barrowroad

Hi Dave, The shed floor was level with the rail heads and from photos appears to be side on bricks. There were two/three rows alongside and parallel to the pit rails whilst the triangular infill ran parallel to the edge of the turntable pit - hope that makes sense. I will need to build up the floor and lay a layer of card brickwork. There were metal castings around the edge of the turntable pit which had a chequered surface. Robin

Hi, Dave, The plan is to purchase a kit from London Road Models. John R has my drawings from Carlisle Record office and I hope he has a kit ready by the end of the year. Only just advised John - he is not long back from a holiday and ditto here.

Just need the 60ft Cowans Sheldon turntable now:-)

I thought it about time I added some track to the turntable pits so for the past week I have spent some time making up lengths of nickel sliver bullhead track adding M1 Exactocscale chairs and Palatine rail droppers. One length of track is then carefully positioned and fixed using Butanone. The second rail is then added using gauges. UPDATE 13th July 2016 After adding around 1100 M1 chairs the 24 shed roads now have rail added. Here are a few photos.

Hi Dave, I see what you mean about the drunken buffer stops positioned on the track prior to the big hand in the sky appearing and gluing them in their final position:-)

A couple of photos of the Dutchman especially for you Mike. Robin

Having added the single slip and extended the sidings onto the Days Road board I decide to do some work on the bridge itself. First task was to modify the parapet by removing the 'indents' and straightening the brickwork. The bridge structure was fixed onto pieces of 6mm ply to form a base to set into the foam on the baseboard top. The structure was given a coat of Halfords red oxide primer before the brickwork was detailed and weathered prior to a final blend coat of Humbrol Matt tan no 62. Smoke stains and additional weathering were added. The road and pavement were cut to shape from card with the gutter formed from plasticard sheet. The gutter was laid into a channel cut into the card so that the surfaces were level. Curbstones are from 1mm x 1.5mm plastruct strip cut into 8mm lengths and glued to the gutter plastic. The extension to the road way curves at the end of the bridge itself and has a downhill gradient. The supports for this were made from a box of 6mm ply and glued to the base support. Pieces of 2m mdf have been shaped and attached to form the support for the stone walling along the edge of Days Road. I intend to add Faller random stone embossed card when my order arrives - assuming it is suitable. The land infill is cut from a sheet of 50mm Celotex insulation and cut to shape - photos were used as a guide. The surface of the Celotex was given a thin coat of PVA before a layer of coloured coving adhesive was laid over the surface. I used the powdered version adding water and liquid poster paint to give a grey colouring. The buffers at the end of the 4 sidings are made from old sleepers. I used ply sleeper strip to make these by laminating cut pieces to form the buffer stops. The siding nearest the main line had a replacement buffer positioned in front of the old sleeper stop which was at the base of the bridge abutment. And a coat of cauldron jacobean wood dye... Just for you Mike......

Hi Dave, Good to see you again at S4N. The track joint in photos 4 & 5 is permanent the decision to make it so made when the extra track was added behind the junction signal box. One disadvantage is this combined board is now heavier than it would have been although I did remove some of the ply on the joint sides by cutting 'lightening' holes. A cobalt point motor has also been inconsiderate by positioning itself across the joint:} John's Brit is superb - I think he might refuse a permanent transfer:}

I completed the trackwork for the junction at Lawrence Hill a couple of months ago and now that I have the legs for the curved board I decided itwas time to lay the track. The junction is constructed off the layout using a templot track plan and has been constructed from ply sleepers using a combination of exactoscale functional chairs and rivets. I like using the latter on pointwork as it enables adjustment to the track before adding the cosmetic chairs. Some re-alignment of the track on the adjacent board was required give a good flow to the curved track on the main line. Here are a few photos I couldn't resist adding the last photo. The Britannia is Flying Dutchman which is on a temporary transfer to Barrow Road and belongs to John [ Killybegs ]. For further information on John's build of this model see his Worseter posting http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/82059-worseter-update-time-for-a-9f/page-17

That completes the tyre fitting process on the lathe but a bit of hand fettling is required to remove burrs and clean up the casting with a needle file and fibreglass brush. The final photo for tonight shows the results of about 5 hours work over the last couple of days. The difference in the boss size for the centre driver is quite obvious in this photo. This was the main motivation for using the Bachmann wheels. Fit tyre 9.jpg Those of you with sharp eyes may notice that the centre driving wheels currently have flanged tyres. This is deliberate as it made the boring out of the tyres easier as only one setting of the soft jaws is required. The flange will be taken off as the very last operation. More soon..... Morgan, They look simply stunning, a wonderful piece of engineering. I look forward to seeing them in in flesh. Robin

Hi Marcus, The insulation keeps it pretty stable although I do have electric heating available if the temperature drops too much. Robin

Hi Marcus, I like the Dunster House product, it's reasonably priced and the fully insulated version I purchased does the job well. Mine is a 10m x 5m Severn Grande. It comes as a kit of parts but is essentially a 5m x4m plus two add on 5m x 3m units. As seen on my blog the main issue which detracts from the shed is the internal short walls which 'narrow the useful width by 600mm each side. My solution is shown on my blog. If you purchase a smaller version without the inner stub walls you will not have this issue to deal with. Robin

Over the past couple of months I have had to make some modifications to the Dunster House shed building in order to make room to fit the fiddle yard boards down the back wall. This has entailed making cut outs in the two short walls that protrude into the building. After much thought and deliberation I made a decision to add a 6" x 3" wood beam across the two inner roof 'trusses' in order to add strength to the roof. These two beams were supported using 'permanent' acrow props which have now been boxed. Once this was completed a large proportion of the weight of the roof was taken on the acrow props and I was able to safely remove the wood from the two inner stub walls to give the necessary space for the fiddle yard boards. Today I have taken delivery of five 4ft x 2ft 6in fiddle yard boards - Courtesy of the Chris Yates woodwork facility - to add to the two additional boards, one for Days Road Bridge {see previous blog entry] and the new curved board for Lawrence Hill Junction. Whilst Chris was making these boards I made the Single Slip and Cross Over for the Days Road Board and the turnouts and diamond for Lawrence Hill Junction. Hope you like the photos. Beam and Acrow Props Props hidden, beams in place and stub inner wall cut back for fiddle yard boards Five new fiddle yard boards Days Road Board plus track + P4 Thomas and friends Lawrence Hill Junction Board plus track

Having donated/loaned one of my Bachmann 9Fs to Morgan in order for him to use the wheel set for this project I am more than confident in his engineering skills. I have seen Morgan's work on the wheels and believe it to be an elegant solution. I am looking forward to using them on a couple of 9Fs for my Bristol Barrow Road layout. Robin

Hi Morgan, I can only repeat John's comments - Wow!

Interesting project John - I shall follow it with interest. As you know I have a couple of Bradwell chassis and one with a set of Gibson and the other Sharman wheels neither of which are accurate enough. I have had a chat with Morgan about these wheels - he has borrowed one chassis kit and a Bachmann 9F so will no doubt let me/us know whether it is possible/feasible to do anything with the Bachmann wheels. Keep up the good work, Robin.

Isn't it John:) - Chris has just purchased some 3mm ply to laminate the curved sides on the next - the Lawrence Hill Junction - board.

Corrected. Maybe I was thinking of the ones that go with frogs:)

Thanks Geraint. I'm hoping to have the boards up mid year so it's a possiblity - it would be good to get at least the two main lines up and running by then. Catch up with you soon, best regards, Robin

I have recently received delivery of the first of a new set of baseboards which will extend the layout into a continuous circuit with a long fiddle yard down the opposite side of the shed. This first board is at the rear of the shed and workshop and will allow trackwork extensions to the roads off the 20ft loco turntables outside the workshop; the sidings alongside the shed and workshop and an extension to the main line under Days Road Bridge towards Bristol Temple Meads. All the new boards are being built by Chris Yates who made all the original seven. I have made a start on the single slip which forms the southern exit to the shed and joins the down main under Days Road Bridge. My trackwork is being made on a templot plan - thanks Morgan - using my usual ply and rivet method with exactoscale functional chairs in appropriate positions. Once fully assembled and tested cosmetic chairs will be added over the rivets. Slide chairs are Bill Bedford etchings which fit over and are soldered to their rivet. My other layout - Sheep Pasture - is in the background but will need to be moved in order to accommodate the extended Barrow Road. Views of the shed from Days Road Bridge which show the rear of the shed and the sidings are to be found in my previous posting The next board due for delivery will be a curved scenic board at the opposite end of the layout which will accommodate Lawrence Hill Junction and the associated road overbridge. I wish all my readers a Happy Christmas and New Year.

Flying Dutchman might even make an appearance in the future:) Robin

Looks superb John. Checking with some records I have it visited Bristol with the 1V95 Manchester to Plymouth - Sat 4th April 1964..................

Hi Highlandman, Clun Castle was on a special and came down doubleheaded with 6435 with 1420 following light engine.17th October 1965

John, Morning Star photo added for you:) Sorry no photo of the Dutchman...... Robin

Pete, Most of my recent work on the layout has been on the wiring and there are only so many photos you can take on this subject:) Tim, They are all my photos with one of my first rolls of colour film - I still have the slides. I might post some B&W too.