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SEPTEMBER 2019 UPDATE
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HYWEL THOMAS *****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
KIER HARDY *****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GREG BROOKES 
Needing a new fiddle yard for Morfa Bank since the move I decided now was the time. It
needed to sit on two drawer units that hold the stock and the plan was to use plywood but the
thought of all that dust from cutting rather put me off. Having used foam board extensively
on the scenic side I decided to try it and here we see things a few days in with the
initial box structure complete. The cut out is for the dice that form part of the operating system.
A day or so later and the supports for the top surface are well advanced. The slope at
the front will hold the cards that also form a crucial part of the operations here. The
foam board was cut using a large cutting mat and a sharp scalpel trying hard to keep each cut
vertical. Gluing used wood glue with small tacks from a hot glue gun to hold it in place while
the glue dried.
This shows the frame for the card system in place. Accurate measuring and cutting was crucial for
a strong, level structure. The advantage of foam board is if a mistake was made it was a simple
matter to cut a new piece.
Further to the left is another box, this one holds the cards that form the operating system and
sit below the main ‘rest of BR’ track with the line to the spoil tip above the card frame.
Back at the right hand end is the switch box that turns each track on or off. It’s mounted on a
piece of ply as I din’t think the foam board would stand the pressure.
Here we see the fully removable structure side on to its usual position - the whole yard just
clips in place and is as light as a feather and extremely strong. The top surface and track
supports will come next.
The top surface is in place with the egg box structure to the rear just appearing. This will
support the upper level as the main yard is slightly higher than the spoil tip line. Each track
bed is lined with cork to prevent as much noise as possible due to the echoey chambers beneath.
The finished yard. Track is laid on copper-clad sleepers and wired up using connecting blocks
on the surface of the yard so that the connection with the main board can easily be disconnected
without awkward manoeuvres under the baseboard. The operating cards can be seen in their new home.
A view the other way with the first trial run using three spoil wagons. The dice sit in their new
home too, ready for operations to commence! The stock can be stored on the raised 2.5mm thick card
lines beyond (set to EM back to back measurements). The odd cut out at the cantilever end is to
allow me access to the CDs on shelf behind.
Modelling activity during the last few weeks has mostly been taken up with the construction of
new 180° end curves for use when the layout is set up at home, consisting of three separate
baseboards in an adjacent room, 2 of which are easily removable when the layout isn't in use.
This view shows the recently completed 6-track bridge in the foreground (middle section), looking
towards the semi-permanent section featured in last month's update page. Due to the
angle of the joint, a 'belt and braces' approach has been taken using check rails to give
a smooth transition between the baseboards, with the addition of epoxy resin infills. This method
is used on all of the subterranean track joints to keep the flanges in check.
The third baseboard of this project incorporates a slip and additional pointwork to allow
access to and from the outer pair of main lines, to both the platform loop and branch line.
This off-scene area of the layout is shown with the slip being constructed from code 75
bullhead rail and copperclad paxolin sleepers constructed in situ'.
Now complete, tested and painted, the baseboard slides through a hole in the wall to join
onto the storage yard boards. Point operation is all under local control using slide switches
to operate the points and provide polarity changes to the frogs / vees.
Colour coding is used for ease of operation, each track designated with a different colour that
corresponds to the slide switch positions.
For added reliability the curved crossover outer
rails are switched using a simple compensating beam on a friction pivot.
Looking from the storage yard area through the hole in the wall as a freightliner rake passes by.
A view from the other side, with the inset image showing the baseboard removed and the hatch
in its closed position. During the Winter months the layout is only regularly used at weekends,
so to reduce heating costs on this side of the partition wall, it can be easily closed off. The
project has been a bit of a compromise with regard to that all too common problem of available
space, but I think it's worth the 5 or so minutes it takes to clear the work bench and plug
the 2 baseboards in place.
Meanwhile, the Class 74 project creeps along at a much slower pace. The Silver Fox resin
parts have been cut and fitted to a heavily modified Class 71 cabinet, now representing
battery boxes and fuel tanks.
Fitted to the chassis with the characteristic sloping pipework added, it's ready for painting.
The BSC Shenston locomotive depot area is starting to come together now, with just a few structures
to finish, detail and paint, such as this facilities block under construction.
It will be situated in front of the diesel shed, with the main line in a cutting behind.
The Yorkshire Janus is looking remarkably clean!
A view showing the depot in the foreground, with Shenston Road Gas Works beyond the branch line.
Whilst out and about in the Shenston Road area, here's a few snaps that were taken over a couple
of days in and around the railway. Hymek 7036 in the steelworks exchange sidings.
Also in the sidings is BR Sulzer type 2 D5007 getting ready for a steel train working.
An aerial view of the steelworks looking north....
.... and looking south.
D1057 Western Chieftain is captured passing a Cemflo train in the loop.
Now for a bit of spotting around the stabling point and station area. Warship D815 Druid is
caught resting in the company of a Western.
Hymek 7093 showing off its polished numbers with the D painted out.
