Danemouth

Larry, Nice to see the Trolley Bus pictures - I remember the Cardiff Trolleys - they didn't finally disappear until 1970. I for one would be interested in seeing more of these pictures. Cheers, Dave

Andy, My logic in positioning the Signal Box was that it was convenient for loco crews to hand over the single line token when entering the bay, main platform or goods yard and the signalman would not need to cross tracks. Regards, Dave

Phil, Yes, please do I am most grateful for all your help, Regards, Dave

Southern Railway from a Cardiff Boy! - wash your mouth out with carbolic soap immediately :yes: :) My grandfather was a signalman in the big GWR box on the docks and lived in Railway Street which when I was knee high to a grasshopper was still a busy yard. So naturally I have a preference for BR(W) - that's what I remember - so Danemouth will be mainly ruled with Panniers, Prairies, B Sets, Autocoaches and various other bits of GWR origin. Cheers, Dave

I am sure many of you will remember the fairy tale Cinderella whether as children or reading it to your children/grandchildren - I was thinking of the bit towards the end when Cinderella tries on the glass slipper and they all proclaim "It Fits!. I had such a moment laying out Phil's (Harlequin) plan in post 35. Here it is in Anyrail together with three shots - please note the Signal Box is in the wrong place - I forgot to reposition it before taking the photos The track is some old stuff and the platform is from the previous incarnation - they will be binned shortly. The points in the scenic section are the new large bullhead ones, though the double slip will be the FB one as we still await the BH version. I will use the matching fishplates. The downside of switching to BH points from FB medium points is that it will cost me and additional ~£90 :) With a little jiggling the platform should take three coaches - just! However I intend to follow the lead of several BLT modellers here and limit myself to two coach trains occasionally with a Siphon/GUV attached. So once again a special thanks to you all, I will happily accept further ideas but to intend to get the track on Tuesday or Wednesday. Dave

All this talk of handkerchiefs reminded me of something I saw in the office over thirty five years ago. One of my colleagues, a widower who was always immaculately dressed pulled out his handkerchief, spotlessly white and ironed and blew his nose quietly. Sat with him was his boss, a really scruffy man who wore nylon shirts long after everybody else had got rid of them. He too decided to blow his nose and produced a crumpled handkerchief that look so grubby that I wouldn't have used it to clean the car - the sound he made was like a foghorn! That incident has stayed with me to this day - I always carry a neatly pressed handkerchief. And it's raining and dull in the capital of the Principality Dave

Thank you all for the comments - I hope to have an afternoon in the garage seeing what I can do. In my Anyrail plans all the points are medium - I would prefer to use the large radius BH ones but they take too much room. Phil, can I ask what software you used to draw the plan please? Regards, Dave

First of all can I thank all of you who commented on the earlier plan. I found all of the suggestions helpful and have incorporated many of them into the plans - yes plans - there are two, though my preference is for the second. Some general points first if I may: The ruler across the board in some pictures is the scenic break; the fiddleyard has four roads two of which will take two autocoaches and a large loco. The bay platform will take two autocoaches and a small prairie. The main platform will take three coaches between the throat and run around points - I do like a bit of platform behind the train when it is in the platform. I have removed the trap point in the bay and added a siding - this would have contained a long demolished loco shed. Following on from Brian's suggestion the headshunt goes through the scenic break bridge to give the impression of being longer than it is. The track used in the photos is some of the old Code 75 for the previous version - this will all be scrapped in favour of Bullhead track (except the fiddleyard). So the sidings will be a little longer than those shown on the photos. In the first plan the is a three way point in the station throat and the Goods shed is on the right of the layout In my preferred plan the station throat is a more prototypical pair of points and the goods shed is in a kickback siding. A little research today has shown that Oxford Rail are planning to release a GWR Goods Shed which I prefer to the one I already have - the OR shed would not fit in the space in the first plan. I am still open to suggestions but will be going to Lord & Butler to buy the track early next week. Thanks again, Dave

The picture shows a previous incarnation of Danemouth and was posted only to illustrate the goods shed which is being transferred to the new version of Danemouth where the scenic area is about 2 feet shorter. Still playing with Anyrail and paper templates to find something I am totally happy with, Cheers, Dave

Many thanks to you all - I am currently working my way through them with Anyrail. The goods shed I am proposing to use is the one shown in the bottom left of this picture taken when planning the previous incarnation of Danemouth. I did contemplate the Metcalfe kit but it looks nothing like a GWR shed to me. Regards, Dave

To be honest Andy I would prefer it to be the other side of the layout and am thinking of re-instating the siding off the headshunt and putting it there. I would be most grateful for (polite) suggestions from you all. Many thanks, Dave

Well I've played about with paper templates and old bits of track and come up with this: I've put in an end dock with the small goods shed adjacent to it, Any further ideas welcome, I shall be buying the track at the beginning of next week. Cheers, Dave

Thank you all so much for taking an interest in my 'umble efforts. AndyP I saw the thread on Glen Roy some time ago and was greatly impressed by it, I will go back and re-aquaint myself with it in a moment. Richard (HH) my woodworking skills being what they are means I can't knock a nail in straight leave alone make a traverser :yes: Rob, it's funny you should modify my plan to exactly to what I was playing with this evening. However I may have to adopt a slightly unprototypical approach and substitute a three way point for the two points currently in the station throat. In the long term who knows, Norman Lockhart may come and take photos of it in operation :) Cheers, Dave

Tony, Will this require a general anaesthetic? Dave

Nice to see you on ERs again Ian, I see your neighbours could rival any soap opera! Regards, Dave

Today I've finished clearing the track from the boards and disposed of the former fiddle yard board, The scenic backboards have been slightly altered to close a gap. I ended up removing all the old cork and then filled all the holes e.g. where point motors were. Tomorrow should see me sanding the boards, I can then commence playing with track and paper templates. Cheers, Dave

Markus, I did consider that for about one second originally and then remembered my woodworking skill which is more akin to butchery :yes: The three boards I have are of superb quality and have been the the garage for nine years without a sign of warping. So I will try and make the best of what I have. Warmest Regards, Dave

Mike, The goods shed I currently have is shown on the left of the last picture in this post http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/112850-danemouth-mk-4/?p=2370234 On the plan the shed should have been moved up closer to the track However I have an idea which will move it to the other side of the layout. I intend to lay the paper templates etc for the plan shown above and also for another idea which is germinating at the moment before I make a decision. I will also be looking at ways to add a gentle curve to the track. The Cardiff Small Show is eight months away and if I pull my finger out and don't hit any brick walls I should have something to show if not fully detailed. Warmest Regards, Dave

If the name of the layout is familiar some of you will have followed my tribulations with various incarnations of Danemouth, a seaside BLT – this was Mark 4: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/112850-danemouth-mk-4/page-3&do=findComment&comment=2461259 This layout was interesting from an operational view but the fiddleyard and more particularly the ninety second radius curve onto the scenic part of the layout was operationally a nightmare and any attempt to hide it resulted in moments of unwanted interest when operating. I became disheartened to the extent that I’ve powered the layout a handful of times in recent months and done no work on it whatsoever. I was contemplating ditching the whole thing when a couple of months ago SWMBO remarked it was about time I finished a layout and perhaps exhibited it if only once. This has germinated inside what I call a brain and I’ve decided to go for it aiming to show something at the Cardiff Small Show. Recent perusal on RMWeb at small BLTs has further encouraged me, especially Pen-y-bont, Hintock and Mayshill which to me have all amply demonstrated what can be achieved in a relatively small space. So I’ve ripped all the track up and removed the old fiddleyard board leaving me with a baseboard 12 feet by two feet – eight feet for the scenic area and four for the fiddleyard. I did debate new boards which would have allowed for an additional 50 centimetres in the scenic area but the cost of new professionally built baseboards was 350 notes – my woodworking skills are absolutely appalling. Now I don’t feel inclined to spend that sort of dough for just 50 cms so I will stick with the boards made for me by Peter Midwinter nine years ago. Location: “Danemouth”, somewhere on the South Coast, one of those seaside resorts that the Victorians expected to be big but somehow never happened. I see Danemouth at the end of a single track secondary line 5 or 6 miles from the mainline junction. The time period is late fifties/early sixties with late crest steam and the occasional Green diesel. Traffic is: Branch trains of B set and Autocoaches Two coaches detached from an express at the “junction”. Branch goods train. GUVs etc. mainly using the end of the bay platform. The steam locos will mainly be various Panniers and Prairies (Large & Small). Diesels are a Flying Banana, Warship, Hymek and Class 22. Some of my locos have sound fitted and others will be also fitted with sound chips as things progress. Track and Control: Danemouth, like it predecessors will be DCC operated using a Powercab. I will continue to use Cobalt motors operated via decoders. The fiddleyard will be in code 75 FB with small points, the scenic bit will be using Code 75 Bullhead plain track with medium points. I did contemplate using the new Bullhead points but they take too much additional space. The track plan My c@ck-handedness is of epic proportions so in designing a trackplan I not only looked at lots of prototype plans but also considered what was available in terms of RTP buildings and Metcalfe kits i.e. something that gives a pleasing result with my limited skills. The Highley Station building and signal box will be reused together with a Bachmann GWR Goods Store. Any comments or advice on the plan is most welcome. The next step is to finish clearing the boards and to lay the track out using Peco paper point templates – I find this always finds issues and tweaks that are not obvious on an AnyRail plan. In particular I hope to find some opportunities to curve the track in places. Thanks for taking the time to read this lot, Dave

Indeed they can Milano, have five of them on Danemouth Cheers, Dave

I have been proved right in the past hour. Does that make me a Weather Profit Prophet? Dave

That big yellow orb in the sky is shining very brightly. However it won't last that long as I have uncovered and cleaned the patio furniture after its winter hibernation and put the parasol in place. Doubtless it will be pee-ing down by Saturday :yes: Best wishes to you all, Dave

I am in the "No" camp. Please remember that commercial recordings are copyrighted - if you use one it constitutes a public performance which requires various licences to avoid landing yourself with heavy fines. It is possible to buy copyright free recordings. Dave

You've already posted this one in #6677 Dave