Roswell Mill

[burgundy]

The five freight cars for Roswell Mill are cosmetically complete (apart from the brake stands on the two flat cars which will only go on when I have finished mauling them). 

Firstly, a flat car from an ALKEM kit, produced by Bernard Kempinski the builder of Aquia Landing.  It was apparently fairly standard practice to convert flat cars into simple gondolas by adding a couple of planks each side. Since I had too many flat cars, this seemed a simple way to create some variety.

The other cars are from BTS.

There is a pair of US Military RR vehicles that seem to have ended up on the W&ARR before the war has even started. 

The other pair are from the Georgia RR 

Must tighten up the truss rods on this one and then to sort out some couplings. 

The other step forward is the arrival of the replacement tie bars for the delinquent turnout - just in time for the wet weather!

Best wishes 

Eric 

[burgundy]

One of the bits of this project that I have been pondering is how to make the couplings. The prototype at this time used “link and pin” couplers, which are marginally less likely candidates for an automatic version than the UK 3 link. In essence, each vehicle had a metal central casting like a single buffer, which had an opening in the centre. The metal link was inserted into the opening and held in place with a pin dropped in from the top. The other vehicle was then “buffered up” as the shunter raised the link to enter the opening on the second vehicle, smartly dropping the pin in place at the same time. I imagine that an occupational hazzard of the job was the loss of fingers – or more.

For the model, one option was to use something like a staple, to drop in place by hand. There are also versions of the link and pin coupler available – some 3D printed – which could also be hand operated. Being a glutton for punishment, I wondered whether it would be possible to fabricate something along the lines of the AJ coupling, that would provide an acceptable visual appearance, but also automatic coupling and uncoupling.

A trial version looks something like this. The magnets are about 5mm cubed, came from an on-line shop and appear more than adequately powerful. I may need to bury then quite deep!

The AJ wires pivot in a short piece of fine tube, soldered to a brass plate and attached to the body of the vehicles above the bogie. The counter weight has space to swing upwards between the wooden underframes.

The central “buffer” is represented by turning the end of the brass plate downwards so that there is a buffing surface.

However, the central section of the end also needs to be removed to allow the necessary vertical and lateral movement of the wire to couple and uncouple. It also needs to be wide enough to allow the head of the coupling to pass through.

Trials continue but look promising. The photos are taken on my short length of test track.

For my next trick, is there a way to allow the loco to push wagons using a bar to clear the loco pilot (cowcatcher)? It might be a lot simpler to have a notional turning Y just off stage and just shunt from the tender end of the loco!

Best wishes

Eric

[burgundy]

One of the oddities that has been bothering me is why the wagons roll so poorly. I posed the question on a US based group and the response was to clean out the bearings on the bogies with a  truck tuner .

Following the normal “problem solving process”, I made a cup of tea, thought about the problem and took another look at it in the light of the comments. I concluded that, if anything, the wheelsets are already too loose in the bearings on the printed bogies. The ALKEM ones roll pretty well, but the 3D printed bogies on two of the cars were significantly worse than the others.

At that point, I got distracted – not least because of the absolutely glorious weather. Now that normal service has resumed, and coming back to the problem afresh, there was a glimpse of the blindingly obvious. The printed brake gear was rubbing on the flanges of the wheels. Because the wheels are gauged a millemetre wider than normal, the flanges were coming into contact with the surface of the brake. Thinning the brakes with a file solved the immediate problem – but revealed that it was actually the brakes that had been holding the wheelsets into the bogies! That was solved by gluing a small retainer across the bottom of the axlebox. I am still left with bogies that have a lot of slop in the wheelsets but at least I have rolling stock that rolls!

Talking to UK friends about this, the unanimous response is to install brass bearings. Given the brittleness of 3D prints, I am reluctant to spring the wheelsets out too often, especially if some of the rattle space would be taken up with a bearing each side. However, one solution suggested was to build a metal bogie with bearings and cut the side frames off the 3D printed bogies to create a cosmetic overlay. I hope that I do not get that desperate!

Best wishes

Eric

[burgundy]

Somewhere around the beginning of lockdown, the electrics had reached the stage where I needed to replace the tiebar on the 3 way stub turnout. Since then, I have managed diversions onto the freight stock, the population and also a scratch built loco (for Vintners' Yard).

It is fair to say that the tiebars turned up quite quickly, but the hot weather was a severe disincentive from working in the loft and the garden was much more inviting demanding. However, the odd wet day did enable some excavations to take place so that the tiebar was replaced and all seemed well. A few (hot) days later and the short circuit was back. More disconnecting of wiring followed, leading to the conclusion that, again, the tiebar was the problem.

After much head scratching, I finally came to the conclusion that the 3 way turnout was simply overstressing the tiebar in ways for which it was not designed. Unlike an ordinary turnout, the moving part of the point has to align with all three exit roads. It therefore has to throw further and it also demonstrates much more twist than a conventional turnout, as the moving section of rail is quite short.

I revisited the original @Technohand Mk 1 version, which used two sections of copper clad sleeper, gapped and joined together with a short length of wire to allow some bending.

I suspect that the Mk 2 version may have been less flexible than the Mk 1, as it seemed still to cause the rail ends on the moving section to point in slightly odd angles. I therefore went for the option C, that I had dreamed up at the beginning of April, which uses the original Brook Smith system. The tiebar is made from a plain wooden sleeper, copper rivets are inserted and squeezed lightly to secure them but still allow them to rotate, and the the rails are soldered to the rivets. So far it seems to work – and I have yet to see anyone manage to create a short circuit through a lump of wood! I have not yet worked out how best to make all this less obvious, but there is also some cosmetic repair work to do to conceal the craters created for the uncoupling magnets. With a few more wet days (and no further unexpected surprises) I hope to get that sorted.

Best wishes

Eric

[burgundy]

I think Roswell Mill has just about come to the end of the line for the time being.

I have completed the scenery so that it all looks quite pretty but the issue remains the running qualities of the stock. The loco, Roswell, is OK on its own but the tender has the free rolling qualities of a brick. The freight wagons are also in need of a lot more fine tuning to get the weight sufficient and the bogies tracking properly. I have tried putting bearings into the axle boxes so that there is less slop and I have tried to improve the ride of the bogies so that they roll and turn more freely, but they still need further improvement. I am beginning to think about replacing the wheelsets and/or the bogies (which are 3D prints) and starting again, but my current plan is simply to park it all until the resident gurus of NWSEMGSAG are able to visit and offer their collective wisdom. And it may be a little while before that can happen.

In the meantime, my mind has been turning to the next project. Brighton. 1870s. EM. Roundy-roundy. A traverser. A might have been.

I should like to keep all the threads, covering research, locos, rolling stock, scenery, etc in one place and have been wondering whether a blog would fit the bill better than a thread like this. Any thoughts?

Best wishes

Eric

[Oldddudders]

Blogs do not score well on interactivity, which is why some people prefer to use them - the owner can suppress unwanted contributions. But I, for one, very seldom look at blogs. RMweb, for me, is almost entirely New Content, where I can cherry-pick topics and follow members whose style suits me. Since your modelling, however talented and successful, tends to be at the esoteric end of the RMweb spectrum, you may find fewer contributors as a blogger than currently.  

[burgundy]

2 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

 ....at the esoteric end of the RMweb spectrum.....

Surely not?

Best wishes 

Eric  

[2996 Victor]

Hi Eric,

 

Hope you're keeping well? Having been away from RMWeb for a while, I'm just revising/catching up on some of the build threads I was following. Roswell Mill was looking really rather lovely, but I'd be interested to know if you managed to solve your loco running and rolling stock wheel slop issues. A few more photos of the layout would be nice, too.....!

 

Kind regards,

 

Mark

[burgundy]

Mark 

To be honest, no; it never really overcame the issues of free running. I got to the stage where I wanted to move on to the next project (see the footer), although Roswell Mill is stowed away and can be revived. I don't think the issues are insuperable and could be solved by new trucks for the freight cars and some tuning of the chassis for Roswell. I also have some 3D printed bits for another 4-4-0, Yonah, which would provide some variety to the loco roster!

The layout was published in an article for Model Railroad Hobbyist and also submitted to the UK branch of the NMRA, although I never heard whether that has been published. 

I attach some more photos but there is a finite number of views that you can take of a 4' long layout! 

 

The track plan........

The rolling stock - all of it!

Broad gauge track on code 40 rail.

There is always going to be a rather sensitive issue with the figures on this layout if it goes to a public exhibition. It illustrates Georgia before the Civil War and a third of the figures are of Afro-American ethnicity. Are you "celebrating" slavery or are you reminding people of a piece of history that many would rather forget? It can make for a very uncomfortable conversation. 

Best wishes 

Eric  

Edited January 11, 2022 by burgundy

[burgundy]

As I have suggested above, I have laid Roswell Mill aside and wonder whether anyone else would be interested in buying it, to take it forward? Aside from what is visible in the photos, there are some 3D printed bits and wheels for another loco -  the Yonah. 

If anyone is interested, please PM me. 

Best wishes 

Eric