10800 Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share Posted February 24, 2021 Consolidated video of Scaleforum 2019 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted June 8, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 8, 2022 On 01/10/2020 at 18:34, 10800 said: ........improving how the curved boards at the ends were supported so as to give better height adjustment and reduce set-up and break-down times. But then other global events happened, and with lockdown and the layout being stored in different places not much has happened since. Good news folks...Balcombe will be back, albeit in a couple of years time as we've had bookings for two large shows in 2024/5. As Rod posted, we had problems on the first outing with the levelling of the curved boards due to the uneven floor levels in the hall. This will be cured as new steel underframes are being fabricated to sit rigidly on the steel trestles which will give a continuous flat base for the boards. The 'acres' of greenery will be completely refreshed since three years of storage has taken its toll. The steel lighting gantry has been simplified. Baseboard connections will be improved without the need to crawl underneath to do the fixing and associated wiring will be brought to baseboard edge obviating the need to crawl about underneath. I'm getting no younger! Both station platforms are to be replaced as the originals have slightly warped over time. Apart from getting the thing finished the other objective is reduce set-up and take down times by around 50% if that can be achieved. Still much to do but we do have two years in which to get it finally finished. Progress reports will be posted from time to time if they're considered interesting! 12 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
10800 Posted June 9, 2022 Author Share Posted June 9, 2022 With hindsight I wonder why the inter-board wiring connectors weren't fitted nearer the inside of the boards in the first place! I can only think that we were a bit more sprightly then, or maybe we needed to keep the inside board faces flush for transportation purposes. Then along came the signals and the control cables between their electronic boxes of tricks; these cover long distances so rather than daisy chain across many boards I decided that separate looms would be more convenient, bypassing the intermediate boards. Not a bad idea as such, but it added to setup and breakdown time. I'm now going to expand the inter-board connectors to include the signal cables, and mount the terminals on the inside faces of the boards. I don't like loose flying leads - they get caught on things! - so I will do short jumper cables to connect the boards electrically. The only cabling that will stay 'external' will be the DCC control point connectors which use telephone type plugs and sockets anyway, and which are already at the inside faces of the boards. So this hopefully can enable most of the setup to be achieved without John or myself having to bend down! (Now we just need a footbridge to get in and out of the layout!) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted June 9, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 9, 2022 (edited) 7 hours ago, 10800 said: (Now we just need a footbridge to get in and out of the layout!) We do have my old boat cushion that slides pretty well on floors but one does have to get up and down onto the floor to use it! Edited June 9, 2022 by Re6/6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus1 Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 A lovely layout and well done. A couple of slight errors. One is the steam-hauled freight (Q1 and hopper) running without a brake van. Totally wrong unless shunting or working in an engineers possession, there's nowhere for the guard to sit! with the first hopper appearing to be a an air-braked wagon, the whole of the train would be unfitted as the Q1s only had vacuum brake. Maybe some closer coupling on the passenger stock wouldn't go amiss if possible? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
10800 Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 Hi Roy Thanks for your comments. Re the Q1, point well made (or it was a very short possession!); and of course shorter coupling on coaches would be desirable. At the time some trains with close Kadees we couldn't run because the uneven floor affecting the track profile was causing them to decouple, especially between Bachmann and Hornby vehicles where the coupling heights differed to start with. The Brighton Belle was running with its original fixed couplings. Closing the gap between corridor connectors is also on the list. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted June 28, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 28, 2022 First test set up of the new steelwork for the curved scenic section support just to make sure that the geometry was correct prior to the angles being welded! Being a quite large layout we have encountered problems due to uneven floors of some exhibition halls giving peaks and troughs at board joints. This will keep the whole section flat. 8 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHC Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 Just as a matter of interest what shows have you been invited too. Keith, bought up next to the Brighton line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted July 6, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 6, 2022 Hello Keith, They're at Fareham on 5/6th October 2024 and Bristol on 2nd/3rd/4th May 2025. A way off yet, but they do give us time to finish the thing off! All the scenics will be refreshed with around 30 trees needing to be made! Regarding stock, the priority will be building the 6-PUL, 6-PAN, 6-CIT and a 4-PUL (an oddity that ran on the Central Section for a short period in the mid 60s). https://sremg.org.uk/emu/4pul.shtml 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted July 8, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 8, 2022 With great help from 'Brinkly Works', we will be able to run something similar to this when 20002 is completed! 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHC Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 On 06/07/2022 at 10:01, Re6/6 said: Hello Keith, They're at Fareham on 5/6th October 2024 and Bristol on 2nd/3rd/4th May 2025. A way off yet, but they do give us time to finish the thing off! All the scenics will be refreshed with around 30 trees needing to be made! Regarding stock, the priority will be building the 6-PUL, 6-PAN, 6-CIT and a 4-PUL (an oddity that ran on the Central Section for a short period in the mid 60s). https://sremg.org.uk/emu/4pul.shtml Ah Bristol my local show one put in the diary already. Thanks Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted July 8, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 8, 2022 You're welcome. Look forward to meeting you then! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted August 6, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2022 (edited) Etches for an ex- Belle Pullman car for the 4-PUL have arrived from Worsley Works. Etches have been commissioned from Allen for the kitchen car. These came from redundant 4-RES sets. Ctsy Kevin Robertson from 'First Generation Southern EMUs' Edited August 6, 2022 by Re6/6 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted August 6, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2022 Interesting headcode? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted August 6, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2022 Indeed Ian! One would assume that the stencil was put on back to front because it's definitely a '3'! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted December 21, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 21, 2023 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted December 21, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 21, 2023 (edited) Restoration work on Balcombe is well underway for its first proper public showing next year at Fareham on 5/6th October and then at Bristol on 2/3/4th May 2025. The layout had been put into storage for three years and had suffered considerably, so there was much to refurbish. During storage in an outside insulated shed nearly all the static grass had dropped off. The reason for this was that I had used strong hold hairspray, as was the norm at the time. A big lesson learnt there was that hairspray is for 'one night only !' not a few years in dampish storage. For future work, Peco or WWS layering spray will be used. Being a cheapskate, all the dropped off fibres were swept up and seived, ending up with an ice crean container half full (new replacement cost around £30!) The layout was 'finished' in a rush for Scalforum 2019 with a lot still left to do, let alone repairing and refreshing all the storage deterioration. I'll be restoring and finishing off the scenics of which there is rather a lot of static grass work and many copses and individual trees to build. I'm fabricating additional steelwork support for the curved sections to give a guaranteed flat base so that no board joint is directly above any supporting trestle which could give a potential 'ski jump' due to the uneven floors in many exhibition halls. 10800 is our group 'Fuhrer' has organized all the planning and designated all the necessary tasks to be done by individual team members who are the best at the type of work that they do. Tim (Captain Kernow) has taken on the not inconsiderable task of making a large quantity raised lineside raised troughing, the distinctice SR wire and concrete post fencing and the telegraph poles. Additionally he will be making various lineside buildings. CK has designed the troughing work and commissioned York Modelmaking to laser cut it all but it still has to be built. It will be required for around 50% of the track (15 metres+) A joint testing train in 1965. The amount of tree work required can be seen. The raised troughing and fencing is shewn along with the telegraph poles. Rod (10800) is doing all the major rewiring work and a lot of track rebuilding in the fiddle yard and repairing the damaged juice rail of which there's quite lot! Nick (Brinkly) has taken on the building of all the Bedford sprung bogies and Brassmasters torsion bogies which will give us top quality high speed running. I was fortunate in acquiring the Eileens residual Bedford etches at auction so that we have sufficient of them which will be fitted with Black Beetle wheelsets for all the express passenger stock. Brian (Taz) , our coach builder, is building a 6PAN set of etches from Worsley Works. 4LAV.. Brians work ..built from W.Works etches and Hby 2BIL & 2HAL. Edited December 21, 2023 by Re6/6 9 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted December 22, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 22, 2023 A better view of Brian's work. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MPR Posted December 22, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 22, 2023 Speaking of Scaleforum 2019, John... 8 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHC Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 On 21/12/2023 at 13:30, Re6/6 said: Drove down that road a couple of weeks ago. I did not get airborne on the hump back bridge over the Ouse…….. Looking forward to seeing this at Bristol. Keith 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted September 13 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 13 (edited) Greetings all! A fair amount of time has passed since any progress was made on our Balcombe and Ouse Valley Viaduct project. Unfortunately the passing of time has not been kind to the viaduct and the station boards since it went into garage storage in a salt air environment in 2019, prior to covid After much agonising the difficult decision was taken to abandon the project as it is. Another deciding factor was age. I'm getting no younger and with gradual onset infirmity, I cannot do as much heavy lifting as I used to! A new layout will be built featuring the Balcombe Station section but this time in' finescale' 00. The station environs will still be to scale but it it'll be a shortened version at the London end thus making the whole thing more manageable. Sadly, the viaduct will have to go as it's very heavy and the damp has got to it. Of course we have a large amount of Central Section rolling stock, both EMUs and steam stock, mostly still unconverted. We are all looking forward to building 'Balcombe 2' using new laser-cut baseboards which will sit on 20mm box-section mild steel frames. This framework will be supported on steel trestles. Progress will be posted on here when the project is underway. That's all folks for now! Edited September 14 by Re6/6 missing word! 1 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted September 13 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 13 Surely a wonderfully-ambitious project, John, which did achieve many of its aims, as video evidence confirms. I am grateful to have seen an early section of viaduct chez toi in 2013. But pragmatism is a key part of achievement, and I note the wisdom of your decision. At 75, I only have osteoporosis at this point, but it certainly limits my ability to carry heavy things without repercussions, so I do understand! I hope the new proposal moves forward easily - and, above all, comfortably! 2 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted September 13 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 13 Many thanks Ian, much appreciated. It was a hard decision but we're excited about 'phase 2'. I've just acquired an EFE blue 'Booster' at a bargain basement price😁 to go with the blue Belle, a 2-HAL, a 2-BIL, 71 and 73 nd not forgetting the lovely Tin HAL scratchbuild out of plastic card by the late and much missed Colin Parks. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted September 14 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 14 As you say, John, a hard decision but the correct one based on the amount of work required to get the P4 version ‘complete’. Ulitmately, you and Rod had a lot of fun building the layout. Taking it to Scaleforum a few years ago was also a good experience (mostly 🤪 ). This MK2 00 version is a chance to start a fresh; correct errors in design, built it carefully and with precision, which should achieve the desired outcome far more easily: running long trains fast through a scenic landscape. As you said, the bulk of the stock wasn’t unconverted - adding cosmetic detail is much easier than trying to convert something that wasn’t designed to be in the first place. Regards, Nick 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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