To de-clutter our home page I decided to put all reports on our activities on a separate page reached from the Home Page.  Now it is a Blog* I may include items about Members' railway and modelling activities between the formal sessions.

*Not absolutely sure this is a true BLOG within the meaning of the act, but  I'm sure someone will be happy to tell me if it isn't!                                                                                                                                                        [return to Home Page  | Blog 07A | Blog 07B

 

15th August 2008 - Rob and Bill met first, and set-to proving the test-track - when a train was run round the N circuit we found one baseboard joint was hump-backed, and also one point was faulty in the reverse position. In addition we decided to alter the track feeds slightly, so that a train can be held on the main line while another leaves or runs-through the loop (and vice-versa). Brian joined us then,  and he and Rob sorted all these problems, so the N circuit could be “signed-off”.
    The outer 00 circuit also had a hump-back baseboard joint, with the added problem it canted the vehicles as well. Again the problem has been dealt with by Brian and Rob and so the 00 circuits have also been “signed-off” - Rob gave both circuits a thorough testing with trains, running in both directions (but not at once!).
    Brian did some more work on the rail bridge, fitting the cap-stones to the brick pillars, and sorting out how to set the girders - but we decided the 11 mm. I girders Bill had obtained were too narrow, so he is now ordering some 14 mm. ones.

    Bill continued fitting the cosmetic rail chairs to the cross-over on B6 - he has now reached a modus operandi that seems to work OK, and will write this up in due course.
   

8th August 2008 - A five-tick session this week! FINISHED:- laying N-gauge circuit on test-track [tick], wiring N-circuit [tick], testing N-circuit [tick], ballasting all plain track on scenic section [tick], painting plaster-work on board 7 brown [tick]. All these items completed and “signed-off” on the work-plan. Brian started early, around 10.45 am., joined by Bill at noon. Rob came about 2.00 pm, and Adam about 3.00 pm. Brian laid the N track, then helped Bill finish the wiring (it’s “looming” the wires and fiddling them around the board, especially passing them under the tracks, that took most of the time - Bill had to devise a tool to make the necessary grooves in the foam to tunnel wires under the laid track). Brian did the soldering to the N-track as Bill found it just too fiddly (“got the wrong shaped paws” said he, quoting Winnie the Pooh). Rob valiantly got on and finished the ballasting on the plain track, then painted board 7 plasterwork brown, ready for the scenic work to begin. The copper-clad  points won’t be ballasted until we’ve finished fitting the cosmetic rail-chairs, and fitting more of these was what Adam got on with. All in all a satisfying if tiring session.

 

1st August 2008 - Long session this week; Brian and Bill got there about 10.00 am. and set to work laying the N-gauge circuit. We found that double-sided Sellotape held the track firmly in place; we decided that to simplify the wiring we would convert the “long” lay-by into two dead-end sidings, and to use the points to switch power to the short lay-by and the two sidings. To get the track-alignment right, Brian popped to the model shop at Brookside to get extra set-track curves. Bill made a start on wiring the new circuit on the test-track, installing another pair of 4mm. banana sockets, wiring these to the main tag-strip, and wiring power to one end-curve. Unfortunately we ran out of double-sided tape, so the track-laying will need finishing next week.
    Rob and Fraser joined us around 2.00 pm, and both got on with ballasting the main layout - which is now more than half done. Nick joined a bit later, and carried on with the trees. Fraser test-painted a copper-clad sleeper with two Humbrol browns, but neither looked right, so we are going to try some Railmatch paints from Squires.
    Adam called, and Fraser and Bill went to collect the baseboard he had borrowed in order to fix the cosmetic rail-chairs to the copper clad points. These chairs looked good, but are time consuming to fettle to the correct height and then fit, so before the open day probably we will only complete the points where the slow and main lines merge - at least then visitors can see how the finished trackwork will look.

 

25th July 2008 - Circumstances against us again - Bill got back from the South about 13.00 hrs, feeling exhausted by his visit to some grandchildren. Brian rang him in the morning, giving Bill the chance to say the obligatory “I’m on the train”, when they agreed that as Brian was the only other adult member available we would cancel this session. We hope to have a full session next week, as time racing by and our Open Day is looming!

 

18th July 2008 - Session had to be cancelled at the last minute because one of the two adult members available had to attend to a sudden family illness. Bill and Nick popped into the Mission, to empty the de-humidifier and for Nick to collect the necessary scenic materials to allow him to continue working on the trees at home. 

 

11th July 2008 - Brian and Bill opened the room, Brian continuing building the pedestrian underpass by the lower road, while Bill got on with replacing the connecting plugs on the test-track and re-arranging the existing wiring to allow for the N-gauge circuit feeds to be carried across boards. Fraser joined a bit later, and continued with ballasting.
    When Adam joined us at tea-time he produced a large pot of ballast marketed by Geoscenics of Warrington; we all agreed that this looked better than the Jarvis one we were using - the latter has a lot of flat ‘stones’ in, while the new one was much more cuboidal and therefore more like the real thing. A decision was quickly made to use the new material for the rest of the layout - any noticeable differences to be explained by “that section was re-ballasted more recently”! It will be interesting to see if any viewers actually notice the difference.
    Bill brought in the additional DOGA Warflat brass kits he had purchased; they had been a bit crumpled on one corner in the post, but it was decided that they would flatten. Adam went home and returned a short time later with a tool-vice that soon flattened the sections.  He then began to assemble the bogies; when placed on the ‘level’ track they gently ran towards the bank (probably the table the scenic section was on was not level) - we were impressed with the easy running, not always simple to achieve when hand-building bogies.
    Fraser brought in a Skaledale Pillbox and a Nissen Hut which Bill had asked him to buy, as they seemed already to be getting scarce - three shops Bill had tried were already ‘out’ and didn’t think they’d get more. We spent some time discussing the placement of the pillboxes, centred on whether it would be the roads they would protect, or the railway - tanks can make good time running along railway tracks. A bit more research on the authentic siting needs to be done.

 

4th July 2008 - A successful session, with Ian and Fraser progressing the ballasting, while Brian installed the pedestrian walk-through by rail-bridge over the lower road - the latter is well on the way to completion. The bridge itself was discussed, and some progress made on the design of this. Adam joined later to lend a hand, after leaving his new job (which fortunately offers flexitime as well as training).
    Fraser advanced his ideas for the overhead lighting, using the low-voltage halogen lights. The system he proposes met with the approval of the others present, and will be further developed. A full description will appear eventually on the ‘Building the Layout’ section of the ATTAM Bank pages. Fraser also reported progress on building the first of our signals, again of which more anon. 

 

27th June 2008 - Fraser and Bill started the session, with Brian popping in to leave the row of terraced cottages he had built for the layout - he had to leave immediately for family reasons. Ian and Nick joined us a bit later. It was a quiet session - in the ‘could hear a pin drop’ sense - as Nick was working on the tree-kits, and the rest of us were engrossed in the joys of ballasting. We are about a quarter of the way there - excluding the copper-clad points, which we cannot ballast until we have fitted cosmetic chairs, still being ‘developed’ by Adam.
    Fraser reported he had worked out how we could use the low-voltage halogen bulbs, with four to a board; he had also found a source for reasonably-priced holders for the bulbs. So not a lot of excitement to report, but steady progress achieved.
 

20th June 2008 - Fraser, Bill and Adam met up at the Hazel Grove MRS Open Day. Bill as usual bought some stuff, including a Battle of Britain loco with an Airfix kit body and a Kemilway chassis, at a very reasonable price. Fraser and Bill made contact with Trevor, who is a real railway signals engineer, and we had a helpful discussion, Fraser on the DCC side of things and Bill on model signal construction methods - Trevor does these for the Hazel Grove layouts, and kindly has given Bill permission to contact him for advice if he needs it when working on the signals for Attam Bank.
    Adam met Nic, who was demonstrating building a brass loco kit. Adam has taken on the task of building the DOGA Warflat brass kits that Bill has bought, and got some really helpful advice from Nic. All the Hazel Grove layouts were operating, and a very pleasant afternoon soon went by.
20th June 2008 - Bill and Fraser started, with Brian and Nick joining us later. Bill had bought some cheap 12v 50w halogen bulbs, to see whether they would do for top-lighting the layout, and Fraser and he had a discussion about the pros and cons. Each bulb at full voltage would draw 4 amps, and even at 12v we didn’t really want this amount of ‘juice’ at the front of the layout if possible. Fraser has taken a sample to see how much we can lower the voltage and still get adequate light output - and also to think about various series-parallel combinations to again lower the current needed.
    Brian then joined us, and reminded us he had donated a few similar bulbs while we were at Brookside. Bill and he then turned the storeroom and cupboards out trying to find them - without success! However, it proved a fruitful exercise because we realised quite a few items in the Shop store, when viewed with our new “Scenery-focussed” eyes, would be useful on Attam Bank. A lot of this stuff was from Fraser, originally to be sold on commission, but he said he would donate anything we could make use of (and we didn’t even have to bend his arm!). Similarly Bill unearthed a box of various wagons which had been donated to the club at Brookside, and has taken them home to check and list - several will be useful for strengthening goods trains on the layout.
    Nick then turned up, unexpectedly because like Adam, Rob and Ian he had sent his apologies earlier - he immediately got down to some more work on the trees. In the meantime Fraser spent some time modifying the MERG steady-state accessory decoder, mainly by stripping out un-needed components, so that it now controls the signal servo-drivers and can be programmed. Bill brought his new Black Motor (LSWR class 700 0-6-0 tender goods engine) which had just today arrived from the OO Works where it was built - it looks fine, and weighs the proverbial ton, so should pull well - hopefully we will be able to put it through its paces next week on the test-track.

 

14th June 2008 - Fraser, Bill and Adam met up at the Hazel Grove MRS Open Day. Bill as usual bought some stuff, including a Battle of Britain loco with an Airfix kit body and a Kemilway chassis, at a very reasonable price. Fraser and Bill made contact with Trevor, who is a real railway signals engineer, and we had a helpful discussion, Fraser on the DCC side of things and Bill on model signal construction methods - Trevor does these for the Hazel Grove layouts, and kindly has given Bill permission to contact him for advice if he needs it when working on the signals for Attam Bank.
    Adam met Nic, who was demonstrating building a brass loco kit. Adam has taken on the task of building the DOGA Warflat brass kits that Bill has bought, and got some really helpful advice from Nic. All the Hazel Grove layouts were operating, and a very pleasant afternoon soon went by.

 

13th June 2008 [PM] - Rob joined us at the Mission, as did one of the First Officers with whom Fraser flies, and we all got down to work; Fraser’s colleague left after about an hour - he had only come to see what we were up to. Adam set-to sorting out the servos we are going to use as signal actuators, with the associated MERG servo-drivers and Steady-state Accessory Decoder. Fraser has now downloaded the software for the servo-drivers, and will be modifying it to allow signal-arm speed and degree of “bounce” to be individually set for each arm.
    Fraser and Rob got on with ballasting, on boards 6 and 7 - we all intend to take a turn at this tedious but vital job, as we want to have at least that done before our Open Day in September. Brian set Nick going doing some more laying out and pinning of the N-gauge circuit on the test-track, then he built up the embankment on board 6 to support the other end of the signalbox, which will span the joint; then Brian had to leave for an appointment. Nick finished what he could do on the test-track, so got on with making more trees from the Woodland Scenics material we have.
    Bill sorted out the new wiring circuits needed on the test-track, and also suggested (agreed by all) that the ribbon-cables used to connect from the chocblocs to the D25s, to provide electrical continuity across base-board joints, was replace by 25 individual multistand wires, to assist flexibility, particularly in separating out the various circuits at the chocblocs. He also attended to such vital housekeeping tasks as popping-out to buy more teabags and sugar. 

 

13th June 2008 [AM] - All but Rob (on duty) met at Stockport Station at 10.00am, for a pre-arranged visit to the S/pt Signal Boxes No. 1 and No.2. We were met by a member of the staff, who accompanied us on the visit. The signalmen, two per box, were very friendly and most helpful in answering our questions on the system and on signalling in general - one took time to look over the signalling diagram for Attam Bank and “passed it”!
    What most impressed Bill was the computer screen showing the real-time distribution of trains - it was set for the South Manchester area, but the signalman demonstrated how it could show the actual position of trains elsewhere in the country. The reason the chaps had time to talk a lot was that there had recently been a bridge-strike south of Stockport, so all trains on the main line were being held while the bridge was inspected. This was great for us, of course, but we strenuously deny that we had arranged for Rob to do the strike - he was at work at the airport, honest, Guv.
    Then the all-clear came through and the two signalmen leapt into action, dancing up and down the frame pulling levers off or on; also the block instruments (tall black oblongs, no brass or mahogany to be seen anywhere) were going like fun - but we were all lost by the bell-codes in use once the single ring “call attention” was received or given - no 2-3 for an express etc., but quite complex combinations - the codes actually contain much more information than just the train-classification. Interestingly we had previously seen on the computerised train-describer that one could home in and get the actual “consist” of the train - even down to the coach numbers in use.
    The chaps in the other box were just as friendly and helpful when we moved there, albeit they were quite busy sorting out the “traffic jam”. All in all a most enjoyable and informative visit.
    We then repaired to the new Pumpkin café on platform 2, where over coffee we held a discussion on our scenery plans, as Ian had to leave at lunch-time for boring old work reasons. Brian and Ian commendably had come by train, but when they left to catch their train back to Hazel Grove it had been cancelled - more fall-out from the bridge-strike, presumably. So Ian’s wife came to get him, and Brian resorted to an omnibus. The rest of us had come in Fraser’s motor, so returned to his house to pick up the other motors. We then all (except Ian) made our way to the Mission for our usual Friday afternoon session.

 

8th June 2008 - On Sunday Fraser called for Bill in the morning, and they drove down to the Bakewell Show. The main ‘business’ of the visit was to meet the Wingfield Group’s Exhibition Manager, David Harding; this we did, and sat with him in the cafeteria while he had his lunch (at 4.00pm, such is the life of exhibition managers!!). We had a long chat, during which he answered our list of questions about the details of us exhibiting Attam Bank at their 2009 show; the talk also ranged quite widely, mainly on railway topics but with a bit of “Cabbages and Kings” element as well. We agreed on the way home that we were glad our first outing with the layout would be to such a friendly show, where we were certain we would get all the help we might need as ‘first-timers’.
    We bought various things, Bill getting a newly-out book on SR wagons and vans, and four of the older Hornby Southern Railway coaches, the latter are becoming scarce, so were snapped up! We also purchased a Springside kit for a signal-box interior, for the Attam Bank box being built by Bill. We spent about five hours going round the show in all, and it was a good day out. Hope to see some of you there next year.

 

6th June 2008 - Bill, Rob, Adam, Nick and Brian met. Rob proceeded with some more ballasting on board 6.
    Nick cut two grooves across the foam of board B, to bury the cross-board track-feeds; while Adam and Brian set-out the N-gauge circuit on the test-track Adam and Brian disappeared after tea, going to SMTF at Brookside to get six lengths of N-gauge flexi-track for the straights - this was a lot cheaper than using ten inch Set-Track straights, although they did incorporate those Brian had donated. The four points donated were three curved long ones, and a straight short one; these they used to lay two loops, one on each side of the circuit.
    Having finished his job on the test-track, Nick then let in a piece of 1/8th inch ply over the exposed foam & rolled-up newspaper strips with which the embankment had been built up on board seven - this was still damp in places and stuck to the end-cover board when it was removed. So Nick cut the ply to shape, then fixed it in place with un-diluted PVA, clamping it into position by re-applying the end-cover board.
    While Adam fixed the N-gauge circuit in place using very long pins (an experiment to see how this works with the foam baseboards), Brian and Nick got on with making some of the Woodland Scenic tree kits; these are looking quite good.
    Bill as usual acted as facilitator, producing tools as people needed them, making the tea, finding things in the store, and generally lending a hand as needed.

 

1st June 2008 - Fraser and his wife Clare went down to stay in Dorset for a week. While there they visited the Swanage Railway, and Fraser got some useful photos of various railway items. He had conversations with some of the people running the Railway, in particular the signalling branch, and got some most helpful information.

30th May 2008 - Bill, Brian and Fraser met, with Nick joining us later. We re-convened the half-yearly meeting, dealing with some smaller items first - a report on the website views, where we have now passed the 1,000 visitors level. The average visit length was given as just over 2 minutes, which seemed short; however, Bill reported that when he logged-in as webmaster to SiteMeter and dug deeper, he found that about a quarter of visits actually lasted 0.00 minutes. It is probable that these represent webcrawlers, automatic programs that visit umpteen websites rapidly trawling for email addresses or personal details to sell to scammers; all websites have these unwelcome visitors, unfortunately, but it does mean our 1000 visits probably only represents some 750-800 genuine visits. However, the genuine visits last much longer, from 4 to 20+ minutes, so some people must find something of interest on the site.
    We discussed visiting the Bakewell show, with some of us scheduled to go on Saturday and some on Sunday. Bill has been briefed to discuss the attendance of Attam Bank next year with the Exhibition Manager of the Wingfield Railway Group, who host the Bakewell show. We have agreed to postpone a final decision on whether the CHMRG hold a small exhibition at the Mission in December until we see how our Open Day on the 28th September goes.
    Then we re-visited the Scenery discussion - Bill presented a spreadsheet of over 70 scenic ‘items’ that we have agreed, all classified, prioritised, whether removable or fixed, and assigned to a lead person to make them happen. It was agreed this was the best way to keep track of so many items, and also meant we could sort the list in various ways - prioritised list for each lead member, or prioritised list of items for each scenic board, etc. The meeting was then closed and we reverted to modelling.
    Brian and Nick proceeded with building out the embankment on board 7, ready to take the signal box. Fraser did some ballasting on board 6, one track of which had already been done while we were still at Brookside. He used the “Cascamite” method (see 9th May blog below), but was unhappy with the results, so he and Brian cleaned the track off again - a labourious process, but one that had to be done before the glue set! We will try again next week.

23rd May 2008 - Main purpose of this session was to hold the half-yearly Group meeting, but some work went on while waiting for everyone to arrive. Fraser did arcane things with his point-actuators - but he is pretty sure he has now ironed out the bugs in his programming of the DCC module in his actuators. He also showed us the draft manual he is working on, ready for their release onto the market by his commercial partners; Adam took the draft and is proof-reading it.
    Then we started the meeting, the main purposes of which were to confirm (or not) the proposals that had accumulated since the AGM in Nov. 07, and to discuss and plan the scenic work on Attam Bank - we first whipped through some ‘official’ stuff, like receiving the 06-07 Annual Accounts etc, and spent a little time going over plans for our Open Day in September. After about an hour Adam had to leave because his family were off to Wales for the Bank Holiday. But just as he was preparing to go, our visitor arrived, John Rodway, Exhibition Manager for the Romiley Methodist Railway Modellers. He brought us a copy of the new Seniors magazine containing the article he wrote about the five RM groups in Stockport - which is more than in any other borough in the country has, he thinks (if you know better, email us!!).
    He also brought us a list of the layouts the Romiley group have, which was fortuitous because we have been invited to have a ‘presence’ at a local school fete. John is presently checking whether one of his groups small ‘have-a-go layouts for ‘children’ (ages 8 to 80+) might be available; if so, we will probably have a joint RMRM / CHMRG ‘presence’ at the fete.
    The meeting then went on to discuss the scenic work on the layout, starting with the ‘RailScene’ - the scenic items found inside, and including, the railway boundary fence. This took some time, there being 26 items on the discussion list; John gave us some really good input on several items, but he really came into his own when we reached ‘signals and telegraphs’.
    He confirmed most of the signalling diagram drawn up by Bill, but added two advance starters low down the bank - one was just outside the scale minimum distance from the splitting outer homes at the top of bank (if the layout was any shorter we would have had to postulate this signal as being the other side of the tunnel). On the down-main he convinced us there should be an advanced starter low down the bank, to operate when the crossover was used in the up-to-down direction. We realised also that as a side-benefit, both these signals could be operated by the storage-sidings operator, indicating to the drivers in front of the layout that the relevant trains were ready to depart/be received.
    By this time we had had two brews, and we still had to consider all the ‘Scenery items’ (outside the railway boundary fence) and also some items to do with the ‘Presentation’ of the layout when being exhibited to other people; therefore we decided to adjourn the meeting, and to reconvene next Friday. This allowed Fraser more time to poke about in the (virtual) innards of his actuator, and for Brian and Nick to do some scenery work. Meanwhile, John being willing to stay a while longer, Bill continued to pick his brains on the remaining scenery items; as before, John came up with several good ideas, most we will probably adopt, a couple we took “under advisement” as the TV dramas tend to say. All-in-all a good, productive session.   

 

16th May 2008 - Session had to be cancelled as only Bill and the two lads could make it - but two adults have to be present for Health and Safety reasons, so we’ve reluctantly cancelled this session. The modelling continues however, with most of us working at home on projects for the layout.   

 

10th-11th May 2008 - Stockport & District Railway Modellers show at the Grammar School. Bill and Fraser went on Saturday, Brian, Ian and Adam on Sunday. Eclectic mix of scale/gauges : O - 2 ; 00 - 3 ; EM - 1 ; N - 4 ; Various narrow gauge  - 3. We went looking especially to see how other groups had dealt with some of the scenery items that we are currently exercised over - ballast, front-edge finish, backscene, lineside fencing, baseboard joints in scenery, trees etc. We also looked at lighting the layout (most did not), treatment of water, building construction and roads/paths. Much information was recorded, mainly by me (Bill) who is compulsively pedantic and a real bore! This has been tabulated, but remains to be absorbed and inwardly digested. General opinion was a good, friendly show, worth the visit, so our thanks to the organisers.       

 

9th May 2008 - Five of us this week, albeit Ian could only spare an hour - but he did bring in the base “plug” for the church, with it’s “socket liner” to fit into the hole cut in the baseboard last time; this had involved some experimentation, but he had finally settled on a fairly rigid plastic sheet or “foam-board” material ca. 5mm thick. We then worked out the best placement of the church, and what methods to use to merge the new church base into the existing scenery.
    After examining the test bits of ballasted track from last time, it was decided these were not yet to a standard we would accept, so Rob set to doing some more test pieces using the method recommended by Mark Henshaw in his latest (part 5) installment of the “Long Line Diaries” in British Railway Modelling.  This involved mixing one part of dry woodworkers glue powder into three parts of the ballast, laying and brushing it into place in the usual way, then misting it with plain water from a sprayer. We found three quick “mists” about a minute apart worked best; it was very clean and neat to do, and only ten minutes after the misting the test piece could be picked up and inverted without any loose ballast dropping off - so we have agreed this is the method that will be used on the main baseboards.
    After examining bags of Jarvis “fine” and “extra fine” ballast, we agreed to use the latter, as the “fine” one had many lumps which would be over 6 inches in 4mm/ft scale. An article detailing some research on prototype ballast showed that the average size is about 2 inches, with a range of 3 to 1.5 inches, and mostly cuboidal. The “extra fine” ballast scaled out at the prototype measurements. So Rob did his first test using this, but we are unhappy with the colour - a uniform dark grey. Colour photos brought in by Bill showed that the predominant colour of the ballast was mid-brown, usually with some whitish stones among it. We had some brown/white fine ballast (origin unknown) that presumably came from out previous Brookside MRC home; Rob therefore did a further test-piece using a mix of roughly 3 parts brown to 1 part dark gray - the initial results looked OK, but we are leaving a final decision till next week, when all will be well dry.
    While Ian was there we had a round the (tea-)table discussion on our latest thoughts on scenery - agreed that even structures, like the church, which probably would be always used in any “dressing” of the layout, should be made removable - for safety in transport to and from exhibitions. It was further agreed that as none of the currently-available commercial kit or finished buildings seemed be suitable for the rest of the layout, we would scratch-build all the remaining structures, and various research tasks were handed out in preparation for this. Agreed also that rather than re-forming the track-side landscape to eliminate the fairly steep slope, the signal box would be mounted on a levelling frame of timber baulks, an unusual but not unknown method.  Overall a productive session.          

 

2nd May 2008 - Six members plus a guest meant a busy session. Bill was first in, then Rob; Rob has been away abroad for several weeks so had some catching-up to do while he and Bill set up the room. Fraser arrived next and, having sorted out the slight programming glitch in his point actuators, set about re-programming the ones already installed on Attam Bank, while Rob did yet more fine-tuning on the point-linkages on board 7, before he had to leave to go and wave virtual ‘bats’ about to control the air-traffic over M/cr Airport.
    Adam brought his Grandfather next to have a look at what we were up to; he seemed impressed with the activities, and enjoyed a good chat over tea. They were closely followed by Brian, then Nick. Adam and Nick set to practising laying ballast on some short lengths of track Bill had prepared - after some experimentation with adding poster-paint to the water/PVA mix dropped onto the ballast, it was decided that it would be better to use un-coloured diluted adhesive and paint the ballast after it was dry. Further tests to be done next week before we launch into ballasting the full scenic trackwork.Decided we needed to do some more research on the colour of the prototype's ballast.
    Bill and Brian concentrated on scenic boards 7 and 8, arriving at a consensus on the siting of various features - pedestrian crossing, pub (donated by Fraser), railway cottages with lane, pillbox and machine-gun post with good fields of fire to defend both the road and the railway over-bridge. Over tea Fraser demonstrated his excellent flashing Belisha beacons, and it was confirmed we would hold an Open Day on Sunday 28th September 2008.

 

25th April 08 - Fraser continued fine-tuning the DCC point-actuators - as these are newly designed he is using the layout as a test-bed to ensure that they work properly with all the presently available commercial DCC equipment as well as with MERG stuff. Brian helped at first, but when Bill arrived we had a discussion on the scenery, and agreed to widen and re-model the path of the “river” to convert it into a main road. Brian then started work, and made fair progress. Much other discussion took place over tea after Adam and Nick joined us - we agreed a number of things such as having an Open Day in late September (aimed primarily at other modellers, though no-one will be turned away), and next week to do some trial runs of painting sleepers, chairs and ballast using spare short lengths of SMP track fastened down to ply strips, before starting the mammoth task of doing all the scenic trackwork.. During the session Adam chipped two locos ready for use on the layout. We also discussed some improvements to the website, so look out for these over the next couple of weeks or so.

 

18th April 08 - A Pox On It !!  Today's session had to be cancelled at short notice. Only two adult members, Bill and Fraser, could make it, plus the two junior members. Unfortunately Bill's visiting grandson was found to have chicken-pox early this morning (Fri. 18th) - partly as for H&S reasons (a minimum of two adults must be present at a session), but mainly as a precaution, it was decided to cancel the session - the two lads are about to take exams, and Fraser would be unable to fly if he contracted it, so we wanted to ensure no one could get the pox, low tho' the probablility was. So the layout will have to wait till next week.

 

11^th April 08 - Adam, Bill, Brian, Fraser and Ian met; Adam had to leave just after 3pm, but Nick joined us shortly after. Fraser brought in his prototype flashing Belisha beacons, very impressive - but he then had to leave to go up, up and away from the airport. Adam demonstrated his DCC controlled rail-crane - he has the jib and the lifting-cable drums working under DCC, but still has to build the gearbox to allow the crane to rotate.

    Bill sorted out the wiring diagram for the lay-by and programming roads, and Brian finished the wiring. Ian, in consultation with the others, cut out the "socket" for the church to fit in - it was decided to make this item removable as it could get damaged in transit to exhibitions. We laid out the four scenic boards, and made a number of decisions about the re-modelling of the landscape, and the placement of the various main scenic items.

    The main discussion was about the response from the Bakewell show organiser, who had said he thought the insurance value we had put on the layout was far too low. It was agreed we needed to re-assess the basis for arriving at a value that would allow us to rebuild an equivalent layout within a maximum of one year - and that would almost certainly mean employing some professional help with the baseboards and the electronics, at least. This re-assessment has been divided up amongst the members to get the necessary information.

 

4th April 08 - Brian, Bill and Nick continued wiring the two lay-by roads and programming road on board 1; we got into a bit of a muddle with this, and also the second-hand switches took ages to de-solder, so there is still a little more to do next time. Fraser fitted the additional point actuator to board 6, which now works, although he still wants to improve the programming on the actuators.
    Over tea we discussed the answers to the questionnaire we have received from the Wingfield Railway Society, about our exhibiting at Bakewell in June 2009; this led on to discussing how we would operate the layout, and then to scenics. Fraser produced a Woodland Scenics catalogue, and it was agreed several of the “learning kits” might well be useful for us to dip our toes in the water - none of us consider we have much skill at scenic work, so it’s going to be a steepish learning curve.
    Brian brought in a gothic church which he had built for his own layout from a Metcalf kit; the rest of us thought he had made a good job of this, so when we agreed a  model of this church would form part of the scenery, guess who was deputed to build our version? We also agreed that as the type of square-towered church depicted was pretty “generic” for the UK it could be fixed into the scenery permanently.
    Next time we shall concentrate on detail planning and landscape preparation on the scenic boards. As I say we are all a bit nervous about this aspect of the layout, so if there are any experienced scenery gurus out there who could spare an hour or two to pop in and give us the benefit of their advice, we’d all be very grateful.

 

28th March 08 - Brian, Fraser and Bill started just after 13.00hrs; Ian joined us for a few minutes, to return a key and have a quick discussion scenery - we have decided to try using shallow boxes made of thick card as bases for the removable scenic items, designed to slot into a socket on the board lined with thin plywood. Nick joined us much later, after finishing at his vacation job.
    Brian, later aided by Nick, finished laying and pinning three roads on board one, two as isolation sidings for non-DCC locos, and one as a programming road. Bill provided some lever switches, but these still to be fitted and the wiring done next week.
    Fraser again tackled the linking of the cross-over on Board 7, but after working all afternoon pronounced the linkage was too long to make satisfactorily, there being too much give in the linking wire for a positive movement at the far end. We therefore decided that all the crossovers will now be operated by pairs of actuators, one for each point. Regretfully quite a lot of time and energy has been expended trying to get these various linkages to work, but we agreed enough is enough - we need to get on with the scenery and practicing running procedures.
    Bill finally finished wiring the test-track, sorting various problems along the way, although at the last minute the low-profile rocker switch controlling the layby siding failed (having worked fine before!) - so he replaced this as the rest of the room was cleared around him.

7th March 08 - Brian and Ian decided to solve the ‘dog-leg’ problem on the test-track board C inner circuit by relaying it with some new code 100 track donated by Ian. There are still a couple of low hump-backs at the baseboard joins, but so far not enough to derail stock. Bill embedded two low-profile switches, to control the programming road and the storage siding isolation - this involved some additional wiring, and will be completed next week.
    Adam sorted out the four point ‘problems’ on the storage sidings, and also wired track-feeds to the two dead sections we found last week.
    Over tea we discussed how we would operate the layout, and agreed to try with two train ‘drivers’ in front of the layout, with one or two ‘signalmen’ in the operating well. The reasons for trying this are that the well is quite narrow (only 2' 3" wide) so the fewer people milling about the better, and also we feel strongly that one of the main purpose of exhibiting layouts such as Attam Bank is to engage with the viewing public, explain what is going on and, when possible, encourage others to take up the hobby.
    The test-track was put to good use running in a new mobile box, sorry, diesel engine, for Ian, while we also proved that Bill’s dozen or so long Hornby/Triang coaches would definitely need re-wheeling before use on A-B (they also need close-coupling and corridor connections fitted - Bill is going to be a busy bee in the coming weeks!). On the other hand we proved that a Hornby King Arthur pulled seven of the new Hornby Mausell coaches steadily round the 21" curve with no visible slowing (running under DC). Bill also measured the hall and alcove in detail, for a scale diagram to assist us plan Open Days at the Mission.

 

29th February 08 - Six of us this time, plus a visit from Ernie, whom we met at the New Mills show last Saturday and who has agreed to bring his static display of, mainly WWII, armoured vehicles to our proposed Exhibition towards the end of the year.

    Brian, Rob and Bill got on with the test-track; Bill wired in DCC programming road, although this still needs a DPDT switch fitted to isolate-from/connect-to the storage siding. Brian and Rob re-laid the rails on the outer circuit where they crossed the B-C boards joint, to level the slight ‘hump-back’ there - once done, some test running showed a great improvement; the A-B joint still needs attention.. However, locos now derailed on the return-curve on board C, and closer inspection showed a dog-leg in the curve - this to be relayed next week using an 18" TrackSetta to ensure uniformity. Adam let in the SPST switch for isolating the storage siding.
    Fraser completed the fitting of the DCC point actuators on B7 of Attam Bank, and then, about 4 o’clock, we decided to erect the whole of A B and do some test running. While it was up, Bill replaced the hand-written point-labels on B1 with printed versions, dodging the strange trains that were going round without a locomotive in front - Bill said it reminded him of the time in the late 40's when he saw his first Meteor jet fighter, and was startled to see a plane flying without a propeller to pull it. He also checked all the QUAD (Quick Up And Down) modifications and, apart from some T-nuts not yet added to the storage sidings boards, all were finished and working.
    The test running showed up a few small problems, a couple of dead spots in the storage sidings and a couple of points playing up, all noted for attention in due course. Interestingly we had the layout dismantled and packed away again in time to close the room just before 7 o’clock - with over one and a half hours running time.

 

23rd February 08 - Adam, Bill and Nick went to the New Mills Modellers show at Chapel-en-le-Frith - two halls plus seven classrooms. Plenty of interesting layouts, and we also “booked” a couple of small exhibits for our own exhibition later this year. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.  

22nd February 08 - Only Adam, Bill and Nick there for the session; Fraser dropped in, but left again fairly soon as he had a bad cold. We completed the wiring on the two circuits of the test-track, although when we began testing we found some mistakes that had to be corrected. First we realised that the power feed to one side of board B had not been put in; we did this, then tried test-running with DC power, only to find that the feed and return wires on board C had been wired the wrong way round - this produced an interesting effect when the test loco, with tender and loco pickups, bridged the gap between the boards!
    Having repaired this wiring, we actually got two trains running simultaneously in opposite directions - one on each circuit, obviously. These completed a number of circuits, but then the loco on the outer track derailed at the junction between boards B & C. Careful observation of further circuits showed that at the board joints  were raised on one side of the test-track, giving a “hump-back” effect as vehicles crossed them - this had been sufficient to derail the bogie on the loco. So remedial work will be needed there. Then we tried reversing the outer train through the crossover to the inner circuit - this worked fine, once we had cut the necessary isolation gap in the inner (frog) rail of the outer circuit, which had been overlooked in laying, causing a short-circuit when the point was reversed.
    We still have to wire in the DCC programming road and the lay-by siding with its isolation switch, but overall a milestone passed, and some lessons learnt.

15th February 08 - Only Rob, Brian and Adam could make it this week, though Bill dropped-in for half-an-hour or so mid-session (grandchildren staying!). Rob and Adam continued to work on the linkages on board 7. The catch-points on the slow lines have to bend a fairly short length of rail to open, so need much more force than the long switch-blades of the main points. Therefore they have been re-working the linkages so that the main force of the point-actuator will operate on the catch-point, with the paired main/slow point now at the distant end of the linkage.

    Brian continued work on the test-track, cleverly re-siting the chocblocs back from the baseboard edge to protect the wiring from snagging when setting-up or dismantling the track. He also did some more wiring and plaited some of the existing wires, making them lie more neatly. Bill managed to plait one set of wires before having to leave again, although he did make a nice cup of tea for everyone as well while he was there.          

 

8th February 08 - Four members only today. Fraser fitted new DCC-controlled actuator to the linked points on the down-main on board 7 - these are now moving smoothly, although the linkage still needs a tweak. Adam and Nick did further work on board 6.

    Ian brought his camera and tripod, and took photos of the end-boards B5 and B10, together with the adjacent scenic boards B6 and B9; we had a general discussion on the scenery, including the extensions above the end-boards, and Ian is going to draw up some plans. We have agreed we will use ‘blue foam’ (as in the test-track) as a baseboard for the end-scenery, and make it ‘clip-on’ to the main, tracked, boards.

    While the layout was at Brookside, some copper-clad crossover-points were built for board 10, but these were lifted shortly before the layout moved to its present location. Bill spent some time trying these in various positions on the end-boards, and it looks as if one of the crossovers could be put in place later on each of the end-boards, to allow down trains to enter the up storage sidings, and up trains go to the down sidings - although the jury is still out on whether we need to do this.

    Once Ian had gathered all the info he needed for the scenery planning, he continued wiring the test-track, joined by Bill who wired the six plugs for controllers/programmer to the relevant tags on the board. Bill also experimented by making twisted pairs of one set of the track-feed wires, and it was agreed this gave a much tidier result; it was decided to do all the remaining wiring in this manner. Also worries about the vulnerability of the wiring to the choc-blocs, being so near the baseboard edge, mean that we are going to re-site the choc-blocs a couple of inches back from the edge. All this means there it will take another couple of weeks before the test-track is fully operational, but we want to get it ‘right’.

 

1st February 08  - Full house today (nb. we didn't time-travel back to the 1st Jan., for those of you puzzled by my error updating the site last week). Fraser installed one of his DCC-controlled point-actuators on board 7, operating the up-main turnout/catchpoint at the start of the up-slow; it was most impressive to see the steady but firm movement of the point blades.

    Rob continued working on the linkage for the crossover on board 6 between the up & down mainlines - this is now working. Bill, Brian and Ian continued to wire the test-track; board A is about 60% done, board B about 30% and board C 90% done. We hope to run the first trains round the test-track circuits before we finish next week.

    Fraser also brought in a load of double-0 stuff, as he has decided to have an N layout at home, since he has the use of Attam Bank for 00. The locos and rolling-stock are on long-term loan to the Group, for use on Attam Bank; of the scenic items, he has donated those we think can be used on the extended scenery sections of Attam Bank, and also any items we wish to reserve for placing on the test-track when it is used as a 'Thomas' type layout for youngsters to operate. The remainder have been placed in our shop. Nick and Adam spent a happy couple of hours sorting out and storing this wealth of material.

   Finally, Nick announced he is doing a Duke of Edinburgh Silver award based on his model railway work, and asked if the Group would act as mentors, a request to which we all agreed to willingly.
 

25th January 08 - Brian and Bill opened the room, and started work on preparing to wire the test-track, Brian re-locating the ribbon-cable board-connections to the other side (yup, Bill changed his mind again!), while Bill continued fitting the wiring loom holders around the edge.. Later Rob and Adam arrived, and they started work under Board 6, preparing to put the linkage in between the paired cross-over points. Ian popped in and left some more books and rollling stock for the Group. Later Nick arrived from college, and then he and Adam set to work helping wire the test-track - so some wires have actually got soldered. Brian, meanwhile, fitted six 4mm banana-sockets on the edge of board A, to allow controllers and the DCC programmer to be plugged in. All being well we should have the test-track test running in no more than two weeks.   

 

18th January 08 -  Brian and Ian finished laying, glueing and soldering the ends of the inner circuit of the test-track - all track-work now complete. Bill began fixing the wiring loom clamps around the edge, while Brian let in a ply strip at one corner and screwed a tag-strip to it, to act as a 'straining point' between the wiring and the 4mm banana-sockets used to connect equipment to the track. Adam sorted the magazines in the library, recording them on a computer matrix for easy reference, and separating duplicates and pre-2000 issues. When Nick arrived, he and Adam continued fettling the Board 7 point linkage on the down main.  

 

11th January 08 -  Fraser, Adam and Nick started putting in the point-linkage between the main turnout and the catch-point on board 7 - about 60% complete. Rob continued laying and glueing-down the remaining track-work on the test-track, and this is now about 90% complete. Fraser also helped Adam with his DCC command station, soldering joints and electronically testing it - it's now functioning satisfactorily. Bill came at the start, but felt unwell so had to go home again (He's fine now). 

 

4th January 08 - Five members came, plus guest Nick - who this time asked to join - we all welcomed him, subject of course to him getting a parental consent form signed. Rob, with help from Brian and Adam, replaced the un-reliable clips retaining the legs on boards 5, 6 & 7 with small bolts.

    Fraser, helped by Adam and NIck, continued preparing for fitting the new DCC point-actuators on board 7 - this involved some hard work removing 1"x 1" wooden braces that Mark, who built the boards, had put in under the trackbase. This modification was necessary to allow the linkage operating both the main-line point and the slow-line catch-point in unison from one point actuator; the linkage on the up main was installed and works OK. 

    Brian and Bill sorted an anomaly on the accounts, which are now up-to-date, and Bill and Adam agreed a plan for developing the website. The test-track was worked on by Brian, Rob & Nick, fettling the track on board A, and laying further track on board B.

    Bill set up the six new Hornby Southern Railway Maunsell coaches he had just received; they look really good, especially with a King Arthur at their head - one member commented that retired academics obviously get to much pension, a remark that Bill put down to simple envy of the coaches! Overall a good session to start the New Year - and a Happy New year to all of you who take the trouble to read about our trials and successes.
 

 14th December 07 - Five members came, although Ian had to leave after 45 minutes - but before he went we discussed his proposal to add a high-level scenic baseboard above the tracks on end-board 5, with the scenery on board 6 modified to merge with the new board. The idea is to give more to hold a viewer's attention during the (hopefully brief) times no trains are moving on the scenic track section - agreed in principle, pending Ian's more detailed plans. We also discussed Bill's proposal that cross-overs would be needed between the up and down siding-fans in the storage sidings to facilitate "out-and-back" workings. It was decided to wait until we could run multiple trains in sequence to see how necessary this was.

       Rob continued Brian's work on correcting the vertical misalignment at the junction of boards 4 & 5; this successfully completed this week, and trains consisting of various wheel-base plus bogie vehicles ran smoothly through; a variety of commercial wheelsets were included, all of which where OK.

    Fraser continued his work on preparing the pointwork on board 7 ready for fitting his DCC-operated point actuators, and Adam built a test linkage to connect the main/slow points with the catch-point on the slow lines, so they could be operated by one actuator; this was proved to work. Adam & Bill also designed a mechanism/tool to adjust the back-to-back on commercial wheelsets.  

    Bill did some more re-organisation and sorting in the store-room, and replaced the old hand-written point labels on board 4 with more professional looking printed ones, sealing them to help keep them clean. He also labelled the filing cabinet drawers and converted some of the 10mm bolts used to connect the baseboards to allow a power screwdriver to be used to wind them into the pronged T-nuts.

 

7th December 07 - Bill and Fraser arrived at 13.30hrs, with the others trickling in over the next couple of hours. Nick, Adam's friend, came along this week, he gave Brian a hand with correcting the out-of-level joint between boards 4 & 5. Fraser mainly concentrated on the pointwork on board 7, in preparation for installing his new point actuators (which he demonstrated at Warley).  Bill