Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

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Terry Bendall
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Terry Bendall » Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:34 am

As Phil says there is more then one way of doing many jobs.

Phil Eames wrote: To lead the cassettes onto the layout proper, short lengths of angle were cut and drilled to not only be screwed to the threshold, but also to accept the electrical wiring. The wires being connected to the angle with eyelet crimp terminal using countersunk screws.


My method for this part is to use a piece of 12mm thick MDF for the base of the cassettes and the same thickness for the "translator" part. The aluminium angle is screwed down to the MDF and the wires connected by small eyelet terminals fixed with in this case short 8BA nuts and bolts. I also use a short length of track from the track on the baseboard to the aluminium angle. This does introduce an additional joint but it works.

Phil Eames wrote: It will be noted that electrical continuity between the threshold and cassette is made using bulldog clips.


For this job I used folded over brass sheet. A piece 40mm x 25mm x 0.4mm thick is folded over the aluminium angle and tapped down flat. There is sufficient springiness in the bass to conduct the power and they don't work loose. The corners are bent up slightly which gives something the grip on when removing the clips.

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John Donnelly
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby John Donnelly » Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:27 am

On South Pelaw, I've also soldered the rails at the ends of the boards to pins driven in the baseboards. As most of my track passes over the boards almost parallel to the joins, I've managed to nail the pins in through the rivet holes in the end sleepers. Solder the rail on, grind down any excess and fit a half chair either side and the pins are completely invisible.

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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby davebradwell » Thu Oct 07, 2021 3:09 pm

On cassette couplers there is, of course, the original article by Chris Pendlenton in MRJ 27 and which should ideally be re-printed somewhere. Chris uses an integral coupling or there's the Mike Clark version available from himself. No loose bits to lose. Built-in contact is self cleaning, too. Your loose connectors don't address vertical alignment and with my near 5ft cassettes curving upwards in Winter and down in Summer something very positive is essential.

As for electrical connections you should really put a star washer between the tag and the aly which will cut through the oxide coating on the aly. I've had failures without it, even with our clean Highland air. I think tags are available with the star as part of the hole.

Beware also some popular sources of aly angle which have an insulating anodised coating.

Perhaps someone will explain to me why you might want to screw the Tortoise to a plate which you then screw to the baseboard when they work perfectly well fitted directly as in the instructions. Rubber mounts would be a good thing, perhaps, to reduce noise. I think a resilient layer is desirable under track, though, even at low speeds.

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Phil Eames
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Fri Oct 08, 2021 6:10 am

davebradwell wrote:On cassette couplers there is, of course, the original article by Chris Pendlenton in MRJ 27 and which should ideally be re-printed somewhere. Chris uses an integral coupling or there's the Mike Clark version available from himself. No loose bits to lose. Built-in contact is self cleaning, too. Your loose connectors don't address vertical alignment and with my near 5ft cassettes curving upwards in Winter and down in Summer something very positive is essential.


The cassettes for the layout, indeed the whole layout, were built under ambient conditions with the maximum length of the cassettes is 880mm. So under extreme conditions the deviation in the cassettes is not going to be as great as your 5ft ones. But also I cannot see the layout being operated under those extreme conditions?

At home I would find no pleasure in operating with the temperature being either too hot or too cold. For the former I would find something else to do for the later I would put the heating on. But as I have said previously I only usually use the layout to test things out at home

At an exhibition the dates for those I usually attend, end at the beginning of June and start again in September. So the potentially really hot spells of weather are between these dates. Though who knows what the future will bring? Fortunately the days of winter exhibitions with the heating cranked right up appear to be long gone. In 35+ years of being 'on the road' with various layouts, there has only been one that a coat was needed to keep warm was needed. Fortunately I also had my fingerless gloves with me! But that's a story for apres exhibition......

davebradwell wrote:As for electrical connections you should really put a star washer between the tag and the aly which will cut through the oxide coating on the aly. I've had failures without it, even with our clean Highland air. I think tags are available with the star as part of the hole.

Beware also some popular sources of aly angle which have an insulating anodised coating.


That's a good one Dave which I hadn't thought of. If and when it becomes a problem I will remember that and act accordingly.

I am reasonably sure the aluminium was mill finish, but I went over it with an abrasive block anyway, cleaning up with IPA.

davebradwell wrote:Perhaps someone will explain to me why you might want to screw the Tortoise to a plate which you then screw to the baseboard when they work perfectly well fitted directly as in the instructions. Rubber mounts would be a good thing, perhaps, to reduce noise. I think a resilient layer is desirable under track, though, even at low speeds.


IMG_20211008_060327059s.jpg


The Exactoscale base features a recess in which a plastic 'tie bar' runs. Wire droppers from the point blade are inserted into the brass tubing that has an interference fit in the tie bar. Although not required for this layout the brass tubing can be offset to suit the location, which was a absolute godsend for the last layout.

I find the noise of the Tortoise not that instructive, nothing like the 'thwack' of a solenoid point motor. The main use of the layout will be at exhibitions (hopefully!) where the ambient noise to likely to drown out that of the point motor. Again its a personal thing but I find the gentle whirring noise reassuring that something has happened.

The appearance of the Model Rail Scotland mug has nothing to do with where you live Dave. Its to remind me to get on with the layout and to get out on the road again.
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Sun Nov 14, 2021 1:23 pm

Although it appears to have been quiet with the layout, the reality has been quite the opposite, with previous weekends used to build further cassettes and to fettle both the stock and trackwork. Today the layout was loaded in the back of the van to see how the accoutrements would or wouldn't fit around it. A big thanks to Bertie and Simon for their input over the weekend.
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Terry Bendall » Mon Nov 15, 2021 8:43 am

Phil Eames wrote:Today the layout was loaded in the back of the van to see how the accoutrements would or wouldn't fit around it.


Looks like there are a few key bits that don't want to fit Phil. :D

All you need now is an exhibition to take the layout to.

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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:03 am

Terry Bendall wrote:Looks like there are a few key bits that don't want to fit Phil. :D


Yes, but I now know how much (little?) space there is to squeeze things into ;)

Terry Bendall wrote:All you need now is an exhibition to take the layout to.


But I do have one Terry, the Define Group have very kindly invited me to their exhibition at Risley in January, I hope to see you there.

https://definemodellers.wordpress.com/

While I am attending to hopefully impart some 'wisdom' regarding building a layout, it will be an interesting to see how the layout performs. While it has been behaving satisfactory in the home environment, we all know that doesn't necessarily translate to when a layout is at an exhibition........
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:15 am

Although the Define Modelers Day at Risley was cancelled, Simon very kindly visited so we could test putting the layout in the back of the Berlingo. The reason being that there has been a lot of slimming down after the test last November and there are still a couple of things to sort out and it would be good to see what room there is left. As can be seen it all fitted much better this time round and was much easier to load which is a good result.

Big thanks to Tim for cutting the new end boards, they made a huge difference. Also a big thanks to Simon for taking the time to help this weekend.

Things are still not quite ready for a start to be made on the scenery just yet. After testing the AJ couplings a couple of the electromagnets need repositioning, but that will be a job for next weekend now.

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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Tue Nov 01, 2022 10:17 am

With the DEFine day at Risley fast approaching and taking the layout as work in progress, there has been some fettling of new stock and a little fettling of trackwork.

It is with great pleasure I can report that all the stock can go through the point work at the maximum speed of a Bachmann Class 37.

There is a huge sigh of relief when that was sorted I can tell you!

But as you may well know, things may work well at home, but when the public get to stand in front of the layout all sorts of problems emerge from the woodwork!

But for the moment, it's a huge sigh of relief.

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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Sun Jan 08, 2023 11:27 am

A big thanks to the DEFine team for yesterdays show, it was a very enjoyable day out seeing lots of people.

Also another big thanks to those that aided and abetted with the layout. There were no derailments on the visible side and there were no tools taken out of the tool box on the day which was very satisfying experience.

This means that a start can now be made with the scenic's.

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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Fri Oct 13, 2023 5:22 pm

While visiting Scaleforum 2023 on the Sunday on perusing the rules for the Jubilee Layout Challenge I was very surprised to find that my layout Brook Street, was eligible for entry. I did run a list of things past Mark on the day who confirmed my thoughts. Apparently, the rules are designed as such so as to encourage part-built layouts to get finished. This has led to my request to move the layout thread into the Challenge Sub Forum.

I will post an update on the (slight) progress in the morning.
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Sat Oct 14, 2023 4:22 am

Looking at the timeline for the layout so far, (and without going into boring details) 2020 was spent building baseboards and the track. Then 2021, 2022 and a lot of 2023 were spent mucking around with stock, which was as a surprise to me, where does time go to. So actually, the Challenge has probably come as the right time as a wake-up call to get something done regarding the scenic side of the layout.

The year 2023 was qualified with the words ‘a lot of’. Well, I have been working on the bridge that will form the scenic break since January. This has been designed in 3D using TurboCAD software and I chose to do this first as I considered it would be the most difficult structure to build. This assumption has proved to be correct and its now on its fourth iteration.

IMG_20231013_160450001.jpg


The main structure of the bridge has been laser cut in MDF by a friend (for which I say a big thank you!) with ancillary details made using a resin 3D printer. I don’t normally show WiP, but this is as far as I have got. The ‘inner walls’ of the bridge haven’t been glued on yet as it is probably easier to paint them unattached. So, in turn the coping stones will again be painted loose.

IMG_20231013_164124721.jpg


At this point I also unsure as to what to do about the stone feature that runs along the length of the bridge. I have some half round Evergreen strip that will fit, but if it doesn’t look right, I’ll have a go at 3D printing something.

DSCN4981.JPG


The model bridge is loosely based on the Little Burton Bridge if anyone is interested.
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:02 am

The bridge has now had the stone 'features' along the front and under the arches added.

It was at this point I thought it might look better if I filled the locating holes in on the visible end. The bridge was then given a 'vibration test' with the orbital sander and thankfully nothing fell off or came apart!

The brickwork was then sprayed with red primer, while Plastikote Suede was applied to the the roadway and footpath.

Now the bit I'm not looking forward too......

IMG_20231019_063500785.jpg
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Sat Oct 21, 2023 1:19 pm

When designing the layout it was a bit of a dilemma as to how to get off the layout and into the fiddle yard. The option I would have preferred was to take the track behind a low relief building. But as the width of the layout is 'only' 457mm and there are effectively two routes exiting, then that wasn't going to happen.

What the Brewery Railways in Burton upon Trent are famous for are the number number of level crossings. But again I couldn't figure anything out that would look sensible and convincing.

However, road bridges in Burton are not unknown, as the image below illustrates, so that is why I chose that solution.

For those unfamiliar with Burton upon Trent and wishing to dig a bit deeper, the road going from Top Left to Middle Right would be Hawkins Lane leading onto Mount Pleasant. While the road going from Middle Right to Bottom Middle is today called Wharf Road.

The LNWR engine shed, which is still in existence today, would be just out of the image Middle Left.

The image has been used with permission.

Hawkins Lane Bridge Salts Maltings.jpg
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Mon Oct 23, 2023 10:57 am

A start has been made on painting the roadway of the bridge. It was while looking at the image below that it was realised that there was a row of setts and concrete between the roadway and the wall. Please note this is the bridge over the railway at Branston which is configured similarly to that at Little Burton with a footpath on one side only.

P1070168.JPG


Once I 'd seen this feature, I could not unsee it so it had to be added. (Un?) Fortunately I wasn't pleased with the colour of the road surface and had removed it with white spirit.

The 'feature' has been made from Evergreen strip, which was somewhere between therapeutic and tedious. It will get a covering of PlastiKote Suede and another attempt will be made on the road surface.

IMG_20231023_145852174s.jpg


Nobody will see it because there will be vehicles on the bridge at some point in the future....

PS Edited as I wasn't happy with the first attempt! :roll:
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Sat Nov 18, 2023 1:02 pm

A bit of progress has been made the as can be seen in the image below.

IMG_20231118_111525818s.jpg


It should be noted that the previous prototype image was taken in Oct 2004 on a very dull day and the digital camera used has saturated the colours to appeal to the 'mass market'. Hence the darker bricks appear black and the red bricks appear to has an orange hue. I did start by trying to replicate these colours but it was very 'in your face', so subsequently toned the colours down.

In a similar vein the phone camera has done to same to the image of the model. However in this instance I have altered the saturation with an edit tool. The other thing I've noticed is that the model image has also been 'sharpened'.

For the moment the bridge is being put to one side to get on with other jobs. Then when the the remaining buildings have been constructed I'll put the layout lighting up and view everything all together to see how it all fits.

The truck on the bridge is to give some sense of scale, eventually it is hoped to have something more appropriate. There are plenty of options in this link! :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcWZQM9RAVA
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby jim s-w » Sat Nov 18, 2023 1:30 pm

bus on the bridge? Dont you bloody dare! :D :D
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Fri Jan 26, 2024 3:20 pm

One of the things about doing a layout based on Burton is that there are still a number of 'heritage' buildings around allowing research to be done.

Although not an obvious choice these fermenting vessels were only built 30 years ago, but now there days are numbered.

But directly opposite these is the Coopers Tavern, I mean to say this research is thirsty business, cheers!

IMG_20240126_145159826_HDR.jpg
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Sat Mar 23, 2024 7:29 am

More research from Burton yesterday looking for bits of inspiration to fill in those small gaps.

But all that walking is thirsty work and makes you hungry!

IMG_20240322_150408483_HDR[1].jpg
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Paul Willis
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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Paul Willis » Sun Mar 24, 2024 9:18 am

Proper research! Inspiring stuff.

The building looks quite interesting too...

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Re: Brook Street 1989 - 1991 Speedlink

Postby Phil Eames » Mon Mar 25, 2024 6:45 am

Paul Willis wrote:Proper research! Inspiring stuff.

The building looks quite interesting too...

Best,
Paul


The building is at what would have been the entrance to Bass's Middle Brewery from Station Street. There is a similar building on the opposite side of the entrance. But alas on consideration I don't think I can 'weave' them into the layout.

IMG_20240322_150334756_HDR.jpg

As for the research, it's a little nod in the direction of Mr Rice who slipped the odd photo of a bottle of whiskey into his writings ;)
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