Great Chesterford Junction Part One ( Pre P1MRC )

G`day Folks,

Well here we go into the deep end. I have hinged half of Little Bardfied to the box frame. With the lid up I have easy access ,not only to the underneath of the baseboard, but also to the retaining screws for the box frame. I can get the whole lot off the fiddleyard in a couple of minutes.




The other half has two screws securing it to the top of the box frame. This half can be removed to access the track under if required. There are no points under this section so I can`t see it coming off very often.

The track plan is also being changed and sections of track are being restored. Some of the rail ends were damaged in transit after the railway had been broken into sections for disposal. The bottom point will be removed too. The long left hander in the middle will be replaced by a curved right. Everything lines up a lot better with the curved right and it also points directly to the mouse hole





Damaged section removed and awaiting a new length of rail.





The rails are matching up very well along the cut line. If any issues develop I will add copper clad sleepers, but at this stage it doesn`t seem necessary.





This long left hander will be modified and converted to a curved left





So that`s where we are at the moment. I hope Murray will approve of the changes I am making to his track plan. Even though I never had the pleasure of meeting the man, it`s kind of nice to think that his railway is not gone and forgotten and I`m looking forward to getting it operational. I fully intend to have a little pub in the town behind Little Bardfield dedicated to Murray. It will be called the Murray Arms. The other section, which will now be known as Bamford, is almost a straight drop in place. I couldn`t believe it when Gary advertised it. It was almost identical to what I was going to build.

Make of it what you will.....but I think somebody is looking after me.??


Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

I have been off the air, due to a storm in Sydney, which knocked out part of the telephone / internet system for roughly 24 hours.

Thanks for the advice on re-railers but I actually already have some Atlas re-railers and I`ve elected not to use them. If there is a problem with derailments I think I would rather sort out the problem. The fiddle yard area actually doesn`t suffer from derailment problems. The problem with the fiddle yard is the bloke operating it......I`ll have to get rid of him I think....he`s a bit of a dope????

Anyway?????...further engineering projects have been undertaken on the little railway. The connecting bridge from the mouse hole to Little Bardfield is in. It has track laid on it to roughly the line it should take. Slight corrections may be necessary but nothing too drastic. Clearances for stock through the mouse hole and round the bend are fine, so another section that can be put to bed without issue.

This is a view of the track leading to Little Bardfield station taken from the workshop side of the mouse hole. I have added some old Triang station buildings just to give it some atmosphere.



A view from the other side




And one from a bit further back. The un-ballasted sections of track are my changes to the track plan and in some cases replacement / repairs




A view of the other direction




The curved left at the end there was kindly donated by Gary. .....Thanks Gary!!! ...and it will have to be slotted in roughly where it is. The section of track leaving the other point just below it, will be removed and replaced by a curved section that will connect up to the curved left. This section will be one end of a passing / run around loop.




And this is a drivers eye view of the fiddleyard entry from the bridge end. The supports are cut from the bars off the side of a baby`s cot.....who`s watching the baby????

All clearances have been checked by running 60 foot corridor coaches through each section. There is plenty of room and height




Well folks ....that`s it for the moment....I am plugging away it and it`s getting done.

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Track laying in Little Bardfield is complete. That sounds good but there is still heaps to do. Wiring, Point Motors, Isolated Sections, Control Panel, Controller etc. etc.etc.

All in good time......a lot of little jobs eventually turn into one big result.

So some pics of the final layout.

The entry road has now turned into an S bend due track placement in Little Bardfield plus I like it. The trains will weave through a cutting to emerge at Little Bardfield.



The S bend leads to a long left where the route can either be through line or passing loop for access to the sidings. There is still a lot of cosmetic work to do but that will be the fun part.





And continuing on a bit further




And a little bit more showing the end of the line for the moment.




A birds eye view. The packing under the track is all cereal packet card. The original track sits on a cork bed so some sections had to be built up to that height.





Finally a short video showing the first train into Little Bardfield.

Video Link







Gormo





____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

The plan is to continue on along the back wall you can see there behind Little Bardfield, until the track comes to the corner of the room, wherein it will pass through the wall, start rising whilst doing a circuit of the storage room, pass over itself and re-enter the train room through the wall at a higher level.

The plan below gives a better indication of what`s going to happen





Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

Ok Folks back to the shed,

Corrections first....the steel angle is only 2100mm not 2400mm......no problem....it fits.

The angle is 25mm x 25mm so it makes a perfect little ledge for the scenery to rest on. Of course Murphys Law kicked in......the pre-drilled holes in the angle don`t match my locating points.....so I had to drill some extra holes......again....no problem.

So.....the pics will give a better indication of what I`m talking about here. This first one shows a full length ( 2100mm) mounted behind Little Bardfield. The horizontal part of the angle ( the ledge ) is the same height as the baseboard top.




The other side ( 1100mm ) also fitted and will support the scenery above the tunnel entry to the fiddle yard




It`s a bit scruffy here and there but it won`t be seen




Now this will give you an idea of how it`s going to work. This polystyrene is 65mm thick. Take no notice of it`s size or contours, I just pulled it out of the stockpile to see if it works.




And a drivers eye view. The clearance under the timber bridge on the right is 76mm from the baseboard and the polystyrene is sitting a further 18mm above that therefore clearing the board by 94mm




At this stage I am considering a 3ply base cut to shape to fit in these spaces. Polystyrene will then be glued to the top of the ply to form the landscape contours. This method should then form a fairly rigid, lightweight section that can be easily removed when required. This idea is not yet set in concrete so you never know.....I might find another way to do it.....but for the moment this will do.!!

Gormo




____________________

 

G`day Folks,

Today sees me fitting the scenic base behind Little Bardfield. I have only got to the cut out and fit stage......a bit more thought needs to go into some form of catch to lock it in place. It has a slight lift at one end. A catch would sort that or possibly a longitudinal brace.

Anyway.....here are some pics.

Base in place




A different angle




And this is what it`s hiding







Beyond the lift out section I`ve started building up the voids with polystyrene





Well that`s all for the moment

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

Experiments with Scenery


G`day Folks,

I thought I might have a little dabble into scenery. Grass, trees, dirt etc. you know the drill. I have not really had much of a go at this side of things yet and I`ve wondered whether some of my ideas might work. At this stage I`m just diving in and trying things....forget the books....the standard methods etc...for the moment I`m just playing about with things and materials I have to hand.

So.....I got a small chunk of polystyrene. I wanted to deform it a bit so I hit it with the hot air gun to melt little bits here and there. I guess you could do the same with a hair dryer. Then it received a quick coat of acrylic Brown Earth to hide the whiteness. ( probably not absolutely necessary because of the next step.)

The next stage was dirt from the garden. Sieved a couple of times with a tea strainer to get a fine mix. Add PVA to areas to be covered and sprinkle on the dirt......shake off the excess. A coat of hairspray to seal it roughly. The dirt looks good even if I do say so myself. Then a bit more Brown Earth here and there to break it up a bit.

OK....grass. I have some old carpet underlay. The hairy stuff with hessian sandwiched in the middle of it......brown....wrong colour. I got out some house paint....Brunswick Green ....and thinned it down with water....2 parts water...1 part paint. Soak a section of underlay in the paint mix and then squeeze out the paint. Hang it up and let it dry. It goes a bit stiff when dry but that`s OK. Now I start teasing the fibres up with a wire brush. Some of them tear away and others remain attached. When I`ve thinned it sufficiently I peel the top layer away from the hessian and put it aside....that`s my coarse longish grass. The other fibres that were torn away I then put in the tea strainer and sieve through the finer fibres. The finer fibres are my shorter grass and can be sprinkled onto PVA. Repeat the process on the back side.

Right...trees..the next door neighbour has got a Paperbark that hangs over my fence and drops it`s little branches in my yard. Thanks mate!!....tree trunks...free and pretty well formed. The foliage for the trees is home made flocking. I have a good supply of foam rubber. Use a half house brick sized piece and soak it in the same green paint. Squeeze it out and let it dry. Then use the kitchen grater on it to create flocking.....best done over a plastic box or cake box.

A bit of PVA or spray adhesive on the tree and chuck on some flocking. Spray on some more glue and build up the foliage till it looks right. When finished... a coat of hairspray to keep it together.

So there you go....it requires some work and time, but it hasn`t cost me a cracker yet.!!

Here are some pics.....and there is room for a lot of improvement....but it`s getting there.

The little man is there to give it some scale. The right hand side ( white ) is untouched polystyrene.




Here`s the left hand side.....dirt stuck onto polystyrene with PVA. The grass is the coarse, teased underlay that was peeled off the hessian.




An overall view.....the dips / dents in the ground were done with the hot air gun




Here`s the little dude under his tree in the train room....note the texture on the trunk and also it`s a bit straight looking at the base......but I can work on that.




As I say....it can only get better but I think it`s worth a bit more time and effort.




I should point out also that I have given it some dabs of yellow and some different green here and there to break up the monotone green.




Now the observant among you will have noticed one glaring omission amongst the materials list.

Yes...you`re right....plaster.....none used

So there you go folks......I still need to learn a lot about scenery but I think this is not too bad a beginning and it may just pan out OK, especially with a lot more variety of plants and colours etc.

Gormo







____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Yes Marty I have to agree about the northern hemisphere. When you come back from there into Australia this country looks so dry.

I was in Ireland and England last year. The Irish countryside is so green (40 shades I believe) it nearly hurts your eyes.

I agree about it not looking real or at least until you get there and find out it is real. So I too will be looking at my pics and also doing some research on different types of Brit trees. I guess I will know when it looks right to me.

Derek the microwave crossed my mind when Gary mentioned cooking the dirt in the oven. Why not nuke the little blighters??????

The soil I have been using has no visible plant material in it......it`s very dry and clay based so possibly it`s OK. I think Martys comment about soaking the soil in PVA would lock in the little bugs is probably right too. So a combination of the oven / microwave and PVA and Paint, Hairspray etc. should render it safe methinks.???

Now where did I leave the shovel????

By the way....to highlight what I`m talking about re the scenery in England and Ireland.....St. Kevins Monastery @ Glendalough south of Dublin



And this one taken in West Yorkshire on the way to Keighley & Worth Valley Railway



Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day folks,

Back to the railway.

Now that Little Barfield is installed, it can progress no further until the track that passes under the far end of it is also installed. The track in question leads to Duxford fiddle yard. Duxford yard will be attached to the rear of the island wall that supports the sliding fiddle yard ( Newmarket ) and Bamford terminus.

So today I cut the timber for the boards and also the timber bases for the removable cassettes that will be used in Duxford. The cassettes will range from 350mm to 1200mm long and will butt up to the connecting single track to the rest of the system. The fiddle yard will have to be built first and then the connecting track, so that alignments and clearances can be sorted out.

One of the first requirements will be a cassette ,so that heights can be set correctly, so today I built the first one, a short one to suit a railcar.

It has an 18mm ply base, Aluminium angle sides with Aluminium handles and 16mm dowel grips. The end stops are plastic angle connected to a shelf support and they are easily removed. The Aluminium angle acts as the rails as well.

This is not my original idea but simply my interpretation of what others have done.





It still needs a bit of a tidy up and some black paint on the timber












The end stop has a locating pin under it and just pulls out





The angle is also the rail and yes the flanges do clear the timber below. There is very little clearance but enough. I have tested my stock extensively before building. Even the old stock with the bigger flanges works fine....no probs.







The power connection to each cassette will be with Aluminium prongs ( a bit like a slide on clothes peg ) mounted at the end of the exit rail.....more on that later.

Well it`s a very simple system but it does require accurate building to achieve consistent results.

So there you go folks....onwards and upwards!!

Gormo








____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

Thanks Derek, John & Toto,

I had not realised we had got to 1,000 posts....that`s a lot of info and it just goes to show how these things can build up quietly in the background.

Toto ......the way this thing works is probably best shown with pics. I have made a crude version of the connector and a mock up with the timber, track and cassette.

Firstly this is the connector. There will be two of these....one each side of the track. Each one will be wired to it`s neighbouring rail and therefore the connector will transfer current to the cassette.





Apologies for the crude finish but it was just slapped together. Because the angle is the same as used on the cassettes, the fit will be nice and snug and electrical conductivity should be 100%







The top board will be glued and screwed to the bottom board. The bottom board will be long enough to accommodate a 1200mm cassette. I will have probably 3 copper clad sleepers at the edge of the top board so that we don`t get any movement in the track. Hopefully the boards will have a crisp clean edge...... a little better than what`s on show here. This is the thing with recycling, everything has to be trimmed, cleaned, stripped or whatever to get back to first class materials......Oh well....it`s cheap!!!







The cassettes will be placed on the lower board and then slid up to the connectors for a push fit.

The connectors will transfer power to the cassettes and they will also look after the horizontal alignment between rail and cassette. The vertical alignment requires 3mm flat bar to be screwed under each cassette to raise them up to track height. The flat bar will also act like a runner.





I hope this gives a clearer picture of what I am attempting to create here.

and Happy 1,000 Posts

Gormo






____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Moving right along.......I`ve now fixed the tray for the cassette fiddleyard in place. The system works, however requires me to continue to make cassettes too exact measurements. To help with this I`ve cut enough timber, probably an over supply, to make enough cassettes and then some , in the future.

Here`s the tray in place, bolted to the wall and connected up to a controller for testing.




These are the electrical and horizontal alignment connectors. I`ve just used a brass washer with the wire soldered to it to make the connection.





Now when the cassette is inserted into the connectors it is quite a firm fit. Removing the cassette by hand can result in a jerking action, once the connectors let go, so I`ve made a lever to push the cassette backwards, gently and then it can be removed safely. The lever is made from a steel plate part from an old door lock. I`ve reshaped it a bit and cut some bits off etc...but it works quite well. The lever makes contact with Aluminium runners under the cassettes.





Here`s a cassette connected and ready to roll. I need to lay some copper clad sleepers here for the track connection.





A view from the rear with end stop in place.





A view from the side. The stock is well protected. The Aluminium angle on the side of the tray stops the cassette from shifting sideways.




Once the lever is activated....the cassette withdraws to this position ready for removal.





Now to compliment the info above, I`ve done a demo video as well....Enjoy !!!!!

Video Link





Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Matt,

There`s no reason why you couldn`t make the cassettes narrower.....although?????

I purchased 30mm x 30mm for a couple of reasons. The first and most important reason was that it makes it easier to build the cassettes. I clamp the angle to the base before securing it. This allows me to make fine adjustments before locking it down. With a narrow strip of angle, the clamp face will not have enough angle to sit on flat and may skew the angle slightly. You also have more room for placing the screw holes and fitting the screws. Another factor was availability. This size angle is a more common dimension and possibly more widely used, therefore there is more chance of my hardware carrying this size if I need more in the future. The connectors angle is the same dimension but the base was cut down to give clearance either side of the entry track. It`s imperative that the thickness of the angle is always the same so that it will fit the connectors properly.

The second reason was that this width allows easy access to the cassette when fitting or removing stock. Because the sides obscure the view of the wheels, you have to place the stock in by feel really???. You can`t bring your eye down to rail level to check if the flanges are all within the rails. I usually check if the stock can move sideways ....if it can it`s not on properly. Then roll it forward and backwards to check. The width makes it easy to get your fingers in there to make these adjustments. Narrow angle for this process would drive you crazy when fitting stock. It would force you to use the ends for loading, which may be OK???...but I would regret the loss of access.

The third reason for choosing this size was that, I guess because the manufacture of the angle is easier??, it was cheaper than some of the odd / mixed sizes.

Using this method relies totally on the consistant thickness of the material. If you can, buy all of your angle material at one time. This ensures that it will all be the same. I have bought Aluminium flat bar on two occasions, separated by about twelve months, and even though the label is the same and gives the same dimensions, the second lot is thinner than the first. It may be an error somewhere down the line or indeed it may be a correction back at the factory....who knows???.....but it would be frustrating for cassette building.

The overall width of my cassettes is 76mm and the tray they sit in is 100mm. I am not restricted by space in the area of this fiddle yard, so when I was sorting out dimensions it was an easy choice to go for 30mm angle. I guess if space is an issue, you could trim them down and adapt accordingly.

There you go mate!!!....there`s the answer in a rather large nutshell !!!

Gormo



____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day folks

A brief update on the cassette fiddleyard.

The track has now been connected along the wall of the yard and out into the main line area




It passes under the end of Little Bardfield and makes a left to exit over a short plywood bridge which allows it to clear cables.

The clearances are good as you can see in this pic below




Here is a side view of the ply bridge over the river cable





And another.....I have a single vertical screw under the middle of the bridge for support........no movement and an easy solution. This area is non scenic so it doesn`t matter how issues are resolved as long as it works!!





A top view of the bridge and the exits from the main line yard





And from the Little Bardfield end




Now also the complimentary video





Gormo



____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Just carrying on from the above update. The connecting track is now complete, so now trains can run from Great Chesterford to Duxford Branch ( cassette fiddleyard ).

There is nothing too radical to report about the construction of said line, I think the video will cover it fairly well in combination with the previous video.

Here`s the link



And the YouTube video



Well the next phase is to extend the track from Little Bardfield over and above the Duxford line and the Main lines, and head for the back wall of the room and exit through the wall en route to Bamford terminus. That should be interesting?????

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Just a quick update with pics.

I`ve fitted the elevated track base for the track extension from Little Bardfield. Still more to be done but we`re heading for the wall and an exit from the room once more.

You can see the track leaving the end of the platform on it`s merry way. Track is not fixed down by the way.



A closer view. I will remove sleepers to go over the bracket. I insulated the bracket with electrical tape.




An aerial view shows the passage across Main lines and the Duxford yard ( cassette fiddleyard) raised line




Now we`re on the other side of the wall





And here is a drivers eye view....this is the entry to the Main line fiddleyard known as Little Bardfield Sidings..........concealed of course.




Well there you go folks.......this is a very brief account......I`m pinching time from my guests at the moment......so I must return.

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

Thanks Toto,

With you there to spur me on.....how can I fail ???

Well folks....I got the hole cutting gear out today and we are now through the wall again.....another mouse hole.

The boards are in but the track is not down yet. Clearances appear to be quite adequate and the circuit around the back room should not be too hard to do.

The circuit will have to wait though because Bamford terminus will have to go in first. Bamford has to go in first, because I need to determine exactly where the next hole in the wall will be and then I will have to do the incline in the back room to join up the two holes......if all that makes sense????

I doubt whether it will happen before Christmas.....I have a lot of other tasks related to the Christmas festivities to get sorted out. So I will lay this little bit of track up to the current hole then I will clean all the track....set up some trains and generally have the railway ready for Christmas demos for visitors. One of our visitors has never seen it. She is a lady Engineer and loves model railways. I`m interested to see what her reaction will be?????

Anyway.....stop talking Gormo and show some pics.

OK here is the finished track bed and support system. It`s all fairly solid despite resting on polystyrene.



A view from the Little Bardfield end. No track is fixed down....it`s there purely for clearance testing.



Plenty of room



And another



This is the site for Bamford. The two bits of steel in the foreground line up with the one on the back wall. There are still more supports to go in along the back wall and wherever else I can fit them in



I have also done a refresher video to try and show the room and how things are placed within.

Video Link









Gormo




____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Well the railway is all clean & tidy and ready for exhibition tomorrow. Gormo`s Christmas Exhibition.

My three year old Grandson was here today with his Dad to help Gran & Pop put up the Christmas tree. He expressed an interest in seeing Pop`s trains but his Dad was pressed for time so that will have to wait until tomorrow. He likes to sit and go through the Railway Modeller with me and tends to ask lots of questions, so as compensation I gave him an older Christmas edition to take home with him.

Here`s the room ready to go....it hasn`t been this tidy since Gary popped in for a visit.



I have been trying to put this project into perspective time wise. I was remembering this time last Christmas when my focus was on just getting one circuit of track around the room so that I could at least run one train continuously. You lose sight of what has actually been achieved in a relatively short time, considering that it is a part time project. Life still goes on outside the railway room.

I keep being asked when I will finish....well you all know the answer to that....it`s never really finished because you can always find things to add. I am reasonably happy with the progress, considering some of the major projects that have been completed in twelve months. So I will not get bogged down with thoughts of a bridge too far because I have this record on the forum to remind me of what has been completed so far.

Today I was about to set up my Christmas train and village to go under the Christmas tree, when we were presented with disaster. One section of the track has been damaged in storage, in fact a section of rail is hanging off. It can be fixed easily enough but not now....not enough time....so no Christmas train for the Grankids this year.

Instead I have taken St. Nicholas village and placed it behind Little Bardfield out in the shed. Tomorrow my little Collett will be running a three coach shuttle service up to Little Bardfield from Great Chesterford for some special services in the church plus there will be carols and special events in the village.....quite a festive affair.

Tonight the train was doing trials and I thought I might show you some pics of same.

Here`s how the village is set next to the railway



The Collett and coaches ready for a return trip to Great Chesterford tender first.




And back again after negotiating the incline.....just pulling into Little Bardfield with the 6.15pm




Thanks to all who have participated in my layout topic and I wish everyone reading this a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Now the compulsory video. Sound ON

 

G`day Folks,

I thought just before I start sinking Coronas and get stuck into the Christmas goodies I might just do a bit more out in the shed.

There has been a lull in proceedings. Pretty much everything has been done for Christmas prep. except I have to wrap the little lady`s presents and put them under the tree. The little lady is in the kitchen preparing one of her special desserts for tomorrow and she is humming away as she works. That means all is well at Gormo`s place.

So what better time to sneak out to the shed....look at my railway and plan the next move.

The next move is Bamford terminus. Another part of Murray`s railway that was so close to my original plan and size that it makes one wonder about such things......we`ll never know but it makes you stop and think????.....Well Murray....here we go again mate!!.

The sections that will become Bamford were sitting on baseboard framing approx. 100 x 40mm so I`ve removed that this afternoon and the board I was working on was also in two sections so I`ve had to put some temporary bracing in place before removing the original frame.

Nonetheless, it`s going well. I think the most logical approach is to make the new baseboard framing to suit the site and then trim the baseboard to suit the frame. I have one corner that will have to be trimmed at an angle so I think this is the best way to do it. Murray`s board is not quite as wide as the site which will allow me to hinge it from behind so that I may lift it up to access the sliding yard....bonus!!!.....see folks...it was meant to be???

Anyway......here`s the first stage just sitting there to get a feel for how it`s going to look. This is the end that will have to be trimmed at an angle. It`s not perfectly in place. All will become clear after Christmas.



Here`s the other end



And a view from across the room. Focus is drawn away from the sliding yard underneath which is good.



And this is the clearance for the sliding yard....plenty of room to reach under. If there is a major derailment, the yard slides right out for easy access.



Finally a view from the far corner showing the seeds of what is to come. There is a big section to go in on the upper level on the wall directly behind the engine shed. That is partially prepared but can`t be trimmed until the frame is ready.




An interesting fact about this build, which I don`t think has been mentioned before, is the heights. Great Chesterford baseboard height is 1000mm ,but by the time you get around to Bamford, the baseboard height has risen to 1160mm. The higher level would have been preferred in my younger days, when standing for long periods was easier. Now I have bar stools with adjustable height so you can find a good viewing height wherever you are positioned in the room.......Aaahhh!!! it`s good to sit down and watch the trains go by at eye level.

So there you go.....the track plan on the board shown will be modified slightly. The tracks at the rear will be converted to a bay platform. In other words the points will be removed and the station platform will be extended slightly backwards to form the end of the bay and create more room for the station building. The run around loop will become a siding. Obviously some restoration is required which will involve some track replacement etc.. but this is not a chore for me.....it`s part of the fun of building this little railway empire!!

Time to sign off from Great Chesterford now and as far as any more development goes prior to Christmas.....that`s it for the moment.

Christmas Everybody

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Well I managed to get out into the shed today. Time for a quiet day and a bit of reflection and assessment. I thought I would have a go at a little project I have had in the back of my mind for some time......a track cleaning vehicle.

I was cruising the model railway sites on the internet, possibly as much as twelve months ago, when I came upon a simple idea put forward by some American gentleman. A track cleaner made from what we call Masonite here in Australia....it may be known by some other name to overseas folk. Basically it`s a hardboard product, deep brown in colour, approx. 3mm thick, rough on one side, smooth on the other. The American gentleman cut some board to resemble a ski with a bevelled edge at either end, rough side down onto the track surface. The ski was fitted under a wagon with screws fitted as guides and weights acting together as one.

I had my doubts as to whether the Masonite would indeed clean the track....it`s a wood product after all. A couple of weeks ago I cut a small pad of Masonite and tried it on the track just doing it by hand. Well....it worked to my surprise....it`s not as aggressive as a track rubber or wet & dry paper, but it works nonetheless. You get a build up of gunk on the pad which I have been removing with a small wire brush. I brush the pad in one direction and then at 90 degrees and it seems to clear it ready for the next session.

This afternoon I set to work with an old wagon chassis that had been deformed by some method in the past and a Masonite pad and some 1/2" nuts for weights.

This is the pad designed to fit in between the front and back wheels of the wagon



Two 1/2'' nuts Super glued to each other and the pad



The old wagon chassis with a nut shaped hole cut in the middle and also two nuts glued on top of the chassis to give it some weight. The chassis ensures the ski will track properly underneath the wagon, therefore the shape of the hole stops the ski from rotating.



The ski fitted....the wagon just sits over the top of it and in effect pushes it along.





Now fitted to it`s maintenance train ready for work



Well folks ....it seems to work like a little beauty. It`s a lot easier than going around with a track rubber.....especially in the hidden areas....they don`t have to be uncovered.

So....it`s early days....testing will give a true picture of how well it works, but it seems to be a goer at this stage.

Here`s a video with some backward and forward running over track and points.





I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year.!!!!!!

Stay safe and I`ll see you in 2015



Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"

 

G`day Folks,

Thank you all for your positive comments.

Just some additional info.

From what I have read this system of cleaning has been around for a long time in the States, in one form or another. Some folks clean the pad with sandpaper thus leaving a rough surface on the pad after cleaning....ideal !!....and some folks use a small wire brush to achieve the same result. At this point in time, I prefer the brush.

The popular method of use appears to be running the track cleaner around prior to each running session, however some folks disguise the cleaner or cleaners in wagons and run them as part of the running session. There is the drag factor to be considered if you`re considering making up a train with these wagons included.??

One recommendation I found was to have at least two wagons set up and attached to the front and back of a loco. This allows you to reach full length into any siding regardless of direction.....I think this is a good tip!!

The information seems to indicate that the Masonite really is for removing oxidation and dust from the rails whilst very dirty track may need a more aggressive approach such as a track rubber or abrasive paper.

Well I think one could make ten years supply of pads for next to nothing, therefore when they wear down to an unusable state, just chuck them in the bin.

With regular runs of the cleaner I think trains should run well consistently and consequently save a bit of work cleaning track by hand.

Gormo


____________________
"Anyone who claims to have never made a mistake, never made anything!!"