Tutbury

Several members of the group converged on Tutbury Village Hall for the Supermeet, and I include below a few of the photos I took.

Some of the wagons built by the late Steve Sykes, together with prizes that they won at 2FS AGM competitions.

Laurie Adams' layout "Yeovil Town"

The shunting tractor on Yeovil Town, which tested the driving skills of several spectators.

Ian Smith's "Modbury"

Andy Carlson's "South Yard".

An updated/extended version of Mark Fielder's "British Oak" layout, which features in the Beginners Guide. This version, by Richard Caunt, incorporates working hopper systems which deposit coal into the barge (and coal dust into the neighbourhood!).

David Long's "Mayfield Street".

Early stage of a narrow gauge layout by Phil Copleston.

Discussion of the "Minories" layout, which Mick Simpson and Alan Whitehead almost finished over the weekend at Railex.

 A view from the other end.

"Colwyn Bay Goods" from Bryn Jones.

Various works-in-progress on Keith Armes' table.









There were at least half a dozen other displays that aren't included in the above photos.

An enjoyable day was had by all, well worth the long trips to get there (which paled into insignificance against Kevin Knight's ...)

Chatham Show 2016

This month's meeting coincided with the two day Chatham Show to which Lightermans Yard was invited, attendance at the show replacing our normal monthly proceedings.

Following the successful set-up by the Friday crew (Alan, Keith, Alan B and Pete K), and leaving the layout in full running order, a mysterious 'short' first thing on Saturday morning found Keith under the layout and eventually replacing the cause, a failed point motor! Also discovered was that the two DCC controllers would not allow each other to operate simultaneously, allowing only a single locomotive to be 'driven' at a time. Mild frustration!

However, our frustrations appeared not to be transferred to the viewing public who were generally unaware of our problems and were very complimentary about Lightermans Yard. Of particular interest for all ages being the level of detail in the buildings and scenics, despite the two new additions, the main warehouse and the low relief buildings at the left end of the layout still being 'work in progress'.

Fortunately for our group, Pete Townsend was able to attend (and share the very positive comments about the buildings), his impending westward move having been delayed.

The Saturday crew; Pete K, Alan S, Keith, Gordon and Richard - Pete Townsend and Alan Brazier were supporting public! David Walley was otherwise engaged operating the Wealden Group's 2mm layout, Llangerisech which was also in the show, although in the other hall and not close enough for us to share the occasion.

The partially finished curved warehouse at the left end of the layout was positioned, it fitted much to Richard's relief. Minus windows, but painted, it now requires a few 'tweeks' and some weathering to complete the scene (left).








 On reflection, and with the mock-up of the railway warehouse in place at the other end of the layout, it was generally agreed with Alan S's intention to reduce the overall height of this building.

Operators sharing the running on one controller (right).

On Sunday, with both controllers working, a short piece of rail became detached and required an emergency 'weld' to re-establish contact. Also discovered was the required controller settings for double operating, found by Pete K deep in the manual. We had two trains running for most of the day until a short reduced us to single working again.

Sunday crew; Pete K, Alan S, Keith with Richard and David S joining after the opening.

We were delighted by the number of enquiries from exhibition organisers or their representatives to show at various exhibitions next year or the year after, we could be on the road several times in the coming months!

It took only 45 minutes to disassemble and pack the layout away in its traveling cases, and load them into vehicles for their homeward journey. Very pleasing to all concerned.

Although a little disappointed by the fairly light attendance on both days, this was a successful outing.

As Pete King said on behalf of the group, thanks to Pete T for kicking the old girl into life. The large majority of the nice comments were about his scenery.  So thanks again Pete for your legacy.

Backscene again

Final preparations before next month's appearance at Chatham Exhibition. There was no attempt at running, or even at fault-finding, the meeting concentrated on scenic improvements.

The main item was the latest version of Richard's backscene, which now incorporates appropriate fading towards the back, with the colour becoming progressively more grey and the outline becoming more blurred. Overall it's a grey impression, suitable for a rather smoggy day in London. The wall suspended in mid air in front of the warehouses was trimmed to shape, and taken away with the baseboard to be glued in place.

The backscene now hides the back of the layout, but the left end needs further work. A suitable
curved frame was prepared (at least the initial outline was cut from Pete T's roll of bendy plywood), for final trimming to size and gluing into shape.


Pete T and Richard have been working on the frontage for a warehouse to go in front of the left end of the backscene - Pete T scratchbuilt a single section, then Richard used that as a master to create further sections. That should be the subject of a future blog entry.

A view of the rear of the layout, showing the supports for the backscene (Gordon's work, I believe).












Alan S had tackled the problem suffered by vertically-challenged operators (they can't see over the backscene...). Two duckboards have been cut from thick plywood to go on top of two of the scenery boxes. elevating the operators by almost a foot.

Pete T had completed a bit more scenic work on the dairy - an elaborate staircase from street level, and the basic interior (and open doors) for the dairy premises under the viaduct.






An invitation for next year's Epsom Exhibition (April 2017) had been received, and it was agreed this should be accepted.

Alas this may be Pete T's last attendance at a Group meeting - he is aiming to complete sale of his house and move to Somerset early in June. However, solicitors are dragging their feet, and it's possible he might be around for a meeting or two yet - at least next month at Chatham.

Dairy tweaking and other April meeting news

Richard was away in Italy, so the next version of the backscene will have to wait for next month's meeting.

The layout has been invited back to the Wilmington Exhibition this October, so there won't be much time for rest and recuperation after Chatham in June. There's also a couple of outings already planned at 2mm Association events in the next two years.

Pete T announced that his departure to Wellington (Somerset) is now scheduled for sometime in June. Planning for his "model railway hut" is proceeding apace.


The scenery is stored off-site, and not much was brought in for this meeting, so there isn't much scope for interesting pictures this month.

The dairy building which Pete T had added last month is worth a closer look. It is designed to fit across the join between the two main trackboards, to help hide the join. It relies on two pegs to position it correctly, but these were a little too tight and were opened up.

Pete K has added the buffer stops - previously omitted as the siding had originally been intended to be occupied by some type of lift mechanism

The break at the end is deliberate (prototypical).

The recent ballasting of that siding had been a little over-enthusiastic, with some encroaching under the building and needing to be removed so it could sit flush on the ground. Also the slightly pink/purple colour of the ballast needs investigation and/or justification.

Clearance was checked using a Dapol milk tanker - though overscale in height it crept under the roof without further damage.

A boarded crossing was later added at the right end, but probably needs reshaping (and gluing down).

This month's implausible visitor is providing overflow dining accommodation for the mess van!

In the absence of the lower entrance to the dairy/bottling plant, Pete T's recently-finished milkfloats are positioned here here too. They are heavily hacked versions of standard models from P&D Marsh and Lytchett Manor (ex Gem/Fleetline).

I suppose they could be restocking the dining facilities after too many cuppas, but I'm not how to justify the iconic red London bus there (except that there was nowhere better to put it this month).

Keith gave the trackwork a thorough testing with his Terrier. It was fitted with skids, giving it improved pickup at the cost of even less weight on the track via the wheels, hence rather limited traction. At this point it wasn't being too heavily taxed.

Keith also demonstrated a turntable as a work-in-progress. It is likely to finish on his own layout rather than Lighterman's Yard. After a few initial teething problems it powered up and rotated impressively slowly, thanks to its extensive gear train.

Auto-stopping in alignment with the exit roads is planned, probably based on some form of adjustable stop-switches on the disc below the mechanism.

March Meeting

The March meeting concentrated on getting the scenic boards and track bed in place and positioning a new version of the back scene to check for height and scale.

Richard has reworked the London back scene to show greater depth by adding a more focused and lightly coloured middle distance against the more distant hazy background. This works well behind Pete T's low relief buildings at the rear of the track bed.

Pete T also provided a solution for holding the back scene in place. Four 18" upright supports fixed to the white base units with a nylon bolt and wing nut, and a locating pin. A spacer was added to provide a small separation from the low relief buildings and background and look more natural. The back scene is held in place with clear plastic clips.

The back scene will be printed digitally onto a thicker material and backed if necessary to prevent any back light effecting the image.

Pete K drilling the fixing holes while Pete T prepares an upright support. We decided four uprights is sufficient to support and hold the back scene in place.

Three images of the back scene in place.

The left hand end of the background image (to be completed) will curve round the end of the shunting yard, probably attached to a thin ply sheet in front of which there will be a low relief warehouse frontage. Shunting crew's hut and shed shown in place.
The middle section shows the Express Dairy unloading dock.
The right hand end awaits the completion of a large warehouse. 

Pete T produced the Express Dairy unloading dock and the stairway down to the archway entrance for milk floats.

Following a discussion at the February meeting, Richard photographed the large curved warehouse at Queens Road Battersea and made a scale drawing. Each section is identical and suggests a resin casting of multiple sections would be a way of modeling the large building and maintaining the curved frontage required for low relief building beyond the wall at the left hand end of the layout.

Based on the drawing, Pete T has made a mould master for the repeat section.

February Meeting

As usual, the meeting focused on Lighterman's Yard, continuing to prepare for the next outing - Chatham Exhibition in June.



After assembling the layout, the bolts holding it together were painted, with same a dot of paint of the same colour added nearby, thus indicating which bolts go where.

So far as possible, same colour paint was used for all interchangeable bolts, but with a rather
restricted palette of colours available there were a few inconsistencies.

Continuing the painting theme, locations of all the uncoupling magnets were identified and marked with blobs of white paint.

All uncouplers were checked (successfully), and further operator training took place, with most shunting moves completing as intended...

Alan's warehouse had acquired a lot more windows (and a slightly warped roof). Further amendments were proposed, to keep him busy for the next month or two





Discussions drifted away to Keith and Alan's plans for a Somerset and Dorset layout.

Further measurements were taken to ensure that Pete T's latest buildings and Richard's backscene will fit together when the two are both added to the layout.

 Alan's latest 2FS conversion, a standard 5. Valve gear had come adrift on the far side of the loco, and a tendency to jump over point checkrails suggested that back-to-back adjustments would probably be needed.



 With Pete Townsend's retirement and exodus to Somerset drawing ever-closer, Pete King was appointed to succeed him as Group Co-ordinator.

January Meeting

Most of the meeting was spent preparing for the next outing of Lighterman's Yard - Chatham in June.

As usual, Pete Townsend arrived with a few new buildings to add to the layout.







Richard had completed the first draft of the backscene, which was temporarily propped in place to see how well it fitted the rest of the layout. Keith had lowered the top of the viewing window.





A closer view of part of the the backscene. The intention in the final version is to have a little more colour, but fading and blurring in the distance. The mechanism for curving it around each end of the layout is still under discussion.

Pete Townsend had torn down one of the blocks of flats at the end of the layout, replacing it with a viaduct carrying a disused railway , together with an unspecified building. This change is intended to provide a better scenic break in front of the fiddle yard/traverser.

Unfortunately the two alternative bridges he provided were both too low, blocking access... Back to the drawing board!

A couple of the smaller buildings being built for the trackbed - a mess hut and a generic Southern concrete hut. The bicycle is apparently brand new, its bright yellow paint still clean...

David Smith is building a water tank and coaling stage, but was absent today (apparently driving 305mm:foot trains).

 
Next extension to the buildings will probably be a small dairy. One of the arches in the viaduct has been opened up, providing access for milk floats. Pipework will be added to transfer milk from tankers on the railway siding above.

One of Keith's locos bringing in a mixed freight train, to allow other operators to practice shunting (and to check the track for faults - none found). The backscene had been removed again, as few of the operators are tall enough to see over it!