7mm Lochmaben, a new layout.

Phil O

Western Thunderer
Hobby Holidays, supplied me with some in 4mm, so it might be worth contacting them to see if they do them in 7mm.
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
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I've had a bit of a fiddle with the fiddle yard plan (sorry). First an explanation of the lines, the green ones are for the copper clad that we will be using in the fiddle yard as sleepers, around the points it will be done to suit the location. The blue lines are BBJs, these lines are important to check that we don't have any conflicts with points and BBJs.
Looking at the H/S (head shunt) end , it looks like we have a conflict in box K5 normally all we would do is move the point along an inch or so but that could introduce a conflict in box F7, so it's going to be a bit of head scratching (cant go to the pub or club (model rail) to talk it over.
Looking at the station end , we do have a conflict in box F9 with the point that runs into box G8. With this one we may have two options [1] move the point to be toe to toe with the point in box E9, this will put the point vees on or near to the BBJ. Or [2] move the point towards the H/S end by about 2" .

Any other ideas on the back of a £5 note please.

Keep safe and smiling,
the more you smile it makes people wonder what you've been up to.

OzzyO.
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
Hello all,

the mad man's back, well we got up to the club last some of us at least (due to the rule of six). So what did we do, the first thing was to have a bit of a clean up (how is it that the club has been closed since before Christmas but boxes turn up in the middle of the floor?). So we then erected the full layout for the first time,
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Rick is working on the laser level tripod, Kev and me had a go at getting a sort of level layout using a spirit level. The floor is any thing but flat due to all of the old internal walls been removed.

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From the other side of the layout. This is going to be the head shunt end of the layout on the right leading on to the station. on the left is going to be the single line entrance to the fiddle yard.
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Ian then had a play with the tripod to try and get a panorama shot or two of the layout, so we now have a straight layout and a very odd shaped clubroom. It's an odd shape to start with but it looks odder now.

Keep safe all,

OzzyO.

PS, the flat surfaces did not stay that empty for long!!
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
Well the rue of six is still with us but we are trying to get on with the layout. Over the last couple of weeks Ian has knocked out a new Templot plan for the front of the layout, this was due to finding out that we had a point tie bar over a large cross beam. He also did some other work on parts that we weren't too keen on.
The first job was to get some of the 3mm thick cork tiles down for the track bed (I thought that watching paint dry was a boring sport, but watching glue dry beats it hands down).
The next club night Kev and me started getting some of the Templot plans down. Then Kev went onto the next station board so I decided to start gluing sleeper down, just to see how it would look.
The next club night was much the same, more cork, more Templot and more sleepers. We now reckon that we have the way to do it!
So a photo showing the start of the first station board from the fiddle yard end, this joint will be covered by a road over bridge, a handy way to hide the way we are going to fix the rails at this end.
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The next photo is just showing the next station board going on to the fiddle yard. With the Templot plans just laid in place. While all of this has been going on Rick has been working on the Templot plans of the fiddle yard, at the other end. Go on which cup is mine?
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I would like to thank Martin Wynne for Templot and its free use to all track modelers.

Keep safe and get all of your jabs (can I say that?),

OzzyO.
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
Up north they are cups our mugs are the ugly bit at the top of our body, or the pint mugs that we drink our brew out of.

Yes my cup is the one on the right.
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
Kev and me went up to the club last night (not a normal club night) , this was where we had got up to on Wednesday night when we called it a day (OK a night).
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Kev got up to about where the pillar drill and the chop saw are with the cork and the Templot plans. So I carried on with the sleepers until near the first point on the cross over on the inside track (that's about where the blue container is). Then it was cutting point-work sleepers to length and getting them into place and laying more plain track sleepers.

Keep safe
and lets hope that is a light at the end of the tunnel and not another train on a single line.
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
Another Monday night another club night, the down side to last night was we had to drop Lochmaben so that we could put Swiss Pass up to check it and take some photos of it for Warley.

But before we dropped Lochmaben I got a couple of photos to show how far we have got with the sleeper laying.

Looking from the station end to the country end, IIRC the platform ends at the B.B.J.
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Looking at the station from the country end of the layout, this also shows the point for the yard, on the map that I have downloaded from the web the yard had about five or six roads, we could not have fitted them all in with the best will in the world. So thank god for the rationalisation of the 70s and 80s. The road nearest the platform also had a small goods shed on it that I have not found any photos for so I'm glad for the 70s and 80s for that.
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Keep safe,
the light at the end of the tunnel just got a bit smaller, but has not gone out.
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
The light at the end of the tunnel has got a good bit bigger.
We had our first exhibition in 2 years and it seemed to be well received by the public.
Swiss Pass has been taken down while Ian works on the track circuits for the signals, Kev is working on the underside of the fiddle yard boards to fit the three DCC kit that are used on Bolden Junction and Swiss Pass (if you want to see a photo let me know).

Back to Lochmaben, we have put 5 base boards up, two for the front (my department) and three for the fiddle yard (Ricks department). After the first night I had got to this far with most of the crossover sleepers in place and the main line sleepers in place until the end of the second board.
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From the end of the second board. This is the first of the scenic drop boards, the second track that you can see on the plot is the yard head shunt.
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This was how far Rick had got at the end of the first night. But to be fair he was starting with bare base boards and he can't glue his plot down, as it could look a bit naff when we get it finished. At the far end is the first/last drop board for the front.
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The end of the second night and this was the result (not a lot) or it looks not a lot but all of the sleepers had to be cut to length for the points .
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The same from the country end. Along with two people not wanting to be in the photo.
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Rick may have started off as the tortoise but he looks to be turning into the hare, looking at the speed he is getting the copper clad down.
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This sort of thing will slow him down, a nice curved double slip along with the curved three way points and I think a four way as well.
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Keep safe all,

OzzyO.
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
I have done a bit of modelling for Lochmaben, not a lot but it's a start. These are from Shapeways of a G.E.R. type (I think) they're about as close to the C.R. type that we should have.
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As these will have been in place for a good few years I reckoned that the sleepers could be a bit on the knackerd side of good.
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Keep safe.
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
This weeks update ,
I've got the last bit of the head shunt sleepers down to the BBJ, for this I'm using scale 9' sleeper as I don't think that they would have been replaced.
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Filling in the gaps some of this will be with 9' or 8'6" sleepers'.
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A couple of photos showing things in close up and from the other end.
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Rick has got the first two yards of rail soldered down in the fiddly yard, this is a big starting point for all of us involved in this project as up to now I had been the only one who had worked in O gauge before this.
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A closer view of the work.
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I did miss the Monday night meeting and when got there on Wednesday night this is what he had done. Looks like I'm going to have to get faster at laying sleepers (or beat up Rick and brake his fingers).
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Keep safe all.
 

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
A bit more of a follow up. As I finished the last post with Ricks work I only think that it's correct to start with it. It may not look much in the photo but this is a quite important part in the layouts making, The first two boards that will have track laid on them between the fiddle yard and the front section . we may have to (will have to) adjust the sleeper / track height between the two boards, not that a big a deal.
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The first train? To run on the layout went to Rick with these two wagons (and why not) he got the first track down.
Has anyone got these wagons as there is a lot of play between the end of the axles and the bearings, has anyone had any problems?
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I've been looking at the point vees for the front of the layout and this photo is showing the first "fit" the lengths of the rail will need to be cut back a bit but that is better than having to extend them.
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Some more sleepers down. I'm getting fed up of these I'm wanting to gets some chairs and rail in place. But you have to have the base in place first.
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The point vees for the front, I may bin some of them as I'm not too keen on them?
This also shows how I like to tie them together, using 1 X 3mm brass strip.
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My nice clean and tidy corner (not) this is just showing all of sleepers in place from the other end. The roughly curved bit of ply is an offcut that I use to help weight the sleepers down with.
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Showing the roughly curved bit of ply in use with some bottles filled with water (not vodka).
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More to follow soon,

OzzyO.
 
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OzzyO

Western Thunderer
Work is progressing well in the track laying department, so our minds are moving ahead to the signals. In my collection of signal box leaver frame drawing I have one for Haverthwaite that has a very similar track plan to Lochmaben. The line that goes to Lakeside is two single lines the one with the sidings coming off it is a long head shunt going to the iron works, now for the questions.
Haverthwaite signal box dia 1.JPG

Signal 2 outer home , signal 3 inner home protecting the point 8, not a problem with these. Number 3 is a bit odd in that its in the tunnel.

Now to the question, signal 5 is a shunting peg showing its face in the Greenodd direction. Is it to allow wrong line running through the platform with the signal box on it up to point 11 and on to the iron works. As it would not involve a cross over points 10. or something else?

The problem that I can see is if the goods train was going on to Lakeside after going past signal 15 there is no signal to allow it to proceed so it would have to be with the token and a green flag from the box.

The drawing is a bit old as its on a lint type of gloss paper so I'm guessing about the 1910 - 1930, it's not like any of the L.M.S. ones that I have that are dated.

Thanks for any help

OzzyO.
 
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simond

Western Thunderer
Ozzy,

can you get a locking diagram? Signal Records Society?
Archive Catalogue

Am I right to understand that signals 17 & 18 read to the line labelled “to Lakeside”, and not to the other line, which is the headshunt?

Signal 4 is the starter to go to Lakeside, and protects the crossover, but it appears that this would not control a train going from the other platform road across the crossover (but are there local rules?)

is there a “limit of shunt” sign on the Lakeside line?

as an aside, I can’t see any reason that the point 11 would ever be pulled if the crossover were not. Presumably interlocked?

Hope this helps
Simon
 
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Pencarrow

Western Thunderer
Interesting plan. Question from me, why is FPL9 installed on a trailing point? Does it cater for wrong line running?? And no FPL on 11...
 

John Duffy

Western Thunderer
Interesting plan. Question from me, why is FPL9 installed on a trailing point? Does it cater for wrong line running?? And no FPL on 11...

The lower of the two lines extreme right is the headhunt. FPL 9 is for trains arriving on a single line from Lakeside. This also explains the lack of FPL at 11 as it is freight only. (I think)

John
 
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