A narrow gauge railway between the mines, the sawmill and the explosives factory

Marty said

Hi Claus,

Have read from here… N Gauge - Newcastle Emlyn**** - Your Model Railway

I do have the N gauge society magazine article somewhere…. but I have just moved house…. it will surface eventually… but you should solve the problem with the photos in the page above before I find the magazine.

Note that there is a photo of the underside of my turntable a couple of posts below the linked post above.

Let me know if you need more.

From “Post #289,917”, 18th March 2024, 1:54 PM

Thank you very much, Marty. Unfortunately I think it is too late to change the wheels. At the moment the worm gear doesn't work. I might have tightened a nut too much and the axel inserted into the turntable has come loose 😒

Cheers,
Claus

What's going on?

What an enjoyable way to make a curved roof.


Ed

Ed said

What an enjoyable way to make a curved roof.


Ed

From “Post #289,937”, 22nd March 2024, 6:01 PM

Spot on, Ed. The bottle has the right diameter!

Cheers,
Claus

What is the material Claus? (no…not the wine…. the roof)

Nice drop that Annie's Lane too. A bottle or two has worked it's way through the wine rack here.

Marty said

What is the material Claus? (no…not the wine…. the roof)

Nice drop that Annie's Lane too. A bottle or two has worked it's way through the wine rack here.

From “Post #289,944”, 24th March 2024, 5:30 PM

Hi Marty,
You are right. The wine wasn't bad!
The roof is 0.5 mm thick Corrugated Siding from JTT Scenery Products. It is easily shaped and curved even 'against' the corrugations. I plan to use the sheet for a small water tank with an even smaller diameter.

Cheers,
Claus

Did you soften it with hot water initially Claus - as Marty said - the plastic, not the wine ?

Also, does the wine quality effect the sheet strength ? 

Petermac said

Did you soften it with hot water initially Claus - as Marty said - the plastic, not the wine ?

Also, does the wine quality effect the sheet strength ? 

From “Post #289,947”, 24th March 2024, 10:29 PM

Hi Petermac,

The styrene sheets are very easy to curve without hot water. Initially I curved the pieces around the handle of a small brush before attaching to the wine bottle.

I don't know if the wine quality has any effect. The bottle was emptied before the sheets were curved!

Cheers,
Claus

Claus Ellef said

Marty said

What is the material Claus? (no…not the wine…. the roof)

Nice drop that Annie's Lane too. A bottle or two has worked it's way through the wine rack here.

From “Post #289,944”, 24th March 2024, 6:30 AM

Hi Marty,
You are right. The wine wasn't bad!
The roof is 0.5 mm thick Corrugated Siding from JTT Scenery Products. It is easily shaped and curved even 'against' the corrugations. I plan to use the sheet for a small water tank with an even smaller diameter.

Cheers,
Claus

From “Post #289,946”, 24th March 2024, 6:57 AM

JTT Scenery Products are a new mob to me… I'll have an investigate. Thanks.

Room for one more locomotive



The new shed is almost finished. Only the 'concrete' floor is missing. The little shed is big enough for the locomotive parked just outside, but the main 'tenant' will be the small shunter.

The design of the shed is inspired by the narrow gauge shed in Colac, Victoria. The Victorian Railways opened a narrow gauge railway between Colac and Beech Forest in 1902 (later extended to Crowes in 1911). The railway was closed in stages between 1954 and 1962. I like the unusual curved roof and decided it was worth a model. Finding appropriate drawings and photos was difficult with the shed long gone. All I had was photos like this from https://www.westonlangford.com/:



The model is far from exact but probably close enough to be recognised by people who have seen the real thing.

That looks good, Claus.

peterm said

That looks good, Claus.

From “Post #289,989”, 1st April 2024, 6:34 PM

Thank you.

Cheers,
Claus

Rule 1 Claus, it looks great  



Ed

Ed said

Rule 1 Claus, it looks great  



Ed

From “Post #289,992”, 1st April 2024, 6:57 PM

Thank you.

Cheers,
Claus

The Newcastle Emlyn engine shed in Wales is a very similiar design and one of the special items that drew me to model that particular GWR branch line. You've made a good job of your shed although it looks like you have cut the poor blighter in half?! 

Are the low sided open wagons in the photo slate/stone wagons?

And the back line is raised on wooden risers…. fascinating. To assist with unloading maybe?

If you want a really interesting layout, model what is out there in real life… you will never be bored.
 

Marty said

The Newcastle Emlyn engine shed in Wales is a very similiar design and one of the special items that drew me to model that particular GWR branch line. You've made a good job of your shed although it looks like you have cut the poor blighter in half?! 

Are the low sided open wagons in the photo slate/stone wagons?

And the back line is raised on wooden risers…. fascinating. To assist with unloading maybe?

If you want a really interesting layout, model what is out there in real life… you will never be bored.
 

From “Post #289,999”, 1st April 2024, 8:57 PM

Hi Marty,
You are right. The shed has been cut in half for a few reasons. Firstly I  only need room for one engine. Secondly there is not enough room for a longer version. An extension at the back will end up in the creek. At the front  a length of track is needed for water and coal facilities.

The wagons are Victoria Railways' standard NQR wagons. On the Beech Forest line they mainly carried wood and timber. Occasionally animals and humans could be loaded as well.

The trestle appears to be next to the coal stage. Perhaps used as an above ground ash pit.

Cheers,
Claus

Scratch building


The steam locomotives at the narrow gauge mining railway need coal and water.

The water tank is made from a piece of corrugated styrene shaped around the cork from a bottle of mead. The base is balsa wood and the legs a four length of rails. The ladder is made from a thin slice of corflute. The inlet is a short length of wire. The water is 1 mm clear table protector and the outlet is a bit of cord from a Venetian blind.

The coal stage is 1.5 mm balsa wood, a piece of ladder from Plastruct and real coal from the State Coal Mine in Wonthaggi.

Nice bit of scratch building Claus  


Ed

Impressive !!!