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Flixborough exchange sidings - WITHDRAWN!


Allegheny1600

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Greetings all,

Well, i guess i better make a start here and now, seeing as the rules are decided. Yippee! I'm quite excited about all this, i've never entered any kind of modelling competition before, never finished a layout before - i have no ambition to win, merely to finish the layout!

 

What i have so far is a space of 86 inches by 16.5 inches (") - this is the amount of free room i have in my 'stock room/modelling room', even then if i want to gain access to a couple of cupboards, the layout will have to come down! This also gives me the criterion of the layout being very lightweight and very easy to take down and put up again!

Hopefully obviously, i already had this space when talk of the challenge opened up and this area equates to 1419 square inches so i was in had the rules stated 10 square feet (1440 square "). Now that i have an extra 591 square inches to play with, i can also build me a little fiddle yard although that won't be part of the layout at home.

 

I will almost certainly be using 00 gauge, unless i weaken and go American again in which case, it would be H0!

Definately be using DCC control as i have a weakness for sound equipped locos - though i don't think my future release for 2010 from Heljan/Hattons (hint!) will be available with sound!

As long as i remain true to my British theme, the era will be the late sixties as i love the mix of green and blue diesels.

 

Other things are definately worked out for certain, like baseboard materials. For me it has to be 6mm or 9mm plywood construction all round. I've experimented physically and theoretically with all sorts of super lightweight materials including foam, plastic, aluminium etc but always found that usually where you lose weight, you often lose strength - having said that, Pauls boards on "Claverton Engineering" look brilliant - well done, Paul!

The trestles are already built for another, stilborn project - this dictated the width of 16.5" - the viewing height will be just over 4 feet. I make no apologies for this A; i get a very bad back from too much stooping and B; the layout has to clear my workbench!

 

Well thats it for this evening, i'll add more as i either think of something to discuss or actually make some progress!

Cheers,

John E.

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The thought processes continue!

The track gauge WILL be 16.5mm, thereby keeping my options open if i do feel the need to give my US/Euro stuff a run out! I was seriously considering "having a bash" at EM gauge, which is something i am very, very interested in however if i set myself too many challenges, it would only need one small hiccup and i'd lose interest or momentum and i don't want to risk that!

Still mulling over the exact trackplan but it will be based upon the classic "timesaver" trackplan - i've had a play with a virtual timesaver online and i find it quite theraputic, only slightly worried about some comments i've read on the web - describing it as a "timewaster" instead! Mind, i'm planning to insert a petite platform, two "industries" and a off-scene storage yard.

Well, the main design is only 1419 square inches - that leaves me a 580 square inch extension to fit in a small sector plate, enabling me to ring the changes every now and then. Yes! I know that only takes me up to 1999 square inches, i want to leave some room for error!

I won't be able to use the extension at home but hoping to exhibit the result, i'll use the extension when the layout is out.

Some woodcutting has taken place, will post the first pics after some glueing and screwing.

My Saturday shopping at Warley saw me acquire (amongst other things) some C&L baseboard dowels and 3mm thick foam underlay.

TBC

John E.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well after an absence of some time, things have finally started moving again!

The scenario for the layout is eastern England sometime in the near future.

The location of Flixborough Wharf Ltd is near the confluence of the rivers Humber and Trent (actually on the Trent!) in north Lincolnshire near Scunthorpe. Flixborough Wharf itself is a privately owned wharf that exports steel girders, plate, coils, rods and other steel products and holds stock of same. They also import iron pellets (if thats the right term!) each "pellet" being a bit bigger than a 2Kg bag of sugar and weighing a LOT more! Unfortunately, most of this traffic is handled by road transport but there is still a fair amount of rail traffic handled here. Just off the Flixborough Wharf Ltd property is a very interesting grain terminal - completely served by road!

I had the good fortune to be able to arrange a site visit there about five years ago(!) with a view to collecting some modelling data & photos, which i did but have not so far been able to concentrate sufficiently to build this layout.

The real wharf is served (by rail) from a nearby network rail link to (i think!) Dragonby sidings. RMS Locotec shunters actually perform the shunting, taking trains from the exchange sidings down the short "mineral railway" to the wharf itself. RMS Locotec (or others) have a small "loco depot" on site which house all manner of plant, a class 20 on jacks and a Yorkshire Engine Co. "Janus" 0-6-0 centre cab diesel shunter - lovely!!!!! Sadly, it's not been run for a few years but it is very modellable!

Out of the depths of my mind came the thought that if i could not model the wharf itself, then i could do a fictional model based upon the exchange sidings - this is where "Flixborough exchange sidings" comes in!

 

First, we have the plan!

 

post-6892-12614475335766_thumb.jpg

 

Probably not the best image thats ever been uploaded but hopefully you can see whats going on.

A mainline loco will draw it's loaded train from the cassette (long straight line in dotted area) into the loop, loco to leave train in loop and move forward and wait in headshunt.

Shunting loco will then split the train up into the exchange sidings then it can start to convey said wagons down to the wharf or indeed, another shunter can be bringing empties up and taking the loads down whilst the first shunter is making and breaking trains.

The wharf is represented by the short cassette - this is to be exactly half the length of the main cassette!

While this is going on, there can be a sparse service to/from the short platform.

There are also occasional trains of grain to be shunted in & out of the grain silos.

 

Thats the basic premise - any comments, please?

 

Baseboard construction, Areas & Workings out.

The two main baseboards (I call them "Headshunt" and "Exchange"!) are both 16.5" x 43", made from 9mm ply built in the manner of an old fashioned drawer. Hopefully this will prove to be quite strong - i've never known drawers in old furniture to warp! The baseboard joins will be re-inforced up to 18mm in thickness for additional strength and for supporting the (C&L) baseboard alignment dowels. When i know the exact locations of all point motors etc, i will also put in a couple of extra stiffeners as well!

Anyway, these two baseboards combine to give an area of 1419 square inches.

I need two cassettes to conect to the boards, one of about 1 metre length, the other of half a metre - i calculate these to total 120 square inches, this left me free to use an additional 471 square inches. My calculator told me that a third board could be up to 16" x 29" and this then forms the leg of the L down which runs the line to the wharf itself.

The total area is getting quite close to the 2010 square inch maximum (2003, actually!) but at home, i will be unable to actually use the long cassette - unless i bore through into the bathroom and think how much Mrs E would like that!!!!!!!!

The dotted area of the plan is where a possible future extension may go.

 

Thats it for now, photos of the real wharf should come soon.

Cheers,

John E.

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John now you have the plans in place ,what is the construction schedule /completion date? Im sure we can give you plenty of encouragement at the club ,when you grace us with an appearance that is phil

 

 

Yeah, sure - you can help me wire it up!!!!!

What i'd really like to do is get it ready for our show, which is close to the final date in the competition anyway.

Cheers,

John.

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Time for some pictures of the site that gave me my original inspiration: Flixborough Wharf.

As stated above, i don't have the room to give the wharf itself justice - i can only model (fictitiously) the exchange sidings that lead to the wharf.

I can however, use some modellers licence to transpose and alter certain things from the wharf to the exchange sidings!

 

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A general view of the site looking due west (inland).

 

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A bit closer showing my party (L:R Chris Robb, Flixborough employee(!), Colin Gutteridge & Roy Draper), the size of some of the beams handled here - in this shot these must be 1' x 18"-2' deep by about 60' long(!) and some idea of the size of the cranes in use here.

 

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closer shot of some more beams here and a piece of plate! Which is probably upwards of a foot thick and 12' x 8' - that would make a solid baseboard!

 

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The large modern crane dumping the aformentioned iron 'pellets' into a tipper lorry - the noise was tremendous!

 

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The older, pre war crane. It was mostly out of use at the time of my visit, unless there was a rush on when it did come back into service. The only reason it was not in use all the time is that the modern crane is much faster and more efficient. Apparently during the war, this crane was used as a navigational aid by German bombers coming in from the wash.

 

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The stock holding building in background with service tracks in the foreground. The right hand track is the "mineral railway" curving right and uphill towards Dragonby sidings (which is the basis for my model).

 

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Showing the state of the track on the wharf itself. This would be fun to model - and make it work reliably!

 

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This is the adjoining grain store/hopper facility. I must incorporate this into FES - and make it rail served obviously!

 

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This is the lovely little Yorkshire engine company "Janus" which i believe originated from nearby Scunthorpe steelworks - something else to be (eventually) incorporated into FES!

 

post-6892-12615349283031_thumb.jpg

Ooops! Somebody's nicked me wheels! (and me bogies!). Unfortunately i did not record the number of this folorn class 20 - maybe because there was no number?!?

 

Well, there we are - theres only a small part here that can actually be used on FES but this does at least give the flavour of what i'm trying to achieve.

TTFN,

John E.

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  • 1 month later...

Well, well, well!!! Another month has gone by with little to show for it but with Christmas, New year and a month long (double) cold - that's my excuse and i'm sticking!

Anyway, i now have some photos of baseboard construction under way...................

 

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The first completed baseboard of 43" by 16.5" area - eek, what a lot of empty space to fill!

 

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Underside of first board showing the "cupboard drawer" method of construction and 9mm thick baseboard top surface and side & end beams. If i had had 6mm ply for the top surface, i would have used that, never mind! Needs must and all that!

 

post-6892-12648994009784_thumb.jpg

Second board partially built showing the 75mm x 9mm side & end beams and the 18mm x 18mm quarter round beading that gives the joins the required strength (using PVA).

 

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Second end piece going onto the second board using only PVA and G clamps; these give plenty of time for adjustment, the downside of which is that it takes me about a week to construct each board! D'oh!

 

post-6892-12648996923176_thumb.jpg

Showing close up of the quarter round segments being glued in place, opposite end of second board. Simply cut to length, sand, apply glue to bottom and side then rub into position - then wait overnight!

 

Thats it for now, Cheers!

John E.

 

Edit: Just weighed the first substantially complete board on bathroom scales: 4Kg! Hmmm! Not quite as light as i would have liked but it'll have to do! The two side pieces together weigh 1Kg so what do you do?

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Hi again John,

 

Well I'm going to keep my eye on your project, It looks and sounds very promising. I must agree with your very first comment, "i have no ambition to win, merely to finish the layout!", thats exactly why I have entered. Mainly to push me into getting a layout finished, or near finished, I want to get to that point where I can just add detail over time and make it better and better. If I won the challenge that would be a complete bonus, having a layout to add too and drive trains on is a prize on its own!!

 

Keep up the good work.

Cheers,

Matt.

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Perfect excuse - if one was needed - to build one of these http://www.ukmodelsh...ithedge/kit/132

 

 

Hi there, Kenton!

Yes! I've been drooling over these for a good while now and will be hoping to pick one up at the Nottingham show - specifically for this layout!

Thanks for looking in,

Cheers,

John Edge - No relation to this manufacturer! (good name, though!)

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  • 1 month later...

Good Grief!

Where has the time gone gone? Just to show that i have not been entirely idle, here are some pics of the completed baseboards set up in their new home!

 

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View from the entrance to the room.

 

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And view from opposite corner of the room.

 

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Just to show that i can do some metalwork as well as joinery! Actually i haven't done metal dowels since i was about 15 or so years old, when i made a complete hash of the job! I'm quite happy with the way these went together but then, i now have the tools for the job!

TIP: use the best tools you can for the job, on here i used a set of fairly cheap Forstner bits (the 25mm one anyway!) to drill the blind holes in the frame ends - and it was struggling rather. I guess that my plywood is quite hard!

 

Hopefully, i can now start making some faster progress! Cheers,

John E.

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Hey,

 

Starting to look good. I have used the bullet type dowels, first time I have done anything like it! I am looking at ways to either attach legs or as you have done, sit it on trestles... or even on a suitable fold away table. Anyway cracking idea will keep watching ;)

 

Pete

 

PS have not touched mine this week other things to do.

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Hi Guys!

Thank you for your comments - it's nice to know that i'm providing some entertainment/inspiration/ideas to you all!!!!!!!

Yes, tracklaying will start very soon as the (C&L foam) underlay is now down and securely glued - using Copydex. After a bit, i could taste that stuff, ugh!

(was just trying to find an icon for "ugh", perhaps there should be one!!!!).

Hopefully another update soon,

Cheers,

John E.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Seeing as i can now see myself being left behind here, i thought i better post some updates!

Well, i have been busy sorting out the trackplan in "real life" as it were!

My original sketch, although not very visible on here was not too far off what was possible in reality - i've simply lost one of the three exchange sidings, which is fine. At the moment, the track is simply cut to suit, it is not permanently laid down as i want to lay "00 gauge" cork underlay from Gaugemaster on top of the foam!

Overkill?

No! I have two good reasons for doing this: 1. Extra sound absorbency as i will be running all (most!) sound equipped locos and i certainly do not want to lose any of that precious sound due to "drumming" through the baseboards! According to a "Model Railroader" special on track laying - cork on foam gives the best sound absorbency of all! Time will tell but if i don't try, i won't know!

2. Where the wharf line runs off the present board, it needs to drop down grade. So, if i elevated the main track firstly, i can soon allow the wharf line to start it's gradient on the main flat boards AND be able to make the sidings at a lower level than the main!

 

post-6892-12699090025_thumb.jpg

Here is an overhead view showing the main line and loop in the centre of the pic, the two exchange sidings on right and the grain siding on left.

 

post-6892-126990915008_thumb.jpg

Similar overhead shot in opposite direction, at left wharf line running off board, main-line headshunt, platform road (with new Heljan platform in situ) and also the top of the loop and grain siding.

 

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Closer view of above photo. There is a baseboard joint here, honest!

 

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Closer view of first pic in this post!

 

Now must get some cork glued down!

Cheers,

John E.

 

Edit: WOW!! those first two overhead shots made me feel dizzy when i first saw this post online, my apologies if it does the same to you!

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I thought i'd just show a couple of pictures of the loco shown briefly in the last post!

 

post-6892-126991116385_thumb.jpg

It's definately a class 66, but which one? No prizes for guessing, just smug satisfaction!

 

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A frontal shot, sorry it's not as clear as the last - just getting used to using Gimp for photo editing!

Clue: Look at the relationship between the loco and the track!

 

Cheers,

John E.

 

PS: must do something about some nice industrial type backscenes!

PPS: Many thanks to the kind person who voted me 5 stars, much appriciated!

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Correct, James! Well done, you get your smug satisfaction!!!

Rail4Chem is a German operator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAIL4CHEM (main site not working at the mo) and i just liked this loco! I do have an interest in current German operations, you see!

OR, i could do this layout in British H0..............................I've got two of these Euro 66s and a Roco '08' suitable and 1 (ONE!) wagon!

Yes! all Tillig track as i bought a fair bit when i first discovered it and hadn't really used much, except on the club layout.

Nearly got the cork laid now so will post again presently!

Cheers,

John E.

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I could do this layout in British H0..............................I've got two of these Euro 66s and a Roco '08' suitable and 1 (ONE!) wagon!

Could always make it H0 with Euro and British stock... would still be an exchange sidings just not in the way you'd originally pictured it as.

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Thanks LisaP4,

I am thinking along those lines!

I might be able to get my Roco '08' and Mehano DLC class 66 repainted into EWS/DB (for example) but i can't repaint the Rail4Chem machine - it's too nice by far! Thanks to SteveK of this parish i do also have a lovely Fleischmann 'Warship' but how that could end up on an industrial branch in Lincolnshire, i don't know.

I guess some of my fleet of Euro sliding roof bogie steel hoods could pass muster on the steel traffic for now, no doupt there are plenty of approximately reasonable Euro bogie grain hopper wagons AND i do have a nice collection of British H0 scale road vehicles (some even RHD!) but;

What do i do about a replacement for my class 153?

I hesitate to scratchbuild one of those but nothing i know of on the Euro/US/Aussie market could even come close!

The grey matter keeps on ticking!

Cheers,

John E.

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Phew!

Been at the copydex again - and glued down all the cork underlay to raise the "mainline" tracks and attacked the cork strips with the belt sander to taper them down to nothing for, the "branch" (start of the gradient), the end of the headshunt and the sidings. Definately a job for outdoors as it was Gaugemaster 00 cork strip that seems to be impregated with rubber compound and when sanding - it stinks! Also a good idea to wear a breathing mask as plenty of tiny particles of cork and rubber flew everywhere!

Anyway no pictures tonight as York tomorrow and need some sleep! Will post some soon though.

I've also decided that a total of three locos to work this layout will be perfectly fine, sooo...................

I'm going H0!

British outline H0, no less! That means my two Mehano 66's and one roco "08". I've just ordered some BYA wagon kits from the British H0 scale society so they and some plain brown Roco covered wagons will be perfectly sufficient.

Still not decided on how to provide a passenger service though - a DBS 66 and Lima mark1 or mark2 anyone?

TTFN,

John E.

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  • RMweb Gold

Phew!

Been at the copydex again - and glued down all the cork underlay to raise the "mainline" tracks and attacked the cork strips with the belt sander to taper them down to nothing for, the "branch" (start of the gradient), the end of the headshunt and the sidings. Definately a job for outdoors as it was Gaugemaster 00 cork strip that seems to be impregated with rubber compound and when sanding - it stinks! Also a good idea to wear a breathing mask as plenty of tiny particles of cork and rubber flew everywhere!

Anyway no pictures tonight as York tomorrow and need some sleep! Will post some soon though.

I've also decided that a total of three locos to work this layout will be perfectly fine, sooo...................

I'm going H0!

British outline H0, no less! That means my two Mehano 66's and one roco "08". I've just ordered some BYA wagon kits from the British H0 scale society so they and some plain brown Roco covered wagons will be perfectly sufficient.

Still not decided on how to provide a passenger service though - a DBS 66 and Lima mark1 or mark2 anyone?

TTFN,

John E.

Hi John,

 

Preserved CL33 with coaches?

 

Make it something along the idea of Appelby Frodingham Railway?

 

Allows you visiting stock, railcars, brake van tours etc etc

 

British HO Soc also show other usefull stock to go with the idea!

 

Thanks

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