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Selby Garden Railway


mick
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The large curve has now been completed and further extended down to where it is intended that it will pass beneath the section of track next to the viaduct. The following 2 photographs show the curve, and the track base extending from it, during course of construction.

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The photographs below shows the same section of track with the decking board track base covered in roofing felt and Peco code 100 track laid. This section of track is now operational and the prototype Deltic can be seen hauling its rake of 11 BR Mk1's round the 7ft 6ins radius curve.

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With the completion of the large curve and the extension of the track base down towards the viaduct end, the possibilty of constructing a temporary 'link' between the two sections to give me a complete running loop has arisen and so armed with a few offcuts of plywood resting on broken breeze blocks a temporary connection has now been made.

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You can see in the above photograph how the track from the curve (top of photo) extends downwards to the viaduct end where it is intended that it will pass beneath. From a point approximately adjacent the the locomotive in the photo, the track falls gradually by a total of about 5 inches over the 20 feet or so length towards the viaduct. Seemingly of little concern, I have been surprised by just how much trouble such a small gradient can cause to the operation of some of my locomotives. While the Hornby class 56 & 60 can handle the gradient with little trouble, the Bachmann 37 & 66 simply cannot and they really struggle.

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The photo above shows the gradient section again but this time looking towards the viaduct end. You can see the temporary structure erected to allow continuous running and if you follow the felt covered track base you will see how it is intended that it passes beneath the section of line from the viaduct. In order to reduce the strain of the gradient on the weaker locos, I intend to reduce the gradient so that it falls by only 3 inches instead of the current five. Only 2.5 inches or so is necessary to give sufficient clearance for one track to pass beneath another.

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Above: A marvel of engineering it may not be but this little addition gives me continuous running until the remainder of the layout is complete. It uses 2nd & 3rd radius Hornby curved track sections and a few odd straights that I had laying around. It's not been without its share of problems as my stock really dislikes the sharp curves but taken steadily enough and with some minor tweaking and packing, I have now reduced the number of derailments and the number of uncoupling occurrences on that section. The orange cable is being used to feed DCC current to the tracks via a terminal block so that my controller can be used from indoors, reducing the risk of rain getting into the electrics and creating a potential hazard.

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Are you bonding your track joints Mick? It's not a good idea to rely on the rail joiners to provide continuity.

Track joins during the first phase of construction were bonded using multi-strand domestic electical flex - that includes the straight alongside the wooden fence from the large curve down to the viaduct. Some have been bonded across the rail join using the outer rail sides and some directly to the underside of the rails. The remainder of the joins will be bonded in situ (with a less bulky wire) now that I have a continuous run available and can take things a bit easier. I'm also going to add additional feeds at several locations round the layout although from my experiences to date this may not be entirely necessary but will be another safeguard against power loss and voltage drop. I am however, interested to discover just how long I can continue to run trains problem free without doing anything to the track other than light brushing. This is all new to me and I don't mind learning from experience.

How are your rails electricaly bonded and have you had any problems to date with any of those soldered joins? In time, do the bonds require repairing?

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I've bonded track joins using normal multistrand layout wire soldered to the sides of the rails. I have had no problems with these so far. I also left gaps between the rail joints for expansion, although it was rather cold when I laid the track. I think it is a good idea to insert additional feeds around the layout as a safeguard.

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Assured by the weather forecast of a bright and sunny morning, I was outside nice and early to brush along the track and remove the covers from the viaduct section in order to get something running before the weather deteriorated later in the afternoon. I've never had an opportunity to run a rake of MGR wagons and so after labouriously removing 33 of them from their boxes I put them on the track in the direction of the incline to see how they would fare.

Out of curiousity I first placed one of the kitchen scales to see how they compared weight wise to an HTA wagon and found that the heavier canopied wagons came in at 85 grams (non-canopied a few grams less) as opposed to the 190 grams of a single HTA. It was clear from the figures that a rake of 33 MGR's was going to be much less trouble than 19 HTA's being almost 1000 grams lighter for the full rake. As expected, hauling the MGR's proved much less trouble than first anticipated with even the previously problematic class 66 able to pull them up the incline without any apparent slowing. This got me thinking as to whether I could reduce the weight of an HTA wagon to allow them to be hauled more easily.

Taking an HTA apart, I expected that the bottom door area would be full of weight or ballast of some kind but I found that the only weight is in 2 cast metal sections that form the inner slope of the wagon above each bogie. These will require cutting if I am to lighten the load at all. I am seriously considering making a start, at least by completing one to ensure that the stability of the wagon isn't affected by the weight reduction, and to see just how much each wagon can be lightened by.

If anyone has ever attempted this I would be interested to hear how you got on.

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It's been another 'play day' today and in an effort to recreate an actual working from my past railway employment I placed 47 MGR wagons on the track and coupled them to a Hornby 60007. The class 60 wasn't neccessarily the locomotive power used on that working but I was intrigued to find out just how good the Hornby model is and it didn't disappoint, hauling the full rake without any noticeable reduction in speed as it made its way up the incline. I also tried a couple of class 56's and the Bachmann 66 all of which performed satisfactorily but certainly not with the same authority as the 60.

What I did have problems with today, possibly due to the trailing weight of the MGR's, was the tension lock couplers on the Hornby 60 and 56's. As the loco rounded the temporary Hornby curve section (and bearing in mind that it is 2nd & 3rd radius) the coupler extends outwards and moves widely to one side but does not retract again once the curve has been fully traversed with the result that the hook on the loco coupling tangles with the hook on the first wagon couling flipping the wagon over, which then derails the next half dozen or so in turn. I solved the problem temporarily by filling the leading wagon with 2p pieces to weight it down and this prevents it being derailed but the loco coupling remains under tension and pulled to one side. The tension lock coupler isn't a problem on the large radius curves on the remainder of the layout but I need to find a solution to this soon.

Today was the first day that I have found it necessary to clean the track. Initially I thought I had a problem with one of the class 56's which began running much slower and then running at intermittent speeds. I even took it apart to see if I could find a problem but then it dawned on me and after a quick rub over to polish the rail heads everything was fine once again.

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Over the weekend I experienced a lot of derailments whilst running Bachmann Intermodal wagons, most noticeably on the now notorious 'Hornby Curve'. The majority of the intermodals I own were obtained in used condition and it was clear that they hadn't been replaced in their packaging with a great deal of care. Couplings and coupling bars were bent and very few of them actually lined up with the wagon coupling in front. In some instances the drawbar wasn't even located properly so that the bogie wasn't able to sit level. After a lot of tweaking and bending I now have a set that runs trouble free and I haven't experienced a single derailment during a running session today. I'm now quite a fan of the Bachmann Intermodal and will be on the lookout for a few more wagons in the coming weeks/months to be able to marshall a more realistically lengthy rake.

Today seemed like a good day for some additional filming and the large flat beds of the intermodal wagons looked like a suitable spot upon which to rest my camera and so it proved to be. This latest video offers some nice lineside shots and almost 3 complete loops of the circuit from onboard two intermodal wagons. You can see the front of the train snaking along ahead and if only I had some more wagons...!!!

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With a succession of derailments over the past couple of days in the vicinity of the temporary 'Hornby Curve' the decision was taken to relay that section with Peco flexi track and dispose of the old Hornby stuff. The curve is now larger at 32ins but it is still a temporary structure and is in place for the sole reason of allowing me a continuous run while the remainder of the layout is completed. Progress has been at a standstill for the past week or so in the construction field so I guess I had better stop playing trains and get my head into gear again. But, with today being warm and sunny and the schools being back for another term which means no fear of attracting unwanted attention from the other side of the boundary fence it was only right that a bit more 'playing' was in order. A selection of steam and diesel locos made their debut appearances on the Selby Garden Railway and the camera there to record some of them.

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The class 108 was purchased as DCC ready and so I obtained 2 chips for fitting to the end cars but managed to complete only one today before my stress levels got the better of me. To get the body off the 108 it says "Remove the screws where shown" except the exploded diagram doesn't show any screws, "and then unclip the body sides from the chassis - locating lugs at motor block end". I could find only one screw so I took it out but try as I might I couldn't get the body to budge. I went online and searched for anything that would help and found that the body was a bit of a devil to remove and that I had indeed been doing it correctly. Using more force than I really dared I finally got it to come off but didn't fancy the same again just yet so I left the unpowered end until a later date. Beats me why they make them so difficult to get into and why they position locating screws in the most inaccessible places. It appears that DCC is an afterthought at the present time but I hope that RTR manufacturers can deem it sensible to make accessibility in that area a bit easier for all of us.

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Great new videos, I like the sound fitted diesels! You can tell it's a weekday by the absence of children, lawnmowers and strimmers!!

I like the addition of sound too Ian but I just wish they'd perfect it a little bit more. The class 24 sound is a stonker even though I've never seen or heard a 24 in real life. Can't say how true to life it actually is but it's audible all the way round the layout whereas disappointingly you lose the 37 after only a few yards. Absence of children..... priceless!

A trio of Bachmann 37's were captured on film today - two of them being standard Bachmann products factory fitted with sound. They look okay on film but watching them circling the layout they do seem to be running very slow (as was the Deltic St. Paddy) and it would be great if you could increase both the running speed and the volume of sound.

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  • 2 weeks later...

After a seven day break I couldn't resist getting some stock out for a quick run round the garden today, closely followed by the obligatory video camera, even though it came to a premature end when the rain started.

I fitted a DCC chip to Heljan's 58041 a couple of weeks ago and as it's never had anything to haul before I grabbed the box of HEA's as they're close to hand. Some of the wagon liveries may never have been seen coupled with the Railfreight 58 but for now they'll suffice.

The Bachmann/NRM 'Deltic' and Bachmann's D1746 have been seen before on the Selby Garden Railway but the rake of nine Bachmann BR Mk1 Pullmans in umber and cream are enjoying their first turn of duty. They really do look stunning and I was hoping to get some shots of them as darkness fell but they were packed safely away once the rain came. I've been trying to gather information about the various formations that the Pullman's would have been seen in but there are so many of them that it gets somewhat confusing. It would be great to have them in permanently coupled prototypical rakes once the layout is complete so I'll be taking another look at that later.

The video below records the stock listed above in action today. Video's of the layout really shows you how much work has yet to be done and what improvements/enhancements are required. There are some small faults to be ironed out and a lot of additional planting along the edge of the layout still to be done but close up's do tend to exaggerate imperfections and I'm surprised how uneven parts of the track look and how steep some of the inclines appear on video when in reality it aint half as bad as it appears!

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Nice video Mick, the Pullman's look good, you just need a couple of Hornby brake coaches to go with them.

Ian.

Would I top and tail them with a couple of the older style Hornby Pullman brakes or just standard brake coaches? I've got a load of Hornby Pullmans (with interior table lamp lighting) so I'm sure there would be something suitable among them if they would suffice.

I've found information this morning regarding several possible formations for the Tyne-Tees, Queen of Scots and Yorkshire Pullman trains so I'm going to see if I can recreate those. Bachmann have some additional umber & cream liveried Pullmans for release soon and I have 3 or 4 in the blue/grey reversed livery so hopefully I can form a couple of sets if I can find out what additional coaches (if any) go with them.

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  • 2 weeks later...
As far as I know you would usually have an old style Pullman brake coach at both ends of the set and these are produced by Hornby. BR never constructed any mark one Pullman brake vehicles.

Ian.

That's correct Ian, I've been reading up a little bit on the Mk1 Pullman formations and old style Pullman brake coaches were often used in conjunction with the Mk1's in some rakes. I do have a couple of Hornby brakes that would be suitable although the newer versions with working table lamps have underframe trusses which the older Pullman brakes that would be suitable to run with the Mk1's didn't have as far as I can make out. I'm not too concerned about that if that is indeed the case.

Following on from our conversation regarding tension lock couplings which has been continuing on your thread, I got the chance to try the Hornby R8220's on some Bachmann Mk1's today. I had a running session using the original tension locks first but didn't manage more than 3 circuits at most without a derailment. I dismantled the offending coaches (there were just 2 of them derailing frequently) and after removing the bogies I made sure that the contact areas for the coupling to slide left and right were nice and smooth. Things improved but I still had 2 large derailments with stock going off the edge and onto the lawned area!

Upon closer inspection I noticed that one of the offending coaches would derail on the leading bogie even when I pushed it slowly around the old Hornby curved section without it being coupled to anything. It was then that I noticed what the problem was. Not sure if it had been the strong winds last week or the heavy rain yesterday but the plywood framework used as the base for the temporary incline had moved forward and dropped down a bit resulting in the track at the top of the curve being anything but level. The inner bogie wheel of one particular coach was leaving the track! With some packing added beneath to raise the board level again normal running was resumed!

The Hornby R8220 couplings aren't really long enough for the Bachmann Mk1's but due to the coupling extending outwards against the spring they can be made to couple together. When I coupled the first pair I thought there was no way they would get round a curve coupled so closely as the corridor connections are actually touching. I gave them a very slow run and round they went without a hitch. The radius of the old Hornby curve is now about 30inches and that's the sharpest curve on the circuit. I've added a couple of photo's to show how the coaches look before and after. It's certainly a great improvement appearance wise and if they continue to perform without derailing I'll be more than happy.

The photo below is of 2 Bachmann Mk1's coupled together using the standard Bachmann tension lock coupling as supplied. Not too unsightly but an obvious gap between the corridor connections.

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Below are another 2 Bachmann Mk1's but this time coupled together using a pair of Hornby R8220's. As stated above, they don't couple if simply pushed together because they're too short, but raise the coaches slightly and they couple easily and can negotiate my 30 inch radius curve.

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One of the drawbacks with a garden railway is that you are at the mercy of the British weather and even when it isn't raining there are additional natural hazards to contend with. Before I could run anything this morning I had to go around the circuit with a handbrush to sweep away an accumulation of fallen leaves but with a gentle breeze blowing just as quickly as I cleared them away another batch would take their place hence today's running session was short lived.

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Excuse the mess depicted on the above photo but this is the bottom of the temporary section with a lot of packing beneath the tracks to allow trains up in order to make a complete circuit possible. There were one or two small derailments with leaves continuing to fall on the track during the running session and so I eventually called it a day but not before I took a few more photographs. It seems a while since I posted any images on the forum as I am normally occupied more with the video camera of late so here's a few to be going on with.

The one below features Hornby's class 56013 in BR Blue rounding the curve with a rake of HEA wagons. Photographs are generally a harsh reminder to me that I have still got all the front end detailing bits and bobs to add to most of my loco's and that all my stock is far too clean to be convincing in any photograph but that's a task that can occupy me at a later date.

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The next photo shows 56013 again but this time being passed by an 'unidentified' loco on a 'rake of 16t mineral wagons'. (I know which loco it was really!)

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The true identitiy of the loco in the above photograph is revealed here as the favour is returned with 56013 about to pass a stationary Bachmann G2 49361 on the curve

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Bachmann's G2 is one of my all time favourite loco's. It is an exceptional performer and has no problem whatsoever moving my entire rake of 16t minerals. It's so good that I can't wait to see what sort of job Bachmann make with the forthcoming Robinson class 04. If the G2 is anything to go by then the ROD will be a stunner too. Here's another glimpse of the stunning G2 in action as it rounds the curve with some more mineral wagons.

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I've taken a few video clips of the G2 in action hauling the mineral wagons and I'll upload this later when I've had the chance to sort it out.

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Having fitted a Bachmann DCC chip, attached one detailed and one plain bufferbeam and then wrestled with the task of inserting the paper headcodes, Falcon was eventually ready to enter into operating service on the Selby Garden Railway and didn't let me down. She made light work of the 8 BR Mk1's I had removed from their boxes and would have comfortably managed several more I am sure but the thought of having to put them all back in their boxes again limited my selection to just the initial eight. I also fitted a DCC chip to my green K.O.Y.L.I Deltic and she will be featuring in the near future as will 'Kestrel' when it finally arrives, and I have saved a chip especially for that.

Here's a short video featuring Falcon in action today.

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As promised, today I've put together a couple of new videos featuring two green diesels and a rake of Bachmann BR MK1's in a mixed set of crimson/cream and maroon liveries. The first video features Bachmann Deltic 55002 'The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry' which is a decent runer despite being one of the earlier models without lighting. The second video features one of my favourite sound loco's, Bachmann class 24 D5038 in two tone BR Green. In my opinion (and for what that's worth) this is factory fitted sound at its best and while I have been somewhat disappointed with most RTR sound offerings to date, this one really does put a smile on my face.

Video's are especially important because they allow you to take a closer look at aspects of your layout and its construction and operation, as well as the performance and appearnce of your locomotives and rolling stock. I rarely notice a wobbly coach or wagon with my naked eyes but they stand out clearly on film allowing you to see exactly which vehicle is likely to be causing problems. Likewise the condition and alignment of your track is highlighted by the foreshortening aspect of the video zoom lens which although it appears much more severe on film than it actually is, helps to pinpoint sources of potential running problems.

Anyway, less of the dribble and on with the show!

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The class 24 does sound excellent, very realistic. Sorry to hear that your still having problems with your couplings but persevere and i'm sure that you will sort it eventually, it all adds to the fun of model railways!

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