Arnold Lane Wharf

[Isle of Stoner]

I have just started to build another layout on a shelf. Its nothing revoltionary but so far its working out quite well. The baseboard is a shelf board and the rest of the timber which forms the structure are bits and pieces from the garage.

There is a canal wharf and some 'industrial' buildings and a warehouse with rail access. The 'main line' enters half way along the board from the backstage are which has two sidings. The controller and section switches are all self contained needing only the wall wart transformer to be connected to ready to play with... ahem have an operating session.

Photos to follow and further exciting chapters in the tale of Arnold Lane.

[Isle of Stoner]

Here are some pictures of progress so far.

[Isle of Stoner]

More pictures

[Isle of Stoner]

The controls

[Isle of Stoner]

Well a couple of nights of crap on the telly and the Wharf area is starting to come together. The stone sets are all done and the quayside edge stones have been made and fitted. They are thin plasticard cut into oblongs with the corners filed round and then folded in half and glued over the edge. Looks OK raw, hopefully once painted will look better.

All the track electrics are also finished. Original plan was to use manual point changing and 2/4 visible points are operated with a length of rail attached to the point and fed through a hole in the back of the layout where the rail is bent into a hoop to operate the point. Unfortunately there are 2 points where i couldn't work out how to get the pull rod through the scenery to a useable place for operating so I've ended up with a CDU and point motors mounted above the board. One will be hidden in a weighbridge building and I'll have to think up something else for the other one. Might try in a lorry... watch this space.

Anyway, picture attached of wharf progress.

[EDGOZ2WAR]

Nice to see I am not the only one using the Gaugemaster Combi. I have one wired into my (first) layout Haul Y Bryn and have found it to be brilliant. Looks amazing already.

Eddie

[Isle of Stoner]

I'm abit biased because I sell Gaugemaster products but have always used them before that. I find with the combi and their electronic track cleaner I get faultless running assuming the track is laid properly and the mechanism of the loco is capable of it. Fleischmann are my favourites.

Hopefully should get a bit further on with the layout over xmas assuming I can see over the huge pile of food liberated from Tescos.

Ho Ho Ho

[EDGOZ2WAR]

how are you uncoupling? I have purchased Greenwich type and was going to mount magnets [taken from my stepsons broken magnetix set] in the ballast.

[B.Meldon]

Fixed magnets can be a pain. I have known them to stall locos, most noticeably ones with small diameter bogie wheels or those with steel bogie fixings. WD 4-6-0

[Isle of Stoner]

To be honest I've always used the 'hand of God' from the sky method but have been experimenting with ramps to no usefull conclusions. They seem to either not work or derail stock. I've got so much stock with BEMO style that I'm lumbered with them now, if I was starting from scratch I would go for something else...

Do magnets work with BEMO style? I've never considered it.

[Graeme Dunbar]

Pardon me for asking, but does the name "Arnold La(y)ne" have any link with Syd Barrett?  :)

Google maps turned up a couple of Arnold Lanes, but neither near water. There appears to be a wharf in London that was sometimes known as Arnold Lane.

"Imaginography"  ::) can be fascinating!

[Isle of Stoner]

Indeed. The warehouse type building is due to have a sign in the name of S Barrett and sons.

Nice to know I'm not the only 009 Floyd fan. Trying to work out how to see Emily play too.

Cheers

[vulcan]

Just wondering where you're going to put several species of small furry animal & a pict?  ;D

Nostalgia - there's no future in it.

Ken

[B.Meldon]

Although I have and would again recommended electro magnets with Greenwich couplings I do not actually use them!
I am in the same situation as John, all my locos and stock are fitted with the

[Isle of Stoner]

Thanks for the gen on de couplers. I also use a ROCO wagon for coupling height. I am gradualy getting my older stock standardised, I had never appreciated what a difference the height makes to relaibility. My last layout had some very sharp bends and so coupler locking was quite an issue.

Arnold Lane is just something to keep me occupied and indoors during the winter ( A momentary lapse of season?) so I think I'll stick with 'manual' decoupling for this project but I am in the throws of planning a bigger layout with exhibition in mind so some remote decoupling will be useful on that.