barrowroad

Dave, But not Megapoints:-)

The layout is not operational at present as all the power supply units, NCE equipment and circuit breakers are elsewhere for fitting into two power boxes than are being made for me - thanks again Chris! In the meantime I decided to make a start on the B7R and B7L turnouts for the storage sidings. I am using 4mm wide x 1.6mm thick copper clad strip for the sleeper timbers and Nickel silver bullhead rail. These series of photos show the latter stages of construction. The timbers have been laid out on templot templates the 1 in 7 crossing V constructed and soldered into position followed by the straight and curved stock rails. We pick up construction with the first of the wing rails. In the photos left to right are - DD Wheelrights Jig for crossing alignment - two three point track gauges and a Roger Sander 'Mint gauge'. To the front is a jig for filing up the 1 in 7 crossing V. It also will do 1 in 6; 1 in 8 and 1 in 9. The DD block gauge in use to set the wing rails. The Mint gauge is used to check tightness in the track gauge. If tight the soldering iron will assist adjustment. Three track gauges in use to hold the closure rail/switch blade in position. Wing rails added. Soldering the blades. The completed B7L Five made so far 26 to go!!

The only part of Tinsley shed I saw in the late 70's was the two road servicing shed. Where was this in relation to your photo? Robin

It does indeed and thank you for all your hard work developing the layout - much appreciated.

That's annoying John - It's also on The S4 forum try there.

Nice model John, Looks like sand in there with the rubbish but as it is open to the elements wet sand would be of little use. Ash bin maybe? I have a photo of a similar receptacle made of concrete used for ash at Barrow Road. Robin

Dave, The chinese Hornby Black 5 with the sprung rear driver and brass bearings on all axles does give more than adequate suspension on my track work which is more than can be said for than Bachmann Crab I converted around the same time. I must start to add some storage sidings as I nearly ran into the back of a parked loco on the Up main this morning! Robin

Diesels are alright but I thought it about time we had steam so this afternoon my modified Hornby Black 5 44965 stretched her legs around the layout for the first time. The engine is converted to P4 using Alan Gibson wheels. The Hornby chassis has cosmetic frames - a Gibson milled version - which I attached using strips of plasticard, as spacers, to widen the distance between the frames. The coupling rods and valve gear are the original Hornby ones - I removed the threaded nuts from the Hornby wheels and fixed them into the Gibson wheels which enabled use of the original fixinfgscrews. The front bogie has been replaced using a Masokits unit and Comet side frames. Extra detailing comes from a Brassmasters detailing kit for the Black 5.

Dave, Coaches stored temporarily pending additional sidings in the storage yard:-) You are most welcome to bring some of your locos down for a run - pm me when you are available. John, Bill Bedford bogies is the standard for coaching stock on the layout although I don't like the brake etches - they're a pain to fit. I think I may use some of Justin's as well in the future.

The Irwell book on Jubilees shows 45721 as having a Stanier 4000g welded tender fitted 9/7/1959 - tender number 10067. Robin

I'm working on it - hopefully a Black 5 first and maybe a Patriot.

I have a rake of Comet coaches which I converted from 00 using Bill Bedford sprung bogies and Gibson P4 wheels. These coaches are a fixed rake and have now had Alex Jackson couplings added to each end to enable a test run of the complete set. As they are heavy I decided to use one of my converted Bachmann Peaks, D13, to pull the test train. For those interested the rake is made up as follows;- Corridor Brake Composite D1720A Restaurant Composite D1811 Open First - Porthole D2160 Corridor Composite D1925/69 Corridor Third D1899 Corridor Third D1899 Corridor Third D1899 Open Brake Third D1913

Hi Dave, The Crab looks superb - you must bring locos for a running session on BR now the double circuit is operational. I like you're painting of the bridge. I see you have primed it with Halfords grey primer - what painting technique have you used as it is very effective? Robin

Hi Rex,If you PM me with your address I can send you a copy. Regards, Robin

If the weather gets any worse Sheep Pasture will not be attending either. I'm already one operator down - understandable due to weather and cancelled flight from Ireland.

Here are some photos of my layout Sheep Pasture which will be at the show. The layout is available for sale. If you are interested please pm me or if you attend the show come and have a chat.

Donald Flook who worked in Barrow Road shed workshop in the 1950s and who was responsible for the maintenance of most of the shed facilities, including the water powered hydraulic wheeldrop, was also responsible for the hydraulic cranes at Avonside Wharf. What a superb model - any chance of adding one of these cranes?

Hi Tim, I have two Bachmann 3F's which do indeed just have Ultrascale drop in wheels and both run well on the layout without any compensation. A lesson there methinks! I have another 4F to do and am reluctant to go down the Easi-Chas route - the work involved is as much as a full loco kit for P4. With a total of 10 pick-ups on loco and tender it runs well at slow speeds and the acceleration/deceleration are nice and smooth. I also have a 1F to do. Robin

I have posted the first of a series of photos on the Scalefour Forum http://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5683

Hi Dave, I'll post some photos of the build at some point either on here or the S4 forum. The fold up Easi Chassis is the easy part although the rear drive axle posed a problem to keep it in mesh - i needed to pack the bearings in order to keep the gears in mesh [ mentioned by Brassmasters in their instructions. Not ideal. The main work - and time - was the carving of the body to gain clearance for the wider gauge wheels. This involved removing the splashers, filing the footplate to give over 22mm width and removing metal to clear the coupling rods. Today I found the rods touched the rear of the front steps on the curve and I had to file material off the rear - over 0.5mm on each side. Pick ups are 0.3mm coiled phospher bronze to a design posted by Will Litchfield on the S4 forum. The tender chassis is a Brassmasters Deeley unit on which is mounted the DCC chips and which has 4 additional pick ups. Robin

In 2013 I wrote an article for LMS Review on the then new Bachmann 4F. One of the two I purchased was 43875 which visited the Bristol shed. My intention was to convert it to P4 for the layout and a couple of years ago I purchased an Easi-Chassis kit from Brassmasters and started the conversion. This ground to a halt early in 2017 pending a decision on which method of pick-ups to use. Over the past week I have completed the project - not the easiest conversion to attempt - and this afternoon the 4F was tested on a freight on the layout. Here is a video of the test freight train. Especially for you John:-) Thanks to Morgan for the loan of the stock.

Hi Dave, I edited the picture to show it was an earlier photo as obviously the track has been laid since. The barriers are indeed very substantial but only to provide the weight on the micro-switches needed to operate them not for a 600 ton train:-) Robin

The lift out board - number 19 - has now been fully wired. Power to board 19 is fed via four brass strips on the board which, when the board is in position, make contact with 4 brass sprung plungers obtained from old light bulb connectors. To enable power to still feed Board 20 when 19 is lifted out power cables have been run down the support legs, across the floor and up the support leg of board 20. To avoid the potential disaster of engines and stock being accidentally driven into the abyss a dead section of track exists on each side of the gap, on up and down lines, so that power is removed when the lift out board is removed. These four sections of track are controlled by micro-switches. The four on the vertical faces - board 18 and 20 - switch on power when board 19 is in position. The four on the horizontal surface switch on power when the wooden barrier pieces are in position enabling full use of the track when board 19 is out. Lift out board 19 - pre track fitting photo Inter board cables Board 18 connections Board 18 with barrier in place. Board 20 without and with barrier.

Or even a smaller one - Sheep Pasture