PEMRC Newsletter "The Turntable" March 2022

Newsletter of the

PORT ELIZABETH MODEL RAILROAD CLUB Every gauge welcome!

March 2022

Locomotive back shop modelling photos – read the build blog with lots of pictures and detail!

IN THIS ISSUE: PEMRC Calendar Market Place

Committee 2022

The Festival of British Railway Modelling 2022

The “Thirty Minute/Three Hour” Rule Stanier Black 5

From the Chairman

Tunnels

Life Size Tunnel Gallery

Track Planning

Jim Ferguson’s Great Northern Railroad NMRA Standards

Modelling

Tunnels

PEMRC Layout Visit

PEMRC Meetings/Workshops

PEMLS Event

PEMRC CALENDAR Date

Time

Sun

March

6

2022

19

19-20

26

March 2022 March 2022 March 2022

Sun

April

3

2022

9

15-18

16

30

April 2022 April 2022 April 2022 April 2022

Sun

May

1

2022

9-13

9:00

Detail PEMLS Public running day P E Model Locomotive Society Londt Park, Sunridge Park PEMRC visit at: Mike Parsons, 18 Mowbray St Newton Park The London Festival of Railway Modelling

All day

9:00

9-13

tba

All day

9:00

9:00

9-13

Alexandra palace, London, UK 40 working layouts hand-picked by the Model Railway Club All major gauges and scales catered for Workshop at Mike van Zyl 13 Lionel Rd, Walmer Downs PEMLS Public running day P E Model Locomotive Society Londt Park, Sunridge Park PEMRC layout visit at: tba Sandstone Easter 2022 Festival of Steam Trains www.sandstone-estates.com PEMRC visit at: Mike Parsons, 18 Mowbray St Newton Park Workshop at Mike van Zyl 13 Lionel Rd, Walmer Downs PEMLS Public running day P E Model Locomotive Society Londt Park, Sunridge Park

COMMITTEE 2022: Chairman: Mike Smout

ma.smout@mweb.co.za

082 801 1347

Treasurer: Attie Terblanche

terblalc@telkomsa.net

082 532 3670

Clubhouse: JP Kruger

juanpierrekruger@gmail.com

082 321 2233

Editor:

pemrailroadclub@gmail.com

082 739 7679

Workshop’ & Shop: Mike van Zyl

carpencab@gmail.com

073 374 3280

Layout visits: Graham Chapman

chapman22@telkomsa.net

072 103 4625

Library:

Roel van Oudheusden

Pierre van Loggerenberg pierrevanloggerenberg3@gmail.com

084 802 3831

Subscriptions for 2022 are R500 for the year. EFT is preferred, but the Treasurer may accept cash.

Bank account: FNB Walmer Park, branch code 211417, Account no. 62386122057

FROM THE CHAIRMAN Hi to all the model rail enthusiasts who read this. Once again I find myself in the Chair and I plan to use the newsletter to keep folk informed about what is going on and what plans are afoot for the Club.

As I see it, my main task is to re-build the Club. Being without a place to set up our layout and run trains and not being able to visit members layouts because of the Covid protocols, has reduced Club activities close to zero. We have been very lucky to have Roel producing a superb newsletter each month and the WhatsApp group has made it easy for members to communicate but we have not been running trains. So, how to rebuild the Club?

1. Build a Clubhouse. We have an agreement with the Model Loco Society that we join them as Associate Members and erect a Clubhouse in their section of Londt Park. A site has been selected – in the northeastern corner of the Model Locomotive Society grounds behind their carriage storage unit – and plans for the Clubhouse have been submitted to the Metro authorities. Getting the plans passed is likely to take a few months but we hear that the backlog in the Planning Department is much reduced. Now we just have to wait. We owe a major vote of thanks to JP Kruger who has put in many hours working pro bono in order to compensate the architects who developed the plans. Planning a wooden structure which meets all the safety regulations required when the public will be admitted, was not an easy task.

2. Find a temporary clubhouse. If we can find a temporary site in which to set up our layout, run trains and chat over a coffee, it will be a step in the right direction. With this in mind, I have had a chat with Ian Olivier of Pam Golding (we built the first Clubhouse on his property) and he has asked all his agents to keep a lookout for suitable premises at a modest rent. We need a space at least 9m long and 6m+ wide. I have also approached the Management of the Moffett on Main Centre about us using one of their empty shops as a temporary Clubhouse. The local agent was very positive and my request has been forwarded to Joburg Skyscraper, the company which has just bought the Centre. Please help your Club by keeping an eye out for a suitable empty space which we could use for at least 6 months. If you see a possibility please contact me.

In the meantime, Mike van Zyl has kindly offered to host a monthly meeting at his home. Watch the Newsletter for dates. Mike is keen to focus the chat on matters relating to our hobby – it’s a sort of ‘show and tell’ – so bring something to show us or tell us about your latest modelling project.

3. Money, subscriptions and membership. These three issues are all part of the same story. At the time of writing, the Club has R7264 in the current account and R210 774 in a Money Market account. This is a healthy sum for a small Club but not enough to build the Clubhouse as planned. The contingency plan is to

put in the full spread of foundation poles but only erect 2/3 of the structure if that is all we can afford. I am reasonably confident that we can raise further funds but the bottom line is that we need every Rand that we can get.

Our only source of income at present is the annual subscription. Once we have the Clubhouse up and running we expect to have income from open days at Londt Park and also from the Shop which used to function so effectively in the old Clubhouse. The subscription was set at R500 p.a. at the recent AGM and this is only a fraction more than R40 per month. If you would like to pay in two half-year instalments of R250 that is fine. Further, we are aware that some members are starting to outlive their pensions. If a member has a problem paying the full subscription then he should have a quiet chat with me or with Attie Terblanche our Treasurer. Please make your EFT payments to the Club FNB current account No 62386122057.

When we start building the Clubhouse, the current PEMRC members join the Loco Society as Associate Members. At that point the PEMRC ceases to exist as a separate club (although we will keep our bank account in the PEMRC name) and we become a specific interest group within the Loco Society. We will have to provide a list of our members and pay across the relevant membership subscriptions. The list provided to the Loco Society will only include the names of those persons who have paid at least R250 of their 2022 subscription. These are the persons who will have full access to the new Clubhouse and the Loco Society facilities.

4. Naming. On a lighter note, we will have to decide what label we put on ourselves and the new structure.

One suggestion is the ‘Small Scale Group’ who run trains in the ‘Small Scale Shed’. Give it some thought and come up with some better ideas.

Mike Smout – March 22

MARKET PLACE

Members can advertise their model rail related items here for free; All others pay a 10% donation of the proceeds to PEMRC.

Mike van Zyl is assisting Christopher Beling to sell the model railway collection of his deceased dad Mike Beling. Therefore now contact Mike on 073 374 3280 to view and make your offer.

The advert originally appeared in the Dec 2021 issue of The Turntable; here are a few more images which have also been circulated on the WhatsApp group on 14 Feb.2022

The Festival of British Railway Modelling 2022 All the layouts filmed at the Doncaster Model Railway Show 2022. Layouts In order of appearance: 00:00 Intro 00:09 Falcon Road (O) 03:11 Alderford (OO) 06:02 Bluebell Summit (N) 07:45 Grantham (OO) 09:31 Little Salkeld (N) 11:08 Burnroyd Works (OO) 13:35 Whithorn (OO) 14:47 Dawes Road (O) 15:14 Croft Spa (N) 15:43 Little Burford (O) 16:35 Roxby Road (N) 18:01 Witham (OO) 19:36 Sandy Bay (N) 19:59 Chalfont (G3) 20:41 Modbury Torr (3MM) 21:43 Ladmanlow Sidings (OO) 22:17 The Old Quarry (OO9) 22:46 Loctern Quay (OO9) 23:04 Leysdown (P4) 23:47 Woodcroft (EM) 24:18 Heybridge Wharf (3MM) 24:29 Knot Littlefield (N) 24:55 Hartley Poole Too (N) 25:26 South Town (OO) 26:00 Sheepcroft (EM) 26:23 Fall Mill (OO9) 26:34 Humphrey Rd Sidings (OO)

With thanks to Warners Shows and Exhibitions.

TRACK PLANNING: 10 TRICKS THAT ENHANCE EVERY TRACK PLAN! Anyone who says a track plan must also say the track layout: When presenting layouts, I often notice that the idea is good, the technology is suspicious of the Nobel Prize in Physics, and the substructure is a credit to every master carpenter's certificate - but the layout of the route is based on the most fundamental principles neglected in the design. The course of the route is the freestyle in plant construction. But don't worry, everything will be fine: #1: No soft zigzag I still have no idea how you

can

NOT

see

something like that. So turn the switches around - it looks a lot better. Is more reliable and there is more

length

for

the

sidings on top of that.

#2: Layout design is a matter of perspective Include

the

preferred

viewpoint in the planning.

Applies especially to the parade route. A curved track facing the viewer looks better than the other way around. Why? a)

Wagons

appear

more closely coupled b)

A

train

approaching the viewer is more impressive than vice versa

Mini World Models Shop online and use this special coupon to claim your unique discount

PEMRC

member

#3: Proper elevation when building scenery The correct graduation of the height is very important when

building a model

railway.

From

your

preferred vantage point, the terrain rises from front to back, not the other way around. After all, we want to see as much of our trains as possible!

The graphic shows two crossing tracks with a bridge. The surface coordinates are identical in each case.

Only the height arrangement varies. In the first example, the railway embankment from the higher track in front obscures the view of the lower track behind it. Of course, the same applies to track overhangs, landscapes and mountains. # 4: No tracks parallel to the edge of the layout A

classic

among

the

"Model railway rules".

A rule that I am always happy to break.

#5: Incline is relative One of the most stubborn rumours when building a facility is that an incline of more than 2.5% is too much.

The truth is, it depends. Of course, in principle it is correct to build gradients that are as small as possible.

This applies regardless of whether the construction is designed as a spiral track or straight. But the recommendation is useless for small model railway systems. A gradient of 2.5% means that a track length or route of 200 cm is required for a 5 cm difference in height. And a height of 5 cm is also quickly reached in N-gauge: 4 cm clearance height net, plus an additional 1 cm depending on the thickness of the line/level above. With catenary it can be even more.

Solution: If a locomotive doesn't have to pull more than 2 - 3 two-axle wagons anyway, then a 5% incline is OK. And trick: Instead of just one track with an incline and

an

overpass, think

about an underpass at the same time. If the opposite track also has a slope, then the space requirement is reduced # 6: Conceal tight radii when building terrain Optical illusion? The track layout in the example above is exactly the same! rest

is

tunnels,

The

self-explanatory: parts

of

the

landscape, even buildings can be used to conceal ugly tight curve radii. Building a model railway applies here in the truest sense of the word.

#7: No S-curve without an intermediate straight

Long trains will thank you.

It looks better and prevents derailments.

#8: Curved turnouts are ‘evil’ Applies at least in the radii R1 / R2.

Reason: Increased risk of derailment.

With a bit of puzzling, alternatives can often be found.

#9: Find alternatives for double slip switches Exceptions prove the rule, but many manufacturers like to derail trains here too. OK, sometimes you can't do without the DKW; (“Doppelkreuzweiche”), but the space requirement of alternatives is not that much larger.

Tip: Some manufacturers have So-called

“hosenträger”

(suspenders or braces) in their range (= double track changes with

integrated

single

crossing), such as KATO or Peco for N gauge

Dream trains No shipping costs for combined orders of R2000 or more.

Shop online and fill your cart, even if less than R2000, then contact PEMRC Graham Chapman, to combine your order with fellow club members and all will save.

# 10: Wide radii, generous route Or again: no zigzag. Sure, advanced hobbyists lay flex tracks anyway. True experts even with a mathematically calculated steering radius + true-to-scale curve bank.

But "no zigzag" also applies - and above all! - when using the standard tracks of the usual model railway manufacturers.

The

explanatory

graphic

shows two examples with standard tracks. Once with Radius R2, once with R4.

The start and end point of the route are always the same.

What looks more pleasing is obvious. # 10: Wide radii, generous track course

Visit http://www.modellbahn-traumanlagen.de/anlagenbau.htm for more ideas and inspiration.

Contact Chris Lourens: chris.modelscenic@gmail.com

THE “THIRTY MINUTE/THREE HOUR” RULE When it comes to model railroad operations, I’ve noticed what I call the “thirty minute/three hour rule” or, as Captain Jack Sparrow would say, “Guideline”. It has to do with how long the average person can run before burnout, boredom, or both sets in and they’ve had enough.

The thirty minute guideline applies to running solo on your layout, something I encourage for a few reasons.

When running trains by yourself I’ve found that after about a half an hour you’ve had your fill. You may want to have another go at it later in the day or again the next day but that’s about the limit in one sitting.

The three hour rule refers to more formal, more organized group sessions. Even then, after two and half to three hours the novelty has worn off, you’ve had your fun, and you’re ready to take a break and go out to dinner with your group.

These attention span limits have a direct bearing on layout design, specifically how much operational capacity we design into our model railroads. If you plan to run primarily by yourself, which is generally the case, and you have a thirty minute attention span, do you need to build in enough capacity to host a five hour session? You may want to have enough action to support an occasional group session but even then it’s easy to go overboard.

By “capacity” I mean track arrangements, train counts, and turnout and industrial quantities. It makes sense to build in some cushion for variety but, if you go overboard, you pay the price in a few areas. First, the track will become overly congested, the scenes will be too close together, and realism will suffer. Then there’s cost. Extra track and structures cost money. Finally is build time. No layout is every totally “done” but taken to the extreme overly dense plans run the risk of the builder getting bogged down trying to build a vision that, even if completed, can’t be absorbed. You can all too easily hit the point of diminishing returns. Be aware of that during the design phase.

With a little forethought in terms of industry selection it doesn’t take an enormous amount of track or turnouts to spin out a three hour session. Selecting industries that are car spot dependent (requiring that a car be dropped at a specific “spot” within the industry) adds interest and time. Implementing just a few prototype practices such as splitting trains for crossings, brake tests, etc. adds time as well and you don’t need to take to the extreme where enjoyment suffers. (I go into more detail on prototype practices in my operations book).

Shown above is the track plan for my Downtown Spur layout.

Some of its stats may serve as a helpful guide. Note that there are only thirteen industrial switches plus two more on the run around. There are only eleven industries (many on the plan are no longer rail served) plus some team tracks. Surprisingly, this relatively modest turnout count still spins out a very pleasant, leisurely three hour operating session. Had I incorporated any additional industries the appearance of the layout would have suffered and the capacity they would have added would have gone unused. In summary, be cognizant during the design phase of the types of industries you choose to model as well as the total turnout count it takes to create your desired operating session length. Build in a small cushion for variety and then leave it at that. https://www.shelflayouts.com/post/the-thirty-minute-three-hour-rule Ferrous Processing and Trading's Trackmobile pulls a cut of empty gons (gondolas) to be spotted inside its scrap facility located alongside CSX's Downtown Spur in Miami. Scrap steel is ground into baseball size chunks and then loaded into the gondolas for shipment.

The

scene

photographed

on

was Lance

Mindheim's Downtown Spur layout.

More

images

of

Lance's

model railroad can be found at: www.lancemindheim.com

JIM FERGUSON’S GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD

A world class layoutover two decades in the making…

Eaton

switchers

leaving

Hickcox

Publishing spur Jim working the Morningside Yard

Left: GN RS 1 1831 crossing the Lost River trestle bridge Read the whole 17 page story plus reader’s feedback here

Eastbound

freight

crossing

the

Moose

River

Bridge whilst a Woody waits for a pair of F units to clear the crossing.

Major Lumber Co. Shay 8 backing a load of logs at Shasta, WA.

Read the whole 17 page story plus readers’ feedback online at MRH here

LMS, Class 5MT, 4-6-0, 5089 – STANIER BLACK 5 If ever a locomotive deserves the description of 'ubiquitous' it the London, Midland and Scottish Railway's mixed traffic, medium powered Class 5 locomotives which were designed by Sir William Stanier and universally referred to as "Black Fives'.

BR, Stanier 5MT 'Black 5', 4-6-0, 44726 with Steam Generator - Era 5 Adding to the rise of modern model locomotive innovation, this steam locomotive is installed with a steam generator, with the ability to produce great clouds of steam which will billow through the locomotive’s chimney. Bring life and realism to your layout with this terrific model. Featuring a remarkable flickering firebox, lit lamp codes and includes a DCC sound decoder 1:76 Scale - 00 Gauge Compatible Stanier, who had previously been the Works Manager at the GWR Works at Swindon, realized that there was a need for larger locomotives with greater pulling power on the LMS and, using his experience gained at Swindon, took inspiration from the GWR Hall Class locomotives. Initially twenty were ordered from the Crewe Works and a further eighty from the Vulcan Foundry with the numbering starting from 5000. The first locomotive to be completed was actually engine No.5020 in 1934 which was built at the Vulcan Foundry whilst locomotive No.5000, the first Crewe built example, did not emerge until 1935.

Construction was carried out at a variety of locations in time; Crewe, Horwich, and Derby works all built numbers of the class and outside contractors, Armstrong Whitworth and the Vulcan Foundry also built considerable numbers. Armstrong Whitworth constructed no less than 327 of them, a huge number for an outside contractor and the firm landed the largest single locomotive order ever given by a British railway company to an outside contractor, when the LMS ordered a block of 227 'Black Fives' from them in 1936.

The original examples were built without a dome, with straight throatplace boilers and a low degree superheat but wartime restrictions halted the construction of the Class, with No.5471 being the last produced for five years.

An immaculate Stanier Black 5 eases into Glyndyfrdwy en-route to Carrog. © Christopher Ashley In April 1943 production recommenced with the workshops at Derby, Crewe and Horwich producing batches every year until 1951, these post war examples being built with George Ivatt's forward top feed type boilers.

There were a number of additional detail variations in the locomotives during and after manufacture with modifications introduced in 1948 by George Ivatt, which included changes to bearings and the introduction of Caprotti valve gear. A total of 842 Class 5 locomotives were built between 1934 and 1952, of which only five were named, all after Scottish regiments. The class were probably the most widely used steam locomotive to operate in the United Kingdom, operating the S&DJR route from Bath to Bournemouth, the route from Bristol to Birmingham, routes across the LMS region, out along the old Highland Railway's Scottish west coast routes and right up to the tip of Scotland, to Wick & Thurso, on the former Great North of Scotland lines. Their ability to handle an enormous variety of duties with consummate ease made them popular not only with the traffic departments, but also with the crews who worked on them and it was fitting that, on August 4, 1968, 'Black Five' No.45212 headed up the last steam hauled timetabled passenger train on British Railways. Built as 5089 at the Vulcan Foundry in April 1935, the locomotive entered traffic on April 14th, allocated to Crewe Shed followed six months later by a move to Sheffield.

Like the majority of the 'Black Five' class, 5089 served across the LMS region, but prior to nationalization it spent much of its time in Yorkshire and Cheshire, being renumbered under British Railways to 45089 in October 1948 whilst at Crewe North.

CONSTRUCTING MODEL RAILWAY TUNNELS

The Encyclopaedia of Model railroads – Terry Allen

NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION BRIDGE, TUNNEL and OBSTACLE CLEARANCE STANDARDS

NB Do download and study the full document: RP-7 Track Centers and Obstacle Clearances tn-7_track_center_and_obstacle_clearance_methodology_jul_2017 rp-7.1_tangent_track_centers_and_clearance_diagrams_2019.01

COMMERCIAL MODEL TUNNEL PORTALS Faller 272654 Landwasser Decorative model rail tunnel portals (N-scale)

Faller 120570 2 Tunnel portals, two-track HO

The road tunnel is leftovers: A remaining single-track tunnel portal from Vollmer, shortened with a saw.

The supporting wall on the outside is also from the spares box, but by Faller. If you look closely, you can see the difference in the masonry.

LIFE SIZE TUNNEL GALLERY

A late California Zephyr and a sunny day at the Winter Park Ski Resort combine for a bucket list shot of Amtrak engine 183 (P42DC) exiting the west portal of the famed Moffat Tunnel. © Buffie

NS's first Blue Ribbon Special cuts thru the twin bores at Roderfield. ©

DB Regio 245 037 leaves Rappenstein tunnel (Laufenburg) with IRE 3056 Friedrichshafen - Bâle. © Reinhard Reiss

The Banktunnel at St Goar on the right bank of the Rhine close to the famous Lorelei rock formation in Germany.

Intercity trains being hauled by BR 101 001 (top) and BR 103 181-4 and 103 113-7 in winter and summer respectively. © Christian Zell

-

-

Steam returns to the NS mainline with an excursion westbound out of Roanoke. SOU 630 2-8-0 came via TVRM. Norfolk Southern Virginia Division: Christiansburg District--Montgomery Tunnel

NS 7246 is part of a two unit helper set rolling into the Gallitzin Tunnel. (Pennsylvania) © John Doughty

CSXT57 with hoppers for Rincon, GA exit Hickory Tunnel #2 and cross over Hickory Creek, Morley, Tennessee © Brad Kindschy

Norfolk Southern #NS 9545 (GE C44-9W) exits the Natural Tunnel at Stock Creek, Duffield, Virginia and heads back to Appalachia after turning at Frisco, TN. © Brad Kindschy

Nevada Northern Railroad 93 pulls a wreck train through the southern portal of Tunnel 1 (Ely, NV) on the Keystone branch. The 1907 steam powered wrecking crane weighs in excess of 100 tons and gives 93 an excuse to work hard on the grade towards the mine in Ruth, NV. © Ben Kuhns

CSX manifest Q424 is seen emerging from State Line Tunnel in Canaan, NY. © Doug Boudrow

Southern 4501 is about to enter the Missionary Ridge tunnel (Chattanooga, Tennessee) © John Doughty

2-6-0 T steam locomotive G 3/4 # 11 "Heidi" of the Rhaetian Railway is leaving the Landwasser tunnel and crossing the 65 meter high Landwasser viaduct between Filisur and Alvaneu. © Georg Trüb

Interregio trains of the Rhaetian Railway on the Albula line transport freight too. For the IR 1148 from St.Moritz to Chur, here at Landwasser, it is usual to have the 3 yellow mail containers. There is even an empty fuel oil container of Conrad-Storz AG on a flat car. In front is second class cab car Bt # 52808 and "Allegra" ABe 8/12 # 3501 partly visible in the rear © Georg Trüb

2-6-0 steam locomotive G 3/4 # 11 "Heidi" of the Rhaetian Railway is leaving the 232 meter long Brombänz II tunnel and crossing the 43 meter long Brombänz viaduct over the Landwasser creek in the Zügen gorge between Davos Wiesen and Davos Monstein, to disappear immediately in the 113 meter long Brombänz I tunnel. Below the bridge is the old Zügen gorge road, now a hiking and biking path. © Georg Trüb