transport
County Gate consists of 5 baseboards, three
7'6" X 30" the fiddle yard, 7'6" X 24" and one 5' X 30". In addition, we have to carry
the exhibition stands which break down very easily, pelmets and lighting. Despite efforts to be
light, the boards are quite heavy, containing as they do, plenty of
scenery, transformers etc. Two blokes can pick one up and
load into the trailer. To help, hand slots are cut into the ends of each board.
We have been lucky to be able to purchase the
near perfect trailer for transporting County Gate. It is a bit huge (5M X 2M X
2M) but could not be any smaller. Racks have been welded
directly into the trailer that positively locate each baseboard. Because
the door of the trailer is not full height, the top rack does not extend
the full length of the baseboards, thus allowing them to be slide in at an
angle. It is a tight fit but works. The baseboards slide down angle iron
rails. The forward ends are held firmly in place by welded pins that
locate into holes in the baseboards. Removable locating pins hold the rear
of the baseboards in place. To get the baseboards to the upper section, we
use a modified ladder as a ramp.
On arrival at an exhibition, the stands are
taken out first and assembled. The lighting is then slid on (there are
cable tie loops). The baseboards are then removed and fitted to the
stands. The modules can then simply be wheeled into the hall and just
require plugging together.
all loaded up
the removable locating pin
model rolling stock storage and
transport
some of the coaches tucked up safe and sound in the KaiserRushforth
large flight case - click on image to enlarge
A lot of consideration has been given to
storing and transporting our rolling stock. We finally went with an outfit
called KaiserRushforth Ltd. This business started when the owners sons wanted to
have a transport system for his large collection of war gaming material.
The soft foam sheets are 'pick and pluck'.
The segments are easily removed and can be placed where required. We used
a hot glue gun to fix the segments where needed.
a section of 'pick and pluck'
the tray of locomotives partly withdrawn -
click on image to enlarge
The trays for foam remove easily from the
sturdy lockable flight cases using the ribbons seen in photo above.
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