RJR "Springhead Junction"

QUOTE (Expat @ 16 Apr 2008, 20:00) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi John,

I've been studyingyour photos and trying to work out how the different levels work. Any chance of a track diagram ??

Expat

The tracI started with is not really very acurate and I am about to do a new one. Having said that it does help understand the basic idea. The layout is on three levels.

The lower level is a sliding traverser on the right as you go in. The traverser feed climbs up the back wall and joins the main level on the left. The main level is based on a complete oval. From the main level the TMD feed climbs from the right and joins the upper level in front of the shed on the left.

This is the original plan. The main level detail is different. but the upper and lower levels are pretty accurate.





When I get the new one done I will post it

John
RJR

QUOTE (Expat @ 17 Apr 2008, 02:25) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Thanks John,

Simple but so, soooo effective.

Every time I look at the photos I spot something new.

Cheers,

Expat.

Looking at the track plan I posted I realised a) how out of date it was and it didnt look very good ! So Ive done a new one on Goole Sketch up that is correct (but not strictly to scale) it should explain things a bit better

3D



Plan view all levels included



Plan view the upper TMD board removed for clarity



The lower level (traverser) all other levels omitted



The track laying around the corners is a bit more curved than the picture !!!

Im also in the process of building another layout underneath this one that is portable and may one day make it to an exhibition (if invited) So far the boards are made and the longer board has track layed.



But thats another story !!!

John
RJR

QUOTE (Expat @ 18 Apr 2008, 07:23) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Thanks John and good luck with the exhibition layout.

Judging by the standard you have achieved with 'Springhead' I don't think you will be short of invitations to exhibit it.

Cheers,

Expat

Thankyou.

Today I got loads done on the "other layout"

Both boards have been together on the dinning room table and the tracks jointed. The curved section on the in shed fixed section has been layed with the ends matched to the previously laid track on the two portable sections.

The longer terminus board has had all the tracks linked together to make it suitable for DCC ie "all live" and I have wired it into the control and had a loco running. I found this green 20 in a box ! Its the body of a Bachmaan sound 20 on a standard 20 chassis. I also dragged out my private owner wagons and Ive decided I like the look of the sorter wagons, it makes the layout look bigger! I know that private owned stock went out some time ago, but am I right in thinking some went into BR ownership (perhaps a en-mass respray ?) Early diesel / short wagons

Short stock









Overview left to right







John
RJR

After some discussion Ive decided to aim for early 60's that way I can use some Private owner stuff that has been taken in to BR, I can also have them behind diesel power rather than steam, although the odd steam may arrive !

Im hoping the wagons look more convincing in these next shots after a morning of fading letters and weathering.

After some advice about PO wagons, Ive toned mine down, and given them a good weathering. The track has also had a good cover with Matt black to get it to be more uniform (some was recycled from the outdoor layout)











Ideas are solidifying now !

John
RJR

QUOTE After some advice about PO wagons, Ive toned mine down, and given them a good weathering.

My understanding is that PO wagons were effectively "nationalised" during the war and suffered the same if not worse deprivations due to lack of maintenance as all other railway stock and infrastructure. The result of this was that after the war, all wooden bodied open wagon stock was in pretty bad shape. So bad in fact that a massive building program was put in place for the steel bodied mineral wagons that we are familiar with. This new stock rapidly replaced these PO wagons, few of which survived on active duty beyond the late '50s.

Any that did survive would have been incredibly grubby and would almost certainly have had some planks repaired with plain unpainted planks. There was an excellent five page article in the December 2007 Hornby magazine on how this "distressing" might be done.

David

John,

I have to agree with David (above), PO wagons were technically nationalised during the war into a pool. Certain vehicles were exempt from this - mainly specialist stuff.

On the formation of BR PO wagons were nominally returned to their respective owners although in practice this didn't happen, and they effectively remained in a national pool. As David pointed out those that survived, and many didn't, were in an incredibly run down state and were barely recognisable.

The modernisation plan of 1955 took all remaining privately owned wooden bodied two axle wagons into BR stock, when the vast majority were scrapped or taken into departmental use.

The bottom line is that you can not accurately run PO wagons with first generation diesel locos.

Regards

Not much has gone on in the shed this week , cant say I have been in the mood due to a terrible week at work, but its the weekend now !!! So I have spent a couple of hours winding down this evening with a paint brush and a rake of PO wagons. Technically for use on the new "downunder" layout, pictured here on Springhead Junction.

Whats changed, well after severl pointers from various people... a bit more general ageing and delapidation, rust (they have seen several yours going to the sea front harbour) Missing / damaged planks, P numbers added but weathered out.













John
RJR

QUOTE (dwb @ 26 Apr 2008, 08:50) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I know how that feels

The wagons in the photos look good. The films I have been watching are all black & white, so I can't make draw any inference about the colour. The only other observation is that you can often see daylight between one of two of the planks. It looks like they may have shrunk a bit.

David

Thanks David, not sure I can manage gaps between the planks, although I may have a go on one with my dremel ??

Todays update

Okay accepting that the most photos would be taken indoors, and on another forum I have been advised that the rust is too red, I have done as advised and stippled the rust with chocolate brown.

I have also knocked together a board to take some pictures outside (3" wide one piece of track !)

Here are the latest results...









Am I getting there yet ?????

John
RJR

QUOTE Thanks David, not sure I can manage gaps between the planks, although I may have a go on one with my dremel ??

I'm guessing here but I think a machine tool might be too harsh. What I would try is scoring with a scalpel blade but you'd have to avoid slipping onto the planks themselves. To be honest, I'd only try it if I was short of other things to do.

The rust is definitely toned down and the appearance is better for it. I think the thing to remember is that coal wagons were doused in coal dust every time they were loaded which I guess was once or twice a week, but rust builds up over time. So even the rust will get a covering and a lot of coal dust will get trapped along the upper edges of the strapping where as it falls from above. Then rain will wash it in deeper and make a right nasty black mess of it.

Contrary wise, repainting the parts where the data panels go - weight, number etc - might help to emphasize the dilapidated nature of the rest of a vehicle. Just a black rectangle with white lettering on top. According to one of the BTF films, every yard reported what wagons it had, so that overall the people at the organising end knew what was where (as if?). To do that, the vehicle serial numbers would have had to be legible.

David

QUOTE (ben100 @ 28 Apr 2008, 19:21) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi
Great layout!
I was looking through and might have missed it, but is the layout DCC?
And what track was it? Hornby? And are the buildings scrathchbuilt, if not, could you say what make they are?
Regards
Ben

Yes the layout is DCC I have a Hornby Elite
The trackwork is Peco code 100 mainly flexi
the buildings are a mixture of Maetcalfe card kits and scratchbuilt from plasticard except Springhead Junction signal box that is Skaledale

John
RJR

Done some more work on Layout 2 "downunder" at the harbour end

Tonight I have decided on a change of track plan, only one cut back line to stable a dockside shunter, now all lines are pier side. In coming trains can arrive on one of the front two lines that allows the shunter to get out and move the stock into the other long line releasing the main line loco. The line to the back of the board will probably go into a warehouse.











Thoughts ??

John
RJR

I love Fridays typical of the building trade I finished early (I have to work tomorrow though) So I spent a couple of hours with a scalscenes harbour wall download and some balsa wood.....











It doesn't look quite so "plank of wood" now ?

John
RJR