New Fry model railway

[Dave]

We have been appointed to build the new layout for the Fry model railway museum. 

The new museum is not far off finished in the old casino building in Malahide.

The new layout is 11mtr long x 4mtr wide and will be OO gauge. The reasons for OO was space as O gauge in that size would look like a train set and budget. Replacing O gauge Irish rolling stock was also an issue. The cost in replacing a loco being in excess of 2 grand they quickly realised OO was the way to go.

The Cyril Fry original collection is currently off for conservation and will be on display in the museum. The museum itself is lovely,  above the layout will be a suspended O gauge track where models from the layot in Malahide will run through the day.

The new layout is under way, I have attached a few pics. The baseboards are birch ply open frame the upper structure is MDF. The open frame allows for realistic landscape. 

The layout will be divided into 4 scenic areas, Dublin at one end with Butt bridge and the liffey, Malahide on one long side, then part of Bray head at the other end with Mallow station on the other side. The pics show the Mallow side with the curve for Bray head at the end. I'll keep the thread updated as the build progresses.

[John-r]

Congrats Dave,. Looking like it's going to be something really special. They got the right man for the job.

One question Dave ,. what is open frame,. sorry if it's a silly question.

[Dave]

1 hour ago, John-r said:

Congrats Dave,. Looking like it's going to be something really special. They got the right man for the job.

One question Dave ,. what is open frame,. sorry if it's a silly question.

Hi John, 

Open frame boards don't have a top on them. They need more bracing on the frame to add strength.

The advantage of open frame is you can have the track work raised as the landscape rises and falls around it. 

[Dave]

Well it's moved on considerably since August. It is now on site and the track is down and now I have to sort out the computer control. The build has now been split between 2 companies to speed it up. We are doing the boards, track, point and computer control.

It should be open to the public for Christmas.

[BosKonay]

Wow! Ireland's Pendon!

[Warbonnet]

Well done Dave, looks cracking! We must organise an IRM day out to it!

Cheers!

Fran

[popeye]

Looks amazing, top class 

[PJR]

Cant wait to see it, looks great Dave, well done.

[ttc0169]

Superb layout-Well done Dave Its a credit to you and your talented crew, looking forward to seeing this one...

[Georgeconna]

Lovely Job on the layout Dave. 

It will be interesting to see the how long the new Modern RTR produced Locos and thier motors will last with the demands with lots of public running on this one.

 

 

 

[Mayner]

• On 12/1/2019 at 7:37 AM, Georgeconna said:

  Lovely Job on the layout Dave. 

  It will be interesting to see the how long the new Modern RTR produced Locos and thier motors will last with the demands with lots of public running on this one.

   

   

   

  Jeremy Clements wrote an interesting article (may 2011 New Irish Lines) on the challenges of maintaining the loco fleet on the 7mm Fry Model Railway.

• Interestingly it was found necessary to re-build the diesel fleet from a single motor driving all axles to a two motor arrangement driving a single (inward) axle on each bogie. Two powered axles on a single loco were found to be adequate as the 7mm layout was basically flat.

• The focus was ease of maintenance allowing a complete motor/gearbox/wheel set assembly to be quickly swapped out for maintenance or replacement without having to remove a bogie or dismantle the loco. This would be difficult to achieve in OO perhaps a minimum stock of 3 times the number of locos necessary to run the sequence to cover maintenance and repairs!

• The new Fry Model Railway could always consider the experience learned at Pendon in operating the Dartmoor layout since 1955 in particular Guy William's experience in building an maintaining 4mm steam outline locos.

[Georgeconna]

Interesting John, I read that Minatur Wonderland in Hamburg have not done a UK Scene as the models just wont be up to the stress! 

I'll look forward to see Dave's Master Piece when its done though!

 

[DERAILED]

Is this a joke? What has happened to the massive layout from the original museum? This 'new' Fry Model Railway looks no different to what one might see at one of the annual model exhibitions? The viewing area (?) appears tiny.

[DiveController]

Unfortunately no! In a nutshell it has been scrapped due to a 'lack of suitable space to do it justice' and the OO new 'Fry model Railway' is being constructed in the space available. I have to say that I like the new layout but agree that it is not like the old. As there are always several interested parties with vigorous opinions, so  better to reread some of the previous thread and form your own I suspect.