7mm Another attempt

[Joe's Garage]

Over the past 2 months I have restarted a small project in 0 gauge. I thought I would post a few photos to show others the state of play to date. A while back I laid some track in a typical "Inglenook" pattern but as usual I became distracted and lost interest in this. The track was lifted and the board became the base for the New York Central RR HO model as per Area 51 post.
Well in between modelling I have been involved in a few home improvement projects including kitchen installations which left me with some good quality faced MDF measuring 34" by 103/4" by 3/8" thick. Quite narrow but having read many articles by the late Peter Denny who advocated short boards to prevent warping I thought I would make a new start. The framing is very simply small sectioned finished timber and the the boards align using recycled brass dowels from an old table which was extendable.
The points were made a long time ago using code 100 FB rail soldered to copper clad sleepering and the plain track uses these every 6th sleeper with a start made on "coffee stirrers" timbers! Once it is all ballasted and weathered I think it will look very light railwayish?!
The "fiddlestick" is very much based on Jordan's example in his post "Even smaller O gauge layouts" post on Lyddlow. Thank you for the inspiration Jordan. I have used a 3/4" plank of ply as the table for the aluminium angle cassette to swivel which is about 31" long. I have noticed in the photo of the cassette shows the short section for isolating the loco is not in line, I will drill and fit another screw when time permits.
I have got to a point where I can run a loco around as per the photos below. Unfortunately the location is not ideal for photography but hopefully it is clear what I have tried to achieve.

 

[Joe's Garage]

The track plan, if you can call it that is based on a scheme that Stuart of OZ proposed back in 2010 with his post on Grenwood Bay in the first page of the Layout Progress threads and a lovely GW OO gauge called Maladine in the October 2008 Railway Modeller.
There is also some influence from John Spencer's Ruyton Road and of course Hemyock, with the proposed platform at the end of the loop.
Both points are to 1 in 5 crossing and approximately A switches. My Zero Zephyr 2021 060 passes through both with no problems,but the more observant viewers will notice that no check rails have been installed yet! Only one point has a DPDT switch fitted as yet for operation and switching the crossing polarity as of yet. The engine release point is manually changed at present.

 

[Joe's Garage]

A few more pictures showing the GE tram loco. As I have stated before this is scratchbuilt from styrene sheet with detailed interior (castings from Connoisseur Models) running on a Lima Plymouth 0 gauge chassis. This runs very well but it is noisy, what lubrication should I use on the plastic gears?

 

[Jordan]

Like it!! Just enough for a good play!!
Is the chassis a Lima 0-4-0 with pancake motor? Any plastic-compatible grease should be ok, but another tip to help running might be to add as much extra weight as possible. Certainly in OO the general opinion was that Lima pancake-motor diesels thrived with extra weight. Might not make it quieter, though!!

 

[Brian T]

Nice base to start with...
Steve Fay posted this link earlier....Rapido Trains plans O gauge LNER J70 tram engine
More temptation......

I do like saddle tanks and your '2021' is very nice, can just see it shuffling a few wagon's about sort like in the Forest of Dean.

Cheers,
Brian.

 

[paulhb]

A small layout with a couple of small locos and a few wagons - definite play potential!

Cheers Paul

 

[Joe's Garage]

Yes Jordan the chassis is the Lima Plymouth switcher, runs very well it very noisy. Will seek out some plastic grease on my return.
I originally built the tram with an old Triang Jinny chassis with the original wheels fitted on silver steel axles and turned spacers to 32 mm gauge. Ran very well until the old motor bit the dust, the Lima switcher provided a cheaper fix that a replace motor. I built this loco way back in the 90s and would not part with it so it is bit like the Colonel Stephens philosophy, keep running on a shoestring!

Hi Brian, yes they are very nice locos, I built the 2021 as a possible Dorset engine, West Bay? There is also a lovely picture of a saddle tank 060 having run through the buffers at Aberayron before WW1 so maybe the scenario for this little layout may be the proposed not built branch to New Quay.

I have one wagon at the moment but will have to get a few more, preferably pre-grouping. Photos of the above welsh terminus show so many pre-grouping company wagons including North British in its early days.

Thanks for the likes

Julian

 

[Joe's Garage]

I have been doodling a bit on a small station building that would be suitable for this layout. Having looked at Paul’s Old Parrock in the Cameo Layout entries I do feel something of a small single door with two windows one either side built of wood.
Typical examples would be Tollesbury in Essex, a Colonel Stephens design or the above example could be made to fit. Does anyone have any suggestions that may have a small footprint of about 6 to 7 inches long so as not to be overpowering?
I have a couple of months here in Spain to contemplate.

 

[paulhb]

Hi,
How about Chichester Station on the Selsey Tramway? Plan here from the Colonel Stephen’s Society website:

Colonel Stephens Society Drawings Service | colonelstephenssociety.co.uk

Scroll down but may take a while as there are lots of diversions!
Some photos here:

193_60 Old photos of Selsey, West Sussex history in pictures

Regards Paul

 

[Jordan]

Typical examples would be Tollesbury in Essex, a Colonel Stephens design or the above example could be made to fit.

Not the Fens or Col. Stephens territory, but the William Eassie designed wooden buildings on the Forest of Dean railways might be of interest.

 

[Wagonman]

Not the Fens or Col. Stephens territory, but the William Eassie designed wooden buildings on the Forest of Dean railways might be of interest.

Another Eassie building, this one based on the Golden Valley line structures.

 

[2996 Victor]

Not the Fens or Col. Stephens territory, but the William Eassie designed wooden buildings on the Forest of Dean railways might be of interest.
View attachment 170414

Another Eassie building, this one based on the Golden Valley line structures.

View attachment 170415

I'd forgotten about the FoD Eassie buildings: those and the GV buildings are ideal for my Light Railway project!

Thanks for sharing, chaps!

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Brian T]

Hi Julian,

How about the Mid-Sufflok railway some very nice small buildings there.
And one now preserved:
The Mendlesham Station Building - Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Museum
Brian.

 

[Richard Gawler]

This is my station shelter from the kit by lasercutrailwaymodels.co.uk.
The model is just over six inches long. I think the design can suit quite a few schemes.

 

[Joe's Garage]

Thank you very much Paul, Jordan, Wagonman, Mark, Brian and Richard for these leads. I think a nice wooden building would look good on a small low platform.
I have made a few sketches but these will help immensely.
Cheers
Julian

 

[Joe's Garage]

I have been trying to work out how I am going to construct the platform in a typical light railway style, perhaps wooden built? Then through this forum Mark has posted his version on his Bunbury light railway in Shropshire, so I may adopt this idea using perhaps coffee stirrers to simulate the sleeper construction. May not use planking for the deck, just a gravel/grit top effect?
Will return with update when back in UK.
Julian

 

[Simon]

Best thing to do is to have a go, what have you got to lose?

Then show us how it went or not, you would really enjoy it even more than talking about it, honestly…..

 

[Richard Gawler]

It took me a long time to realise my one of my biggest failings in the hobby was making models of models instead of fresh prototypes. Lots of people have made models of timber platforms, but (for example) the GER sometimes managed with less:

Disused Stations: Bannister Green Halt

Bannister Green was on a secondary route but had less than some light railways. I rather fancy this for my own layout, but a bit longer to make space to have a shelter.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Why have a small shelter or station building. Cutlers Green (Disused Stations) on the GER Elsenham-Thaxted branch had an old carriage.

One platform I've yet to build in O scale is one similar to those rebuilt by the Met on the Brill Branch. Westcott is an example.

I used Cutlers Green as an inspiration to build mine from coffee stirrers on my 7mm one point operating diorama.. The platform surface is just gravel.



This one is an even lower platform on another of my 7mm one point operating dioramas. It was based on the earlier Wootton Tramway style platforms before the Met acquired the branch. I just used square timber and timber strips I purchased from a dolls house suppliers and the platform surface is a sandy gravel.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

I have been doodling a bit on a small station building that would be suitable for this layout. Having looked at Paul’s Old Parrock in the Cameo Layout entries I do feel something of a small single door with two windows one either side built of wood.
Typical examples would be Tollesbury in Essex, a Colonel Stephens design or the above example could be made to fit. Does anyone have any suggestions that may have a small footprint of about 6 to 7 inches long so as not to be overpowering?
I have a couple of months here in Spain to contemplate.

Metropolitan Railway Brill Branch. Slightly larger at 200 x 80 mm (8'' x 3'' in old money) I scratchbuilt this one from wood in 7mm using plans in the OPC book The Brill Tramway.