gordon s

Thanks for all your inputs guys. After Martin's suggestion, I had some great input from Phil H regarding access to the shed and the general layout. Several replans later, I think I have arrived at a plan, which still has one or two compromises, but overall, meets the space/minimum radii requirements (36") that I set for Eastwood. Seems one or two loco's couldn't wait to put their feet up and must have crept in via the back door. Hopefully that's the planning bit over and fingers crossed, I hope to start construction later this week. These paper prints really are a great help in seeing how things hang together before cutting any wood and building track. Even Mrs S is pleased with the reduced scrapage....

Brian, I've got one upstairs on my layout and it would take a while to access, so this is from memory. You remove the centre circlip under the drain cover but also have to remove some of the outer sections to allow the gear wheels to clear the outer rim. Each of the outer sections are held in place with sprung plastic clips that are moulded as part of the outer sections. If you look inside the well of the turntable, you can see the clip tails. Press those in and you can then pull each one of the outer sections up vertically and away from the well. You will need to remove 4 or 5 from each side, diametrically opposite and at 90 degrees to the deck. Once they are out you should be able to turn the deck around and out via the gaps you have created. Edit: Just checked and forgot to tell you about the gear train release. Once you have taken the required outer sections off, there is a sprung lever that protrudes to the side of the deck. Pulling that lever back, frees up the drive and you can then swing the deck round to the open gaps you created. It will then just lift off.

Morning Don, insomnia returned with a vengeance. Been kicking around since 4am. No idea why.... Was on assembly duty yesterday at daughter's new flat. Having waded through 24 pages of IKEA instructions a new chest of drawers eventually appeared from the huge stack of random shaped pieces. Thought I was done and just ready for a beer, when the flat pack bed appeared. Add two TV's, pictures and mirrors to stick up and the day was done, or rather, I was..... The last thing I needed was total gridlock in the Clapham, Putney, Chiswick, Hammersmith area....Not a tweet on the radio, but nothing was moving. An hour there and three hours back.... Enjoy your sunshine and warmth today...

Thanks Martin.....Job done.. Just off to stick another 60 sheets together...Happy days.

If you haven't already done it BoD, it may be worth setting up Internet Banking and adding your wife's name to her mother's account. I have done this for my mother and it works fine. I can access her accounts and transfer money easily via the Internet and by adding a simple description reference on the transaction, my mother can see on her printed statement exactly what has happened. Once you are on the account it simplifies matters completely and you are then able to deal direct with these issues. I have found that once you get a sympathetic ear to the problem, these types of charges can be waived immediately.

They don't need to be Martin, other than the edge of the board is the grid line to the right of the turntable and I was playing around with low relief buildings on that edge (see previous pics). I have left 2'6" clearance all round the peninsular so widening it out will impinge on that space. Same with the length. I agree it does look less cramped and it is certainly a possibility. I'll take another look and see what can be done without compromising the gangway space too much. It's great to have input at this stage before too much is done....

......and I thought a teachers life was all about long holidays......

Had a note from Phil H who gave some valuable input about possible improvents to the shed layout, with particular reference to access to the coaler and returning on shed. After much head scratching and hair pulling, I've managed to redesign the flow and still maintain a minimum 36" radius, by moving the coaler south to occupy the two lines at 10 o'clock to the turntable. The line closest to the turntable is used for coal wagons to supply the loader and the second line for loco's. Adding an additional turntable road now means loco's can either return to shed after coaling or take the new turntable road before returning to the main line. Loco's hauling coal wagons now have a similar choice via a new release crossover below the shed access. This new layout certainly gives further operational potential and removes possible bottlenecks. Next stage will be to print another set of sheets to see how it stacks together with buildings in place. Thanks Phil for your input. Much appreciated. Of course at this stage it's much easier to spend a few hours tweaking a plan than waste time and money later on.

Happy to help out with Templot. I struggled at the beginning, (my failing not the software), until I learned some very basic commands and then it all fell into place. I use it exclusively for my train set and can certainly help with the basics, but can't help re protypical use. Mind you there are plenty of users on here that can.... I have compiled some very basic Jing videos to help a few people. They really only cover the basics, but if you are struggling, let me know.

The last few weeks have given time to reflect on the plan for Eastwood Terminus and I recognised some shortcomings with the current plan. Although a large MPD, it was pushed away into a corner which would not have been easily accessible and the combination of 4-6-2 locos and a succession of pointwork to be encountered was perhaps asking for trouble. Add to that the issues of potentially dirty track and pick ups and the odd prod would have to be done with a six foot length of wood. Not quite the hand of God, but just as bad. My other thought was that steam locos are a thing of beauty and I want to see mine, not just gaze from afar. So numerous evenings have been spent looking at alternatives and eventually I have managed to create something I am reasonably happy with. It does mean a peninsular board intruding into the central area but with a minimum of 2'6" clearance all round, I don't believe it will be a huge issue. You can access this area from three sides and no duck unders are required. Here's the track plan which was developed over several evenings, which provides a four road shed, coaling stage and turntable. The flow chart would be on shed, then coaling and finally the option of the turntable before returning to the terminus. I accept it is some way from the terminus proper but then so was Kings Cross and this hobby is often about compromises. This has allowed me to also redesign the terminus itself, adding a further platform and lengthening the platforms to 10'. This is still a work in progress as the area freed up by the MPD will now become a residential or industrial area, still to be decided. I also have to add a small diesel refuelling area and possible two road shed plus release pointwork from the platform roads. I have retained the goods relief road which has yet to be added to the plan. Access to this will probably be via a third track some way back down the gradient towards the steam MPD. One of the real benefits of Templot is the ability to see what something may look like in full size, so I have printed off the MPD on A4 sheets and patiently stuck them together. Once laid out on the floor and with a few buildings placed, you can get a real feel for this new board. I'll leave it in place for a few days and adjust various bits and pieces if required before cutting any wood and building the track. With the Eastwood Junction board now in place and construction wise, virtually complete, the MPD board will form one of the next few boards around the loop.

Tony, I was really saddened to read your post this morning. It must have been a dreadful shock for you. My thoughts are with you and your family.....

Morning men.... Heard that gardening may be hazardous for your health this morning. Legionnaire's Disease in bags of compost. The things some people sniff these days..... Must remember to don face mask and protective suit next time the border plants go in.

Morning all. Apologies, but I do have a note from my Mum re yesterday. Seems I'm really slipping into this retirement lark and it's taking a while to get started in the morning..... Quite cold, but clear sky, so bright and sunny. 26 years from a boiler? Shame, but then I guess you've probably had your money's worth...

Wet, wet, wet...

Really glad to have Babel Fish translation..... In English your phrase is "The majordomo l' made"

Sadly video footage will be a month or two away. I have to start on the next scenic board and once that is complete, the spiral will be joined to the main junction board that you have seen. That will at least allow trains to pass through the finished section without falling off onto the floor. I'm also waiting for a plumber to move our central heating pump, which is located behind the spiral. At present it can be reached quite easily, but another month or two and replacement will turn into an SAS exercise and the thought of having to dismantle the spiral to allow access was keeping me awake at night.... There will certainly be more updates to follow, so bear with me.

Morning all.... Woke this morning to find we had uninvited guests last night. Some group of oiks thought it would be great fun to get into the adjacent golf course and throw eggs at the side of our house.... Now off to get up a ladder and use the jet washer to clean up the mess.... A spokeman for the Unofficial P4 Brigade has denied all responsibility.

That's a great picture Martin. Atmosphere by the bucket load.... The box is there to cover both the lower level junction and a high level junction that is yet to be built. I've made a few changes to the front to add some trunking for point rodding and added a coal store and store shed to the back. A bit more weathering and it looks a lot better, although I accept it's probably not prototypical. In the end it was always going to be a compromise as to make major changes would have been more difficult. Thanks for your input guys. It was really useful and I'll certainly bear it in mind as the layout progresses.

Morning all.... Finally got it, but had to slip the doorman a few quid to let me in. Was beginning to think I'd been barred. Nice to be back mes amis.. Edit. Got the old Driver Error statement when I pressed Send, but the post appeared anyway. No doubt there are lots of odds and sods that will need tweaking. Just happy the team managed to get us back on line again....

Sounds like you need to organise a house swap with someone in the UK Don. There loads of decent footie fans here that would bite your hand off for a chance to be there..... Morning lads.....It's another wet one.

Thanks Martin for your constructive comments. I really appreciate them as you have raised some valid points that wouldn't (and didn't...) occur to me. It's great to get another viewpoint and will give it some thought as to how I can improve things. I guess that's the difference between a train set and a model railway.... Right now, this could go either way....

For those of you that have followed this thread, you will know that I managed to purchase a set of ECML buildings from Great Northern who was breaking up his Peterborough layout. Having been build by Alan Downes, they would be ideal for my layout, other than they are of brick construction and I have used stone walls for the tunnel areas I have built so far. This won't be such an issue with the main terminus board as that will only use the Downes buildings and it sufficiently far away, so as not to cause a massive contrast. If anyone asks, I can always say the original line was build many years before and used local stone. As this became more difficult to source and subsequently far more expensive, the operating company chose to build the new teminus buildings and surrounds used conventional brickwork...... These really are lovely buildings but some will need some weathering to dull them down a little and as I said they won't prove such an issue where they are all grouped together. The tunnel area of the layout was crying out for a signal box and just standing one at ground level, didn't work at all. The height of the walls and the use of 7mm stone, just dwarfed the box and made it look far too small. There wasn't room to position it higher up, so I thought I would try and build a plinth for the box to sit on and see how that looked. I'm still undecided and if all else fails, I'll hunt around or try and scratchbuild a stone one. Were there areas where stone and brick came together or is it just wishful thinking on my part?

Morning all... Been reassembling my daughter's boyfriends laptop. She spilt a blackcurrant drink into the keyboard weeks ago and whilst it was still working, several keys were very sticky. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so took off the keyboard and much to their horror, dumped it into a bowl of warm soapy water. A quick scrub with a nail brush and once dry put it back together again. Off course it wouldn't work, so used the old excuse that it will take a while to dry properly..... Thankfully 24 hours later, it's all working fine...so perhaps it wasn't an excuse after all. At least it made them think I knew what I was doing....

All together then...."The sun has got his Hattons....."

Morning all.... This was my favourite anti theft device..... http://tesladownunde...#Tesladownunder (Click on Car Theft Protection) http://www.metacafe.com/watch/687396/tesladownunders_car_theft_protection/ Some good news. Insurance company have given the go ahead for daughters car to be repaired...There is a God up there.