Great Southern Railway (Fictitious) - Looking North

[Compound2632]

and a Midland 5-plank open (sadly not a D299!), 

 

No indeed but an interesting survivor nonetheless - the additional vertical strapping half-way between the side knees and corner plates marks it out as the successor design, either D302, 9.750 built 1913-1920, or D663A, 3,500 built 1921-23. These wagons were a foot longer than D299 and featured the then-fashionable 9'6" wheelbase. The odd 1917 batch of D299 wagons also had this vertical strapping but the longer wagons can be distinguished by the deeper top plank, as in your photo. On the "classic" D299, along with many similar 19th century wagons, there was a long tie-rod vertically through the planks in the position of the strapping on the later wagons, serving the same purpose of keeping the planks aligned. I imagine the later solution was cheaper.

[Skinnylinny]

Thank you, that's interesting! I noticed the vertical strapping (that being how i knew it wasn't a D299!) but the idea of the tie-rod (which presumably must have weakened the planks at that point, having thinned them down a fair bit?) was new to me! However, unfortunately the build dates mean it's too modern for Linton, which is supposedly set between 1900 and 1910. Booooo!

[Compound2632]

Oh, and I meant to add, they ought to beef up that R. Fortunately the tarpaulin hides their M from my scrutiny. At the moment it looks like they've used Fox transfers. (I ought to add that it's only these particular transfers I take issue with; I have a set of their superb MR brakedown crane transfers in stock, waiting for the day I get to grips with my D&S kit.)

[Skinnylinny]

On Monday I managed to get the CAD work for my Open D wagon completed, so after work on Tuesday I popped down to the Hacklab and had a nice, relaxed 45 minutes cutting out a few kits, just for a final test build - got to be certain! I then took them down to the club, where, in just under an hour, I went from this:
 

 

to this:

 

Built and first spray of primer in under an hour. Now, granted, I wasn't having to follow the instructions (they're all in my head!) but this means to me that building one of these kits can easily be an evening in front of the TV kind of thing, which is nice. Unfortunately I didn't get any further at the club (I got called upon to do some ballasting on our new layout) but another 20-odd minutes at home resulted in this:



The buffers used here are Bachmann sprung ones, purely because I don't have any 5&9 Stroudley wagon buffers at the moment!) although I think they're not too bad a representation of the later--style self-contained buffers. Now, I should get back to the lab, and work out the instructions for the Open D. Then I can try my hand at making a brake van!

[Nick Holliday]

NIce looking wagon, but I think you need to increase the length of the headstock/buffer beam a little, as it should be as wide as eh body and corner plates, as the cover of LBSCR Wagons shows.

[Skinnylinny]

Good shout - I'll do that today! I must have forgotten to account for the thickness of the card overlays - the buffer beams match the wooden parts of the body.

[JCL]

It’s easily done. It’s a lovely looking wagon nonetheless.

Edited November 7, 2018 by JCL

[Edwardian]

Looking forward to this.

[RedGemAlchemist]

That is indeed a very smart wagon. Good work Linny.

Edited November 7, 2018 by RedGemAlchemist

[Skinnylinny]

Well,yesterday didn't go quite as planned - I've run out of 1mm and 1.5mm MDF (!) so no more wagon kits got made. A bit of work got done on the instructions, but my head wasn't really in it. Instead, I got chatting with one of the members who uses 3D printing and laser-cutting to build robots (some very impressive hexapods - see HERE for a video of one of them!) and thoughts turned back to the layout idea.

I have always been interested in signalling, and one of the long-term aims for Linton was always an interlocked lever frame to control points and signals. Now, given that these are intended to be operated electrically, I'd need levers that can operate electrical switches. The DCC Concepts levers are very nice, but rather pricy (£13 a lever from Hattons if you're buying in 12s, which, given I reckon I need at least 15 (probably more) levers, gets expensive quickly!). The Scalefour Society do a very nice etched kit of a lever frame which works microswitches, but having spent over £25 on a kit for five levers, I promptly went and messed it up - this kit was well beyond my skill level, and it isn't simple to add interlocking. So!

Part of the reason I love the hacklab is that there are always useful bits of material available and people to bounce ideas off. If I can't easily buy the levers I want, why not make them myself?

An hour and a half of CAD later, I had the design for the basic frame and lever, made from layers of 3mm MDF:
 

 

Next came the catch mechanism - it doesn't feel like pulling a signalbox lever unless you have to pull the catch handle! This part I couldn't make on the laser cutter, so I spoke to our roboticist member, who suggested 3D printing a sleeve to go around the lever, with teeth at the bottom to engage with the slots on the footplate. A quick prototype of the bottom part of this was printed, and showed that the basic concept was sound:



The mechanism to both operate this catch from the handle and the spring to return it to its "locked" position took a fair bit of pondering, but eventually the design below was decided on - rather than needing a hinge on the rod, a tongue from the catch passes through a slot in the catch handle. When the handle is squeezed, that slot lifts up, lifting the tongue, which lifts the catch at the bottom. Simples! A tension spring hidden under the footplate keeps the catch "locked" unless lifted. A mount was added for a microswitch, and another test-build was carried out. Much to my surprise, all the dimensions were spot-on first time, and the whole thing worked smoothly.

 

 

Finally, the queston of interlocking. I decided that while mechanical, tappet-based interlocking looks very nice, electronic locking would be preferable as I'd like the ability to turn it off if things get too confusing, or to make life easier for new operators/allow the system to be demonstrated. Solenoids were discounted, as I don't much like running them constantly. Several ideas were suggested, but none of them quite worked. Then, suddenly, "Why don't you use servos? They're cheap and can be computer-controlled easily!" A few more sketched on the whiteboard, and we came up with a very simple system which allows any lever to be simply locked or unlocked with a wedge-shaped piece of wood which, when in place, stops the lever from being moved from either extremity, but, when released, swings to one side to allow free movement of the lever. By jove, I think we've cracked it!

 

 

A short video of the lever being operated can be seen here (although sadly no video of the interlocking mechanism working, you'll just have to trust me on that one for now!)

Total cost (including servo and switch): About £4 a lever. Much better! Now I just need to work out my own signalling diagram and make a few more!
 

Edited November 8, 2018 by Skinnylinny

[sem34090]

Now that really is impressive,

[NeilHB]

Linny, that is just absolutely brilliant - well done! 

[Edwardian]

Hats off to Linny!

[RedGemAlchemist]

WOW.

[Annie]

Wow that is brilliant Linny.  What an absolutely clever design.  

[Caley Jim]

Very neat design, Linny.  Much easier to assemble than my one (middle of the post), I would imagine!

 

Jim

[JCL]

I'm floored! That's brilliant.

[Skinnylinny]

Apologies for the lack of any updates recently - the black dog has been prowling again, and I've been struggling to find the motivation to get out of bed in the mornings and go to work, much less doing any modelling. Not helping is some trouble we're having with the laser cutter at the Hacklab - due to problems with our fume extraction, we've been asked not to laser cut between 8am and 8pm. This evening is the first chance I've had in about two weeks to actually get to the laser cutter. So! Time to try a new design...

First, I couldn't get the file to export correctly to a DXF for the laser cutter to read.... then it glitched horribly when I imported it into the laser cutter software. Half an hour of cleaning up the file later (and yes, I was saving every 5 minutes), turn the laser cutter on and... "Communication time-out". Several restarts of the cutter made no difference, so I saved the tidied-up file once more, took a deep breath, and restarted the software on the computer. File, Open, aaaaand "Where the *!$*!'s the file gone?!" - it's deleted it. Saved the configuration, but not the drawing.

...I'm going home. Here's hoping life is a little rosier tomorrow. I should have an appointment with my GP, and I'll be mentioning the mood slumps (again).

Edited to add: Also, welcome to page 50 of this thread. Here's hoping this post isn't representative of the previous 50!

Edited November 25, 2018 by Skinnylinny

[Edwardian]

Apologies for the lack of any updates recently - the black dog has been prowling again, and I've been struggling to find the motivation to get out of bed in the mornings and go to work, much less doing any modelling. Not helping is some trouble we're having with the laser cutter at the Hacklab - due to problems with our fume extraction, we've been asked not to laser cut between 8am and 8pm. This evening is the first chance I've had in about two weeks to actually get to the laser cutter. So! Time to try a new design...

 

First, I couldn't get the file to export correctly to a DXF for the laser cutter to read.... then it glitched horribly when I imported it into the laser cutter software. Half an hour of cleaning up the file later (and yes, I was saving every 5 minutes), turn the laser cutter on and... "Communication time-out". Several restarts of the cutter made no difference, so I saved the tidied-up file once more, took a deep breath, and restarted the software on the computer. File, Open, aaaaand "Where the *!$*!'s the file gone?!" - it's deleted it. Saved the configuration, but not the drawing.

 

...I'm going home. Here's hoping life is a little rosier tomorrow. I should have an appointment with my GP, and I'll be mentioning the mood slumps (again).

 

Edited to add: Also, welcome to page 50 of this thread. Here's hoping this post isn't representative of the previous 50!

 

Just seen this, Linny, sorry to hear you are in the doldrums. I hope things have improved since then.

 

I know the feeling when relatively minor matters defeat us and how difficult that is to overcome in certain states of mind.

[Skinnylinny]

Another small update:

The mood seems to be getting a little better - last night I went to an "Introduction to Woodworking" evening course (free! Run by another local makerspace, called The Forge, which tends to deal with bigger projects than the Hacklab). There were three demonstrators between seven students, so we all got a lot of one-on-one teaching. I'm now less scared of saws and chisels (never having properly used a chisel before, it was an education!). I was also expecting the gender balance of students to be almost entirely male (myself excluded), so to find that there were three men, two women and two non-binary people (!) attending was very nice. I'm starting to get the urge to make things again, which is definitely a positive.

I managed to cut a batch of van kits out (although it did mean staying very late), and I am hopeful that I can get another order sorted this evening. Normal service is beginning to resume.

Tonight's project (while waiting for the laser cutter to become available) will be preparing a control panel for the model railway club's Glendevon layout extension (although this is not strictly pre-grouping! - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/103243-glendevon-extension/) - I've got my brush, MDF sealer/primer and white paint ready. Once the wood is painted white, the plan is to cover the whole thing with masking sheet, using the laser cutter to cut out the panel, cut holes for the switches, and cut through the masking sheet to reveal the track plan, which can then be peeled away, leaving (hopefully!) neatly-masked sections to be painted, leaving the white panel behind. We shall see!

[Edwardian]

Another small update:

 

The mood seems to be getting a little better - last night I went to an "Introduction to Woodworking" evening course (free! Run by another local makerspace, called The Forge, which tends to deal with bigger projects than the Hacklab). There were three demonstrators between seven students, so we all got a lot of one-on-one teaching. I'm now less scared of saws and chisels (never having properly used a chisel before, it was an education!). I was also expecting the gender balance of students to be almost entirely male (myself excluded), so to find that there were three men, two women and two non-binary people (!) attending was very nice. I'm starting to get the urge to make things again, which is definitely a positive.

 

I managed to cut a batch of van kits out (although it did mean staying very late), and I am hopeful that I can get another order sorted this evening. Normal service is beginning to resume.

 

Tonight's project (while waiting for the laser cutter to become available) will be preparing a control panel for the model railway club's Glendevon layout extension (although this is not strictly pre-grouping! - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/103243-glendevon-extension/) - I've got my brush, MDF sealer/primer and white paint ready. Once the wood is painted white, the plan is to cover the whole thing with masking sheet, using the laser cutter to cut out the panel, cut holes for the switches, and cut through the masking sheet to reveal the track plan, which can then be peeled away, leaving (hopefully!) neatly-masked sections to be painted, leaving the white panel behind. We shall see!

 

Glad to hear things are looking a little better.  Hang on in there Linny. 

[Skinnylinny]

Slowly but surely the ability to focus for more than fifteen minutes at a time has been returning. Kit design has been moving along at a snail's pace due to the laser cutter being unavailable during the day, meaning I can't do my usual trick of design - test-cut - test-build - modify design, repeat. Starting the cutting at 8pm means I can usually get about 2 or 3 test cuts done in an evening before I'm utterly exhausted and unable to do the same the next day. However, I've managed to get some progress made on an LBSCR D81/273 horsebox (I'm not convinced this one would make a good kit, as there are several very delicate, easily broken parts and it took me three attempts to get the chassis together without breaking something!

 

I've also had a look at a building design for Linton's Station Road - a fairly affluent house, fairly closely based on the old Superquick "Greystones" Farmhouse kit (the old one L-shaped one, with the fancy tiles at the top, rather than the more common, recent one with the whitewashed stone upper storey) with a few tweaks here and there, especially with regard to the brickwork and the roofline. This is unusual in terms of my designs, as I've designed it as a three-dimensional model first of all, which will then be dismantled to create the actual building parts. For coaches and wagons, I tend to work "in the flat" with the designs, then do a virtual build for the instructions.



I like to think that this style of building captures a local style to a point (although I know flint-and-brick was a bit more of a West Sussex thing, there are still examples around Guildford, and it breaks up the monotonous brick houses). The tiles will be a bit more complex than those shows (one of SketchUp's standard textures resized) - again, a common feature of the buildings of the area. I'm hoping it'll blend in nicely with the Petite Properties Teacup Cottage I've already built, which can be seen here behind the Cat & Fiddle pub - I really must give the roof of this another go - I've yet to get it thatched in a way that I'm happy with.

 

Well, it all makes a change from the rolling stock, and I think it's what I needed - I'd got so bogged down in the rolling stock kit designs that I'd lost myself a little, and needed something a bit different to cheer me up. Here's looking forward to a nice, productive Christmas break.

[mikeandnel]

Hello Linny

I like the look of your horsebox. What date have you modelled?

Incidentally, what parts seemed to be rather fragile?

 

Apart from that, I hope that you have a good Christmas and New Year

 

All the best

Michael

[Skinnylinny]

Hi Michael,

 

Thanks for the kind words. The horsebox has thus far been copied directly from the drawing in LB&SCR Carriages, Volume 2. Once I've got the major parts fitting together nicely I'll go on to get the details sorted properly. The eventual aim is for this particular model to run on Linton (set between 1900 and 1910).

 

As for the delicate parts, I've added brake shoes to this model but they're thin wood and I'm not convinced they're strong enough for purpose. What I'm considering doing is using epoxy and half staples (cut to give an L shape) to strengthen them on the reverse side. Brake shoes are tricky as it's very easy to make the support structure over-chunky.

 

 

A very happy Christmas and New Year to you too!

[sem34090]

Those buildings look lovely, Linny. I understand what you mean about losing oneself in a strange single modelling activity. That's why I've virtually given up CAD work.