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Jol Wilkinson

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Jol Wilkinson last won the day on July 20 2011

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  • Location
    Felixstowe, Suffolk (too far from the Premier Line)
  • Interests
    4mm railway kit and scratch building - which I enjoy for the challenge and satisfaction it provides, as well as the research involved in modelling the LNWR.

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  1. The first complete circuit of the layout was completed by the Coal Tank on the outer/platform 4 line. I cant run through platform 3 or 1 until the replacement Cobalt point motors turn up. Three of the original 2010 Cobalts had failed and were returned to the honorable folk at DCC Concepts who are sending replacements under their Lifetime Warranty scheme. I have also found a problem with the four of the servos operating the points in the storage sidings. These are twitching when the loco runs through. The servos operated by the MERG Servo4 controllers are okay but the four controlled by the Servo1R controllers exhibit the problem. After trying various things it appears to be the wires from the switches to the controllers picking up interference from the loco motor/pickups. First fix will be to install shielded two core cable (now on order) to the servo controllers. Later I will fit suppression capacitors across the motor terminals when I service the stock. So a break from layout wiring for the moment and I have started on the new platform ends. The platform faces are PECO but faced with Slaters brick plasticard, as the original layout and then the later extended platforms are.
  2. Tony, it seems that the Tortoise is being replaced by the SMAIL, which appears to be a DCC decoder equipped version and significantly more expensive. Tortoise retailed for about £20 new and the only examples on eBay are about half that. However, they will now have rarity value so you might ask more! Jol
  3. I used shielded cables from the switch connections to the servo controllers and twisted pairs for the power feed wires. These were for signal servos.The MERG controllers on the earlier baseboards are about 12 years old. On the new boards I have used servos for the points in the new storage sidings, with the latest MERG Servo4 and Servo1R units. Two of the latter at the furthest distance from the control panel are the most affected by twitching and movement to the end of the servo throw when running a loco along the sidings. So far I haven't made any changes to the normal wiring but may have to get some more shielded cable if I can't find another solution.
  4. Mike, What suppression did you fit? I have similar loco induced problems, some of which I cured with cable shielding but would like to fix at source. The servo controllers are MERG and loco controllers are Pentrollers. All my locos are Mashima cans, except for one Portescap and one Sagami can. The Mashima 12xx have open brush gear which may be a factor. Jol
  5. Hi Stan, the droppers were a fairly regular problem when I started exhibiting London Road after restoring it. We would get a poor/failed connection although the dropper seemed attached. A pull would usually remove them and so replacements installed, although they had to be soldered into the side of the rail rather than underneath. Eventually the problematic ones were all fixed. A am happy to use some modern technology but aren't interested in being an electronics enthusiast, preferring to spend my time and effort model making. Test running has shown up a couple of gremlins with the electrics but should be sorted soon. Regards, Jol
  6. Hi Stan, I did very little to the original London Road when I got it, just refreshing the scenery, repaired some of the cracked/split plasticard retaining wall sections and replacing the traverser which had become banana shaped. The Maygib point motors and TOUs that you built worked without problems so were left alone although I had to replace the CDU. Cobalts aren't cheap but nor are Tortoise or SMAIL point motors. However they do have the advantage of being easy to install and have built in changeover switches for connecting the crossing vees. Unlike the MERG servo controllers that I have used for the new storage sidings point servos, they also don't need any setting up. At least with the MERG units you can use the remote setting control boxes to see what you are setting, rather than have to press buttons in sequence and follow flashing LEDs to adjust the servo direction, throw and speed as with some other systems. I particularly like the MERG Servo1R controllers with the built in relay, which work out at about £10/£12 with servo and servo mount, but you have to build the Servo1R which many modellers may not want to do. I have also used some MERG Servo4 controllers, with 4 relay pcb units (about £5 each from eBay for the vee switching). Of course you also need to be a member of MERG to buy their excellent kits. New and improved products are coming onto the market all the time, but once I have installed stuff and it works as required I don't see any benefit in changing it. Jol
  7. I believe that the majority, if not all, of the casting equipment from SEF was acquired by Squires when they took over the range, together with the moulds. They could therefore produce their own SEF castings , as well as use the equipment for the white metal parts in the Stevenson Carriages range that they had bought previously. Perhaps Dave had retained one casting machine, which would presumably be sufficient to produce the NuCast kits.
  8. The wiring to the goods yard has been fixed and the feeds to the point vees fixed by swapping the connections to the alternative integral switch contacts in the Cobalt point motors. Running isn't very smooth but as the trackwork, neither the original or the new has been cleaned, nor has the loco had a clean and service since its last appearance in 2019, I am confident some housekeeping will take care of things. Next task is to set up the servo controllers on the storage sidings. These MERG controllers were bench tested when assembled but haven't been tested in situ so fingers crossed that I have got all the control panel to baseboard connections correct.
  9. In the photo showing your conversion, the Ultrascale wheels seem only partly pushed onto the axles, unlike the photo in the opening post. Is that so? As CK says, Ultrascale wheels are less tight fit on the the axle than Gibson wheels (which is why some people pin the wheels to the axles). If yours are only partly pushed on - as though you have EM or P4 back to back gauged wheels on OO axles - then the grip between the wheel and axle could well be the cause of the slippage.
  10. My track has ply sleepers and timbering (EMGS or Scalefour) which I stain using Liberon spirit based stain. It is available in a variety of colours that can be mixed to get the result you want. https://liberon.co.uk/product/spirit-wood-dye/
  11. Well done. Had it been larger and mounted up on the facia it would have been more visible. At a busy show, something that makes finding your way around is a definite benefit.
  12. I thought the show guide a great improvement over last year. However, finding your way around would be considerably improved if Stand Number display cards could provided to each stand.
  13. John, I was speaking to a close friend yesterday who is a "Small Supplier" and buys some components in quantity from the person/company to whom I think you are referring. The owner has been suffering from a trapped nerve causing considerable back pain which has prevented him from doing much. His wife and assistant (two different people) have been doing what they can, but it appears that "normal service" may take some time to resume. Having said that,at least one other Small Supplier has not been able to get stocks of driving wheels for at least a year. What this does show is that the kit/scratch building sector of the hobby is reliant on a relatively few suppliers of critical components. In recent years we have lost Sharman Wheels, Mashima motors, Perseverance, GEM, David Geen's kits and Mitchell 4mm kits, while Ultrascale are having to reduce their range. Any new products/suppliers are to be welcomed, especially for component parts.. Jol
  14. Well, the time came for a test run this morning. This was restricted to the boards connected to the original but modified original control panel, so right around the length and ends of the workshop but not into the storage sidings.. Despite not having cleaned any of the rails, the Proscale Coal Tank ran quite well, but highlighted several issues. The first was that there was no feed to the goods yard area, which has its own section switch and is probably down to a simple wiring error somewhere. The other issues were all on the original two baseboards which had been in storage/not operated since 2019 when London Road appeared as Scaleforum. Three points had no feed to the common crossings. They are fed by the integral switches in the Cobalt point motors. I had earlier replaced one Cobalt point motor that has suffered from drive failure, which I dismantled to find the problem (a partially stripped plastic gear). The wipers and contacts looked quite tarnished and I wonder if the same has happened on the three in question. These are all early Cobalt point motors, installed in 2010. I had to return two with defective switches shortly after buying them (and later several others with failed drives). These were all early models and DCC Concepts were aware of the drive problem. I'l have to remove one initially to check it. I am not looking forward to that as they can be a b*gg*r to refit from underneath. I have operated the Cobalts a few times hoping that might work but no luck. When that is all sorted, (which may take some time) I'll connected up the storage sidings control panel. I have checked out the continuity of all the section feeds but still need to check and set up the servo controllers. This afternoon will be given over to seeing what I need to buy from Squires (at Alexander Palace tomorrow) for the new platform ends. I am looking forward to getting back to some modelling as opposed to wiring!
  15. "If this country is to break the death spiral its in, we need to export more, not less, otherwise Hattons wont be the last one to wrap up, and we’ll be left drown" We need to manufacture more and then export it. What Hattons presumably doing was largely was re-exporting stuff made elsewhere (mainly the Far East). Interesting piece on the BBC News which shows that some industries are moving back to UK production but I don't think model railways will be at the forefront of that. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68500499 On the other hand; https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68534537
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