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railwayrod

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  • Location
    Torbay
  • Interests
    Railway modelling in general. Currently building in 7mm scale - might have been Ex LNWR branch set in Cumbria. The layout is 30x12 terminus/fiddle yard. The station is called Ramchester which is a play on my first initial and my wifes hence R and M. I am also keen on German Railways and currently I am collecting stock in 0 gauge with a view to building a small layout based on the DB era 3. Also interested in football, photography, reading and walking. During the last three years I have taken up sailing with the Disabled Sailing Association.

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  1. Yesterday my friend Peter Martin popped in to show Howard and I his new loco. This was a Class 25 Helhan diesel which had been sound fitted with a Paul Chette? file but Peter still has to number and weather it. The loco ran very well with a smooth acceleration and the stay alive facility made the driving of it a real pleasure. Once moving and the throttle shut down it was nice to be able to use the F2 key to bring it to a smooth stop. Here are some photos taken of the event for you to see. The Class 26 leans into the approach curve before slowing down for the signal gantry at the entrance into Ramchester. It waits while the driver changes end before getting the signal to move off to where its train awaits. Backing onto its 5 coach train of ex LMS coaches it prepares to leave as the signal is pulled to give him the right of way. A final check and she is ready to go. I was very impressed with this loco and the sound unit was superb giving an atmospheric impression that one was standing by the track side taking it all in. Rod
  2. I have not posted anything on this site for some time but thought I would let you know that her Christmas Day Special did run this year after its absence last year. As usual negotiations with the union paid dividends and the train completed its journey into Ramchester carrying Maggie's gift and of course tucked away in the van was the areas Christmas booze! Here are a few photos of the event. The Christmas Day Special emerges from the tunnel to round the curve into Ramchester. Rounding the final part of the curve at the entrance to the station. And comes to a halt in the goods yard. A Happy New Year to all the followers of this thread. Rod
  3. Hello Alan241 Ramchester has a average curve of 63 inches and I run my Heljan class 37 around this with no problem. I say "average" radius as this 180 degree curve has a transition radius at each end which eases the loco into the turn. My class 47 also gets around this curve with no problem so it would seem that second radius curves are a bit too tight. Hope this is useful to you. Rod Ramchester Chronicles
  4. Glancing back at some of the recent posts I realized that I failed to put some photos on from the visit of Peter C who came down with his latest acquisition a while ago. He had a Lenz model of the DB class 55 together with a breakdown crane. Not only does the loco have full DCC sound but also emits realistic smoke. My photo does not really do the smoke justice but it should convey the idea. The breakdown crane was also fully digitally controlled as he demonstrated to us. What a lovely piece of kit this is. Here are a couple of photos to illustrate the event. To press the shutter at the exact time that smoke was "chuffed" proved to be a bit of a challenge and took several attempts before I managed this. Thank you Peter for bringing these fantastic models down to Ramchester to show me. Rod
  5. Howard's input into the brewery has been excellent and his workmanship has been first class. I am honored that he has used his talents to create such a masterpiece for my layout. He still has the main roof to build and a few oddments to complete but already the model is simply brilliant. Thank you Howard. Rod
  6. Hi Paul. It is sad to say that this years Christmas Special had to be cancelleded owing to industrial action on the part of the rail unions. Even volunteers were banned from running the Special and were threatened with expulsion from the union and the railway. This was the first time in almost 35 years that a Christmas Special in one form or another has not operated.
  7. Maggie and I (and Howard) would like to wish everyone who follows our thread a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, healthy and prosperous 2023. Rod
  8. Hi Ray. The layout is DCC so if I ever restore the second motor I will have to upgrade the decoder. Thanks for reminding me. Simon As always your advice is sound and I am now looking for a replacement brass gear. Rod
  9. Firstly may I say thank you to John, Simon, and Ray for their help and advice which was extremely helpful in gettin to grips with the problem. Your words were a great encouragement to me and it now looks as though my problem has been solved. As Howard indicated above the second non powered bogie still had its gears intact as I discovered when I removed the keeper plate. So I spent most of the afternoon taking this bogie to pieces and removing the gears which I can now keep safe as spares. While in bits I took the opportunity to clean everything before re-assembling the bogie and attaching it back onto the chassis. The whole took longer than anticipated as I did not want to upset the wiring which was not too generous in length which made it rather difficult at times. I did consider simply fitting the motor to this bogie but the wiring was too short to allow this. I have learnt a lot about Heljan locos but have gained a great deal of confidence from this task. My next job will be to fit the motor into its original bogie and reassemble the loco. If all goes well it should be back on the rails very shortly. Keeping fingers crossed. Rod
  10. Can anyone help please. My Heljan class 20 diesel loco has recently lost its drive on one axle which limits its hauling power on my layout. I should add that this loco only has one motor so effectively at the moment it is only driven on one axle - the other motor bogie is free rolling. This has proved to be more than adequate on Ramchester and up till now all was fine. I had a packet of replacement gears which I purchased a few years ago for my class 47 so I thought I could use one of these to replace the "gear" in the class 20. Having eventually managed to disassemble the loco and separated the bogie from the chassis I began to examine the gears to establish which one was cracked. However all appeared to be OK with no sign of any damage. Then almost by accident I discovered that the small gear wheel on the lead part of the drive was loose on the axle. Ah I thought all I need to do is to remove said axle and replace it with one of my spares. Wrong to my amazement this small gear was a completely different size to my replacement one. The offending axle and gears The small gear and the knurled part of the axle where it must go. My solution I think is to glue the small gear wheel back on to the axle if I can find a strong enough glue to do the job. This is where I am seeking help. What glue is best to use, Powerbond, super glue, one of the two part epoxy adhesives? If anyone can kindly help with appropriate advice etc it would be greatly appreciated. I have attached a couple of photos to illustrate the problem. I do realize that the axle and gears will need a thorough cleaning before any glue is applied. Many thanks in advance for any help you can give. Rod
  11. Just to bring you all up to date here is a picture of my LNWR loading gauge. This I commissioned from Chris Ward from an drawing Which I think appeared in Jack Nelson's book "LNWR Portrayed". it is now ready for final cleaning up and painting. The little daringly bits at each end of the bar were made of leather and would have probably been removed in LMS days and certainly by the late 50's and early 60's but I rather like them and therefore a little reluctant to cut them off. I will decide before painting . More soon. Rod
  12. Yet another visitor to Ramchester yesterday! This time a GWR Prairie tank and autocoach. Just how it arrived at the station is a complete mystery and I can only assume that it took the wrong turn somewhere way south of here and no one realized until it had to come to a stop at the platform. Here are some pictures of the event. Having realized his mistake he quickly reversed and proceeded hot foot out of Ramchester before his error was noticed! As you will probably deduce the loco which is a Lionheart model belongs to my friend Peter Martin who popped in to give his new "toy" a run. It is a beautiful model which looks and runs well. Howard has been doing a little more work on the brewery and I have been working on the LNWR loading gauge this afternoon. Picture next time. Progress! Rod
  13. Hello one and all. Today Howard and I had a further session in Platform 2 to work on the railway. Howard continued with painting the walls of the brewery which is a slow and tedious task but it is coming along very nicely. He is having to use a small brush to avoid paint getting into the mortar courses. For my part I have finished the GWR open wagon which Howard brought for me for my birthday and it is now resplendent with its TL couplings in place. It will need weathering in due course but in the meantime it can enter service on Ramchester to earn its keep. Here is a picture of it standing in one of Ramchester's sidings. Well that is all for now until next week. Rod
  14. Last week another visitor to Ramchester rumbled into the station on a test run. The 05 diesel belongs to my friend Peter Martin and is a Heljan model fitted with a Zimo chip. This is his latest purchase and I must say that the sound emitting from the loco was first class. I have posted some pictures of the run for your perusal. This week Howard has been working on the brewery and is engaged in painting the sides "in the flat" Pictures soon. I have been busy fitting the tension lock couplings to my GWR open wagon which is now almostt complete. Again picture soon. Rod
  15. For my 80th birthday Howard presented me with a Minerva Models ex GWR open wagon. While he has been busy with the brewery (and making a 1st class job of it) I have been fiddling about fitting tension lock couplings to it. I have not progressed very far with this project but as soon as I can I will post a photo of the finished task. Some time ago I commissioned a LNWR loading gauge from Chris Ward so in between times I have been assembling this. Again photos to follow in die course. It is nice to hear that some of you at least are enjoying our thread which we will continue to keep up dated as time permits. Thanks for following our progress. Rod
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