barrowroad

The 3F and Mk1's are certainly loud and amplified by an empty shed as are my movements with the camera. The slight clicking with the 8F is likely to be an issue connecting rod and valve gear clearance of which Morgan is aware. You must bring some of your stock down for a session. Robin

Not a lot I can say to that:-)

On Monday this week with the help of my friend Chris - builder of baseboards and designer of electrics - the lift out section Board 19 was fitted to complete the full circuit of the layout and some test trains were run to prove the electrics. On tuesday the local Scalefour Society area group had their monthly meeting and the layout was subjected to an evening of, in the main, successful running a variety of locos and rolling stock. Due to the numbers attending it was not possible to take any suitable videos so today I took the attached video of a passenger train - Bachmann 3F 43762 with four Mk1s and a 8F 48305 on a freight passing the shed. The Bachmann 3F is modified with a set of drop in Ultrascale wheels and has no compensation. The 8F is based on an upgraded Comet chassis and Hornby body - please correct me if I'm wrong Morgan. 43762 and 48305 passing Bristol Barrow Road Shed

Great line up.... shame there was no space for 92006. Robin

Not when I was there in the summer.

Thanks John it looks impressive. Robin

Hi John, Remind me if you would please, does this section lift out? Robin

Thanks Dave and Tim, Seasons Greeting to you both

Whatever happened to the Easi-Chassis range that Bill proposed? There was a wish list if I remember correctly one of which was the BR 4-6-0 Class 5 to go with the Bachmann 73XXX.

Just in time for Christmas here is D41 plus four Bachmann Mk1s on the first test of the Up Main from Lawrence Hill Junction through the storage sidings. The Bachmann Peak runs on a Rumney Models chassis courtesy of Justin and the Mk1s run on Bill Bedford bogies courtesy of Morgan - thanks to you both. Happy Christmas and New Year to you all. Robin

Brian Morgan products are available from the Scalefour Society Stores. www.scalefour.org/eshop/ You don't have to be a member to make a purchase of them. They are etched TOUs. Left and right turnouts, single and double slips are available. There are linkages available for both types of slips - which also contain a screw adjuster - to enable the TOU to be linked to your choice of point motor. Hope this helps Robin

Hi Michael, In the midland roundhouse there are four positions where the gap between the radial tracks is wider due to the positioning of the vertical roof support girders. These are roughly at the 5, 7, 11 and 1 o'clock positions. The cut out is usually at one of these positions due to the extra space. Enlargement of your photo proves inconclusive. These two photos are inside Bristol Barrow Road roundhouse The cutout is between road 4 and road 5. Small isn't it!! Road numbers are visible for roads 7,8 and 9. The turntable plates between the rails do look to be missing as per this photo. Robin

Tewkesbury water back on stream late saturday - I must say it was rather strange Tewkesbury having no water when it's often the other way round. Any longer without and we could have had a bit of a

Hi Michael, I think it should. I queried the reason for the cut out in the Cowans Sheldon turntable at Bristol Barrow Road with a former employee, Donald Flook, who was responsible for it's maintenance. Apparently it is used to gain access between the turntable frames. This was achieved by squatting in a 'b****y' uncomfortable position in the cut out whilst the end of the turntable was moved to align with it. Hey presto he could climb in between the frames. It must have been even more difficult for Donald as he is 6ft 3in. Robin

Nice John - can you show us the chains on the other side please:-)

Bristol and the surrounding authorities have a very poor track record [ no pun intended] when it comes to investment in transport. Being a Bristol lad myself I have been extremely disappointed by local politicians inability to deliver any effective transport system for the area over the past forty years. Others areas; Manchester, Sheffield; Nottingham; Croydon and Birmingham have good light rail systems. Bristol could have had one but for the indecision and ineptitude of local politicians. Even the latest guided bus Metrolink has yet to get up and running.

Dave, The analogue cobalts have 9 terminals. I have wired up eight, leaving terminal 3 which is designated for the 'frog' by DCC Concepts. As I am using separate a BUS for the motors I'm using one of the on board switches so terminals 1 & 2 are DC power in; 4,5,6 are the switch [6 common] and the three white wires are the spare [at present] switch. The Digital Cobalts have 8 terminals wired in a similar fashion. I had to telephone DCC Concepts to clarify a wiring discrepancy on their older digital units, the label of which shows the common terminal as 8, whilst the online information identifies it as 6. The latter is correct. Apparently the older digital cobalts have incorrect labels. Have they told anyone before me??? The mechanical linkages are rather too complicated if I'm honest. The standard Brian Morgan units are fine but the slips are problematic. Robin

There from Farnells in Leeds. Here's the link to the male housing. This one is 12 way and the crimp pins are separate items. http://uk.farnell.com/itt-cannon/tst02pa00/plug-free-2way/dp/1188205?MER=bn_search_1TP_SearchNB_3 Robin

I've had a train - Bachmann Peak D41 on Rumney Chassis plus four Bachmann MK1s performing a test run through the storage sidings. The test traversed Board 9 to Board 18 and involved a number of successful forward and reverse moves - I really must register on Youtube and take some videos. Wiring has progressed further since my last entry with the production of 16 wiring looms for the analogue Cobalt point motors. These are positioned along the double track main line and will be operated from two signal boxes at either end of the scenic section of the layout - Engine Shed Sidings - 6 Cobalts and Lawrence Hill Junction -12 Cobalts. The former have been wired in whilst I have been working on the latter today. All 12 are on Board 8 - the busy board. Each loom consists of 9 long [20mm] pins that are at 2.54mm pitch. I have soldered single core 1/0.6 wire to each pin - colour coded - and soldered the other ends to a tag strip. The next photo also shows the Brian Morgan operating linkage for the pair of double slips on this board marked LT43a and LT38; and LT19a and LT20. The final photo for today shows a close up of the inter-board connectors I am using. They are Trident brand and are 12 pin male and female units. The 'L' mount for the female ones was made be a local company.

Hi Mike, I have a collection of photos for my Barrow Road project and this one shows the run of four channel rods from Engine Shed sidings box to the single slip at the south exit to the shed. Looking at the stools in relation to the track timbers the spacing is around 8 to 9 ft. Hope this helps. Robin

Finally, can anyone tell which gauge the railway has? Obviously P4 Tony........:-) Nice semis and gardens. Regards, Robin

Hi Jol, Just to clarify. The Cowans Sheldon 60' turntable is for my Bristol Barrow Road layout - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/116-barrowroads-blog/ - and I provided John with a set of Cowan Sheldon drawings which I obtained from Carlisle Records Office about 2 years ago. I had asked John if he would be interested in doing a 60ft turntable and he agreed if I would provide suitable drawings.. John provided me with a set of test etches for the turntable earlier this year just after I had started wiring my Barrow Road layout. Unfortunately this is taking a lot of my time - see blog - but the turntable test build is the next job on my list. Robin

Dave, Looks quite lost in the corner doesn't it. It's positioned at the far end of the UP storage sidings to turn locos from ' the north' - Derby, Sheffield, Leeds etc. Robin

A bit more progress over the past week with Boards 18 and 20 sorted today. This leaves the lift out section to wire followed by a start on the wiring for the cobalt point motors. Board 18 Board 18 top view Boards 17 and 18 Board 20

Hi Alan, Are you proposing to produce a model of the 15ton travelling crane for the works? Keep up the good work. Robin