traingeekboy Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 He's very good with the trains, Mr Fat Cat is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossi Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 "Good Cat?" Griff, you wouldn't have thought so yesterday when he dived onto the railway and decided to give his claws a good pulling and stretching. He completely pulled a length of rail away from the plastic and ballast. I'm already low on replacement track...I might not talk to him today... Well, maybe late afternoon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 In the video he seemed to pick his way between things on his way to the crest of the hill. And he didn't actually chase the trains. Cats don't like citrus or pepper smells. Maybe a little cayenne sprinkled near the track bed will keep him away. Of course if he likes food, he is a fat cat, it may just lure him more. I can't say as much about Mac the cat. The photos reveal too much train wrecking. I've been lucky, my cats don't even walk on my layout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossi Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Fat Cat doesn't actually chase trains, the novelty has worn off, but he will lay on top of the tunnels and drop a "lazy" paw into an oncoming train if you're not watching or he thinks he can get away with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Ian, It's good to see from your website that you're back in circulation again and have resumed work on extending the layout despite the weather. Hope you'll soon be fighting fit, and laying more track. Your line has been an inspiration to me, once I discovered your excellent website, and no doubt to numerous other people. I like your convincingly grimy locos - you're much braver that me in weathering newly-acquired treasures. Your trackbed also looks very convincing, and I'm a great admirer of your (reverse) curves. Keep up the good work, and welcome back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fungus Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Thanks for your kind words Andrew. You'll be please to hear I now have a few more reverse curves, having managed to lay a further 12' of track between the thunderstorms. It's a bit like the minor courts at Wimbledon; as soon as the sky darkens, the protective sheets are pulled over the construction site! I have another 9' to lay, then I will be at the end of the currently completed trackbed, at the edge of the lawn. I then need a spell of sustained good weather to complete the ballasting and allow it to cure. You might be amused by a couple of pictures I took today. They haven't made it to the blog yet, but you'll find them at Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fungus Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 I've made some more progress during the gaps between the showers. Another 9' of track is laid, electrically connected, and test-run. All this section now needs is a few tweaks to the superelevation of the curves as a result of the testing, and ballasting. There is then a further 9' of track to lay before I reach the lawn! The picture shows a test train running around the reverse curves towards the present railhead. The track is not yet ballasted, and a few tweaks are needed to the superelevation of the curves. The concrete post at the extreme right represents a "kink" in our garden boundary, which is one of the reasons why a complex series of reverse curves is necessary. The "standard" curve radius on the main line is 7', with a normal minimum of 5'. In the picture, the front of the train is on a short length (about 18") of 4' radius curve, which was necessary to fit in with paths, fences, a garden seat, and the runner beans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Thats a great shot you have there. What is that underlay you are using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Such sluggishness on your sleepers suggests seriously slothful schedules and slackness, similar to the sort to which British Snail is sometimes sadly susceptible. Now I'll Submit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fungus Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 traingeekboy said: Thats a great shot you have there. What is that underlay you are using? It's 3mm closed-cell foam, available from Exactoscale Ltd in 1.5m x 0.5m sheets and cut into strips as required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ba14eagle Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Very Midford valley - esq! Good looking, tidy trackbed. The cell foam looks a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 The new reverse curves look terrific and the completed trackbed looks extremely realistic as I've mentioned before. Can you give a detailed account of how you've constructed the trackbed? I know that certain aspects of construction have already been covered or previously referred to but has it all been done using the same methods? The 'rubbercrete', (also used by Iain on the Hampton Field Railway) isn't something you can purchase off the shelf at the local DIY as far as I know, so how and where are the necessary materials obtained and used? Do you place a layer of closed cell foam beneath all track sections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fungus Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Andrew said: Such sluggishness on your sleepers suggests seriously slothful schedules and slackness, similar to the sort to which British Snail is sometimes sadly susceptible. Now I'll Submit. Such sibilant speech suggests certain silliness, so start sleeping soon, s'il vou plait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fungus Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 mick said: The new reverse curves look terrific and the completed trackbed looks extremely realistic as I've mentioned before. Can you give a detailed account of how you've constructed the trackbed? I know that certain aspects of construction have already been covered or previously referred to but has it all been done using the same methods? The 'rubbercrete', (also used by Iain on the Hampton Field Railway) isn't something you can purchase off the shelf at the local DIY as far as I know, so how and where are the necessary materials obtained and used? Do you place a layer of closed cell foam beneath all track sections? Mick - Will do. Here's today's progress. The track is almost complete; the cant (superelevation) on some of the curves needs increasing, and when we have a few consecutive days of good weather, the track needs ballasting. Most of the curves are of 7' radius, a few lengths are 5', and there is a short length of 4' radius. The picture below shows why the reverse curves are needed. To the right of the trackbed in the foreground is a path, to the right of which is a 5ft high earth "hump" between two trees, then the pond. The trackbed (and path) then has to get round the step in the fence, and be in the correct place at each end of the garden seat to allow the seat to stay parallel, before the track curves right again to avoid the vegetable bed and arrive at the lawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ba14eagle Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 This railway and its trains, are starting to look really quite special Looking forward to more developments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 ba14eagle said: This railway and its trains, are starting to look really quite special Looking forward to more developments. Seconded - I just love how it's built almost prototypically on the ground. Granted, the supports for the cassette system need a bit of refining but it's a great idea all the same. What maximum length cassette do you plan on using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fungus Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 mick said: What maximum length cassette do you plan on using? The longest so far is 4ft. That's probable close to the maximum most people could handle, without developing a transportation barrow! It does mean that longer trains must be split. A better solution in the longer term is of course to run the tracks into a shed or garage with a nice big storage yard. However, that requires "planning parmission" from the household authorities. I'm working on it! (See http://fungusmodels.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/quarry-siding.html Annex 1, item 7 of the section titled "Plans for Phase 2".) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I'm not sure how you intend operating using the cassette system but would it be possible or feasible to adapt the cassettes so that 2 can be linked together, enabling full-length trains to be driven on? Would that create additional problems or have any operational value? I know that 8 feet long cassettes or so would be almost impossible to transport but would assume they could be moved to one side to allow other cassettes to be moved into place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fungus Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 mick said: I'm not sure how you intend operating using the cassette system .... Mick - As it's only on trial as an interim solution, I think the cassette system is probably the least of my worries. I'll see how it goes when I reach the stage of running more than one train at a time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 i came by the other day to review the pics as it were. it was then I realized you had run your curves under a bench. I think that's great. Bench as tunnel has a nice effect. Didn't have the presence of time to comment so here is belated thumbs up on the bench curves. I'm loving you updates lately. it all looks really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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