"Voiding the Warranty" - Mol's experiments in 21mm gauge

[Mol_PMB]

Switch blades now made and fitted, and some wires for power supply added too:

I've tried a couple of wagons and they seem to run smoothly through it.

The next job is a good clean up, and then I need to try and fill the insulation gaps in the 'timbers' so they're not so obvious.

At the weekend I might put the baseboard together.

[Mol_PMB]

Today I have assembled the baseboards.

I have also made a start transferring the trackplan from the computer to the board. This is a kind of 'human in the loop' plotting exercise... 

[Rob R]

Paul,

Are you using the 3dp track bases and, if so, do you have enough?

Looking good so far.

Rob

 

Edit:- Just noticed the check rails on the prototype photo, so maybe not the 3dp bases then.......

Edited Saturday at 18:55 by Rob R
editing

[Mol_PMB]

Just now, Rob R said:

Paul,

Are you using the 3dp track bases and, if so, do you have enough?

Looking good so far.

Rob

Hi Rob,

I used quite a lot of the 3dp track bases in my display cabinet, but I still have some left over and I'm hoping they will be enough for this layout. 

I've just got them out of the box to have a look, and it's going to be tight. If I do the sector plates on copperclad then I'll have just enough 3dp bases for the rest of the plain line (both the scenic side and the fiddle yard). It'll be tight though.

However, the copperclad I'm using is 1.5mm and the 3dp bases are 1mm thick, so I'll need to pack it all, which is a bit of a pain.

Are you able to do the 3dp bases 1.5mm thick? If so I'd need 40 sections. 

Cheers,

Paul

 

 

17 minutes ago, Rob R said:

Edit:- Just noticed the check rails on the prototype photo, so maybe not the 3dp bases then.......

I'll use copperclad where there are checkrails, but there are plenty of areas without, where the 3dp bases are easier than soldering and look better too!

[Rob R]

Paul,

I shall dust down the printer and have a play.

Rob

[Mol_PMB]

Plenty more progress today on Quartertown Mill. 

Having marked out the track positions, I then had to juggle the desired positions of point tiebars and uncoupling magnets, with the diagonal bracing underneath the boards. This was made easier because I hadn't fitted the diagonal bracing, and indeed I had to modify it from the intended design to make it clear the leg mounting positions as well as the point tiebars. Anyway, here is the result, seen from underneath:

The two boards will be permanently joined together in due course, and will sandwich another piece of ply that will be part of the structure of the scenic breaks. Here are the main components temporarily bolted together, but there are still a lot more parts to make:

 

Also seen in the photo above are the track bases. These are 4mm MDF, cut to shape on my little laser cutter. Raising the track slightly above the board gives me some height for the sector plates, and also helps to avoid the 'flat earth effect'. There will be another layer of 3mm cork on top of the MDF. 

Another thing visible in the photo above is that the scenic breaks are about 50mm wider than the main boards. I'm not sure why this is - they are all standard parts from Grainge&Hodder and have the same interface geometry. I've decided to use this to my advantage and to widen the board by 50mm at the rear (fiddle yard) side with a cantilevered extension. This will simplify the track geometry in the fiddle yard and the scenic break along the length of the layout between the fiddle yard and the visible section.  

Here's a view showing the main sector plate, a home-made laser-cut assembly:

Finally, here's the crossover positioned on the layout. This is the only complicated bit of track, the rest is plain line although there are some more sections with checkrails:

Also on this image I've tried to sketch in (in blue) the scenic break that will hide the fiddle yard. This will form a backdrop to the low-relief mill buildings.

I feel I've made good progress this weekend, though I can't hope to match Darius's speed!

[Mol_PMB]

Some of the mill buildings are still in existence, as seen in these photos from Fred Dean and Jason McAree on Flickr. 

I think I'll need to make a field trip there next time I'm in Ireland.