Dartmouth in Broad Gauge era

[Paul Townsend]

The alert amongst you are holding your breath to see this model
Some parts have appeared at Scaleforum and Scalefour North over last couple of years under the SGW banner and on my BG demo stall.

We moved home last October and dust is gradually settling...hence Highbridge reborn reported near here.

The time has now come for digitum extractum as I have a long-standing commitment to exhibit the embryo under-construction station boards of Dartmouth at two interesting shows in September this year. One is confirmed, BGS Newbury show, other is a probable near Aylesbury, awaiting Terry to consider my offer. There are also two other tentative bookings in 2017.

Track design in Templot was done ages ago so many of you have seen the 1/4 size mockup. Three of the four town baseboards were built (bare wood ) for the location ear-marked in our old huge Victorian home and the rotating automated fiddle yard traverser has been concept-proved and part built. That has been displayed here and there together with some mixed gauge track for the MPD and carriage sidings and with the lovely Olton bridge by the late Mike Jolly which will be incorporated in the full model. Actually starting track laying on the town boards was put on hold pending the house move and resolution of our Planning Consent which provides SWMBO with a lovely study and me with a big-stuff workshop and home for Dartmouth. After 6 months of delay and negotiating design details we have finally got the Consent.

I can now commit to an improved design which upgrades the platforms from one to two and puts the inner fishing harbour ( now Town Marina) in the correct geographical relationship to the well-known and still standing station building. Modified Templots for these three boards are now seen in the context of "what summer is really for", piccies attached.

For some bizarre reason my camera flopped into monochrome mode yesterday

I have always printed from templot onto 80gsm A4 paper and used a lot of magic sellotape but this week's high humidity changing to hot and dry has played havoc with paper distortion so alignment errors exceed 1mm in a few places.

For this purpose of checking everything fits and baseboard joint interference is practicable it doesn't matter much but as I move to track building this is unacceptable. I will try 120gsm paper and if still struggling will need to visit a professional print-bureau for a single roll jobby.
( Advice welcome)

Also there are a few tweaks to do in Templot before I turn on the soldering-iron.

Templot is not geared up for total BG baulk road use but Martin has introduced many features recently that make it easy to produce what you see here to locate baulks and rails, prior to drilling baulks for my bastardised Brooke-Smith technique. It seemed to work in all my trials!

I can now drill boards for TOUs and dropper wires and locate the diagonal braces and electrics below, then two coats of varnish and track underlay where required.
For those interested in such details, this will be the first exhibition BG layout using CBus by Merg and DCC

I have recently discovered ( thanks to Owen and John Gibbon, blessed be their names ) that I need far more setts than expected so that is another years work !

Baulks (for complex track) will be laser cut basswood to match what I have done in trials by hand-cutting. Plywood option is under test too for where the edges wont show below setts or ash etc
Buildings will be largely laser cut thin ply.

There won't be many updates to this report before October as the priority is to get track laid asap.....

[RobM]

Hi Paul, I always print out my Templot templates on Ryman A4 160 gms white card (other brands available). I then use PVA to stick them down to the base board and build the majority of track directly onto the stuck down templates. Never had distortion.
You mention setts…….I ended up casting individual setts on Manston Brewery and sticking them down individually, that way I was able to follow curves.
Rob

[Chris Mitton]

I have always printed from templot onto 80gsm A4 paper and used a lot of magic sellotape but this week's high humidity changing to hot and dry has played havoc with paper distortion so alignment errors exceed 1mm in a few places.

For this purpose of checking everything fits and baseboard joint interference is practicable it doesn't matter much but as I move to track building this is unacceptable. I will try 120gsm paper and if still struggling will need to visit a professional print-bureau for a single roll jobby.
( Advice welcome)

Hi Paul
I would definitely go for a roll print if you can manage it - it might well cost a few quid (or beers if you know anyone in a suitable business), but the hassle and problems it saves is immense. When I designed Stowe Fen a few years ago, I managed to get "a relative" (I won't drop him in the mire) to print off a copy of the entire layout on his work machine. It actually had to go in two halves (the Windows I was using at the time refused to recognise a page size more than 5 metres long!), but on the final printout, with baseboard joints marked on, the whole thing lined up on the actual baseboards with an error of about 1/3 mm over seven metres, which I thought was pretty impressive. And absolutely no alignment problems. All I need now is time to build the bloody thing....it ground to a halt when I became your Treasurer!
Like Rob, I'm building (slowly!) the layout straight on to the plan - but don't forget to have two copies made, as lots of details will be buried forever under ballast, ground, and whatever!
I also use several "normal" A4 prints for prefabricating crossings, for example: including Templot's very useful facility of "mirroring" a particular template, so you can use it as a jig for building crossings upside down, so keeping flux etc off the running surface.

Regards
Chris

[billbedford]

Perhaps people just need to build one of these...

[Terry Bendall]

Perhaps people just need to build one of these...

Alternatively find a local copy show that will do copies of large scale plans. Normally these use paper from a roll.

awaiting Terry to consider my offer

Paul now knows that we have found space for him to bring part of Dartmouth along. Amongst the other exhibits, and not mentioned in the Scaleforum preview that will appear in the next issue of the News since it has only just been arranged, will be Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight c 1960, currently being constructed by Andy Gannon which will also be well worth seeing.

Terry Bendall

[Paul Townsend]

Time for a brief update.
Last 3 months have been well busy with paperwork and architect and builders etc. The house expansion project is only 4 months behind schedule so roof off for the winter?

Never mind, I can retreat to Highbridge where we have finally re-instated running on the S&DJR circuit. It took ages to modify a lift up section to be hinged at right angles to its original configuration to match the layout in the new room.

Its a bit of an ironmongery bodge so far but it sort of works so we can again run trains on both GWR and S&DJR...improving it will wait until post Scaleforum since Dartmouth gets priority for 2 months.
Highbridge baseboards have more or less settled down from their trauma of last winter's move so I am happily ironing out bumps.

Meanwhile, laser-cutting of baulks for the mixed gauge turnouts for Dartmouth is going well. First one will be seen static at Railwells and operating at Scaleforum ( and Newbury the week before). Photos to follow when the sun re-appears

[Re6/6]

….I ended up casting individual setts on Manston Brewery and sticking them down individually, that way I was able to follow curves.
Rob

Another way, perhaps less fiddly, would be using the Harrap method of scribing into good quality tile grout.

From Quai 87.

Quai 87 tramway 1.jpg (64.82 KiB) Viewed 9516 times

A part of a dock layout that I started a long while ago!

john 1 308a.jpg (56.15 KiB) Viewed 9511 times

[Will L]

Another possibility is to use linseed oil window putty, fill in the paved area and leave a smooth flat finish which is slightly lower than the expected finish. Leave it to dry enough to have a skin, then impress setts with a simple press tool which can be made from 20 thou plasticard. The square edges of the platicard presses down the skin more than cutting through it, so the impressed setts have rounded edges. The down side is that it does take a while to get the right thickness of skin to start with, then for the finished setts to set hard enough to prevent further accidental impressions being made.

I wonder if there is anything available these days which sets quicker but does go through the stage of having a skin?

Also, If, like Rob, your happy to lay them individually, dried lentils make quite acceptable round cobbles, though you do need to pick out and use the little ones.

[David B]

Last year, there was an interesting thread on the Westlake Publishing Forum (American) where a chap first used wood blocks but then moved on to using a clay called Sculpey. He made individual blocks. I know this is in a larger scale than 4mm, but it is interesting all the same.

Anyone who has not seen this Forum, there is a lot is very interesting stuff on it.

[Paul Townsend]

Thanks for more ideas for setts.
I have seen Brian Harraps models and Branston Brewery over the years, both have very good setts.
I also saw (at S4North or Railex or Expo-EM this Spring a model called "Old Mill" or similar) some excellent setts laid with the newish Portugese material Redutex from DCC Supplies.

I know the Brewery individual setts method is definitely not for me.
I think the Brian Harrap or Will Lichfield or David Brandreth methods will give best result with maximum pain and patience consumption. I may have to go there if I live long enough to do the large area required.

Meanwhile I have a stock of 3 sheet materials to evaluate which will be quicker if appearance is good enough:
1. Wills cast plastic. I had dismissed this before as I found the panel joints spoilt it. However recent MRJ gave a recipe for successfully disguising joints so worth a retry.
2. Plasticard embossed sheet.
3. Redutex

As time is short I am unlikely to have resolved the trials before Scaleforum, but it will be a priority thereafter.

Meanwhile has anyone compared the use of scribing/indenting in tile grout versus window putty and found pros and cons?

[Paul Townsend]

Piccy of laser cut baulks as promised with some notes on my evolved method of building 7 ft and 4'8" Mixed Gauge Baulk Road track based on Brooke-Smith soldered rails.

I have trialled for laser cut turnout baulks:

1. 5mm bass wood sheet as first choice because it matches the 5mm thick baulks I am using for open country track. These are bought-in bass wood and dyed. The large thickness makes it easiest to create the central cess as required in the open road.
2. 3mm bass wood sheet as easier to cut but transoms are very fragile
3. 3mm laser ply. I initially avoided this as the ply edges are exposed in some places and the layers showed. However after laser cutting- slight scorching- and my usual dunk in wood dye they virtually disappear so the extra strength makes this the adopted material. I may also try 6mm laser ply later which will be helpful in some places.

The approx 1mm pilot holes for brass pins are lasered in and simulated joints in baulks show after light laser lines are cut on a second pass through Elsie ( my Laser Cutter ). Mahogany veneer strips are attached to simulate Brunel's hard wood packing. This is a pain to fix as it is PVA glued and needs just the right amount of glue to minimise the squidging out at edges which needs scraping off while still soft. The 3mm wide veneer must be exactly centred on the baulks else it looks awful. However it does look good and draws the eye away from the absence of fang-bolt heads in the rail flange ( yes I did try rivetting the rail flange but its not worth the trouble as they disappear when painted. The pin holes are later opened up to 1.3 mm for bass wood + veneer or 1.4mm for ply + veneer to take the 1.4mm brass pins.

There are issues of height variation due to using a mix of ply for turnouts and bass wood for plain baulks due to slight variations in thickness. While only fractions of a millimeter these would lead to uneven track if ignored. Judicious use of card packing irons out these bumps.

Some of you have seen my earlier BG track demos ( Scaleforum 2014 and 2015) showing use of PCB strips transversely under the baulks. This is highly successful as it provides gauge stability that is not reliant on slender and moisture varying timber transoms and provides electrical connections. This led me directly to the technique now used under the laser cut turnout baulks. This uses a sheet of Double Sided FR4 PCB with isolating gaps carved in on both sides. This is easy and quick with a scrawker and cleaned up with triangular needle file and wet&dry. The ply fret is taped on with a thin piece of card packing and holes drilled through on the vertical drill machine for the many pins (1.4mm for Bass wood or 1.5mm for ply) and a few for holding down screws. The FR4 is then separated and pin holes are then drilled out to 1.5mm for the 1.4 pins.

The above process provides kits of parts to assemble and is ready to solder rails to pin heads! Sequence of rails to fix is pretty much as for normal P4 "narrow gauge" track....start with prefabricated Vee crossings and then stock rails, switches, closure rails and pre-fab K-crossings. There are lots of Ks in MG track!
Its a pity that the bullhead rail-filing jigs available wont work with bridge rail, so back to the dark ages techniques for filing Vees and switches.

Soldering rails is done by pre-tinning rail foot and pin heads and using RSU to join them. This ensures minimal scorching of timber and least excess solder to clean up.

The pre-fabricated assembly of entire turnout on PCB is robust, adjustable like Brooke-Smith track and can be painted off base board. This is a huge advantage as painting rail is a more precision job then bullhead as no chairs makes it too easy to paint the timber too. Plain track can also be painted as a pre-assembled unit due to the transverse PCB strips. However as my baseboards are quite small, typically less than 3ft x 18", it is reasonably practical to manipulate them and paint some track after laying.

All is laid onto my usual 4mm black closed cell foam and then ballasting is done as usual...PVA and various grits.
Setts are another story!

I am still not satisfied with my current several methods of hinging the loose heel switches but that will soon be resolved.

A bigger difficulty is attaching tie-bars and switch to servo connections. The many standard guage techniques available for transverse sleepered track are not quite right for baulk road but I am working on it!

Servos for turnouts and uncoupler magnets are below baseboard, as will signal servos on later boards.

Since this layout will be wired with Merg CBus and switchable DC/DCC with a view to later part automation there are an awful lot of electronics underneath. The bunch of control PCBs are mounted on a sub-board that is mounted within the main baseboard frame on the diagonal braces. This sub-board is pre-wired and is connected to the baseboard wires by plugs and sockets. It can be hinged down to hang vertically which gives access to all electronics for debugging.

While my BG locos are being DCC equipped in the early years I will be reliant on friends' loan of DC locos , hence the dual DC/DCC capability.

Results will be displayed static at RailWells in August and partly working at Scaleforum in September......

[BryanJohnson]

I spotted an advert for these sheets of setts in the latest Model Railroad Hobbyist.

http://monstermodelworks.com/HO-Scale/HO-Cobblestone-Herringbone-Sheets/HO-Scale-Old-Cobblestone-Sheets-2-pack.html

Bryan

[Re6/6]

I think the Brian Harrap or Will Lichfield or David Brandreth methods will give best result with maximum pain and patience consumption. I may have to go there if I live long enough to do the large area required.

Paul. if you choose Brian's method there are a couple of things to note.

Firstly, use a quality tile grout like Tetrion or Unibond, not any cheap stuff. Unibond is available in light grey and beige.

Secondly, apply the grout in two stages, with a good drying out time between layers, if applying over sleepered track. If done in one go after all is dried out the sleepers will always show slightly giving an unsatisfactory finish. This is contrary to the advice given in a recent 'how to' article in the model press advocating using one layer.

002a.jpg (30 KiB) Viewed 9379 times

Regarding 'patience consumption', working with a pin in a pin vice certainly is slow and it will drive you nuts! Small doses is the best advice but it is well worth it in the end.

[Terry Bendall]

Paul will be bringing part of his Dartmouth layout to Scaleforum this year and it will be part of the Glevum Area Group demonstration.

Terry Bendall

[Paul Townsend]

Paul will be bringing part of his Dartmouth layout to Scaleforum this year and it will be part of the Glevum Area Group demonstration.

Terry Bendall

To avoid over-expectation of what you will see I must report that the project is at least 6 months behind schedule due to recent house move.
The good news is that builders started yesterday on our new Utility Room and garage conversion.
Former is necessary but irrelevant here! Latter is now named the Garden Room and will be long enough to contain the Dartmouth model complete so progress will accelerate this winter.

The Scaleforum BG demo will have three of the 5 station baseboards with track plan shown.
First turnout laid is built on laser cut baulk road fretwork and is permanent way. The remaining plain track has been assembled to show my construction system and to allow moving BG trains this weekend. This is laid temporarily as " contractors track" and tests suspension to the limit so expect some derailments......we had a few last Saturday at the Newbury Broad Gauge Society show...some bumps will be sorted this week.
After S4um I will lift the contractors track in sections to enable insertion of successive permanent way turnouts as they become available. All will be more properly laid to flatness.

Considering that the track was only wired last Thursday and tested on Friday and met its first ever BG loco at the Newbury show it wasn't too gruesome.

Locos and stock for this weekend loaned from Roger White and Ashley Philips who will be around for questions all weekend and Chris Jones for Saturday only.

The lovely model of Olton Bridge ( by the late .... ) will be there. It will be a permanent feature of the layout but an earthquake has moved it nearer to the station, temporarily! This was awarded the Eileen's cup for best scratch model at Scalefour North a year or two ago. It has just had its first ever trains running across it since it was built decades ago.

[kelly]

Last year, there was an interesting thread on the Westlake Publishing Forum (American) where a chap first used wood blocks but then moved on to using a clay called Sculpey. He made individual blocks. I know this is in a larger scale than 4mm, but it is interesting all the same.

Anyone who has not seen this Forum, there is a lot is very interesting stuff on it.

Sculpey is a type of Polymer Clay, often used for scultping or jewellery making. I use it (and other brands such as Fimo) for my jewellery making.

It is good stuff, with a variety of types (ranging in hardness and colours, and additives (such as glitter or metallic flecks)).

It needs to be worked with hand (or a pasta machine) to warm it up before it is plyable enough to use, harder brands take a lot more effort and can be painful on the hands (I made a deathstar about 5cm diameter and it was tough going making it pliable enough! enough to resolve never to do it again, at least not solid (I used a icecube mould)).

It is 'hardened' by baking in an oven at between 110-150c for about 30mins depending upon the thickness of the item(s).

It can be painted, filed, etc. But care must be taken not to use stuff like enamel paints, or solvent based markers (such as sharpie markers) as they will degrade the clay. It also needs to be kept away from UV exposure for similar reasons. Mica powders can be added to it, and different colours can be blended together to get different colours. And there are techniques for what is called 'canes', whereby different colours are layered and a patter is visible down the middle, much like how blackpool rock is made. Copper/bronze/silver/gold leaf can also be used on it.

The softer blends can be fairly soft even after baking, and can be a touch brittle too. Generally varnishing isn't needed, but there are some specifically available as with paints/pens care needs to be taken.

I've given consideration of using it for making certain items, but have yet to experiment, though I have a lot of it laying around because of my jewellery work.

Sorry for the slight O/T hijack of your thread Paul. I look forward to seeing your progress at Scaleforum.

[Paul Townsend]

Here is a brief update on the status of building this exhibition layout, based on the little known true history of early South Devon Railways.

This summer there was a thread on RMWeb seeking advice for an overbridge conundrum which generated lots of helpful ideas. In this S4um thread there have been lots of advice re setts so as soon as track is down permanently I will trial the many techniques I now know about.

Some of you may have seen parts of it ( Olton Bridge) at Scalefour North a couple of years ago and with some added MG track at Scaleforum (Aylesbury) in 2015. This year at Scaleforum you could have seen a few station baseboards with contractor's track laid in and trains running for the first time ever over the Olton Bridge model.

Progress was slowed by a house move just a year ago but a new extension is nearing completion and will house the layout soon. In just a few weeks time it will be erected in its normal home location so work will accelerate greatly.

Here is a piccy of the room last weekend with plaster drying out. The layout will run the full length of the room along the back (RHS) wall illustrated = 8.25M or around 25 ft if you insist.

3 of the 5 station baseboards are built together with Olton Bridge with some of the MPD approach trackwork (transverse sleepered MG).

The first MG baulk road/bridge rail turnout is complete on its laser cut baulks and apart from Olton Bridge was the only bit of permanent way shewn in Aylesbury this year.

The contractor's track will now be relaid as permanent way ( level !) section by section as the lasered base turnouts are built and the station throat will then extended onto the two country baseboards with gradients to meet Olton Bridge and ultimately the rotating/traverser fiddle yard which is built to the proof of concept stage. This will be fully automated to minimise the need for a fiddle yard operator.

This is expected to be the first BG layout exhibited that uses Merg electronics ( CBus) and DCC by Roco.

I will report on progress here from time to time and, once the boards are erected, will post a few more piccies.

[Paul Townsend]

Quick update.
Dartmouths's room is nearly finished. Its wired, heated, painted and windowed. Just need a couple of hours work from builder to complete floor covering near the door, and a few more leds in the ceiling.
These ceiling lights are various leds for trials of colour etc. Each row has a different type so can be compared as the 3 rows are switched separately.
Those over the Dartmouth baseboards are high cri types ( 95%) giving near best available colour rendition at about £13 a hit for 7w 450 lumen 38degree 4000degK. The current price for normal cri leds ( c. 80%) is around £6 for 7w 450 lumen types but there are others at 4 times the price giving a few % more cri. I didn't want to pay £25+ each for those! All can be dimmed and twiddled for direction so the lighting is quite versatile and should be good until the layout gets its own integral exhibition style lights.
Anyway, baseboards and temporary trestles are being erected now so a more interesting piccy will follow in a day or two.

[Paul Townsend]

Progress report:
Dartmouth baseboards are now near complete and all are temporarily installed in the correct positions.
For domestic use they are supported on aluminium girders supported on IKEA shelving units cut down in height to suit. The baseboard height to track level in the station is 1.3M or 51" in old money.

The exhibiting height will be the same with the girders supported by steel folding trestles.

Here are a couple of pix showing the embryo rural baseboards with my trial lighting and backscene, jury rigged for proof of concept.

The trial backscene comprises blue/white hardboard for sky background extending about 530mm above track so the top is hidden by the lighting fascia. Posed on it is a small panel of 3D (100mm deep) landscape with field and trees receding to the distance. This is my trial piece from the recent Missenden course given by Paul Bambrick. The 3D rural backscene will have varying depths of 50 -100mm while a bit more depth will be available for the town scene.

I have had little experience of backscenes and the only prior attempt was poor so I had come to regard this as a scary black magic. Paul's course has allayed that fear and I am now confident of doing a decent job in due course.

Transporting one baseboard with fixed 1.3M high backscene made me realise this is impractical so I have decided to adopt a technique where the fixed part will be much lower and show the varied skyline, either the horizon or mostly just above, comprising trees, meadows or buildings. The sky, which will have some painted skyline artifacts painted on, will be a roll-up. This will need some cunning mounting, currently being tested, and have the no-joins advantage. I expect it will be polyester roller blind material painted with emulsion for basic sky and acrylics for skyline and clouds. I plan a test piece in the next few months.

Having some experience of LED lighting I was delighted to see the timely article in MRJ253 which recommended a particular supplier of LED striplights. I have rigged a trial 2M run with 2 rows of Warm white and 2 of Coolwhite from LedHut as recommended and a row of much cheaper Warmwhite from EBay. All these are "5050" i.e. nominally 5mm square leds rated at 14watts/Metre. I tried combinations and found I like 2 of warmwhite with 1 of coolwhite best for colour temperature and brightness. The Ebay one confirmed the warning in MRJ about low performance as its light level was about 1/8 of that provided by LedHut strips.

I will build the lighting fascias in 2M lengths incorporating the 3 chosen LED strips wired in series and fed from a local 36v stabilised DC supply on each fascia section. I will distribute nominal 40v DC to each fascia from mains PSU on the floor so all will be safe and minimal weight up high.

Having standardised that lighting I will rig the same combination on the workbench when painting scenery and backscene to ensure colour consistency.

A major learning point from Paul's course was that backscene should be copied from photos of real location, not freelanced. Thus I am hunting for good colour photos of the Western bank of River Dart
just North of Dartmouth town. Some are in Getty library etc on WWWeb but I may need another field trip soon. For the best use of such Pix I need to know the exact location map reference to use in setting contour profile.

Next main task for a few months is track building.
Some of you saw the temporary "contractors track" laid for Broad Gauge demo at last Scaleforum. This will now be properly relaid as permanent way so several more laser cut baulk road turnouts to amuse me.....

[Philip Hall]

Paul, very interesting how you are rigging the lighting and your choices.

In my new railway room I have had LED warm lights installed and these seem to give a fairly even light around the perimeter of the room. I am fortunate in that this railway ('Mellstock' alias Okehampton) is not going anywhere, and is very much built in, (not sure if the building is holding the railway up, or the railway is holding the building...) so the room lighting is the layout lighting. I can rig the lights for direction as the railway gets built, and also add more lights if it feels a bit dim, although this is unlikely given the amount of light (dimmable) in there at the moment!

Philip

[RobM]

I expect it will be polyester roller blind material painted with emulsion for basic sky and acrylics for skyline and clouds. I plan a test piece in the next few months.

Paul, I tried the roller blind method for Mount Woodville. Initially, as a test, I painted artist's oil paints directly onto the material but as expected it took ages to dry, at least a couple of weeks before further paint could be added.........I thought I would try a short cut (no such thing!!) I decided to prime with acrylic gesso (water based) but when it dried it dramatically curled up at the edges, cockled in the middle and no amount of ironing sorted it out. Using a water based primer would require the material to be put on a stretcher to keep the material taught as in artist's canvases. If you do not want to stretch the material I would suggest that you do a test prime with other than a water based primer to completely stabilise the material before adding any water based medium. If I was to do it again (I ran out of discarded blinds) I would go for priming with oil based paints and paint with artist's oil paints. Just my point of view and experience........
Rob

[Re6/6]

Paul, A suggestion......this stuff is of good quality which we'll be using for roll-up backscene materiel on Balcombe.......
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thermal-BLACK ... 27c9948213

.....and will be using flexible magnetic strip which is self-adhesive on one side and will fix to horizontal mild steel support (hanging) bars. I see that you're planning to use folding metal trestles which will have 25mm² tube top cross pieces into which 20mm² will fit, so a right angle framework to support the 'hanging rail' using this can be devised.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/sis.html?_nkw ... 5mm%20(FWS)

[Terry Bendall]

I have had little experience of backscenes and the only prior attempt was poor so I had come to regard this as a scary black magic. Paul's course has allayed that fear and I am now confident of doing a decent job in due course.

Looking good Paul.

Paul Bambrick will be one of the demonstrators at Scaleforum this year on September 23rd/24th .

Terry Bendall

[Paul Townsend]

Time for another update.
The builders left in February so I have had a lot of decorating to do in the new rooms; it may surprise you that not ALL the rooms are for Model Railways. SWMBO has rights to some of her own but I am the wall painter. I also had to finish my workshop as could only afford builders to provide the shell.

I am committed with Ashley Philips to demonstrating BG modelling in 4mm at the new Finescale Exhibition in Warminster run by Mendip MR Society so at last am back on trackwork. This is the first return to track building since last Scaleforum when I showed a few baseboards with contractors track operating. There will be some boards there with permanent way installed and Ash's loco running with a bit of stock.

The laser cutter is now re-installed in the new workshop and re-aligned as necessary after a winter in a store shed.

Ages ago I threw down a challenge here and on BGS Yahoo Forum. I stated that it is impossible to design a mixed gauge tandem turnout whether it be in baulk road or transverse sleepered track. I reckon there just isn't room to fit all the essential K crossings and guard irons aka check rails. Sadly no-one has proved me wrong so I have to make the tandem as mixed gauge on 2 roads and one road BG only. History has been provided to show why the Dartmouth Old Wharf is BG only......its all down to injunctions etc in the gauge wars!

So here is the result of todays work.

The tandem baulks are laser cut and engraved with dummy lines for baulk joints and pin pilot holes as seen in the first piccy. My laser cutter can cut up to 320mm long panels so the long turnouts have to be in two sections. A couple of transoms broke out so need restoring.

The second piccy shows the assemblies drilled ready for 1.4mm brass pins and secured temporarily with 10BA screws to printed circuit board below.
This arrangement was used in my earlier turnout and seems a good plan. It sets the desired rail height and provides for all electric connections

Next I will make some more baulks for MG turnouts on the laser cutter and then start adding rails......

[Terry Bendall]

I stated that it is impossible to design a mixed gauge tandem turnout whether it be in baulk road or transverse sleepered track

As a matter of interest did the GWR ever manage to do this?

Terry Bendall