7mm Corwen Road

[LarryG]

I was a bit of a dope and assembled the window frames all wrong so that I could only glue the ensemble behind the opening instead of inside it. Attempts to alter things only lead to the wood un-layering. A new frame was cut from Plastikard and the window mounted in the correct position...


Space in the goods yard is at a premium and it looks like the goods shed and bufferbeam will have to be moved yet again. It wouldn't surprise me if the goods shed goes altogether to be replaced by a much smaller goods facility with much reduced footprint...

 

[jonte]

Well saved, Larry.

Jonte

 

[paulc]

Question Larry , where did the weighbridge come from ?

 

[Cliff Williams]

Larry that should be an easy fix though. CUt into the embankment, create a nice retaining wall and gain the space needed, it would also give you another nice feature to the embankment.

 

[LarryG]

Larry that should be an easy fix though. CUt into the embankment, create a nice retaining wall and gain the space needed, it would also give you another nice feature to the embankment.

Having once worked with McAlpines civil engineers, I think that cutting into the embankment would be an expensive 'do'. The floor of the yard would have to be piled yet again to prevent the embankment from spreading, pushing the ground upwards the and impacting on the good shed. The whole area is in a state of flux until I get things as I want them and so there is nothing lost in shortening the goods shed road. I am accustomed to 'seeing' things in 4mm scale terms and had underestimated the amount of space required for a weighbridge. There is one other space for a weighbridge, which I will look into today.

Question Larry , where did the weighbridge come from ?

It was a generous gift and came from Intentio. This laser-cut is absolutely superb and more will be seen of it once it is in the ground....

 

[LarryG]

A sunny day so the replacement point with wired frog was done today. Three wires were soldered to the tags on the PL-33 switch and it was dropped into the space made for it in the Peco point. Two wires were soldered to the outer rails while the remaining wire went to the frog wire. My days of soldering under baseboards are behind me and so everything was done on the workbench, tested and then laid aside ready for laying. The point and wiring were sprayed Sleeper Grime....


Cork was glued down with PVA and weighted. It dried out quickly in today's warmth and was shamferred with the sanding 'iron'...


New point relaid. The shortened siding third from top can be detected. The foreground siding was also shortened, but in this case, new cork was laid and covered with ash...


The track will be weathered tomorrow and the whole site tidied up. I mustn't forgot to solder back all the feed wires too....

 

[LarryG]

Had a juggling session this morning and annoyingly, the good shed has had to go back to where it started. This meant adding layers of bricks on the thing now it is back on level ground. Sidings are also much shorter than before, but there still remains scope for knocking wagons about.



The entrance gate to the yard has suffered a bit in the recent upheaval. The weighbridge has not yet been installed but it looks like that will be its final resting place. There is a lot more ground now for road vehicles to maneuver. As for suitable 7mm scale road vehicles, any suggestions?

In all my colour books I could not find one goods shed in BR(W) brown & cream. I suspect that deep down, Government had already decided by 1954-5 where freight should be (on the roads).

 

[mswjr]

I like the goods shed where it is, I am not sure about the weighbridge and hut, It looks good where it is, But im not sure if it would be there as it is not practical to load at the goods shed , Then have to try and get a position on the weigh bridge, I expect you are thinking the same,
I started to model in o gauge, It is a fantastic scale, but it takes up far more room than you think, I would say you are having the same Problem.
Sorry not much help, but I would leave the weigh bridge out, Pretend it is further down the road, Have more sidings to shunt.

 

[BrushType4]

I think you could push the two left sidings back as far as you can. Then just make the yard cover them. It was usual in some locations to manoeuvre over the rails when space was short. The Weighbridge and building is in the correct place to manage the ins and outs of the yard.

 

[PhilH]

Larry,
If you shorten the middle siding slightly you would give lorries more room to turn from the weighbridge to the goods shed, or vice versa. Also it would give easier access to the coal staithes. You could then extend the siding nearest the edge of the baseboard nearer to the weighbridge office.

As for suitable road vehicles:

Vanguards VA07502 Morris Commercial LC5 Dropside National Coal Board LTD ED 1/43 80577075021 | eBay

You will need to change the lettering but it comes complete with coal sacks.

 

[simond]

Larry,

Have a look at Chaz Harrison’s “Dock Green” layout thread on t’other channel. He had a couple of trucks in his Goods yard area. Not sure where they came from. And a milk float - a lady of this parish can tell you more about that.

Andy Duncan has some vehicles in his range, as do S&D/Phoenix.

The Corgi Thoneycroft van is dead scale (most of the others are 1/50) but the wheels are more suited to a modern super bike. I made a master a few years back and cast some resin wheels from it, and gave the master to Andy last year, at Bristol, I think, so he may have cast w/m wheels to suit available. Obviously it’ll need repainting into something more suitable than the garish toy liveries it’s supplied in.

On reflection, these might all be a bit early for your layout.

Atb
Simon

 

[LarryG]

Done another Photoshopped image to test an idea put forward by PhilH. It leaves space for road vehicles to turn after loading and passing over the weighbridge before leaving the yard. It means making the middle siding even shorter, but it looks like it might work. I will know in the morning!

 

[Geoff]

Done another Photoshopped image to test an idea put forward by PhilH. It leaves space for road vehicles to turn after loading and passing over the weighbridge before leaving the yard. It means making the middle siding even shorter, but it looks like it might work. I will know in the morning!
View attachment 112567

I know there is a prototype for everything Larry but have you considered moving the coal staithes? As you will know it can take a while to empty coal wagons, and whilst that is going on they would block the entry to the goods shed. Perhaps they could go against the siding on the far right, that's assuming there would still be space for vehicles to swing around onto the weighbridge? It might then be possible to add a small yard crane where they once stood?

Apologies for hijacking your photo.

Geoff

 

[Peter Cross]

In the 60's our coal yards based in goods yards, the staithes were always a road width away from the rail. With the open face pointing to the track. This was because even then most domestic coal came from the factors by lorry. Only occasionally did we have a mineral wagon to empty.

 

[LarryG]

In the 60's our coal yards based in goods yards, the staithes were always a road width away from the rail. With the open face pointing to the track. This was because even then most domestic coal came from the factors by lorry. Only occasionally did we have a mineral wagon to empty.

If it was coming in by lorry, it answers the question as to why in the 1950's coal heaps were often against a boundary wall rather than beside the track. Thanks for that snippet.

 

[LarryG]

I would like to thank everyone who put forward ideas and to PhilH for emailing two links. As a result, I have had a busy day! All indications pointed to more yard space and so the middle siding was removed and new cork laid and sanded to profile. The new siding runs parallel with the goods shed road with space in between for yard men (shunters) to operate. The new ash will be filed down to dust in the morning....


There is now more room to back a lorry up to a coal wagon (left hand siding). Coal can then be bagged directly from the wagon into a delivery lorry.
Because of its seasonal nature, coal was also stockpiled in heaps on the ground or coal bins, often against the edge of the yard area. Such coal might be bought cheaply in the summer months..My bins are against the embankment where it is easy for lorries to dump their load...


The weighbridge is in place, but it is all a case of 'work in progress'.

 

[mswjr]

Yes, I like that, I can almost see the vehicles turning in that last picture, That all works now.

 

[Focalplane]

Isn't this fun!!!

 

[BrushType4]

Could the long spur on the left accommodate a cattle dock?

 

[Wagonman]

Wouldn't the weigh bridge just be used for traffic from the mileage sidings? Anything coming through the goods shed would been charged at consignment rates (or whatever the name was) and the weight was no longer of any interest. As Geoff said, the coal cells (mileage traffic) would not have shared a siding with the goods shed.