Avonwick South Devon in 2mm (Kris' Blog)

well every time i looked it was working

Hiya Kris

 

It was great too see the layout for real, to see a face behind the modelling, and to have a chat. It sounds like you have left the Expo with the same sort of things running through your head as me. Hopefully you are as equally inspired?

 

Missy

Hi Kris

I really enjoyed seeing the layout knowing the area a bit. Regarding the fiddleyards. You could have one with straight roads served by points. Where the straight bit can be turned round. That way you could dispatch and recieve a number of trains remotely. Before having to turn them. This is how Peter Denny worked his fy. Thats if you haven't the room to go round. I would also agree with you about operating from the front. I found people were much more engaged.

Regarding the controller if you have hand helds like Missy's Lens system on Highclere you can walk up and down with them very usefull when trying to shunt. You can do this with the compact and the LH30 hand held for a cheap solution.

Donw

I had real problems with the transition from cassette to layout. I also made my cassettes fractionally too wide. It was better on Sunday after I made some alterations (a central plasticard lump to keep the wheels centred and guide on and of the layout, but not perfect. Locomotives stopped moving entirely on Sunday at about 2:30-3:00 time. I presume it will work again when I try again in more normal climate.

 

I agree with the comment about the lights. The lighting in the hall was particularly good for an exhibition hall so it was less of a problem. Unfortunately you don't get much light out of those LEDs, they glow more than illuminate. Fine when you are looking directly at them becasue the intensity if not related to distance, but when you try and light something with them the actual amount of light provided reduces as the square of the distance! Perhaps a straight swap for traditional filament lights in the next January sale would be an easy fix? Otherwise there are some small well packaged fluorescent fittings people are using with good results. I particularly liked the colour balance and reproduction on Highclere.

Kris,

 

Nice to finally meet up and see the layout up and running. I think you are onto a winner here, once the lighting and fiddle yard issues are resolved there should be no stopping you

Thanks for al the comments. They have helped me put some of my thoughts in order, but I'll pop those onto another post.

Looks very nice set up! If you want a cheap, powerful lighting solution, I would consider T5 flurocent tubes, they are thin, high output daylight bulbs. Small fittings are available for aquariums, check out Endsleigh's fish section, get the model and makers names and buy online. I have two T5 tubes on my big fishtank and they provide really good quality light without massive heat or energy use. Alternatively a good electrical factors will have convetional T5 fittings in standard 2 or 4ft lengths which would work too. Reflectors are a must for tubes.

Great to see everyone at the Expo, I like the picture frame effect of the front of Avonwick (stored in my memory for future use). I picked up loads of useful tips like this over the weekend. It was thoroughly enjoyable. My layout (Percy Nook) is behind yours covered with green/gold cloth. This photo must have been taken after hours. I have used T5 tubes for lighting but keep the DCC handset out of the way because of the effect it has on control.