Finishing Off Odd Jobs - Particularly Clapham Yard

I had an hour to kill yesterday after getting home from cricket and having lunch and before getting ready to head to an engagement party.  So I ventured to the shed to checking out the southern end of Clapham Yard where I was planning to do some work.  I was looking at a half made dual gauge point that I had previously installed.  This point allowed me to run standard gauge through it but not narrow gauge as there was a 150mm length of third rail missing.  I also had to cut a flangeway into one of the standard gauge diverging rails to allow the narrow gauge to diverge in the opposite direction.  So while contemplating it dawned on me that I could remove that point and replace it with a 12mm narrow gauge point and just add a third rail to the right most diverging route and everything would be completed.  Hmmm.

 

So this morning I went down to the Shed and actually undertook this work.  I replaced the right hand standard gauge point with a right hand narrow gauge point and cut the third rail in - makin git dual gauge in only one route.  I then cut in the southern end of my narrow gauge passing loop in Clapham Yard.  I am still thinking about adding a couple of crossovers between the three narrow gauge tracks midway along the Yard.  So while I am thinking about this I have not joined up the two ends of the new narrow gauge loop.

 

I tested the standard gauge routes with an 80’ container wagon that runs well through all the standard gauge tracks at the southern end of the Clapham Yard.  I then tested the narrow gauge tracks with two 12mm wagons and they also seem to work well.

The northern end of Clapham Yard.  The latest point to be installed is at the bottom left of the shot.  An empty Loco Pilly Loco shed in the top of the shot.

This shot is of the southern end of Clapham Yard.  The point at the bottom of the photo is the one recently installed making the new narrow gauge loop.  The one immediately above is the narrow gauge point that was used to replace the standard gauge point in track 3.

Following lunch I went back down the shed and installed the new labels on the staff machines for Clapham Yard – Dutton Park, Dutton Park to Fisherman Islands and Dutton Park to South Brisbane Interstate.  I then double checked the loose wire that I thought came from the Mini Panel located underneath Border Loop and sure enough – it was the common wire to the various control panels that control the point at Dutton Park.  So the trusty screw driver made short work of re-installing that. 

 

I then turned on the layout following the installation of the points at Clapham Yard and no shorts were detected.  I then tested the control panels that control the point at Dutton Park and they now all work.  So I did find the correct wire and reattach it in the correct place on the layout.  I then tested the various point motors via the control panels at the southern end and northern end of Clapham Yard.  Everything works well following the large amount of work that has gone on at these locations since the December Operating Session.

 

I still have one point to do some work on at Clapham Yard, and this is one that I plan to try and scratch build using a borrowed FastTracks jig from PK.  So the decks have now been cleared leaving just the Park Road Goods Shed to be painted and this new point construction.