B A S E D O N B R I M S C O M B E
Early in January 2018 work started on separating the 'new' goods yard built on the rump of the old reversing loop from the main part of the benchwork running along the back of the barn. Work progressed far more rapidly than predicted, a total movement of around 4' 0" being achieved by the end of the day. Compare the above view of the old layout taken in 2017 with the same area seen in December 2020 with the void boxed in, baseboards being cut back and station area under development.
|
|
|
RIGHT: With track, pointwork and cork underlay lifted, and all wiring cut through, the join between the main staging and the rump of the reversing loop is clearly seen. FAR RIGHT: With all connecting wiring cut through and screws and other fixings removed, it was time to gradually ease the old staging (and supporting legs) away from the main benchwork. The gap is around 18" at this stage. |
|
|
|
|
Separation complete ! As the supporting legs were still attached to the staging it had to be effectively 'walked' into position until roughly 4' 0" clear of the benchwork. Some of this work was detailed in the first issue of Lineside Look. The extent of the 'new' goods yard built on the rump of the reversing loop can be seen here - initial thoughts were to keep this as a separate shunting layout, although this proved impractical. Over the next few weeks track, points, motors, wiring and any other useful ancillary parts were stripped and the staging and legs dismantled. From the start it was always part of the overall plan to recycle as much recovered material as possible into the new layout. |
|
BOXING CLEVER . . . One of the first tasks after separating the yard from the main staging was to begin boxing in the void at the back of the layout, below the corrugated asbestos cement cladding. Due to Health & Safety concerns over the cladding, a well braced wooden framework of reclaimed 2" x 1" timber was erected and securely screwed to the baseboard surface (below left), avoiding any disturbance to the asbestos cement sheeting. The framework was then clad with 8' x 4' sheets of 9mm MDF, each sheet first being sawn lengthways to give two 24" deep sheets (below, centre). When fixed to the wooden framework, the MDF sheets stand proud of the cladding, again to avoid any disturbance, giving a total length of some 46'. The finished backscene was then painted with Dulux vinyl matt 'Celestial Clouds' - a very light blue - giving a good representation of a slightly overcast blue sky (under daylight balanced fluorescent lighting). The 2' high backscene will eventually be continued around the curve which leads to St Mary's Crossing (and on to Sapperton tunnel). |
|
|
|
|
ABOVE RIGHT: The station area being blocked in. The staging to the right of the yellow tape was later dismantled and new 'L' girder construction used to carry the tracks around to Brimscombe's new storage roads. LEFT: Staging dismantled and tape marking out the rough position of the new 'L' girder section. Again, this used recycled material from the old layout. BELOW: Framework for the new storage roads being erected. The staging for the storage roads is 3' 0" wide - wide enough for eight storage loops and two through running lines - so should be capable of handling 20 or so trains, far more than could be handled on Gifford Street. Although timber from the dismantled shunting yard was re-used in the framework for the storage roads, a small quantity of new material was also required, including 9mm plywood sheet for the top surface. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By late August 2018 the major construction work was complete. As already mentioned, a significant feature of construction was the re-use or recycling of as much previously used timber as possible. Note I've said 'previously used' and not 'old' - although some timber was rejected because of warping, knots, splits or shakes etc, old timber of unknown origin may have woodworm or other far worse contaminents lurking and should be avoided. Four 8' x 4' sheets of MDF were required for the backscene (one and a half sheets being used for a partition next door - although even these will be ultimately recycled into the layout), the only other new material required amounted to two 8' x 4' sheets of 9mm ply for the staging yard, and 8m of 2" x 1" and few metres of 3" x 1" PSE softwood for the 'L'-girder section. For a long time I had wanted to try this form of construction which is ideally suited to large and permanent layouts, especially if your woodworking skills (or lack of them) are like mine. The cross bearers don't need cutting to exact size but can be trimmed back later to give a flowing edge to the layout. The track bed was also cut and assembled from recycled ply after any remaining ballast and cork, etc, had been cleaned off. |
|
|
Although not slavishly following the prototype, the exit from the scenic part of the layout into the storage roads presented a particular problem. On the full size railway the line, along with Brimscombe West Signal Box runs on an embankment that continues across a stone viaduct over the Thames & Severn canal, more or less at the point where the scenic divide is. Initial thoughts were to model the arrangement at Brimscombe Bridge Halt - a bit further back towards Stroud and Gloucester. However, even with the generous amount of space available in the barn, the inevitable compression of distance and the need to get the tracks 'offstage' into the storage roads without a lot of pointwork intruding into the scenic section meant this would not be possible. Much time was spent trying out different (and ultimately unsatisfactory) arrangements of various types of buildings and bridges. Eventually the 'KISS' (Keep It Simple, Stupid) approach prevailed and a suitable and fairly non-descript bridge (actually a mirror image of that at Hatton Junction) was chosen to provide a suitable disguise for the scenic break. This has a plate girder spanning the main lines and a brick arch across the yard track. LL |
© 2021 John E Emerson and not to be reproduced in any physical or electronic form without express written permission of the author.
B A S E D O N B R I M S C O M B E