Lisa

Hi Looking at the design again, with slight modification the left hand end, with the addition of an adapter unit, can be used on it's own as a layout in it's own right. Lisa

Hi I would like to, BUT I live on Jersey, I do however regularly visit the Thames valley area. Lisa

Hi Whilst the initial design worked with the sequence. The modified design has two goods sidings, like the prototype. The back siding is the coal siding, and the front one for general goods. The design, is designed to fit into two plastic boxes for transport, measuring 380mm by 140mm by 140mm. This allows for the loop being the correct length. This idea of using two boards, came from reading page 305, of MRJ No. 75 on buiding a simple diorama. Lisa

Hi I've done some experimentation with a short length of Easitrack, a small piece of plywood, double sided tape and three wagons, to determine the minimum radius which 10' wagons could negotiate, without coming off. The answer is 75mm radius, if I slightly gauge widen the track. Initial design of the baseboard, the main baseboard will be 380mm by 140mm, with two add on boards 185mm by 140mm and a hinged flap to support the cassette at the back of the layout. The scenic area will be presented in diorama format, complete with curved photographic backscene and view block at the front, and will include an array of LED's to light the scene. I am intending to add legs, so that when the layout is displayed on a table, the height will be boosted to a more normal viewing height. I am intending to construct the main board using mono-cock construction techniques, to make it rigid, lightweight and minimum thickness. Lisa

Yes, I have just checked up in the Oakwood Press book, and you are right they were built by Kitson, not Manning Wardle. I had mixted up with the pre-1888 Jersey Railway, refered to by locals as the Western Railway. Lisa

My main layout based on a Devon light railway and the Jersey Eastern Railway used 0-4-2 Maning Wardle locomotives, so the answer is yes! I've recently purchased two wagon chassis kits, at the 2mm AGM which I plan to modify, build the bodies, to become a JER coaches. I think the coaches I choosen, can be justified running on the light railway too. Lisa

Hi I am building a layout, but in order to test the locomotives, and rolling stock I need a test track. The prototype is an intermediate station on the Jersey Eastern Railway. The station had a single platform a level crossing and a siding facing St Hellier. I am intending that the test track will pack into a plastic box with internal measurements of 380mm by 140mm by 160mm. This will include a loco and rolling stock, and maybe the controller. I don't have transport, so I travel everywhere by bus, train and ferry. So I intend to carry the box in a holdall. The box is to ensure that the railway stays dry. Lisa

Cleaver idea hinging the cassettes, I like it so much that I might steal the idea, for my new layout. I would have used a flexible wire, to bridge the gap between the halves myself. Lisa

The depot is more compact than Green Street, St Hellier. Lisa

Shame you didn't move the soldering iron, as it hides the most impressive feature of the layout!

Have you tried to use Norman Solomon's method, of using a thick layer of undiluted PVA, then temporally pin the track in position, then place a layer of ballast, leave it for about five minutes, and then shake the excess ballast off? I have used this method with fine sand, the effect for me anyway is excellent. Lisa

Hi His resoning was, you go to a great deal of trouble creating a very realistic scene. Then when you photograph it, close up, you spoil the effect with the black facia panel. Lisa

Hi Why do model railway layouts have black facia panels? Before visiting the RM Modellers day, this is not a question which I would have asked. BUT following a discussion with the person on the design desk, the above is a question that I am exploring. He pointed out, and thinking about I agree, that when one attempts to take a close up photograph of say a locomotive on one's layout, it is difficult not to have part of the facia panel showing in the photograph. His solution is to have a sloping facial panel, the facia panels are often structural members, on modern plywood layouts. Hence you cannot do without them! BUT his suggestion was to give the sloping facia panel, a partial scenic treatment. SO that when one took the close up photograph, using the macro facility on your camera, the scenic facia would be not in sharp focus. Visually this would be similar to taking a photograph of a real train, in a landscape, where the foreground would be slightly out of focus. What do other's think about this subject? Lisa

What about a picture taken as if from a train on top of the viaduct? Lisa

Updated sequence uploaded in form of a graphic, due to limitations of RMWEB. Lisa

Sorry about the quality of the photograph, BUT I have to keep the photograph files very small due to the very slow internet speeds I have access to. Lisa

Chagford - Operating Sequence Updated 26-05-12 Hi All The layout design, in the last post, needed to have the loop entry points simulated by the use of train cassettes. There is nothing wrong in principle with this, but there would have been 3 tracks leaving the scenic area in parallel, at the right hand end of the layout. By having the main and the other lines curved, and by using asymmetric y points, it is possible to have the loop entry point in the scenic area. This arrangement also makes the appearance of the Depot more appealing to. It also allows goods tram of 4 wagons and a brake van possible, as per prototype. BUT more important is allows a partial relief gas holder to be modelled in the between the main and the mineral branch. This both mimics the prototype and partially hides the necessary aperture in the backscene. I've spent a long time looking at tram sequences and track layout. He design I have arrived at meets my requirements of an interesting to operate layout, within the very small space. With the above paper layout, I simulated the sequence, to check that it was possible to run it. With a few minor amendments it worked well. It is my intention to use a PDA running a spreadsheet to produce the live sequence, incorporating the as required and special tram services. Lisa

Hi Does the larger font size make reading it easier? Lisa

Hi All To check if the design will work, you can draw out your design full size, and then check the lengths of loops and sidings using the locomotives and rolling stock, as show below. The loop length can be increased by curving the Main and Loop roads. For Chagford this is essential to make sure that the layout will operate correctly. The above test showed that a train of 4 wagons and a break was able to be run around using the proposed loop. BUT only if one end of the loop was simulated using train cassettes. The length of the goods siding is long enough to enable it to handle 3 wagons. But when the Passenger Tram Siding was too short because it is a requirement to use it as in order to access the Locomotive Shed. But the points can be moved towards Bow, without problems, to correct this problem. Lisa

Hi When you are designing a very small size layout, the checking of the workability of an operating sequence is essential, at a very early point! Lisa

Modified 23-05-12 & 26-05-12 Hi All It is my intention to operation of Chagford on a sequence, based on the operation of the prototype. The red entries didn't run every day. The sequence may seem at first sight complex, but every tram operated is a minimum of three lines in the table below My intention is to use some form of random number generation, to decide if the non regular trams are included in the operating sequence. The next stage of the design process is to dry run the sequence, to see if it works, including if the sidings are long enough to hold the wagons. Lisa

My intention is to make the baseboard from 4mm ply and the place the foam board on top. Thus the foam board will be in compression. The track will be glued in place using a contact adhesive to the top layer of card. This will keep the track in the correct location, with respect to each other. Lisa

Hi All I've now done the basic track planning. The main track in the diagram below is shown as straight. When the track is laid it will be curved, because it was curved on the prototype. I am current planning to lay the track on thin foam board both for sound insulation and to allow the final track track position to be adjusted to make the best possible use of the very limited area. The track diagram below was drawn using Trax 3. The points have a radius of 190mm, but it is a tramway and not a railway and the largest locomotive was a small wheeled 0-6-0 and no passenger or freight vehicle on the tramway had a wheelbase of longer than 15'. It should be noted, that the prototype had a coal siding and a separate general goods siding, but space consideration forced me to combine them into one! The photograph below is the plastic box, into which the baseboard, fascia panel and supports will have to fit for transport. Lisa

Yes I have, but I've found that it is best to play it by ear! Lisa

Updated at 18:12 05-05-12 Hi All Having started out with Chagford layout, in a circular format, inspired by Mark Fielders Pizza layout. I have discovered that whilst this works in narrow gauge, due to the lack of buffers, in standard gauge it does not work. I am now pondering a more traditional design, similar to Mayfield Street. The layout would use an offstage cassettes to simulate one end of the loop and another for the Dairy Sidings at the other end. My aim, as with the previous circular design is ease of transport, by bus and train, as I don’t have or want to own a car. I currently considering using a plastic container which has length 400mm height 120mm and width of 135mm. All of these measurements are internal ones. My design aim is to get the complete layout, complete with its cassettes and facia to fit into the above box for transport. I envisage fitting this box into a holdall for ease of transport. The plastic box keeping the layout dry, despite the small amounts of moisture that would get inside the holdall. Lisa