Cramdin Yard

[ElDavo]

could i ask what point motors are you using please...

Mostly on Cramdin I have used Tortoise motors but there are also 3 Seep PM4 motors on the end board with the fuel storage tanks. Seeps are cheap but can be a bit tricky to wire and get set up properly. The Tortoise is definitely the best available and really easy to install but of course is relatively expensive.

On my N guage layout I have used Conrad motors which are very cheap but show it. They can be got to work well with commercial track but are a bit fragile. Basically with point motors you get what you pay for.

If you are strapped for cash you might look at wire-in-tube operated using small slide switches that also provide frog switching. Plenty of examples of these on the various forums and the job can be done for pence rather than pounds.

Cheers
Dave

[barks]

Omg.
I'm going to have to sit down later for a couple of hours and read the whole thread
Looks fantastic.
Barks

[British Rail]

Any updates at all Dave? Brilliant piece of art this layout!

[ElDavo]

Any updates at all Dave? Brilliant piece of art this layout!

Art! That's high praise indeed. Cramdin has been packed away since it's last outing in October last year. The layout will be unpacked and set-up in a few weeks as it is due out to the Chatham exhibition in June. There are a few things to do, mostly boring infrastructure repairs etc., to prepare. I will be looking for things to add and improve as well.

Cheers
Dave

[ElDavo]

As is normal for me after an exhibition outing all I want to do is heave the layout into a corner of the workshop and have nothing more to do with it. In the case of Cramdin the last outing was October 2012 and the layout has been packed away since but as it's due out to Chatham show this weekend it's time things were checked out.

Those that have played at this exhibition lark will know that packing the thing up and shifting it a hundred miles or so in a van takes its toll. Stuff gets damaged and has to be repaired before the next trip. Cramdin has been on the road for 4 years or so now and the last outing exposed a few weaknesses in the build. To be honest the layout was always a bit of a bodge with things made from scraps of whatever was laying around in my garage. New end protection boards have been knocked up from 6mm MDF and now hold the folding covers in place rigidly which helps the general strength of the baseboard in transport.

I'm fortunate in that I have the space to erect the layout and all its lighting gubbins in my workshop. Doing this has highlighted several bits of infrastructure that need repair. Several joints in the lighting pelmet have been re-glued and some of the black paintwork has had a freshen up. I've also just spotted a broken joint on the baseboard with the traverser so this will have to be re-glued when I disassemble things.



One thing that has always bugged me is that having built a layout where the whole length is scenic I now have nowhere to display any information. Time to sort this out so I have knocked up a bit of a display board to sit above one of the fiddleyards. It's just a few bits of ply and MDF glued together and painted but it'll do the job. Of course now I'll have to sort some info to display!



This has created another little problem. With the display board in place the operators can't see when a train is above the uncoupling magnets in the fuel drop-off siding. Doh!

At the traverser end there was no run-off track for one of the tracks. An out of control 08 could happily run off the traverser into a building. Time to plonk down a short bit of track and a crude timber baulk stop. Needs a bit of greenery/weeds but it's getting there.





Track cleaning still to do which will have to be fitted in between several games of golf.

Cheers
Dave

[ElDavo]

More tinkering going on in the yard. A new member of the loco roster has arrived. Well not exactly new in fact very secondhand from the famous online auction site. Sold as faulty with poor running, no lights, detached bogie sideframes and missing horns. Another class 60 this time in Load Haul livery. Seemed worth a punt.

The poor running was easily fixed as one of the track feed connections to a bogie had become detached. Bit of disassembly and a dab with the soldering iron sorted that and I relocated the loose bogie sideframe at the same time.

Cramdin is all EWS and Freightliner so the beast needs rebadging. 60007 seems to have a real bodged rebadging initially with a big EWS 3 beasties vinyl sticker on one side and a small one, that didn't even cover the Load Haul branding, on the other. Had to be done!



Since DBS took over the EWS brand you can no longer get transfers for the beasties vinyls from Fox. What a pain! So I've been experimenting with producing my own with paper obtained via the interweb. One benefit that comes out of it is that I can produce the tatty mess that is the small sticker on top of the scraped and gashed Load Haul badging. More use of the interweb found me an ideal straight on picture of it.



After rebadging the beast has had a sound decoder fitted with a speaker underneath the exhaust silencer facing down. I built a custom ported enclosure for an oval speaker. Doesn't sound too bad.

Searching the interweb for replacements for the missing horns proved unfruitful. Nothing for it but to make some. Decided to dust off the trusty but very elderly Unimat and turn something up. Didn't have any brass rod of a suitable size but a bit of old wire coat hanger is close enough.



Can't really call it a turning job as I don't have all the necessary tools but application of various files produced these.



Bit crude but might do the job. Solder on a bit of fine brass wire to each...



Drill a couple of holes and bung em in with some super glue. Not an exact match for the Hornby part but with a dab of paint maybe...



By the time some cack has been thrown at them it'll take a good eye to spot. Especially if I don't park both 60s side by side.



Onwards. Better do some proper maintenance on the layout at some point prior to the next trip to Folkstone I suppose.

Cheers
Dave

[skyblue]

I don't know how I've missed this layout. It's really good, in particular the trackwork and the traverser. The new 60 looks good too.

[Admin4]

looks stunning, did the traverser come as a kit? or is it scratch built?

[ElDavo]

looks stunning, did the traverser come as a kit? or is it scratch built?

The traverser is scratch built on top of the mechanism of a PC flatbed scanner.

Cheers
Dave

[luckymucklebackit]

Hi - I have been following this layout on "the other place", fantastic attention to detail resulting in a really lovely layout. Would love to see it at Model Rail Scotland.

Jim