The Sligo to Larass branch of the MGWR (with a bit of help from the SLNCR)

[2996 Victor]

10 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

Agreed - very glad to have discovered it.

Just got a copy of this myself - fascinating stuff and well worth the money!

Cheers,

Mark

Edited April 11, 2022 by 2996 Victor
Autogrammar :(

[StevieB]

I first came across the odd/even number conundrum studying civil engineering, when the argument in favour of odd numbers was that the eye had something to rest on in the middle eg an odd number of arches in an overbridge.

Stephen

[Angus]

Well, I believe it traditional to do some DIY over a Bank Holiday weekend. So not being one to let traditions fall I did some wallpapering.

Diluted PVA being the paste and Templot being the wallpaper, I've previous used Spray mount for attaching trackplans but this is getting stupidly expensive so the cheapskate in me resorted to glue. 

Supervisor no 1 wasn't impressed as there was nothing edible available....

Having the plan now attached to a sheet of ply gives the opportunity to check a few things out. First up was the Station building. The area for the actual building is quite congested but my mock up of the Dromahair station building fits ok, The second storey does dominate a bit though.

I need to make a mock up of the engine shed to check the scene more.

The carriage shed looks well, I was worried it might look a bit stunted I think it's ok.

Finally the small goods shed, again from Dromahair was dropped in. A larger one will be built for this location with the Dromahair shed used on the smaller station (not printed and mounted yet).

Supervisor no 2 is just checking Supervisor no 1 hasn't found any food.....

The second picture is a more representative view as the first was take form where a wall will be (and the backscene). the near back corner will be radiused once I've marked out the footprint of the engine shed. The rear back corner will also be curved to suit rather than angled but there is anther 75mm of length to fit first.

Another advantage of having the plan stuck down id I can start to plan the levels that will make up the quay side.

For reference the board used is 1220 x 450mm (~4' x 1'6" in old money) so need to be thinned down by at least 50mm to fit the location planned.

Edited April 19, 2022 by Angus

[Galteemore]

Excellent work Angus. If Dromahair is too much, can always go for Florencecourt or Belcoo, which have similar footprint but single story. Indeed, Dromahair was once exactly the same as Florencecourt.

Edited April 19, 2022 by Galteemore

[Angus]

Thanks Galteemore,

I was contemplating Florencecourt helped by the fact there is a plan in the form an Alphagraphix kit available.

I think this will more appropriate for the smaller station, the terminus needs something a bit more substantial. I have the plans for Loughrea station building copied from an old Irish Lines and some photos of Athboy, both of these examples being two storey though.

Edited April 19, 2022 by Angus

[David Holman]

Always something rather satisfying about drawing plans out full size and there is a nice, spacious look to it. Know what you mean about spraymount, picked up a can the other day in The Range and didn't think about the price till the checkout was asking me a tenner for it. Big can though and, a bit like diesel now, will have to be careful how I use it!

[2996 Victor]

9 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Always something rather satisfying about drawing plans out full size and there is a nice, spacious look to it.

Looking forward to this stage! I've got my roll of lining paper ready.....  

Cheers,
Mark

[Mayner]

That Larass/Cahirciveen mock up has me mighty tempted  though it does not fit in with my MGWR/WLWR interests. 

The way the goods yard and station is squeezed in between Quay Street and the sea wall makes a visually and operationally attractive model.

Interestingly the railway era Goods Shed and Oil Depot were still in use nearly 20 years ago, the Legal Aid Board Offices are on the site of the station building and loco depot.

[jhb171achill]

On 27/3/2022 at 10:14 PM, StevieB said:

What a fascinating YouTube video, albeit the sad process of track lifting. There is more information here about Killala station than I have seen anywhere before.

Stephen

Gerry Conmy, who put that together, would be the acknowledged expert on that unfortunately short-lived line.

[Angus]

I learnt a lesson a while ago that trying to build 2mm scale pointwork in-situ is a pain in the proverbial. Fortunately in such a small scale the templates can be easily mounted on a small board.

As all six points at Larass are clustered together this should make construction easier.

I printed the templates onto card (I've had trouble with paper stretching and tearing in the past) then taped these to the board (and offcut of old ply I had knocking around).

I had held off doing starting this as the 2mm scale association stores were out of stock of PCB point timbers (isn't that always the way...) but as they are back in stock now so I thought I'd get started and then work out how many packs I need to order.

It turns out I had enough in store to complete the pointwork! 

A few hours later and all the sleepers are cut to size and laid on some double sided sticky tape ready for the rails.

[Angus]

Progress is dribbling on, with the odd hour snatched here and there over the past month.

Before progressing any further I wanted to check the alignment of the rails in the shed area (this was guessed at in the Templot plan) and ensure the scene wasn't too cramped. I reduced the scale plans of the Loughrea shed in New Irish Lines to 2mm and printed them out on some thin card then assembled into the structure cutting out the shed doors.

All seems to be in order. I need to work out how to replicate the mixed stonework with brick returns and reveals that are so charismatic and typical of MGWR construction. I've various manufacturer's embossed sheets, so some experimentation is in order.

With the test complete it was time to cut the main boards to produce the levels down to the harbour.

 

Hopefully self-explanatory, the lower level will be the water, the mid-level the quayside with the upper level being the track. The rear corners were also radiused to avoid corners in the backscene. I should be able to sheet the whole board in one long run.

After a bit of thought I decided to invest in a 100mm diameter forstner bit to cut the turntable well. I thought this would produce a nice accurately cut hole. I should have guessed that with this size bit it is almost impossible to stop it wandering. It would have worked if clamped in a pillar drill, I just don't have one big enough to fit the board underneath. The resulting chewed up hole was a little demoralising.

Having sat and thought about it some more, I used a core drill to form the well. I had to resort to a chisel to remove some of the wood but the core drill left a neat edge as a guide. Lesson leant! To tidy up the hole I wrapped the core drill in cling film and used this as a form filling the gap with with wood filler. After leaving to set for a few days the form was removed and the filler sanded. It's not perfect, but usable with a bit more remedial work.

The outline of the cut made by the wandering drill can seen by the extent of the filler in the picture below.

With that done it was on with the framework. I'm using L-girder construction. Awhile back I had a 7mm scale layout ruined due to a leaking garage roof, I recently stripped it down to take to the tip, on removing the badly warped MDF top I realised the L-girder framing was still solid and straight. Much of it is getting re-used here.

The framing is mostly complete now, I just need to cut out the remaining board sections (9mm ply) and that should see the Larass board almost complete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[David Holman]

Always good to see how different projects emerge and especially the thinking that goes into them. That track plan has a very nice flow to it.

[2996 Victor]

I'll be very interested to see how you manage the stone/brickwork on the shed.

It always seems easier to model when the quoins and reveals are stone and the walls brick, but as you say the brick quoins and reveals are a distinctive characteristic.

Cheers,

Mark

[Angus]

So after months of procrastination, prevarication and other words probably beginning with P, I've finally started soldering up the pointwork.

The in between months haven't been squandered though, I finally got around to buying the 2mm scale associations book on track. 

http://www.2mm.org.uk/products/nms/index.html

I'm glad I did as it has helped identify errors in my previous track builds. I've always managed to get the track working, but never as smoothly as I would like. I'm hoping, with my now increased understanding, I'll finish up with better looking and better performing track. I've also been a bit more finicky with my quality control. Bin and restart actually saves a lot more time in the long run than bodge and try make good.....

All but one of the crossing are finished so just a few more lengths of plain rail to solder in and it will be on with the switches.

[David Holman]

Nice one, Angus and welcome back.

[Angus]

A quick progress update to prove to myself that the progress isn't fleeting:

All plain rail and crossings are now complete with a wagon freewheeling happily through the crossings in both directions.

Next is the moment of truth, once the switch rails are added any flaws become glaringly obvious.

 

[murphaph]

Looks "right" from here anyway! 

[Angus]

A bit more progress to report, the switch blades have all been filed and fitted using my home made jig:

And the tie bars have been made up

With the obligatory 5p for scale.

The tie bars are a bit of a faff to make but have worked well for me in the past.

Some of my 2mm finescale compatriots opt for a below base board turnout unit with the blades connected by wires through the board. I've never been convinced by this approach and prefer the tried and test moving sleeper method. The problem is in 2mm scale the PCB moving sleeper is narrow so significantly weakened by the hole for the point motor level. The result is that I had several tie bars break.

The solution came following conversations with another 2mm modeller who used to build pointwork on commission. His solution was to use a piece of thin double sided PCB (0.25mm) laminated to a piece of thin strip brass. The PCB can still be gapped to provide electrical isolation and the brass strip adds strength for the point motor level.

These are now ready for installation, albeit I have to remake one as I've managed to de-laminate one of the PCBs, probably by using too much heat.

All that is left then will be to cut and fit the check rails.... the bank holiday weekend beckons!

[jhb171achill]

This is outstanding stuff. Gawwd bless your eyesight!

[David Holman]

7mm ones are bad enough for me, so these are nothing short of alchemy!

 Always great to see your work.

Edited April 26, 2023 by David Holman

[Angus]

Thanks both,

I start using some cheap magnifying lens with a built in LED mounted on a head band a few years ago.

That helps with eyesight, I doubt I could do anything without them now.

[Angus]

With the help of some not so great bank holiday weather the pointwork is completed, all check rails added and the PCBs gapped, although I bet I missed a section. Shorts always seem to turn up no matter how careful you are. 

It was quite satisfying to remove the pointwork from the board it has lived on for nearly year and then peal off the template.

With some free time left I prepped the baseboard, holes for the wiring have been drilled, along with slots for the point motors. Despite my careful planning I've managed to get one of the tie bars partially in conflict with a cross beam which will need some head scratching to resolve.

Hopefully next weekend should see the pointwork glued down.

[Angus]

Plodding ever onwards..... the pointwork is now glued down with all electrical droppers in place. I've also been progressing laying the PCB sleepers in readiness for the plain track.

I've left the tracks approaching the turntable out until I have the deck in position as I noticed the well is drilled very slightly off the centre point on the track template. This will enable some local adjustment to the track to accommodate the error.

Another error I've discovered is that, despite measuring several times, I've manage to create the track plan 30mm longer than the boards. I really don't know how I've managed that! The issue being that the boards are the correct size for the alcove the layout will be sited in so cannot be lengthened. This has meant the goods yard headshunt has been sharpened from 500mm radius to 400mm to fit onto the board. It means the whole alignment isn't as pleasing and a wee bit crammed in but needs must.

Some careful gauge widening should enable successful running. It is not as if any long wheelbase 0-8-0s will be shunting the yard!

A spot of Ebay bidding secured a Farish Maunsell Mogul for a reasonable price and conversion parts have been ordered form the 2mm Scale Association shop which will hopefully make for a relatively straight forward conversion to 10.5mm finescale. The loco is the British N Gauge so is to 1:148 scale so will slightly dominate the remaining stock at 1:152 but hopefully not too noticeable.

Some number plates are on order to create no 378, built in 1926 and shedded at Broadstone for all of its life so a likely as any of the class to appear on the Sligo line.

In the period that will be modelled (the early '30s) the Sligo turntable was too small to accommodate the class so they wouldn't have appeared there. However, in my altered historical narrative a larger turntable has been installed at Larass to enable engines working excursion trains to be turned. This should lead to some odd engine movements, arriving tender first from Sligo to be turned and sent back tender first.

It also occurs to me that I need to finish some of my other loco projects first as I've still not got any motive power!

 

[Colin R]

Sorry but I kept forgetting this is 2mm scale wonderful job. 

[David Holman]

That, or its an enormous tape measure

 Lovely flow to the track plan and certainly looking forward to the eventual return of the 5p workbench, with the delights of those tiny models.

[KMCE]

On 23/5/2023 at 8:28 PM, Angus said:

This will enable some local adjustment to the track to accommodate the error.

I would not agree that this is an error - what I have found is that any moving section (turntable, sector plate, or traverser) must be in place, and location holes fixed before any track can be laid.  It is quite amazing how much difference there can be in track position from a very small movement off line during the physical installation.

Aside from that, this is looking great. Well done.

Ken