The Corkscrew-Lines: May 2015

Update No.55 - 12.05.15

Corky here! It has taken a little longer than I'd hoped but I have once again cobbled together another layout progress report and as usual I have added another collection of my inane ramblings. Whilst I would suggest everything in the blog is related to model railways, I will reluctantly concede that the link is at times quite tenuous (for that read invisible) but it's my blog so that's just how it is. I was surprised and delighted to note that the Corkscrew-Lines internet presence has now clocked up over seventeen thousand hits so plenty of you seem to be interested enough for me to continue. Surely you all have something better to do? I suggest at least you all consider seeking medical help! All joking aside, I can only thank you all for the continued interest in the project which is all the more humbling when progress is at best glacial due to the usual work and domestic commitments which rob me of so much modelling time. Your support certainly gives me the required incentive to keep at it...Dreadful!

Softly, Softly Catchee Monkey

It is confession time my friends - Corky has (not unlike our chums in Westminster) failed to keep his promises and has failed to deliver the track-laying extravaganza hinted at in the last update. When I blurted out that I would be getting down to some serious track-laying I honestly thought I could, I would and I should. However, a series of events including a week in Spain, celebrating family birthdays, prearranged gigs and shows and opportunities to attend transport events and last but not least, being rostered numerous 12 hour shifts due to staff shortages have robbed me of all of my time it seems.

Now please don't get me wrong my lovely little Corkettes . I am not saying I haven't made any progress - far from it. I have however not yet reached the stage where I think it appropriate to start slopping Copydex onto plywood. After a lot of thought I decided it would be premature to start laying track before I had established exactly where all of the baseboard sections would be including the central peninsula sections. As I was already in woodworking mode it made sense to crack on and get the lowest level of the peninsula fitted so I could get a better feel for how proposed track curvature and placement may or may not work or where there may be compromises. This would also allow me to judge whether aisle widths were acceptable and also allow me to try and create a system for supporting the central peninsula (which measures a not inconsiderable 8ft x 5ft) without being able to secure the baseboards to the walls as I had done up to this point. If I could establish a system early on so the baseboards on the upper 3 levels could be simply added then it would save much head scratching further down the road.

Peninsula sections temporarily positioned.

Once I had produced the 4 baseboard sections which make up the peninsula I temporarily placed them on plastic storage boxes to try and visualize how I could support them without compromising the levels to come above. It occurred to me that as I had experienced so much success with the steel shelving uprights maybe I could try to incorporate them into the peninsula too. The obvious problem was they are designed to be fixed to a solid surface - something I was missing in this area. The solution came to me eventually. Why not fix 2 uprights to each other back to back and then clip the shelving brackets to them in the normal way? Would it work? There was only one way to find out...Oh My Lords!

After a bit more thinking and some feverish sketching of ideas and a final visit to Screwfix to collect some appropriately sized bolts, I had a working double sided central spine support panel! Hoorah! I hope the following photos are pretty self explanatory. Whilst positioning it the panel is free-standing using the wooden plank at the base and once baseboards are attached either side the height can be adjusted using the plastic feet fitted to the bottom of the timber legs. Once I knew the system worked I produced a second panel to take the weight of the adjoining baseboards and bolted everything together. As a final means of ensuring everything was rock solid I fitted a 18 mm plywood panel at the base of the peninsula which again was fitted with adjustable feet. A few minutes tweaking levels and heights and the peninsula was completed. It is now simply a matter of slotting in shelving brackets and baseboards for the upper levels as I go.

First 2 baseboards are supported by the first panel

Wooden plank makes the panel free-standing until the feet take the weight

Same system for supporting baseboards as used around the walls

Steel uprights are bolted back to back through the plywood panel

The second panel is added and all 4 baseboards are supported

Plywood end panel is fitted at the base of the peninsula

Once all bolts are tightened the structure is solid and self supporting

Detail of end panel fixing

Plywood panels laid temporarily in place.

Tunnel Vision - To bore or not to bore...that is the question

As you will all know by now if you have been reading the updates and not just looking at the pictures, the helix for the layout will be living in it's own structure in the garden next to the garage. You have all been reading the updates and not just looking at the pictures haven't you?...Hmm, yeah right! To try and establish what sort of connection could be made between the structures I have been conducting some simple experiments in the Corkscrew-Lines laboratories...Hellfire!

The requirement is for a pair of double track mainlines to enter the garage from the helix on each of the first 3 levels of the layout. The top level of the layout which carries the storage loops only will be far simpler as only a conventional double track mainline is required. Why do I need to have 2 mainlines stacked on each level? I hear you ask. The lower mainline enters the garage and then circles the room whilst climbing a few inches allowing it to sit on top of the entering tracks before exiting and heading back to the helix. The biggest issue with all this malarkey is the bore of the tunnels will need to be 12" diameter.

Those are significant holes in the wall and I will need to stack 3 of them above each other. Perhaps the easiest solution would be to cut a large aperture into the side of the garage and a corresponding hole in the side of the Helix-House and box in the distance between them. This needs more thought. In the meantime I have used an old 12" diameter tea tray as a prop to visualize how the tracks would look with stock added (in boxes) to ensure there is plenty of clearance. Imagine the tea tray is in fact the end of a pipe joining the buildings and you'll get the idea.

Imagine 2 double track mainlines above each other

Now imagine the tray is in fact a tunnel mouth in the garage wall

Talking of the Helix-House - I have been spending a lot of time lately trying to design a structure which would easily accommodate the helix whilst also taking on the role of a workshop for layout baseboard construction. With the peninsula now fitted, working with large sections of timber in the garage is becoming increasingly tricky. As the structure will also need to replace the existing tiny garden shed for storage of bikes and general garden equipment, it needs to be designed well, hence the protracted head scratching. I will go into far greater depth about the helix-house in later updates once I have finalized matters and appointed a builder. For now, and to get you interested in this final expensive stage, I thought I would share a couple of images of some scale mock-ups I produced to examine the interaction between the structure and the garage. You will hopefully note the intention to construct something that resembles a typical wooden railway platform building...Dreadful! Watch this space people - Hellfire!

The white strips shows a possible outline for the helix-house

Not a massive garden so things need to be considered long and hard

Smaller structure with traditional pent roof as an option

Slightly longer with a flat roof - more headroom for top level tracks

On the Buses

It is not just classic trains that fascinate me. I also have a love of the golden age of the British bus. The multitude of manufacturers, body builders and operators in the 1960s was simply staggering. The vast majority of all three have unfortunately now slipped into history so I am always grateful to the dedicated souls who have devoted so much time and energy in preserving vehicles from the period and keeping them running. Now Mrs Corky and I are once again living in Sussex I had the opportunity to once again visit the excellent Amberley Museum which is normally referred to as the Chalk Pits Museum. This is a fantastic place to visit as it has so many fascinating exhibits, buildings, halls, resident classic vehicles and even a narrow gauge railway network. Back in April a bus running day was organised at the Chalk Pits to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the formation of Southdown. Loads of gorgeous green buses including plenty from the 1950s and 1960s. What's not to like?

As a boy growing up in Basingstoke in the 1970s buses were an integral part of my life. I travelled on them regularly and my older brother was a bus conductor working for Hants & Dorset. I have so many memories of sitting on Bristol FLFs as they slowly wound their way around the town centre and constant roundabouts. I grew up on a diet of Bristols and Leyland Nationals. Then in the late 1970s we had a family holiday to Bognor Regis and my eyes were opened to something very special. Even though it was no longer wearing the classic traditional livery but was covered in drab NBC green, a Southdown Queen Mary was still a magnificent sight. The beautifully proportioned and styled Northern Counties body on the tuneful Titan chassis was surely a combination to rival other works of design genius such as the Routemaster. My love of all things Southdown began then and is as strong today. To that end I have collected some representative vehicles for the Corkscrew-Lines even though I cannot seriously justify their presence based on my chosen geographical area.

The running day was excellent with a large gathering of Southdown vehicles of all ages including some gorgeous Leyland Leopard single deckers and Queen Marys from the 1960s. We were joined by our good friends Jo & Neil and I took far too many photos so picking just a handful for the blog has been difficult. Working on the basis that if you are interested in model railways and classic trains then you will probably also have an interest in buses then I hope you forgive me this omnibus indulgence. The fun didn't stop there though...oh no! We stepped off buses and climbed aboard a rake of coaches and enjoyed being chugged around the Museum by some lovely charismatic narrow gauge locomotives. All in all a great day and we were so impressed we took out annual memberships so we could keep coming back for further events planned this year - watch this space!

Why would you replace this livery?

1964 Leopard with classic Marshall bodywork - Hellfire!

Old and even older!

Bungalow Town - love it!

Amberley bus garage - Hellfire!

Fascinating

Jo & Corky - absolutely gorgeous. Buses aren't too bad either!

Beats a short wheelbase Dennis Dart any day!

1929 Leyland was the last petrol engined British double decker in service.

A fabulous setting for some fabulous vehicles

Bus garage

ECW, Willowbrook and Northern Counties bodies - Hellfire!

Corky the classic bus crank - guilty as charged!

Neil and Sarah. She has a healthy appetite as usual.

New Arrivals on the Corkscrew-Lines

Probably 4 years ago I purchased a Heljan Lion. At the time I wanted to collect an example of all of the prototype diesels that ran on BR in the 1960s and as I already had Kestrel and Falcon it made sense to get Lion too. I knew it was an indulgent purchase as it didn't really fit in with the rest of the fleet but I liked it and wanted it so paid top dollar for it. However, a year or so later I looked at my loco roster and decided it was time to let some locos go to raise some cash for the Dapol Westerns and Class 22s I needed and as Lion just didn't fit in with the other locos in the fleet I sold it via ebay. I sold it for a small profit on the original price so I considered it a good bit of business.

But there was a problem because as another couple of years passed I had an increasing nagging feeling that I really should have a Lion in my roster if only for completeness sake. To put things right I decided to take advantage of a fantastic price from Hattons and last month I once again purchased a Lion only this time £40.00 cheaper than the first time. To complete the early prototype fleet I also picked up a Heljan DP2 for the same bargain £70.00 price - Oh My Lords - Hellfire! They may not be the most heavily utilised locos in the fleet but I'm sure I can create a scenario where comparison trials are being carried out between all of the early contenders for the type 4 and 5 crown over the tortuous banks of the Corkscrew-Lines. Rule One applies...It's my railway so I can run what I like.

Beauty and the beast - but which is which?

A class 50 sound-chip is now required - Dreadful!

Talking of the tortuous banks on the Corkscrew-Lines, as the layout will essentially be one enormous grade climbing about 5ft in total over it's length, it seems wise to assist trains wherever possible in their hernia inducing efforts to lift long trains. To this end I have been starting to stockpile more Powerbase components from DCC Concepts ready for track-laying to commence. And yes, it will commence - Oh ye of little faith!

It's all done with magnets!

The final recent arrivals have been some more engineering wagons ready for ballast workings on the layout. To work alongside my Heljan Dogfish and Bachmann Seacows I have now purchased 3 Mermaid wagons from Flangeway models.

You can never have too many wagons

Full Sized Adventures - The Two Extremes

As always I have been taking the occasional photo of trains wherever I go and over the last couple of months I have amassed quite a collection. I have decided just to show you some shots from the two polar extremes of railway operation. Firstly there are some images taken whilst travelling on the narrow gauge lines during our visit to Amberley followed by some shots of the intensive mainlines heading south from London. My patch as a Mobile Operations Manager includes some of the busiest stations and lines in the country. I have included some recent shots taken at Spa Road and New Cross Gate just south of London Bridge illustrating the changes taking place as part of the Thameslink rebuilding programme and some shots of the areas around Charing Cross and Cannon Street stations. This is where I earn a living responding to incidents and managing faults and failures. Understandably this is a million miles from the type of railway I want to recreate on the Corkscrew-Lines. The last thing I want to recreate is the pressure and dangers of the current electrified spiders web that is the Kent Metro area. I instead want the laid back pleasures of slow trains winding along a secondary mainline with sleepy branch-lines and small industries dotted along the route. There'll be no peak performance measurements, fatality management or track circuit failures to worry about on the Corkscrew-Lines.

The joys of Narrow Gauge at Amberley

Track work continues at Spa Road for the Thamelink Programme

Charing Cross

Hungerford Bridge

New Cross Gate

Bricklayers Arms

Cannon Street

Derelict Cannon Street Signal Box at Borough Market

Miscellaneous Musings

So there you have it, another update which I hope you all enjoyed. I have learnt my lesson and will not be promising anything regarding progress or track laying this time. I fully intend to get stuck into the project as always and also enjoy myself with my full sized adventures, but you'll just have to wait till next time to see what happens - Hellfire!

Last month we had a fantastic holiday in southern Spain which was just what the doctor ordered to counter the pressures of modern living. The good news was we had a great time exploring the area around Nerja with our old friends Heather & Jeff. The bad news was the total lack of full sized train action in the area. I resorted to taking the following shots of the closest things to a train I could find - apologies!

Train of sorts in Frigiliana

Spanish road train in Alhambra

The only train in Nerja - apologies again!

Congratulations!

Using my position of power and authority (it's my blog so I can say and publish what I like) I though I'd publicly congratulate Becky my daughter for taking her first step on the ladder and getting a well deserved promotion. I also want to say happy birthday to Maryann and Bill - my sister in law and brother in law who recently celebrated a significant birthday between them. Don't worry guys, I only have a couple of years to go and I'll be reaching the same milestone too! Interestingly, Bill has managed to carve out a full time career as the world's best Sid James impersonator - remarkable! When he's in full flow it's like Sid is actually in the room with you...absolutely Hellfire!

My two favourite ladies in their natural habitat

The gorgeous Maryann and equally lovely Bill

There you go my lovelies - that's enough for now...you've suffered enough!

That's all for now Folks,

Corky!

Tuesday 12 May 2015