Scalefour Forum

Hi everyone, I have been thinking of starting a thread on the Forum for some time now, a few years ago I bought Ambergate and coverted it to P4 as per MRJ 202, at the same time I was contemplating buying the layout of Bangor and the plan was to combine the two with some other additions to create a layout with operation in mind. However things did not quite work out and all plans were put on hold. I am happy to report that work has now commenced on the new home for Ambergate and a new set of additions of which I will tell you more as progress is made.
During our recent session see http://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=1213#p9557several new discoveries were made such as access to the goods yard, and that several of the point tie bar arrangements are built into the bridge abutments, John Webb certainly did a great job, but he built things to be well engineered and strong but not to be changed or adjusted, one of the main problems I am having is altering the tie bars to the new gauge.
Do any members have firsthand experience of these tie bars? They are of a similar style to the old Studiolith type, but the slide is made from plywood and the droppers are domestic pins, these pass through the trackbed and are then silver soldered to brass strip which is again silver soldered to the blades. The adjustment could be made by replacing or redrilling the plywood, but what cannot be done in the bridge abutments. Any ideas anyone?

Great news, Tony. Updates on progress will be eagerly awaited by all of us, I am sure.

Jim

the droppers are domestic pins, these pass through the trackbed and are then silver soldered to brass strip which is again silver soldered to the blades.

Bit of a puzzler this, are the pins tight up against the blades? would it be possible to sleeve the pins with small bore tube and still get enough throw? ie is there some spare slack in the holes through the board?
Could you put up a photo of one?
Regards
Keith

Hi,

Thanks for both replies, Keith please see attached image the item to the right is probably the clearest, yes there is clearance, but there is still the silver solder to contend with.

Best regards,

Tony.

The picture helps, are the pins fixed into the plywood? If so how?
Are you hoping to improve the cosmetic appearance as well?
Regards
Keith

Hi Keith,

The pins are just a push fit in the plywood, but as I said the troublesome ones in the abutments are completely inaccessable. Cosmetic appearance is secondary to reliability, especially as chairing the track is out of the question.

Best regards,

Tony.

Tony

I'm assuming what you've got looks like this?



So given that you should be able to rely on the silver solder joints not coming undone, you could try this.



Cut the original brass strip between blade and pin (this could be the tricky bit)
Lift out the pin and the attached bit of old brass strip
Fit a new bit of brass strip underneath as in the diagram and soft solder on
Dig out clearance in track bed if need be
Replace pin into its original hole in the plywood strip
Solder point blade and the remains of the original brass strip to the new strip so the blade now has correct clearance from stock rail.

You only need do this once per point. Their should be enough metal to metal in the new joints for soft solder to be strong enough.

Hi Will,

You know that after replying to Keith I sort of came to the same conclusion, although I will work from the top, I dare not remove the pin from the plywood in locations where I cannot see the hole, due to baseboard thickness and bridge abutments etc, but overall I think that both of you have helped me to sort it out, I will report when I have had a go.

Best regards,

Tony.

I was thinking of doing a sketch, which only serves to cause delay, I was a bit concerned over the "pulling out the pin" part of it. The existing brass link should be easy enough to cut using a cut off disc in a motor tool, the tricky bit maybe cleaning the underside of the strip so as to solder the new plate underneath. May be better to solder the extra plate on top. Either way the plate could have a slot rather than a hole for the pin so it can be fitted without taking the pin out.

The alternative I was originally thinking of, was to cut the pin just below the brass plate, use a bit of brass tube slipped over the pin to solder to the new plate section. Probably no easer than Will's suggestion.
Regards
Keith

Hi Keith,

I will give it a try and let you know. Although while the weather is reasonable, building work takes precedence.

Best regards,

Tony.

Hi All,

We now have a concrete pad. The work has been slow and messy, but my hopes are high that Ambergate maybe erected in its new home by Christmas.

Regards, Tony.

Hi All,
Progress is slow on the building, too much rain in this part of the country. However as Will has already mentioned that the plan is to extend Ambergate considerably once the building is complete, I think it maybe time to unveil the big plan.

The loose ends will attach to Ambergate, and the tracks that cross the up yard will actually be underneath, poor for access I know, but the overall plan is for a layout with plenty of operational potential. Please let me know what you think, I have the rest of my life in which to build it.

Best regards,

Tony.

Excellent, go for it - there seems to be a trend developing to build really big P4 layouts, or at least projects that involve joining (relatively) smaller layouts together. Trains went from somewhere to somewhere, they didn't just potter around on shunting planks!

Rod Cameron wrote:Trains went from somewhere to somewhere, they didn't just potter around on shunting planks!

Ture, but when the got to their destination, some trains then did spend a lot of time pottering around, shunting...

Trouble is that, though most trains were going somewhere, the destinations were not 3' x 1' planks, but something a tad bigger.

Hi All,

Thanks for the comments.
The intention with this layout is to operate Buxton's timetable, Ambergate and the storage facilities will act as the rest of the country. For example the Millers Dale motor train will actually run to Ambergate, where it will crossover for its return, or wait in the siding for its next slot.
Goods services take up the major part of the timetable, often double headed and sometimes banked as well, so DCC seems to be the sensible choice. Much loco building required!!!

Best regards,

Tony.

Hello Tony,

The track plan for Ambergate and Buxton does indeed look very impressive, I'm looking forward to seeing it installed in it's new home.

John

This looks prety impressive. I'd LOVE the space, time, energy and commitment to be able to commit to something like this; not to mention the funding, but I guess I'll be content with my apparently derisory overblown shunting plank and my enforced imagination of "The World Beyond."

Hi All,
Just a note to report that the Christmas target was missed by a mile. The downturn in business has had its effect, however I did manage to get the roof on during the break, and everything is crossed that I can get things sorted by next Christmas

To be fair your forecast didn't specify which Christmas!

Christmas is looming on the horizon again,
any news?
Regards
Keith

Hi Keith,

We are closer, but Christmas may come too soon for the railway. I have been working on the interior of the railway room as time allows, but it is somewhat large and the demands on my time have been many, but fingers crossed we maybe not too far off. It was nice to meet you at Scaleforum.

Best regards,
Tony.

Hi All,
The big push was on, on Sunday 23rd December work was over for the year and most if not all my time could be invested in finishing off the railway room. The plasterer had finished on the previous Tuesday and with the addition of heat and dehumidification, it was ready for decoration, final wiring and floorcovering.



Christmas day was taken as a proper holiday, but Boxing day was business as usual and by New Years eve we were ready.



The morning of New Years eve arrived and so did my friends. and all the boxes containing the layout were moved from my work place to home. The railway room is designed to fit the layout, but with only a small allowance and so it was decided to arrange the baseboards on the floor to assess the best position.



The fit was a tad snugger than I would like due to the difficulty of accurately measuring the layout, and so the last baseboard on the left hand end will need to be modified before the extensions can begin. It is also in discussion whether to raise the layout in order to make access to the operating positions easier. My feeling is that if we raise it to about 48 inches, then a swivel chair on castors can be used to move under the layout because non of us are getting any younger. What do others think?



So for now we can play trains, until the height is decided upon and the new support structure is built.
Best regards,
Tony.

Re the chair idea, do you need to operate from inside? Could you operate from outside, which would save your backs, and free up some space for scenery?

Operating from the inside is so last year....

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the input, however if you look at the overall plan there will be several internal positions and only one possible outside i.e. the front of Ambergate, but both Buxton stations have to be from one of the inside positions even with reliable automatic couplings it is going to be interesting, if not tricky.

Best regards,
Tony.