Waverley West Posted May 24, 2012 Author Share Posted May 24, 2012 Hi folks, Well, progress has been a bit sporadic recently with that strange yellow ball shining up in the sky, causing me to be outside more than inside. Anyway, some progress has been made. To prove its new-found portability, I have moved half the layout down into the house, much to Mrs WW's despair. I have now finished fitting alignment dowels to all the boards so, in theory, they all lock together perfectly every time. Here is a shot of the dowels in place... I have now moved on to joining the track together, starting with the trickiest baseboard joint, the one under Waverley Bridge. This one, with 10 tracks crossing it... As most of the track can pretty much stay in situ, I have decided to use screws in the board, soldering the rails to them where they cross the joint. I first removed a length of rail on either side of the join, leaving the sleepers in place as shown below. I then inserted the screws and reinserted the rail and soldered it to the screw, as shown below. The track is to be realigned where the ballast has been scraped away and the track removed, as part of yet another Waverley remodelling project, this time on a smaller scale though. More on that later. Only time will tell how durable this solution will prove to be but it looks OK at the moment. With leaving the sleepers in place, alignment proved to be relatively straightforward. Hopefully I will be able to tidy up and hide the joins. They will be under Waverley Bridge as well. Once I've soldered the remaining rails to the screws, I will test the joint and then move on to the other 9 joins! Cheers, Dave 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRDBLUE17 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 (edited) Hi Dave, Great to see your layout back up and almost running again. You track alignment should work fine using the screws as they won't move about much. Certainly does look a very impressive train room you now have. I like your idea for either Oban or a bit of the fife coast to increase operations. You could get away with a fiddle yard underneath for units operating these routes to maximise space. Looking good and nice to see the updates. All the best Mark Edited May 24, 2012 by MRDBLUE17 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PaternosterRow Posted May 24, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 24, 2012 Hi Dave, Fell in love with your layout when I first saw it in Model Rail. What is most inspiring is that you managed to make it look so brilliant given the tight radius curves you had to use. You've got a great runaround that's as good as best of any of the fiddle to fiddle layouts I've seen. Very creative thinking regarding the design and space limitations - now I've got my loft converted I'm going to have a runaround too. Really enjoy stumbling on your updates from time to time and am so glad Waverley continues to live despite your move. It is great to see how the sections go together - I presume the station top is a separate piece all of its own? Regards, Mike 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 (edited) Hi Dave, Great to see your layout back up and almost running again. You track alignment should work fine using the screws as they won't move about much. All the best Mark Thanks for the reassurance, Mark. That's good to know. This baseboard joining/dismantling lark is new to me and there are a lot of joins on WW! I've done 3 track joins so far and it's definitely been a case of so far, so good. I'm looking forward to building the extension too, whatever form it takes in the end. Oban as a sort of scenic fiddle yard is definitely the favourite at the moment, maybe with a short West Highland scenic section. There's the small matter of Haymarket depot to be done as well. But now I'm getting ahead of myself. The house move has really been a kick-start for all these new developments and projects, as I had probably stagnated a little really as far as the layout itself was concerned, although I was happily running trains. It's been a step backwards to start with, but hopefully WW will be much improved by the time I've "finished". Cheers, Dave Edited May 25, 2012 by Waverley West 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Hi Dave, Fell in love with your layout when I first saw it in Model Rail. What is most inspiring is that you managed to make it look so brilliant given the tight radius curves you had to use. You've got a great runaround that's as good as best of any of the fiddle to fiddle layouts I've seen. Very creative thinking regarding the design and space limitations - now I've got my loft converted I'm going to have a runaround too. Really enjoy stumbling on your updates from time to time and am so glad Waverley continues to live despite your move. It is great to see how the sections go together - I presume the station top is a separate piece all of its own? Regards, Mike Thanks Mike. The half-station approach is ideal for Waverley but I think there are plenty of other stations that could be modelled in this way too, providing there is some sort of scenic break. There are no curves less than 2nd radius by the way, and very few of those too, so I never have any problems with derailments due to the curves being too tight. As you guessed it, both Waverley Bridge and the station roof are separate lift-off sections. It's been frustrating not to be able to put them back in place yet, but I'm working underneath the bridge area at the moment, so I will just have to be patient. Cheers, Dave 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERandBR Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I use a simular method for baseboard joints. With the track laid you hammer in a small brass nail directly next to the rails at the joints. (The closer the better.) The rails are then soldered to the nails I find it a neat method on scenic sections as you can file down one side of the nail and hammer it in with that side away from the rail. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iankemp Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Have you seen this wee model of a blue bus? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OXFORD-DIECAST-1-76-SCOTTISH-BUS-DOUBLE-DECKER-BUS-SCOT001-00GAUGE-RAILWAY-MODEL-/200753210300?pt=UK_ToysGames_DiecastVehicles_DiecastVehicles_JN&hash=item2ebdd2e3bc 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Have you seen this wee model of a blue bus? http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2ebdd2e3bc Thanks Ian. Might just have to get one of those. I already have a couple of Edinburgh tour buses, but a bit of variety certainly wouldn't go amiss. Cheers, Dave 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted June 1, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 1, 2012 I don't know for certain - you may wish to check if these things worry you - but I doubt this London bus had finished its first career and headed for semi retirement in the North until well after the time your layout is based on. Not intending to be picky, but to save you from making a purchase you might later regret. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 I don't know for certain - you may wish to check if these things worry you - but I doubt this London bus had finished its first career and headed for semi retirement in the North until well after the time your layout is based on. Not intending to be picky, but to save you from making a purchase you might later regret. Thanks for that, Colin. Worth looking into. Cheers, Dave 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted June 5, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 5, 2012 good to see you back in the saddle again dave! i'm sure the trauma you've been through with WW will seem worth it, especially if it's been the launch pad for some more inspired modelling. incidentally, i don't know if it's too late/irrelevant now/whatever, but the SRS has some ScR signalling notices with diagrams: http://www.s-r-s.org.uk/archivesignals/brscotsig.html there are PDFs for 1976 edinburgh and 1989 edinburgh south resignalling schemes the 1976 one covers abbeyhill-haymarket: http://www.s-r-s.org.uk/archivesignals/brscot/1976-edinburgh.pdf the 1989 one covers abbeyhill-mound tunnels: http://www.s-r-s.org.uk/archivesignals/brscot/1989-edinburghsouth.pdf (the signalling diagram is on the last page of each) apologies if you've seen these before or if they're not relevant to you, i've had the link for ages and keep forgetting what a useful resource it is! all the best 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Hi Dave Great photos and your new Room... Have you moved then or extended, what is the size of your new room...? Any plans to extend your layout now to fill that space at the sides... Keep the photos coming... Do you have any plans to show it off at an exhibition at all...? Jamie 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) Hi Dave Great photos and your new Room... Have you moved then or extended, what is the size of your new room...? Any plans to extend your layout now to fill that space at the sides... Keep the photos coming... Do you have any plans to show it off at an exhibition at all...? Jamie Thanks Jamie. The new railway room measures 6m x 5m and yes, I've got plans to expand! The basic layout will stay the same size but I'm looking to add "a branch off to Oban" and a hidden fiddle yard, probably at a lower level. I'm also looking to redo much of the depot side of the board with longer off-scene platform roads, more of which later. As regards exhibiting the layout, it's certainly a possibility, as I'm in the process of rebuilding it so that it can be easily dismantled. If this proves a success, then WW could well be exhibited at some point in the future, though probably on a fairly limited basis as the boards were never designed to be particularly durable, being built as a "layout that never leaves home". Cheers, Dave Edited June 22, 2012 by Waverley West 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Hi folks, It's been a little while since my last update but I haven't been idle. I have made a completely new (well, part-recycled) board for the off-scene platform roads. This board has folding legs and is 22cm longer than the old board. 22cm might not seem a big difference, but, as the bishop might say to the actress, I can do a lot with that 22cm. It will enable platform 11, which on WW used to be a 2-car bay platform, to hold a 2+6 HST or 1+7 loco-hauled train as a through road, as per the prototype. I have finished laying cork tiles on the board to match the adjacent boards and now just need to fit alignment dowels to it and then tracklaying on the new board can begin. I have also decided to move the control panel, as the focus of the layout when I built the original boards was on the depot. With the focus of the layout now being the station, it seems a good opportunity to move it. That of course will entail extensive rewiring but I think it will be worth it in the end. Anyway, here's a quick shot of my progress with the new board... Well, I'm off to fit those dowels now. Hope to be back soon with another update. Cheers, Dave 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Hi Dave I'll watch with interest the extension of the layout... Loved the photos dave and the ones that have been pulled apart or which is normally out of site and get see part not normally seen so I get a better picture of what track goes to where once out of site so thanks for thos pics Dave... Keep up with the hard work and your plans and the updates with the progress of the whole thing... with photo's Jamie 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) Hi folks, Well, it's been a little while since my last update. However, less time spent on RMWeb has meant more time doing some actual modelling, well carpentry anyway. I've made a fair amount of progress on the remodelling of WW recently. Here is a general shot of my progress on the station end of the layout so far: I have replaced the old control panel shelf with a new one, this time attached to the "under-station board" next to the station, which is where most of the action takes place on the layout. I have also made a new support for the station roof, which is attached to only one board this time, making it easier to dismantle this end of the layout. Here is a close-up of the new shelf... This shot also shows the new through Platform 11, with a 6+2 HST in the platform, along with the now terminated platforms, platforms 12 and 13 (with the DMUs). I have also completed all the track joins between the three boards at this end of the layout... I have also provisionally laid the track on the new board. These loops, which act as both platform roads and storage loops, are all slightly longer than the previous loops, with the shortest being capable of holding a 2+6 HST or a 1+7 loco-hauled train. I have also managed to squeeze in a loco stabling siding, and a 3-way point, which will in the future provide a link to a spur down to a fiddle yard on a lower level. There is also space on this board in the foreground to take another 3 sidings, each capable of holding a 3-car DMU. This will greatly ease congestion in the peak hours on WW, which was always a problem with the old layout. I also intend to remodel the north side of the station throat slightly, by adding a link from the up line from Fife into Platform 18, which will make the track layout in this part of the station much more prototypical. The fictitious siding here will also be removed. While I'm here, I couldn't resist posting my first shot for a while without any "gubbins" in the background... Well, I guess that's about all for now. The next job is to split the depot board into two, as it's a bit on the long side to be easily portable at the moment. Hope to be back soon with some more updates. Cheers, Dave Edited July 11, 2012 by Waverley West 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.C.M Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Hi Dave, Nice to see an update, The new works look great. Changing plat 11 12 & 13 will add some more play value plus help you run your timetable. Changing the North side sounds good too.Just a thought, could you leave the siding in it's a good spot to park a loco. From memory there was a siding on the other side. Cheers Peter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Hi Dave, Nice to see an update, The new works look great. Changing plat 11 12 & 13 will add some more play value plus help you run your timetable. Changing the North side sounds good too.Just a thought, could you leave the siding in it's a good spot to park a loco. From memory there was a siding on the other side. Cheers Peter. Thanks Peter, Yep, all these changes will make it much easier to run a proper timetable and will make the station much more prototypically accurate in terms of layout and operations, although I'm not making any claims to absolute accuracy with WW! I am a bit reluctant to remove that siding (after all, you can't have too many sidings!), but I did find that I didn't use it very much, partly because any loco leaving the siding had to reverse twice in order to access the platform roads. Will have a think though, so thanks for the feedback! You're right, there was a siding on the other side. I think there sometimes used to be an 08 there if I remember rightly. Cheers, Dave 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted July 11, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 11, 2012 great work as usual dave, looks a bit less scary now the board looks tidier again! on the signalling diagrams, the siding over on the other side was labelled a 'ballast siding', but whether it was used for such or just for a spare loco, i don't know. i was wondering if you disconnect your siding at the 'station' end, is there any room to reconnect it right at the 'tunnel' moujth - i think your retaining wall may be in the way and of course it would mean any moves having to go out into the 'gardens' board and back threough the tunnels? although not strictly accurate, the way you have it now lets you do the equivalent of a 'king's cross shuffle' across the station for the loco/pilot! possibly an interesting excercise in fitting that in to your timetable, say after a loco 'failure' in one of the platforms? looking good anyway, good luck with the rest! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 great work as usual dave, looks a bit less scary now the board looks tidier again! on the signalling diagrams, the siding over on the other side was labelled a 'ballast siding', but whether it was used for such or just for a spare loco, i don't know. i was wondering if you disconnect your siding at the 'station' end, is there any room to reconnect it right at the 'tunnel' moujth - i think your retaining wall may be in the way and of course it would mean any moves having to go out into the 'gardens' board and back threough the tunnels? although not strictly accurate, the way you have it now lets you do the equivalent of a 'king's cross shuffle' across the station for the loco/pilot! possibly an interesting excercise in fitting that in to your timetable, say after a loco 'failure' in one of the platforms? looking good anyway, good luck with the rest! Thanks keefer. More food for thought. Maybe I'll leave that job for a while before I decide what to do about it. Why not put off until tomorrow what you can do today? Isn't that how the saying goes? Another big idea I'm mulling over is re-ballasting the entire station area with grey ballast, which is what was around in the 80s. Since ballasting the station, I have found out that the red ballast didn't arrive until the 90s (with electrification?). Now that I've noticed that, WW doesn't seem quite right anymore. I have actually reballasted it once already, many moons ago, and it wasn't that bad a job, or maybe I've just forgotten what it was like. Trouble is I would like at some stage in the future to run stock from the 2000s. Can't have everything I guess. What do people think? Am I mad? Cheers, Dave 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted July 11, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 11, 2012 i suppose what you've done (extremely successfully, i might add) is capture the very 'essence' of waverley. in that, ok, it may not be 100% accurate, but you've absolutely nailed the features and qualities that means it can't be any other station. i'm sure everyone who has looked in here is in no doubt that it's (based on) waverley! whether you want to improve further the accuracy aspect is entirely up to you of course and would then depepnd on the extra time/effort/expense etc being worth it. a happy compromise will let you get most of the feel and trains running sooner, absolute reality may see you decend into a never-ending quest for accuracy. (then you might go mad! ) 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted July 11, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 11, 2012 Another big idea I'm mulling over is re-ballasting the entire station area with grey ballast, which is what was around in the 80s. Since ballasting the station, I have found out that the red ballast didn't arrive until the 90s (with electrification?). Don't know so much Dave, before you rush to change it, take a look at my photos on post #642 - January 1980 and that ballast looks pink to me, and pretty close to your current stuff. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Don't know so much Dave, before you rush to change it, take a look at my photos on post #642 - January 1980 and that ballast looks pink to me, and pretty close to your current stuff. You're right Colin. The ballast actually looks a mixture of pink and grey in that shot of the 40, which may explain my confusion. More research needed methinks! Thanks for that, Will look into it. Cheers Dave 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 45156 Posted July 12, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 12, 2012 NIce to get an update again, and I liked the shot showing how you manage to stuff a quart into a pint pot, with the half platforms and the running lines curving away sharply to the East and South. It's shots like that which show the ingenuity that we have to use to achieve the illusion that we want. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRDBLUE17 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Hi Dave, That is some good progress being made! I like the ballast that you currently have in use as it just looks right in all your photos. Even grey ballast would soon weather down given the location and with the station lighting the tracks under the roof would have a pinkish/yellow effect on the ballast anyway. Before they redid the platform roads a few years back they were pretty much a dark brown shade on most of the tracks. All the best, Mark 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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