Wednesday 24th April 2024

Worklist:

'Show and tell'.

Fiddleyard storage shelf brackets.

Extra foliage.

Pipework.

Pigeons.

Yard clutter.

Both of us had 'homework' to display. Geoff had developed and made a new wagon for transporting large blocks of stone - a 3D printed, two-part chassis with additional timber detail. The Kadee couplings push neatly into the sockets. 

Stephen had added coloured track section markers to the control panel. Although newly purchased vinyl was used, the adhesive was not very strong, but it will be ok for the time being.

The main job of the day was to take a shelf support arm from a trestle and re-fix it to the new 4-leg framework. The shelf provides additional storage for cassettes adjacent to the fiddleyard. It normally comprises two hinged shelves, but only one could be fitted to the new frame, so a stop-end panel has been added.

More gutters and downpipes were added to the factory building.

Geoff had printed some pigeons - primarily to indicate the position of the magnet below the loading dock roof. The remaining pigeons were added to the parapet above. Barely discernible, they are a  nice addition, so a few more will no doubt appear in due course.

Geoff was finally able to strike the pipework foliage from the to-do list.

And another to-do was completed - a bare patch of ground behind the engine shed received some foliage as well.

The yard clutter has been a thorny issue for some time, but agreement was reached at last. 3D printed pallets, stoneware items and an early forklift truck would be used to populate the area.  Crates and loads will also be printed to carry the main products of paving slabs and architectural stone components.

Current stone wagon list and uses:

4/5 plank wagons will convey crushed stone direct from the quarry to the mainline interchange. The same wagons will convey waste stone from Edwards yard to the mainline.

2 plank versions of the 4/5 plank wagons (photo above) together with the new wagons will bring large slabs to Edwards yard.

4/5 plank wagons and vans will convey crated slabs and architectural stoneware from Edwards to the mainline.

Empties will return to the quarry and Edwards yard. Some movements will be with dedicated trains, but the addition of wagons to other trains 'en-route' is also anticipated, which should make for some interesting shunting!

Wednesday 17th April 2024

Worklist:

Fit a new controller socket on the main control panel.

Check-out the electrics on/in the main control panels.

Paint the backscenes.

Paul, another of our guest operators, made an interesting suggestion when he visited recently; why not add another socket for the handheld controller to allow a great extent of control along the layout? He was correct - our current socket was plugged into the left-hand end of the panel i.e. close to the end of the layout, whereas a socket at the other end (mid-way down the layout) would allow operators to move further down the layout - a 'no brainer'. A hole was drilled in the other end, another set of wires and socket was made-up and fitted. The new socket will be a great addition.

After making the changes, the main control panel was examined for potential failures. A number of issues were identified and rectified, which although taking longer than expected, left us with a lot more confidence in the system.

Some time ago, Geoff had 3D printed some ogee gutters and downpipes for the factory building, which Stephen had recently painted and weathered. Pre-glued in two sections, they were easily trimmed to length and glued in place. We were very pleased with the effect. Two other sets will be added elsewhere.

The layout was then taken apart and stored away. Some went into the main rack, but the two new boards went into their dedicated rack next door. However, the now completed cottages were too high for the designated space so a shuffle-round was required - but it all fitted - just.

The final job was to hoover everything as much as possible, set out all of the trestles and cover with newspaper. All of the backscene boards were then laid out, ready to be painted. To a half used tin of white undercoat, some grey undercoat (used on the baseboards and panel backs) was mixed in. Several existing boards had a creamy tinge, so some magnolia undercoat was also added. Eventually, all of the panels were painted. It looked good at the time, but we'll reserve judgement for when it has fully dried. 

Wednesday 10th April 2024

Worklist:

Check new extension drapes are OK.

Check faulty electrics on Worton Court.

Test the Land Rover on the stone yard road.

Review the stone blocks and discuss stone transportation generally.

Christine (Stephen's wife) had produced a new set of drapes for the 'extension', and as the full layout was still up, it was the perfect time to see how they fitted and decide where the Velcro strips were needed. A few alterations were required, but we will have a full set of drapes for the show.

The key job for this week was the electrics on the station boards. Some lights lights were working but others, and the two sound units weren't. The boards were dismantled and the two stations boards were clamped vertically onto the trestles. It is a bit of a mess, but some of this wiring is 50 years old!

After thorough testing, one loose wire was found and refitted, but then we found that some of the soldered joints and the attached wires were corroding and had broken. These wires were cut back or replaced, and resoldered. Once completed, everything was tested satisfactorily, to great relief. Whilst the underside was accessible, a survey of the many voltage regulators for the various features was carried out. Labels identifying each use and the output voltage of each were printed and fitted next to the units. This will make replacing a unit much easier in the future.

Stephen's motorised Land Rover was given its first proper run on the stonemasons yard. The gritted surface provided super grip and two loaded wagons were comfortably moved up and down. The two wagons were trial 2 plank versions of our standard wagons, specifically made for transporting large stone blocks. They also incorporated our 3D printed axle boxes. The stone is plaster filler, 'cast' into moulds of clingfilm draped over wood strips. They will need to be coloured to match the stone used generally on the layout.

We won't have time to create more of these wagons, but our 4/5 plank 'empties' will suffice.

The wagons and the way the stone loads were piled on was inspired by the photo below.

Wednesday 3rd April 2024

Worklist:

Welcome a visitor.

Play trains.

Test things out.

Carry out a few repairs.

Geoff had completed reworking the frame for the 2 new boards. A much better job. 

Chris Holmes has been a guest operator on Worton Court and Cottesmore West (he even had his own Cottesmore module and was part of the 65ft long display at the Sandown Model show!). He has agreed to assist us with the Salisbury Show and so a running session to learn the 'new' ropes made good sense.

The full layout was set up just before Chris arrived. After having a good look at the new boards, he was given a run-through of the new control panel, track section breaks and magnet positions. Stock was put out and we played trains.

Chris was asked to particularly look at shunting in Edwards yard. To do this, he needed to know the different stock moves, and was given 'this weeks' scenario:

Edwards is now considered to have two lines of production. Slabs/paving/architectural stonework and 'bespoke' goods - garden features/ornaments/headstones, etc. Stone slabs come from the quarry in 2 or 3 plank 4w wagons which are delivered to the front yard and shunted to the rear yard (a yard shunter is available). Vans or wagons with finished stone are brought up from the rear yard where they are shunted onto a waiting loco, or added to normal traffic. Bulk bespoke items are despatched from the rear yard or via the loading dock for local distribution. Residual stone 'waste' is despatched in 4w open wagons. Empty vans and wagons are returned to the front yard and then taken down to the rear yard.

Empty vans being returned.

One thing that a hidden magnet layout needs is good, unobtrusive clues about their locations and Chris's presence forced us to provide proper indicators. Normally, stones work well, or some clumps of grass, or a fence post etc.  There are two magnets in the photo below, which perplexed us, for a while. There is one magnet in the loading bay. Chris suggested a seagull on the edge of the canopy, directly over the magnet. There is also one on the road crossing the track where a pencil dot had been applied previously, but it was not easy to see when a train is over it.

After some thought, Geoff decided that the area is a likely place to drain the cylinders before starting off, so he added some rusty water drops/tracks, starting at the magnet centre.

It was a great session and we now look forward to the Salisbury show on May 18 &19th.