Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

I believe you are correct Gary
Gormo

 

Well Folks,
Now that you all know where Gormo`s joint is, pop in some time for a cuppa !!!.....
Anyhoo........moving right along with Gormo`s Adventures in Trainland.....we have a new long overdue project which is part of the basic running of the railway.
Storage........yes storage.....now this was always going to happen, but I had a different idea originally of how it would work out.
Since the days of those original ideas, I have collected quite a few more locos and rolling stock than I thought I might eventually have.
I am talking about my cassette fiddle yard here folks. Not really about the cassette docking area but an area to put the overflow of cassettes, where they can be reached easily and selected individually. There is also a need to rotate the cassettes for train return journeys and all of the above is to be achieved in a restricted space.

My longest cassette will be 1200mm ( 4 feet ). For me, this is a length I can handle easily and still rotate myself safely when negotiating the transfer from cassette docking area to cassette storage area. This may sound a little odd at the moment and maybe I am not explaining it very well.....but it may become clearer as we move along.




The trains will arrive at the cassette docking area engine first. Before they are transferred to the cassette storage area, they will be rotated for the return journey by lifting the cassette vertically up to the top of the wall that the docking area is attached to.
On top of the wall will be a converted record turntable platter and bearing. The bearing (20mm) will be set directly into the top of the wall and the platter will be cut down to a rectangle shape slightly wider than a cassette. Aluminium angle will be fitted to either side of the converted platter to securely hold the cassette whilst it is rotated through 180 degrees.





This is the bearing and spindle........solid as a rock. A hole will be drilled with a 20mm Forstner bit which will result in a perfect tight fit for the bearing into the timber. It will also be secured with three screws and will be a set and forget project.





With platter attached





There`s a long way to go yet, but I think you will see the potential here.





Now once I`ve done the rotation and then lifted the cassette off the turntable, I do a little dance over towards and below the GCJ Goods Shed area where I have a 1200mm X 600mm board sitting on top of 600mm drawer runners which in turn are sitting on 40mm x 20mm timbers which are screwed on top of a pair of 600mm brackets.








This set up allows me to pull the board out 600mm, to insert or withdraw a cassette, and when finished, push it all the way back in which keeps it comfortably inside and behind the outer edge of the baseboard above.




This set up will hold a maximum of seven cassettes 1200mm long, however as the cassettes may also come in shorter lengths, seven trains will be the minimum storage capability.
Maximum train storage yet to be determined.
This system will take my minimum storage in the railway room fiddle yards up to 17 trains. That allows for clear through roads on the main lines fiddle yard and the sliding yard under Bamford being choc a block.
All I have completed today is fitting the brackets to hold the new sliding board but I will update with pics as it progresses.
Gormo

 

G`day Gary,
You know me mate....keep the electronics to a minimum and go simple and reliable and hopefully durable......and stay away from the Witchcraft....
I do recall that layout at Liverpool and I do remember the coupling system, and the chap we were talking to, who was a proper gentleman, however I`ll be blowed if I can remember the fiddle yard turntable.??........

The maximum I`m looking at turning would be one of the longer loco types with three coaches in tow......that configuration fits nicely into my four foot cassettes. Of course shorter trains may possibly be in shorter cassettes and would be much easier to handle.

Today I finished the storage drawer assembly and I`ve fitted the drawer runners and attached the whole shebang to the support brackets under the railway.
There is a good amount of recycled material in this drawer. Actually the only things not recycled were the drawer bottom and the drawer runners. The drawer runners are rated at 45 kilos so they should handle the load easily. The outside areas of the drawer will be painted Matt Black.......I have to get some paint for that job.





I had to get creative underneath as normally you would attach the runners to the inside vertical sides of a cabinet.








Here is the drawer pulled out to it`s full extent. I`ve put my cassette bases and bits and pieces in there for the moment to keep them out of the way.









The view from above shows that there will be no problem with access. The drawer is 600mm (2 foot) deep.





View from the other end







I deliberately kept this handle from a cupboard from somewhere, so that I could use it for just a situation like this. The drawer closes up under the layout, yet the design of the handle means that you will glance off it if you knock it , rather than get hooked onto it. It`s also a good shape to get a good confident hold of, in order to control the drawer.




Now I`m onto cassette building........a far less physical occupation compared to man handling dirty great big drawers.
So I think I`ve got enough bits and pieces to kick off with maybe three four foot cassettes........we`ll see how we go.??.....

Gormo

 

I can see a 2 foot cassette in the bottom picture.


Jim[/QUOTE]
Well spotted Jim.....
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
No cassettes built yet, I decided to build the turntable first........no point in having cassettes if you can`t turn them..??.....
I mentioned in an earlier post that I was recycling an old record turntable platter and bearing. Of course it was a bit too big in it`s original condition, so I took the angle grinder to it today and cut it down to the size and shape I wanted. The width is slightly oversize to allow easy insertion and removal of cassettes.




The rubber mat was cut down too.......might as well use as much as I can.?.......it was a pretty good ( Pioneer ) turntable in it`s day. I bought it second hand years ago and had many years of use out of it, and now the use continues in a different form.





Another necessary part of the exercise was to fit the bearing into the top of the wall.





Looks pretty ordinary at this stage, but we`re not finished yet.





I then made some sides from Aluminium angle. Two pieces back to back form one side, and they are bolted through the platter and the bolts are counter sunk into the surface to give a flush finish.









The mat just lays in there but will be kept in place by the point of the bearing coming through the centre hole





Ready to rock n roll.......




I have more pics so will continue in the next post.

 

The cassettes will also have a hole in them, drilled half way along their length. The hole also fits over the point of the bearing thereby allowing you to always fit the cassettes to the centre of the turntable.









You can just see the point in the bottom of the hole in the cassette





This is how it sits in place........there`s not really any need to turn a cassette this size, as it could be done quite easily. This one is used for a rail car, so it`s a push pull situation and no need to turn it.





The next stage was to develop a simple locking system to keep the turntable parallel to the wall when not being used. When the lever is down , the wall prevents the turntable from turning.





To rotate the turntable, the levers are flipped up into this position to keep them out of the way.









To eliminate any play at all, I`ve attached some self adhesive rubber feet to the wall at point of contact with the levers. I should also point out that there are levers on both sides of the cassettes.





No movement whatsoever when in this position.








I`ve also done a little demo video with a full length cassette.......base only......with a train on top.......the trench in the base acts like rails, although it`s over sized.....so I was reasonably confident the train would not fall off.



Well that`s it for the moment folks........I`ll be busy for a couple of days, so I don`t expect to get much done in the meantime.
Gormo

 

Thanks Toto,
Yes mate......I just want it work reliably and last a good while, therefore no fancy electronic trickery or gizmos, just plain old carefully considered design and basic engineering....
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
I currently have under way a four foot cassette.
Not finished yet but the hard part is done.
I just slipped it into position to check the electrical connections and also made sure the rolling stock would run OK....which it does. So this is my maximum length.....the biggest sucker that will be fitted in this position.





I`ve opted to go with shorter lengths of angle and join them, rather than buy much longer lengths and finish up with off cuts I can`t use. The join is quite simple and is in two parts. The first part on the outer edge and using some 3mm x 10mm Aluminium flat bar bolted through the angle. The joints are also staggered, so as to help with rigidity.





The second part is the ends of each piece firmly screwed to the base. The two connections result in good electrical continuity and a rigid join of the two parts.



I still need to fit handles, make some end caps and fit runners underneath and drill three holes.........fiddly but easy enough to do.
I hope to have it finished in a day or two.
Gormo

 

Well folks,
I just need to do the end caps to finish it off.

I`ve been testing trains on this cassette......all good......and this shows the set up with the wheels in relation to the rails.









Ready for departure and with lifting handles fitted









Plenty of room either side........you can actually put a train on the rails in the cassette.











I`m thinking of redesigning the end cap system and incorporating a bit of rubber as a buffer / shock absorber. I haven`t quite nailed it yet, so I`ll have to sleep on it and see what comes forth.

Gormo

 

Finished !!!!

End stops created.....very close to original concept but just tweaked slightly.





Now fitted with a rubber buffer













I`ve also added centre line markings on the cassette and cradle / turntable to make it easier to fit the cassettes into the correct position first go.









It comfortably holds six four wheeled coaches, a horse box, brake van and small loco









And how it sits in the storage drawer




More as it happens
Gormo

 

Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Just a quick post here and a change of pace.
I have been away for four days and during that time visited some local markets in the Port Stephens area.
I found another nice model of a plane ( Hurricane 72nd scale ) for my airfield. It`s already built so can be just flown into the airfield and take up permanent residence.

Here it is on the right just after it landed........Pilot Bertie Thistlethwaite












And a Black and White to see if it looks right.??




Gormo