Muir Street
By Spencer Anderson
February 20 Update
After trying out the second of Bill's traversers' with no success it has been decided to adapt the method he has used on his new layout - Rockvilla Pre-Visited. The main problem with the first two attempts was the fact that they used drawer runners and these were prone to unwanted longitudinal movement.
A new frame was built using 70mm x 20mm timber taking great care to ensure that it was level and square. The ends are 50mm x 20mm to allow alignment with the adjacent boards. The deck is 12mm MDF and is wide enough to accommodate 7 storage lines. 40mm angle aluminium has been cut to length and screwed to the underside of the deck to form channels into which the cross members of the frame fit. This guarantees virtually no longitudinal movement. Vero board was originally used at the ends of the tracks but this has been done away with, and replaced with pre-cut sleepers from DCC Concepts.
On the 1st of January the first train ran on the inner (down) line and from the 2nd I've had trains running on both the inner and outer simultaneously, after a couple of teething problems were sorted out.
All the layouts trackwork has now been completed, with a total of 15 feeder tracks to the traverser which allows a fair amount of storage. At our meeting on 17th February we had a successful running session. This included the dreaded diesels courtesy of Bill, Joe and Michael (thanks guys) and some of Bills' Caledonian stock.
The next step is to cut the tracks at the baseboard joints, split the layout up and start on the wiring underneath the boards. This will continue apace until the end of March when the layout will have to be dismantled to allow Milton Street MPD to be built-up in preparation for the Bonnybridge show at the end of April.
A new frame was built using 70mm x 20mm timber taking great care to ensure that it was level and square. The ends are 50mm x 20mm to allow alignment with the adjacent boards. The deck is 12mm MDF and is wide enough to accommodate 7 storage lines. 40mm angle aluminium has been cut to length and screwed to the underside of the deck to form channels into which the cross members of the frame fit. This guarantees virtually no longitudinal movement. Vero board was originally used at the ends of the tracks but this has been done away with, and replaced with pre-cut sleepers from DCC Concepts.
On the 1st of January the first train ran on the inner (down) line and from the 2nd I've had trains running on both the inner and outer simultaneously, after a couple of teething problems were sorted out.
All the layouts trackwork has now been completed, with a total of 15 feeder tracks to the traverser which allows a fair amount of storage. At our meeting on 17th February we had a successful running session. This included the dreaded diesels courtesy of Bill, Joe and Michael (thanks guys) and some of Bills' Caledonian stock.
The next step is to cut the tracks at the baseboard joints, split the layout up and start on the wiring underneath the boards. This will continue apace until the end of March when the layout will have to be dismantled to allow Milton Street MPD to be built-up in preparation for the Bonnybridge show at the end of April.
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August 19 Update
The traverser has been very problematic in getting all the tracks to line up and as a result I have decided to rip all the track up and start again. Various solutions have been discussed and considered including replacing the board with another one which Bill has built and this is what has been done. The new board looks as though it will work well with very few modifications.
The front 4 baseboards are fine but the rest weren't anywhere near as level as they should be. Bill noticed that 2 of the trestles - the ones on the side boards weren't serving any purpose so we're gong to do away with them and have these boards supported on the adjacent boards. The 2 baseboards adjacent to the traverser board are going to have 2 trestles each and stabilised with a diagonal brace and will support the traverser board. The baseboards are now sitting level and this should help massively with the problems we've had with the traverser.
We've decided on 65mm track centres for the traverser and will lay these tracks and have the feeder tracks aligned to these as per Joe's suggestion.
I have made a tentative start on the scenic side constructing the framework for the tenements and back yards. The original idea was to have a retaining wall with an embankment sloping up to the height of the tenement back yards. I have now decided against this and instead having a much taller retaining wall with no embankment. This will increase the length of the back yards by approximately 50mm.
The signal box was built by the late Jimmy Anderson and as usual with his work the standard is exceptional and as such demands to be included on the layout. It was originally built for an East Kilbride club layout which will never be built and although probably too big for the layout I am planning to have lots of point rodding disappearing under the footbridge on the left hand side of the layout to justify its inclusion.
The front 4 baseboards are fine but the rest weren't anywhere near as level as they should be. Bill noticed that 2 of the trestles - the ones on the side boards weren't serving any purpose so we're gong to do away with them and have these boards supported on the adjacent boards. The 2 baseboards adjacent to the traverser board are going to have 2 trestles each and stabilised with a diagonal brace and will support the traverser board. The baseboards are now sitting level and this should help massively with the problems we've had with the traverser.
We've decided on 65mm track centres for the traverser and will lay these tracks and have the feeder tracks aligned to these as per Joe's suggestion.
I have made a tentative start on the scenic side constructing the framework for the tenements and back yards. The original idea was to have a retaining wall with an embankment sloping up to the height of the tenement back yards. I have now decided against this and instead having a much taller retaining wall with no embankment. This will increase the length of the back yards by approximately 50mm.
The signal box was built by the late Jimmy Anderson and as usual with his work the standard is exceptional and as such demands to be included on the layout. It was originally built for an East Kilbride club layout which will never be built and although probably too big for the layout I am planning to have lots of point rodding disappearing under the footbridge on the left hand side of the layout to justify its inclusion.
The extent of the tenement back yards
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Jimmy Andersons' signal box, the sidings behind will be hidden
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J36 Maude posing against the stone retaining wall
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Right hand side of the layout, where the loop line diverges
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MUIR STREET - JUNE 2019
With the Preston show having passed with Milton Street MPD attention is now purely focused on the construction of Muir Street. All of the baseboards have been completed along with trestles. This includes 3 boards which were destined to be scrapped by Bill, one of which is a 7 track traverser board which has been decided on rather than the few storage loops previously mentioned. Plans are also in place to include storage lines for light locos and some short trains with the
operational emphasis still being on wrong line light loco running.
A lot of the track has been laid and is super elevated, a suggestion made by Joe and this improves the realism with the stock leaning into the curves. The other guys in the group have had a big hand in that - thanks lads. The minimun radius is 2ft and the 3 coach DMU complete with extended corridor connections runs round it with no buffer locking. The coaches are further apart than they should be but there is no daylight showing between them. A compromise I'm more than happy to make. As always there will be slight modifications to the track plan which should improve the operating potential.
Trains have been run on the inner line with no problems and work will continue on laying the rest of the track.
Memories of the long graceful curve on East Kilbrides MRC's Annan Road layout spring to mind. I'm glad that I took Bill's advice to incorporate this on the layout.
During our visit to the Preston show I bought a Stevenson postal coach kit. This is an etched brass kit and something I have never attempted to build before. If successful then I am hoping to buy another 3 vehicles to complete the west coast postal as I remember it during the last years of British steam. It will be hauled by either an A4 or A1 pacific.
Bill has many years experience in both scratch and kit building in etched brass and has very kindly offered to help me.
I've ran an A1, "LIZZIE" and 9F round and all run with no problems.
Track centres on the traverser are 2 1/2" to allow easier access to the stock.
MUIR STREET - JUNE 2019
With the Preston show having passed with Milton Street MPD attention is now purely focused on the construction of Muir Street. All of the baseboards have been completed along with trestles. This includes 3 boards which were destined to be scrapped by Bill, one of which is a 7 track traverser board which has been decided on rather than the few storage loops previously mentioned. Plans are also in place to include storage lines for light locos and some short trains with the
operational emphasis still being on wrong line light loco running.
A lot of the track has been laid and is super elevated, a suggestion made by Joe and this improves the realism with the stock leaning into the curves. The other guys in the group have had a big hand in that - thanks lads. The minimun radius is 2ft and the 3 coach DMU complete with extended corridor connections runs round it with no buffer locking. The coaches are further apart than they should be but there is no daylight showing between them. A compromise I'm more than happy to make. As always there will be slight modifications to the track plan which should improve the operating potential.
Trains have been run on the inner line with no problems and work will continue on laying the rest of the track.
Memories of the long graceful curve on East Kilbrides MRC's Annan Road layout spring to mind. I'm glad that I took Bill's advice to incorporate this on the layout.
During our visit to the Preston show I bought a Stevenson postal coach kit. This is an etched brass kit and something I have never attempted to build before. If successful then I am hoping to buy another 3 vehicles to complete the west coast postal as I remember it during the last years of British steam. It will be hauled by either an A4 or A1 pacific.
Bill has many years experience in both scratch and kit building in etched brass and has very kindly offered to help me.
I've ran an A1, "LIZZIE" and 9F round and all run with no problems.
Track centres on the traverser are 2 1/2" to allow easier access to the stock.
PART 6 December 18
At last things are very much improved on the health front. I am now attending our meetings (apologies to Bill, Joe and Michael
who have been missing both my sense of humour and many words of wisdom), and working away on both Milton Street and Muir Street.
I have now converted the DCC system I was using from the Gaugemaster Prodigy to the NCE Power Cab system which arrived in mid November, which means Bill, Joe and I are all using the same system. A bracket has been made to mount the PCP panel under the baseboard and the system has been tried successfully on Milton Street MPD.
Work on the tenement is on going and I'm finding that slight modifications are having to be made. I miscalculated the height of
the walls above the top windows and will have to add another 3 course of stones to allow for the gutters. The windows (and there are well over 100) are being made using Scene Setters glazing bars. Each window has 2 pieces which have been weathered down and are overlapped - some being in the open position. Very time consuming but well worthwhile.
Joe's (he who changes layout designs on a regular basis) influence has reared it's head and whilst the scenic section will
more or less remain the same, thoughts have turned to making it into a tail chaser measuring 10ft by 6ft which will just fit into
the model railway room. The main lines on the scenic area will be on a gentle curve and a couple of signals will be included.
There will be two loops in either direction capable of holding 2 short trains and up to 6 locos.
The number of baseboards will increase from 4 to 8. The main reason for this change is to make the layout a lot less labour
intensive and therefore easier to operate. I'm hoping that this will be the final design but who knows?
At last things are very much improved on the health front. I am now attending our meetings (apologies to Bill, Joe and Michael
who have been missing both my sense of humour and many words of wisdom), and working away on both Milton Street and Muir Street.
I have now converted the DCC system I was using from the Gaugemaster Prodigy to the NCE Power Cab system which arrived in mid November, which means Bill, Joe and I are all using the same system. A bracket has been made to mount the PCP panel under the baseboard and the system has been tried successfully on Milton Street MPD.
Work on the tenement is on going and I'm finding that slight modifications are having to be made. I miscalculated the height of
the walls above the top windows and will have to add another 3 course of stones to allow for the gutters. The windows (and there are well over 100) are being made using Scene Setters glazing bars. Each window has 2 pieces which have been weathered down and are overlapped - some being in the open position. Very time consuming but well worthwhile.
Joe's (he who changes layout designs on a regular basis) influence has reared it's head and whilst the scenic section will
more or less remain the same, thoughts have turned to making it into a tail chaser measuring 10ft by 6ft which will just fit into
the model railway room. The main lines on the scenic area will be on a gentle curve and a couple of signals will be included.
There will be two loops in either direction capable of holding 2 short trains and up to 6 locos.
The number of baseboards will increase from 4 to 8. The main reason for this change is to make the layout a lot less labour
intensive and therefore easier to operate. I'm hoping that this will be the final design but who knows?
PART 5 September 2018
Since my last report some more progress has been made. The steamie/bin sheds have all been completed, some more stock has been bought (which will have to be detailed and suitably weathered) with a view to forming some of the short trains that will eventually run on the layout and these will include 3 local 2 coach passengers, parcels, milk, coal and goods - not all will be used at the same time due to space limitations. ***Edit by Joe - AND HE'S BOUGHT A DIESEL!!!!
Since my last report some more progress has been made. The steamie/bin sheds have all been completed, some more stock has been bought (which will have to be detailed and suitably weathered) with a view to forming some of the short trains that will eventually run on the layout and these will include 3 local 2 coach passengers, parcels, milk, coal and goods - not all will be used at the same time due to space limitations. ***Edit by Joe - AND HE'S BOUGHT A DIESEL!!!!
A new track plan of the scenic section has been drawn up using Anytrack (thanks to Joe for pointing me in the direction of this
program.)
Attention can now be turned to the daunting task of continuing construction of the tenement. (I have a feeling that this will take
a good few months.) A full size mock up has been drawn up to determine the position of the track, steamies and also the final length of the tenement.
The timber is now in the model railway room as is the track and construction of the baseboards will commence when my health
improves and the time is right. No decisions have been made as to the type of cassettes that will be used and this will be a topic for discussion at future group meetings - which hopefully I shall return to before much longer.
There are no deadlines to work to thus avoiding any un-necessary pressure.
I have decided that from the start of October I will need to concentrate on Milton Street MPD in preparation for the Preston show on March 2nd/3rd 2019.
program.)
Attention can now be turned to the daunting task of continuing construction of the tenement. (I have a feeling that this will take
a good few months.) A full size mock up has been drawn up to determine the position of the track, steamies and also the final length of the tenement.
The timber is now in the model railway room as is the track and construction of the baseboards will commence when my health
improves and the time is right. No decisions have been made as to the type of cassettes that will be used and this will be a topic for discussion at future group meetings - which hopefully I shall return to before much longer.
There are no deadlines to work to thus avoiding any un-necessary pressure.
I have decided that from the start of October I will need to concentrate on Milton Street MPD in preparation for the Preston show on March 2nd/3rd 2019.
Part 4 July 2018
Since the last report things have happened health wise which has for the past few months put my railway modelling
(and everything alse for that matter) firmly on the back burner. However my mojo has since returned big time and things
are progressing apace.
I have been doing a "Joe" continually changing my mind regarding certain aspects of the layout - mainly the track plan and
storage accessories. The final conclusion is to have 4 baseboards each 2ft 6ins x 1ft 6ins giving a total size of
10ft x 1ft 6 ins with the scenic section being 5ft x 1ft 6ins. The track on the left hand scenic board is straight with a
facing crossover and signals. The right hand scenic board will have plain track curving slightly towards the rear of the
layout.
The storage boards will simply be to accommodate cassettes for light locos and some short trains.
The large tenement was started some time ago before I became unfit for work. 3mm foamboard is being used and all the
sections (4 in total) have been cut out on my works sample table taking an average of 10 minutes each - a task which would
take many hours if being cut by hand. Joe supplied me with 3 sheets of embossed stone sheets and with some experimentation I have also been able to cut these out on the sample table.
Within the last week I have ordered the timber, track (Peco code 75 finescale) and some other bits and bobs.
Although I'm champing at the bit to get started I have to pace myself very carefully as sometimes even the slightest
exertions can tire me out.
Other things within the group are taking priority and although I haven't been to a meeting for a few months regular
contact is being maintained with the rest of the group.
Some fettling needs done to Milton Street MPD before the Preston show next year but when I get a chance I will be continuing with Muir Street.
More updates will follow.
Since the last report things have happened health wise which has for the past few months put my railway modelling
(and everything alse for that matter) firmly on the back burner. However my mojo has since returned big time and things
are progressing apace.
I have been doing a "Joe" continually changing my mind regarding certain aspects of the layout - mainly the track plan and
storage accessories. The final conclusion is to have 4 baseboards each 2ft 6ins x 1ft 6ins giving a total size of
10ft x 1ft 6 ins with the scenic section being 5ft x 1ft 6ins. The track on the left hand scenic board is straight with a
facing crossover and signals. The right hand scenic board will have plain track curving slightly towards the rear of the
layout.
The storage boards will simply be to accommodate cassettes for light locos and some short trains.
The large tenement was started some time ago before I became unfit for work. 3mm foamboard is being used and all the
sections (4 in total) have been cut out on my works sample table taking an average of 10 minutes each - a task which would
take many hours if being cut by hand. Joe supplied me with 3 sheets of embossed stone sheets and with some experimentation I have also been able to cut these out on the sample table.
Within the last week I have ordered the timber, track (Peco code 75 finescale) and some other bits and bobs.
Although I'm champing at the bit to get started I have to pace myself very carefully as sometimes even the slightest
exertions can tire me out.
Other things within the group are taking priority and although I haven't been to a meeting for a few months regular
contact is being maintained with the rest of the group.
Some fettling needs done to Milton Street MPD before the Preston show next year but when I get a chance I will be continuing with Muir Street.
More updates will follow.
Part 3
After many ideas having been bandied about regarding the storage areas of the layout including a turntable capable of holding 12 locos, my work colleague came up with the suggestion of basically reversing this idea, and having the equivalent of a roundhouse style set up, which with some experimentation is proving to be the final solution.
This means that all boards will now be rectangular and all will be flush at the front of the layout - the storage boards being 3ft x 2ft. The scenic boards will follow the curve of the track on the front face..
Storage lines are also included under the tenements as shown in the track plan and in total around 20 locos can be stored - this should be more than enough for operation at an exhibition.
A Dapol turntable has been bought and built to see how it would suit the layout. It looks fine so another one is on order. The turntables will be manually operated with wipers soldered to the under side of the tracks for continuity and some sort of locating mechanism will be devised in due course.
Part 2
Since the last time I wrote about Muir Street things have slowly progressed. Joe came up with the idea of including a crossover
which is shown in the track plan and will add more interest to the operation of the layout. The original idea of having a
cassette system on the storage boards has been abandoned in favour of sector plates approximately 2ft long mounted on drawer runners. This system was used very successfully on Helenston and is also being incorporated into Eaglesham. There will be turntables at the ends of the sector plates. I have as yet not decided which model will be used and whether they will be manually or electrically operated. I am considering using SMP finescale track with handbuilt points (well, Bill built!).
The group attended Model Rail Scotland recently where purchases were made for the start of the foot bridges and a visit to the
bridge at Motherwell on which these will be based is being planned. Although the bridge has been modernised photographs and measurements will be taken for reference. I have a number of photographs of the bridge in the 1960's and these will also be used to help in the construction of the models.
After many ideas having been bandied about regarding the storage areas of the layout including a turntable capable of holding 12 locos, my work colleague came up with the suggestion of basically reversing this idea, and having the equivalent of a roundhouse style set up, which with some experimentation is proving to be the final solution.
This means that all boards will now be rectangular and all will be flush at the front of the layout - the storage boards being 3ft x 2ft. The scenic boards will follow the curve of the track on the front face..
Storage lines are also included under the tenements as shown in the track plan and in total around 20 locos can be stored - this should be more than enough for operation at an exhibition.
A Dapol turntable has been bought and built to see how it would suit the layout. It looks fine so another one is on order. The turntables will be manually operated with wipers soldered to the under side of the tracks for continuity and some sort of locating mechanism will be devised in due course.
Part 2
Since the last time I wrote about Muir Street things have slowly progressed. Joe came up with the idea of including a crossover
which is shown in the track plan and will add more interest to the operation of the layout. The original idea of having a
cassette system on the storage boards has been abandoned in favour of sector plates approximately 2ft long mounted on drawer runners. This system was used very successfully on Helenston and is also being incorporated into Eaglesham. There will be turntables at the ends of the sector plates. I have as yet not decided which model will be used and whether they will be manually or electrically operated. I am considering using SMP finescale track with handbuilt points (well, Bill built!).
The group attended Model Rail Scotland recently where purchases were made for the start of the foot bridges and a visit to the
bridge at Motherwell on which these will be based is being planned. Although the bridge has been modernised photographs and measurements will be taken for reference. I have a number of photographs of the bridge in the 1960's and these will also be used to help in the construction of the models.
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Working in a packaging company allows me access to the tools required to build a full size cardboard mock up which is shown in the photos above. The original idea was to model the front of the tenament with a road but due to the dictating width of 18 inches it was decided to model the rear of the buildings. There will be baseboards at each end of the layout to hold locos in some sort of cassette system.
Our small band of merry men have a lot going on at the moment and whilst I am champing at the bit to get started on Muir Street this will not happen for some time but happen it will and unlike Joe who changes his mind more times than there are days in the week during a group meeting, the layout will basically remain as seen.
One thing is certain - it will be a diesel free zone but knowing Joe and Keith (the pup) I'm sure they will sneak one on behind my
back and as usual this will be met with the unprintable response from yours truly.
Progress reports will appear as and when they happen.
Our small band of merry men have a lot going on at the moment and whilst I am champing at the bit to get started on Muir Street this will not happen for some time but happen it will and unlike Joe who changes his mind more times than there are days in the week during a group meeting, the layout will basically remain as seen.
One thing is certain - it will be a diesel free zone but knowing Joe and Keith (the pup) I'm sure they will sneak one on behind my
back and as usual this will be met with the unprintable response from yours truly.
Progress reports will appear as and when they happen.
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