barrowroad

Over the past couple of weeks I have added a 2mm layer of adhesive foam to the remaining boards including the seven in the fiddle yard. My choice of a roll of 10m x 1mm 'Envoy Multi Adhesive Underlay' via Ebay has proved relatively easy to lay and economic at just shy of £18 for the roll. The adhesive layer on one side needs careful handling when peeling back the clear plastic covering sheet but once in place it grabs well and sticks. You will not remove it easily. Made of recycled rubber tyres it will take adhesives - I have used PVA for fixing the track work - but is also waterproof and has the added advantage of being black. Each board joint has a 10mm wide piece of 2mm thick strip wood glued across the ends - from Cornwall Model boats. This is there to fix the track ends. I use 12BA cheese-head brass screws as fixing points to solder the rail onto at the board joints. When laying the foam I initially found it difficult to remove the 10mm strip of foam at each end of a board - as mentioned it sticks well!! After battling with one board I used a 10mm length of masking tape along each end prior to fixing the foam mat and hey presto the cut 10mm strip just peeled away. The stripwood was then glued in position. Having finished laying the foam I moved onto something different pending arrival of the templot plan for the fiddleyard. I obtained a rake of Comet coaches from Geoff Brewin's estate and being 00 I have converted them to P4 using Bill Bedford LMS coach bogie etches. The etched frames fold and solder well but the brake shoes are something else. Thanks to Mike G for his assistance in the build. He left off the brakes and I now know why. After adding the brakes and wished I hadn't as they are very difficult to position correctly. I decided to remove the inner shoes and adjust the outer sets to stop them rubbing of the wheels once the weight of the coach body was added to the sprung bogies. They run really well now.

The layout looks magnificent keep up the good work. Robin

I hope you have all had a good Christmas. I thought I'd share a few photos of the trackwork added during a quiet hour on Christmas Eve. Well nearly complete. All the track on Board 21 is now in position with just the sleeper staining - Jacobean Dark Oak - and the droppers - Palatine Models - left to do. The track has now crossed onto Board 20 the track ends being soldered to 12BA brass screws which are screwed through the ply rivets. I use a pair of ply sleepers on each side of the track across the joint and adjust the height of the screws accordingly. At this joint it was necessary to double the sleeper thickness by using 2 sleepers, one on top of the other, to achieve the correct height. The use of a mirror is a good aid when laying track. It enables identification of any track alignment issues.

Hi John, The 9F really looks the part with the wheels added - congratulations. I look forward to seeing it up and running in the new year. Robin

Hi John & Dave, The track alignment is an optical illusion caused by the misplaced card - the short lengths of card moved when fitting the 12BA brass cheese head screws which I use to secure the rails at board joints. I've since used a black marker pen to remove the kink in the card. The gap is to insert a sleeper with rivets and palatine droppers for electrical connection. I need to remove a sleeper per 60ft rail length. Robin

Board 21 now has the majority of the track laid - just a couple of 60ft lengths to go. All the track is C&L ply sleepers with functional Exactoscale 4 bolt BR/LMS chairs. I've just received an order for a pack of 500 to complete this board. You will see in the photos lengths of black card which I use under the ply sleepers.The card is 0.2mm thick and 6mm wide and has become my standard practice for track laying following a recommendation by Graham Turner - if you need to adjust any length of track it is a simple job to slide a spatula underneath the card to release the glue and the track. The photos show the siding alongside the Up Main which was used by the banker for the Fishponds Bank. 4F 43924 [ a Barrow Road loco ] is shown in the siding. This Bachmann loco is currently awaiting conversion to P4 using a Brassmasters Easi-chas kit.

Hi Dave, The basis of the fiddle yard is the Up and Down Main running through the middle with up to six sidings each side with B7 or B8 turnouts in a fan shape. Morgan is working to refine this in templot in order to maximise the use of the space available. The main traffic is obviously trains to and from Temple Meads and the north but I need to build in ECS workings from Lawrence Hill carriage sidings which make up about 40% of the traffic passing Lawrence Hill Junction box. One unusual working is the Newcastle Mail which requires turning the complete train at Mangotsfield triangle to ensure the three mail vehicles are in the correct orientation for the return trip. Maybe I'll just turn the three on a cassette:-)

Hi Paul, Stirring again eh!:-) Engine Shed Sidings Signal Box yes, Barton Hill Wagon works I think not - besides the Gas works should come first:-) You're partly responsible for the full main line:-) - you'll have to use your imagination for Temple Meads. Robin

Dave, To the end of the first curved board beyond Lawrence Hill Signal Box - scenic break will be the road bridge over the railway ( Church Road, Lawrence Hill ) and onto Board 21 - the new board with the banker siding. Days Road Bridge is the natural scenic break at that end but I might be tempted to add Engine Shed Signal Box - positioned opposite the turnouts -we'll see how everything progresses. Robin

John/Gerry, Chris has certainly done a brilliant job. I think we might have an official opening for the boards in January and another when the first train makes a circuit - any excuse and why not :-) Chris can cut the ribbon!

Bristol Barrow Road now has a full set of baseboards - 21 in total - to enable the layout to operate as a continuous circuit with Up and Down main lines and a 20ft plus fiddle yard. All the baseboard construction is the work of my friend Chris Yates who has made all the additional boards over the past 12 months. The curved boards at both ends of the layout have proved to be an interesting exercise the sides formed from three layers of 3mm ply glued and clamped around former jigs. Board 19 lifts out to enable access without the need to perform a limbo dance under the layout. Here are some photos:- Edit:- I've been looking for underlay for the new boards and discovered some black self adhesive wood floor underlay, 2mm thick, in B&Q. Bit expensive @ £50 for 10m x 1m but I found the equivalent on ebay for £17. This afternoon I fixed some to Board 21 - first cut to shape using a Stanley knife and then fix by pealing off the backing - voila job done. The trackwork is the turnout for the siding that held the banker engine - usually a 4F - used to assist trains up the 1 in 60 gradient ( max ) to the summit at Fishponds Station.

Good to see a train running full circuit -well done. You've beaten me to it - I've had the final fiddle yard board delivered and now need to start track laying. Robin

Downendian, thanks for you kind comment. The fall must have been painful for your Grandfather as the drawings I have of the turntable and pit show it had a depth of at least 6ft. A former employee has told me there was a gap in the perimeter wall of the pit which allowed space for him to crouch into whilst the turntable bridge was rotated so the gap was positioned between the two vertical girders supporting the turntable deck. The object of this..... to enable him to get in between the girders and under the decking to examine the structure! Robin

Hi, DCC Supplies still sell Redutex sheets I purchased a couple of sheets a month ago - their website has 15 pages of Redutex packs in O, 00 and N scale. Robin

Many thanks for your photos link - nice collection - much appreciated.

I agree the Dutchman does look at home:-) I think John is coming over in November maybe the 9F will be ready.......... Robin

Following completion of the track laying inside the roundhouse I have completed the four road workshop pits. During the period I am modelling only two loco turntables were in use on roads 2 and 4. Of these only road 2 was used for loco repair and then only infrequently. Road 4 - I need to cover the pit - was used to access to the large wheel lathe which was positioned at the end of road 4 in the corner of the workshop. Loco driving wheels, for turning on the lathe, were removed from locos on the wheel drop [ this is on the long road exiting the rear of the shed which ends with a small turntable]. Wheels went via this turntable into the workshop. And for Killybegs and Mike G a few of the Britannia 'Flying Dutchman'. The position of the Wheel Drop is visible in the first photo. and Morgan for the Mk1s in the coaching stock Finally for this roundup I have a new chassis on my Peak D13 courtesy of Rumney Models. Many thanks Justin.

Thanks Mike, much appreciated - Tuesday 6th Sept is the next meeting at mine.

I've absolutely no idea but it does look good...............it does look familiar though.

It certainly is so I'm glad it's got a big section on the Crostis. I had a look for the later Irwell publication 'The Book of the 9F 2-10-0s by Richard Derry' but it is out of print and secondhand copies are a silly price.

Good to see all the parts coming together John, very impressive. Just waiting for delivery of a book on the 9Fs to see whether the DB chassis needs any mods for the Crosti. Robin

Axle bore 5.jpg Great work Morgan that wheel looks absolutely stunning. Robin

If you PM me your email I will let you have information that I have on the Henry Lees Coaling Tower at Barrow Road. I have a copy of the GA drawings that are at Wiltshire History museum at Chippenham. I have made a visit to Carthforth - West Coast Rail depot - where there is an identical Coaling Plant and Ash Plant. I was allowed to take photos. Whilst there I was told of the whereabouts of some footage of the plant in operation and tracked down some colour footage taken inside the top of the tower of a 16ton mineral wagon discharging coal. A short clip but very informative. From this I believe I have details of the operation of the tower from positioning a wagon, lifting it to the discharge. Bristol was a 150ton unit with two 75ton bunkers each for different grades of coal.

Morgan that looks excellent.....

Hi Dave, Morgan is going to experiment with the perimeter chequered castings in plastic. Laser etching of the floor is the plan. JeffP, The turntable is a temporary fixture used for alignment of the tracks however as the roundhouse floor plate was laser cut and marked with the pit centre lines it is only being used to double check. Glad you like the Blog.