Ian Holmes

Some progress on the little loco. The styrene shell has gone together really well so far. I think it's really beginning to look the part. The thing I'm most proud of are the scratch built W-iron, Axlebox and leaf spring arrangement from laminations of styrene of various sorts. I was pretty amazed at the way they turned out. Before I started on them, I thought that they would be way beyond my comfort zone. But after some thought and care It all went together pretty easily. Sure, they're not perfect. But I'm only working from a conjectural drawing anyway. I'm more than happy with them and once they're on the loco and painted, I'm sure they'll look fine. The moral of this story is you never know what you can do until you try. There's a more detailed look at the construction on the layout blog https://ogaugemicrolayout.blogspot.com

It was indeed, the late Roy C Link. I certainly wasn’t thinking of his Crowsnest layouts when I designed this but the influences are there. Ian

I have been desperately searching for a locomotive project to give this layout project a kick up the proverbial. Some kind of quirky small shunter the looks odd, to grab peoples attention. The on this thread I found drawings of the Southern Railway DS499 shunter Small and most definitely quirky, I think it would be great on a small quarry line, even if that line was over 100 miles from where it really ran. All I need is something to push individual wagons around. I also needed a project that could use materials easily to hand here in the USA, so I don't have to spend a fortune on shipping things from then UK. Plus the postal system in America is so bad I can wait weeks and weeks for things to be delivered. That meant using this loco as a donor unit. The AHM Rivarossi Plymouth 4 wheel switcher. Measuring the wheelbase I found that it scaled up to about 8' 10". Which is near enough for me for what seems to be about an 8' wheelbase on the prototype. So I hacked away at the footplate to reduce it to a more manageable size to fit in with the UK loading gauge. And so I ended up with this. It's now little more than a motor bogie. It would be nice If I could hack off both those protruding lumps off the weight. But one will be hidden in the cab so that one, isn't crucial. The other has to come off. It's a long slow job to remove it. All I need to have shipped from the UK will be buffers, couplings and axle box w-irons. Much cheaper than having a full kit sent over from the homeland.

It’s a standard sheet of 20 x30 cork faced foam core

Gorilla Glue woodworking glue.

I have been rather busy on the layout doodling front over the past few weeks coming up with all kings of ideas. Coal loading screens and chalk quarries, to name but a few. So I decided to build a new baseboard out of foamcore board. The frame was a laminate of a couple of pieces of 5mm black foamcore. One piece smaller than the other so that the surface of 10mm cork face board sat on the ledge created. The frame was glued and pinned in place while the glue set. Then some extra bracing underneath. The finished item is rigid and very light indeed. Now all I have do is come up with something to fit on it.

Nice. Interesting subject. I wasn't aware of any Brazilian Railway models. I really like this little model.

That's another great image from Gordon Edgar. Nice find. Thanks.

Look at that, six and a half years since I posted to this blog. Is it worth it? It's not like I've been inactive. I have blogged in the old places, posted on the forum side, and kept active on Facebook too. I just didn't use this blog. Six months after that last post here, I had a nervous breakdown, so my mind was a mess anyway. But I have that mostly sorted out. I still see too many inspirational photos of things that I feel I must model. So my mind is still messed up in the same way it was before. So, rambling thoughts about a baseboard, using a 30" x 20" sheet of cork faced foam core board. First, using 5mm black foamcore, make the frame for the outside of the baseboard. The baseboard will sit on the ledge, hopefully flush with the top edge of the frame, depending on the skill of my cutting. Frames glued in place and pinned whilst the glue sets. A bit of extra bracing underneath, and its a flat, light, rigid baseboard. Not totally 100% sure what I'd like to do with it yet. There's space aplenty for 16.5mm gauge track. Some kind of 4mm scale quarry loading thing perhaps. I found some very interesting pictures of APCM quarries online. Or the same sort of thing in O16.5. Or 1/32... or 1/35... (please excuse the views of the stalled Gn15 project in the background) Then again, so does some 32mm gauge track... So, right now. I don't know. I just don't know.

Excellent! Not much else you can say really. Well done.

A short blog post that may give some insight into planning and developing the concept for this micro layout. https://ogaugemicrolayout.blogspot.com/2020/06/a-place-called-nogg.html

Nogg. It’s there. On the maps. Just north of the old Cromford and High Peak line to Hoptonwood quarries, famed for its high quality limestone for gravestones and memorials. Nogg. I couldn’t pass on that name. Nogg mine was an old lead mine. There are pictures of the windswept locale on the aditnow website. So I decided to create a scheme for a small branch off the Hoptonwood branch (a twig if you will) to meander up to the bleak hillside where there would be a small quarry. My plan, based on one of my doodles. Originally was going to be in 4mm scale. Then I thought about working in 7mm, as its something I’ve always wanted to do. In 4mm scale its about 20” square, and depicts a wagon turntable in front of a small crusher/processing building of some sort. I sketched out the plan in 4mm scale and it works, so with the appropriate enlargement it should work in 7mm. Though the exact size is unknown as yet. I also had a play with stock to see how things shaped up. The small size was one of the things that made me think about expanding up to O. I really do believe it could work. More details to follow Ian

I like the sound of that idea. Thanks Ian

Good to know. I’ll take a look. Thanks Keith ian

Agreed. But as my chosen subject is an industrial quarry railway, I figured I could probably get away with it. ian

Anyrail, also does not seem to be available for Mac. Doodles coming soon, that might help explain what I’m after too. ian

Templot is not available for Mac ian

Because a plan for a small radius Y point is not available. There doesn’t even seem to be plans for the new “unifrog “ setback points out there. ian

I've started doing some doodling for an O scale Micro layout. In trying to get a feel for the track size and layout. I photocopied and enlarged some PECO OO scale pointwork. My question is. I enlarged a PECO code 75 small "Y" point up to O scale. Would short 4 wheel locomotives like Pecketts and Sentinels run through this OK? I think the radius would scale up to 42" Ian

The Micro Model Railroad Cartel podcast is back, with lots of enthusiasm and tips for you Micro Layout builders. This is the first podcast in 8 years. https://mmrrc.blogspot.com

If I might be permitted to expand on the previous post concerning "operating potential" with a view of my current layout. The scenic section of the model is 3' 6" long. The rest of the passing loop is hidden on the sector plate. But the station only has the one siding much like your plan. There are perhaps 5 spots for wagons on that siding, (at the moment I only use 4). But to correctly assemble a train offstage, bring into the station and switch out the wagons already in the siding takes a great deal of thought and planning. Woe betide you that you get a wagon out of place, then you really have to think hard to get everything to work out. It's very challenging and a lot of fun.

Good concept. However there are a couple of points (excuse the pun) that need addressing. 1. Is your headhunt long enough to take your locomotives? 2. Are you going to be able to access the kickback siding? The distance between the toe of the point and the buffer stops at the end of the headshunt needs to be the length of your loco + a wagon. If you're using the very shortest 0-4-0 loco's you might be OK on these issues. Otherwise you'll probably have problems As you access that siding you'll find your loco and wagon switching left and right very rapidly in a short distance. This is a great recipe for the couplers pulling the stock off the track. I do like your idea and with the right buildings and stock it could be a model of great character. Ian

Superb. There’s not much else I can add.