thisisnorthdevon.co.uk
Thursday 30th July 30 2009
" With help from local people, Top Gear presenter James May plans to create the 10-mile Hornby-style toy railway along the Tarka trail. "
That's nothing theirs a bloke Down London Got the biggest Train set in = his Cellar
Perhaps what would be a greater help in that area, would be to do the same thing along the line of the Lynton & Barnstaple, and so aid the restoration efforts?
It'll be interesting to see how he supplies power over that length of track. Ballasting will be a nightmare!
Mike
p in that area, would be to
.Could be clockwork, or on-board battery.
Pre-ballasted track is available.
MBQ
I was musing about the power supply while doing other things today and a method I would try is , About 3 or 4 people caring 12V batteries light and safe enough to handle. Gel cells as used in ups or alarms could be suitable. with the appropriate fusing controllers from these with some leads a with croc clips attached to track in relay fashion. One ahead in front ,one behind and the others running further ahead.clipping on and of as the train progresses and giving it a clear run. You could almost expand the idea to the track itself ,lift up behind the train and lay down a distance if front . Perhaps that is how they intend to do it ,10 miles of Streamline would be a mouth watering order ,might even cause a shortage on the market.
I wonder how he will deal with the former level crossings at Instow , Yelland etc. They could be a barrier to the scheme.
G.Harman
Probably not really practicable, as the L&B route runs mostly over private land, apart from the restored section. The trackbed of the Torrington branch still exists as a cycle track/footpath (Tarka trail).
Sadly, I would have thought there was a significant vandalism risk.
What exactly does "Hornby-style" mean? What scale?
10 miles =3D 16.1 Km
A R603 Long Straight is 670 mm long and costs about =A32.50
16,100,000 mm / 670 x =A32.50 =3D =A360,000The Yanks hold the record now and they did it in a football stadium. They had problems with differential expansion, one side of the track was in direct sunlight ( should not be a problem in the UK :-] ) and the other side was in the shade.
The had boosters every 20 m or so.
Chris
Don't be so pessimistic.
A R8090 semi-flexible track is 915 mm long and costs about £2.99 A R621 flexible track is 970 mm long and costs about £3.10 R910 fishplates cost £1.99 for 6 pairs
With R8090:
16,100,000 mm / 915 mm x £2.99 = £52,611 2932 packets of fishplates = £5,834 Total £58,445With R621:
16,100,000 mm / 970 mm x £3.10 = £51,4542767 packets of fishplates = £5,506 Total £56,960
None of these estimates includes discount for buying in bulk.
How about Flextrack on a roll LOL
I'd go for a battery on a cart, with leads to wheeled vehicle of some sort on the track to get the power transferred - just follow behind. And someone in front to clear mother nature's inevitable obstructions!
17,600 yards of track would take some laying - and what would be the chances of much of it still being there on the big day unless an awful lot of security staff were about.Nice idea, but I can't see it happening without some sort of skullduggery.
Cheers Richard
Is it supposed to be a single line 10 miles long ? An oval would bring it down to 5 miles, one oval inside another 2.5 etc. Wonder how many lines could be put into the path ? One problem is a level surface to lay it on.
Cheers, Simon
No ! Looked at the OS map and it's a bit hilly.
Chris
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