TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN -
Notice is hereby given that, the necessary Powers and Consents having been obtained and share capital authorised, the Company intends to construct and work a new Line for the conveyance of goods in the Isle of Purbeck in the County of Dorset. The Line is primarily intended to convey freight
Very imaginative Clayliner (are you the said Chairman: Roland?) and I do like the look of your two locomotives. I think I speak for many in asking if we can have more details of them and other items of your stock please?
My only constructive question really is to ask why you have chosen the very narrow 1ft 9in as the gauge for the railway? I am guessing that you are keeping to 9mm gauge for the model and you are doing it in 4mm scale?
Regards
Mick
It has been brought to the attention of the Company that an error crept into the Notice previously posted on the 9th inst. Namely, that the gauge given for the proposed Railway was incorrectly stated as 1'9", whereas the Line will, in fact, be built to a gauge of 1ft 2 and 5/8ths inches.
Please be assured that the employee responsible for this grave error has, of course, been dismissed from the Company and that the Management will take every step to ensure that all future information on the Line is of the highest accuracy.
Further details of the proposed Line will be published in the near future.
D Roland Collins
Chairman &c
I am sure that 5/8ths will be the key to success and allow many more unsatisfactory employees to take the blame for poor management if they are 1/8th out of gauge
Peter Smith
Have we lost a foot somewhere, or is this minimum gauge? I'm not sure how either "OO" or "9" fits in here. ???
(Good wheeze for a new railway, but I'd be looking to sack the press officer if I was CEO. ;D )
Glad to see a new freelance railway introduced. I'm looking forward to more - how about a layout plan? The first post would make a good start of a series in the 009 News. ;)
agree, if its anything like the wonderful Nixnie saga I cant wait irrespective of gauge
Peter Smith
I despair... what's the matter with the staff? I blame this fancy new approach to education. Anyone should be able to see it's TWO foot 3 and 5/8th, of course. More sackings on the way...
David.
I'd keep the company photographer. He is doing an excellent job.
All this talk of sackings is a bit worrying.
Don't forget you will need to:
Suspend the employee(s) and advise them of the reason they have been suspended in writing
Give 5 days notice of a disciplinary hearing (they may of course be accompanied by a Trades Union official or colleague)
Advise HR dept (who will run a mile - as usual !)
Hold the hearing, establish the facts and then adjourn the hearing whilst you consider their version of events.
Re-convene the meeting and advise them that you consider their actions to be Gross Misconduct and that they will be dismissed. Do not forget to advise them that they have the right of appeal to the manager above your level
Issue written notice of dismissal
Remind HR what's happened
or have I gone a bit off topic!
Bob
no,you just forgot it will all need to be done in a minimum of 5 languages. However reassured re 2 feet and a few odd inches and still looking forward to the first installment
Peter Smith
A formal dismissal procedure? - you must be imagining some future utopia (which is never going to happen).
The guy concerned, together with his wife and seven kids, has been cast out of their Company hovel and is now roaming the heath and begging on the streets of Wareham. It will serve as a warning to the rest of the staff... ;D
David
Excellent stuff.....a few sackings is a wake up call to the rest.
Seriously though, I'm looking forward to hearing about progress on the railway.
Bob
Now that we've finally resolved the gauge issue ;D maybe it's time to share something of the thinking behind the project:
Some layouts are admirably faithful representations of actual lines but the Burnbake and Woodyhyde is, like many others, an amalgam of ideas and inspiration drawn from various different prototypes as well as the imagination. However, the starting point is the clay tramways of the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset ... [text corrupted]
David.
Here is a plan of the Burnbake and Woodyhyde:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/8092/8394542185_3baf5a1d9d_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/dMNdVX)B&W plan (https://flic.kr/p/dMNdVX) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Perhaps the first thing to say is that neither Burnbake nor Woodyhyde actually appears on the track plan of the B&W, at least, as far as I'm aware ... [text corrupted/lost]
It looks like quite an interesting project. The size is nice as well, about 10ft long and 1ft wide at shoulder level is OK. On my layout there is a high level area about the same height over the floor and similar in width. Running the line through a plasterboard wall is what I once did when my layout was situated in my attic, which I had insulated and partitioned myself. I'll be following this!
Yup, I agree with Ted here - it all looks very interesting and fun! I'm looking forward to following progress.
Does the abbreviation of the name as B&W have any connection with the fact that the two first photos are also B&W?? ;D
Thanks, guys, for your interest.
Re B&W: (1) given that the order of the names is quite arbitrary I've always worried that from time to time it will become the W&B, but your comment has helped to fix the correct order in my mind :) Thanks!
(2) colour is also available:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/8475/8435045883_3c1f323dae_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/dRnPgz)loco and wagons (https://flic.kr/p/dRnPgz) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/8054/8436126040_08b09cef22_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/dRtmmY)locos 1 (https://flic.kr/p/dRtmmY) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
More anon.
David.
I don't know how you have managed to get so much atmosphere in what are fairly simple scenes. Yes, the Furzebrooke lines are there, but also Midlands ironstone, I'm thinking particularly Eaton Ropeway quarries.
Rod
The photos are a bit of a con, to be honest - I just crammed as much stock into the frame as possible and dropped a couple of bits of lichen on to make it all look vaguely scenic... The shallow depth of field (it was very gloomy) maybe adds to the atmosphere.
The baseboard construction is pretty straightforward, as these pics show:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/8238/8457479497_b2d37e6b9b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/dTmN12)baseboard 1 (https://flic.kr/p/dTmN12) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/8378/8457480507_24f927798d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/dTmNir)baseboard 2 (https://flic.kr/p/dTmNir) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
I try to avoid buying anything if I can avoid it (!) but on this occasion I did treat myself to some new 12mm MDF and some other timber to provide some longitudinal stiffening. The backboard, however, is reclaimed hardboard, bent to a curve in the corners (easily done by applying boiling water to the affected parts, bending gently and holding in position until it's cooled off and dried out).
The first picture shows the simple shelf structure and adjustable supports from underneath - also the slots I cut to drop the formation a little to steal a bit of extra headroom for the overbridge and so ease the approach gradients a tad. The second picture shows the view from above, with the embryonic overbridge mocked up with a couple of matchboxes, and before I plucked up the courage to start making the holes in the wall. The board is actually in two sections so it could be broken down relatively easily if the need arose.
David.
It doesn't matter if the photos are a con, the end justifies the means. Your photos look so atmospheric. Now you have the problem of making the railway live up to them!
Rod
I agree with Rod they are atmospheric photos even if they are a temporary mock-up. It shows what can be done with simple means.
Your baseboards: the shallow shelf like set-up at some height over the floor does work. You'll be looking at it from a low angle. If you set up the backscene so the 3-d scenery continues into it you'll have a spacious effect. I have done the same in part of my layout (Rod has seen it for himself). My Inverlochan scene is only about 30cms deep. A description is here: http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/pages/einverlochan.htm (http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/pages/einverlochan.htm).
The only thing I'd advise is to fit softwood longitudinals under the layout all along. I'm not sure how the MDF will stand up to time without support underneath.
I like the curved backscene foundation. I still have a dreaded 'skycorner' on the L&TR which I really must eradicate.
Here some tracklaying is in progress:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/8245/8483257148_c654da1744_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/dVCUNh)tracklaying (https://flic.kr/p/dVCUNh) b (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Although I did try (against my natural instincts!) to be disciplined at the planning stage and drew everything out full-size on lining paper there were some places (quite a few, in fact) where 'adjustments' had to be made as things progressed.
The Barry slip is left of centre. I've used cork underlay throughout because it seems the done thing, though I'm not sure why; certainly I remain to be convinced it has any sound-deadening properties and as others have pointed out by the time everything is ballasted and glued with PVA it's all pretty rigid anyway. It does look 'ballasty', I admit, but again I imagine most of us cover it all with ballast in due course in any case or at least paint over it.
What I have tried is using plastic foam camping / yoga mat as underlay - its the green stuff in the photo. This was less about sound insulation and more because I wanted to avoid a totally 'flat' layout and it allows simple gradients (i.e. those on the board, not the ones in the sky as on the approaches to the overbridge) to be done quite easily, cutting gentle slopes in strips with a sharp, stiff blade. A bonus is that the track pins don't need to be driven so far into the baseboard, which I've found decidedly tricky to do cleanly...
David.
I seem to remember someone advocating sleeping mat foam as a track bed. It might have been Iain Rice and done to make a "floating" track bed.
I've read somewhere that the problem with using standard PVA for gluing the ballast is that it sets hard and so transmits sound. I can confirm that PVA on a foam board base "drums" very loudly and that the pizza layout that it is should not make so much noise for such a small layout. I'm trying to remember what the suggested alternatives are - possibly artists matt acrylic medium. Diluted latex glue was another but I've heard that it does not age well.
I understand Copydex doesn't set solid but stays rubbery, maybe that's worth a try as it is also water based. Stinks a bit though.
Rod
I use bookbinder's glue which is PVA based mixed appropriately. The track's laid on single/multiple pieces of hardboard which rests on mdf or polystyrene. In one place it's laid directly onto mdf. I don't notice too much in the way of noise but then it's also based in a fairly big attic. If it was too noisy, I'd certainly notice as I have a low pain-threshhold in my ears.
I do think that it's less noisy than the old std. "hardboard with batten frame" baseboard that I had when I was a kid but the memory may be playing tricks on me.
I'd heard that Copydex may yellow with age and go brittle. If only there was a water soluble (i.e. dilutable) version of "glue dots"! Possibly there some acrylic formulations that might do the job.
Anything that sets ballast solid will result in noise, as I know from experience in my layout which is made of 5mm ply on softwood framing, without any foam or cork underlay. The best answer is to lower the resonance frequency of the trackbed by fixing it rigidly to a carrying member below the baseboard. I often just glue a piece of softwood under the ply which takes away most of the drumming.
Copydex does yellow with time. I used to use it to fix flock powder which looks fine at first but goes yellowy and shrinks with time.
John W
Copydex isn't good news - I used some about 12 months ago on a layout that no longer exists and apart from smelling awful it yellows and degrades over time
Bob
Here track is going down at the other (?eastern) end of the line:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8090%2F8491132405_b8ccb6feb4_z.jpg&hash=10eed47c7b342f85b80c6fb22c4b486916447f69) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8491132405/)
more tracklaying (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8491132405/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The standard gauge transfer siding is in the foreground, and the mixed gauge crossing further back. The n/g line will hopefully one day run onto a simple landing stage on the left, for which I will need to drop the board down a bit, to 'sea level'.
For the scenic break at this end I plan a pair of overbridges - I've long been intrigued by the pair of road bridges to the west of Norden station on the Swanage Railway, standard and narrow gauge side by side, and hope to do something like this. The n/g line will run through (the wall), of course, while the standard gauge will probably end in a mirror(!)
David.
This shot under the baseboard shows the joining blocks connecting the two halves, and the bicycle spoke arrangement for the 'digital' operation of the points:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8085%2F8536110597_ed45f3408f_z.jpg&hash=df976d9ac8861ef76538cb4ebd483ce900ce5640) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8536110597/)
under the baseboard (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8536110597/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The 'tails' soldered on to the spokes run through holes in blocks of insulation material, which provides friction and stability the arrangement.
David.
And a darned sight more elegant than the method I used!
Are you using any point frog polarity switches?
The reason I ask is that the electrical switching in the points where the blades contact on to the fixed rail tends to be a bit unreliable in the 009 points. My experience is that even with regular cleaning they fail at the most inopportune times!
Because of this I now fit frog polarity switches on every point on every 009 layout I build.
Brian Meldon
Trust me folks - he's SO right!
It's not even a wiping contact which would give a self-cleaning action!
I'm gradually going around my own layout installing switches as and when needed - ie, when I get fed up with having to hold the blade over by hand to get the traction current through!
Although I fit switches in many recent cases, I have several Peco points not fitted with backup switches, notably at Inverlochan and the siding at Glenclachan Road. They have worked without problem for 20 years, without regular cleaning. The problem is often glue or paint residue left during painting and ballasting. So I would suggest it's not as absolute a problem as often perceived. So I didn't feel the need to fit them to the points of the Nixnie layout. ;)
Thank you, Brian, for raising the question of polarity switches - somehow I thought you might! - though that of course doesn't make the question any less valid.
The short answer is: no. But I do recognise (from comments elsewhere) the issue here and that I might one day (be forced to) decide to install them. Although the line is not yet operational I have done quite a bit of trial running and experience to date shows things work pretty well, and at this stage I think I'm happy to wait and see how things work out. But if it were an exhibition layout I think I'd accept that switches were obligatory for the sake of reliability.
David.
Do other people have moments of madness?
I've continued working at the eastern end of the line and mocked up the pair of road overbridges which will form the only 'formal' scenic breaks (elsewhere the line just disappears / emerges from behind vegetation and embankments). But the result wasn't good...
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8527%2F8571558481_7b691ee0a4_z.jpg&hash=07185d1768ca84fbf5071230dfd2f419848d77f2) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8571558481/)
old bridges (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8571558481/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
...and it ended up looking more like Gasworks Tunnel than a pair of rural overbridges. The problem was obvious - there wasn't enough separation between them, and while one side of my brain tried to tell me that it would look okay in the end the other was insisting that radical action would have to be taken to try and improve the situation. (I only threw the full-scale plans away a week or two ago so I can't see how I intended to do it originally!)
So - nothing for it but to send in the p/w gang and start ripping up the track. The remedy was basically simple: to slew the s/g transfer siding to the left, away from the n/g line (which couldn't be moved as it is here heading for the hole in the bedroom wall). The real problem was the mixed-gauge flat crossing which was in the middle of all this, and was the main reason why I was loth (or possibly even loath) to tackle the job. But I knew this would probably also benefit from a rebuild, so I bit the bullet and pressed on.
A few days later and the worst of the job is done:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8241%2F8572651418_b8410617fd_z.jpg&hash=5401a875daa1ef80854003a51aa0d73f4ee39d8b) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8572651418/)
new bridges (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8572651418/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
There is now some decent separation between the bridges (if still a bit less than the prototypes) and I think that with the embankment in place and smothered in vegetation it will look okay. (The loco is checking clearances - it's a bit gloomy because it's getting late in the day and the p/w gang have just knocked off.) Just need to get the guys to replace the ballast which will also help to tie it all together. The crossing is also rather more secure than before, so all in all maybe it wasn't such madness after all?
Slower progress than I'd hoped on the bridges, I'm afraid, but we're getting there (as someone used to say):
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8520%2F8607311772_887b13ea9c_z.jpg&hash=2843c6b127e96a0b1451b0536449db47e7319728) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8607311772/)
twin bridges (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8607311772/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Although I'd always thought of them as a 'pair' of bridges it was only when I really got down to model them that I realised how many differences there are (apart from the size, of course). But the n/g (Fayles Tramway) bridge was built twenty years after the standard gauge one so it's not surprising they're not identical. The left-hand (s/g) bridge should be significantly wider which would emphasise the difference between the two - the Swanage Branch was built for double track although single track was only ever actually laid - but as it's a scenic break I needed it to be as 'tight' as reasonably possible.
There's still stuff to do and they'll look happier when they're bedded in with foliage etc. (though I couldn't resist a bit of scenic dressing at this stage...) I'm hoping, though, that eventually the whole unit will lift out to aid recovery of the inevitable derailed stock in the depths of the right-hand bridge.
There's just one question now: do I need to paint the back of the unit and the part of the baseboard on which it rests, or just forget about the bits I can't see? I imagine some people couldn't sleep without the hidden areas being finished as well as the visible ones, while others would say life is just too short. What do other people do?
David.
Quote from: clayliner on March 31, 2013, 19:51. . . while others would say . . .
Life's too short.
I agree lifes too short so long as your trains appear to go under a bridge or into a tunnel not just a bridge front or tunnel mouth and these two do
Peter Smith
Re: painting the back etc. - entirely up to you :laugh:
If, every time you see it through the bridge opening it is going to annoy you then do it now. If not, don't bother.
Being very clearly a shelf layout I don't expect it will travel far, but for exhibition layouts when it comes to painting fiddleyards and the like, a certain amount of "headology" rules the day (followers of Angst Lesspork will be familiar with the term).
I do not like to see scrappy off-the-scene track. It might not be "on show" but it is inevitable that the audience will catch sight of it. With neat businesslike track, if something were to go wrong, the audience thinks "what a pity", but if it looks scrappy and there are problems they think "hardly surprising".
I worked briefly for the BBC as a student. We were taught no matter how simple the repair to the equipment always get out the cleaner and give it a good polish. Then the broadcast staff know it has been fixed.
Quote from: GraemeD on April 02, 2013, 10:13
I worked briefly for the BBC as a student. We were taught no matter how simple the repair to the equipment always get out the cleaner and give it a good polish. Then the broadcast staff know it has been fixed.
And if a piece of equipment is reported for an intermittent fault, even if you don't manage to cure it, cleaning and polishing the case will often stop people reporting it! ;D
Quote from: Tigger on April 04, 2013, 12:08
Quote from: GraemeD on April 02, 2013, 10:13
I worked briefly for the BBC as a student. We were taught no matter how simple the repair to the equipment always get out the cleaner and give it a good polish. Then the broadcast staff know it has been fixed.
And if a piece of equipment is reported for an intermittent fault, even if you don't manage to cure it, cleaning and polishing the case will often stop people reporting it! ;D
That explains a lot... ::)
:laugh:
That loco has a lot of character. Is it based on a particular prototype?
Mal
Quote from: WALLSHIRTS on April 05, 2013, 19:05
That loco has a lot of character. Is it based on a particular prototype?
Mal
Sorry it's taken a while to reply - it's been one of those weeks... (I went to Town yesterday and was disappointed to find that 'Princess' had already left Paddington (? a week earlier than publicised) but did have a good time tracking down Lillie Bridge LUL depot).
I met someone at WimRail last weekend who had based his entire layout on a single photo, and it's probably much the same story for me. Since school days (i.e. aeons ago) I've had a book in which a particular photo really caught my imagination - the book is 'The Regional History of the Railways of GB - Vol. 1, The West Country' and the (Ivo Peters) photo is captioned "'Quintus' resting in the woods near Creech Grange on the Furzebrook clay line in the Isle of Purbeck".
'Quintus' was a Manning Wardle and I hope I've been able to capture something of its essence (from the front, anyway). Life being the odd thing it is, I now live within half a mile of where the photo was taken (though I can't be sure exactly where it was).
David.
It definitely captures the look of the Pike Brothers engines. There was a scale drawing of Quintus in The Narrow Gauge a while ago, although I can't remember the issue number, perhaps some one on this forum knows. I would like to build a model of Quintus too, but it would mean building a chassis and it takes me forever! I do have the wheels and gears though..
All the Furzebrook locos (and some of the stock) were covered by scale drawings in 009 News by Paul Webb ("Dad" to me!).
The references are Volume 14 (1986/7), issues 1 (Secundus), 3 (Tertius & Quintus), 5 (Sextus & Septimus) and 7 (Simplex (Octopus?) and Stock).
Quote from: WALLSHIRTS on April 13, 2013, 15:48
I would like to build a model of Quintus too, but it would mean building a chassis and it takes me forever! I do have the wheels and gears though..
I just concocted something that looked about right on a second-hand Roco chassis which I bought somewhere ages ago - that's good enough for me as I wasn't too concerned about a faithful replica.
Quote from: JulienW on April 14, 2013, 10:08
All the Furzebrook locos (and some of the stock) were covered by scale drawings in 009 News by Paul Webb.
Very interesting to hear this, Julien - I must try to track them down sometime. However, I fear they will only show how adrift my version of 'Quintus' is from the real thing!
David.
An interloper in the shape of GWR 1466 has appeared in the transfer siding (yes, to my surprise it does fit under the bridge) with some assorted open wagons to check the clearances along the loading dock:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8411%2F8699831732_c84a76782f_z.jpg&hash=430e6b012e592e6fb44f9d45ecba65440ca326d3) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8699831732/)
old trsfr sdg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8699831732/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Sadly it shows that the ng line is a tad on the low side, which is going to make transferring the clay less than easy. So it'll need to be re-jigged...
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8417%2F8699835502_83274274d4_z.jpg&hash=60f43a338b0ee6ccabb6c2d2ae396324e49b8a15) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8699835502/)
new trsfr sdg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/8699835502/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I think that's better - now at least the guys won't be shovelling uphill. (Rather than tear up the track I just separated the underlay from the baseboard and inserted another layer of camping mat underneath to give the extra height, and glued it all down again.) But the locos will need a bit of a run to get up the slope - it's going to need a substantial stop-block at the far end, just in case...
David.
I found the issue of The Narrow Gauge with the drawing of Quintus, it is issue # 182, Autumn 2003. The article is Purbeck Memories by Sydney Leleux.
The drawing is not credited, does anyone know it's derivation?
Mal.
Rather low progress of late, I'm afraid - too many time-critical things to do outside in the spring and early summer, and modelling has had to take something of a back seat. However, I have not been entirely idle, and among other things I have been experimenting with scenics, involving assorted raw materials, blenders, dyes and beard trimmers. Some of the processes I have been trying out have been so toxic that even I - I who laugh in the face of dust and believe low-VOC compounds are for wimps - have resorted to wearing a face mask on occasions. I can now report (just in case it might help someone else, though maybe everyone else knew already) that dried tea-leaves, coffee grounds and moss are immune to bleach, and moss can't be dyed either, it seems. As a result I've decided that moss is probably best used as it is, after it's been through the blender and sieved to grade it for different uses - from fine dust to shaggy vegetation. I haven't yet tried it for tree foliage...
One of the things I realised from the outset that was modelling a line in this part of the world would involve recreating heathland if it was to be convincing. That would mean silver birch trees, gorse, heather and maybe bracken. The heather has worked out okay, I think:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5470%2F9307136311_a37c97c1ca_z.jpg&hash=ddfd4e0b7b7b3399de2171696ff24fc9e5532638) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9307136311/)
heath 3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9307136311/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
although the birches and gorse are probably going to need some more work:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7430%2F9307136417_fab1602e04_z.jpg&hash=e1bb55621a6167673d3c2ca2c4417d4a996612c1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9307136417/)
heath cx (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9307136417/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The sharp-eyed will have noticed that I've also painted the back-board - it's surprising how much difference it makes to the overall feel of the scene to have blue sky instead of brown (who'd have guessed?) -
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5482%2F9307136341_e1f06210e9_z.jpg&hash=3e8c4365f4ade67b33ae3aa67cf77a65d4c2a21e) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9307136341/)
heath a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9307136341/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
That's the transfer sidings on the left, and the pale area is where the transfer shed will sit.
I've also been thinking about possibilities for the backscene, mainly photographic ones. My original idea was for one long panorama but I now realise that that's probably too ambitious, and that it will be easier to break it up into sections (though marrying them together could be tricky). I also foresee problems tying the back of the scenery into the backscene, and there's the question of the right focal length for a convincing view. I plan to print the photos out onto ordinary paper (not photo paper) as I think that will give a softer view. Any ideas appreciated.
Back to those trees and the gorse... more soon, I hope.
David.
looking really good; hope the transfer shed will not lose that open, semi-derelict look
The higher level of the ng transfer siding looks excellent and quite natural
Peter Smith
I am sure other cameras have a similar feature but canon cameras can relatively easily create panaramics which could be printed off professionally or at home.
38
That's looking quite good, David. I like the remote atmosphere - very much like a siding out in the country.
Thanks for the comments. I will try to maintain the general air of dereliction.
Re photographic panoramas, 38(?Tony), making a panorama itself isn't too difficult, I think - some cameras (and even iPhones, it seems!) will take a panoramic view and computer software like Photoshop and Gimp will stitch pics together. The tricky bit is this: how many shots will I need to cover a (say) 12' spread? - and at what focal length (obviously the more close-up the shots are the more one will need). The backscene needs to tie in with the foreground model to some degree so probably just using a selection of random shots probably won't look right when they're in situ - in some ways it would be easier to do the backscene first and then create the model scenery to fit in with it! But too late now... anyway, the layout of the line needs to come first in practice, I think.
Just been out collecting another load of moss and putting it through the blender... (blenders don't seem to like working on dry materials like moss or foam, incidentally - they're much happier with added water. Just a tip!)
David.
An unexpected visit to Costa earlier this week yielded the wherewithal to complete a rough crossing across the sg siding to the transfer shed (I realised a while ago that the transfer shed would be completely surrounded by tracks and that I had better put in some kind of road access):
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5445%2F9378868388_32a6212176_z.jpg&hash=4488645137124e37b3bceee4054138bc8208ab72) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9378868388/)
road crossing (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9378868388/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
On the same trip I picked up the Dapol van in the picture for a couple of quid in the local market, which was just what I was looking for as I thought a grounded van body would look good in the loco shed area. Need to do some research on it, as it's branded 'LMS' in tiny letters on the side, which won't do at all... Incidentally, I wonder when the device of a cross in a circle painted on condemned stock came into use? Did it go back before nationalisation?
David.
Well, the van has now been dismembered, and here is the body resting in the loco yard:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7281%2F9400496925_0dda4508b9_z.jpg&hash=ef95c11ceafcae9088dc5616fa0ef1c6503c1d77) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9400496925/)
store van (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9400496925/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I suspect many of these van bodies were just dumped straight on the ground, but it might be better if it were resting on some blocks in due course, to keep it off the ground (and provide a nice cosy home for the local rats underneath). I was now left with a wagon chassis which just needed a timber deck of Funky Foam to make an acceptable flat wagon (though wagon buffs may tell me such a vehicle never actually existed - oh well).
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7414%2F9400496849_8f677e5f45_z.jpg&hash=00bbb45ea6b02bd8f274f58a2de87e9ac7896142) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9400496849/)
flat wagon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9400496849/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I think it will live permanently by the buffer stop on the s/g siding - a cripple (is that still an acceptable term?) or maybe just forgotten...
I am quite taken with Funky Foam (50p a sheet from The Range, maybe more elsewhere (see below), in a variety of colours) - it is flexible, cuts cleanly, paints well and scores cleanly, too, as one can see from the wagon deck (I also used it for coping stones on the twin bridges where it has scored nicely into individual blocks):
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5490%2F9400496971_4a33ec4d2e_z.jpg&hash=575bb5665ebf591fa52aa45af1d93384a7f600ca) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9400496971/)
funky foam (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9400496971/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I suspect it has many modelling uses and will be on the lookout for more ways to use it.
David.
P.S. Apologies for any offence caused by any standard gauge content in the foregoing but the van actually died and has definitely been reincarnated as an integral part of a narrow gauge railway ;)
The 'new' flat wagon has already found a use:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5349%2F9709239001_ffd42de6f5_z.jpg&hash=b0b4ab0885f139a3e7d3eca33092b46bbcac4a9a) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9709239001/)
off for overhaul (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9709239001/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The first of the line's locos is going away (possibly to Lewin's of Poole) for overhaul before entering service on the B&W, and has been manhandled across from the narrow gauge exchange siding onto the wagon. Here she is, minus chimney to keep her within gauge, on the flat wagon, chocked and chained down for the journey on the big railway...
David.
I've done a crude mock-up of the transfer shed:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7314%2F9756405386_0eb74b2395_z.jpg&hash=665a918a61505d54a1be036baf7ef64309651ad5) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9756405386/)
transfer shed mock-up (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9756405386/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
It's been a useful exercise, mainly because it's shown me that it really needs to be bigger, although there's not a lot of room for expansion. Maybe an extra centimetre in all directions. (It's not just that one of the locos won't fit under it - I'd be tempted just to cut a hole in the sheeting to clear the chimney, which I suspect is probably what would have happened in reality.)
Now I just need some nice thick rocket sticks for the uprights...
David.
Looks good and another interesting Loco. Is that one of the Pecketts from the Scaldwell line?
Mal.
Thanks, Mal. I'm afraid I acquired it second-hand many moons ago now and its origins are lost in the mists of time... It does look a bit Pecketty, I suppose, and any info on the Pecketts of Scaldwell would be interesting.
This loco will need to go off for overhaul soon, too, and I suspect it may return as an 0-6-2 (I've never liked the overhang at the back!)
David.
The transfer shed mockup doesn't look bad - it's a very useful way to test ideas, and this looks quite atmospheric. I like the platform face and the track detail, by the way.
This is looking very characterful. I like the transfer shed idea, the design you've come up with fits in nicely.
The loco looks like a shortened 'Beddgelert', but I can see the Scaldwell influence too.
Thanks for the encouraging comments, guys. As people keep mentioning Scaldwell and I didn't know anything about it I thought I'd better do some research (I now know it means 'shallow spring', for example). From the front 'my' loco does look rather different from the one at Amberley - apart from having square spectacles the smokebox extends beyond the tank. So it looks rather stretched both front and back (which is why some trailing wheels might help to balance it up).
Incidentally, I've just bought a
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5321%2F9818804006_aa3fef2d8f_z.jpg&hash=8cc852eec498fb7337b30e8a57ca352393b31b4e) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9818804006/)
bug bat (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/9818804006/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Enough said. Hopefully some results here before too long (if I don't electrocute myself).
Just one question - does the polarity matter? (I imagine not, but I don't really want grass on the ceiling...)
David.
Polarity does not matter; however, you need to find the "earth" side of the high voltage circuit, and fit a wander lead, which you then attach with a pin, or otherwise, to the scenic base where you want to add the static grass. The "bat" will need to be replaced with metal tea strainer, into which you place the grass. I have not carried out the conversion myself, but have one that I bought through Ebay. I believe there may be a "how to do it" on YouTube.
Thanks, Tim - but if it's the earth side which needs to be attached to the wander lead then presumably polarity does matter ???
Yes, I've located the videos but confess I haven't actually digested it all yet - once I've made the effort then presumably it will all become clear (as much as electricity will ever be clear to me!)
How well does yours work?
David.
Polarity: Since I believe that the device delivers alternating current, at low power, there is no real polarity. I was really answering the point you made whether getting it wrong would put the grass on the ceiling! ;) My reference to the earth side, was more from the point of view of earthing one side of the circuit to the layout. Since I have not dismantled the device to see where the connection has been made, I cannot comment on how to find the second connection. Hence the suggestion that you look at YouTube.
Although I tried to give some guidance on making an electrostatic grass application tool - unless you are confident with what you are doing, I would advise against it. The device should not be dangerous to humans (or the fly swat would not be sold) in its intended use, the "earthy" side is insulated, and I presume that the lethal shock the insect is supplied by suddenly charging it up. Once you dismantle the machine, you expose both terminals of the High Voltage circuit, and could provide a shock.
That said, the device that I have is obviously derived from the one you have bought. I cannot compare with an expensive "professional" model, but find it works for my purposes. My only comment is that my tea strainer has rather small mesh, so it takes some shaking and tapping to get the grass to fall through.
Bearing in mind the warnings about safety you feel yourself confident to carry out the task you will find several sets of instruction on YouTube and elsewhere for making a static grass applicator from an electric fly killer. Regarding safety you may even happen across a YouTube video of an idiot sticking his tongue into one! :o
I posted my own video showing how to make the applicator a little safer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkzLwS5n5c8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkzLwS5n5c8)
Regarding polarity, there ain't no such thing as zero volts in the same way that absolute zero temperature exists. Volts are relative to some point. Bang a metal peg into the earth in one place and at another and you may find there is a voltage between them.
The static applicator works due to "like charges repel, unlike charges attract". It doesn't really matter whether the tea strainer or the PVA on the baseboard is the more positive. (Well it may make a very slight difference, if I remember correctly the earths electric field is in the region of a hundred volts per metre and rather more if a thunder storm is on the way.)
I am not sure that the voltage is ac, but it is quite possibly pulsed. You can hear this as a squeal in my video when I short out the tea strainer to a piece of kitchen foil. Often the fly swatter has a capacitor on the output that accumulates the charge. Some people remove this capacitor to reduce the large "zap" instead of adding a resistor as I did. As you can see I touch the strainer with my finger with no ill-effect with the resistor added.
As the saying goes: "it's the Volts that jolt but the mills (milliamps) that kill". You can possibly generate a higher voltage by scuffing across a nylon carpet with rubber soled shoes.
I stick a pin into the baseboard and clip the crocodile clip on the "earth" side of my applicator to it. Adding a drop of washing up liquid is supposed to help prevent the glue "skinning" and I understand washing up liquid contains salt so that will aid conductivity. However the current flowing is so minute the baseboard need not be very conductive to build up a difference in electric charge.
Commercial "flockers" use much higher voltages and except for the really big ones the current is limited to even less than what I estimate my one can supply.
Regarding the electric fly swat being used in its intended form, my one has (or rather had) three layers of mesh the outer two were "earthed" and the one sandwiched between was at the "high" voltage wrt to them.
Mine's the same, with two wires to the outer mesh layers and one to the business mesh in the middle. I probably shouldn't have used such a technical term as 'polarity' - I really just meant does it matter which lead is connected to the strainer and which to the board. Clearly not. All the videos are helpful and amazingly they all seem to agree on what to do!
Thanks for all the advice and electrical theory. Which reminds me - I must have another read of
Hugh Norwood's article in the latest 009 News - someone who can actually make electronics intelligible!
David.
Quote from: clayliner on September 24, 2013, 21:37
Hugh Norwood's article in the latest 009 News - someone who can actually make electronics intelligible!
David.
Gosh, Shucks!
We'll definitely have to publish part 2 then, Hugh ;)
There's more? - excellent!
I can now report that I'm now flocking and so far quite pleased with the results. I can see the advantages of flocking onto a piece of plastic and then peeling the patch off for dealing with those hard-to-reach places. The only shock I've received so far was being asked
Here's a method I use for the collecting of used flock which I previously posted in my Glen Ogle thread.
To clean up the excess green flock, I have made myself a purpose flock collector.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1010.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faf229%2Fgtmspyder%2F2013-07-29135923_zps1c174438.jpg&hash=b4f48d5ba2b01c292a5896b4f6acce8d4bfe0390) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/2013-07-29135923_zps1c174438.jpg.html)
I have in the past, simply stuffed a piece of cloth up the vacuum cleaner hose end, and run the hose end over the flocked area to collect excess greenery, but I now use this paint brush cleaner bath, which I bought from Wickes. This has two internal container sections for clean and dirty Turps/White Spirits, the lid has two slits in to be able to push a paint brush through and suspend them in the liquid to clean the brushes of oil paint. I drilled a 12mm hole near the bottom of one of the internal container sections, to accept a piece of garden hose, and stuck a piece of woman's tights' tops, across the top of the internal partition, to make a flock proff barrier between the two internal sections.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1010.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faf229%2Fgtmspyder%2F2013-07-29135948_zpsebf9ad98.jpg&hash=f18f26ca22e542aece002ca3ccea689d509612b8) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/2013-07-29135948_zpsebf9ad98.jpg.html)
I blocked up one of of the lid holes with masking tape, the other accepts the hose end of the vacuum cleaner.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1010.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faf229%2Fgtmspyder%2F2013-07-29140043_zpse7a81599.jpg&hash=b1ece3d4e6f5a6cff926b324a03361d886a0ff24) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/2013-07-29140043_zpse7a81599.jpg.html)
With the lid in place, the container now has two internal container sections, one open to the green hose, the other accepting the hose end of the vacuum cleaner, divided by material which will allow air to pass through it, but stop any of the greenery and depositi it in it's own contained section.
With the vac turned on, and the end of the green hose held near any loose material, the material quickly goes up the green pipe and is deposited into the internal container, to be recovered for reuse.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1010.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faf229%2Fgtmspyder%2F2013-07-29140111_zps3c9733f9.jpg&hash=8f44704912b7d12c9056a95d32306d4b489cae5c) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/2013-07-29140111_zps3c9733f9.jpg.html)
Voila, captured greenery, plus anything else that was lying around near the end of the green suction hose.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1010.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faf229%2Fgtmspyder%2F2013-07-29142331_zpsf251f4f2.jpg&hash=b35645c606cbb84b505915c9c4fe478e2c6c494f) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/2013-07-29142331_zpsf251f4f2.jpg.html)
The collection container can be anything that has an air tight lid and can be divided between into two sections for the vacuum pipe section, and the flock collecting section. The divider needs a hole in it somewhere that can be covered with a piece of fine mesh, Nylon tight material being an obvious choice, and in my case, the green garden hose has been replaced with a much more flexible piece of rubber hose, which makes it easier to manoeuvre around the layout. the vacuum section needs to be able to accept the hose end from your vacuum cleaner.
Found the Wickes supplied paint brush cleaner tank to have all of these attributes, but you pays your money and takes your choice. Hope this has been of some help.
Kind regards,
BrianT.
Thanks for the ideas, Brian - afraid I missed your original posting, but I had been thinking along similar lines - more specifically of something like a medical sucker bottle which is used to collect gunge / crud (think that's the correct terminology) aspirated from a wound / body cavity - i.e. just a vessel in the suction line where stuff can collect rather than disappearing down the drain...
You've given me the idea of using a large plastic bottle, and I'm sure tights need to feature somewhere - maybe just over the outlet tube would do the job? (maybe most of the fibres would just settle in the bottle before getting that far if it was a big enough volume). I also have a feeling that Dyson-type cyclone technology could be useful here but that is maybe taking things too far and the patents are probably all sewn up anyway!
Just need to do some trials - and source some tights... (no-one here wears them!)
David.
Tights are available in an assortment of gauges too (denier) so it would be theoretically possible to arrange some sort of graded filter system all the way up from 'string vest' to 'satin sheer' :-)
It would be a simple matter to gather quite a large collection from your local washing lines on a Monday evening - or so I am told :-[
So - here's my Mk I collector, based on a 5l water bottle:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7387%2F10036317364_85714be099_z.jpg&hash=2a818a31a0faf462d7a81d9ff120247fb98ca776) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/10036317364/)
fibre collector Mk 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/10036317364/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
It's quite simple and obvious, with the HooverTM nozzle covered with some 'narrow-gauge' (obviously) nylon mesh material (but not tights, after all) and loosely fitting into the neck of the bottle on the left, with the business end on the right. It seems to work okay - about half the fibres settle in the body of the bottle with the other half sucked against the mesh, from where they can just be shaken off once the suction is removed. The scavenger tube could perhaps be wider, but that was all I could lay my hands on for now. A baffle in the bottle might bring more of the fibres down there, I suppose, and there may be scope for playing with the draughting arrangements, i.e. varying the amount of suck by altering how much air is allowed to bleed into the system, but I think it'll do for now.
Thanks again, Brian for encouraging me to knock this up. (Oh, and I missed out yesterday - wash-day).
David.
The transhipment shed is almost done. The photo shows the original mock-up and the stretched version for comparison:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3767%2F10115753836_b209934f43_z.jpg&hash=80047ecb83a1a6c57e1e11f2722e5ab1384371ea) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/10115753836/)
transfer sheds 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/10115753836/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The new version is indeed a bit bigger all round and although I would have liked it more generous still both the immediate space and the overall context are limited and anything bigger would have dominated the setting. This is the almost (still need to add assorted details) finished structure in situ:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3683%2F10115753816_20bb6b750d_z.jpg&hash=85afe192a2a947b41d5b224dba50b9029bea2cd7) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/10115753816/)
transfer shed 5a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/10115753816/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I've 'borrowed' the legs from the mock-up for the time being but am hoping that November 5th may yield something more substantial, otherwise I'll have to make some new ones up.
David.
The Company are pleased to announce the recent return of the first locomotive for service on the Railway after its recent overhaul. It had originally been built for the Mogden Lane Sewerage Works of the Middlesex County Council but having become redundant there had been acquired for use on the Line, and the company are confident that after its time in the locomotive works it will prove a useful source of motive power on the Railway.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3696%2F11588893873_66bc408fb1_z.jpg&hash=18585278324dfa812109bb89494d934c9603bcf2) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11588893873/)
Creech 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11588893873/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
After unloading the engine was run down the gradient to the yard where the Engine Shed is situated, and in a short ceremony attended by some of the Directors it was named 'Creech' after one of the settlements close to which the Line passes. This photograph shows it after naming, with William Churchill, Esq., the Foreman and George Tubb, Esq.*, one of the Company's engine drivers, on the footplate:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5509%2F11589150783_c43c2df21b_z.jpg&hash=bc118dc6f60633b9fba62a1be6ef366f32b3f8f1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11589150783/)
Creech 5a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11589150783/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
It is hoped that trial running on the Line will commence in the very near future, to more fully ascertain the capabilities of the Engine in service.
[*Note: It was a later relative of George, Frank Tubb, who was to die suddenly at the controls of one of the locomotives on the nearby Fayle's Tramway system in 1955.]
Great story - I like this kind of story telling with faked old photographs! And nice modelling as well.
Thanks, Ted - just a bit of imagineering...
As far as the historic photos go, I was a bit shocked at how unkind they are in monochrome. I think they are perhaps (marginally) better in colour - is this because there is more to distract the eye, I wonder? Here are the colour originals:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm3.staticflickr.com%2F2857%2F11625880533_f43e8eafc2_z.jpg&hash=c39a98710d14a4716b219fbac77e6c640efae993) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11625880533/)
Creech 1 in colour (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11625880533/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5539%2F11625881013_0206c8e527_z.jpg&hash=2f189bb2da21b2a3d93fd7fdf947fd374d085257) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11625881013/)
Creech 5 in colour (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11625881013/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I wonder what folk feel about the chimney? I've always thought there is something rather workmanlike about a good, honest stovepipe chimney, as befits a humble working loco. (If I can ever find the original chimney I'll post a photo for comparison - and maybe 'Creech' can operate in alternative modes as the mood takes me.)
David.
David,
A confession - in order to reply to your question about the loco chimney, I went all the way back to page 1 and read your topic from start to finish, which I am ashamed to say is the first time I have done it, other than a quick skim through postings as they have been published on the thread.
I have to say that I am now captivated by your modelling and your illustrated writing style! I hope you keep it up as I will certainly be following future progress avidly. Your heathland scenes look excellent by the way and very easily relatable to the northen end of the Purbeck peninsula (I am just a dozen or so miles further north in Blandford).
In response to the chimney question however, my own opinion for what it is worth is that the loco looks better to my eyes with the original Roco flared cap chimney - it provides a bit of additional "character" to what is already a very atmospheric 009 loco. But if you prefer the stovepipe then it's your trainset so don't let me put you off!
Well done on all counts - I promise to pay more attention to the B&W Railway in future!
Mick
I am sorry to report that the running trials didn't get off to a good start. The loco was fired up but refused to budge - not a flicker of life. Which was a bit odd as it was okay when it last ran (which admittedly was a while back). So I set about a good clean and general poke about, but eventually there was no alternative but to take the keeper plate off (oh joy! - all those gears) to have a good look at things. Eventually it came back to life but I'm none the wiser really as to what the problem was - there was enough scenic material inside the mechanism to keep me going for many weeks but nothing obviously fouling up the works.
Once that was sorted it needed a good run-in on my home-made 'rolling road'. I believe commercial versions are available but mine was made from a
Just a few photos of 'Creech' as she's been out and about on the line.
Here she is - with her 'shunter's wagon', which I suspect will be a more or less permanent fixture as it's a way of carrying around all sorts of useful stuff when you don't have a tender - coming under the road bridge...
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3726%2F11969282396_3c5a01eb40_z.jpg&hash=0f773baf211b036e2e66841ff8d05ca475987ddb) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11969282396/)
P1150008a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11969282396/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and then emerging from behind the transfer shed:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7460%2F11969282676_f5724e2db0_z.jpg&hash=48b439bdcaad1c094a506bef9a6ca9d4c955f385) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11969282676/)
P1150009a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11969282676/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Another shot of her a bit further on where there's been a spot of track relaying:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7426%2F11969382954_e02dbbb02b_z.jpg&hash=cb6b192e0bfd775561791ba0cb85f5d714c3e8dc) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11969382954/)
P1150007 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11969382954/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
...and finally one of her climbing through the heather up the bank up to the overbridge with some assorted wagons behind:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3722%2F11969283016_b4191a14b1_z.jpg&hash=7c690680b8a91d629355da224a784f96b1ba3abb) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11969283016/)
P1150010a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/11969283016/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
David.
Nice photos - the scenery looks very natural.
This is the first 009 railway I have seen with working buffers!
I'm not sure about the working buffers, Ted - just for show, I assure you, and only the locos will have them. If the wagons have any at all they'll be dumb ones.
What's missing are couplings, and I'm not looking forward to that...
David.
Despite outward appearances, progress on the railway has been continuing, if erratically.
The next major project is the overhaul of a second loco for the line, and here she is in her pre-refurbishment state:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7410%2F12464813445_ee2fb5b7d2_z.jpg&hash=87053b18640e9c191707b808c6a9897fcce6b447) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12464813445/)
'Arne' 2a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12464813445/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Her origins are somewhat obscure. I bought her - I think! - some years ago from a (now closed) model shop in Pokesdown in Bournemouth. She is basically a whitemetal kit and I'm sure someone will tell me of what. However, I can see part of a plastic syringe in the boiler barrel and although I have used the same myself I don't remember re-boilering this loco.
I've always thought she was not very good looking, mainly on account of the rather long overhang at the rear which to my eye makes her look rather unbalanced. I suspect there were probably plenty of prototypes with a similar overhang but if I can get a trailing axle to work then this may improve her overall look.
Other items on the list are some more detail in the cab (there is some already which I seem to recall installing, yonks ago), safety valves, a whistle and other paraphernalia like sandboxes, a reversing lever and a boiler feed pipe. Although she runs okay the chassis will need some attention to try and improve her running qualities.
Watch this space...
David.
Hi David,
It looks like a much-bashed and shortened Chivers Beddgelert mounted on what looks to me like a Bachmann 0-6-0 or 2-6-2 American loco chassis (without the pony wheels obviously!). I had a similar problem with the rear overhang with a shortened Chivers C&MR Barclay that I mounted on one of these chassis and the solution I came up with (neither of which I have got around to tackling yet) was one of three choices:
1. Remove the rear bunker and the big overhang at the back will not look too unrealistic under a flat-backed cab.
2. Fit a pony truck, which I struggled with as there didn't seem to be anywhere I could fit a pivoting truck, so I came up with the concept of a non-swivelling truck with the axle under the cab door but mounted so that it had quite a lot of lateral movement to enable it to get around sharp curves. - This is my own preferred option.
3. Bin it and build something else with it!
I hope either options 1 or 2 may provide something to think about!
Mick
Thanks, Mick, for your reply - I knew someone more knowledgeable than me would come up with the answer! I'm sure you're right, and I may get round to doing a bit of research on it myself sometime. You're also right about the chassis - it is a Bachman (presumably) 0-6-0 - or was.
As for your three options, I didn't fancy (1) as I wasn't confident enough to undertake the radical surgery involved and produce a decent result. Option 3 I am keeping in reserve as a last resort! So here is my take on Option 2:-
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5481%2F12464814345_58dc4c7dea_z.jpg&hash=154e8a92f585cdc3a3e99662e2238707716f383b) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12464814345/)
'Arne' training axle a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12464814345/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Crude, but hopefully effective. Just a pair of wheels in a bearing made of a short section of ballpoint inner tube, short enough for generous side-play, as you say, with a longitudinal slit so I could squeeze the axle in. Then a very thin piece of soft plastic sheet folded around the 'bearing' and glued together to make something to hold it in place. This is what it looks like in situ:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3706%2F12464814335_9f4d70a301_z.jpg&hash=fe8bde376a2d085d9208f5f8e66756957923c4bf) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12464814335/)
'Arne' chassis with trailing axle a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12464814335/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I've anchored it in place simply by loosening the rear of the keeper plate, inserting the plastic between it and the chassis proper and then tightening it up again.
My first attempt wasn't a great success as the wheels I was using were too large and although (as you may just be able to make out) I have narrowed the chassis frame above to clear the wheel-backs the wheels were still fouling the motor mount above (I also filed a transverse groove under the chassis to help accommodate the axle and bearing). To avoid further surgery I found some smaller wheels - they were actually curly-spoked wagon wheels which wouldn't have looked right - though I'm not sure they will actually be visible once the superstructure is in place - so I filled them in with filler, which is why the centres are white in the second photo (the first photo was taken later when I'd painted them black) and you can see the spokes on the back of the far wheel.
Amazingly, this arrangement worked okay, and the chassis negotiated track and pointwork okay, in both directions. At least, it did, before I took it apart again, but maybe it won't next time...
David.
Well done, David. The chassis looks good. From what I see it may be able to file a bigger notch in the chassis to clear the wheels if they would touch.
Thanks David and for the undeserved compliment!
My "solution" option 2 as I mentioned, was really theoretical as I have not yet actually done it on my similar model, however I do have 3 smaller Talyllyn locos that were built by Rod Allcock (who DOES know what he is doing!") that have rigid pony trucks with sliding axles in the same way and they work around 9" curves no problem so it appeared to be something with legs as an idea.
Very pleased (and relieved?) that you have made a working example based upon the idea. Ted's suggestion regarding filing a larger notch in the chassis is certainly worth investigating as is another approach of using smaller wheels but clad false axleboxes to the pony frame to disguise the smaller size of pony wheel.
I'm not sure about simply clamping the "tail" of the pony truck arm between the chassis and keeper plate however. Will this arrangement be robust enough to stay in situ, I wonder? As the pony truck will be rigid then perhaps it might be a better option to glue it to either the chassis or the underside of the body with strong epoxy and use reinforcing strips for strength as well?
Mick
I would always advise a swinging pony truck over one with sideways movement.
If you clamp a truck pivot between the keeper plate and the chassis, file away slightly more than the truck thickness from the chassis block, then insert a tiny length of brass tube into the enlarged pivot hole of the truck. This will take up the strain of the screw. I have done so on one or two engines and it works OK.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions, and apologies for not responding sooner - but we've been 'off-grid' here for the past couple of days...
My reluctance to file away any more of the chassis largely arose when one of the poles of the magnet began to disintegrate in the vice. I was so shocked that I decided discretion was the better part of valour and that enough was enough! (What are motor magnets made of? - I had no idea they were so friable.)
As regards using smaller wheels I'm not too worried about the size from a looks point of view - as I recall some of the Welsh locos had rear wheels that were little more than rollers. And as for hiding them behind false axleboxes, I'm not sure they are going to show very much, as there's a downward sweep of the frames at this point which will mostly hide them anyway. That being the case, one might well ask whether there was much point in fitting them in the first place as the whole point of the exercise was to balance up the look of the loco!
I take the comments about swinging pony trucks and how to anchor them. The photo doesn't show how floppy and flexible the plastic arm actually is (it's not rigid plastic) - so soft that I think it just bends with the curves. As to whether my fixing arrangement is robust enough, only time will tell... I'll put my hands up if not and go for something more durable.
David.
A couple of photos of some detailing in the cab (which doesn't look quite as scruffy in real life as in the enlarged photos!)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5510%2F12586354634_1452596170_z.jpg&hash=3c7f60ad3408e9d597ac5c00e2fb0a4b6d79b3b9) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12586354634/)
'Arne' cab1b (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12586354634/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
My thanks to Ted for the suggestion of using a handrail knob for the top of the handbrake stand, which is just visible here:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7448%2F12586355014_8a6f22cbe7_z.jpg&hash=2e3c02cf50f67e010ff76c1b7a8bfd45d33587f3) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12586355014/)
'Arne' cab 2b (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12586355014/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
There's also a reversing lever and a regulator handle just about visible.
The handrail knobs came courtesy of Brian Guilmant who gave me an assortment from his bits and bobs drawer. I also bought a small electric drill from the 009 Sales Stand before Christmas so I think 'Arne' will sport some proper handrails in due course (the cab grab rails are simply bent wire).
Also new are a tank filler cap and a pair of safety valves. I wanted to have some safety valves simply to add some clutter (or detailing, if that sounds better) and soon became aware that although they are invariably conspicuous on standard gauge locos on narrow gauge ones they are usually invisible or pretty hard to find, so it was quite difficult to find some decent prototype examples to copy. The best ones I came across were on 'Septimus' which happily of course was a local loco, so these are what I have copied. First I had to take a saw to the dome (which I never really liked) to shorten it and give it a flat top before mounting the valves (which are made from a brass picture hanging pin).
Also visible are some patches of light green paint... been experimenting - more on this anon.
David.
Enlarged photos always seem to look far more scruffy than the model itself - or we tend to blank out the glitches selectively!
But I do like this loco - great character. And the brake stand looks good to me!
The painters have been at work.
The colour scheme for this loco has been a thorny problem. I admire the beautiful array of loco colours which adorn some railways but am aware that the B&W is supposed to be a distinctly unglamorous industrial line, with a standard livery of dirty black. This loco arrived, of course, as dark green but although bottle green has always been one of my least favourite colours I had more or less decided to stick with that for the final livery. Until I went to buy a can of paint, that is - and saw all the other colours on offer. A paler green rather caught my eye and in the end proved irresistible (colours tend to evoke strong responses in me for some reason - perhaps my synasthaesia working in reverse?) There are patches of it in the previous couple of photos.
Anyway, here is the outcome:
(https://ycpi-farm8.staticflickr.com/7377/12631707344_6c4bcab96c_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12631707344/)
'Arne' paint job 2a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12631707344/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and, from the other side:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7329%2F12631707324_f293b252d0_z.jpg&hash=8fce95d51dc8e027a04687c564b35d09fd5dc9e3) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12631707324/)
'Arne' paint job 1a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12631707324/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Of course, the colour looks a bit different on the loco from what it looked like on the can, but there we are.
There's quite a bit of touching up to do but I think it's basically okay, given that I've never had the courage to spray a loco before. It does of course look rather too smart and I'll have to think up a back-story to explain it - I suspect it was probably bought from a much posher line (like the C&D) where all the engines are in fine colours and fully lined out. (Yes, I think some lining might look good, too, but I'm just not going there... that would be too much!)
The second photo also shows rather nicely a tip I discovered when I was drilling the handrail holes. Trying to get them level / horizontal was a bit of a game and ruling said line almost impossible, but then I realised that the 'glint' along the side of the tank from my desk light did the job for me. With a bit of care it was possible to use this to mark out the position of the holes directly.
One final question - the chimney (no, I'm not going to give this loco the indignity of a stove-pipe) has a rather scruffy brass cap - should I try to revive this or just go for all-over black? - and should the chimney be matt or gloss?
David.
Replying as a pundit rather than an expert in these things, I would advise to (a) keep the brass chimney cap if the loco is to be presented as a "smart engine" which I think is your intention, and (b) paint the smokebox and chimney either in silk black or my own preference would be to use matt black with a final top coat of silk varnish.
Regarding handrail holes for future projects, you may find that an easier or more accurate solution to the one you found to line everything up against the reflection from your desk light, may be to lightly fix a narrow strip of sellotape or similar onto the loco body immediately below (or above) where you want the holes to be and then drill them using the edge of the sellotape as your guide. Alternatively draw a line representing the handrail onto the strip of sellotape and mark where the hole will be, then lightly fix to the body and drill through the sellotape where the markings are.
The pale green colour you have selected looks fine and will look good with black on the other parts and lots of brasswork!
Mick
I'm with Mick on the chimney cap. With the rest of the chimney and smoke box I'd use a very dark grey rather than strait black. Revell do a particularly nice "off black" one which is number 9 (they might call it Anthracite) in their range.
I agree totally with Julien on that one. If you can't find the Revell shade he mentions (I haven't tracked it down in the local region yet) then good old fashioned Humbrol Matt Black 33 let down with a very small bit of pale grey or white would do the trick. Stir the matt black for a long time. Then stir it again! It often comes out "sticky" and dries to a semi gloss sheen unless it is "fresh" and very, very well stirred!
Terminology - I referred to "silk" varnish and paint. Sorry if this confused - picked up the term from TedP. I should of course for the benefit of UK members at least have called it "satin"
Mickj
Thanks, guys, for your comments and advice.
I'll see if I can a manage to restore the chimney cap - I think there is some gold spray paint in the Christmas decorations box! I'm interested that in its current state the smokebox is matt black while the chimney is gloss - I've always assumed that both chimney and smokebox are usually matt (or very quickly become so) simply because they both get hot (certainly hotter than boilers, which are clad).
I do try to avoid black black and usually produce an ad hoc mixture of black and some greenish-grey which I have. And gloss black will probably be reserved just for the coal in the bunker.
Your tips on drilling holes are most valuable, Mick, and probably much more reliable than my method, although I'm always worried about taking paint off with sticky tape so would probably drill before painting whenever possible. As for silk and satin, I'm not sure I recognise any significant difference so certainly not confused!
David.
I think we're just about done...
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7443%2F12908365464_957fcc06e7_z.jpg&hash=79f7b97daa6231d76ed11bfc1bd52eb1b38330d3) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12908365464/)
'Arne' 5a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12908365464/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
As before, it looks as if the paint's been applied with a domestic decorating brush, but it honestly isn't quite that bad in real life. I decided not to paint the handrails green as the combination of steel and brass was irresistible, so I just gave them a coat of clear varnish to keep them looking bright. The handrails themselves were 'bristles' from a wire brush, polished up a bit. And I've freshened up the gold chimney cap (as instructed!)
There's also a reversing lever and some cab fittings -
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3688%2F12908365414_4360185584_z.jpg&hash=3ba286b8690d731dbde45ce798a90bb0189cae0a) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12908365414/)
'Arne' 3a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12908365414/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
...and what looks like a ridiculously large bucket, and though scaled up it's only about 18" high it's still a bit oversized, I think. Then there's a driver and various boiler fittings and a couple of entirely unnecessary lengths of pipework below the running plate to add a bit of interest, and some cab steps (which I fear may cause clearance issues in due course) -
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7436%2F12908365434_06cb58bfd4_z.jpg&hash=8fd25cb13a99312b29c56c2dc86a17e108903772) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12908365434/)
'Arne' 4a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12908365434/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The cab windows have also been glazed and the roof refurbished. The only items painted in the original dark green I mixed up are the cab handrails and the boiler feed-pipe.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm3.staticflickr.com%2F2845%2F12908365644_f86293fc35_z.jpg&hash=623d6ec067d013a5979152cfa4240953de95d910) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12908365644/)
'Arne' 6a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12908365644/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
All that remains to do is to eliminate the daylight above the cylinders and maybe below the cab as well, to make it 'sit' better (visually) on the track. And square up those slide bars... more about the chassis anon, after the naming ceremony!
David.
It's looking very attractive David.
Mick
It does look good indeed - a very clean finish. I notice by the way that the crosshead guides are still off, probabbly for the painting!
How did you fit the trailing truck in the end? Did you manage to get a good fixture on the chassis block?
Here she is in the finished form - I've added some additional 'skirting' in the area below the firebox to increase the heft at the rear end a little.
The trailing truck is still hitched under the keeper plate, though I can see other possibilities if required. As to the slide bars, Ted, on this chassis they don't reach the cylinders - or at least they don't appear to. In fact they are cranked inward and extend forward to the cylinder as a single arm, but because they are tucked away and painted black they are not easy to see:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3294%2F12988549303_d4e5c6364a_z.jpg&hash=5b42ec2c2c8b96bd63535347e7526bebb6568c34) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12988549303/)
'Arne' 13 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12988549303/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The apparent hump in the cab roof is only the rain strip, I'm pleased to say!
All being well, the naming ceremony will take place tomorrow morning...
David.
This morning a brief naming ceremony took place outside the engine shed, where the line's second loco, 'Arne' was named. Mr Churchill the Foreman is again present and on the footplate is Ted Marshallsay, who will be the engine's regular driver. Arne is the name of a nearby settlement and area which will (hopefully) yield freight traffic for the line, mainly in the form of clay from the pits there and timber from the forest plantations:
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2842/12993772733_68c3511889_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12993772733/)
'Arne' naming 1a b&w (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12993772733/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
(Poor Ted - I think he will be spending the rest of his days on the footplate as there seems no way out - how's that for loyalty to the Company?)
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology - using the digital chromogenic retrospectoscope, no less - I am also able to show you the scene in full colour:
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2839/12993772753_09ea250cc7_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12993772753/)
'Arne' naming 1a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/12993772753/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
David.
Excellent David, congratulations!
A thought for additional traffic for the Arne region that you mentioned - a morning out/evening return passenger service for the nature reserve - "The Flying Twitcher"?
Mick
I like the naming ceremony photos. It's looking good. Has it entered service already?
Thanks for your kind comments.
Yes, Mick, twitchers' specials could indeed be a possibility though I think at the time we're writing about people were possibly more concerned with collecting birds' eggs than watching the birds themselves, sadly (but it would give an excuse to invest in some coaching stock). Certainly my Dad did, and no-one disapproved in those days! (For those who haven't a clue what we're talking about, Arne is now the site of a large RSPB reserve, and also home to the Dartford Warbler [Sylvia undata]. Once scarce and endangered it is now common enough hereabouts, but still regularly gets wheeled out when people get exercised about some conservation issue or other.)
Meanwhile, back on the railway...
I have spent more time that I would have liked working on the chassis to try and eliminate the pronounced limp or waddle which seems to afflict it. At times when I've run it with my hand on it there has even been a distinct 'knock' which sometimes even feels to be on one particular side. I guess these are not uncommon problems with elderly chassis and I have recently followed Ted P's 'Iveagh' thread [on the NGRM forum] with interest and to see if it offers any clues.
When one takes a closer look at the chassis certain things become apparent, especially from above:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm3.staticflickr.com%2F2247%2F13109859133_3a295116a6_z.jpg&hash=97c91755525523f9497c4cdc58d31f03de8ba5b1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/13109859133/)
'Arne' chassis 3a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/13109859133/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
From this angle there are three distinct layers or planes to the motion
To me it seems the RH crosshead touches the nearest crankpin - possibly due to the pressure of the pickups. Even if it doesn't, the crosshead guides look bent - they are out of true. So are the motion brackets. Have you checked whether the crossheads run true? Before considering 'play' in the bearings etc I would first remove the motor and see how smooth all parts of the chassis are.
Isn't quartering the arrangement in which the crank on one side is 90
Yes I agree make sure the rods are all running true.
It has been a while since I looked at one of these chassis but I think both the rear and centre driving wheels are gear driven and then front wheels are driven by the rods that do not touch the centre wheel at all.
But in the end I think your problem could well be as a result of axle bearing ware.
As the wheels turn the pressure on the rods changes depending on the position of the wheel. With the play in the rear axle bearing this will make the gears change the depth they are engaged with each other giving the chassis a tight spot. Or even making the gears jump a tooth.
Also although the 90 degree quartering is not that critical all the axles must have exactly the same offset. However if the axles have excess play this will have the effect off making the rods the wrong length for the wheelbase and will again cause a tight spot.
Brian Meldon
Enlarging the photo gives me the impression that the cylinders are off centre. More clearance for the bottom set of motion than the top with possible binding of the moving motion parts, thus the limp.
Roger
Thanks again for all the helpful comments / observations / suggestions.
Ted: Yes, I realise that the assorted rods are less than true - it would be good to take everything apart and hammer them all flat (!) and reassemble them, but I suspect that sooner or later something would go ping and then I'd be left with a chassis that didn't just limp but was totally useless, so I've resisted the temptation. But your suggestion to remove the motor was an excellent one as it gives so much more freedom to explore the problems.
Brian: All three axles on this one are in fact gear-connected, but I suspect that as you say wear in the axle bearings won't improve things.
Roger: I have also enlarged the photo and put a ruler to it - in fact I think the cylinders (if not the motion!) are pretty well on-centre. (At various stages they have each come off and been welded back on.)
Tom: Agreed about the 90 deg. setting on 2-cylinder locos, though other angles (e.g. 135 deg.) are available, I think, on other more sophisticated engines. However, in a model where the wheels drive the pistons and not vice versa as in real life I think it doesn't matter - indeed, I can't help wondering whether setting the cranks on both sides at the same angle might not actually be a good idea as it would remove one cause of asymmetry (and, as one rarely sees both sides of a loco at the same time, it wouldn't look odd!) But I suspect quartering may be something different - getting all the cranks on one side all precisely lined up with each other.
So - having taken the motor out and spent another couple of hours watching everything go round and round and backwards and forwards (and a moment of panic when everything suddenly seized up - superglue on one of the gears - don't ask) I think things are as good as they're going to get. A significant problem proved to be the LH crosshead hitting the bracket behind in full back-stroke, but moving the motion bracket back then means the radius link starts to hit the bracket when fully forward... Yes, it would be nice if everything moved in straight and parallel lines but I think that even if some of the rods are at an angle this is not really so important as long as everything actually moves freely and smoothly.
I'm pleased to have got the loco finished as now that high pressure has returned and spring arrived here the garden beckons, big time. (This week I've been reassembling the summer-house which dismantled itself in the storm of 23rd December.) And it will be a pleasant change to do some scenic work.
David.
As I hinted in my last post, now that the spring solstice has passed I anticipate that activity will shift from the workshops to the outdoors, especially as the line now gets some late afternoon / evening sun which makes working there more agreeable. It's probably a good time to review how far things have progressed overall, so here are a couple of aerial shots of most of the visible parts of the line at present.
First, looking south:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7176%2F13404454564_21dcc605a2_z.jpg&hash=8ae6540f10e3507a5bfa3e27dcec3200b4582500) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/13404454564/)
looking south a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/13404454564/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Things are more or less okay for now and although there is plenty of scope for extra detailing etc. in due course I think it's time to tackle some of the other areas. Here is the view looking north:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3702%2F13404455204_fcc55ab992_z.jpg&hash=a5b4a5891b3245776a6dafb24d5879358d9413ce) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/13404455204/)
looking north a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/13404455204/) by clayliner (http://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and you can see how much still remains to be done here. Apart from the engine shed needing a roof there's a lot of scenic work to tackle; I had originally planned that north of the overbridge the scenery would change from heath to something greener, but having recently found a new source of heather (a crumbling dark brown bath sponge!) I think the heath will probably be spreading some distance northwards. In the distance, to the left of the shed and against the backscene, are the removable sections of scenery (you'll remember from the trackplan that there is a line running below, from which stock needs to be retrievable), and in the far distance on the extreme right is the future site of the mine building where bare green camping mat underlay is still waiting for a first scenic layer to cover it. On the embankment between the line disappearing under the bridge and into the rabbit hole and the yard line is my latest discovery in scenic material, of which more another time. One essential feature of the local landscape I have yet to get to grips with is making some conifers, and I still haven't got gorse quite right.
David.
I think this looks very good, both the colours and the lie of the land. The embankments look natural despite the fact the hill contours are set on the baseboard and over the hidden line. That cutting leading to the hidden track is an excellent idea - it is completely hidden.
Regarding conifers, think of the ones by the Dutch firm of Anita Decor. (http://www.anitadecor.nl/c-544968/bomen/) They're expensive, but very good.
Their website is in Dutch and German only, but if you contact them on their contact form they will undoubtedly reply.
Just for those who prefer photos of actual trains (and don't we all?) -
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7349/13431974683_27a8a1ef8c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/msWo7p)
'Creech' and 'Arne' blast their way up the gradient from the 'rabbit hole' with a heavy train of timber from the forest.
David.
P.S. I said make, Ted... (but thanks anyway).
Some good news - the loco shed now has a roof! - and windows, and doors...
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5477/14176051674_e3e15b588e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nAFYh3)locoshed b (https://flic.kr/p/nAFYh3) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Now at least there's some cover for basic maintenance (which is probably about the best the locos can expect).
Also, an old van body has been acquired and set up on the old (lifted) siding which is used for p/way materials, so now there's somewhere for tools to be stored and a cuppa to be brewed:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7403/14176051904_7c8fdda97c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nAFYm1)p-way hut a (https://flic.kr/p/nAFYm1) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
(A castle has also mysteriously appeared in the background, but, Brigadoon-like, it could vanish back into the mist any day...)
David.
That backscene and the way you have made the scenery blend into it is fantastic Dave!
Mick
This just keeps getting better and more atmospheric with every new post. I am very jealous!
Rod
I like that backscene. Or has the layout been photographed in a real location?
Thanks, Rod - I guess 'atmosphere' is what we are about. But I think you of all people have nothing to be envious of!
Yes, Ted, it's a real castle - Corfe Castle, here in the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. As you may know, it was a Royalist stronghold in the English Civil war but fell to the Parliamentary forces in 1644, and two years later Parliament voted to have it 'slighted', which accounts for its present ruinous appearance. But as a ruin it probably draws more tourists these days than if it was intact - almost as many tourists as the Swanage (steam) Railway which now runs below its ramparts.
Anyway (back on topic!) my trusty OS map tells me it's less than two miles from Woodyhyde and only slightly more from Burnbake as the crow (or raven - they inhabit the castle's turrets) flies, so it's not out of place in the background. It was one shot in a panorama I took last year, printed out onto a sheet of ordinary A4 paper which gives a nice soft feel, I think, though it was also quite a misty day. The plan is to cut around the 'terrestrial boundary' (for want of a better term) and mount it on a plain sky background but the indistinct outlines would make this tricky, and unfortunately some of the other shots in the series are out of focus, so I need to get out and try again soon, especially while the spring foliage is still fresh.
But I think this approach has possibilities - though one panorama is unlikely to fill the required 9' run so some careful joining will be required. The other challenge is to get the right sort of foreground at the right distance which will tie in with the model convincingly.
David.
At last, some significant progress on the backscene.
Summer evenings have given the opportunity to get out with the camera and take a number of panoramas to see what may and may not work. I'm lucky here to have an ideal backdrop in the shape of the Purbeck Hills - the chalk spine running through the Isle of Purbeck - and which I have decided to use for most of the backdrop. Burnbake and Woodyhyde are actually both on the southern side of the hills, but because the heaths are on the north side that's the side I've been photographing, so as to tie in with the layout scenery as much as possible. At this time of year the sun comes over the hills in the evenings which improves the view.
Having decided on the main panorama the next step was to print out the individual shots - just standard print quality, colour printing on normal printing paper (not photographic paper) to give a soft quality which I think may be better for a distant backscene. Pinning them all up in sequence on the wall gives us an overall impression like this:
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3920/14497162616_376b414877_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/o64KnA)panorama1a (https://flic.kr/p/o64KnA) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people//), on Flickr
As long as there's a minimal overlap and the land / sky proportions are roughly right that's okay - they will be trimmed more precisely later.
The next step was to cut off the sky, i.e. along the horizon. With the hills this is mostly a clean line which makes it quite a simple job with scissors, but where there were trees on the skyline I discovered that tearing round them - using a sharp blade to hold the paper and then pulling the paper away - gave a more ragged edge which was more convincing. Leaving one or two trees to break up the skyline adds a bit of interest (but it was a simple matter just to cut through the mobile phone mast in one of the shots!) Next I ran a brush with water colour along the cut edge to hide the white paper edge - and quickly learned that even a minor amount of water disrupts printing ink almost instantly. Okay, so I could probably have guessed that, but I obviously hadn't thought it out carefully enough (usual story). Using the driest brush possible it's just about possible to get away with it, though I'm not sure it's really essential (given my layout is at eye level) and may abandon it in future. Each sheet also needs to be trimmed to give a butt joint with the next, matching the scenery as best as possible.
Having learned this lesson I then realised that glueing the paper to the backboard was going to be tricky. I planned to use wallpaper paste as it has some slip and would make removing any disasters easy at a later stage. The bottom line is that if you apply a fairly thin layer and then leave it to half dry before applying the paper again it is mostly possible to get away with it. Too much paste and water will bleed through - I was also caught out where there is a join in the backboard and paste collected in the gap... Yes, the sheets will bubble up, as wallpaper does, but you just have to swallow hard and walk away until it's all dry - and yes, the bubbles do dry out and disappear, just like wallpaper...
Then you can stand back and appreciate the result. There are changes in shading from sheet to sheet which cleverer photographers than me might be able to avoid, but adjusting the brightness setting before printing out (really a matter of trial and error) may help in matching adjacent sheets. Serious changes in colouring and other blemishes can probably (hopefully!) be obscured by trees, etc.
I'll show some of the finished results soon (waiting for paste to dry, and need to go out this evening to get some more shots).
David.
Looking good David and nice to see that you have been quick off the mark enjoying your Thursday Sales Team holiday!
Since being transferred to the Sales Road Division last night, I have now got the little challenge of shifting quarter of a ton of the "miscellaneous junk" (as well as 10 VERY heavy boxes of books) that was deemed unfit to travel in the 009 Executive Mercedes, and is now weighing my Nissan down, to Steventon at early doors tomorrow and then into the northern lands on the other side of the Thames towards Mansfield in time for Sunday! I expect the boss will want me to bring what is not sold back as well............No rest for me then.
Mick
Thanks, Mick - hopefully you had a good day at the Steventon show yesterday and that you managed to shift a lot of the stock there. Certainly the people attending the exhibitions at Oxford and Mansfield are being treated to a bumper crop of new stock!
I got the next set of photos okay, even if I did have to stand in the middle of a field where muck-speading had recently taken place (the sacrifices we make for our craft). The smell - really not that unpleasant, actually - is still lingering around the house...
As promised, a few photos of the more-or-less finished results:
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2900/14531853672_a743522598_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/o98xPf)backscene 5a (https://flic.kr/p/o98xPf) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people//), on Flickr
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2905/14531853582_b1fef3efc4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/o98xMG)backscene 4a (https://flic.kr/p/o98xMG) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people//), on Flickr
- the more observant may notice that the castle has moved a few miles to the left (from the mock-up earlier)!
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5537/14531853432_14bb6ab37d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/o98xK7)backscene 2 (https://flic.kr/p/o98xK7) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people//), on Flickr
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5497/14531853562_e8465311cc_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/o98xMm)backscene 3a (https://flic.kr/p/o98xMm) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people//), on Flickr
In the last shot the next sheets to the right have only been blu-tacked on and are awaiting trimming and glueing. The final section, incorporating the new set of shots, now looks like this:
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2924/14346352968_d9502c21c5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nRJNVf)backscene 6a (https://flic.kr/p/nRJNVf) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people//), on Flickr
The second panorama starts behind the rather drunken-looking tree, which I plonked there just to convince myself that strategically placed foliage might manage to hide the breaks - the second panorama was never going to tie in perfectly with the first (even if it's the same range of hills) so this break is sharper than the others within the sets. At least, the upper part is okay and hopefully it won't be too difficult to convincingly place foliage lower down to blend the backscene in with the layout scenery
Apart from the far left-hand end, where I plan something more coniferous, it's more or less complete. The 'sky' will need re-painting, I'm afraid, and obviously the bottom edge needs trimming and generally sorting out. From a distance it all looks okay though I'm a bit disappointed that the joins are as conspicuous as they are - there will eventually be a lot of carefully placed trees, hopefully at not too-regular intervals. Printing onto plain card might have been better. But I think that the idea is fairly sound and others may be encouraged to have a go at the process and will hopefully be able to execute it better than me.
David.
Apologies for the long silence: other things call in summer, many of them involving garden maintenance. Another key factor is that while I was out taking more photos for the backscene a few weeks ago both I and my trusty 5.1MP camera fell into a bog... I'm pleased to say I survived, but unfortunately the camera didn't. So much of the delay has been waiting to buy a replacement, which has now been done, so the project can continue.
Where was I? - the next step is to add trees to the backscene, mostly to help obscure the less satisfactory joins. First, find your tree. The requirements are that its background needs to be a fair approximation to the area of backscene where it will be applied, and it's probably best to try and avoid a lot of sky unless you're confident it will match that of the backscene. I've tried to find trees with a background of other vegetation - here's one I took a picture of earlier, as an example:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5578/14946798692_d8877ac944_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oLNfvJ)P1000005 (https://flic.kr/p/oLNfvJ) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
There is some sky at the very top but I will lose most of that. Step two is to print the tree out onto normal paper, and step three is then to extract the tree from the background, which involves pecking away at the outline to produce a shaggy, natural-looking product. Fortunately trees don't have a particularly defined outline so one doesn't need to follow the shape too precisely. For this I used a triangular needle file in one hand to hold the paper, which I then pulled away with the other; the file grips the paper well and leaves a suitably ragged line. It sounds tricky and time consuming but actually isn't - five or ten minutes per tree outline is par for the course. Having isolated the tree you then need to touch up the margins with paint to cover up the white bits which inevitably result (printing onto green paper might avoid this, I suppose?); the paint needs to be thick (to avoid water leaching into the print and disrupting the inks) and a reasonable match to the foliage you're painting. Here are three useful-looking trees after the above steps:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5567/14924237596_80a5c913ef_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oJNBTj)P1000040 (https://flic.kr/p/oJNBTj) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The general tone of each tree will depend on the tree and the lighting, but can be manipulated on the computer to make it fairly sympathetic to the part of the backscene it is destined for. The one at top left, for example, is bluer and darker which will go well against some of the gloomier heathland sections. The one at the bottom, the tree we started with, is now ready for application to the backscene, after which it looks like this:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5560/14947238715_3d43b9a6aa_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oLQvjk)P1000044a (https://flic.kr/p/oLQvjk) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I've been a bit daring here and taken it above the skyline, and although it looks a bit startling in the photo it looks more natural in real life; although it does stand out from the background which will help it to link into the foreground, especially when other foliage is added around the base and maybe some proper 3D trees in front as well. One happy surprise was to discover that (neat) PVA glue doesn't seem to disrupt printing ink like wallpaper paste does - next time I might use PVA to stick the backscene on to avoid problems with ink running.
Oh - and best of all - now you can't see the join!
David.
Very impressive David and lots of good ideas coming out of this topic.
Regarding the problems with touching up the edges of the cut-outs and inkjet print running etc - it might be worth having a go around the edges with "neutral" felt tip pens rather than paint - light brown and grey come to mind. Worth considering?
Looking forward to more progress reports on this fascinating project.
Mick
I agree to what Mick says - impressive scenic work, and a good idea for making up a backscene. Perhaps it needs a little perfecting still, but it does work.
Yes, Ted, next time (!) I would probably do some things slightly differently, but maybe my learning experience can help someone else do better first time around.
Mick - I too had wondered about felt-tips. However, my limited attempts were not very successful as the neutral-ish blue-grey I had didn't look right and I didn't have the right pens to make a good match. Someone with a better set of pens might do better. Also, the tips were moist enough for ink to leach into the paper enough to create a dark edge around the tree. But I wouldn't discourage others from trying the idea.
David.
This is an interesting method. A laser colour printer might do a better job and the ink is not water soluble. Were you using a tripod to take the panorama shots?
David
Victoria Canada
I meant to say, Mick, that using felt-tips would have one big advantage in avoiding something probably familiar to many modellers who enjoy a glass of something while they paint - the twin horrors of dipping your brush in your drink, or (maybe worse) taking a sip from your painting water.
David - interesting to hear about the advantages of a laser printer. That's obviously the answer to another problem - but I'm afraid I just used my handy ink-jet printer. Yes, I did use a tripod, though it probably isn't essential if one is careful to get the horizon in more or less the same place in each shot - see my previous post of 27th June.
Meanwhile, a water tower has appeared outside the loco shed:
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3854/14795622279_56d5c44e14_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oxrr2R)water tower 1 (https://flic.kr/p/oxrr2R) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I was comparing it with the one at Paglesham on the NGRM Forum the other day - theirs is a much more delicate affair, but I'm guessing that when knocking up a structure such as this the Company would have used whatever was to hand, provided it was strong enough for the job (and I think this is - it does in fact look rather over-engineered). Apart from the stout timbers, the water tank was also taken from a redundant tank wagon, so a real home-made effort.
Two questions which folk may be able to help me with: the input side - a water main and a valve (on the right) is probably okay, but what about the delivery side? A lavatory chain affair seems to be popular, but are there alternatives? Obviously the outlet valve needs to be high up but the valve low enough to be within easy reach by the loco crew, though a u-shaped pipe with the valve at a lower level but returning to a higher level might also be suitable, perhaps? Secondly, is there a decent enough head of water here? - if not, then I suppose a concrete plinth might usefully add a foot or so of head.
Given that the structure is made of recycled materials, here is a picture of the original tank wagon (obtained from Members' Sales, naturally!):
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3857/14947162935_bc19ffe3db_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oLQ7MM)P1000025 (https://flic.kr/p/oLQ7MM) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I wonder if any member out there recognises it as having once been theirs? If so, I hope you will excuse what I've done with it. Of course, it's provided me with a useful flat wagon as well!
David.
Hello David, very nice modelling, thank you for sharing your pictures with us.
In answer to you queries re the loco fill tank.
The water inlet, if mains fed, would almost certainly have a stop valve at low level, protecting a large ball valve in the tank itself to top up the tank after water has been drawn off by a visiting loco, automatically.
The large diameter outlet pipe would have a largish spring or gravity weighted lever arm gate valve, either with a rope or chain hanging from it that would pull against the balance weight or spring to operate the valve.
Hope that is of some use.
Regards,
BrianT.
I think the water tank is now more or less sorted. I went for a simple rope to operate the outflow valve and delivery via a simple piece of hose (the traditional 'bag' as used on Bigger Railways would have been out of place here, I think). The structure now also rests on a concrete base:
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3945/15738353321_e6042f6384_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pYKb8k)water tank 237a (https://flic.kr/p/pYKb8k) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
'Creech' - resting in the shed in the evening sun - is now proudly sporting a pair of antlers, the result of an encounter in the gathering gloom one evening while returning across the heath. Not that B&W trains ever run at more than a leisurely pace - even an elderly deer could easily outrun one - but deer do sometimes dither when surprised, on this occasion with fatal results. (I am happy to acknowledge John Allen as the inspiration for this bit of whimsy, though I think on his Gorre and Daphetid they were probably moose antlers.)
The grass has also grown quite a bit over the summer - more on this anon...
David.
Yes, it's been mainly grass, and scenery in general, over the past month. I've been struggling somewhat with the area in the right-hand half of the picture in post 126. It's been tricky because part of it is a removable section (for access to the track beneath) and also because I didn't have a very clear idea what I wanted to do with it.
This is what it looks like so far:
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8626/15311599793_836b609c05_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pk2XaT)embankment2a (https://flic.kr/p/pk2XaT) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I started with static grass on the main area towards the back. This wasn't very successful; probably because I spread PVA over too large an area which I think dissipated the charge, resulting in rather thin and not very upstanding grass. I didn't like the original colour, either, but the fibres do take a dryish mix of acrylic (applied with a toothbrush) okay, although looking back the original colour would have been quite a good match for the grass on the backscene.
The two trees at the far end were made using grape stalks which I have mentioned before - just recently I've also come across an article by Simon Augur recommending them in the 009 News back in 2000. They do give some nicely random shapes which I find difficult to achieve if I make armatures myself, as my mind insists on tidying up anything that doesn't look nice and symmetrical. Nature, as so often, is just more natural. Just the two of them do look a bit awkward and I'm mindful that garden designers always tell us to plant things in threes or multiples thereof. However, they're staying as they are for the time being because this isn't a garden, and nature is often 'unsatisfactory'.
The dead tree is part of some dead ivy stripped from a felled telegraph pole I came across a while ago. This looks rather different from typical domestic ivy but maybe it's just because it was a very mature plant. Anyway, I collected a bagful so I have plenty to experiment with for my next crop of trees, and I feel it has considerable potential for the more substantial type of tree.
The grass in the foreground is of the 'hairy cigar' variety which I have also been experimenting with. It can work very well but can be tricky. Rolling the cigar is critical, I think, in aligning the fibres in a north-south axis prior to planting. The glue also has to be very tacky so the fibres stick the first time, and the cigar needs regular trimming with sharp scissors in order to present a clean, flat end to the glue. I think I cut my original fibres too long and sometimes the appearance is improved by application of a beard trimmer (which tackles hemp much better than synthetic fibres).
Next is the area on the far right where the track disappears behind the embankment* - the blue is bare paper towel which will be more sandy bank, with plenty of foliage (willow bushes, I think) above. Once this is done I can move more towards the front of the layout, which is perhaps more critical.
David.
*I have to make a conscious effort not to say 'hill' which would be all too easy - but the bank scales out at rather less than 30' which no way qualifies as a hill.
NOTICE TO ALL RAILWAY EMPLOYEES:
All staff are advised that this year the Christmas holiday will run from 25th to 26th December (inclusive).
The Directors have asked me to inform staff that they have decided on a most generous Christmas Bonus of 4/6d which will be paid to all grades below Manager. This may be collected from the Company Offices on Christmas Eve.
All staff should also be aware that drunkenness, frivolity and impropriety of any sort, or the stealing of Coal from Company premises, will not be tolerated over the festive season and that any such behaviour will result in summary dismissal from the Company's employ.
Please also be advised that all staff should report for duty promptly at 7.00am on December 27th unless duty rosters state otherwise.
(Signed) The Operations Manager
N.B. Seasonal Felicitations are also extended to all other Persons having an interest in the construction and running of the Railway!
First, I'm pleased to report that Christmas on the Railway passed off without too much frivolity, all the staff returned to duty on time (and more or less sober, if somewhat hungover) and the stock of loco coal was still intact.
During the break there's been some time to make a small amount of progress scenically. We've now reached the right-hand extremity of the layout:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7486/16139926396_591bf36777_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qAekP3)P1000264a (https://flic.kr/p/qAekP3) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Any onward extension here is firmly blocked by a substantial bookcase (although it did occur to me that it would only need a small opening in the side which could lead to a small fiddle yard inside the bookcase!) I'm slightly gratified (?smug) that the line at this end curves towards the front, rather than away from it, as geometry usually dictates. There is of course a continuous run elsewhere on the line but here reversing movements are necessary to continue a journey (you can just make out the switch to make the electricity go backwards in the brown area over on the right, poking up through the baseboard). The bendy IKEA worklight was a small Christmas present to myself, by the way*.
So the next area for attention is therefore:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7500/16139926556_4856fc9d10_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qAekRN)P1000266a (https://flic.kr/p/qAekRN) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The area over to the right - the brown patch - will one day probably be the site of a mine building, but that's still some way off. The side of the cutting has been finished off with a sprinkling of fire ash and next the area above needs grassing over. As it's rather inaccessible I thought I'd do some (more) experimenting and tried static grass on some previously painted paper towel:
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8619/16139926666_013f837f32_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qAekTG)static grass on paper 1 (https://flic.kr/p/qAekTG) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I wasn't too sure about the success of this but a side view shows that the fibres are actually reasonably upstanding:
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8608/16139926566_f60cf7681f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qAekRY)static grass on paper 2 (https://flic.kr/p/qAekRY) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and as it won't be too closely inspected where it's going it's probably going to be okay, I think.
Hopefully more soon...
David.
P.S. Santa also brought me a copy of the new Fayle's Tramway book - what a nice guy!
Excellent progress David and evidence that your Christmas break was more productive than mine!
Hope to see you before too long
Mick
Quote from: clayliner on December 02, 2014, 18:25
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8626/15311599793_836b609c05_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pk2XaT)embankment2a (https://flic.kr/p/pk2XaT) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
...
I missed this picture last month. The tree on the backscene which you discussed last summer has come out very well. Also, the use of natural materials for trees etc. I have looked at grape stalks at some moment - perhaps a second look is warranted.
That 'hairy cigar' approach for grass you mention is something I must remember. I think a very thick 'cigar' will be needed to grow grass over a large area.
Anyway, the scenery looks good - it's developing into a very nice layout.
Thanks for the comments - appreciated. I have had mixed results with 'hairy cigar' grass, Ted - it's quite tricky and as you suggest is perhaps easier for clumps than large areas. I find that tidying up the end of the cigar by cutting it off to get a new flat surface after each application helps (and the discarded fibres can be re-rolled and used again).
Here is the static grass in situ having been cut into three sections to cover the required area - I think it looks okay (at a distance). It also seemed logical to extend the fence on the left along the top of the cutting:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7572/15592809604_69926692a8_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pKTe3U)P1000273a (https://flic.kr/p/pKTe3U) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Next, a large clump of instant willow bushes stuck to the backscene and some more associated foliage (including 'hairy cigar' clumps of grass around the base of the fence posts):
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7516/15592809864_0366a92a63_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pKTe8o)P1000277a (https://flic.kr/p/pKTe8o) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The hill in the background, incidentally, is Creech Barrow, and our abode is hidden somewhere among the trees on the northern flank of the hill. To finish off I've planted a few more willow bushes against the backscene:
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8681/15592809984_1699a7d67d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pKTeas)P1000279 (https://flic.kr/p/pKTeas) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I'm afraid these are rather mangy specimens as I was down to the last dregs of foliage, and the positioning isn't quite right, I think, so I will have a think about how they could be improved.
David.
But you did the right thing! Camouflaging the end of the 3D scenery where the backscene begins. I think it looks quite good. All of this is about illusion and fooling the eye. As Christopher Payne says, it's a theatre stage.
While I will return to it one day and add some extra scenic bits - maybe even that mine building I've mentioned before - I think this end of the railway is more or less done for now (mustn't forget to paint those check rails, though...):
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8583/16289390249_ca54d1ed65_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qProd2)lump (https://flic.kr/p/qProd2) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
For now, though, a reality check - guests are coming next weekend and both the 'railway room' and the other spare bedroom are required! This has been quite a shock as I have been spreading myself (or at least all my scenic stuff, tools, materials, etc., etc.) generously across both rooms over the past year or two and having to clear everything away has been a major undertaking (others may have already been through this experience!) The silver lining is that a lot of stuff has been thrown out, long-lost tools have turned up and I've generally been forced to get everything organised, so no bad thing really. I've also made the long-planned covers for the railway - horticultural fleece with a pocket stapled along one side and what we used to call a curtain taut inserted. This tucks behind the backscene to hold it all in place:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7332/16289390269_7dc40ffa0d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qProdn)ready for guests (https://flic.kr/p/qProdn) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Finally, a request for some inspiration while the railway is shut down. Any ideas or suggestions for the long green 'lump' in foreground of the first photo? I'd like to do something a bit different rather than just end up with a grassy knoll, but as it's right at the front trees and buildings might be a bit vulnerable. I do have one possibility in mind but other suggestions would be welcome!
David.
A manure pile. To add atmosphere as well as a source of traffic. :-)
A pond would look quite good there.
Mick
I like the scene in its present state. That grassy knoll looks just right - a bit of waste ground is only natural. I would leave it as it is.
The dust covers look good to me by the way. If you'd have a method to hook them up without having to remove them all the time it would even be better.
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I think I may pass on the pile of ordure, and also the pond - though having a pond on top of a hill is so obvious, Mick, that I can't believe I didn't think of it myself...
The curtain 'taut' is about 9' long, Ted, i.e.about the same length as the layout, so theoretically ideal. However, it was a bit unwieldy so I cut it in half so there are now two separate sections. There are actually four separate strips of fleece so I will probably cut each part in half again to give four independent sections. That way I can just remove one of the four to work on part of the layout and leave the rest covered. The room is not actually very dusty and the main purpose for the present was to make a visual cover for the railway.
The guests have now gone... great time but so much work for such a short visit! I now feel rather like Piglet after his unwelcome bath and just want to go and spread everything out over two rooms just as it was before (though some things have been so well secreted I may never see them again). But I think I must resist the temptation and resolve to be tidier in future, especially as most of the scenics have been finished. My next challenge, I think, is to tackle some Greenwich couplings for which I guess all I need is a flat surface and a few simple tools, so there's really no excuse for another big mess just yet.
David.
David I've not seen this properly before, thanks for the message on NGRM, you should start a thread over there too! My own micro layout is also inspired by the area and I love your back scene!
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-994a-URZLm0%2FVOTda2c9L8I%2FAAAAAAAANQ8%2Fpu24hiLPpps%2Fs1600%2Fphoto%252B1-733702.JPG&hash=7ebb57b46721796909a081578d060131639e1f61)
James, it would be nice and beneficial to all if you put your NGRM postings on here too.
Roger
I guess we 009ers we have a bit of a problem knowing where best to post stuff. I decided early on to favour the Society forum with my endeavours and only post B&W items on NGRM as and when appropriate - life's really too short to duplicate post everything on both sites, I think. I realise those who are not 009 Society members will tend to miss out on B&W news but - well, membership is open to everyone, whether they model in 009 or not... and there are plenty of other good things going on to entertain folk apart from mythical events in Dorset!
David.
Something has arrived in the transfer siding... some new motive power for the railway, perhaps?
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8612/16538096257_6f92c29df9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/rcq4QD)new arrival a (https://flic.kr/p/rcq4QD) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Hopefully it won't take too long to unload...
David.
The wraps have come off -
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8584/16609502109_50a78fff27_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/riJ3j2)tractor a (https://flic.kr/p/riJ3j2) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and it's an i/c tractor which should be useful for moving skips around and other light shunting duties.
A couple of other views:
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8715/16609502149_50a78fff27_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/riJ3jH)tractor 1a (https://flic.kr/p/riJ3jH) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8635/16609502519_8299501719_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/riJ3r6)tractor 2a (https://flic.kr/p/riJ3r6) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
It was acquired from a (well known) agent and dealer in second-hand stock down in Dorset, but its origins are somewhat obscure - it may well have originated in the USA, as that was its last home.
Can anyone identify it, perhaps?
David.
The long green 'lump' has now become a long white lump. Although it does look a bit like a beached whale it is in fact a clay spoil tip (clay spoil tips do look rather like beached whales, come to think of it, so maybe it's not so far off the mark) -
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8684/17031653111_69a1f239d0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/rX2F6z)spoil tip 2a (https://flic.kr/p/rX2F6z) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/people/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
As a concession to Mick there is a small puddle on the top (though I wish now I hadn't put it quite so squarely right in the centre). I have also slewed the end of the siding at the far end a bit so that it leads to the tip. The margins are already being colonised by birch trees and I think some more foliage may follow soon to lessen the impact a little -
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4891/46475906742_4a7520d51b_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dNVaSW)'Arne' and steam (https://flic.kr/p/2dNVaSW) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Now that the equinox is past, the late afternoon and evening sun is beginning to creep into the railway room, which is nice. However, for much the same reason the garden is crying out ever more insistently for some attention, so modelling will in future have more competition than usual.
David.
Actually I think it looks more like a cuttlefish bone than a beached whale.............................
Mick
Just don't let the budgie near it.
The gorse has been quite spectacular this spring.
'Arne' gingerly eases a load of Purbeck stone from the quarries down the grade from the overbridge:
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8855/18167234929_5feefa82cc_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/tFnQ1r)stone train (https://flic.kr/p/tFnQ1r) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
David.
Recently I've been spending time (too much time, perhaps) working on the backscene - specifically, adding more trees and additional foliage (keen listeners may remember I did something similar before). This has involved some nice country walks to find the right trees, gorse, etc. which I can photograph and then print. After cutting the items out it's just a matter of finding the right place to site them on the backscene and sticking them on. The idea is to break up the general expanse of backscene, add some additional interest, hide anything on the backscene which needs hiding and help to integrate the backscene to the 'real' 3-D scenery on the layout:
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3908/19230153402_1a230508df_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/viiyD1)P1000569a (https://flic.kr/p/viiyD1) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/360/19236340025_b4c305f980_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/viRgGV)P1000571a (https://flic.kr/p/viRgGV) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
(- compare this view with the one in my previous post - it's the same location.)
Conifers are possible, too!
(https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3811/18618606143_dc2e3e67b4_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ungdWK)P1000573a (https://flic.kr/p/ungdWK) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Sometimes there are two or three layers - a tree behind and then gorse and/or other foliage in front of that. As usual, the camera is a bit cruel and the result looks better in real life - honest! Some extra foliage materials will help to lose the join between the backscene and the layout scenery in places. In due course there will be more 'real' trees in front of the backscene so the stuck-on ones will merge more into the background, I think.
David.
David,
Raised areas like your 'tumf' were sometimes used by ancient man to site stone religious features, perhaps a standing stone. Of course visitors would wear a path up to it.....
Jus' thinking. ...
Doug
I once experimented with photographic backscenes, but I never took it as far as you did.
Is that new tractor of yours powered or is it a dummy, which I suspect... ?
Sadly, yes, it's only a dummy - just to add some static interest. But some new (working) steam stock is in the pipeline (though don't hold your breath!)
David.
Time for a few more photos - first a couple of shed views:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4861/45615042725_148260b862_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cuR1ZT)on shed s (https://flic.kr/p/2cuR1ZT) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5708/21137982488_7eb4647afa_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ycTFKW)on shed 2 (https://flic.kr/p/ycTFKW) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Here 'Creech' heads across the heath with a train of skips:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/675/21137982618_4d863eed08_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ycTFNb)'Creech' and skips (https://flic.kr/p/ycTFNb) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and in the next shot 'Creech' poses on the bridge as 'Arne' heads underneath with assorted wagons:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/658/21137982588_d0c3b453c8_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ycTFME)under and over (https://flic.kr/p/ycTFME) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Finally, a view of the back of the engine shed. There's now a dedicated tub for loco coal - on a smarter line it would probably be proudly labelled 'LOCO COAL' but on the B&W everyone just knows that what it's for. Someone seems to be snatching forty winks out of sight of the foreman...
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/778/21137982648_7015ce9a89_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ycTFNG)back of the shed (https://flic.kr/p/ycTFNG) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
You may notice that a lot of grass has appeared over recent weeks, probably as a result of all the rain we've been having lately!
David.
Very enjoyable, watching with interest,
Doug
'like'
This is looking good David
What couplings are you using?
I can see some chain and hook types, how do you get on propelling (pushing) trains with these couplings around curves and through points? What gap do you need between the vehicles so the buffers do not bind on the curves?
There is also one wagon with a Bemo type coupling and some items that appear to have no coupling at all.
Brian Meldon
Excellent progress and superb photos David!
I am hoping for an opportunity for the Roving Reporter to be ablet ot visit the Burnbake and Woodhyde sometime before too long. Do you think his little green railcar will manage the Purbeck hills OK?
Mick
Brian: Thanks for pointing out the current variety of couplings. The short (and honest) answer is that I am not 'using' any particular sort of coupling at present. However, I have been making up a load of Greenwich couplings recently (does anyone know of an online support group for people grappling with Greenwich couplings?) and before long I hope to get round to fitting them to stock. I don't expect this to be easy... I am quite tempted to go for some fixed rakes - e.g. clay skips - to make the task a little easier, however. More on this anon.
Mick: I'm afraid running 'foreign' stock isn't quite as easy as it used to be in the bad old days. First there will be clearance issues to be looked at and sorted out. Will the railcar interfere with local signalling and track circuits? Is it fitted with all the necessary black boxes - ATC, TPWS (is that short for TWERPS?), ERTMS and so on? (Will all that metal in your ankle interfere with magnetic couplings?) Once all these little details have been resolved, however, the B&W would be pleased, nay, honoured to receive a visit any time the little green railcar is in this part of the world (I can hear the Manager brushing his rather battered top hat even as I write).
David.
Thank you for the comprehensive regulatory requirements for foreign stock operating south of Wareham David. I can confirm that the railcar does indeed have a black box installed, well actually it is a rather clever remote control feature where the black box is remote from the vehicle and signals from the box are transmitted through a 120 millivolt high frequency pulse to the engine of the railcar.
The Roving Reporter has informed me that this clever piece of technology was provided by a firm in Sussex called Gaugemaster and the product in their catalogue is described as an "HH" - it is indeed black, although I understand a slightly less technical range of beige coloured boxes are also available fromt them. They are all fitted with the mandatory TWERPS system which provides a reasonably seamless human to volts interface by way of a rotary control knob which the TWERPS approved operator uses to pass between 0.002 and 0.012 kilovolts through the 120mv pulse to the railcar, thereby ensuring safe passage even in the hands of low grade TWERPS.
Mick
Apologies for the long interval since the last post (can't believe it has been that long, etc.) but all has not been quiet on the railway. Here is the first stage (apologies for the pun) of the mine building which will finish off the right-hand end of the layout:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1583/23876716770_7c495e56bc_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/CnUq3w)staging (https://flic.kr/p/CnUq3w) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
I had thought that it would just be a rough mock-up, but I think it will be okay simply to clad it in tin and add appropriate details.
Tomorrow the railway hopes to welcome a distinguished and well-know visitor - maybe a photo or two after the visit...
David.
Bad news I'm afraid regarding the photographer's visit tomorrow morning. I've been contacted by the Agent for Mr Ivo Peters, distinguished railway photographer, with his regrets that he cannot attend the previously made commitment at Burnbake (or was it Woodhyde?) due to the blue Bentley off the road having the ashtrays emptied, and I have been asked to deputise on the basis that most people baulk at leaving the main road to Swanage south of Wareham and apparently I'm the only one that could be contacted who was not quick enough to say they had no idea at all where you live, so I'm afraid that you'll have to put up with me swinging my camera around and snapping away at what are hoped to be appropriate subjects and at appropriate times.
The Roving Reporter's Railcar has been serviced and fuelled for the journey and will be accompanied at some point with His Lordship's personal engine "Wee Moira" plus loan of his 1st class saloon coach as it is understood that no passenger vehicles have yet run on the B&W Railway
Mick
The good news is that the little green railcar duly arrived - here the manager is waiting to greet its occupants:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1604/24192496435_df4b57b97c_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/CRNSkv)railcar a (https://flic.kr/p/CRNSkv) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The railway was also visited by 'Wee Moira' and coaches:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7836/31587638317_6d082547cb_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Q8hUnK)'Moira' (https://flic.kr/p/Q8hUnK) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7856/45804174154_bcbda58dc2_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cMynbA)'Moira' and First Class coach x (https://flic.kr/p/2cMynbA) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The management would like to express their thanks to His Lordship and Mr Thornton, his assistant/dogsbody, for the honour of their visit. It is hoped that more photographs will appear here (and elsewhere) in due course.
The honour was all mine Sir, for the granting of a track pass to visit your Wonderful Railway! Now you have seen a bit of colour in the stock at Burnbake (or is it Woodhyde?), perhaps you may be tempted to provide a passenger platform when you build the extension round to the wall opposite the door to the layout room?................... :D
Mick
Very nice, David & Mick. I'm looking forward to more photos!
Passengers? - I think not, Mick.
As Notwork Rail and any TOC will tell you, they're nothing but a nuisance, demanding comfortable trains which run on time at a price that even people not on expenses can afford.
Maybe, one day, a converted clay wagon with a tin shed on top, but don't expect much more!
David.
P.S. More pictures in the pipeline, Ted...
A new
EDIT: I've just noticed the above post which appears to have been another victim of the forum software upgrade (2019/20)- 'lost in translation', I think. Unlike the other one which I was able to 'repair' from clues and memory I can't remember what this one was about, though I suspect it relates to 'A new'... locomotive, as that's what's described in subsequent posts.
Please read on...
David.
David,
For your information, the "eth" connection is actually a comunication buzzer between Guard and loco crew, and would also give an alarm if the train separated. I believe that a revised version is fitted nowadays to Tal-y-llyn stock, and with continuous brakes is no longer so crucial.
The chassis, as you might have guessed, is not that intended for the kit (should be an Arnold 0-4-0). However, if it was fitted and running when you bought the loco, then I can see that you will have a good basis to work from.
Hope you enjoy the project! :)
Thanks for clarifying the eth connection, Tim. I'm pleased I didn't suggest it was a jumper cable for multiple unit operation! (Anyway, it will disappear in due course, I'm afraid).
As for the chassis, the first thing was to try and get rid of all that Continental-looking red paint (very unBritish!) Easier said than done, removing it from all the crevices in the motion, but most of it has gone. It has been replaced by a general application of oily gunge varnish. Amazingly, everything still moved even after it was dry. The other major job was to beef up the cylinders by applying a wrapper of soft plastic tubing. I hope I haven't overdone it and strayed into 'Skarloey' territory, and I haven't yet checked the clearances...
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1619/26234087895_5a9b6b2895_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/FYdymg)P1010236a (https://flic.kr/p/FYdymg) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
A picture of the backhead I put together has appeared in another thread already; it looks rather crude (and I guess it is) but will look better when it's largely lost inside the cab, I think. In this view (most of) the red paint on the motion has been removed but the oily finish has not yet been applied:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1508/26208573386_685639dbdc_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/FVXMLW)backhead (https://flic.kr/p/FVXMLW) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
More anon.
David.
A few further developments to report, with this picture showing the current state of play:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1553/26447292205_6d6fb29e79.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Gi4hyD)new loco (https://flic.kr/p/Gi4hyD) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
- there are some rainstrips on the cab roof (though I'm toying with the idea of removing them and fitting a sliding ventilator instead, just for a change)
- holes have been drilled in the cab-side ready for handrails (Bambi staples)
- I have beefed up the boiler and firebox slightly with a thin plastic wrapper
- there is now a single dome (fashioned out of the end of a ball-point pen)
- I have added 'conventional' steam pipes between the smokebox and cylinders. This was tricky as they have a subtle curve in two planes. They are made of single core copper wire with plastic insulation, but attempts to bend the wire resulted in marking of the plastic. The solution was to remove the wire from the insulation and bend that to shape separately, then reinsert into the insulation. All rather easier than it sounds, and if it was tricky to make one then making a matching pair was... well, even more trying.
I will probably replace the original chimney although it's a bit on the skinny side - will see how it looks later on. Safety valves will go on the dome, but I can't decide whether to place them fore and aft (probably the commoner arrangement) or side by side (unusual, I think, but I have seen examples). I was toying with the idea of just one central handrail on top of the boiler, but with quite a large expanse of boiler sides I think I will probably need to place them there. The original arrangement of regulator on the dome looks rather fragile so I think that will best be avoided.
It all looks a bit scruffy at this stage but I'm hoping that painting will pull it all together in due course. (It also looks a bit down by the bow in the photo but I think that's because of the angle it was taken from.)
That's all for now - hopefully some further developments soon.
David.
Full of freelance atmosphere David and coming along nicely!
One little feedback point if I may: it seems to be sitting rather tall on the chassis and I'm a little concerned that it may end up looking a bit top heavy, is there any way of lowering the body a few mm so that the footplate such as it is sits much closer to the top of the driving wheels and cylinders?
Mick
One point about your steam pipes - if you look at the photo you posted of Glyder, you will see the main steam pipes coming down from the external regulator in front of the dome; these are lagged, and appear to be what you intended? The exhaust pipes, into the smokebox, are plain, and enter the smokebox from below. If you are following a totally different design, then your steam pipes might come as you have shown, but then, you would not be replicating something similar to Douglas or Glyder! :)
Just a few evenings ago, Mick, I was looking at some of Les Dench's photos (on Flickr) of the delightful O&K locos on the Guardiola line in Catalunya. What really appealed to me was what I would call the 'verticality' of the locos - which really just means they are slim and tall. Looking at them again I will admit that much of the height is above the boiler (i.e. chimney, dome etc.) rather than below, but for now I think I'll press on and see what it looks like with the boiler fittings on. If it does come out uncomfortably top-heavy then I'll have a re-think, though it may not be easy to drop the firebox end. But thanks for raising the issue.
Tim - I realise that Glyder's steam pipes are different, and as I think I said I'm not going for the regulator on the dome, so I'm settling for something simpler. And I'm not really copying Glyder (or Douglas) anyway - they're just for inspiration!
David.
Those Minitrix BR89 0-6-0 chassis do run well, they are a lot better than the dock tank chassis.
However you may well need to get to the top motor bearing at some time as they do have a tendency to dry out causing the motor to squeal.
But the main problem these chassis have is a split drive gear on the rear axle. This is sadly quite common and will cause the chassis to bind. In my experience this problem is so common I have stopped taking the time to make any loco to fit these chassis!
That said if you have a good one it may well remain ok.
Brian Meldon
Thanks for the info, Brian - so far all looks well but I will bear what you say in mind. The top of the firebox / backhead will come off fairly easily to allow me to get to the bearing to lubricate it as required.
David.
Limited progress, I'm afraid, as life (including a brief holiday) has a habit of getting in the way of modelling and my mojo has also got a bit stuck.
So I decided to take a decisive step and apply some paint to the loco. Ah - so many lovely colours to choose from! Unfortunately most of them wouldn't look appropriate for an industrial, non-passenger carrying line, I think, so goodbye to blues, yellows, ochre and more. For a long time I had been clear that my next loco would be a very faded, washed out red (I'd seen pictures somewhere of another industrial line) but recently I have seen a number of brown locos in the News and on the NGRM Forum, and they looked handsome but not too smart (that's not intended as a criticism!)
So I tried some experiments with brown mixed with other colours. Brown + blue: just looked like dirty blue. Brown + red: just a red-brown, and not what I was after. So I decided to try the brown on its own, at least to see what it looked like:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7479/26754564280_26378c84a3_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/GLd8R3)base coat (https://flic.kr/p/GLd8R3) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Looks okay, I think (though maybe the background isn't too helpful!) - but hopelessly too shiny. Dulcote is mentioned often on the forums, or maybe a thin wash of matt black or grey would both take the shine off and weather it at the same time? Time for some more experiments...
David.
Humbrol matt varnish works wonders David!
Mick
Just finally read the June edition of 009 news.. Lovely layout! I really should frequent this forum a little more. Taking some ideas and thoughts from your shed area as I'm building something similar on my layout at the moment :)
Did you ever use any Greenwich couplings? I use them and love them, hands off uncoupling is just too much fun :)
Thanks for your kind comments, Scott - pleased you enjoyed the article, and hopefully to have provided some inspiration, too.
All the best stuff is on this forum (quality, if not necessarily quantity)!
David.
At long last, the time has come to put everything together
We can certainly agree that it has "character" David! It is an excellent model that oozes it and is a super example of the genre of what I like to think of as "proper modelling" where you use whatever materials that come to hand to produce something that is not only atmospheric but is unique and not just another kit that looks identical to the one on the layout next door etc.
Who is to say that Barclay or O&K didn't produce a small 0-6-0WT some time in the early years of the 20th century that found its way down to Purbeck.
Well done Sir!
Mick
PS - Major milestone (or is it millstone?) wedding anniv this weekend and we are having a break at Swanage so if you are in town for the jazz festival or anything, might bump into you on Saturday in the high street (or if I can find an acceptable excuse, somewhere in the station!)
Funnily enough I have just finished a similar kit-bash from the same source to produce my own representation of a Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0WT. I have mine in a rather uninspiring black finish, although I could have gone for this more distinctive red look.
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRsJwRH9m4ndpMbTeEBoFCt2FmWkOJDJeL2DOplidpaZe2FtVqi)
I also kept the original oval front spectacles (rear is just a half backsheet) and belpaire shape firebox but if I was to do it again I would get rid of both. My ex-Douglas runs on a minitrix dock tank chassis that runs well.
For what it's worth, Douglas and the others were/are Barclay Class E well tanks, also referred to by Barclay as their 'Light' class. And Barclays did make some six-coupled examples, 25 for the War Department in WW1. They may have produced some more later. As Mick knows, the Gem kit goes well on an Ibertren Cuckoo chassis, better looking to my mind than on the recommended Arnold chassis. Never been a fan of those.
The Company are pleased to announce the arrival of a new Engine to work upon the Line, which will supplement the current locomotive stock and provide useful new motive power. Originally built in Great Britain for work on the Greater Limpopo Flood Relief and Drainage Scheme in Portuguese Mozambique, upon completion of those works and her return to this country she has been employed at the factory of the Dudley and Smethwick United Custard and Blancmange Co. The photograph shows her on arrival at the Engine Shed on the Line in company with her sister engines:
(https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8741/27605919043_1e0f833aed_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/J4rxXr)'Corfe' (https://flic.kr/p/J4rxXr) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
It is intended to name the Engine 'Corfe' in the near future, in line with Company policy of naming engines after settlements in the vicinity of the Line.
The General Manager, Burnbake and Woodyhyde Rly. Co.
Readers with very good memories will recall the mock-up of the mine building I posted way back in January. At long last I can report that it is substantially finished, and looks like this:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7873/44710180120_f049c990d7_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2b7TmSu)mine stage (https://flic.kr/p/2b7TmSu) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
'Corfe' is fussing with some skips underneath, and it looks as though some pit props are waiting to be unloaded. The cylindrical tank is for compressed air to power the pneumatic spades and other equipment underground.
At long last I've been able to make use of some thin but very tough steel strips I've had in my materials drawer for a long time: they once formed the stiffening in discarded windscreen wiper blades and have found a new life as the rails for the track going down into the mine. Sad, I know, but strangely satisfying...
As I said back in January, I've just clad the cardboard mock-up in (plastic) corrugated iron. Another dilemma: a 'proper' modeller would probably cut it into 8'x4' sheets and then apply each of them individually, but sometimes compromises have to be made, so I've just scored the sheets.
David.
Nice work, David.
Jeff S.
Same as wot Jeff said! It all looks very good David, congratulations!
Mick
Very nice David, I do like the rusting roof sheets, very realistic.
Regards, BrianT.
Years ago now (I see it was almost two whole years!) I mentioned Greenwich couplings, so perhaps it's time to pick up the thread again.
With the aid of the approved height gauge it's not difficult to mount them at just the right height:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4280/35048714293_125f1e5e72_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vp8PFt)1a (https://flic.kr/p/Vp8PFt) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
(pretty good, eh? although I say it myself). There's just one problem - the dreaded Loop Clash:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4216/35048714313_6f74c8bb9d_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vp8PFP)2a (https://flic.kr/p/Vp8PFP) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
and
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4207/35048714333_c9dd2ed4c1_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vp8PGa)3a (https://flic.kr/p/Vp8PGa) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Of course, when you stop to think about it, it's pretty inevitable, if you take care to mount them all at exactly the same height... You could bend all the loops down a bit, I suppose, or even bend them all up - but that's not going to solve the problem. Maybe bend some up and some down? At least you might have a 50% (overall) chance of successful engagement. Skew them in the horizontal plane?
Clearly others have found the solution, so I'm asking for the forum's combined wisdom for the best way to solve the problem. Any help appreciated.
David
P.S. We do have some lovely sunrises down here!
Possibly twisting a bit may help (left-right rather than tilting fore-aft) as you suggest It need not be much (possibly just the thickness of the metal). The twist would have to be the same for stock or loop clash will occur again.
Quote from: clayliner on July 11, 2017, 15:44
Years ago now (I see it was almost two whole years!) I mentioned Greenwich couplings, so perhaps it's time to pick up the thread again.
(pretty good, eh? although I say it myself). There's just one problem - the dreaded Loop Clash:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4207/35048714333_c9dd2ed4c1_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vp8PGa)3a (https://flic.kr/p/Vp8PGa) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Of course, when you stop to think about it, it's pretty inevitable, if you take care to mount them all at exactly the same height... You could bend all the loops down a bit, I suppose, or even bend them all up - but that's not going to solve the problem. Maybe bend some up and some down? At least you might have a 50% (overall) chance of successful engagement. Skew them in the horizontal plane?
Clearly others have found the solution, so I'm asking for the forum's combined wisdom for the best way to solve the problem. Any help appreciated.
David
P.S. We do have some lovely sunrises down here!
I have found that loop clash with the Bemo/Egger/Roco/Liliput couplings can be reduced to virtually zero if the loops are all adjusted to be exactly horizontal to the rails and if they are absolutely flat. Any slight curve in the loop or having them set slightly off the horizontal can cause loop clash problems.
However I do not use the Greenwich loops so this may not apply to them.
Brian Meldon
The/an answer is to have loops on one end of the stock only, but this assumes that you will never turn your stock around (and that locos also have a loop at one end - as some do not by original design).
As a suggestion you could try running a file along the edges of the loops to change their profile.
As they are chemically etched the process leaves a 'cusp'. As the acid cuts the into the metal it does so in all directions, so the width of the cut is wider at the outside of the metal and narrows as it goes into the thinckness of the metal, and this narrowing is curved not straight. If one were to magnify the profile imagine that the square section had had the top & bottom corners cut off with a hole punch leaving a point sticking out halfway through the thickness.
When the loops meet the "points" come together and the loops are pushed upwards where the next set opt points - where the curved cut off corners meet the faces on the original sheet. This gives two points of contact and "locks" the loops.
If one was to file the edge of the loop to give it a more circular profile then as the two 'bars' met one has to go over the other. I suppose as an alternative one could file the cusp off to give a flat edge to the loop then solde rsome fine wire along the cut edge.
One reason why I went over to using DG couplings as these use loops made from wire, so they can't lock...
coupling loop clash, not a problem on my layout. As i seem to be totally incompetent at getting all my stock with identical coupling heights, so it is extremely rare for two wagons/coaches to meet at the same height!! Maybe my incompetence has led to reliable coupling!?!? As one loop always seems to have the ability to ride over or under the other. perhaps some people are just too accurate?? (makes me feel quite good about my poor standards)
Quote from: Paul Ludlow on July 12, 2017, 23:45
coupling loop clash, not a problem on my layout. As i seem to be totally incompetent at getting all my stock with identical coupling heights, so it is extremely rare for two wagons/coaches to meet at the same height!! Maybe my incompetence has led to reliable coupling!?!? As one loop always seems to have the ability to ride over or under the other. perhaps some people are just too accurate?? (makes me feel quite good about my poor standards)
Clearly this is a successful approach for you and it obviously works.
However on layouts like my ones with extensive shunting and marshalling of wagons and with locos that need to run round every train all without the use of the great hand from above or a coupling hook the only way to make this work reliably to an exhibition standard is to have the couplings all at the same height for all items.
If one coupling height is wrong we have found that the vehicles will not automatically couple up or even uncouple properly with the uncoupling ramps we use they also can come uncoupled when not required as well.
It is each to their own, if it works for you than that is great!
Brian Meldon
Brian, your comments taken on board, i understand that for a hands free shunting layout at exhibitions, then accuracy is king. my layout in the garage is purely for my own entertainment and yes i use an un-coupling stick (made from an old paint brush handle and wire). for me this means i can uncouple at any point in any siding without the use of magnets or ramps or clever use of delayed couplers. as you quite rightly say, if it works for you and you are happy, then great. as i am operating the great hand from the sky, i dont tend to notice it!
Thanks to all for replies and suggestions so far.
Graeme's suggestion of a slight twist seems reasonable but is the opposite of Brian's experience where perfect horizontality and flatness is the aim - though to me that would be counter-intuitive as it would appear to be taking accuracy in fitting and alignment - which is apparently the cause of the problem! - even further. But I'm not disputing that it works for him. As for re-profiling, certainly worth a try, but tricky once the things are installed and best done prior to fitting (as would be twisting).
Removing the loops on locos would appear to be a common practice - I know the estimable John Thorne does that - and would certainly reduce problems. Removing loops from one end of all rolling stock is likely to lead to further problems, especially on a layout where there is a reversing triangle!
My natural sympathies lie with Paul, as a subtle degree of inaccuracy - or natural variation, if you prefer - would seem to be the best remedy. Normally I might have expected to have achieved this without much difficulty myself, but for once I seem to have tried just a little too hard and come unstuck as a result. So much for the pursuit of perfection!
David.
Quote from: JulienW on July 12, 2017, 22:49
As they are chemically etched the process leaves a 'cusp'. As the acid cuts the into the metal it does so in all directions, so the width of the cut is wider at the outside of the metal and narrows as it goes into the thinckness of the metal, and this narrowing is curved not straight. If one were to magnify the profile imagine that the square section had had the top & bottom corners cut off with a hole punch leaving a point sticking out halfway through the thickness.
My experience of recent batches of Greenwich couplings is that they are no longer blackened, but painted, as the black just comes off when the etches are folded. And no, it's not me being heavy-handed, I did have some of the blackend type and they were fine.
i thought it was just me that knocked the blackening off the greenwich couplings, glad to here that i'm not alone. when i said previously that all my couplings were of different heights, i don't mean by miles, they usually are only out by the thickness of the loop, which means they couple and un-couple quite well. i do have the occasional problems, but as i don't have members of the public watching it isn't a problem.
Agreed - the black (whatever it is) does come off quite easily and they often need touching up after assembly.
The answers seem to be:
(1) Don't take too much care when setting the coupling heights and
(2) Make sure no-one else is watching during coupling / uncoupling.
Then everything seems just fine!
David.
Quote from: hughn on July 16, 2017, 15:00
My experience of recent batches of Greenwich couplings is that they are no longer blackened, but painted, as the black just comes off when the etches are folded. And no, it's not me being heavy-handed, I did have some of the blackend type and they were fine.
Quote from: Paul Ludlow on July 16, 2017, 23:09
i thought it was just me that knocked the blackening off the greenwich couplings, glad to here that i'm not alone. when i said previously that all my couplings were of different heights, i don't mean by miles, they usually are only out by the thickness of the loop, which means they couple and un-couple quite well. i do have the occasional problems, but as i don't have members of the public watching it isn't a problem.
Having done some of my own chemical blackening (both with stuff from Carrs and my home made solution of copper carbonate and 0.880 SG ammonia) if you get too much coating on the brass then it will flake off.
Sorry if this is going further off topic, but as we are discussing Greenwich couplings - is there a way to remove the coating?
It is may seem a bit OCD, but I would quite like to reinforce the bends with a touch of solder.
Something I did learn for making up a few of them is that you get one shot at bending. The bend does seem to work harden the material (if that is the correct term) and the scope for adjusting a bend is very limited before you end up with at least two little bits.
graemeD, i think you are right, you get one go at bending the couplings or they are likely to snap. Makes you think twice and concentrate a bit more on getting it right first time, i have successfully tweaked them a little bit and am now quite good at doing them (i've now made about thirty!). i have found that an old blunt screwdriver is all that is needed to scrape the black off and a touch of matt black enamel does a good job of restoring the finish, hope this helps, Paul.
Thanks for all the foregoing suggestions and advice on Greenwich couplings.
Now something of a more general nature which has been floating around in my head for a while:
Many of us are familiar with Minitrains chassis and it seems generally agreed that they are sweet-running and very desirable, and lots of people have used them for a variety of projects. If I have one reservation it's about the intrusiveness of the motor into the cab space (the flywheel is actually largely out of sight, hard up against the cab roof as it is). I know there are ways to get round this
I was impressed by David Churchill's article in this months News adapting the Bagnall. I suspect diguise is the way forward.
I think it would be one thing to put a smaller motor in a chassis design with a horizontal motor, or move the motor forwards or backwards out of the way, but a different matter to convert the Minitrains chassis to take a horizontal motor.
Possibly it is best to play to the strengths of the chassis and motor in the cab and if not having actual daylight under the boiler take advantage of there being no motor there to use it for models with slender boilers. Similarly, with chassis with motors hidden bulky tanks use the opportunity to show a clear cab.
Over recent months there have been reports of a large beast on the prowl hereabouts. Sightings have been few and far between but livestock have been savaged and folk have tended to stay indoors during the hours of darkness. The local yeomanry have been put on watch with orders to track down and, if possible, apprehend and detain the offender. Many nights of patient observation have finally paid off and eventually the creature was cornered and, after putting up fierce resistance, despatched
A lucky escape David and well done to the Creech Platoon of the Kings Own Wareham Yeomanry Volunteers for their digilence in cornering the beast. I have consulted my well thumbed ISpy Book of Rural Rodents 1958 edition and it tells me that it is the rare Purbeck Gigantamouse strain (200 points) which from a distance looks identical to a common field mouse (5 points) but is 76 times larger.
I hope that the PW Dept are able to get the line operational again without undue delay
Mick
Burnbake is on television!
Anyone wanting to see what Burnbake looks like in reality, these days, might want to tune in to Channel 5's 'Celebrity 5 Go Camping' series starting tomorrow evening (Friday 4th January). I'm not sure if Burnbake features throughout the series or just in one programme - we'll have to wait and see.
David.
Well, the 'slebs' finally managed to find their way to Burnbake, in what my television listings guide prettily accurately described as "an oppressively tedious reality show". The campsite at Burnbake is delightful and far off the beaten track, in the forest on the southern shores of Poole Harbour - I've camped there a good few times myself in past years. Normally it's very quiet, but this bunch soon changed that - it's no surprise that they received coded expressions of displeasure from the other campers, who I imagine were highly relieved when they (and the crew) eventually moved on (to Durdle Door campsite - which I've also stayed at).
At least the programmes have shown the great scenery hereabouts, through which the old tramway to Goathorn ran, close to the campsite. I doubt they will camp at Woodyhyde, though...
David.
Christmas found me with some time on my hands (it was that sort of Christmas this [i.e. last] year) and the opportunity to spend some time on something I'd been wanting to try for a long time: doctoring some of my layout photos to add smoke and steam effects. Although we can't do it in 'real life' maybe it's a possibility in photos, and something to add that extra realism most of us try to achieve.
This is the sort of thing I've come up with so far:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7874/46789739821_13bd7fe6a9_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ehDDw6)t/t s (https://flic.kr/p/2ehDDw6) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
It's an early attempt and I'm still experimenting. Never having tried to manipulate photos before there's plenty to learn, and I'm really working by trial and error, but hope to come up with some more convincing results in the future.
You can see some other attempts on pages 11, 12 and 13 of this thread if you're interested.
I'm sure I'm not the first to try this - has anyone else out there had a go at it? It would be good if you could share your experience and the finished results.
David.
I recall that, over on the NGRMO forum, someone found a program that added smoke effects to pictures and video. For the life of me, I cannot track this down, but I had an idea that Chris O'D showed an example in Compass point topic. If you have the time to search, perhaps you can find the reference- I also think that a short video with smoke effects was shown recently, but I cannot find that either! :(
Thanks for that, Tim. I'll have a look around the NGRMO forum. It's tricky in two dimensions, so going for the same effect in three - i.e. videos - sounds distinctly ambitious! But 'programs' are clever things these days and quite possibly make light work of it - though hopefully don't take too much of the fun or creativity out of it.
David.
After too long a break, I've decided to get things moving again with a general review and overhaul of the B&W's wagon fleet.
'Fleet' is a rather grand term for what is a pretty ramshackle collection of rolling stock, collected from various sources over the years. In this the B&W is probably not much different from many other similar lines; wagons largely obtained on an 'as and when' basis to fulfil various assorted needs and requirements, sometimes needing modification for the purpose.
From my point of view, the review has meant generally repainting where required, adding lead ballast to increase stability and sorting out couplings, as well as thinking about suitable loads. Incidentally, has anyone else noticed that lead seems to accelerate the setting rate of cyanoacrylate, or is it just my impression?
The obvious place to start is perhaps with the clay skips. These first ones are, I think, from Dundas, eminently suitable for their job and with rather nice curly-spoked wheels:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48814755542_57e4bb6ab4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hnAo9f)sk1da (https://flic.kr/p/2hnAo9f) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The loads are detachable and incorporate a lump of lead:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48815074637_17fdffb358_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hnC1ZT)sk1a (https://flic.kr/p/2hnC1ZT) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
There's also another rake, of uncertain provenance, here on the ramp up to the transfer shed:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48815074652_1573d13aea_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hnC219)sk2 (https://flic.kr/p/2hnC219) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Both of these rakes are internally coupled with three-link couplings, as they're likely to run together most of the time, and will not need to be remotely separated. These couplings are simply three links of chain, rendered rigid by careful application of superglue to the appropriate links and where one end is fixed to a wagon, then painted over:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48821769911_dfcfacfe15_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hodkgD)coupling (https://flic.kr/p/2hodkgD) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Being rigid, they seem to push okay.
I imagine chain can be obtained from many model suppliers but is probably cheaper bought from craft shops. It can be bit tricky to work with - I first blacken it with a permanent marker (to give it a firm colour base) before painting it over with acrylic (which can rub off quite easily). I found it helpful to anchor one end using a track magnet:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48821412608_a15411a151.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hobv4f)ch1 (https://flic.kr/p/2hobv4f) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
(though it's probably just as easy to use a track pin in a piece of wood:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48821927087_05facf3dae.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hoe8Zz)ch2 (https://flic.kr/p/2hoe8Zz) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr )
More soon.
David.
Nice to see the B&W back in business David! I think it is about time that the Board of Directors at least gained their own coach - and possibly some more primitive ones for the workmen's train?
I will hazard a punt that the "unknown provenance" rake of skips is either Roco or Minitrains, or if they are really ancient examples they could even be original Egger. Brian Meldon who I think comes on this forum from time to time will know exactly which of the 3 possibilities I've mentioned are, (I can't think they could be from any other source)
Mick
Whatever the origins of the skips, Mick, they are well suited to their job and look smart and business-like, unlike the rather ungainly timber wagons on the nearby Furzebrook Railway.
Ah - coaching stock. Well, the B&W does possess one coach, which spends most of its time languishing at the back of the yard at Mill Lane:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48837472881_c7cc9f1293_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hpAPdv) (https://flic.kr/p/2hpAPdv)
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
The Directors' view, I suspect, is that local Gentry will have transportation of their own (probably horse-powered) but that the Lower Orders are kept fitter (and so able to be worked harder) by walking and bicycling around. So the coach is kept for special occasions - I think it was last employed when the Bishop of Egdon came to bless the new local lifeboat. It took several days' hard work to rid the coach of the assorted wildlife which had taken up residence inside and make it generally suitable for His Grace to use.
David.
::)
Fair enough David - a splendid tale to justify your aversion to providing some comfortable travel facilities for the good people who work at or live in the region of Burnbake and Woodyhyde..................
After clay, timber is the next most important traffic for the railway. Some of it is felled locally and leaves for distant destinations, but some is arriving for use in the mines
[please see post 230 for the picture originally here]
Next up is a useful flat wagon, one of a number on the railway. The B&W is not a common carrier but it's usually ready to do 'favours' for local concerns, which helps to provide some useful extra income. This time it's a dinghy for a local fisherman (or possibly smuggler):
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48814569898_2fc013eb8d_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hnzqXu)b1 (https://flic.kr/p/2hnzqXu) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
The wagon is metal and says 'Arnold' and 'Germany' underneath, so I guess it's by Arnold, and presumably N scale. The Artitech boat cost a couple of quid from 009 Sales; it rests on timber baulks which are just strips of brown Funky Foam [see p.4 ]
David.
Perhaps the most impressive item of rolling stock is this bogie wagon, again primarily used for transporting timber, in various forms (raw and finished) around:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48958044862_87f2079f31_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hAfM4L)tandg2 (https://flic.kr/p/2hAfM4L) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Standing behind the s-g interchange siding. Some meaty buffers! Provenance unknown.
David.
Nice one David!
Another reason why we would like to have a "like" button on the newly refurbished forum!
"LIKE" ;D
These three 5-plank opens are useful general purpose wagons:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48992287462_ba0afa23df_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hDhhcq)3f (https://flic.kr/p/2hDhhcq) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Here they are loaded with gorse and heather from the heath, which, when dried, makes cheap fuel for the workers at home.
I like the subtle colour variations, although they have not been repainted since arrival on the B&W. They had rather nice fine chopper couplings which I have left between them, so they operate as another fixed rake. Keeps life simple!
David.
Not long ago I happened across this Snailbeach wagon on the NP/Meridian website:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49058941851_235ca8a4d5_w.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hKaUe2)SBR (https://flic.kr/p/2hKaUe2) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
which looked strangely similar to the one I showed towards the bottom of page 9 of this thread, despite the tank looking rather different (it looks square in the drawing but that may just be a round tank in profile, of course). If it is the same wagon it's a (minor) mystery how and why the tank was switched at some time or other, but of course n-g lines were very good at adapting things to suit local requirements.
The tank it arrived with was long ago incorporated into the water tower outside the shed at Mill Lane here on the B&W, as shown in various previous photos (and just out if sight on the right in this photo), leaving the railway with a handy general purpose flat wagon:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49059164162_7da5c31eb7.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hKc3iY)P1030394a (https://flic.kr/p/2hKc3iY) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
David.
A local farmer picked up a second-hand (at least) tractor in a distant farm sale recently and decided to ship it down by rail (which probably cost more than the tractor). He even persuaded the B&W to bring it the last few miles, though it does look pretty old and maybe he thought he didn't want to add to its road mileage absolutely more than necessary?
Either way, it fits nicely on this wagon:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49132793918_70c5baae9b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hRGpSw)tr (https://flic.kr/p/2hRGpSw) by clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
- though it's probably a bit underscale.
I spent an inordinate amount of time and effort on the fixings for the chains - sometimes one gets into something which is more demanding than one anticipated, but is then determined to beat it, whatever it takes...
David.
(Lots of wildlife hereabouts of late!)
Nice (and mucky)!
Rummaging around on Flickr the other day I found this photo which I'd thought I'd already posted, but appear not to have* (but it might possibly have got 'lost' in the recent upgrade, as another picture in this thread certainly has).
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48869619156_2f359f5347_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hsrzbC) (https://flic.kr/p/2hsrzbC) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Both clay extraction and quarrying are users of quite a bit of timber, for pit props, mine structures and the like, but the railway also carries some timber felled in the nearby forests for other users.
More interestingly (perhaps) is a small New Year project in the pipeline (and now I'm committed to getting it finished... which is no bad thing). Watch this space.
David.
* Looking back, I think it had indeed been in post 222, but like the one in post 220 had not survived the recent improvements. Here it is again anyway.
A new year begins on the Burnbake and Woodyhyde - but what will it bring for the little railway? Clay extraction last year was again at near record levels and demand remains high, so the railway has plenty of work to do for now (and no sign of cheap foreign imported clay). But with rising costs the Directors are naturally looking for possible savings, and wondering whether lorries might not shift the clay more cost-effectively. Time will tell...
For some time I've been wondering about a small but useful accessory for the railway. Here's the story:-
First, we need an I-beam, which we will make out of strips of plastic sheet glued together:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294592056_95202a95e2.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZEPA)g1 (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZEPA) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
and which looks like this after a lick of paint:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294101143_87d5c341f3.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6X9Tz)g2 (https://flic.kr/p/2i6X9Tz) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
A ruler would have been helpful - it's about 6cm long, but the length isn't critical.
Now things start to get serious, and for once I decided to Do Things Properly. This involved making a jig out of a small length of wood, marked out like so:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294592206_40dffd3da0.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZESb)g4 (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZESb) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
The diagonal lines are then cut out with a saw, a couple of mm deep. Next a length of brass rail, picked up cheap from 009 Sales (where all the best bargains come from):
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294592151_ece49e4c04_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZERe)g3 (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZERe) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
I could have used ordinary track rail but as that is generally flat-bottom in profile this is better, as it's symmetrical, like bull-head rail, and easier to work with and will look marginally better. It is now chopped into four equal lengths of about 7cm each, and inserted into the groves in the jig with one end protruding:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294592246_772f59913a.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZESS)g5 (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZESS) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
so that one end of each piece can be filed parallel with the edge of the wood like so:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294849047_06d30a8798.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i71Zdt)g6 (https://flic.kr/p/2i71Zdt) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Now for the tricky bit, which involves soldering(!) Cameras were not allowed to be present for this dark art, but two strips were placed in the jig protruding at the top so that the angled ends come together and then hot liquid metal applied... Hey presto! - after two joins and some cleaning up we end up with two sections like this:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294652856_db2cd1ebdf_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZYTS)g7 (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZYTS) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
So - we have two pairs of legs and a beam.
Can you see what it is yet?
David.
For some time I'd been trying to track down a photo or drawing of what I was after, and part of the problem was knowing what it was actually called. I had had no luck until I came upon a website with the unlikely title of International Good Guys - igg.org.uk. This is well worth a visit; check out their raison d'etre on the home page, and for railway stuff type igg.org.uk/rail where there is lots of general interest info about railways and freight, with drawings and photos and even a whole section on kit-bashing!
Anyway, this drawing was just what I was after:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294592001_b47bbff33d_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZEND)gantry crane (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZEND) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
and, yes, they call it a gantry crane (although my searches for that yielded lots of modern ones but nothing historical). (Not sure about their spelling of derreck, though, and the forum spell-checker doesn't seem to like it either!). Some extra detail would have been even more helpful but at least it reassured me I was on the right lines.
The next step was to assemble the three main items. Not too difficult, but now I had two relatively heavy legs joined by quite a flimsy cross-beam, giving a structure which need handling with some care. After glueing on some end plates and two length of stiff wire to brace the legs it looked like this:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294163043_0b035e2c27_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6XthP)g8 (https://flic.kr/p/2i6XthP) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
As you can see, I've splayed the legs more than in the drawing for greater stability (visually, anyway).
From now on it starts to get tricky...
David.
Coming along nicely David! If you have a visit to John Wooden's (Isle of Stoner) blog or his postings on NGRM, he has a similar gantry that has the chassis of a Minitrains or similar skip on the top horizonatal girder to carry the hoisting gear. Looks good, in case you are following similar construction lines?
Mick
Thanks, Mick. I was wondering whether anyone else had modelled something of this sort. I think I've found the Isle of Stoner one on John's blog but it looks a much more substantial structure (made out of a girder bridge / signal gantry?) - and, as you also say, there is a complete chassis on the top!
I'm afraid the B&W could never afford (or warrant) such a solid device and this one was run up in the workshop using 'pre-loved' (as they euphemistically say these days) materials already lying around.
Whether it will be man enough for the job we may never actually get to find out!
David.
So - no wagon chassis here, instead a much smaller arrangement with rollers which run along the beam:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294653026_f646a54062.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZYWN)g10 (https://flic.kr/p/2i6ZYWN) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
On the outside is a plate of thin plastic card, on the inner surface a piece of Funky Foam; not very tidy but it will not be seen and is just a spacing piece (in fact it needed another one to span the width of the beam comfortably). Then two slices about 1mm wide off the plastic stick of a cotton bud, glued to protrude just above the level of the plate, so that they can just be seen. These will represent the rollers. It will need two of these items, one for each side of the overhead beam, and glued together facing each other.
I foresee that, with the plastic panic which is (justifiably) upon us all - plastic cotton buds will soon be near-impossible to source, and may come to fetch silly prices on eBay, so I am stockpiling them now. Lots of uses.
David.
Excellent innovative modelling David - Accolades and Congrats!
I've just checked our own household stocks of cotton buds and discovered that our tub has a sort of compressed paper or card shaft on the buds. Quelle horreur! A panic induced search for cotton buds with plastic tube shafts has now begun! Back in my military modelling days these were an essential item for 1/76 NATO 105mm gun barrels and could also pass for 100mm barrels as found on Russian T54 tanks. Also used them with a diagonal cut and little nick along the centre line to make rudimentary quill type pen nibs for getting filler and paint into tight corners!
Mick
Thanks for that, Mick - one could probably start a complete thread on uses for cotton bud sticks (like 35mm film canisters, but that's another story and probably another generation).
With the truck in place on the beam it now looks something like this:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49334570502_75deed2341_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2iawz29) (https://flic.kr/p/2iawz29) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
I can't promise the other side looks exactly the same, but one of the mercies of modelling like ours is that both sides of most things can never be seen at the same time.
The next step is another order of magnitude trickier... All we need now is the dangly bits.
David.
Well done David, it looks very convincing.
Andrew - we really could do with a "Like" button on this forum!
Mick
It would certainly save Mick a lot of time!
David.
The lifting tackle was always going to be tricky and to need some simplification. This was my first attempt:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49294163188_e8160f9723_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2i6Xtkj)g11 (https://flic.kr/p/2i6Xtkj) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
which gives the general idea. The blocks are two pieces of Funky Foam glued together. Rather stupidly I thought I could improve on this (!) and had another go; this time I put some card spacers in between the pieces of foam to create more of a groove into which the chain could sit more comfortably:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49334570542_a0c577a736_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2iawz2Q) (https://flic.kr/p/2iawz2Q) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Lying on a flat surface it doesn't look very special as it's only when it is hanging that the desired impression is created. Here (after many deleted expletives) is the finished thing:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49340554036_764ca579a7_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ib4eHw) (https://flic.kr/p/2ib4eHw) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
As I say, I'm sure in real life the lifting gear would be more complicated, but it was tricky enough getting the length of the separate pieces of chain right so that it hung symmetrically, and I think it conveys the general idea okay.
Finally, let's see it in situ, where it belongs, behind the engine shed:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49580149192_781290bd1a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ixee1u) (https://flic.kr/p/2ixee1u) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/), on Flickr
Actually it's quite a tight fit - I never bothered to measure the space before I started! - but it looks comfortable enough and will be a useful bit of kit for the railway.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49579457303_89dc08a89a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ixaFkn)244agd (https://flic.kr/p/2ixaFkn) clayliner (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Time now to go and lie down I think...
David.
It looks fine to me David. Impression is sound!
Have a good sojourn in the sun and see you hopefully soon after you return.
I'm substituting for absentees and sicknote submissions in the Thursday Club tomorrow but have just realised that if you aren't going then it will be "sans donuts" :(
Mick
Very nicely done, David.
Jeff S.
Just a thought... have you tried model boat suppliers? They have interesting things like blocks and possibly very fine chain. I've got stanchions from such suppliers in the past.
That's certainly an idea, Hugh, and one that had not crossed my mind, as scratchbuilding is the name of the game if at all possible as far as I'm concerned! I like to see what the possibilities are, and as often as not end up close if not actually beyond my technical capabilities. Maybe one day I'll learn and save myself a lot of hassle!
Thanks for the other comments, guys.
David.
A footnote to the above:
During the later stages of the gantry project, and despite my difficulty in finding any prototypes to guide me, I had a growing feeling that I might have actually seen one in real life. And indeed I had, on the little 600mm Trem do Barril railway in Portugal (which you can read more about in the thread of that name on the NGRM forum). Here it is:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49404477871_a012f4470a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2igGS3B)P1030548 (https://flic.kr/p/2igGS3B) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
with loco No.3 strung up for repairs (actually on blocks) amid the foliage.
The arrangement at the top is worth noting:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49403999673_8d93f32854_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2igEpTP)gantry 2 (https://flic.kr/p/2igEpTP) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
The overhead beam is two lengths of light rail (probably the original used on the line) side by side, and a wheel with a central flange running in the gap between them, from which a crude stirrup hangs. The main supports, which are steel tubes, have a channel welded to the top in which the rails rest.
Had I known all this at the outset it would have been a useful pattern to follow. (Maybe someone else would like to try making it?)
David.
Good reference material David, but I don't think I would really want to stand underneath that one!
I think yours is much less rickety and looks fine as it is.
Mick
A 'minor' PW job but one that has been instructive and got my problem-solving juices going... which means I got to pretend to be a proper engineer (what I should probably have been all my past life) for a few moments.
A point has needed replacing. It was the one out of sight, through the wall, which forms the far side of the triangle. It is operated by wire-in-tube (i.e. cycle cable) and probably suffered from a heavy-handed operator. Because there was little or no slack in the system it was probably only a matter of time before something would give, and one of the blades finally parted company with the rest of the assembly.
The challenge is to provide a throw which is positive enough to move the blades (and which is helped by the over-centre spring in the point), but which has enough 'give' to avoid dismantling the point. Traditionally I think this was done with an omega loop – a Ω-shaped piece of slightly flexible wire – somewhere in the line. I have to confess I have never actually seen one in the flesh, as far as I can recall – does Peco or someone else sell them?
Instead, I've come up with the following arrangement which I hope will do the job okay:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49543364182_dcf4c8105b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2itYG7b)p2a (https://flic.kr/p/2itYG7b) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
The cable (firmly anchored by a couple of cable ties) comes through the wall at A, and is soldered at B to a length of stiffish-but-bendy wire C which extends to engage with the tie-bar of the point. This pivots at D where it fits in the slot in the head of a chunky bolt which passes through the baseboard. The only improvement I might make is a piece of firm foam to limit the travel of the operating wire in each direction and prevent further damage.
Not pretty, perhaps, but - being out of sight -at least there was no ballasting involved.
David.
Good grief David! That is an engineering masterclass and a half to achieve a fairly straightforward job!!
However, if it works, it has solved your problem and congratulations on managing to work it all out and solve the problem!
Omega loops - yes they do exist. I think Gem used to or still do market them as part of their wire in tube stuff - they use copper tubing. I imagine that other people who supply wire in tube components also supply them. You can fairly easily make them yourself if you use piano wire for the "wire in" part of the wire in tube by using some narrow nose pliers to bend a zig zag shape which works the same way as an omega loop - it absorbs the excessive amount of the "throw" and sort of dampens it down so it moves the point tiebar but without excessive force. Chris Ford has recently posted a photo of one of these zig zags on his own blog.
An alternative method, which I learned from our own "master craftsman" Ian Turner, is to use slide switches to operate the wire and solder small collars of tubing onto the wire where the throw of the point operates, so that the tubing slides freely through the hole in the slide switch that you have drilled and threaded the wire through, until it reaches one of the collars which stops the free movement and therefore moves the wire to throw the point. Easier to show in pictures than try to explain, so here are pictures of the operation!
(https://i.imgur.com/YqJYGd1.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/lHfERWp.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/p8j8xYW.jpg)
Hope this explains what I was trying to describe and may be useful for the next occasion as it certainly looks a lot easier than the solution you came up with!!
Mick
But not as much fun! It actually isn't at all complicated...
I probably need to investigate slide switches some day, and the collars - I'd probably use the brass connectors from electrical connector blocks on my bicycle spoke actuators - are a good idea.
David.
Ah, bicycle spokes! Ted Polet perfected a system some years ago when he rebuilt Rae Bridge on his Craigcorrie & Dunalistair Railway which uses bicycle spokes at the operating end, so the operator pulls or pushes the end of the spoke which is mounted at the baseboard edge. Meanwhile under the board, the other end of the spoke connects to a choc box which in turn is connected to a wire in tube arrangement that then goes off on a journey under the baseboard until it reaches the vicinity of the point (or signal) that it is set to operate. Then via an ingenious arrangement of the blades of standard wooden clothes pegs, with brass strip glued to the ends, a lever operated microswitch is actuated which controls the frog polarity and the point blade is thrown in the right direction.
It sounds horrendous but it works, I think Ted may have described this system on his Dutch Group website either under "projects" or via the link to the C&DR separate website. I even made one of these constructions myself one balmy saturday afternoon about 20 years ago and rigged it all up on a sundeala test track, and even I managed to get it to work which, considering the rather complicated system, was very satisfying indeed. Fortunately for my sanity however, Ian Turner's slide switch method was much simpler and covered both the operation of the point and the polarity in one simple movement so I went off in that direction for my first (now very much abandoned to historical archive) layout effort!
Mick
We use a simple 'Z' bend or omega loop in the point control wires to limit the forces on the point blades.
We also drill a hole through the plastic on the operating switch for the control wire.
Yes, I know Ted is a fan of bicycle spokes, too. Fortunately all my points are directly within reach of a spoke - except this one, hence the cable.
David.
Time for a few more shots of everyday activity on the B&W (and the local wildlife!)
First, 'Creech' pushes some empty skips up the gradient to the bridge en route to the mine:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49997309233_3dbae251ba_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jb6h9Z)P1030740 (https://flic.kr/p/2jb6h9Z) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
'Corfe' and 'Arne' outside the yard at Mill Lane:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49997309063_d0c1f28923_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jb6h74)P1030729aa (https://flic.kr/p/2jb6h74) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
and the little tractor (known unofficially as 'Winston' after its previous owner in the US) shunts some loaded skips into the transhipment shed:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49997309188_18f0ba861a_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jb6h9d)P1030737a (https://flic.kr/p/2jb6h9d) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
'Corfe' comes off the bridge:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49997831876_01c89d0020_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jb8Xw5)P1030736a (https://flic.kr/p/2jb8Xw5) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
and here 'Arne' shunts some wagons:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49997880006_e856beb617_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jb9cPU)P1030733aa copy (https://flic.kr/p/2jb9cPU) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Finally, 'Creech' runs down towards the mine to collect another rake of loaded skips:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49997309033_b3b733e7ce_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jb6h6x)P1030726a (https://flic.kr/p/2jb6h6x) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
and 'Corfe' (still waiting to have its nameplates fitted) comes out from under the twin bridges:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49998290831_2f2995c626_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jbbiX6)P1030743 (https://flic.kr/p/2jbbiX6) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
David.
I just enjoy ever ones talent. I like it. A busy day in the life of the little people.
Robin.
Excellent David! Great to see you are managing to be productive, unlike myself at the moment!
Mick
David,
Your photo "'Corfe' runs down towards the mine to collect another rake of loaded skips" is a delightful composition and has a great feeling of space. Super modelling.
Julian
Quote from: Julian Evison on June 14, 2020, 12:09
David,
Your photo "'Corfe' runs down towards the mine to collect another rake of loaded skips" is a delightful composition and has a great feeling of space. Super modelling.
Julian
Very much agreed, except I think the loco in the photo is Creech rather than Corfe. (Corfe is the 0-6-0 Barclay isn't it/he/she?)
Mick
Agreed - 'Creech' it is. Error duly corrected. (Fortunately no-one seems to have noticed the guy lying beside the track in the distance... I am sure he was upright when I started!)
I don't know about productive, Mick, but you've no idea how much effort has to be mustered even to take a few photos! I'm pleased that people approve of the results.
David.
Looking for something back in the early days of this thread I noticed that none of the photo links appear to be working - up to page 8. As I also noted on the last day of 2019 some of the text in my posts has also disappeared (marked by the fact that my name has disappeared at the end of the affected posts)... and it looks as though the post numbers have also gone, presumably also due to the recent forum re-vamp. Has anyone else had similar problems with their threads?
I will try and work through the early pages and re-insert the photo links from Flickr. Minor Grrrr!
David.
I have noticed something similar but not to do with images; I thought it may have been that during the transfer, something parsed the posts and terminated any that had some character in them that was taken as an end-of-post marker.
Back on pages 12 and 13 the mine stage appeared, with some brief comments and explanation. My attention has recently been drawn back to it and I thought I'd share a few additional thoughts which may be of interest to some.
As I said then, the construction was very simple, basically a card mock-up which was then added to to create the finished product. It stands over one end of the line in a corner between the backscene and a bookcase but to make it slightly less predictable I designed it offset from the corner at a slight angle:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50062183467_622fe76738_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jgPM1g)mine (https://flic.kr/p/2jgPM1g) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Once the carcass was passed as okay it was then a simple matter to apply corrugated iron to the visible sides, and paint. (I'm afraid I'm not one of those people who tell you "I finished it off with a final coat of Farrow and Ball No. 42 'Elephant's Breath' to the roof – I have a selection of basic paint colours and just mix up the sort of colour I'm after, which is probably what I would still end up doing anyway even if I had a range of a hundred 'authentic' colours to choose from.)
This view shows a bit more detail of the ramp on the model. On this side (the visible side) the cover is slatted. There are slats across the ramp itself to make it easier to walk up – it would have been very slippery when wet with all that clay around. The gauge of the track for the mine tubs is the Purbeck standard 22" and there is a haulage rope down the ramp with rollers.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50062250597_72467003c8_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jgQ7XF)ramp (https://flic.kr/p/2jgQ7XF) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
The inspiration for all this was the old Aldermoor Mine at Creech. This is a photo of a photo I took of it in November 2001:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50062141462_89753c1c5f_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jgPyw3)Aldermoor (https://flic.kr/p/2jgPyw3) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
and while the model is not a copy hopefully there is a resemblance. Aldermoor Mine was sunk in 1960 and had been closed a couple of years before I took the photo – another year or two later everything was demolished. The extended cover over the ramp appears to be a later addition as originally it was a much shorter structure, as in the model (you can see the join in the photo above).
This is a close-up view of the ramp at Aldermoor:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50061893031_27f66da2ca_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jgNhEK)mine ramp (https://flic.kr/p/2jgNhEK) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
The yellow structure on the ramp of the model is a Manchester gate. This device was to prevent wagons up on the stage inadvertently running away back down the ramp, with potentially disastrous consequences underground. It was hinged so that it opened automatically as loaded tubs were hauled up the ramp and passed through it. Here is the Manchester gate at Aldermoor:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50061893071_1ae686914d_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jgNhFr)Manchester gate (https://flic.kr/p/2jgNhFr) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Another safety device with the same purpose was the Warwick, a pivoted bar between the rails and parallel to them which the tubs would pass over on the way up, but which would snag a tub trying to run back into the mine. It was released by a cable from the operator on the stage when tubs were being lowered back down the mine. (A photo of one appears on p99 of Chris Legg's book on Fayle's Tramway.) I've also read of a system called 'jazz lines' which were zig-zags in the track in a mine which tubs under control would happily negotiate, but out of control ones would be thrown off... understandably, such a system has been described as 'less reliable'.
Finally, the light bulb was created from a dried blob of clear adhesive. Sounds easy, but...
Looking again more closely at the model I can see that there is plenty of scope for more detailing, so maybe something else for a rainy day.
David.
David,
The photos of the real thing are very interesting and neatly transfered in to the model to give the right impression of something rarely shown.
Julian
After lengthy discussions in the smoke-filled Company office the management have decided that some additional motive power is required on the line to help cope with the recent upturn in traffic. More surprisingly it has been decided to experiment with an internal combustion loco – not just because it's now well into the 20th century or because the management are particularly forward-looking but because neighbouring lines in Purbeck have had some small diesels for a while now and the economics are becoming increasingly persuasive.
Rather than buy outright it was decided to try and acquire a small diesel on loan, and eventually one was found available to try on hire from the Mogden Lane Sewage Works in Twickenham. It's a bit larger than was originally envisaged – an 0-4-0 would probably have done the job well enough – but it will help answer some of the management's questions and maybe point the way for the future. The alternative, of course, is to switch entirely to road transport, but that is not something to contemplate for the immediate future...
Here some of the locals inspect the newcomer with a mixture of interest and suspicion -
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50908668811_2beebe7c92_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCeBa)P1040155a (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCeBa) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Although the loco had a good clean (!) before leaving her previous home she has quickly got quite grubby, and in particular has acquired a good coating of china clay which does get everywhere:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50908799637_7347bb1380_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCUuM)P1040157a (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCUuM) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Back in the real world, a few comments about the inspiration for the new arrival. No doubt many will recognise the loco's true original identity, so the main task was to try and make her as unrecognisable as possible.
Inspiration was two-fold: first, this little loco which just rather appealed:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50908668891_9566cdcd29_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCeCx)yellow diesel (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCeCx) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
and then this interesting modification from the Purbeck Mining Museum at Norden:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50908799542_7e32c758b7_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCUt9)P1010870 (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCUt9) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
First job was to remove the ventilator panel from the cab roof, together with the horn (which will be remounted on the bonnet), and fill the resulting holes. Then I cut out two of the side doors from the engine compartment, one on each side – most little diesels seemed to have run with at least one or two of the inspection covers open, presumably to make life easier for everyone. At this stage the yellow paint was applied from a rattle-can of car colour (Holt's HYE02, as it happens) to give the all-over yellow look.
Then we needed 'proper' buffers – most of the Purbeck locos had them, as we've noted before – which were made from 1½" iron nails suitably filed and cut down (my standard method).The buffer beams also needed modification, and I rounded off the corners with a small inverted curve. I gingerly cut along one side and the bottom of the cab doors and opened them just as far as the motor inside would allow, which helped to break up the flat sides a little. The 'organ pipes' were predictably tricky, as it meant drilling four holes accurately in a straight line and evenly spaced. This is about the limit of my capabilities but was successfully achieved (more or less, anyway).
At around the half-way stage things looked something like this:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50908668741_53bd1f2c60_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCezX)P1040146a (https://flic.kr/p/2kyCezX) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
- the buffers are yet to be fitted and the exhaust pipes are just loosely pushed in for now.
To help disguise the original a little more I filed the cab back flat and added a simple toolbox. Then some glazing was added in the cab, together with a few gauges (which no-one will ever see, but I know are there). Then the copper exhaust pipes needed to be fixed permanently (tricky – but they look okay, I think). After that it was just a matter of painting the cab roof, weathering and – ta-dah! – re-fitting the horn on the bonnet. I'd thought it would need a final spray of Dullcote but by then it was so grubby all the shine had gone anyway.
David.
Are those exhaust pipes? Must be very loud if they are....
Nice one David, I immediately noticed the exhaust pipe mod which gave me a fond reminder of our Wessex NGM day out to the Purbeck museum and playing full size trains taking turns to race the Ruston loco up and down the embankment line!
On a further disguise of its origin, can I suggest that the Roco diesel can be further individualised by filing down the front end and fabricating a new radiator profile with plasticard or if you have one in "spares" a radiator from the Minitrains Gmeinder would go nicely. Also do something with the cab which is a sure giveaway that it is a Roco, such as re-profile the cab sides or add some planked wood "weather protection" to the large cutout perhaps. You should then result in a very individual little loco, as fitting for the B&B railway as your modified Barclay is recognisable but still very different from its original incarnation as "Douglas"
Stay safe and healthy.
Mick
Quote from: hughn on February 04, 2021, 21:15
Are those exhaust pipes? Must be very loud if they are....
I've just had a look/listen at the video again - loud? - no; percussive? - yes (think Cl.37 maybe)
Thanks for the suggestions, Mick. I would have liked to have opened out the front cab windows to change their shape but an insistent voice inside my head kept saying "Know Your Limits"... A rounded cab roof would also be nice, but I think it's moulded in one piece so would need to be sawn off, which again offers too much scope for disaster. I might be able to manage some rolled-up cab side sheeting, though.
The final act which I forgot to mention was to get rid of those red wheels - a sure giveaway that it's something 'continental'!
David.
Quote from: hughn on February 04, 2021, 21:15
Are those exhaust pipes? Must be very loud if they are....
Definitely exhaust pipes - and here you can see them in action:
(https://i.imgur.com/hfIIyo4.jpg)
Julian
Walking home past the railway late last night in the moonlight, after a few pints in the Badgerbaiter's Arms, Old Amos saw this amazing sight:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51965198892_48ac4a3ef1_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2naZec3) (https://flic.kr/p/2naZec3) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
He'd heard of the 'Welsh' engine Russell which was working hereabouts but these were something quite different – nothing like he'd ever seen before. Were his eyes playing tricks? Was he seeing double (or even double double)? Had he had a few pints too many?
Next morning they were nowhere to be seen – just the yellow diesel shunting clay skips in the transfer siding, much as normal -
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51966486449_0d872288d6_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nb6PWi) (https://flic.kr/p/2nb6PWi) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
When Amos told his mates the next day no-one believed him – nobody else had seen what he claimed to have seen and he was the butt of many a joke thereafter!
David.
The railway has continued to serve the local community through the winter (and there have been no further sightings, real or imaginary, of double Fairlies!) but with the arrival of spring comes a new venture. This piece from The Purbeck Enquirer and Examiner tells the story:
" New Railway Passenger Service
We have been informed by the Burnbake and Woodyhyde Railway Coy. that from this week a new Passenger service has been inaugurated between the two communities. We understand that a basic daily service (Sundays excepted) will be provided, circumstances permitting, which may be supplemented on Market days, during School Terms and the summer tourist period if there is sufficient demand.
For many years the railway has served our locality with the conveyance of Goods &c. and we feel sure that this new service will be a valuable addition to the amentities of the area. We would encourage patronage of this service and wish this new venture every success."
The railway has been pondering this enterprise for some time and – truth be told – does not entirely share the optimism expressed above in the viability of the service, but has decided to give it a go nonetheless. Two new coaches have been acquired second-hand to supplement the single coach previously owned by the railway, which was pressed into service only on special occasions.
In the first photo the diesel shunter has drawn the coaches out onto the 'main line' in the early morning sunshine:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52862259245_144f63e26b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oxfTYR) (https://flic.kr/p/2oxfTYR) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
'Arne' has been selected to haul the inaugural service and was decorated appropriately, watched by a number of onlookers (including the boss, in the green jacket):
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52861290157_cce4bb9a81_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oxaVUr) (https://flic.kr/p/2oxaVUr) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
In the third view 'Arne' and her coaches set off for Woodyhyde and (hopefully) her first passengers:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52862306928_31c2e775b8_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oxg99Y) (https://flic.kr/p/2oxg99Y) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
David.
The passenger service has been doing fairly well - summer and the tourist season has helped to increase patronage and its future will be reviewed in the autumn...
There has also been another new arrival on the railway (in addition to the 'new' coaches). Here are a couple of photos of her outside the shed being admired by onlookers:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53015303811_fcec85c823_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oLMhNg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oLMhNg) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53014709217_3fb8efa4e6_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oLJf3D) (https://flic.kr/p/2oLJf3D) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92012779@N06/)
Some will recognise her straightaway (even without nameplates - which she never carried!), and others may even guess her provenance. Suffice it to say she was surplus to requirements at another line not far away and was offered to the B&W free of charge, an offer which could not be refused, and which was indeed gratefully accepted.
The management now have to think about what to do with her. She is clearly elderly and not very powerful, and of some historical significance - maybe she should be stuffed and mounted somewhere?
David.
A message from Mr Graham Kendrick, the General Manager:
"The Burnbake and Woodyhyde Railway is very pleased to have received a mention in the international press recently. This has only happened once previously and it is a considerable honour for such a humble working railway. It is hoped that such articles will be informative to all those with an interest in the china clay industry and in the narrow-gauge railways which serve them.
G. Kendrick Esq. General Manager."
Quote from: clayliner on July 01, 2023, 19:26(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53014709217_3fb8efa4e6_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oLJf3D)
I note in this photo several scenic items put to good effect that I have also used:
The U shape section of a Roco cement wagon and the water tank from the Austin K6 fire tender from the Airfix RAF Emergency set. The next item is a wooden crate, I have several of these, in yellow plastic complete with lids, they were in with my Britains farm animals and buildings,from when I was a young boy, however I am unsure of their origin as I do not think they were made by Britians! I have used these crates as scenic items, made 009 wagons from them and even modified an Egger loco using one!!
Thanks for the comments and info, Brian.
I'm not even sure where these items came from - probably the junk box at 009 Sales sometime in the past! But even 'junk' has its uses, of course.
David.
[P.S. I even thought of you as I came down the GE main line from Norwich yesterday for the first time ever - not a good journey as there was a signal failure at Manningtree and we were stuck at Ipswich for over an hour...]