4mm Monks Ferry LNWR

[jonte]

Pleased to report that I’ve completed my first cassette, fellow Westerners, albeit a trial one:



It fits like a glove to the fixed section, even using both ends, and thankfully without any drama:



I had intended to glue the angle to the base using epoxy, but the screws allow slight adjustments at the ends which might prove useful in the event of warping or other unforeseen dilemmas

Moving on to the down line, scrutiny of a photo in my previous post raised concerns about the lead rail section being too close to the cassette in situ on the up, especially as the rail was curved at this point. Before fixing down, I decided to see if I could increase the margin without losing too much of the short straight section before entering the scenic area. I succeeded initially, however, by the time I came to solder the rails to the screws, the curve had assumed its own lie, although testing revealed it had done so without cost to reliable running:



I’m relieved that I can now address the fixed cassette of the down line, but think the next job will be to prepare the wood sections of another cassette to be joined onto the end of it as per the up, as this means the top and bottom halves can be drying while I get on with the fixed section as mentioned. I just wish this part of the build didn’t take as long as it did.

Never mind, onwards and upwards.

Jonte

 

[jonte]

Just a brief update on matters, fellow Westerners, which in reality is just more of the same : cassettes. Please read no further my friends if this bores you - and I really don’t blame you - but to me it’s an issue of major concern which I’m pleased is almost over.

Just to remind those of you kind enough to have stayed the course, I’ve been addressing the entry to the fiddleyard of the down (?)(Down) (DOWN) (up…….etc) line (the one leading into the station) and its cassette. A few pix will probably help rather than me waffling on:



The shows the lead-in (curved) rail from the scenic section, fixed cassette (which creates a link between rail and cassette) and removable cassette (this is the same one from the Up side as I’m still in the throes of constructing the casssette for this line, such is my glacial pace). In many cases, prudent modelllers have placed a diamond (re-railer?) between the fixed cassette and the rail but I’m quite pleased that my couple of bits of rickety stock sail through quite smoothly so will leave for now - famous last words.



Yet more darned holes! I decided to alter the heights of the rail where they met the fixed cassette as for some reason a slight step had developed (not of any great consequence but I prefer a smooth transition if possible). Prior to this, I’d measured and traced the lie of the ally angles up to the edge where it will meet the removable cassette. Quite satisfied that all was in order, I’d drilled, screwed and countersunk as required. Fearing that the ally angle was a little too close to the rail when heating with iron to lift it, I decided to remove the ally angle and replace when all was said and done. At this point, one or two of you may recall that the lead in(curved) line had adopted a lie of its own when I fixed it down to the screws, without detriment, so I left it. Well, when I went to replace the rail against the new screws with the ally angle in place merely as a guide, it assumed its original position , which meant that the ally angle now was incorrectly positioned. To cut a long story short, I gingerly drilled more holes for new screws using the existing holes as a guide as to where not to place the new screws! I should have preferred to replace then with new, but as I say, they were a good guide as to where the existing screw holes had been. I’d also made life hard for myself by placing screws underneath where the rails were now going, so it was a case of where it was safe to place the screws rather than where they would look more aesthetic Never mind, they’re down now.

This is one for my own indulgence, in as far as I’m satisfied that the longer elements of stock won’t crash into the side of the cassette on the opposite line:



Finally, one of my faithful ol’ friend keeping me company throughout my many trials and tribulations:



Now that the removable cassette deck is constructed in as far as the the glue adhering top and bottom parts is dry, I can move onto cutting and fixing the ally angle sides. Once done, I can turn my attention to making it all work (hopefully) electrically. Once that’s completed, I can turn my hand to tidying up the gaps in the scenic section then - at long last - try my hand at a bit of modelling

Thanks for reading.

Jonte

 

[jonte]

The second removable cassette is now finished, fellow Westerners, and that will be the last for now as these were only intended to make a start on the fiddleyard and, of course, a learning curve in terms of their construction:



Attention has now turned to wiring them up:



The feeder wires (negative) for the cassettes are soldered to the terminal tags (in red), the tags themselves mechanically fastened to the cassettes via nut and bolt. Not shown are the negative feeds soldered to the rail sides at the entry/exit of each line. Next, I’ll fasten the positives on having prepared the soldered tags, and solder on the feeds for the positive rails for which I’ll turn the board round.

It’s my intention to wire the (positive) feeds on each up/down lines via an on/off switch to prevent runaways and shocks when changing cassettes.

Currently I await the arrival of two sets of Jack plugs for transference of power from scenic section to fiddleyard which should be with me within the next couple of days. Additionally, I should have been in possession of a couple of Earth blocks ordered via click n collect at Foolstation, but despite having at least 8 in stock and the money having been taken out of my account,, when I popped in to query the delay, they first claimed no knowledge of my order, then on my return to the premises minutes later, they stated the ‘system’ was down and therefore couldn’t pursue my query any further….. If it turns up within fourteen days, they’ll kindly send it via post! With still no word as I write, I’ll try and cancel, and order replacements from their (more helpful) neighbour, Pricefix (to be fair to both, they’re far more competitive with their pricing of these items than my local independent electricalfactors, which I think I’ve mentioned before.

Ah well, one way or the other I’ll get it finished

Jonte

 

[Roger Pound]

Glad to see the cassettes are working for you. I have used them in 009, same principle of aluminium angle , for some time and found them very useful. It gave me a 'light -bulb' moment reading your posts - I could use cassettes on Whatborough Yard - must get around to that when work on Cropsham Mark 2 is stopped by winter temperatures......! Thanks for the nudge , Jon .

Roger.

 

[jonte]

Glad to see the cassettes are working for you. I have used them in 009, same principle of aluminium angle , for some time and found them very useful. It gave me a 'light -bulb' moment reading your posts - I could use cassettes on Whatborough Yard - must get around to that when work on Cropsham Mark 2 is stopped by winter temperatures......! Thanks for the nudge , Jon .

Roger.

Glad to have been of some help, Roger, but more amazed that I ever could have been

Nice to know they work!

Cheers,

Jon

 

[jonte]

I’ve continued wiring the fiddleyard, fellow Westerners, in drips and drabs since my last posting, using up bits of left over wire and a couple of switches Lord Llandudno brought back from his exploits in Egypt back in the early twentieth century (too lazy to check Wiki to find out precisely when):



Anyway, the long awaited Jack plugs and sockets arrived in the lunchtime post, so as it was piddling down outside, I made the short dash from dwelling to den where I wired them in, and which pretty much completes the wiring of the layout proper and where I’m currently up to:



So, does any of it work?

At risk of sounding facetious, the short answer is: Dunno! Hopefully

Going to have a break before resuming with a brief tidy up, cleaning of the rails and then going live. Again, hopefully.

Will let you know how it goes.

Best,

Jonte

 

[jonte]

Pleased to report, fellow Westerners, that the cassettes work fine, thankfully.

One or two slight issues to address:

The removable cassette (rear line) has a slight step up from fixed cassette when joined to the end you’ll see in the following images. A tightening of the screw(s) at this end should see all level again. I suppose this is the benefit of fixing the angles with screws rather than epoxy.

The station bound line (front line) has a drop from the rail in the fiddleyard yard, onto the rail in the scenic section. A slight tweak with the iron should sort this. It’s funny how the loco shows these defects but not the stock.

The chrome on/off switch will need the wires switching round as off is on and on is off

Some pix.

Here are the leads which will transfer power from scenic board to fiddleyard, and the sockets in place on the fiddleyard board:



The leads in place:



Loco draws onto fiddleyard bound cassette for first time. Switch showing ‘off position’ but is in fact ‘on’ so wiring will need swapping round:



Loco leaves cassette bound for Monks. Note black switch governing power on station bound line is in ‘on’ position:



Mollington Street’s own 4583, still sporting LMS traffic livery in late 1964, heads for Monks to remove a parcel’s train which will be conveyed to Chester and attached to the London bound parcel’s. It will probably return overnight with the Birkenhead’s morning newspapers.



So that’s it for the track and it’s wiring, fellow Westerners. I’m quite chuffed, nay astounded, that I’ve actually got this far, but it’s amazing what you can do if you just try.

I still need to build an extension to the fiddleyard, but that cannot commence until I remove an item of furniture we’ve been storing at the Monks station end, so attention will now turn to addressing the above issues and tidying up the scenic section.

I’ll also to a dummy run in terms of track weathering which you may recall I’d started, and addressing one or two aspects of the ballasting; again commenced.

But none of this can be done for real, unfortunately, until the signalling is in place so that will be my next point of concern.

Many thanks to those who’ve kindly stayed the distance, and offered encouragement, valued advice and kind compliments along the way. I hope and trust my all too frequent and sometimes meandering posts haven’t put you off.

Cheers.

Jonte

 

[GrahameH]

Well done Jonte I am very happy for you and all your determined efforts.

 

[jonte]

Well done Jonte I am very happy for you and all your determined efforts.

You’re a gentleman, Graeme, thank you.
Best,

Jonte

 

[jonte]

I popped out earlier, fellow Westerners, to make a start on that ‘tidying up’ that I alluded to in my last post.

Still a child at heart, I got bored pretty quickly and started to, well, mess around

Please forgive me my bout of self indulgence for just this once, folks, if you’d allow me to share with you wot I got up to…..before leaving and putting the kettle on. I promise never to do it again and next time I’ll get on with the tidying. Honest



Those darned spiders!

What sort of example will I set this poor child…..

Jonte

 

[GrahameH]

I do like that roof / truss detail Jonte very atmospheric especially with the weathered look. I'd be tempted to build a layout based around that one item.

As for tidying up.....well.....have another cuppa and think about it and very glad to hear you're still a child at heart !

G

 

[jonte]

I do like that roof / truss detail Jonte very atmospheric especially with the weathered look. I'd be tempted to build a layout based around that one item.

As for tidying up.....well.....have another cuppa and think about it and very glad to hear you're still a child at heart !

G

You’re dead right there, Graeme

Sadly, it’s way too big for this little project; not sure I’m likely to find a use for it in the future either as plans have changed slightly. Yet another doomed essay destined for landfill I fear.

Following your sagely advice, Graeme, the kettle’s one as I settle back into another wonderful recorded episode of The Sweeney. They just don’t make tele like this anymore (which is probably why I rarely watch it!)

Hey Ho.

Jonte

 

[GrahameH]

Sadly, it’s way too big for this little project

Please don't send it to landfill !
I moved up to 7mm and if it's built to that scale I would certainly put it somewhere safe as an incentive for the future. Some of my earlier scenic models are about to remerge on a small project with possibly a bit of surgery, glad I kept them now.

Enjoy the old cars racing around after those naughty guys !!!

 

[jonte]

Please don't send it to landfill !
I moved up to 7mm and if it's built to that scale I would certainly put it somewhere safe as an incentive for the future. Some of my earlier scenic models are about to remerge on a small project with possibly a bit of surgery, glad I kept them now.

Enjoy the old cars racing around after those naughty guys !!!

Hi Graeme

The fact it looks 7mm scale when in fact it’s only 4, is one reason why I went off it. The width is probably on a scale par with Birkenhead Woodside but not the length, of course, as I ran out of rail for the trusses

Initially, I wasn’t going to ‘clothe’ it, but I wanted the subdued atmosphere only a roof can convey. The first set of bargeboards were fine, in true GWR fashion and proportionate. Problem arrived when I came to add the roof. The slimmest, but strongest material I could use was gray board at 2mm thickness; factor in the extra height of the beams bonding the trusses together, and I soon ended up with something out of scale. Unfortunately, by this time it was too late to modify

Just shows, you should always stick to your original plan

And yeah, proper cops ‘n’ robbers in fast cars, drinking, smoking, philandering and dishing out summary justice to the great unwashed, what’s not to like You can keep your Silent Line of Witnesses or whatever they call that drivel

Best.

Jonte

 

[Roger Pound]

Jon,
Once more you have my admiration for just doing a structure like this - the general complexity of such spans has always put me off from attempting to scratch build anything similar. Must confess to being an Art-Deco fan when it comes to station building- and I do have a soft spot for anything 'Southern'.........! Then again, the London Underground also had that style of building - there you go, the simplest layout of them all! A nice Art-Deco building with a lead down to the baseboard (underground) and a recording of LU trains at intervals coming from below - the actual railway being totally imaginary............. . It's all in the mind, you know.

Just waiting for the men in white coats,

Roger

 

[jonte]

Jon,
Once more you have my admiration for just doing a structure like this - the general complexity of such spans has always put me off from attempting to scratch build anything similar. Must confess to being an Art-Deco fan when it comes to station building- and I do have a soft spot for anything 'Southern'.........! Then again, the London Underground also had that style of building - there you go, the simplest layout of them all! A nice Art-Deco building with a lead down to the baseboard (underground) and a recording of LU trains at intervals coming from below - the actual railway being totally imaginary............. . It's all in the mind, you know.

Just waiting for the men in white coats,

Roger

Good morning, Roger

Good to hear, and hope and trust I find you well and continuing to make good progress optically

Still watching in earnest for developments at Whatborough

Many thanks for your kind interest in my ‘spans’. It’s amazing what umpteen lengths of spare rail of a variety of codes, some offcuts of ply (with nails stuck in ‘em to act as some sort of jig) and the fact I’ve no mates to distract me, can do

And of course, a lack of brain cells means that mind numbingly boring, piecemeal type stuff has no effect on morale It really was repetitive stuff, Roger, but the weather was quite favourable so working in the garden meant no inhalation of those awful solder fumes, and it’s funny how you quickly you can slot into a routine.

It’s a shame it’s too big to use in this instance, as the spans are indeed a representation of those that formed the roof of the train shed of the real Monks Ferry station (I’ve borrowed this from the disused station site for illustrative purposes):



If you don’t mind, here are a couple of my representation in its bare bones to make comparison a little easier:



I did of course place my own spin on matters in respect of its ‘layout’ to suit my own needs

I’m rather fond of the SR too, Roger, owning one or two books on the subject

History will have found me, for instance, building a long gone (like the original) model of Newton Poppleford station building, and my own (clumsy) scratchbuilt version of the rail built bracket signal that once stood sentry at Ottery St. Mary, which I now humbly submit for your amusement:



The only thing in its favour was that it did work

Talking of Art Deco, I still admire those humble offerings of yore by Hornby. They are a delight to behold when vintage layouts are seen at an exhibition or two! Funnily enough, whilst I tend to favour the style of the classic built GWR design timber buildings, it’s interesting to note that the original at Leamington, built in this style, was indeed itself replaced by one in an Art Deco style: Leamington Spa Station (GWR)

Talking of jigs and GWR style timber buildings, I’ve decided to have a bash at the Banbury General station building which I feel would be ideal for Monks. Whilst not an exact replica - after all, this is just a play thing - it will indeed involve the use of jigs and lots of repetitive work as before, so I’m quite looking forward to it, Roger.

Once I’ve got the jig set up (just pins with their heads cut off ‘pinned’ to some leftover cork which was used as an underlay), I’ll post a piccie, however unlike the build to date, I won’t be posting so frequently which I’m sure most members will be relieved to hear.

Thanks again for your continued support and interest, Roger.

Jon

PS : The men in the white coats haven’t been frequenting my humble abode since they started WFH

 

[Roger Pound]

Jon,
Your scratch-building is a credit to you Jon - don't put yourself down. I do like the Ottery St Mary home signal. My ventures in that field have only been with plastic kits and even then I made a hash of the job ! I must admit to a liking for the old Hornby-Dublo and Crescent ranges of ready to plant signals - generic, yes, but they suited me.
My memories of Banbury station are, to say the least aged and rather vague. It was where I used to leave a rather slow Western Region stopper and change to a considerably more brisk Eastern Region service for the Great Central Line to the East Midlands. This was in the mid-fifties when I was proudly serving HM in the RAF. Happy days. long gone .
Regrettably my railway modelling activities are at a temporary standstill due to a disabling bout of ill-health, and when I get back to things some hard decisions will have to be made, but this is not the place for that. At least with my refreshed eyes, I can catch up on my railway reading - there is plenty waiting!

Cheers,
Roger .

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Talking of Art Deco, I still admire those humble offerings of yore by Hornby. They are a delight to behold when vintage layouts are seen at an exhibition or two! Funnily enough, whilst I tend to favour the style of the classic built GWR design timber buildings, it’s interesting to note that the original at Leamington, built in this style, was indeed itself replaced by one in an Art Deco style: Leamington Spa Station (GWR)

Interesting you've alluded to Art Deco as it appears the GW did not embrace it with it's station rebuilding/building in the same vigour as the Southern, LMS, LNER or London Transport. It could well be the Southern, LMS and LNER had more need and opportunities to rebuild stations due to the number of disparate companies and duplicated stations they absorbed. However, Art Deco stations is yet another rabbit hole to disappear into .

On the GW front I could well be ill-educated in this respect as I have minimal interest in anything remotely GW including their architecture. However, the GW could have rebuilt interiors with an Art-Deco flavour to keep up with the then current trends. I also recall reading somewhere one of the GW London surburban stations was rebuilt in an Art Deco style.

On the Art-Deco architectural front I have a book about the London Transport buildings designed by Charles Holden who at the time visited Sweden and Germany in the 1930s looking at station buildings. There are quite a few similarities, including materials used, between some of the Berlin S and U Bahn and the Charles Holden LT station buildings all built around the same period.

Apologies for the Art Deco hi-jack and diversion.

These comparisons are endless as you can easily disappear down the 1890s - 1910s (and early 1920s) Art Nouveau rabbit hole for station building styles - especially on European suburban rail networks.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Must confess to being an Art-Deco fan when it comes to station building- and I do have a soft spot for anything 'Southern'.........! Then again, the London Underground also had that style of building - there you go, the simplest layout of them all! A nice Art-Deco building with a lead down to the baseboard (underground) and a recording of LU trains at intervals coming from below - the actual railway being totally imaginary............. . It's all in the mind, you know.

With the LT you would also have to arrange a fan to blow warm air in your face when peering at the station entrance to indicate an arriving train and a cold draught on your back when the train departs.

 

[Roger Pound]

With the LT you would also have to arrange a fan to blow warm air in your face when peering at the station entrance to indicate an arriving train and a cold draught on your back when the train departs.

Nothing is impossible Dave .

Apologies for the continued hi-jack Jon .

Cheers,

Roger