Northport Quay

[David Holman]

 After a few emails back and forth to Gravett Land, have made a few alterations to the Acla. For example, the VIC96 doesn't have the red waterline paint, but seems this was standard in the periods I'm covering. Hence, used a mix of Humbrol 70 [brick/rust], with some bright red. Needed a couple of coats, but didn't take long. Also discovered that masts and booms tended to be painted cream, with the very top of the mast white.

 At some point, I'm going to have to steel myself to create some ratlines, so an unfortunate crewman can climb up to the masthead and attend to the navigation light, though right now it is not at the top of my 'to do' list!

 The other thing I asked about was making ripples on the surface of the acrylic sheet water. Turns out I already had the answer as it is covered in the Scenics book. It is simply a case of using clear, gloss lacquer. I've used both Tamiya No 22 and Humbrol Glosscote. You paint a succession of short wave like lines [all in the same direction], wait for them to dry and repeat - around 4-6 times, gradually building up the ripple effect. Not waves, but certainly the impression of the wind blowing across the top of a fairly still stretch of water, which is what I wanted. A couple more coats may yet be needed, while the effect is more noticeable under certain lighting [and definitely more than in the photos].

 

 

[J-Mo Arts]

That little bit of texture has already worked wonders David, it looks absolutely fabulous! 

[Patrick Davey]

Love the boat!  The railway is nice too of course!

[David Holman]

 The layout is now set up on my workbench for [more than] a bit of operational fettling, post scenics. A fair bit of track cleaning, along with a loose wire that needed sorting, but everything [thus far] seems ok.

 The new thread detailing the models I've been building is useful in that everything now needs thorough testing & in particular to ensure that the couplings operate properly. Up until now, I've used a mixture of three links [& the hand of god] or Dinghams and electro-magnets. Unfortunately, the latter, while working ok, do not really suit the type of operation I want to do, which is more like on Fintonagh, so looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and convert to Alex Jacksons. Am hoping these will be simpler in 7mm scale to make and set up, because what they offer in particular is the ability to uncouple on the move, which I haven't been able to achieve with the Dinghams. The latter are 'handed' too, which really compromises my turntable fiddle yard. Wish me luck!

 The other bit of work has been to make a short fiddle yard for the right hand end of the layout - representing the siding on the pier. I'd got a 4' standard gauge cassette, left over from a previous project, so this was cut down to 18" and regauged to 36.75mm. The 'track' is nothing more than L section aluminium angle, which is screwed to a piece of chipboard. This has then been strengthened with a piece of 2x1 underneath and fixed to another piece of chipboard which is bolted to the layout.  Aluminium angle works really well as track and no power is needed as the cassette is only for holding three wagons.

[Galteemore]

Inspiring stuff David. Would Flippems work any better / see link?  I’d fancy AJs but not sure I have the precision fitting skills….

https://pregroupingrailways.com/2022/01/15/an-introduction-to-the-new-flippem-coupling/

Edited January 29, 2023 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Interesting, though the problem with them being handed seems to remain and they look a bit too obtrusive to me. I was going to need to replace quite a few of my Dinghams (bent/twisted over the years), requiring another two or three frets.

 Have just ordered some 28swg piano wire and spent the afternoon reading articles in MRJ 55 and 56, along with the section in the Guild Website and Gordon Gravett's first book on 7mm scale modelling, which has a useful section too. Indeed, Gordon and Maggie are staying with us for the Tonbridge show in a few weeks, so he is not allowed home until I've had a personal tutorial!

[Galteemore]

Thanks David. I’ll be interested to see how it goes. I still haven’t committed to a coupling system. The fret of Dinghams I bought remains a fret…..and I sold the Lincs ones I’d acquired. 

[David Holman]

The lady of the house was away singing in Glastonbury over the weekend [choral society, not rock band], so this gave me an opportunity to set the layout up in the living room. There was a lot to do, because it had yet to be paired with the old Arigna Town/Belmullet sliding & rotating fiddle yard, nor had it been set up on the trestles I've built. I also wanted to add the fascia & pelmet, plus do a trial fit of everything in the car.

 Not entirely successful it must be said. It took ages to get the layout properly set up, while the pelmet and lighting proved a pain as well. Once I did get everything sorted, a major problem showed itself with both tracks across the baseboard join showing a distinct ridge, which promptly derailed all my six wheeled coaches. Not only that, but a bit of a dog leg in the platform was in exactly the right place to make coupling the AJs impossible.

 And there is a kink in the tunnel.

And the uncoupling magnet in the platform was in the wrong place.

"Apart from that Mrs Lincoln, how was the show?" Words that rhyme with rugger and rowlocks spring to mind...

 Then there was fitting it all in the car. It does. Just. The main issues being the extra stock boxes compared to Fintonagh, plus the Acla and the pier fiddle yard. 

 Anyway, after a major tidy up before herself returned, got the layout on the workbench & discovered that the problem with the track across the baseboard joint was that some card packing I'd used to level things up had swollen because of the dilute PVA I'd used for ballasting. Serves me right for not sealing the surface beforehand.

 

The only option was to to remove the rails and then lift/replace several sleepers to get down to the offending underlying surface. Removing a long section of rails along the platform at least enabled me to sort out the dog leg, while the uncoupling magnet has been moved too.

 None of this actually took very long, though reballasting and tidying everything will no doubt take significantly longer!

 

[KMCE]

Yes, Rugger indeed, very frustrating things to have to go back over, however getting it sorted earlier rather than the weekend before a show is something.  Best of luck with the repairs.

[Tullygrainey]

Rugger and rowlocks!! And muck too. They don't fix much, those words, but they do at least reduce the likelihood of a resort to the big hammer. Sorry to hear about your tribulations David but you seem to be getting the measure of them. Hang in there. All the best.

[David Holman]

 Just one picture, which [sort of] paints a thousand words - most of them rude...

 A lot of effort [and expletives] have been expended on this short bit of track in the last week. The upper line is [fingers crossed] now ok and the new sleepers & rail are being repainted. However, the Y turnout has been a real pain in the primary orifice, merrily derailing every wagon that went over it. I say every, though there are only ten in total for both periods [two wagons and a brake for each train]...

A combination of all the check rails at the Vee [frog] end and adjusting the back to backs on the wheels  got that sorted, but the point blades were more stubborn, requiring resetting the tie bar below the baseboard. Even then the wheel flanges were catching the open blade, riding up and derailing. Tortoise point motors don't allow a bigger gap, so had to resort to fitting a check rail just in front of the upper blade, which seems to have sorted the problem.

 Have since gone on to test the two short freights that shunt the left hand siding. Two wagons and a brake are pulled into the loop & then pushed back into the siding to pick up two more wagons already there. All five are then pulled back into the loop, then reversed again so that the brake and latter two wagons are parked beyond the Y. The loco can then push the two incoming wagons into the siding,  collect the out going ones, then run round and depart. All this is done via single electro-magnet [operated by a push to make switch on the control panel], currently marked by a small piece of masking tape on the right of the picture.

 In principle, this works well. In practice, the Alex Jackson couplings need careful setting up. Mainly, this involves making sure the hooks are at the right height and dead centre.  However, the dropper wire, mostly hidden behind the wheels, also needs to be just the right height to be pulled down by the magnet. A millimetre too high and it doesn't work [even with 15 volts instead of 12], a millimetre too low and magnet and dropper embrace, potentially causing a derailment. However, slowly getting there, though the two coal wagons still need attention, as does one end of the brake, note the masking tape again.

 Knowing when to stop and leave it for another day is very much the mantra in these things! 

 Really nice to take Fintonagh out and have a day with Galteemore and his son yesterday and get away from this for a while.

 

 

[David Holman]

After weeks of fitting and testing AJ couplings, along with a host of remedial work as well, NPQ is now back on its shelf as I get back to other stuff, like my E class 0-6-0T. This is not to say that everything is finished on the layout, but hopefully there will be time for final detailing nearer its exhibition debut in October.

 In the meantime, here are a few photos of it reassembled. The Acla has been screwed to the baseboard, the travelling crane is back on track and Sir Henry is on scene with a short mixed train of the type I've been asking about on another thread.

 Time to get back to some proper modelling for a change.

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by David Holman

[jhb171achill]

Absolute poetry in motion. I love the weather-worn look on the coach No. 4.....

What overall length is that?

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by jhb171achill

[David Holman]

Thanks JB. Neil Sprinks IRRS book on the Sligo says 28' 3" overall. There's a nice drawing of one of the early 0-6-2Ts on the cover, which is yet another loco on my to do list - unless Galteemore gets there first!

[Tullygrainey]

Great to see NPQ again and looking so good too. Everything just fits and there’s real depth in that back scene which grounds the whole thing in a believable context. I’m sure I hear seagulls…

[David Holman]

Not yet, but reminds me I must order some from Langley.

[David Holman]

 After a couple of months break, the layout comes up on the to do list again - this time under the 'general presentation' heading. The pelmets and fascias that I made back in April needed painting, so decided to use the same 'herb green' as on Fintonagh. It is the same colour in both pictures below - which only goes to show the effect lighting can have.

 In the last few weeks, I've also been brooding over the overall make up of NPQ. The original plan was for there to be a line exiting 'stage right' to the pier. However, there were two issues with this - firstly it would mean the need for an operator at that end and second that my existing drapes would not be long enough. On top of this, a fiddle yard at this end also meant something else to fit in the car, so in the end, decided it had to go.

 So, the hole in the sky has been boarded over. Operationally,  this means the goods train which was supposed to shunt wagons on and off the pier, needed an alternative operation. I think I've solved this by shunting a single wagon to and from the right hand siding. This was originally intended as a sort of shunting neck for the pier manoeuvres, because I don't want a rake of wagons blocking the view at this end. However, a single wagon, alternatively dropped off or added to the goods [itself only three vans and a brake], shouldn't block much of the view. What I do need to do is add a second uncoupling magnet in the platform road to enable the move to happen fairly simply. Th train loco will uncouple, run forward into the headshunt and then reverse into the loop to pick up the van from the siding.. This will then be attached to the brake van and the two vehicles pushed back to the headshunt, ready to be coupled up for departure.

 My other concern has been the main, left hand fiddle yard. This has been a very effective feature of both Arigna Town and Belmullet, being able to both slide from side to side and rotate as well. Hence no handling of stock is necessary. Unfortunately it is very heavy, so will be cut down from 118cm to 100cm and have 10cm sawn off the overall depth too. The 7 track train table will remain, though the central axis will be off centre. The shortened frame will eventually gain a narrow gauge track table, so it can be used when Fintonagh goes out again after its Donegal/Swilly make over - saving a bit of space in the workshop too...

 So, lots still to do and NPQ's debut at Uckfield in October feels like it draws ever nearer!

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

This is going to be lovely, the planning is very interesting.

[J-Mo Arts]

I don't suppose it's possible to have broad gauge on the top side and narrow gauge on the underside? 

[David Holman]

Somebody did something like that once, though it was the same scene four times in each of the four seasons. It rotated about a central axis and was more a diorama than a layout. Fairly sure it appeared in an early MRJ and no doubt someone will dig it up for us.

 As for your idea, accessing the wiring might be a challenge, methinks! However, there are some clever folk out there, so who knows?

[Killian Keane]

1 hour ago, David Holman said:

Somebody did something like that once, though it was the same scene four times in each of the four seasons. It rotated about a central axis and was more a diorama than a layout. Fairly sure it appeared in an early MRJ and no doubt someone will dig it up for us.

 As for your idea, accessing the wiring might be a challenge, methinks! However, there are some clever folk out there, so who knows?

Elmwell Village on the Wisbech tramway;

 

[David Holman]

That's it.

Thanks!

[David Holman]

 So, to the fiddle yard.

 I built it around ten years ago. The frame is ply and softwood sandwich type - two pieces of 4mm ply either side of 12mm softwood blocks. Very robust, but at around four feet long, it is rather heavy, especially when it had integral legs attached. The train table detaches for transport - just as well, for as it is made of 12mm mdf, that would add even more!

 It is however, based on a really clever idea [not mine, by the way], as within the main frames is a section that slides from side to side. The track table sits on top of this and when the sliding section is pulled right out, the former can be rotated, which means that there is zero handling of trains and stock. The train table is 42" long and has seven broad gauge tracks in its 24" width. Compare that to just four narrow gauge tracks on Fintonagh's fiddle yard turntable.

 The idea is that NPQ's fiddle yard is shortened to 39" [one metre], meaning it will fit across the boot of my car. Later, a narrow gauge track table will be built, so it can be used with Fintonagh, when that eventually goes out again. So, what to do?

  Starting with the main frames, apart from their weight and length, they are also much deeper than NPQ's baseboards. However, by cutting out sections of the ends and cross beams, I am now able to slot the board over the two longitudinal beams that sit on the trestles. Chopping out 17cm of length seemed a bit drastic at first, until I realised that if I made two cuts, either side of one of softwood centre pieces, I could then join the fames together again with a new centre piece, in this case made of 12mm ply. Glued and screwed in place, the frames are every bit as robust as they were before.

 The sliding table had been removed to do this, simply by removing two screws from each end. The table itself is hollow, with 32mm square softwood ends [and one cross piece] and 32x12mm sides. A 4mm ply sheet makes the base, with a sheet of hardboard for the top. To shorten it, I cut out a 17cm section from one end and then used 32mm square wood slotted inside to fix the two sections back together.

 

So far, so good. However, when I tried the rebuilt fiddle yard on the support beams and trestles, I found that when I slid the table out to one side, the weight on the track table caused the whole thing to tip over. Not good - especially as this was without the weight of seven trains as well...

 After muttering a few words like 'bother' and 'oh dear', on went the thinking cap & I decided the best option was to bolt the fiddle yard frame to the beams, with 100mm M6 bolts and wing nuts. This seems to work ok, though for extra security, I may also bolt the beams to the trestles. A bit of extra work when setting up, but better than seven trains of hand made stock landing on the floor...

 The final picture of of a new toy, namely an automatic shuttle unit to power the mobile crane on the quayside. Hopefully will be able to report on that soon.

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Well done sir

[Tullygrainey]

Looking good. That's a significant amount of re-working David but undoubtedly worth it. The solidity of everything is very impressive. 

Your Block Signalling SS2A shuttle unit should work well with the crane. I used one on my narrow gauge layout to control the passenger line along the back. Easy to set up and very reliable in use. It just takes care of itself once it's powered up.

 

[David Holman]

Much ado about mundane stuff lately, with electrics to the fore. Sadly, the shuttle unit hasn't performed & am awaiting a replacement. Am as sure as I can be that I installed it correctly, but for some reason there was no power going to the track - or at least my multimeter was showing just 0.4volts on the output terminals of the unit. Tried all the trouble shooting options, while in using my old H&M Clipper, the crane and several other locos could all run up and down the isolated section of track, so must assume the problem lies with the unit itself.

 All a bit frustrating, especially as I'd taken the trouble to wire in an on/off switch [DPDT slider], so that, once set up, the shuttle unit can work the mobile crane while a new train is set up from the fiddle yard. You can see the slide switch in the photo above, which also shows an extra push to make switch for a fourth uncoupling magnet. This is sited on the left baseboard & enables wagons to be uncoupled from the rear of an incoming train and shunted to the right hand siding.

 Looks like a bit of tidying up needs doing to the paintwork around the control panel! The four red buttons are for the electro magnet uncouplers, while the two toggle switches operate the crossover points at each end of the loop. Top left is a push-pull 'button' which works the starter signal [by wire and cranks], while there is also the socket for the controller and the afore mentioned slide switch. The whole panel is just 15cm x 4cm by the way.

 The reason for the electrics is to get on and do some more test running, especially as I've decided that common sense must prevail when it comes to exhibiting NPQ. In Belmullet's one and only show at Uckfield three years ago, I wanted to display as much of my stock as possible. However, 7mm stock takes up a lot of space & I've resolved to keep things simpler from now on. Trains are shorter on NPQ too and though it would be nice in some ways to have a range of shunting moves, Fintonagh has taught me that a limited range of moves will keep visitors happy, so long as everything runs smoothly. Hence, alternate trains will be little more that 'out and back', with the loco just running round. Hopefully, with hands free remote uncoupling and the crane shuttling back and forth between moves, this should be enough to maintain interest for both operators and observers, while there is certainly variety in the trains themselves, with at least 14 different options available, over the 1900s and 1950s periods.

 A small, but important key to the Alex Jackson couplings working well seems to be a U shaped piece of wire, acting as a 'limiter', when the magnet pulls down on the actuating wire. Without this limiter, the actuating wire is libel to catch on the magnet, so requires some careful adjustment - hence more testing...

 Meanwhile, the Acla is now firmly screwed to the baseboard and the right hand crane is likewise fixed in place - meaning two substantial boxes are no longer required for transport,  and likewise two things less to set up and put away come show time. Believe me - every little thing counts when it comes to minimising work on the day.

 

[Tullygrainey]

A shame about your rogue shuttle unit David. That’s v frustrating but all being well the replacement will do the job. 

All looking good on NPQ. That’s a nice compact little control panel. 

[David Holman]

Back to testing on NPQ - or in other words, playing trains. And why not, though it is a very important part of getting a layout ready for exhibiting. By and large, things are working well, though the Alex Jackson couplings still need practice. I've been concentrating on the early 1900s trains & have found a few changes have been needed.

 Losing the right hand [pier] fiddle yard has meant cutting down the GSWR goods. The train itself remains three wagons and a brake, but instead of swapping these for three different ones from the pier, instead, just a single van is dropped off/picked up in the right hand siding. My F6 2-4-2T [Alphagraphix kit] replaces the 101 0-6-0, because the latter doesn't like shunting into that siding and so is now with the two coach passenger.

 The photos show the moves involved - after arriving, the loco uncouples, runs into the headshunt, runs round and picks up the brake and rear van from the train. The van goes in the siding and the brake in the headshunt. After, the loco runs round again, pushing the remaining two wagons back to the brake, ready for departure. All uncoupling is remote and is about 90% successful at the moment - so still a bit of work to do.

  Losing the right hand fiddle yard has meant there were several nice wagons going spare, so have made up a 'horse special' comprising WLW and MGW horse boxes sandwiched between Dublin & Meath and WLW brake vans. Sligo Leitrim 0-6-4T 'Fermanagh' will haul this train, though at the moment several couplings need changing for it to work.

[leslie10646]

Wonderful, David.

Where are you exhibiting, so I can put it in my diary!

 

[David Holman]

Uckfield - 20th and 21st October, Leslie. I believe you may have some 36.75mm gauge items and visiting stock, which lets face it is pretty rare, will always be welcome.

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Stunning 

[J-Mo Arts]

9 hours ago, David Holman said:

Uckfield - 20th and 21st October, Leslie. I believe you may have some 36.75mm gauge items and visiting stock, which lets face it is pretty rare, will always be welcome.

See you there! 

[Bob229]

Superb, 

[adrianmc]

16 hours ago, David Holman said:

Uckfield - 20th and 21st October, 

Dates are actually the 21st and 22nd October - more information at http://www.uckfieldmrc.co.uk/exhibition.html

Looking forward to seeing Northport Quay - and David of course!

[David Holman]

Thanks Adrian!