Brassman_58

Is anyone in the group able to post a photo of the underside of a completed Ian Kirk Mink C wagon kit, please? I purchased it decades ago but the instructions are text only and basic, apparently assuming technical knowledge of wagon braking systems which I don't possess. I've scoured the internet and "A History of GWR Goods Wagons" by Atkins,Beard et al for a clear photo or drawing which shows the brake system arrangement clearly but sadly without success. There are sprues with lots of parts which are obviously generic for several different kits and some are not for this kit. I would be extremely grateful for any help/clarification on what goes where.

DC so that is a very good point, well made. I should have seen that eventuality. Thanks,

Thanks for this expert insight, David. It's great that there are people out there like yourself to help out us numpty's!

Thanks for your helpful suggestions Kevin.

Thanks Richard That's very helpful.

Hi Mike That's what I did on the mimic controller. I thought, obviously erroneously, that this would be a simpler arrangement. Duh!

Thanks to all those who have been so helpful with their replies. Even with 12vDC if you don't really understand layout electrics beyond the basics it is easy to tie yourself in knots, but, thanks to all your expert contributions I now know what I have to do. This thread can now be declared closed. Brian

Ok, from the replies I obviously haven't been very clear in my explaination. 1. WHAT: see attached photo of 12A/125V 10A/250V DPST 4-pin 2 position Green LED light mini rocker switch on/off 2. WHY: "Off-scene" fiddle yard consists of 5 parallel road (3 cassette slots and 2 fixed tracks) sliding sector plate. Alignment by peg through sector plate into baseboard frame. Electrical feed from 12V DC supply to fixed tracks by dropper wire. Electrical feed to cassettes by brass plates on bottom of cassette sitting on sprung brass plate with dropper wire on baseboard. Fiddle yard operated independently of scenic section operation - fiddle yard operator indicates that train is ready and for which line using one of three on/off switches which illuminate the relevant indicator LED on the mimic control panel of the layout operator. I hope this is a bit clearer.

Hi all First of all, electricals are definitely not my forte! I am after a clear, simple indication showing which of my 5 fiddle yard roads are switched on or off to receive power from the controller. Please can someone knowledgeable on electrics supply me with a simple diagram on how to wire up a 4-pin illuminated dpst rocker-switch so that it lights up when switched to the on position and power is being fed to the road it controls. I could work it out by trial and error but expert advice would be much safer I think. I already have the rocker switches and I wanted to avoid the more complex wiring of a separate switch and LED arrangement which I already have on my mimic control panel. Many thanks Brian

Unfortunately for folks like me, the mention of servos, circuit boards and other similar terms, causes me to glaze over or come out in a cold sweat!

Apologies for only just replying to your post. I've been busy, ill and away on holiday so this is my first look at the forum since before your post which was extremely informative and helpful. Thank you. I was particularly interested in your jig. I made one of my own for bending the loops but I like the way yours can also be used for soldering. As it happens I am using the finer scale couplings but it's good to have my choice confirmed. Many thanks again. Brian

Thanks for these comments Ben. Very helpful.

Thanks BG John. The main problem I can see with your suggestion is that I am only fitting a hook on one end of the other rolling stock with a loop on the other. This seems to be working well so far and is a method recommended by quite a few people. As both my layouts are end-to-end I only need to ensure that all the hooks are facing the same way. Coaches will be in fixed rakes using Keen close couplings except at each end of the train.

Another question from a forum 'newby' I am converting all my engines and rolling stock - a mixture of RTR and kit built wagons and coaches and RTR locos - to Sprat & Winkle couplings. Fitting to wagons and coaches has presented no problems so far but fitting to RTR locos is proving more of a challenge. Having made one unsatisfactory conversion I wondered if anybody could suggest a good method (with illustrations if possible). All steam locos, they are mostly from Bachmann or Hornby, mostly tank locos with three small tender locos. To date I have found a number of forum posts on fitting to wagons and coach stock but nothing but passing reference to loco fitting. With a surprisingly large number of posts about S&Ws I don't claim to have been through every one so I may have missed relevant postings. All help very gratefully received.