7mm Yorky D's LT - Wagonery tales from the Met.

[Yorkshire Dave]

...... and we're not talking about irate clippies.....

Whilst waiting for my LT decals attention turned towards some of the infrastructure - namely the conductor rails.

The conductor rails were obtained from Kalgarin Models and the insulator pots from Roxey.

Firstly I made up a jig from styrene to enable the pilot holes for the insulator pots to be drilled at the correct distance from the running rails. It doubles up for the centre negative (return) and outside positive conductor rails.



I also made up two conductor rail ramps - one short and the other long. They are made up from pieces of conductor rail and scrap nickel silver etch for the ramp. These will form patterns as I shall be casting them.


I also built a proper LT display track just to get a feel for installing the 3rd and 4th rails.

Closer...

Closer still... just messing about with conductor rail joints.

Other items to be made as patterns for casting are the switch cabinets and cable hangers - these are my photos taken from a Marylebone - Aylesbury train during the early 80's when you could open train windows.

These are the later style cabinets- the earlier style had pitched roofs.

 

[paulc]

Thats a very nice piece of modelling Dave and I'm not a LT person at all just an admirer of terrific work.
Cheers Paul

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Thanks Paul

It's one of things - I've always wanted to model the LT and now realise I have to make parts as they are not commercially available in 7mm scale. all good fun...

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

The last few nights at the workbench saw these items being made - patterns for the LT lineside cable hangers.

Four posts and four intermediate hangers for hanging off the top rail/conduit.




And I'll need loads of them.....

 

[James Fibbens]

As a regular tube user, I don't think even "loads" will be enough! Have you considered getting them made up via 3D printing? Might save your eyesight and hours of soldering time?

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Hi James

It had never crossed my mind about 3D printing the cable supports and thank you for the thought.

Fortunately I have access to a whitemetal centrifugal casting machine and mould making cans courtesy of my neighbour.

I know what you mean by loads and loads ! My photo with the Bakerloo/Jubilee Line train above shows the supports quite close together with a single hanging bracket in between however further out in Metroland I had noticed they are a bit wider spaced with two hanging brackets in between.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

A bit more messing about has produced these patterns...

... a conductor rail isolation switch cabinet as commonly seen in pairs (one for negative and one for positive conductor rail) and and the track tripcock activator.

The isolation switch cabinet is one of three types I have observed. Mine has the shallower pitched roof. The others have a steeper pitched roof or are the of later fibreglass type with rounded roofs.

The cabinet was made from styrene with 1mm square brass legs. Again, styrene was used for the tripcock body and the arm was made up from scrap nickel silver etch and brass rod.


Tripcock 'on' i.e. raised. On the layout it will be in the 'off' position as not to foul anything.

 

[simond]

Not making the tripcocks work, then?

Seriously, Dave, you do seem to raise the bar regularly.

You mentioned patterns, and whitemetal, will you do all these in that way? Would some of the larger bits perhaps be better a/o cheaper in resin?

Atb
Simon

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Not making the tripcocks work, then?

It did cross my mind whilst making it .

You mentioned patterns, and whitemetal, will you do all these in that way? Would some of the larger bits perhaps be better a/o cheaper in resin?

For the items I have made so far, yes they will be whitemetal. However, my neighbour does have both a pressure and a vacuum chamber for resin casting which may be used for larger castings.

 

[Scale7JB]

Not one to blow smoke where the sun don't shine very often, had it not been for the big bit of white plasticard, I'd have thought that was a photo of real track..

JB.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Spent some time faffing on the computer generating fare fascias for my ticket machines... namely 4d, 6d, 8d, 9d, 1/-, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/9 and 2/-. The 1/9 is shown below and I drew the line at putting on the destinations as shown here.

I've painted one but I think the blue needs to be a tad lighter... and a pair of conductor rail isolation switch cabinets have been painted. The signs are scaled from photos I took at the LT Acton Works Museum.



This arrived on the post last week - a 2 aspect colour light signal kit.



It came with a small etch and red and green 4mm LEDs which poke out into the cowls. I purchased the surface mount LEDs diodes separately as did not want the signal to look like this.... remember the Hornby one?



I had already folded up the rear box and fitted the post attachments.


These signals appear to be the standard BR pattern and naturally LT are different. So I made up a new front plate from scrap etch and used some brass tube to represent the lens surround. The lenses will be made up from 4mm diameter clear acrylic rod - when I find some!

As I'll be using surface mount LEDs a quick check reveals I can mount these on veroboard and therefore be entirely in the head of the signal. Only two tracks are required (with one split in half) and there is ample room.

The idea is to mount the veroboard (with LEDs) on the post and have the head removable which will mean opening out the bottom of the box.
More to come....

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

The veroboard was cut to size and the surface mount LEDs and wires soldered in place. I also painted the edges of the LEDs black.



With the cover

Oblique angle - the whole ensemble sits within the case with space to spare.

This shows how the bottom of the cover was opened out and the veroboard araldited to the post. The front of the post was cut away to achieve this.
and the plasticard on the reverse of the face plate it to deflect any stray light.

View of the LEDs with the face plate in position.

And in test (held together with trusty blu-tac)... The lenses are yet to be made.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

The ladder supplied with the signal kit was a flat etch which quite frankly looked like what was...... so.....

I folded over the etch and soldered the sides together. The sides were then drilled 0.5mm at the rung spacing to take 0.5mm brass rod rungs.

The etched rungs were trimmed, sides separated, brass wire rungs installed and soldered. The ensemble was cleaned up and the result - one slightly untidy ladder . The safety loop was provided in the kit.




The ticket machine castings were mounted on bases, painted and the fare screens installed. And this is just for one station booking hall!

 

[dibateg]

That really reminds me of my underground ( yes I know ) train spotting days Dave. Dad used to work the box at Harrow on the Hill. LT was my first interest! Look at the length of that turnout to the right of the train!


Regards
Tony

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Nice photo Tony. The train will be Croxley Tip working.

Shows the layout of conductor rails, cabling, etc and I note the SR style concrete PW hut on the left.

I did visit Harrow and Baker Street boxes many moons ago as part of an organised trip.

 

[Scale7JB]

Great picture Tony!

JB.

 

[simond]

Dave,

I’ve just made a couple of strategic purchases...

What I will need are good sound files. You want a “tripcock phutttt”, and I need a GW AWS hooter and bell. If anyone has anything suitable, I’d be delighted!

Atb
Simon

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

The signal ladder safety ring has now sported some supports made from scrap brass etch and lenses made from some short lengths of 4mm clear acrylic rod.



Side and aspect views of the completed signal. The signal number plates were made up from scaled photos of the real thing. JW is Amersham and the number is fictitious. The plate at the bottom of the post is for a ground shunt signal which I've yet to make and mount just under halfway up the post.

The triangular signal is a Rail Gap Indicator and denotes a conductor rail gap. It is lit red when the section is isolated by the switches located in the yellow isolation switch cabinets.

A cruel close up of the Rail Gap Indicators. These were made from scaled photos mounted on plasticard and the mounting posts are yet to be made. I'll more than likely make some working versions of these... .



This image is from the t'interweb to illustrate.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

A start has been made on an illuminated Rail Gap Indicator .

The surface mount red diode was soldered to a shaped thin piece of PCB with an insulating channel cut down the centre to isolate the poles.

The housing was made up from scrap brass etch using the scaled photo as a template.

 

[Overseer]

The signal ladder safety ring has now sported some supports made from scrap brass etch and lenses made from some short lengths of 4mm clear acrylic rod.

View attachment 115261

Side and aspect views of the completed signal. The signal number plates were made up from scaled photos of the real thing. JW is Amersham and the number is fictitious. The plate at the bottom of the post is for a ground shunt signal which I've yet to make and mount just under halfway up the post.

The triangular signal is a Rail Gap Indicator and denotes a conductor rail gap. It is lit red when the section is isolated by the switches located in the yellow isolation switch cabinets.View attachment 115262

A cruel close up of the Rail Gap Indicators. These were made from scaled photos mounted on plasticard and the mounting posts are yet to be made. I'll more than likely make some working versions of these... .

View attachment 115263

This image is from the t'interweb to illustrate.
View attachment 115264

Very nice. Now you have shown us the prototype photo we expect to see the fresnel rings on the lenses as well, just doesn't look complete without them.