Jol Wilkinson
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Posts posted by Jol Wilkinson
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"Road rage" is nothing new and seems to have existed since cars became relatively commonplace. For some (many?) a car is an extension of their home and any invasion of their "space" causes annoyance.
Given the inadequacy of our road network, especially when accidents occur or roadworks are taking place, frustration when trying to make a journey in reasonable time is very likely to happen. Add to that the general lack of consideration or others in society today, and unpleasant, disagreeable behaviour is likely to happen, however reprehensible.
Yesterday we spent 3-3/4 hours on a journey which should have taken 2-1/4 hours.That was down to an accident and long term roadworks on the A14. The only route to avoid the accident area (which took at least eight hours to clear up) became heavily congested and we suffered several good (bad) examples of HGV "bullying".
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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
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10 hours ago, Stan Owen said:
Jol
When John, Eric and myself built London Road originally, we used Maygib solenoid motors to operate all the turnouts and I made TOUs from Swish curtain rail with paxolin sliders which operated the droppers on the switch rails and a microswitch. I assume you changed these for Cobalt motors after you acquired the layout? I have no experience of Cobalt devices but they do seem quite expensive for what they are. On the club N-gauge layout my friend Dave and I are wiring for CBUS, all the original Peco solenoid motors were replaced by servos in MERG mounts with the crossing polarity set via a microswitch on the servo mount itself. During the recent MERG meeting at Retford station, I learned that Pete Brownlow is now selling a 3D-printed mount complete with servo and microswitch for a very competitive price and I was able to take a good look at this product. His mounts are very compact in comparison to the standard MERG mount and are available for both horizontal and vertical action via his website at They are quick to put together and, with both the servos and the microswitch easily accessible, can be repaired if either of these two components fail. Just a thought.
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
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7 hours ago, Asterix2012 said:
I take it Dave was doing the casting for these?
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.
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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.
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4 hours ago, RonnieS said:
Well I gave it the occasional run BUT today a driving wheel moved on it's axle. In a box now awaiting it's fate. Again DO NOT DO THIS CONVERSION
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.
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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.
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11 hours ago, Chris Chewter said:
They certainly were! There were layout ID sheets in the exhibitor packs. I can’t speak for others, but we had ours on display!
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.
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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.
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2 hours ago, cctransuk said:
That is encouraging - but akin to reinventing the wheel!
There exists - in theory if not in practice - the best range of user-friendly wheels, plus a massive range of incomparable fittings, that has ever existed.
The problem is that, for whatever reason, availability seems to be NIL - and no-one is saying why!
I find this to be immensely frustrating, and must be a serious disincentive to the kit and scratch-building hobby.
SOMEONE must know what the problem is, and I cannot believe that it is beyond the whit of man to find a way of putting all the immense skill and work that went into the Markits range back on the market.
After all - brand new, 1:1 steam locos are being produced - what we are talking about here is fine miniature engineering; very skilled, but not beyond the ability of many suitably trained persons.
If the existing proprietor cannot, or will not, sort out the supply problems I would suggest that what appears to be a conspiracy of silence is not serving well the greater railway modelling community.
CJI.
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
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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!
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12 minutes ago, Captain Cuttle said:
Yes thats a Solara, we hired one in the eighties and quite comfortable from what i remember. Also at one time hired a yellow Horizon and noisy tappets comes to mind.
I joined Peugeot UK in late 1984 when the Alpine/Solara and Horizon were in their final years of production. The engines did suffer from tappet noise. As a District sales manager, one of my tasks was to wholesale Peugeot and Talbot product to the dealers each month. As I was responsible for London and the Thames valley, shifting Talbots and Peugeot diesels was a bit hard but I couldn't get enough 205 Gti's or 405 Family estates to satisfy demand.
The 309 used the same engines as the Horizon IIRC but Peugeot had modified them to make them quieter. Later the Peugeot TU engines were added to the lineup.
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1 hour ago, steve1 said:
From the York Press, some nostalgia.
Anyone remember Colt cars and is that a Talbot Solara? Wolseley Farina being fuelled.
steve
Colt was the branding used in the UK for Mitsubishi until about 1984.
Further details;
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"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;
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Mikkel,
please feel free to share knowledge and information. It is surely one of the benefits os sites like RMweb.
Jol
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For those interested in what the station buildings looked like, the Warwickshire Railways website has a section on the GWR North Warwickshire line.
https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/northwarwickshire.htm
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9 hours ago, BWsTrains said:
There is a remarkable and ironic aspect to your developments. Several years ago I was asked to provide input for a Strategic Business review in a large well known box shifter/ developer. One comment I made was that when planning new business directions and projects, it wouldn't be that long before 3D provided a significant manufacturing alternative which they needed to take into account.
That idea was dismissed pretty much out of hand as trivial. Well several years on the idea rapidly is becoming a new reality and the Box Shifter the smile on a Cheshire Cat! Funny World!
I think that 3D providing a significant manufacturing alternative may still be some way in the future.
So far in railway modelling it hasn't yet gone, AFAIK, beyond small volume kit and component manufacture or producing intricate master patterns for casting (usually in resin). The latter in particular requires very high quality, expensive 3D prints. Kit sales are in relatively small numbers compared to what the RTR manufacturers produce.
3D printing is also still at that stage which early photo etching went through, which is that some enthusiastic exponents are still learning about the limitations of the process and what it is suitable for and what it is not at this time.
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On 06/03/2024 at 20:17, Mikkel said:
Mikkel,
yes it is. bought in 2023 as I recall.
Jol
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2 hours ago, Compound2632 said:
Is that one of Mr Watts'? I suppose the MRJ advert lists current items but he said he'd enclose a catalogue.
Stephen,
the Hold and Fold tools were available through Eileens Emporium. An internet search turns up clones on Amazon and Ebay.
Jol
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My preference, having built plastic bodied (Ratio), whitemetal (Gem, Ks, M&L) and etched brass/nickel silver (Proscale, LRM, Brassmasters), my preference is for the later. Whitemetal may have the benefit of built in ballast but generally lacks the crispness of etched metal and more prototypical thinness of exposed edges. Etched kits need added weight but that is not a problem if you allow for and build it in during assembly. Mixed material kits also can have an advantage, such as resin castings for complex boiler/firebox/smokebox shapes. lost wax cast brass and n/s castings for boiler fitting and cylinder cross heads and slide bars.
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I think that the problem with AI search engines such as Co-pilot is that they are dependant on what their searches on the web turn up. What they then create becomes part of the web "norm" so inaccuracies become embedded.
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Jesse,
from many years experience assisting a trader at shows, children and the occasional adult think that an item on display is an invitation to touch or even pick up. Most sensible people who want to do so, usually to look at the detail, will ask.
The only thing you can do it to put out a prominent "Do not touch" notice, also pointing out that the models are valuable and any damage will have to be paid for. Sadly small children will probably ignore it but their parents should be aware.
It is also not generally appreciated that small children have a third eye in the end of their forefinger, which they use to closely inspect things.
Jol
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1 hour ago, MattR said:
I did know that and probably conflated the names! Now that I think about it, I’m not sure if Claude & Eustace’s last names were ever given in the story.
According to wakkypedia Claude and Eustace were Woosters, cousins of Bertie.
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3 hours ago, cctransuk said:
My (secondhand) experience of 3D printing is that the technology IS capable of producing no-prep models.
That said, the sophistication of the printer and, critically, the skill and experience of the operator, are the major determinants of the standard of the finished model.
This is to be expected; after all, one would not expect a beginner to produce a perfect etched kit model.
3D printing is merely a new means of producing a model; albeit one with great potential, given practice and patience.
CJI.
"given practice and patience."
Which is what is often quoted as the reason for not building kits, i.e. lack of the required skill and the time to do it. In a time when people want it quick, easy and cheap, diy 3D printing isn't likely to appeal to the majority of model railway enthusiasts.
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Wentworth Junction
in Modelling real locations
Posted
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