Wednesday 5th March 2024

Worklist: Fit the three siding magnets.

The uncoupling magnets need to come up reasonably close to the underside of the track, so holes are required in the plywood base. The position of the magnets was carefully assessed to suit operations and avoid any framework underneath. 4 holes were drilled in the corners, then a small handsaw was used on the sides, before cleaning up using an electric file. 

The printed circuit board track is laid on thin cork, but as the Peco track sleepers are thicker than the printed circuit board track, it is laid directly on the plywood base. When everything was aligned, the Peco track was pinned down.

Thin card squares were slipped under the track where there were magnet holes. This will support the ballast which is laid later.

The completed new trackwork

The long siding has been given two uncouplers in case something needs to be left at the very end. Note: the Peco 0-16.5 Flexitrack sleepers were separated and moved to a more realistic spacing. 

Geoff is ordering more servos for the points and uncouplers and had purchased two of the 4-servo Merg controllers, which he will assemble in due course. Stephen had purchased more Slaters coursed stone plastic sheeting and will make a mock-up structure to extend the bridge over the new front board unit.

We were pleased to hear this week that Chris and Ted, who helped to operate Worton Court at the Birmingham NEC show in 2024, are available for the Aldershot show in October 11/12 2025. It will be great to have them on-board again.

Farnham MRC show at Aldershot

Monday 24th February 2025

Geoff had been going through his 'stock' of various 3D printed components for the point motors and magnetic uncouplers, and decided we needed to check which designs were the most suitable for the new board units. The arrangement of neodymium magnets in particular needed to be confirmed. The main board was up-ended on the bench and a survey carried out. 

Point motor

A rather messily modified uncoupler

We then went straight into fitting the new mainline point. To match the existing track 'underlay' (make unknown) meant 3 layers of thin card rather than the thin cork we had anticipated.

The final position of the point showed that more of the scenery peninsula needed to be removed and the big belt sander had to be used to trim the plywood edges down.

Thin cork underlay was glued down and the refurbished point fitted in the siding area.

An old length of Peco O-16.5 flexitrack, with sleepers respaced, was used for the short siding.

Wednesday 19th February 2025

Worklist:

Start work on the new point cross-over.

After double checking the position of the new point, Geoff's first job was to cut the ends of the insitu point with a Dremel and cutting disk. Stephen then carefully removed the redundant point parts and the old track bed down to the chipboard base.

Matching rail was sourced from two old yard lengths of track. However, it was discovered that both had 1 side of nickel silver and 1 side of steel rail. Geoff's second job was to unsolder the NS rails for reuse.

With the new point offered into place, the unwanted areas of mounding and foliage were marked and removed. This also involved removal of some of the ply upstand.

Geoff constantly checked the track clearances to maintain their 'legality'.

The point on the extension board is located close to the existing board edge to allow the sidings to deviate from parallel to the existing trackwork, for visual interest. The final position will be agreed in due course. (We have a couple of lengths of Peco NG flexitrack to play with).

Wiring/electrics was also discussed. New track sections were straight forward. 

Existing board: 1 new point motor. 

New front extension boards: 1 new point motor and 3 uncoupling magnets across the 2 new boards (all servo controlled). Instead of buying a MERG master servo controller, Geoff suggested 2 of the new controllers (one on each board). These smaller/cheaper units that control 4 servos and would appear to suit our situation well. Geoff will investigate further. Plugs and sockets for local wiring and switches for the control panel will also be addressed in due course.

Wednesday 12th February 2025

Geoff had been busy making one of the two new points required and this was reviewed insitu, together with an old leftover point. We'll have to make sure the point 'motor' can be accommodated on the extension, but Geoff is happy it will work. We also considered the magnetic uncouplers - one for the short siding, but probably two for the long siding - TBA.

Next up was trimming the edges of the station board extension. After a long discussion, a decision was made, pencil lines applied and the excess jig-sawed away.

The road area is assumed to slope down further...

...and the route of the disused siding was accommodated at the other end. There are still lots of details to be resolved, but the basics are now there.

Platform board: The fence will be removed in due course, so there is a bit of scope for the alignment on the main siding. Geoff was keen not to just make it parallel, and after confirming the point end, soon had a couple of ideas brewing. An 'S' line was interesting, but we settled on a diagonal alignment as it offered options to accommodate the higher ground on the existing board which may also have to be reshaped. The face against the existing boards was marked just below scenery level and cut away. A retaining wall will be built around the base of the water tower. The outside face was cut down to a notional gently sloping line. 

 

The short head shunt length was fixed and the inner upstand cut down to match the existing ground.

The end still needs resolving, but we'll cross that bridge in due course (!!!).

Monday 3rd February 2025

Another Monday session.

The final frame had glued nicely, so the fixing bolt holes were drilled and ironmongery fitted. Alignment pins would not be required as there will be no 'active' trackwork laid over the board joint.

The pre-cut top strip was fettled to a nice fit and then glued and screwed in place. This left the road section to be added. The dropped blocks for the road were originally positioned to allow a full piece of 'something' to go on top. However, it was decided to use a matching piece of 9mm plywood fitted level with the block tops, giving more flexibility for the road construction. A piece was cut to size and with a temporary locating strip, it was glued in place.

Finally, we again experimented with a length of Peco flexitrack to investigate the disused siding route discussed the previous week. It still looked like a good idea.

Next week we should at least make a start on cutting the side uprights to their required profile. We are still not sure what the profile will be and whether alterations to the existing ground profile/construction will be required. Geoff is planning to get the new point work underway before next week.

Monday 27th January 2025

Other commitments have meant diary-problems for a couple of weeks, but we needed a 'fix' so yes, a Monday session. 

While reviewing the previous weeks work, Geoff noted that the new point on the main board would require full point control including rodding (argh!), but the point on the extension could be manual (phew!).

Geoff was also adamant that an alignment pin was required to guarantee track alignment for the extension trackwork. However, as there wasn't a spare fitting available, the first job was to make a new one. A hole was drilled through to the adjacent board and the alignment pin components fitted.

End station board: The ground levels and road profile were given some thought. Rather than the new trackwork being a very long siding right through to the road, could it have originally been a redundant extension to another quarry? A track curve guide was laid in place, giving an idea of what it might have been, and it worked well. The final curve position is TBC.

As the remaining plywood strips had developed curves, they were orientated so as to counter-balance each other before being glued and screwed together. A lot of clamps were needed!

We'll see how it turns out next week.

Wednesday 15th January 2025

Worklist:

Fettle the two new front frames.

Trim the upstand of the second board.

Discuss the point position.

The additional frames had set well and now needed some fine tuning to sit solidly-square against the main boards. Thin packing strips were taped to the appropriate faces and the units run through the electric plane/thicknesser to finely adjust the meeting face angles. Belt sanders, sandpaper and elbow grease got the interfaces as close as possible.

The fence was removed from the bridge board to enable marking of the ground level profile on the extension upstand. However, being over 50 years old in parts and a mish-mash of construction, it broke into multiple pieces. We had considered keeping the front extension optional, but the fence was a major issue and its removal confirmed that the front extensions would now be permanent, with a new fence.

Fence removed and upstand cut to shape. 

The point position was next to be discussed. To maintain a reasonable siding running down to the bridge, the point needed to go into the cross-over. This also provided a reasonable length of mainline track before the bridge which would prevent long trains suddenly appearing in Edwards yard while shunting into the new siding. However, although Geoff was happy with the buildability, it just looked like an over-complicated area of trackwork un befitting the railway.

Positioning the point just before the cross-over meant a longer siding up to the coaling stage/road, but made the trackwork far more visually comfortable. This point position was agreed.

Note the point tie bar adjacent the existing signal.

A brief discussion on options for the bridge end took place. Piers on the current end of the parapet walls were an option, but how to finish the new siding? 

Wednesday 8th January 2025

Happy New Year to all of our readers!

The first job of 2025 was to mark the ground level on the front extension board and cut down the inner plywood upstand to a few millimetres lower than ground level to allow for the ground materials.

Three 8mm holes were drilled along the edge for the usual M8 bolts that will hold the extension to the main board. This was then set aside and the components for the next board extension assembled. 

Next frame:

Holes were drilled and countersunk in the inner strip for the block fixing screws. The blocks were glued and screwed in place and the part frame was clamped in place.

The 8mm bolt holes were drilled before assembling the framework, which made things a lot easier!

The outer frame side was prepared, glued and screwed to the inner panel blocks. The assembly was put back on the storage rack to dry.

We had discussed the option of tapering the board end and also whether to finish before the bridge structure, but finally decided on the maximum size possible. Adjustments can always be made at a later date.

The first framework was retrieved from the racking and the base strip dropped into place. This was cut to length, screw holes drilled and the strip fixed in place. Along this section, the track is level, so no additional packing was required. A standard cork track bed will be built up. The inner upstand will be cut down in due course.