Wheeldon Mill

Hi Chris, at the moment I only have two locos for Wheeldon that are usable, an 040 Hudswell Clarke.




I also have a Lima 040 diesel shunter that I have Anglisized and repainted, I still want to do some more detailing to yet and fit a dcc chip.




I also have an Andrew Barclay 040 shunter that I am scratch building, still got quite a way to go with that yet.


I also have a kit for an 040 Peckett to build and a part built 03 diesel shunter to finish when funds allow.

Cheers, Pete.

 

Sorry for the delay in my reply Chris, yes I am going for Spratt and Winkle couplings mainly because I have a load of them from an abandoned project from years ago, originally it was to be 3 link but I rebuilt the scenics and afterwards realised I could no longer reach over the buildings to uncouple, I have converted a couple of wagons that took me ages but I will speed up as I get better at them .

Cheers, Pete.

 

Hi Paul, the Spratt and Winkles use magnets under the rail head, they are a little like tension locks but upside down, I have fitted mine with chain links in iron and they are drawn to the magnets which pull down the coupling hooks, you back off the wagons a fraction the couplings uncouple, by pushing forward again you have delayed uncoupling, so one magnet can work on a fan of sidings, I will put some pics up to show what I mean,



the forward facing curved hook jobby on top of the coupling go,s under the bar on the next wagon and prevents the wagons recoupling, you can then push the wagon to where it needs to go then just back off jobs a guddun.

Hope this helps, cheers, Pete.

 

gormo wrote:

The dark side is strong here Skywalker!

 

Hi Paul, they look simple but it took me 2 hours to do those 2 wagons, though to be fair once I have got the hang of them it should be a lot quicker .

Pete.

 

Hi Kim, I think the best way to start point building would be using a kit, all the components will be included, plus you will need some gauges, I reckon for a starter kit I would go for copper clad sleepers, such as SMP in 4mm or Marcways in 7mm, a simple left or right hand point to get a handle on what is involved, a couple of good straight edges are important, what scale are you wanting to build them in? personally I like the larger gaps in 7mm for getting the soldering iron in, also with marcways kits they come with a ready to lay cast frog section, ( or at least they did ), then when you have cut your teeth on that, you can try something a little more complex, maybe a 3way or a crossing, before going for more difficult stuff like slips or bespoke points. There are tutorials on youtube if you look for them, some are better than others. A decent 40watt iron will be useful, medium melt solder and acid flux, giving it a good wash after all soldering sessions.
I hope I have been of some help mate, no doubt many other members will chip in and fill in any gaps I may have left, there are some seriously skilled track builders on here. Any questions just ask, when I started I just read up on the subject and I made a few mistakes on the way, at least with soldered trackwork a little heat and you can start again.

Cheers for now, Pete.

 

Hi Kim, nice flat work surface, tape the plan down, some double sided, preferably clear, tape to fix the sleepers to the plan and you are set, cut and number the sleepers and file the ends square, the copper clad is supposedly pre fluxed but I prefer to use my own acid flux, mind you there are non acidic fluxes available that are supposed to be good, not tried them though, mark on the plan where not to solder clearly between the sleepers, just solder the odd one or two along the rail until you are happy its in line where you want it and then solder the rest, get some decent gauges they are important. Clean the rail underneath before soldering and don,t breathe the fumes, I have a small fan at the end of the bench when I am soldering.
Read the instructions and have fun.

Cheers, Pete.

 

I hadn't realised it is over a year since posting anything on Wheeldon, though to be fair I haven't had anything to report . Anyway, I had to put it away last year as it was taking up so much room in an over full shed, but now, after some sorting out and chucking stuff away I have gained some space.
The first thing I have done is knock up a second pair of legs for one of the end boards so it is free standing for working on, (I still need to be able to get SWMBO's mobility scooter in.) During the past few months I have been thinking on how to improve the operation and have decided that it needs a new building at the left hand end beside the, disused, canal wharf, I saw at Doncaster show on an O gauge layout just the type of building I wanted, it was huge, at the front was an opening for incoming goods and inside at the rear there are fiddle roads that the operator could swap loads for outgoing wagons. Any way, just a few pic's to show you what I have done today.

First the new legs. Before.



After.



Now I've got it on its feet I need to get the end trackwork sorted, the wagon turn table has to come out and the buffers removed.



Buffers, turntable and track removed and ground work scraped off ready for re laying new track.



Thats as far as I have got at the moment, I need to cut a circle of ply to fill the hole, I don't have any small off cuts so I have glued two pieces of 4mm together and I'm just waiting for the glue to dry.

In the long term I am hoping to build a 4th board to go on the left hand end incorporating a traverser so I can run through trains, however that will make the layout bigger than the shed so we'll have to see.

Cheer's for now, Pete.