Stubby47

Whether or not this layout fits the criteria for the 2010 RMWeb challenge, I'll be building it over the next few months, hopefully to have something decent to take to Taunton in April. So I thought I'd start with one of the planned buildings for the backscene - 'The Algernon Cuthbertson Arms'. This is the real pub in Truro it will be based on. Progress pics as they happen. Edit: 1st pic of the basic walls cut out and ready to stick to some mount card. 2nd Edit: Actually went into town armed with a tape measure today and it turns out my first attempt is waaaaaaaaaaay too big... So a re-think is in order as to what suitable plasticard I have, or whether to venture into self-scribed stuff..

Hi Neil, It looks a nice little plan - just a thought though - if you cover up all the track which will be inside a building or fiddle yard, then there is not a lot of visible track left. Stu

Captain, Why do you need to drill 1mm holes ? Do the pegs of the stools project beyond (below) the bases you've made ? Stu

I purchased the Peco 16t mineral wagon yesterday, and spent an hour or so last night starting the build. No wheels or brake gear yet, but pleased with it so far.

Excerpt from "A Guide to the Ports and Harbours of Cornwall - 1975" Polbraze. The town of Polbraze can be found on the coast, between Bude and Looe. The town's origins can be traced back to the time of King Arthur and Tintagel, although no connection has ever been found. In the 19th Century, Polbraze grew from a small fishing port to a minor harbour used for export of Cornish minerals. Today, Polbraze is a medium sized town with a thriving dockland area concentrating on boat re-fitting and repair. This was mainly the result of one family, who moved here in the early 1960's from the coastal village of Porth Byhan. Bob Webb and his son Richard have extended their boat repair business into a major Cornish industry, with contracts for customers all around the Western Approaches. The dock area is surrounded by many of the original harbourside buildings, including the infamous public house, 'The Algernon Cuthbertson Arms'. There are also shops and chandelrys, plus a few smaller workshops. Within the dock itself, the old cornwall Railway lines are still used by today's modern locomotives, although there are still remnants of the age of steam - the raised water tank still dominates the area. Visitors to the docks will need to pass through the usual security checks, but once inside will find a fascinating mix of old stone quays and modern concrete wharfs. There are also some reminders of the role the harbour played during the second World War, when the docks were an embarcation point for the D-Day landings. The quays themselves are covered in the materials and equipment needed for re-fitting of larger vessels, although some evidence of servicing the local trawler fleet can also be seen.

That's a shame. Is it a problem with the stock, or the weight of the hook, and is it fixable ? Stu

Actauully managed to do some real modelling this evening, rather than just thinking & planning. The office on Wheal Tiny needed a chimney, and both this building and the winding house needed gutters and down pipes. I also spotted an interloper...

Following advice from members on here, , I have been and purchased the complete 7mm stock for this layout - namely one Peco BR 16t steel mineral wagon. Progress of the construction of this will appear here...

Andy, How well did the PH Brian Kirby hooks work at the Hull exhibition ? Stu

Further to last night's ponderings, I've decided that the crate will be replaced by a 3ft x 2ft bespoke box. I've also had a play-about in XtrackCAD and come up with this. The blue represents the modelled water, the thick brown lines the edges of the opened out side/front. The hinges are represented by the red lines and the grey blocks are the lift out sections of quay, to allow the side/front to fold up. I may adjust the edges of the water to co-incide with the quay walls. The track is all Peco, small radius points and set-track curves - these will give a consistent radius. The track will be infilled, as Keyhaven, the buildings will be Scalescenes warehouse. The fiddle yard will be simple cassettes.

Marc, This idea is much inspired by Brian Harrap's Quai 87, which was at Taunton, although on a much smaller scale. Bob Hughes has also built a quayside layout which is viewed end on, so it's not an original idea for a subject or orientation, just the fitting into a single box. Jack, I think I'll use infill bits of quayside. If the design of the wall is right, then I could fit a removeable section, part on the crate base and part on the opened side, slotted into the fixed quay wall. Only the top would show signs of its temporary nature, but this too could be disguised. Once lifted out, the sides should fold up without problem. In theory. I've considered using your idea of extendable bars to stretch the quay, and also Barcaneatpete's idea of storing the extension pieces under the main layout, but I think I can get the folding concept to work. Stu

Whilst musing on the Cement Shed boxfile, and doing some modelling on Wheal Tiny, I've been thinking about another concept - a harbour in a crate. Sounds daft (so it must be one of mine), but consider this... Take a crate, similar to that used by Marc Smith for Bracty Bridge , and cut out one side and the front. Make these pieces hinge from their bottom edge, so when laid flat the layout forms an L shape. Leave the back and other side in place, to retain strength and provide a back/side scene. This would give a layout that would be viewable from the front and end. I'd yet to work out how to make the hinged pieces work, but thei main idea is a layout which simply folds up to transport, with something like a bungee cord around the top edge to hold it all together. The quay sides would be similar to Chris Nevard's 'bit on the side', so raised off the floor of the crate. At the moment, this is pure fantasy, but I'm sure I'll have a go at it some time.

Hi Jim, Thanks for the offer, but I'm only intending to lay about 10.5 inches of dead straight 7mm standard gauge, so given Neil's measurement of 32mm, I should be able to manage without a roller gauge. My main concern was whether the flanges of a 7mm wagon would foul the chairs, but it seems this will be ok. Thanks again Stu

I'm trying hard not to have to make a fiddle yard for this boxfile - The extension to the upper track can be a Peco loco lift on a suitable support, that for the the lower line can be just a length of plain track on a card base. The side backscene will (hopefully) fold into the box before the lid is closed. By using manually pulled ropes I don't need to have any fixings to anchor them off-stage. Although, I like the idea of automation - a simple motor / spindle would quite happily move the wagon back and forth.... Stop it, it's not fair !

Down west we sit on Cornish Hedges - 8ft wide stone walls - so should be fairly safe up here

I like this blog thingy. Following comments from NeilHB, Kenton & RandyWales, futher musing has taken place. I'm probably definitely almost certain I'm going for a 7mm scale layout (sorry, boxfile). Thanks to NeilHB for the info on 7mm standard & NG track. RW suggested pre-loading the conveyor feed hopper (CFH), but this would necessitate some sort of mechanism to control the flow, something I wished to avoid. So, the upper track will be 7mm NG, utilising the old Hornby 4mm hopper wagon disguised as 7mm NG... This wagon has a reasonable capacity and if the CFH has a narrow exit chute, possibly with an attached agitator courtesy of a mobile phone, the flow to the conveyor could be kept going for longer. RW also suggested that in place of the mixed std/ NG lower track I use a road tractor, in a similar fashion to the Faller system, to move the standard gauge wagon(s). But, would such a system be able to be reversed / controlled simply? (At least, I know I don't have the skills to achieve this). However, I'm leaning towards a rope and capstan system to moved the standard gauge wagon in and out of the 'shed'. In its simplest form, this would only need to be a thin cord attached to each side of the wagoin, and the 'inwards' end wrapped around a capstan at the end of the track. By manually pulling on the appropriate cord end, the wagon could be made to move. This would save me having to build my own 7mm loco... (again - probably beyond my skillset at the moment). So, thanks for the suggestions - it seems as if I'm completely ignoring them but they have helped me to clarify things.

Thanks Neil, for the info and link - it certainly does help. Stu

Ok, so I now have another dilemma... how wide is 7mm track (given that OO is 16.5 mm) and would 7mm stock run on code 100 rails ? Also, if I made the receiving line mixed gauge, standard (wagons) & NG (loco), would it look 'wrong' (ignoring Rule 1 for a moment)? The rationale (!) behind this train of thought is to use a loco from Wheal Tiny (when I've built it) to both propel the hopper wagon on to the upper track to discharge the Cement, and also to manouever the standard gauge wagon under the exit hopper, using a mixed gauge track. Comments more than welcome, please.

Thanks Russ, it's a work in progress really. I also ought to create thumbnails for each of the pics to allow a quicker loading time for the pages, but it's one of those 'on my list' things... Stu

You know, I'm not sure yet... I'd like to use NG, but it's how to get the wagons to unload. Fen End Pit does this quite well, but that's in a far larger scale. Could 4mm 009 wagons be made to tip ? Would the chassis be heavy enough to keep them steady ? Also, would the volume of the load carried be enough to keep the conveyor busy ? It needs some more cogitation, me thinks. I had also considered moving up to 0-16.5 & 7mm standard gauge... but I don't have any 7mm stock, especially a loco. Not simple, this modelling...

You know how it is, you have this great idea all planned in your head, you know exactly what you want your layout to look like, then along comes some smart-alec with a wild suggestion and everything goes t*ts-up. So it is with the Cement shed. Marc asked if I have a track plan - the track was only going to be a few inches jutting in from the left side, enough to hold one hopper wagon over the hopper.... But Marc also said "And added track on the lid is another stroke of genius!" - I hadn't intended to put any track on the lid - until now. So this time, it's ALL YOUR FAULT, Marc ! The revised plan actually also solves another dilemma I was having about where to send the cement to from the end of the conveyor. With the addition of the track on the lid, I can now put the cement back into a hopper wagon... This is my usual crude Google Sketch-up offering, but I think the gist of the idea should be there. Full hoppers enter stage left, and discharge onto the conveyor, which then raises the cement to the other hopper and then discharges into another hopper wagon.

Hi David, Following a comment by Randall on my Micro Layouts blog, I rushed out and bought the latest issue of BRM. Fen End Pit is an excellent layout, I love the idea of machinery other than the trains moving. As I'm intending to build my own 4mm conveyor, I was most interested in how you'd got yours to work - please can you explain a bit further, with more pics as well if possible ? Many thanks Stu

This is starting to look really good. I like the buildings you've got, nice and intricate and look very suitable. Stu

Thanks for that - makes a lot of sense.