Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[St Enodoc]

5 minutes ago, Annie said:

Flywheel???

Nope. Not that sort of wheel. A fair guess though, as I haven't chopped the spare end of the motor shaft off yet. If I can get away with it I'll just hide it behind some body parts.

[Annie]

Well it can't be the gear wheel on the driving axle as I could see that when I looked more closely with a magnifying glass.

[Barry O]

Wheels need a good clean...

 

Ba.z

[Tortuga]

Balance weights missing from the wheels?

[St Enodoc]

1 minute ago, Tortuga said:

Balance weights missing from the wheels?

You got it! Shouldn't be too hard to fix and might be a nice easy lead-in to further progress with the body.

[88C]

Is that a guard iron by the middle wheel?
 

Brian

[St Enodoc]

58 minutes ago, 88C said:

Is that a guard iron by the middle wheel?
 

Brian

No Brian, it's one of the brake hangers.

[St Enodoc]

On 07/09/2024 at 07:24, kingmender said:

@St EnodocPlease do so. I feel this error needs to be rectified, if only to ensure @Clive Mortimorecan sleep soundly. Photographic evidence can be posted here, although said gentleman is more than welcome to drop in if he’s passing.

I forgot all about the bus - sorry. Perhaps next time.

[St Enodoc]

On 02/10/2024 at 18:40, St Enodoc said:

Oh yes!

 

I arrived at Box Hill about 1730. The Princes Highway west of Lakes Entrance was extremely boring with more traffic than hitherto. I had morning tea at Sale, then made a nice side trip to Walhalla, where I had lunch, but no trains were running, even though the timetable said they would be during the school holidays. Nobody around to ask, either.

 

Two mates from Sydney arrived at about the same time, having left at 0700 and shared the driving down the Hume. They are both kn@ckered.

I have learned that there was an accident on the Walhalla Goldfields Railway in mid-September, which resulted in a member of the train crew falling and sustaining serious injuries. All services have been suspended since then pending a review of procedures.

[St Enodoc]

Now that our room renovations are 99.5% complete, it's time to get back to modelling.

 

Tremewan Tunnel portal separates the hidden Paddington loops area from the scenic section across Nancegwithey Viaduct towards Porthmellyn Road. Many tunnel portals on the Cornwall Railway were (are) of similar design, with vertical walls and a semicircular roof. A good example is Treverrin Tunnel between Lostwithiel and Par. There are two photos of it on the Cornwall Railway Society's website, here:

 

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/latest-input--news--old-pictures-etc/tail-end-roger.

 

I made a card mock-up for Tremewan Tunnel some time ago but even given the very high clearance above the trains seen in one of the CRS images, I was a bit concerned that the height of the tunnel was still on the large side.

 

This week, then, I went back to basics and, by adopting the minimum clearances shown in the 1950 "Blue Book" and reducing the height of the vertical walls to coach cantrail height, I've reduced the height of the portal opening by about 6mm and the overall height to the top of the face wall by about 12mm.

 

This is the previous version and...

 

...this is the new version. It's a little hard to see, being white-on-white, so as I made the new version from grey mounting board I turned it round:

 

There's still scope to shorten the vertical walls a little, and I might try that with some Centenary coaches just to see how far I can go.

 

In the meantime, I'd welcome any thoughts from the team or, even better, some actual dimensions of the real thing.

[TrevorP1]

I can’t comment on the tunnel John but it’s good to see you back on the job. ‘Feels like home’ kind of thing! 👍

[Michael Edge]

Still looks a very high tunnel to me, where/are there similar ones in Cornwall?

[St Enodoc]

8 minutes ago, Michael Edge said:

Still looks a very high tunnel to me, where/are there similar ones in Cornwall?

Yes, many of those on the original Cornwall Railway main line were like that. Several pictures on the Cornwall Railway Society website (link above).

[prtrainman]

To me the profile does look similar to the real one in the photos you attached. I guess it depends how much room you've got behind the opening to include some false lining to stop light showing through the portal. If there's not a lot of length available maybe you could consider another much more restricted false portal further along (hope that makes sense).

[St Enodoc]

3 minutes ago, prtrainman said:

To me the profile does look similar to the real one in the photos you attached. I guess it depends how much room you've got behind the opening to include some false lining to stop light showing through the portal. If there's not a lot of length available maybe you could consider another much more restricted false portal further along (hope that makes sense).

Thanks. There will be a fake tunnel lining for about a foot behind the portal. I've got some ideas of what to do beyond that - watch this space (but don't hold your breath)!

[Keith Addenbrooke]

If I understand the plans correctly, some of the lines represented on the layout began life on broad gauge railways, with others on standard gauge.  Would this still have an impact on tunnel dimensions by the era modelled? Just wondered (I’m no expert on the Railways of Cornwall, Broad Gauge lines or tunnels, sorry). Keith.

[Michael Edge]

I use curtains made from black binliner, cut in vertical strips they block the light and trains run through them without any problems - even mine with pantographs on top.

[Tortuga]

I agree with prtrainman; the second version looks about right, similar to Brown Queen Tunnel in the link you provided.

 

Thats quite some super elevation at Gwinear Crossing by the way!

[Tortuga]

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

Thanks. There will be a fake tunnel lining for about a foot behind the portal. I've got some ideas of what to do beyond that - watch this space (but don't hold your breath)!

Just a thought, but could you drop the tunnel lining toward the track throughout that foot beyond the portal to make the tunnel appear longer than it is?

[TrevorP1]

44 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

Just a thought, but could you drop the tunnel lining toward the track throughout that foot beyond the portal…

Somewhere in the recesses of my brain is the idea that this was sometimes done on the real thing. I believe this was so that the tunnel mouth was bigger and ‘grander’ to give nervous Victorians a brave pill before plunging underground. 

[Gwiwer]

3 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

Still looks a very high tunnel to me, where/are there similar ones in Cornwall?

None currently. The only example I can think of is Box Tunnel which reduces to a standard bore a few metres inside the grand portals 

 

For prototypical operation I would be tempted to shave another 15mm off the overall height. 

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, Tortuga said:

Thats quite some super elevation at Gwinear Crossing by the way!

It is absolutely diabolical on the road.
 

Re-fettled some years ago to increase rail speed from 30 to 45mph but at a cost of creating the most dangerous and uneven road surface west of the Tamar. And with a road speed limit of 60mph!!
 

Those of us who know will now avoid the crossing in favour of the single-track lane through Gwinear and over the bridge at Nanpusker or the even narrower road through Penponds if heading east. But if you must use it (and there are routes for which it is the only sensible option) the safe limit is just 10mph and might uncomfortable it is even then. 
 

Warning signs?  No. Just the standard “Level Crossing ahead”. Nothing about being seriously uneven or of longer vehicles risking a ground-out astride the GWR main line. 

[St Enodoc]

10 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

I use curtains made from black binliner, cut in vertical strips they block the light and trains run through them without any problems - even mine with pantographs on top.

Thanks Mike. Yes, that's one of the ideas I'm going to try, having seen it at yours - probably combined with a Hatfield Moor-style lid over the track.

[St Enodoc]

12 hours ago, Tortuga said:

Just a thought, but could you drop the tunnel lining toward the track throughout that foot beyond the portal to make the tunnel appear longer than it is?

 

11 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

Somewhere in the recesses of my brain is the idea that this was sometimes done on the real thing. I believe this was so that the tunnel mouth was bigger and ‘grander’ to give nervous Victorians a brave pill before plunging underground. 

I'm sure it was but as far as I can tell from available images that wasn't the case at Treverrin.

 

11 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

None currently. The only example I can think of is Box Tunnel which reduces to a standard bore a few metres inside the grand portals 

 

For prototypical operation I would be tempted to shave another 15mm off the overall height. 

Interesting. All those on the Cornwall main line that are on the CRS site still exist (obviously!). Box Tunnel is certainly more extreme.

 

I may well shave a bit more off but probably not as much as 15mm as that might introduce a conflict between the tunnel arch and the coach roofs (hence my Centenary stock comment above). The best reference is the image of the IET class 47 and train at Treverrin, which I'll try to measure more closely. It's all still a work in progress.

Edited 6 hours ago by St Enodoc
wrong train ID

[BWsTrains]

12 hours ago, Tortuga said:

Thats quite some super elevation at Gwinear Crossing by the way!

 

Looks like a certain Mr Trevaskis was a right PITA regarding conceding a better (i.e. Straight) line access compared to that wicked curve on a critical mainline crossing.

 

GWR should hire a Vogon Constructor fleet to resolve!