Plywood tops

 Adding Plywood to the staging yard benchwork

 

I had designed the staging yard benchwork to be either 400mm, or 600mm wide.  That would allow the 1200x2400 mm plywood sheets to be cut lengthwise into 2 or 3 strips.

Last weekend, I had a rushed trip to Melbourne.  And I never miss an opportunity to photograph trams.  This one on Burke Road.  

The plywood sheets have been stored for about 8 years.  There is a long story on their acquisition, the main one was that they were "free", possibly because they had imperfections.  Transporting them from Wagga, storing them, and moving them has been an ongoing logistic challenge.  However, it is great to be using them now.

I had stored the sheets in my paddock shed.  A hand trolley used to move them

Cutting the sheets on my table saw was awkward, but I am indepted to Steve, who helped me handle the big sheets, and then assisted in securing them to the benchwork.

Cutting a smaller plywood sheet on the bench saw was something I could do myself. 

Albury staging is mostly 400 mm wide.  The angled plywood section comes from the 600 mm wide strips

I had to adjust the benchwork to maintain the aisle width at the pinchpoint.  Looks a bit awkward, but once covered with plywood, it won't be an issue

Junee staging is 600mm wide

This was the "scrap" from one sheet of plywood; the two 600mm strips fitted the benchwork perfectly, which may be a fluke (or incredibly good planning).  

Trouble cat inspecting the benchwork.

Jig-sawed shape 

Murrumbidgee river section was covered with smaller sections of plywood

Adding the benchtops has suprisingly made the room feel bigger.  And it is starting to look like a layout.   I had hoped to be further advanced, but the melbourne trip, and a bout of suspected food poisoning has stalled progress

Some more acquisitions

Early Xmas present for myself.  Latest ARM model - NSW 55 class.

A framed print of Wagga Wagga station - thanks to Macca for securing this for me.  It came from the Wagga model railway clubrooms, which are being condemned by council.  Sadly, the Wagga model railway club is being disbanded

Next steps

I have estimated I have around 60 metres of staging yard track to lay. 

Until next time. 

More staging yard benchwork - Junee

 Benchwork begins for Junee staging yards. 

The other end of my layout is Junee, which like Albury, will exist solely as a hidden staging yard.

Graeme Dodds took this picture in 1979.  X212 has just removed a louvre van off a northbound train

Benchwork

The section that will be the murrumbidgee bridge is secured into position 85cm above the floor. 

Once again, I drew the track plan 1:1 with chalk on brown paper.  The Junee staging will be 20cm below the "Wagga Shunt" - which is the start of the branchline to Tumbarumba

The brown paper roll also contained the continuation of the murrumbidgee bridge track, which curves into the future Wagga station peninsular.  note: The benchwork for the Murrumbidgee section protrudes above, and will be cut shorter when the Junee staging benchwork is attached.

The next section of benchwork is attached to the Murrumbidgee section

The first section of the Junee staging will be 60cm wide.  This section is around 4 metres long, and will accomodate around six  3 mtres long sidings - long enough for the Southern Aurora, Intercapital Daylight, and interstate freight trains.  The remaining sidings for Junee will extend to the right of this picture, and share space under the helix. Note the location of the window - I can reach the latch to open if necessary

Tools

Mitre Saw

(5 years ago) according to the receipt, I bought a mitre saw on a stand kit, stored it in my container for future use, and promptly forgot I had it.  I had been cutting the angles of the benchwork with a handsaw (not very well), so it came as a pleasant surprise when I found the saw. whilst looking for something else.

The instructions to assemble the saw were extremely poor, and it took around 2 hrs all up.  Hopefully will repay this time in the future.  Disappointingly, the laser guide is not working

Angled screwdriver attachment

When there is not enough clearance for the full drill on its own,  a cheap special buy from Aldi is pressed into service. 

A most useful tool - even the colour almost matches DeWALT

NSW Crane Book

I was chuffed when Ian Black's new NSW modelling book arrived in my PO Box.

The distortions visible in the edges are from my camera photographing the book that was suffering from bending in the post 

Ian has spent the last year modelling, and documenting  every type of railway crane that ran on NSWGR.  Lots of modelling, and prototype pictures.  Well illustrated, and a wealth of modelling information.  I understand it will be available from the normal outlets - eg ARHS, and selected model shops  (My copy was a thankyou for supplying prototype  detail pictures of the Brownhoist crane, and Junee Accident Train - both residing at Junee Roundhouse Museum)

G514

A Vline G class leads the Intercapital Daylight north to Junee, and Sydney in the 1980s.  I will have to rescan my slide to determine the number

It is outside my time period, but when a Powerline VLine G514 with replacement mechanism was listed recently on the online auction site, I placed a silly bid, and won it.  I had bought from the seller before, and the listing included a short video of the loco running perfectly.  So when it arrived, I was sort of disappointed that it was damaged, despite the careful packing.

The bogie mount had collapsed in the post. (The silver support visible)

 

Closeup

After removal of the chassis, the cause of the fault was easy to see.  The original modification included supergluing a plastic pivot mount into the original powerline chassis.  After cleanup of the old superglue, I used 2 part epoxy glue to resecure the mount.  This view from below the frame

Bogies were Austrains C class.

The motor, flywheels, and universals are Athearn.  May be a bit heavy in the power used, but Athearn is pretty bulletproof - and 1000% better than the original powerline pancake motor

Reassembled, and as good as new.  Probably the other end will fail as soon as I start running the model, but I will deal with that later.  Of course, hardwired DCC, and fitting lights is another task for later.

Restored - (other side shown).  The Powerline body was good for its day, and whilst the model lacks the fine detail that often breaks off on the more recently released SDS G class, I cannot complain at the price

The real G514 suffered in the Rockville derailment last year in March.  I covered this derailment on a blog post at the time

Pets

What has pets got do do with building a layout.  Well, they can be big time wasters.  I have occassionly mentioned our lot, and thought it may be time for an update on a few.

2 weeks ago, Trouble lost one of her nine lives after tangling with a small brown snake.  She killed the snake, and left that for me to find.  But a day later, she was all out of sorts, and a vet visit occured, along with draining of my wallet.  Fortunately, she has recovered, and still insistant on outside excusions.

Trouble, recovering on the sheep skin rug.

Trouble's sister Misty, is now a year old.  We found her as a 4 week old feral, but you wouldn't think so now.  A long hair cat takes extra care.  Fortunately, she does not want to venture outside, but like her sister, loves to annoy me on the keyboard.

Misty, on top of the cat tree

In October, Tracy found a rescue horse for the paddock muncher role, after Sammy died last April.  Razor is a 14 year old quarter horse,  and is being pampered, with regular supplementary meals, and rugs.  I would not be surprised if I am spending an hour a day with the horse.

Razor trudging up the hill last week.  We really need rain

More possible backdrop material?

Always happy with my move away from Canberra a decade ago.  The positives outweigh the negatives with vistas such as these.  

Saturday's late afternoon storm approaching

And a closeup of "The Rock" from the same location and time as the earlier picture.  This is one of Tracy's pictures, taken with her Iphone - my samsung phone camera whilst good, can't compare

Next steps

Add plywood for the bench top, and start fabricating the turnouts using Fast Tracks.  Another excursion into the unknown.

Until next time

Albury staging benchwork - 2

Benchwork progress for Albury Staging 

A short post this time.  

PN 48144 waits in Junee yard for its next assignment Oct 30, 2024

Since the last blog post, I regret that I have not progressed the layout benchwork as quickly as I would like.  The causes have been multiple, including ongoing medical issues, and gardening.  And I made 2 batches of mulberry jam, whilst our tree is producing.  (that was a good distraction).

More framing cut

The section that will be the murrumbidgee River bridge, placed over the chalk drawn paper template

Barn raising

I started screwing and glueing all the frame elements together, then the thought struck me:- the frame was starting to get really heavy, and there was only so much I could lift on my own.  So, I set up my support "A" trestles, and rested the frame on these

The timber frame on the RHS that will attach to the big upright leg on that side is not yet present

The Murrumbidgee River extension frame was not bolted on to save weight, and also to not twist the frame prematurely. 

The A frame trestles had the frame 87cm above the floor, not the 85cm that I wanted,  Equally frustrating, I had cut the timber legs for the lower elevation so it was not possible to fudge.   

Fitting the legs

Keeping things square, and level.  The clamp is holding the 2nd leg in midair, whilst it is drilled, and screwed to the frame

I attached the first set of leg whilst the frame was still on the A frame trestles.  Once these were secured, I extracted the A frame trestle at that end, and continued to the other end where I again fitted a pair of legs, ensuring that the benchwork was level. The floor is not level, which added to the challenge

Attaching to the existing upright

The long timber chord was screwed to the first big upright leg, the other part of the frame was then attached to the frame, and screwed to the big upright leg ensuring the frame was level  

The frame as it stands, is fairly sturdy, although some angle leg bracing should be added.

Next steps.  

Add the Murrumbidgee River frame section, more legs, bracing, and then cut, and add the plywood deck.  I am also  running short of the 65mm decking screws that hold the frame timbers together, so a trip to Bunnings will shortly be on my agenda.

I understand that my method of benchwork is unorthodox.  It was certainly NOT the light and airy benchwork that I envisaged when designing the trackplan.  However, I am using up lumber left over from my room build, it is "free", and that is internally satisfying.   I would not use this method for a portable layout, and most of my upper deck will be more conventional

Until next time, don't spend too much money on ebay.  

Nothing to do with trains, but a view of the sunset here in Junee Nov 3, 2024. Could make a great backdrop?

Benchwork starts

 Benchwork - finally a start

Paralysis by Analysis is a trap.  And I have been caught for too long.  The design of the Wagga layout has been in development for the best part of 9 years, and whilst there is certainly an advantage with careful planning, there is a point where one needs to begin.

Part of the old CTC panel, on display at the Junee Roundhouse Museum.  This panel was in use from 1983 when the mechanical signalling was removed. 

After the construction of the Train room, quite a quantity of wooden stud timber was left over.  It was suggested at the time, that these could be used for the benchwork.  Using these underneath the Albury end staging yard seemed a good use. 

Chalk track plans

An earlier version of the staging yard was drawn on brown paper 1:1 size.  Note that the staging yard splits, which should allow access from a void in a hidden spot within the benchwork. 

Layout track heights

This is a major consideration, that will affect the asthetics.  I have chosen a 85cm as the height of the staging tracks above the floor.  The mainline will be at 105cm, and the branchline level at 150cm.  Will 45cm give enough visual separation of the 2 decks of sceniced layouts?  Will 150cm be too high for the branchline?  Will I be able to crawl under the staging tracks to access the train controller void?

The first upright

This upright is not cross braced, as it must straddle the "access void" mentioned earlier.  The bottom chord is flat to hold the legs apart, where the top chord is at 150cm.  The legs are long to balance Tumbarumba station on the branchline. 

Placing the upright on the chalk trackplan gives a better effect of what I am trying to do.  The top chord is secured to the yellow tongue wall with a simple metal bracket

Staging yard frame

Looking towards the doorway to the garage.  Careful viewers will note the blue cloth tied to the upright upper chord, as a safety measure. 

Next stage will be to screw all the frame parts together, and raise it to 85cm *less the thickness of the plywood, add more legs, and secure, and brace it to the current upright.  The plywood sheets will then be cut 40cm wide, and laid on top of the woodwork - extending, and cantilevering it up to 4 cm wider than much of the frame.  Once that is done, track laying of the staging tracks will commence.  

Operation day on Kangaroo Valley

Last Saturday, Steve and myself made the 2 hr trip to Stephe's Kangaroo Valley layout at Murrumbateman.  Stephe has an operating session every month on his relocated, and rebuilt layout in his new home.  (I previously wrote about the Kangaroo Valley layout in Stephe's former home in Yass, not knowing that the layout could be relocated)

https://buildingwagga.blogspot.com/2021/11/farewell-to-kangaroo-valley-historic.html

The new design included many scenes from the original, and some of the faults corrected, notably the aisles are now wider, and there is no longer an awkward ladder to access the layout.  Scenery is a work in progress.

Geoff with train at Osport

Steve shunting at Violet

Sydney now has platforms.

Eden (below), and Alabmob (above)

My assignment for the session was the Alabmob branch line driver, with a short break to drive the commuter train.

The milk train runs from Alabmob to Kangaroo Valley.

Scenery under the stairs to the mezanine level is awkward.

The electric commuter train runs from Violet to Sydney station platforms.  Here it has stopped at Osport

Adamstown is very busy with passengers

Being part of the operating sessions gives me ideas on how to operate my own layout, and also areas where care needs to be taken during the build.  It is also good to catch up with friends.  The big win from last weekend, was that the new phone interface performed faultlessly, and the lesson for me, is not to spend a lot of money on radio throttles, when a phone is a far more convenient (and cheaper) option.

Thanks too to Karina for an excellent afternoon tea after the 150 minute operating session.

Train room additions.

Besides the layout, I am always on the lookout for enhancements to the environment of the room.

Thanks to Jack, I now have a Steam Drift gauge to add to my display wall

A pair of reproduction NSWGR small luggage racks were acquired at the Cootamundra swap meet last month.  These will be mounted in the ensuite, for towels

Junee Roundhouse Museum.

Tokens

A few months ago, I was given a set of tokens from NSW railway depots. Eveleigh, Broadmeadow, and Junee.  Junee's number is #103

Donation from Wade.  These are slightly  larger than a 50c coin, and made of aluminium(?)

I had no idea what they were, but Pete Neve informed me that they were employee-sign on tokens.  They were used by the employee to identify he was on site, by placing them on a board.  Fascinating.

Imagine my surprise, when attending the Junee Roundhouse AGM, (Oct 15th) that the "token display" board was mentioned,  being made ready for display.  After the meeting, I showed them a picture of my Junee token, and in turn, I was shown the Junee token board.

The token board, prior to display.  A perspex cover is being made to stop pilfering

I looked at peg #103, and there was just replacement discs visible.  Some of the original discs were visible, but most on the board were replacements.  

So, shortly, I will in turn donate my Junee disc back to Junee, where it needs be.  And I have learnt something about the way the railways operated "in the day"

Accident train

Recently, I had a request from a fellow modeller for detail pictures of the breakdown crane, and the Junee Accident Train.  Photographing within the tight confines of the roundhouse lead to some compromises with lighting, and angles.  The best overall pictures of each wagon are below.

Steam Crane 1080. 

Converted TAM sleeping carriage

Inside the TAM, was a kitchen, and dining room

Bogie Water Gin

Flatcar - parked outside the roundhouse.

Way back in 1997, during the roundhouse 50th anniversary, I photographed the steam crane in operation.  The pictures are on slides, which I have yet to scan.

The Junee Roundhouse Museum is open Wed-Sunday 10am-4pm.  Yes, they also have a website.  Well worth a detour if you have a few hours.  And on weekdays, you might actually see some operating trains on the turntable.  The workshop is active refurbishing, and servicing engines

4497, doing some shunting, or load trials.

Conclusion

I am happy with my progress, particularly being able to reuse timber.  Although I was hoping to  be further advanced on the benchwork.  Far too many distractions.

Until next time, build a model or two.