4mm Morfa - The race is run.

[Captain Kernow]

Morfa - Decking

The only slight worry I have is that the different sections of timber I've sourced all appear slightly different in tone in their raw state and I only now realise that my one bit of each test samples may have been inadequate to properly judge how harmonious the final colours may be.

Is that necessarily a bad thing, though? Raw timber can exhibit different hue due to different ages, sources, methods of storage etc....

 

[Neil]

Morfa - A bridge too far

After not much happening for a couple of months the bit is back between the teeth. The first task was to get the revolutionary tramway in a presentable state for the Corris show. The second was to corral puss and his increasingly random crapping to a more manageable zone near the playroom door. As soon as the Corris show was over I realised that when working in the throes of deadline panic my ability to put stuff away evaporates, so a pleasant day was spent tidying up. I've also realised what a mess the expedient magazine bridge looked. Last night half an hour with the glue gun and some corrugated card saw a proper card mock up of the structure completed and installed.

It's been most motivating watching the trains go round and round a tidy layout, particularly because they travel a reasonable distance, in complete contrast to the two small pizzas I took to Corris. No photos as yet but I've been playing with the video function of the camera so

 

[Tappa]

Morfa - A bridge too far

That looks good Neil. Very satisfying to see the train trundle round at sedate pace.

 

[Neil]

Morfa - A bridge too far

..... and some snaps of the cardboard wonder.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

I took an extra five minutes during construction to space out the cross braces at about the spacing that the trestles will be at, as it helps to visualise what the proper bridge will be like. Hope to be able to buy some thin ply for the hidden centre spine of the bridge this weekend at the Llanfair show. I'll be 'assisting' Simon with the Titfield mobile retail therapy unit there.

 

[iploffy]

Morfa - A bridge too far

is the lean on the loco prototypical if it is I like it a little bit of super elevation a topic very rarely modeled but widely used on the real thing. I am very impressed with what you have done more pictures please

 

[Neil]

Morfa - A bridge too far

Thank you, the cant is a happy accident, I had not noticed it till the photos came off the camera. I'm afraid that the track built for Morfa so far is flat as a pancake, what a missed opportunity. I'm not sure that when the proper bridge is built I'll be able to replicate the accidental cant of the cardboard construction. Time to don the thinking cap again.

 

[28ten]

Morfa - A bridge too far

Neil, can you remind me of what the bridge will look like? If there are a lot of identical parts I could wack 'em in the laser

 

[Neil]

Morfa - A bridge too far

Neil, can you remind me of what the bridge will look like? If there are a lot of identical parts I could wack 'em in the laser

Thank you for the fabulous offer offer Cynric but I'm not sure that the accuracy of laser cutting is what I need for the main structure of the bridge. The site on a curve is a bit difficult to define so I've planned to use some deliberately over sized pieces that can be trimmed back to fit. The main deck will have identical-ish longitudinal baulks, but the end spans will be adjusted to fit. Likewise the trestle supports will be jig built over length and cut to fit their individual locations.

I've been looking for suitable photos on the net to illustrate how the bridge might look once complete. Though it represents Barmouth bridge, the site and length on the layout will mean that it'll look closest to that over the Afon Briwet but with a walkway rather than a road alongside the railway.

 

[Ressaldar]

Morfa - A bridge too far

looking very good Neil, especially, as Ian said, the super elevation - could you chamfer some cork at the base of the embankment and then just construct the 'embankment and bridge in the normal way and sit it on that base?

cheers

Mike

 

[Neil]

Morfa - A bridge too far

Thanks for the suggestion Mike, but the bridge will span the estuary and although water flows downhill to the sea I don't want to start introducing slopes in what I hope to be an a flat expanse of water. If I do decide to super elevate then I think thin packing strips under the upper longitudinal baulks (the big bits of wood the chairs will sit on) is the way to go. I'm not convinced the faff will be worth it though.

I could just fit wheels of a slightly smaller diameter to one side of the stock.

 

[Ressaldar]

Morfa - A bridge too far

I could just fit wheels of a slightly smaller diameter to one side of the stock.

would they come from the same part of Wales as the hill sheep who have the shorter legs on one side?

 

[Ressaldar]

Morfa - A bridge too far

I thought that was the Wild Haggis in Scotland..?!? :-[ :

now they would definitely be the BLUE variety

 

[28ten]

Morfa - A bridge too far

Thank you for the fabulous offer offer Cynric but I'm not sure that the accuracy of laser cutting is what I need for the main structure of the bridge. The site on a curve is a bit difficult to define so I've planned to use some deliberately over sized pieces that can be trimmed back to fit. The main deck will have identical-ish longitudinal baulks, but the end spans will be adjusted to fit. Likewise the trestle supports will be jig built over length and cut to fit their individual locations.

I've been looking for suitable photos on the net to illustrate how the bridge might look once complete. Though it represents Barmouth bridge, the site and length on the layout will mean that it'll look closest to that over the Afon Briwet but with a walkway rather than a road alongside the railway.

I know what you mean sometimes it is easier to make it up as you go along than to work out exact dimensions, but if you need any ply strips cutting for the deck or anything else give me a shout  8)

 

[Neil]

Morfa - A bridge too far

Thanks Cynric, I may well take you up on the offer of laser deployment, depending on the style of handrail I choose. If I go for the metal posts and rails of Pont Briwet, it'll be jigs and soldering irons, but the wooden rails that Barmouth Bridge sports would seem to be a natural for zapping out a tracery from thin ply. The current plan is to build the basic structure and then make my mind up. Dithering valves fully open at the moment.

 

[Neil]

Morfa - and it was all going so well

This afternoon I cut a spine for the bridge out of 4mm ply. It came from an old wardrobe back and was the very devil to cut with a craft knife, not at all like the 3mm ply I've had from the model shop before. Anyway this is what it looked liked before tea.



This evening I took the weights off only to find some of the glue had seeped through the gaps and bits of template were now stuck to the deck. I cleaned off the bits of paper then cut some of the longitudinal beams for the edges. It looks as though the fence on my mitre block slipped when cutting the batch as some are longer than others. I've just dunked them in the stain but am heartily brassed off with the bridge at the moment. Sizing up the deck, it looks as though it'll take some bodging to fit. I am tempted to put a match to what I've built of the bridge so far but I'd best wait till I'm less knackered before I decide if it's expensive firelighters or not.

Apologies for introducing negativity into your evening, have a nice picture of something more positive by way of recompense.

 

[Neil]

Morfa - and it was all going so well

My half stuck together confection of coffee stirrers and diy shop square beading has survived the night of the long matches, even accruing some extra wooden sections over the past two days. The deck structure, in it's most basic form is now complete and I can deploy my limited woodworking skills at the trestles. Hoo-bloody-rah.

 

[iploffy]

Morfa - and it was all going so well

Ha Ha Ha Ha who bloody ray well done that man

 

[Simon Dunkley]

Morfa - and it was all going so well

Just a thought, and sorry to make a suggestion after the event, but have you tried using greaseproof paper as a barrier between glued items and the work top, etc?

 

[marsa69]

Morfa - and it was all going so well

Just a thought, and sorry to make a suggestion after the event, but have you tried using greaseproof paper as a barrier between glued items and the work top, etc?

'Ere! Who ordered this stable door? 

 

[Neil]

Morfa - back from the brink

Here we go, the bridge deck sort of in place. I'll need to fiddle with the wooden abutments each end to improve the way that the deck fits the curved space (if something that's really nothing can be said to have volume and shape) and the deck itself so that it sits 1mm lower to allow for the longitudinal timbers on which the rails will sit.

Here's the equivalent of three thousand further words.