First Sunday in June – 16mm scale layout

[WLR_CD]

Three months later...

Not a vast amount has been done, other than the parts for the traverser have been made and trial fitted to the baseboard.

The units that hold the adjustable end stops and power supply plunger pins have now been 3D printed.



Here seen mounted on one of the end plates, but yet to have the power supply pins fitted.



Here seen with the traverser perspex (with protective film still applied) and a linear bearing.



This photo shows how the drive belt will be attached to the traverser table, not at all clear in this picture is how the belt interacts with the mounting block, I will try and get a better picture to show how this works.



An overall view of where this will be sighted, our intention is to have this fully on view and showing all the workings.



Martin

[SimonWood]

The small test section of track has had some moss deposit experiments take place and some fish plates added. I was unable to cut the web of the rail to simulate a joint, but on the actual layout the web will be cut when laying the rail.

I thought your track couldn't be improved on but I'm happy to admit I was wrong!

[Giles]

You've made extraordinary progress! Your track sample us just exquisite....... Brilliant, Martin!

[WLR_CD]

You've made extraordinary progress! Your track sample us just exquisite....... Brilliant, Martin!

Hi Mate, thank you, good to see you on here.
When I get it into a running state and the garden line, you will have to come over with some of your stock and have a run.
Martin

[WLR_CD]

I have some close up photos of the parts we have 3D printed or CNC'd for the traverser.

This part is the unit that transfers the drive movement from the belt to the table. The belt which we will cut to length, just slides into the unit from the side, the teeth printed in the slot locate with the teeth in the belt, this gives us the ability to adjust belt length by one tooth, which means final tightening will be minimal, plus we can buy any over length belt, no need to buy one the exact length.



This is an end view, the lower slots are for the belt, what will not be obvious, is the slot on the upper part. This slot is wide enough for a nut over the flats, which means we push in a nut which is now captive and will not rotate, to receive a bolt from above through the traverser table to allow the fixing in place of this unit.



This is a 3D printed mount for the end belt pulley, this is attached to the end of the traverser well upright panel.



This is the end wall of the well showing the belt pulley wheel and two 3D printed end stops. The end stops also house the plunger pick ups, only one plunger has been fitted at the moment.



One of the linear bearings mounted on a rail showing how the end stop and pick-ups will interact.



A close up of one of the stop units showing clearly a Pogo pin, you will see the head on the Pogo pin is made up of a series of points, the benefit of this type of pin is it is effectively self cleaning, it rotates in the housing, giving a slight movement, which should ensure any dirt on the contact surface is cleared.



A very short video showing this end stop in action.



Martin

[WLR_CD]

Final fitment of the traverser is nearing completion, the well end panels were drawn up, printed out to test for accuracy, then cut from 3mm ply as three laminations on the laser.



Cutting on the diode laser.



Two sets of three layers.



These were then glued up to give 9mm thickness, which will be deep enough to hold the M6 'T' nuts.



The workshop has been rearranged so the four straight scenic boards can be left up permanently, this will help with the track laying.

I have upgraded all of the fluorescent lights in the workshop to 6000K LED tubes, these have made a big difference to the lighting. Some were very straightforward to upgrade, they came with a special LED fuse starter, so just a straight swop. Some others were a little more involved, but basically meant removing the ballast and associated wiring, but nothing difficult. Added benefit of instant on and uses a lot less electricity.

Martin

[WLR_CD]

We are getting nearer to assembling the RotaYard and traverser for testing the installation on the two baseboards.

Here are some close up shots of the 3D printed belt fixing/adjuster for the traverser drive belt.





We have the presenter of the podcast Model Rail Radio paying us a visit this week (Feb 2019), so the workshop has had a bit if a tidy up, although it does not look like it has! Some sections of The Yard and First Sunday in June have been erected so he can see first hand what we have been up to.

While doing this we took the opportunity to trial fit up one of the curved lower fascia panels and have a discussion as to how best to achieve the mounting of said panels. The dark coloured bar at the foot of the curved fascia will eventually be painted white, there will also be full height, shaped panels for each end of the layout. While getting things ready we dug out the original concept models which have taken a bit of a battering over time.

The first concept model.



The second concept model.



A few shots of a lower fascia panel on one of the fiddle yard boards.





Martin

[WLR_CD]

We achieved a bit of a milestone this week, the first powered run of the RotaYard.

We temporarily wired up the drive motor...



...and clamped the belt tensioner in place...



...a rough bit of packing for the end bearings.



Traverser plate in position.



All ready and fingers crossed while we power up the motor.



A short video of the very first powered run.



Martin

[ge_rik]

Looks like a cross between a fairground ride, a rotisserie and a Paternoster lift. Nonetheless, it is a beautifully engineered and elegant bit of kit.

Rik

[Andrew]

Wow!

I disappear from the Forum for a few months, and when I get back the whole hobby's been reinvented!

This is seriously impressive. I love the overall concept, and - of course - the ferris wheel fiddle yard, but I think I like the trackwork the best, truly next level stuff...

Andrew.

[WLR_CD]

Thank you.

We have enjoyed developing the RotaYard and will be putting the final details on it this year.

Martin

[WLR_CD]

In June 2019 we put up the first four scenic boards in readiness for starting work on the landscape.

View from the goods yard towards Stony Shaw station in the background.



Low level view from the mainline up to the goods shed.



Component parts for the first of two points that make up the crossing alongside the signal box.



From the opposite direction.



Stony Shaw station end.



Two card coach mock ups at Stony Shaw station.



Martin

[WLR_CD]

All of the stock and infrastructure has to be scratch built, so everything has to be drawn first, a start has been made on a number of items.

Wormshill the Hudwell diesel.
This loco has since been sold to the Vale of Rheidol Railway, repainted in grey. The loco was just too big and powerful for the BWLR railway. Bredgar did make a new custom body for the loco, which was reversed on the chassis. The body took inspiration from the Accucraft Baguley, upscale modelling!



One of the coach pairs, these will be laser cut, 3D printed plus some old school metalwork thrown in for good measure.



Working up some of the signals.



Martin

[Old Man Aaron]

And I thought your garden line was impressive.

Madness. I love it.

[WLR_CD]

And I thought your garden line was impressive.

Madness. I love it.

Thank you very much, most kind.
Martin

[WLR_CD]

Latest update on progress, all be it slow!

We have now made a storage box for the RotaYard, this was a multi-part requirement.
1) to store it so it takes up less room than it's component parts spread all over the workshop
2) to protect and keep it clean and three, so it can be easily moved for when it will shortly be off for the final fitment of the drive system and associated detectors and electronics.



The combined box and RotaYard is a heavy old lump to carry, we shall probably make some form of trolley when the time comes to exhibit.

Martin

[WLR_CD]

June 2019...

This time of year a couple of us get involved with our classic cars and the layout takes a bit of a back seat, so to generate some enthusiasm to get on with things, we made some rough colour mock-ups of the three buildings on the layout and position them in place to get a feel for composition.

The run round end of Stony Shaw station.



The approach end of the station.



Signal box with the station in the background, a very difficult view point on the real thing unless you had a very tall step ladder!



Finally the goods shed.



A view of the first four scenic boards. The plywood at the top was for helping us decide fascia height, we have now set this at 21 inches from underside of fascia to the bottom of the baseboard, which is a lot lower than this picture shows.



Martin

[WLR_CD]

Work has started on preparing the signals, of which there are three semaphore and two ground signals.

Construction will be by etched brass (although this may change), 3D printing, milling and hand cutting, whichever process suits each component best. Etch artwork has been started and a trial set of parts was laser cut from the artwork in 300gsm card to test the concept and highlight any potential construction issues, plus they can be positioned on the layout like the rough building mock ups.

Some of the base artwork cut out.



Rough assembled platform starter signal.



A waft of white primer and positioned on the layout.



The bases the signals are mounted on will be deep and sunk into sockets in the scenery, these bases will contain the operating servos so this will make setting them up on the workbench easier. The speakers will be probably mounted behind the fascia, unless we can find a way to bury and disguise them in the landscape.

I was going to laser cut the base boxes and sockets and coat them in DAS and carve that, but I have been inspired by the great work done by Niki Wilkes with PVC Foamex, so have now got a pile of 1mm, 2mm, 3mm, and 5mm to play with. I have also been watching a series of YouTube videos of someone using this material for making the buildings for his garden railway, so will us it for that as well.

Made a start carving the top surface from 3mm Foamex, which comes out about right for a 1/19th scale paving block brick. I have been using cake decorators tools for the embossing, I got a large bundle of various sizes off eBay for about £6.00!
It was not until I sanded the surface did I find out one side has a peelable protective clear sheet applied! I will know now for next time.



Martin

[WLR_CD]

August 2024...

Wow, five years have passed since we last did anything on the layout!
We all know what happened in 2020. We had to stop our meetings, lost interest for various reasons and got involved in other projects over the years.

All that had happened, I built a rack to store layout in to free up space in the workshop.



We eventually kick started the project, most of the original team and one new member, started up the weekly meetings to get this layout built.

We identified what track parts went with which board and labelled them accordingly.

Boards 1 and 2 which hold Stony Shaw station.



Boards 3 and 4, these hold the signal box (not in correct position in photo) which will have the option for moving levers and the goods shed.



Board 5.



Board 6.



I now need to make a start on building the track to complete these eight boards, although boards 7 and 8 are hardly taxing with just some short straight lengths.



In parallel we are building the rolling stock, first starting with designing how we will build the coach bogies, (eight bogies needed), also one of the wagon chassis which is common to some stock.

Locos will be DCC sound fitted, with options for BlueRail or radio control.

Unfortunately the original system we were adapting to control the RotaYard is no longer made, so we have some research to do and design a new control method.

A new resin 3D printer is on order and due for delivery in September (2024), this is going to be a great help with rolling stock.

We are now right up to date, nothing happened over winter and now just waiting for the warmer months so we can make a start on the trackwork.

Martin

[WLR_CD]

​At long last we are back on with this project after a number of distractions, mainly The Yard!

First off, the Tortoise point motors seem to have bred. Will be checking and servicing these before putting them up for sale. We already have the four and two spares for the layout.



Track laying proper started again.
Drilling 1mm holes for the retaining bolt castings.



One of the bolt castings.



Now pushed into the sleeper. Temporary for now while the alignment of the rail is tweaked.



Dummy track joints representing the 30 foot rail lengths used at Bredgar. To achieve this, the web and head of the rail only are slit with a piercing saw.



After which the cast fishplates will be affixed. I have yet to do the final casting clean up of this fishplate. Although not seen from normal viewing distance, these details do make themselves known in photos!



Initially we will be working from board six to the traverser. This means the traverser and RotaYard boards can be worked on and finalised at another location, freeing up some space in the workshop until the full racking is built, which will also accommodate the indoor part of the Wilmington Light Railway garden line.



Martin

 

 

 

 



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