SimonD’s workbench

[simond]

Thanks Michael,

I'm sure Jon would post one to you. He does appear occasionally on WT, @Jon Fitness, or you could email him at boltonsbits@btinternet.com

Waiting up for MsD to get back from university. Words fail me that the M25 was closed due to flooding, its not political to say that’s simply not acceptable. Bah.

As I had time, I fixed the three plates that didn’t line up nicely, and drilled a couple of cross holes through the frame to put in a couple of pins to hold the pivot rod in place. Jon suggests gluing it, but I prefer the ability to dismantle. And I wanted to cut the hole in the ‘box floor and see what it looks like, without the levers falling through the frame.

So I did that too, it‘s in, and it needs a bit of plasticard/microstrip edging around the frame but quite happy. It is much easier to cut holes in laser cut buildings before they’re assembled! Photos tomorrow.

I’ll have to make the block shelf (brass I think), 3DP some instruments, (maybe turn the bells, better than paint!) and a cupboard, and the box’ll be pretty much done.

atb
Simon

 

[Richard Gawler]

I hope MsD returned safely. The spray near Waltham Abbey yesterday morning had me needing the windscreen wipers inside the tunnels, so perhaps her diversion provided a more pleasant drive.

 

[simond]

Thanks Richard, all well.

it was apparently necessary to drive on the hard shoulder at ten mph be cause all other lanes were flooded, full up to the concrete central reservation wall. Happily it was less than a foot deep at the shoulder, and she, along with all the other Friday night traffic, was able to get through eventually.

I have no idea why this was the case, but my thoughts are that the engineers of the 1800s would not have let that happen. It’s not like we had a monsoon, so I guess under specified, poorly designed, badly built, or not maintained.

 

[Heather Kay]

It’s not like we had a monsoon, so I guess under specified, poorly designed, badly built, or not maintained.

In an earlier incarnation I worked for a civil engineer that was designing and building motorways, including the Surrey sections of the M25. The drainage was generally designed to deal with a "once in a century" event. Such events are becoming more like "once every couple of years". Add to that government budget cuts to everything, and I suspect Highways England maintenance has been the barest minimum. It wouldn’t surprise me if the gullies and soakaways aren’t chock full of leaves and litter, plus all the usual detritus found along a major highway.

 

[simond]

I mentioned a green lever. Herewith from Wiki. Apparently in Ireland.

File:Leverframe.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

I’ve not knowingly seen this before. I’m sure its grounds for a joke or two…

 

[simond]

In an earlier incarnation I worked for a civil engineer that was designing and building motorways, including the Surrey sections of the M25. The drainage was generally designed to deal with a "once in a century" event. Such events are becoming more like "once every couple of years". Add to that government budget cuts to everything, and I suspect Highways England maintenance has been the barest minimum. It wouldn’t surprise me if the gullies and soakaways aren’t chock full of leaves and litter, plus all the usual detritus found along a major highway.

I suspect you are right Heather. I think the “hundred year” wave/storm/wind might well become more common, but the lack of ongoing maintenance is likely the issue here.

to paraphrase Betjeman, Kent is cut off on three sides by the sea, and on the fourth, by the Department of transport.

 

[daifly]

I mentioned a green lever. Herewith from Wiki. Apparently in Ireland.

Green levers were for distant signals when distants had red arms. They changed to yellow late 20s/early 30s when distants changed to yellow. The brown lever in the photo foreground is a gate lever associated with a level crossing.
Dave

 

[simond]

Thanks Dave, I was aware of the red distant signals but not the green levers.

 

[simond]

Can anyone point me at a station where a junction lets onto a private quarry branch. Ideally a rural, double track through station, with limited facilities, and a loop giving onto the branch, so the quarry loco can bring the train in, and hand it over to the company loco, and possible take away the empties.

I suppose it could have been a quarry, mine, dock, whatever, private branch.

ideas welcome, I’d like to understand how such things were arranged, and signalled.

tia
Simon

 

[daifly]

Parkstone, Dorset? Nothing in the way of signalling.

 

[Pencarrow]

Green levers were for distant signals when distants had red arms. They changed to yellow late 20s/early 30s when distants changed to yellow. The brown lever in the photo foreground is a gate lever associated with a level crossing.
Dave

Got a different answer for green levers, no idea which is right...

 

[simond]

Thanks Dave, good call, I’ll see if I can find more info.

interesting that it’s arranged trailing.

I wonder if the geography dictated/suggested a facing connection between quarry and company lines, would that have been possible, presumably with trap points etc as required.

thx
Simon

 

[simond]

Thanks Chris,

I'm aware of the following which also appear in your table.

Yellow - distant
Red - home / starter
Blue - Facing Point Lock
Black - Point/turnout
White - Spare. (Or if you’re winding someone up, the milk siding)

there are also stripes indicating electric locking (eg from block instrument), gate locks which appear to be brown, and detonator placers which are also striped, I think.

i shall quiz my pals and report back…

atb
Simon

 

[Osgood]

Might be worth looking at Charwelton station (GCR) - an ironstone quarry line came out into exchange sidings right by the station (platform is behind train here):

https://flic.kr/p/T6HhM1

No idea about signalling.

Also Irchester ironstone exchange sidings that joined the main line a couple of hundred yards from Wellingborough London Road station - this was protected by a signal (that I guess was controlled from the station yard box?):

https://flic.kr/p/ebjUDQ

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

I wonder if the geography dictated/suggested a facing connection between quarry and company lines, would that have been possible, presumably with trap points etc as required.

Not only the geograpy and geology. In some cases the quarry may have been in existance before the railway came and a subsequent connection made giving rise to unusual track layouts.

 

[simond]

Last knocking before turning in,



I added a plasticard rectangle 6” around the frame (see the Irish frame above) and sprayed it after gluing the MDF frame from the kit into the hole I’d cut out. I added two end plates below, to stop the pivot bar sliding out,and pushed my L shaped wires through to lock it together. If I want to repair a lever, or swap them round, I can. Here’s the underside, you can see the bright point that is the end of a retainer wire



and here’s a moody night-time shot of it in place. Bill the signalman seems quite relaxed given the roof’s gone off the ’box!



I’ll try to get a better interior shot at some point…

 

[simond]

Thanks Tony, Dave,

in the ideas in my head is a terminus to FY layout with a quarry branch leading back to the other end of the FY, thus the quarry branch provides the ability to offer continuous running for the purposes of running things in (and watching the trains go by). Hence the need for facing connections for the exchange loop.

And the quarry adds traffic potential, and the opportunity to run locos that Swindon would have coughed gently about…

I suspect the Wellingborough connection is worth a look. Next stop, NLS…

 

[oldravendale]

What about the existing and restored Mountsorrel Branch on the GCR, Simon? There's a trailing junction from the Quorn end and that's a facing junction from the Rothley end which could potentially become a terminus.

Brian

 

[simond]

Thanks Brian, I’ll look at that one too. Wellingborough is on the join of a couple of pages, obviously…

this was a PITA to make.


but hopefully worth the effort…





next stop instruments and bells. 3DP or wood and brass..?

 

[simond]

What about the existing and restored Mountsorrel Branch on the GCR, Simon? There's a trailing junction from the Quorn end and that's a facing junction from the Rothley end which could potentially become a terminus.

Brian

had a look at that, thanks Brian

bit big for my purposes, but clear that a facing junction with crossovers is entirely prototypical

Georeferenced Maps - Map images - National Library of Scotland

aren't these NLS maps a fantastic resource?

cheers
Simon