Update No.52 - 31.01.15

Hello again boys and girls...Corky here!  It seems only yesterday that we were all preparing for Christmas and now here we are with January already rapidly drawing to a close.  This promises to be the most exciting year ever for the Corkscrew-Lines as construction is once again well and truly under way after a hiatus of probably 2 years.  Thank you everyone for your continuing patience as the Jones family finally gets itself settled into a new home able to accommodate the layout.  I hope you will agree as 2015 unfolds that it was worth the wait as my always overly ambitious plans (surely not!) start to bear fruit...Oh My Lords!

Now that's more like it - Corkscrew-Lines Mk2 has begun!...Hellfire!

"So Corky - What have you been up to?"

Well It's very kind of you all to ask and I'm sure you'll be delighted to hear that I've been beavering away in the garage at every opportunity and the room now is transformed compared to just a month ago.  I think the best place to start in describing progress is to explain why I have decided to abandon (although not completely) my previous successful system of using free-standing plywood end support panels to hold the baseboard sections.  

The key benefit to the original system (Which was fully described in an article in Hornby Magazine Jan 2012) was you did not need to place any weight on the walls of the building where the layout was housed because the plywood end panels took all the weight of the 4 baseboard levels.  The other significant advantage the original system had was it's flexibility to be taken apart and rehoused in a new property if required.  Although time consuming, you could simply unbolt all the layout sections and then reassemble in a new house.  I knew the system worked and with a few modifications, I could certainly have simply continued to use it in the new garage.  However, I wanted to investigate any alternatives which would retain the flexibility of the old system but add some extra benefits for the new location for the Corkscrew-Lines Mk2. 

In the new garage I knew exactly where all of the hidden stud-work timbers were because I had taken accurate measurements as the conversion work took place.  I knew how many vertical studs there were and I knew there were dozens on each wall so I had no concerns about fixing the layout to the walls and letting the building structure take the strain.  So having decided the layout no longer necessarily needed to be free-standing, I then needed to find a system which could still use my existing baseboard sections and still give me the essential 4 independent layout levels.  If an alternative system could be erected quickly, easily and relatively cheaply then all the better.  After much research the obvious solution was metal twin-slot shelving.

Twin-slot metal shelving - And lots of it!...Dreadful!

Twin-slot shelving has been around for decades and I have used it in cupboards for storage many times in the past.  It is constructed of steel and is incredibly accurate and strong.  The matching inter-locking metal brackets are available in numerous lengths and will take an incredible load before failing and subject to spreading the load evenly between adjoining sections, I would never even come close to putting a strain on the system with my lightweight baseboards.  Other benefits are the ability to constantly adjust baseboard heights if needed simply by unclipping and moving the brackets and the speed with which the uprights and shelves can be installed - literally a couple of minutes. 

OK, so what are the disadvantages?  Well, if you were to purchase the number of uprights and brackets I need in a high street store then this is an extremely expensive system and it is unlikely you would be able to find exactly the correct quantity or length of upright and bracket you require.  The other major issue is for the system to work well then it needs to be be very accurately installed so every bracket is at the same height as it's neighbours.  You may be able to retain accuracy using a spirit level over a small section of one wall but that is almost impossible to maintain with any notion of accuracy when covering 4 walls of 16ft length.  So two major problems - cost and accuracy.  The first issue was dealt with very quickly by doing what the retailers do and purchasing the uprights (1980mm) and brackets (610mm & 470mm) direct from the manufacturer in bulk with free postage and overnight delivery.  My calculations show I spent just over a couple of pounds per upright and a similar amount for the brackets.  This is not an expensive option with prices like these when tackling a project of this size.

Another bulk pack of 20x 1980mm uprights ready to install

So that just leaves the question of accuracy when installing the uprights.  Simply measuring a constant height from the floor or the ceiling before fitting an upright was not accurate enough as there are very small differences, as with most rooms, from one side of the room to the other.  I needed a precise and true level around the entire room to use as a datum level for fitting the uprights.  The easy solution was a laser level and after yet more research I invested in the Bosch PLL360 cross line model.  Even with internet deals, this was a not insignificant £100 purchase but it has proven to be one of the best tools I have ever owned.  The level is set on top of a tripod (my current photographic tripod was perfect) and switched on.  It automatically finds a true horizontal and vertical level and projects a laser line around the room.  Once I had lined up the horizontal level to a screw hole on the metal uprights and then marked the position of the hidden wall studs I had a perfectly accurate position for the first fixing screw for each upright right around the room...Absolutely Hellfire!  Just be careful you don't project a laser cross-line out of the window because any neighbour walking past will think he's been targeted by a sniper!

Laser cross-lines being projected around the room - Brilliant!

Bosch PLL360 - What a fantastic piece of kit!

The next stage is buying sufficient quantities of screws (chunky 4" wood-screws in this instance) and making sure your cordless drill has enough battery charge to drive the screws into the timber studs.  I made sure all electrical wiring was installed from ceiling height to hang between the studs so I had no fears about drilling into any wires.  With no potentially dangerous wiring mishaps to worry about you simply line up the first upright with the fixing marks on the wall, pick up a screw and away you go.  It literally takes a couple of minutes to fix an upright with all 6 securing screws and you know that not only is it precisely lined up with it's neighbour, but it will also be able to take an incredible weight...an absolutely fantastic system.

Watch what you are doing Corky! Dreadful!

There's something very satisfying about boxes of screws!

Uprights fitted to almost every stud - rock solid.

Wibble fits another upright - Good Old Boy!

First sections of baseboard loosely placed

Scenic heights and options being considered

South wall with most uprights fitted

So far I have fitted the metal uprights to the north and south walls and partially completed the east wall and I am starting to loosely place the baseboard sections onto the brackets. The baseboards will need to be secured to each other and their corresponding brackets and then be tweaked for any minor differences in dimensions and depth.  I will get serious about doing this once I have constructed the final infill baseboards to fill the inevitable gaps in the 16ft wall lengths.  The first priority is to get all of the original baseboards loosely fitted onto brackets to free up the centre of the garage.  Once that is done I can think about either starting work on the peninsula sections or starting to lay some track around the walls.  Track laying sounds more tempting right now because I want to finally get a train running somewhere on the layout.  Anyway, the next few shots show Corky and the one and only Wibble who very generously came to Jones-Towers last weekend to help with the shelving.  The eagle eyed amongst you will notice the tunnel mouths...I am starting to think about where the access tunnels to the "helix-house" will be located - Hellfire!

Meanwhile..."Back in the Ned-Cave"

 

I am pleased to report completion of the trolley base for the spray booth.  Once the castors were fitted and it was given a few coats of black paint it was taken upstairs to the Ned-Cave and positioned underneath the velux window.  The exhaust vent tubes easily extend up and out of the open window and the compressor sits perfectly on the lower shelf so all is now ready for me to commence painting and weathering by airbrush when the mood takes me.  I don't anticipate starting any serious spraying until I have got some trains running on the layout so this is probably something for much later in the year.  Nice to know the spray booth is now finished and ready for use though.

Spray Booth installed

Spray fumes venting through velux window

In the last update I mentioned I was toying with the idea of constructing a large scale model of the real garage to use as a 3D tool to help me when planning the layout. Well the more I thought about it the more I realised what a great idea it was so I went ahead and constructed it.  Using artists mounting board I drew out a 5mm squared grid with each square representing an actual 2" square on the layout. I then produced matching walls with a scaled 1ft square grid and stuck them all together.  Because I will probably be using this aid for many years to come I decided to go the extra mile and reinforce the exterior with foamboard sections and duct tape.  It may not be pretty but it will make producing scale trackplans and illustrations of clearances and gradients far easier.  Being able to fully understand and then modify proposed plans before too much time is wasted constructing the full size layout has to be a great idea.  Once I have produced my first trackplan for the lowest level I will try it out in the garage model and take some photos to share with you all.

 

New Arrivals on the Corkscrew-Lines

Only a couple of new items to report and they were actually Christmas presents.  I may not have spent any money on models but the ironmongery expenditure has certainly risen recently...Oops!  The ever welcome Hornby Magazine Yearbook helped pass the time in those post Christmas weeks as did the fantastic Colours of the South Downs which is crammed full of 1960s scenes in Sussex of Southdown, B&H, Eastbourne and Portsmouth buses and trolleybuses - Dreadful!

Full Sized Adventures
 

Just before Christmas I returned to my home town of Basingstoke (it's not my fault!) and visited my brother for the day.  I always like to wander around the station to see what has changed since my last visit.  I suppose it's because of all those rose tinted specs days spent back in the 80s taking photographs of "proper" trains that I am still surprised and disappointed by the lack of anything interesting to look at these days.  Three photos encapsulate this quite nicely.  An almost inevitable class 66 with a train of new Ford vehicles followed by a class 150 working the shuttle to Reading and finally a class 159 with an Exeter to Waterloo working.  Incidentally interestingly that the last two shots show the first numbered members of their sub-classes.  Nobody can convince me these trains wouldn't be improved by substituting the current traction for one of the ubiquitous class 47s, Thumpers or mighty Class 50s that worked these same services back in the day!

Continuing with the contemporary southern scene theme for a little longer, I was pleasantly surprised whilst making one of my frequent trips to Brighton to find a "proper" (albeit garish) train waiting under the magnificent train shed.  I mentioned the eagerly anticipated Dapol class 73 a couple of updates ago and sights like this make me want the model version even more.  I feel I should clarify that I want my versions in correct early green and electric blue liveries with just a tiny fraction of the yellow used on the pair pictured below!

Yet more Brighton line action with a few shots taken at Burgess Hill of the now all conquering class 377 units...or are they?  As with everything about the Railway, everything is constantly evolving and changing so the unit in the foreground of the first shot is actually a class 387...the latest evolution of the series.  I take shots of trains today because in only a couple of decades what is shiny and new now will be endangered and on borrowed time.  Imagine if all of the photographers taking photographs of the last days of steam had all hung up their cameras when the first diesels arrived.  Actually, most did, but thankfully a few more open minded souls continued to stand at the side of the line  and I am eternally grateful because I am the one benefiting from their archives now.  So I give you photos of the current Brighton line unit scene.  It goes without saying that the doors should really slam and not slide and the compressors should shake the entire unit...those were the days eh?   

 

One of the benefits of having a free roaming role in the capital is I can legitimately visit so many of the top tourist sites in London as part of my daily duties.  A couple of weeks ago I thought the light looked good so I ventured onto the normally quiet Southwark Bridge to take a few shots of one of the stations I am responsible for - Cannon Street.  The final view is the magnificent St Pancras station seen from one of the side roads leading off Euston Road.  I had just been to see the railway doctor in nearby Grays Inn Road who had confirmed I had recovered sufficiently to resume normal duties...Corky is fixed!

Visiting Corkettes

You've already seen that Wibble popped down to the Corkscrew-Lines last week.  Other Corkscrew luminaries who have been seen in these parts over the last few weeks include Gibsy-Wibsy & Debbie, the extraordinary Johnny "Napier-Boy" Herbert and our great friends from the frozen Lincolnshire Fenlands...Lord & Lady Dowsby.  They used public transport rather than bring the Bentley as they didn't want to pay their chauffeur weekend overtime rates. 

Corky's Corkscrew-Lines Master Plan

Phase One - Finish Conversion of Double Garage to Layout Room - Completed

Phase Two - Fit twin-slot shelving system around Layout Room - Started

Phase Three - Baseboards erected around perimeter of Layout Room - Started

Phase Four - Construct Base and lower turns of Helix

Phase Five - Track-laying begins & return loops (Turbo-Banjos) installed for continuous running

Phase Six - Helix House constructed in garden

Phase Seven - Tunnels constructed linking Helix House and Layout Room - Through running 

Miscellaneous Musings!

OK so we are nearly at the end of the first update of 2015.  I hope you get the idea of the metal shelving system and I will provide more detail regarding adapting and fixing the baseboards in future updates.  I have made great progress in the last month but regrettably this will now slow slightly as for all of February I will be on another Network Rail training course with a consequential loss of modelling time.  Hopefully I will make enough progress to warrant another update next month but don't hold your breath!

To finish I thought I'd share some images of products widely available from manufacturers who have blatantly taken my name as a cynical means to generate more sales! - Cheek!

And finally - no really this time!  I thought I'd share some images taken last Monday at Leavesden Studios near Watford...the home of the Harry Potter movie studios.  It was my daughter's birthday and she wanted to go - so we did.  It was totally Hellfire and for committed Potter fans like us it was absolutely fascinating.  So what is my tenuous link to the Corkscrew-Lines? I hear you all shout.  Well a 1960s Ford Anglia and a triple decker RT bus should surely be enough!  Happy birthday once again Bex...it was a dreadful day! 

That's all for now Folks!

Corky!