Monks Ferry: a layout for the Grandchildren.

[jonte]

Hi Jon,

Just catching up with this thread. I made the same mistake making Beddgelert for my son before Christmas (see The Project Advent thread) and found that thin strips of plasticard could be inserted from the side with a thin slot cut into them to allow the point motor pin to move. The advantage of plasticard over paper is that it had the rigidity to hold its shape when being slid between the baseboard and point. Card may also work.

Nigel

My sincerest apologies for ignoring your post, Nigel, but I’ve only just come across it now whilst adding an update.

I really need to pay more attention……….

Mind you, most of my attention is elsewhere these days as I know you’ll understand.

Thanks for sharing a great solution btw, but without reading, I went back to doing things the hardway and removing the point motors to (most) those which I’d already fitted………..isn’t it always the way!

Apologies once again, Nigel, but thank you for your kind concern and interest

Jon

 

[jonte]

As per my recent previous post to my good friend, Nigel, I’ve been busy doing things the hard way this week, in between showers and responsibilities.

Off came the motors from the points fitted last time (all apart from about four or five for which I’ve new motors), thankfully without causing further damage.

Then, after purchasing a new batch of three core wire as the recent purchases from a local electrical wholesaler turned out to be too stiff for purpose, it was on with rewiring the motors.

Actually, the twin and earth from the wholesaler was useful for forming copper goalposts which I soldered to one side of the motors for the return(?):



…..then it was a further repetitive process of cutting and stripping wires first the two sides of each solenoid (I really must invest in a wire stripper for the purpose as I’m wearing my nails away doing it by hand using a knife):



In a line:



I’ve also been busy cutting rectangles of graph paper to stick over the bases of the points where the motors are located, which I omitted the first time……..



I also decided to go full belt n braces and plug the holes in the baseboards too with more rectangles of graph paper:



So, thankfully with that behind me, I can press on at the next opportunity with fixing the motors to the points more about that in the next (I won’t say exciting!) instalment.

Then it’s back to completing the task of fitting the rest of the underlay.

In the meantime, I need to pick up a ‘load’ of choc-bloc connectors.

Thanks for looking.

jonte

 

[James Spooner]

My sincerest apologies for ignoring your post, Nigel, but I’ve only just come across it now whilst adding an update.

I really need to pay more attention……….

Mind you, most of my attention is elsewhere these days as I know you’ll understand.

Thanks for sharing a great solution btw, but without reading, I went back to doing things the hardway and removing the point motors to (most) those which I’d already fitted………..isn’t it always the way!

Apologies once again, Nigel, but thank you for your kind concern and interest

Jon

Jon,

Many thanks for your message and no need to apologise at all; we all know that real life often gets in the way of our interests (it certainly does for me!).

Best wishes

Nigel

 

[AdeMoore]

Excellent progress Jon, I’ve had to catch up about 4 or 5 pages mind! My notifications don’t seem to work on here for some reason! See you mentioned terminal connectors. I prefer to use these https://cpc.farnell.com/camdenboss/ctsn433-12mf/10a-terminal-strip/dp/CN00144
sometimes they are a little slack but you can insert a driver blade in the end of the pin and spread them a bit. Rapidonline used to do them cheaper but I can’t see them there, well it is 4am so that may be misleading .
Of course wago‘s have be around a fair while now no screwdriver needed. More money though.

 

[jonte]

Excellent progress Jon, I’ve had to catch up about 4 or 5 pages mind! My notifications don’t seem to work on here for some reason! See you mentioned terminal connectors. I prefer to use these https://cpc.farnell.com/camdenboss/ctsn433-12mf/10a-terminal-strip/dp/CN00144
sometimes they are a little slack but you can insert a driver blade in the end of the pin and spread them a bit. Rapidonline used to do them cheaper but I can’t see them there, well it is 4am so that may be misleading .
Of course wago‘s have be around a fair while now no screwdriver needed. More money though.

A feat of endurance, I’m sure, Ade…..

In all seriousness, thank you for your continued interest and kind contribution. I’ll take a look.

Unfortunately, circumstances are such at the moment that the layout hasn’t progressed much further since my last, so nothing of worth to report. Fingers crossed there’s a change for the better soon.

Jon

 

[jonte]

Circumstances of late have seen progress draw to an almost complete halt, however, I haven’t been totally inactive with regard to the layout.

Laying underlay is a task one can dip into with the odd half or so here or there, unhindered by the need to prepare a surplus amount of tools which take an age to a collect and and then put away again, so this has been the focus of my attention for several weeks now. Consequently, I’m pleased to to report that this task is complete:



Prior to personal circs as of late, I’d made some headway with regard to attaching the point motors which originally looked something like this:



Those tags drive me almost to despair and so drastic action was required in the form of a return to the practise of gluing them on before filing them down with a rotary tool to make them a little more presentable:



They still need tidying and once primed and painted should look okay as can be seen from the side image above. Incidentally, dabs of superglue were carefully placed on the table areas only; I can only surmise that the white ‘clouding’ is due to the gas(?) from the glue? Dunno, and not an issue as it will all be tidied and painted when I eventually get an opportunity.

The only problem with this method as alluded to earlier in my posts is that it’s rather permanent, and a quandary when it comes to replacing a failed motor. In the event, I shall merely drill them out then replace using the same method. Hopefully this problem will be some way down the line as all motors will be protected by a CDU purchased from Heathcote Electronics
Additionally, whilst a dream to fit, the extra long pin variety of Peco point motors have proved problematic. Although the extra length making it easier to pass through the tie bar, a problem arose when I came to cut them. I’d bought a new pair of snips for the purpose (too big and didn’t cut), then a further hard edged version which did (but couldn’t cut down as far as the tie bar leaving too much sticking up to cause an obstruction). Consequently, I will have to resort to the Dremel, an exercise I wanted to avoid due to the danger of melting the tie bar due to a build up of heat, however, if I take it slowly it should be okay, and a new pair of goggles have been purchased for the task. Yes, I should have cut them before fitting, but that would have defeated the purpose……….

I doubt I’ll ever build another train set using Hornby track, as Peco solenoid motors (and Hornby motors) won’t fit the locators in the tie bars of the Rivarossi versions of today without filing them down and adjusting them up, down and in my lady’s chamber; a real rigmarole if you don’t want to burst the tag holes provided and damage the sleepers (note to Hornby: go back to making your own, guys).

So that’s it for now. Not a lot, but it is what it is at present.

Cheers.

jonte

 

[jonte]

With an absence of modelling time of late as alluded to in my last, I’ve been spending the odd moment or two tracing the paths of imaginary trains around the track plan in the photographs. It was clear I hadn’t given thought to the harbouring(?) of trains on the mainlines to reduce congestion with trains entering or leaving the terminus at the station throat. The parking of trains fir the purpose in the return loop - which was my first thought- was at best obstructive to the running of trains on both mainlines and was one of the reasons I chose DCC to enable trains to enjoy continued running through the loop (unlike the DC way of old). Clearly a lay-by or two was required. But where?

A couple of ideas were traced across the photos, but most were at the expense of train length or simply wouldn’t fit within the footprint of the layout. In essence, only one area of the plan loaned itself to the idea, one which would fit and not require too much re-jigging of the structure and track. This is indicated by the thin blue line to the inside of the tracks on the far side as you look:



So off to the wood store above my workshop in the garage I trotted, and to my relief, I discovered that I’d kept many of the offcuts of ply from which the baseboard top was fabricated, including the curved sections which would sit along the path of the new section of track, making it easier to interlock with the existing boards at each end.

Finding myself with a free couple of hours late this afternoon due to an unforeseen change in hospital visiting hours, and an hour or so this evening, I decided to see how far I could get with the amendment, and to my surprise, I’m pleased to report that the baseboard aspect is complete:



I’ll remove the exposed screw threads after the glue has dried in the morning.

With excellent service from Rails, the three points and a motor were with me this morning, and I await two more fir the purpose from elsewhere (the blister pack variety were on offer):



But why three when only two will be required?

Well, with a spare half an hour or so after I last wrote, I decided to attack the first of the protruding point motor pins which the grips/cutters couldn’t cut short enough. As predicted, the rotary tool melted the tie bar of the attached point, and cut through one of the adjacent switch blades to boot. To add insult to injury, the (brand new) point motor attached was rendered U/S as well, as the method I’ve used to hide those awful tags requires the use of superglue followed by the grounding down of the protruding tags, making them totally useless. Ah well, you takes your…..(however the saying goes). I shaln’t be attempting that again.

But at least there’s bit more progress and I’m happier with the amendment despite wanting another lay-by/passing loop.

jonte

 

[Roger Pound]

Well done Jon, I knew I could rely on you to work it all out. I think I am as excited as your grandchildren - probably even more so - to see trains running on completion of your considerable planning and hard work.

Roger

 

[jonte]

Well done Jon, I knew I could rely on you to work it all out. I think I am as excited as your grandchildren - probably even more so - to see trains running on completion of your considerable planning and hard work.

Roger

Your kind words and interest, Roger, are most welcome

Many thanks

Jon

 

[jonte]

Pleased to report that the ‘shelf’ addition mentioned in my last is complete, replete with feed/point motor cutouts and underlay.

Outlined in red:



Seen side on with the new turnouts situated to extreme right and left of picture:



In a couple of days or so, the replacement point and motor, together with the two additional points for the new ‘shelf’ will be wired, which will thankfully bring this epic wiring experience to a conclusion.

Then I’ve made the decision to prime each section of track before fixing down to save having to wear a mask in a very warm model room.

Talking of ‘fixing down’, I noticed that the ink forming the identification marks on some tracks have become faded to the point of being illegible, thus making track laying a process of elimination. And with approximately a hundred separate track sections to go down, it could end up being the equivalent of doing a massive jigsaw without the illustration on the box lid.

Railway Modelling, hey?

Cheers,

jonte

 

[jonte]

A tad more progress to report:

The illegible stickers marked with corresponding track numbers mentioned in my last were removed and replaced with new ones written in carpenters pencil which won’t succumb so easily as their ink predecessors. They were glued to the bases to prevent being masked in the priming process.



All track sections were then primed prior to painting which I considered ‘healthier’ than doing so once they were laid. This was an opportunity to use up several half empty cans of primer gathering dust on the garage shelf. As per my luck, they ran out with only three small sections to prime,which could quite easily have taken paint without primer, but I decided not to trust further to luck and reached for a can of etched primer.

I’m currently in the process of cleaning the rail heads (yet another onerous task) using a fifty/fifty mix of car screen wash and IPA (don’t want to use too much of the IPA which is intended for airbrush cleaning):



The rail heads are soaked in the alcohol mix doing three sections at a time to allow it to soak in (applied with a cotton bud) then scraped off with a cocktail stick. Finally, the railheads are cleaned with lighter fluid which also helps to remove any persistent primer.

I had intended to use isolated rail joiners on the two inner rails from the crossings of each point, however, the metal rail joiners seem to integral to their construction, and it’s difficult to remove them without causing damage. Research showed that this is not required, although mention was made of doing so where there is return loop.
The two points at the entry/exit to the loop were identified and mustering as much bravery as I dared, successfully removed the metal rail joiners at the required locations without causing damage (phew!). They’re pictured below:



So it’s on with the cleaning, and then onto a spot of modelling as I’ve decided to paint the track also before laying.

I’ve collected several (coloured ) pictures of rails from say Waterloo and Kings Cross in the sixties to aid colour mixing, remembering that it will be more of a nod to the prototype than an exact copy, as I’m hoping the colour scheme will help to hid the shortcomings of toy trackwork as well as going some way to representing the real thing. Perhaps it’s only for my own enjoyment, as I doubt the children will even flinch, being far too busy no doubt, to see how fast their trains can complete a circuit!

Thanks for looking,

jonte

 

[Roger Pound]

I’ve collected several (coloured ) pictures of rails from say Waterloo and Kings Cross in the sixties to aid colour mixing, remembering that it will be more of a nod to the prototype than an exact copy, as I’m hoping the colour scheme will help to hid the shortcomings of toy trackwork as well as going some way to representing the real thing. Perhaps it’s only for my own enjoyment, as I doubt the children will even flinch, being far too busy no doubt, to see how fast their trains can complete a circuit!

Thanks for looking,

jonte

Jon,
If it is of any encouragement many years ago now, I saw an impressive H0 layout at an SNCF Society Open Day in Newmarket. The rolling-stock was all Jouef and it was running on Hornby track, properly ballasted. The appearance was excellent and the running first class. A number of other visitors asked what the track was as it had been laid so well that it took one's eye. It was a fine example of a variety of off-the-shelf materials combined to make skilfully modelled and entertaining layout.
So press on with your plans my friend and I look forward to seeing further reports.

Roger.

 

[jonte]

Jon,
If it is of any encouragement many years ago now, I saw an impressive H0 layout at an SNCF Society Open Day in Newmarket. The rolling-stock was all Jouef and it was running on Hornby track, properly ballasted. The appearance was excellent and the running first class. A number of other visitors asked what the track was as it had been laid so well that it took one's eye. It was a fine example of a variety of off-the-shelf materials combined to make skilfully modelled and entertaining layout.
So press on with your plans my friend and I look forward to seeing further reports.

Roger.

Encouragement indeed, Roger

Thanks for posting, my good friend

Jon

 

[jonte]

Another window of opportunity presented itself this morning, and with only a dozen pieces of track left to clean up as mentioned in my last, thus I thought I’d carry on and get this tedious aspect of the build out of the way.

But, it was raining and cool outside where I prefer todo this sort of ‘stuff’, so I didn’t bother; franklyI’m not in the mood, which may be a consequence of that ridiculous penalty decision given last night at Elland Road…………

I digress.

However I ‘was’ in the mood for a spot of modelling, or at least a form of modelling for once, so my attention turned to the impending and jolly exercise of track painting which I’ve chosen to pursue prior to the track going down (it’s quite a reach in some parts, and my hands start to shake when stretching!).

As mentioned in my last, I’ve a couple of reference photos of Waterloo and KingsCross in the sixties (one a still from an online video ofW’loo) none of which are uniform despite being of the same places - but still, I'll use them asa guide (as mentioned, this will be more of a nod to the real thing than a carbon copy).

Observing wooden sleepers, they seem to go from black to brown via tints of grey, and it’s difficult to narrow it down to just one colour. I’ve noticed that there are ready mixed paints of this nature on the market, however, to my untrained eye, they appear formulaic(?), thus I grabbed a handful of Humbrol enamels and set to work.

Noting that quite a lot of these, no doubt brake and dust covered, sleepers appeared to be a warmer tone of some form of grey in major terminals at this point in time, I thought grey would be a good starting point. Well, two greys in fact, a light and a dark variation, so plumped for nos. 27 & 64; thus a start was made. Rather than having to open and stir the myriad of pots stored in an old biscuit tin, I restricted my palette to half a dozen or so, mainly browns, as I thought that this would blend better with the hint of brown which I’ll paint the rails.

So here are the results:



Perhaps a little abstract, but I think they’ll look okay. In particular, I’m opting for the browner mixes containing nos. 113 and/or 98 above, which I think will blend better with the rails (well that’s the idea).

As this is a train set rather than a model, I’m not going to bother getting out the airbrush which will require the track being cleaned (again!) as well as itself, preferring to slap it on with a brush for ease. To introduce some notion of nuance, I’ll probably wash on one or two black/brown/grey washes, together with varying the concentration of colours in each mix, but that’s as far as I’llventure, as the clock is against me.

Thanks for looking and your kind comments and likes.

Jon

 

[Roger Pound]

It's a small world, mate. I'm having the same trouble with the shiny brown trunks on my 'Vietnamese' trees at Orchard Hill. So far So far I have a mix of earth brown , umber and thinned black with a touch of Amish grey streaks dry-brushed in to the wet surface. It doesn't claim perfection, but it looks reasonable and that is OK with me. I found myself at one stage in severe danger of over-thinking this but it worked out in the end. Good luck with your results.

Roger

 

[simond]

Jon,

I‘d be inclined to spray it with the airbrush after it’s laid, wired up & tested.
Broad spray of weathered creosote followed by finer spray of rusty ironwork.
Dependent on desired effect, spray before or after ballasting.
Cleaning the rail tops off is not too much of a chore, and quickly finds any pins or fishplates that are not correctly installed.

my 2 cents’ worth, ymmv!

best
Simon

 

[jonte]

It's a small world, mate. I'm having the same trouble with the shiny brown trunks on my 'Vietnamese' trees at Orchard Hill. So far So far I have a mix of earth brown , umber and thinned black with a touch of Amish grey streaks dry-brushed in to the wet surface. It doesn't claim perfection, but it looks reasonable and that is OK with me. I found myself at one stage in severe danger of over-thinking this but it worked out in the end. Good luck with your results.

Roger

You artists, Roger, are never happy with your work or so I’m told

Unlike me, it sounds as though you knew what you were doing

Like you, I also reached for the Dark Earth (no 29, scribbled out on the note pad piccie above) only to find it had dried up ! Shows how long I’ve had some these paints. I’ve replaced it 113 (another brownish colour) although I note I’ve a similar dirty brown to Earth in the paint box which I think is 178. What’s the betting that’s dried up in the tin too

I think any brown will do the trick when mixed in……..

Thanks for sharing.

Jon

 

[jonte]

Jon,

I‘d be inclined to spray it with the airbrush after it’s laid, wired up & tested.
Broad spray of weathered creosote followed by finer spray of rusty ironwork.
Dependent on desired effect, spray before or after ballasting.
Cleaning the rail tops off is not too much of a chore, and quickly finds any pins or fishplates that are not correctly installed.

my 2 cents’ worth, ymmv!

best
Simon

Hi Simon and thanks for sharing

Yours is a far more sensible and ‘proper’ approach, but the problem with using the airbrush - apart from having to clean it and the rails - is that there’s not a lot of room to squeeze through on the far side to use it, which usually ends up having to do a series of squats to lower myself down then rise up again, which ends up in muscle exhaustion, scrapes and scratches.
When I went for a pre-op last week, I had to undergo an ECG which involved removing my shirt to attach the electrodes. I’ve no idea what was going through the mind of the nurse conducting when she saw several deep scratches and bruising to my chest and upper abdomen These were injuries encountered when I did as described whilst building the recent shelf addition, involving having to work above and below the board in the restricted space, which on a couple of occasions saw me squeezing up at the point where the baseboard hinge protrudes on that side……a stainless steel sharp edged hinge

Think I’ll stick with the brush and a couple of additional thin washes

Jon

PS: I find that when I clean off the paint from the rails (dries quickly) that it leaves a jagged paint top edge just below the cleaned rail head, something others have experienced too from close up photos. I find a brushed finish avoids this (although mine can end up a little wavy ).

 

[jonte]

Further to my last.

This is a cropped image of a still I took from an online video of Waterloo station, which I’m using as a guide for the sleepers.

The rails will be a mix of this and others:





jonte

 

[3 LINK]

Regarding the sleeper colour, I wouldn’t use enamel as even if thinned it has a habit of filling up any representation of wood grain. I used good old Halfords satin black, and just gave the sleepers a slight mist coat or two until I was happy with the look, see photo below. But Halfords have now changed their satin black into what looks more like a gloss finish. So personally now I would use acrylics, dries quicker with much less odour.



Hope this helps,

Martyn.