...actually laying some track It may seem a simple question, but I had concerns over how to fix the printed track plan to the baseboards; PVA is the immediate answer that came to mind but I was uncertain on how this may cause the paper to stretch/distort when wet - there had to be some alternatives? [Rewind a bit for some background. The intention for the layout track-work is use the 2mm Association Easitrack which can be likened to a form of 'self-assembly' flexitrack. The pointwork is to be built using the Easitrac which entails individual chairs being stuck to ABS sleepers to get the required geometry. I had made the decision to use individual sleepers rather than the milled sleeper base for reasons of economy but recognised that this would be a bit more complex! However the up-side of this was that since curved points had to be built this way, I would develop a consistent construction approach... ...Whilst this may not be a robust as the method of directly soldering the rail to copper clad sleepers, it has the benefit of having the chairs incorporated thus improving the detail. Some soldered track would be needed for power provision and the concreted-in flat bottom rail on one of the siding but this is minimal.] Having sought the experience and knowledge of both RMweb and the 2mm virtual group, I was astounded by the amount of response and the diversity of suggested solutions - many thanks to all who contributed ; I now have a way forward which included many good tips... Sand and smooth the baseboard surface - ensure that all 'gradients' are removed. Fix the 3mm ply 'track-bed/underlay'. Sand smooth then wet down and sand again (cabinet makers trick to smooth the grain). Seal / prime and sand again. Recheck level / flatness. [*]When printing final Templot plan, use 'draft mode' to minimise amount of ink on the paper. If not needed, don't print sleeper numbers or timber in-fill. [*]Stick the track-plan down with spray-mount. Choose a permanent type - 3M spray mount is permanent but is initially re-positionable... (spray adhesives). [*]When mounted paper template is dry, fix with 1 or 2 coats of artists acrylic varnish.[*]Finally when all is dried, lightly sand the varnished surface to aid the adhesion for glueing down the sleepers. The illustration below shows the build-up of layers... Now that's the theory - I just have to put it into practice! Be back shortly.....

Looking excellent Kris - pleased to hear the sculptamold finally dried

Marc, Could you point me in the direction of this seller? Looks like it may be quick way forward at that price Cheers

? it seems to me that screaming babies in the wagons, and passengers in a soundproof coach, could be an eminently sensible way to travel... (sorry, I don't do PC!) - even better if the wagons and coaches are on different trains... Yes, another added bonus! The half dozen in the wagons were the last 'survivors' at the end of the day

I had the 'experience' of living in Hilmarton (a couple of miles north or Calne) in the early '70s, and whilst I don't actually remember the smell precisely, I do remember that it was not nice when the wind was in the 'wrong' direction... Another day out playing trains, thanks to Mark and Witney Euston at Didcot yesterday - although not actually directly relevant to the progress of Smokey Bacon, it does serve as useful experience in a) transportability of the layout, b ) operating the layout, c) spares & tools needed (what can go wrong - will...), and d) listen to the experience of others... (see below) Suitably equipped we faced the day of serious railway operation... Over and above the obvious uses for these essential items, we did find that unopened packets of Jelly Babies make excellent 'buffer stops' for running in/testing loco's off the layout following any changes to their programming... ...but again, another lesson learnt was that as you eat the Jelly Babies, there comes a critical point where the power/traction of the loco overcomes the stopping effect of the packet... ...oops, just caught that one in time ! And, lastly, one final use for the Jelly babies... ...they made excellent 'loads' for setting random shunting puzzles to amuse the children (operators!) and the young people who came to see the exhibition , but I'll let Mark explain about the Jelly Baby Express later....

Thank you. They're getting there, but there have been moments when I wished I'd chosen to model somewhere in the Fens or the Somerset levels - that would have been a damn sight easier, but ho hum...

Hello Nigel, As a relative newcomer to the black art of 2FS, I have found that some of the 'instructions' to be a bit daunting at first ; however, as has been said, they do get easier with practice. I just looked at the 2-333 instructions and yes they are quite complex to begin with - I started with 2-361 (9'0" w/b with GWR DC brake) which appears to be considerably simpler... ...though with less illustrations . There are many on RMweb who are involved with 2FS who can help / encourage when things get 'challenging' - I have found them all to be of great help in progressing my modelling, and retaining my sanity when it all goes completely wrong.