Stubby47

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.

Following Oldudders advice, I have purchased the two sheets from Scalescenes of corragated iron. A couple of prints of each should give me enough for most of the box, if I intermingle them. They will then be covered in the internal framework of the shed - plastruct 'I' beams painted a suitable rusty/cementy colour. A quick check for sizes shows my rough sketch to be roughly correct (surprisingly), there is enough leeway to get a wagon inside, plus the front of whichever loco is propelling it. I've also thought about the 'floor' level within the box - this will now be at 'track' level - ie 1/3 the way up, so the bottom end of the conveyor will have to set underground into a 'pit' below the hopper.

Morning all. Good to see that despite the change of forum, the old attitudes & humour still remains. Whilst I've not been posting, I have been reading - I remember the BOFH when it was published in a weekly computer mag... wonderful stuff, but a bit scary as I was only a humble programmer. The good news is I have secured another source of employment - the bad news is this will severly cut into my new found modelling time... But Cement Shed will be developed as and when SWMBO lets me (apparently the main lounge /stairs / landing needs decorating - it was only done about 10 years ago...) Stu

This is a quick sketch of how I see the boxfile developing. The scale will be 4mm, set probably current day. The box will be vertical, landscape-wise, with the lid opening flat in front to give a partly extended baseboard and a place to add information. The inside of the box will be made to look like the inside of a large stone / cement processing shed - think the inside of one of Chris Nevard's buildings on Cement Quay. The track will enter stage left, about 1/3 of the way up the side, and lead to a hopper position - this will use the old Hornby / Triang hopper wagons on a home made activation gantry - something I've used before on a half built layout. The cement will then drop into a large hopper (as Maenol Mine), then be fed down on to a conveyor belt, which will run stage left bottom to stage right top, then discharge the material through a hole in the building side (original base of the boxfile). The rest of the 'shed' will be full of offices, walkways, etc., plus a full lighting system. As and when I obtain said box, and make some progress, all will be revealed here. However, 1st question - do you think I should use actual corrogated plasticard for the inside of the shed walls, or the Scalescenes TX29 sheets ?

Glad to be of help ! I've got ideas for my own crate layout, depending on how the next boxfile goes, with more machinery working as well as the trains.

Hi Rich, Wasn't there an engine shed to the north (as you've orientated the diagram) of the main running line, between the platform and the Boscarne branch ? Stu

I have a recent (Dec 08) photo of the end of the station building , showing there is no step. The pic is 3264 x 2448 - too big for here but I can email direct if you want it. Stu

Hi, Love what you've done with this. As for an extension, could you add a second set of box files to the other side of the fiddle yard ? That way you've either got two small layouts, or one longer one. This could be another warehouse, or dock, TMD, or even a small platform. Stu

Hi all. Following the success of Porth Byhan and Wheal Tiny, I've decide to create another micro layout... This one is much inspired by Chris Nevard's recent extension to Cement Quay, and also by RandyWales' Maenol Mine . Probably to be set in another boxfile, but this time with the box placed vertically, I'm hoping to add a working hopper and a working conveyor belt. More progress will be posted here when there is any...