Neal B
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Posts posted by Neal B
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Well i had a dozen or so annoying chips down one side of my car which were bubbling up to rust. It was bugging me and bodyshop quotes were crazy as the damage covered several body panels. So i grabbed myself some rust treatment, filler primer, automatch paint and lacquer and got cracking. I now have a metallic leopard print Audi.
In my defence i'm a pretty competent car mechanic it's just that i found my limit on something highly visible and i'm stuck with the car for a while as we'be decided as a family we're happy on one income while mum stays home doing a great job with the baby.
I'll be sticking to spanners in future...
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What is your intention from an operational point if view? That is, what is the excuse for trains being there... Apart from wanting to run trains obviously! If you have a fiddle yard on the left you have the essence of a branch line terminus there of sorts with a run round loop on the curve.
The loop line on the top right is non sensical as there is no line for a loco to run on to in order to reverse on to the point. It's also a repeat of the other loop so unlikely to exist in close proximity as it's increased maintenance for the track gangs.
You have the beginnings of a small branch line terminus, industry spur or freight railhead there but it needs to be thought through a bit more. Layout planning is an iterative process that throws up plenty of challenges of it's own and can be a hobby in it's own right.
Have you thought of a location or time period? Researching can provide a lot of inspiration and while i'm certainly more of a freelance modeller than one who recreates the prototype i do still find a lot of my inspiration comes from old maps, books and the internet. There are some very good books on layout planning out there too.
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Our local hermes driver likes to lob stuff over the garden gate and not leave a card. I talked to him about it and he couldn't care less, royal mail every time for me. Hermes is a false economy and it also pays it's employees absolute **** which could go to explain their quality issues. Meanwhile our postie is a cheerful and decent soul who i'd trust to deliver more than parcels.
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I think that you used to be able to purchase a dummy chassis, possible from Ian Stoat Models (IMS) no idea if these are still available or even if IMS is still going. These would have been for the old Poole era models.
Thanks Kris unfortunately it looks like thr chassis kit is no longer available.
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My BR railfreight liveried Farish class 20 is looking decidedly lonely and rather than spend money on an additional powered loco i'm looking at options to make a dummy loco. I work on dcc.
Option 1: Procure a semi working/ crippled poole era example from Ebay, remove the cogs and motor, add extra details and respray body if necessary to a mid 1980s livery.
Option 2: Buy a chinese 'modern' body from BR lines and fabricate a chassis for it to sit on. Hopefully be able to repurpose some some bogies from rtr stock or kits to create a free rolling companion.
Are there any other options available to provide a dummy? Is wiring in directional lighting in either case a realistic option? Any insights or experiences gladly welcomed before i commit to a path, thanks.
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Hello, i use an nce powercab on my layout which is currently being built. I have a reverrsing loop which uses a frog juicer- operation is seamless and highly reliable (no glitches in dozens of automated polarity switches)
My points are frog switched by pm1 motors operated off a 16v supply via a cdu using 'old fashioned' wiring on a switch panel. No issues as yet apart from a very occasional short on a single point which i might rectify with some clear nail varnish.
I'm working in n gauge.
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Hello Tomathee, glad to hear your four year old is enjoying his new railway. My toddler is at the Brio stage of things and enjoys pushing thomas around the tracks.
Regards putting legs on your baseboard, my first question would be does the board deform under its own weight? You mentioned a frame but not the thickness of the ply. Also there is a join so sagging could be a risk unless you introduce some thicker bracing.
Have you considered wall mounting? It might require a bit more clearance from the domestic authorities but has the capacity to be more stable and it can be 'put away' when out of use if you use a hinge/ flap setup.
I think introducing legs would require some deeper bracing as when you think about the forces on the tops of the legs when the table might get knocked or leant on resulting in a wobbly railway.
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Thanks John and Chris some good ideas there, i'll have a look on ebay it seems to have plenty.
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Lots of useful information here about researching the physical/ geographical side of things, some of which i'm already utilising on my research into the Brierley Hill area circa 1980, specifically Kingswinford Jn and Moor St Sidings. Where i'm coming unstuck is actual workings, locos, stock and frequency.
In terms of my hobby accomplishment i'm attempting to make the move from 'trainset' enthusiast to prototypical modelling and i'm treating my current layout as a training project to learn the techniques and knowledge toward a successful prototypical layout. It's a long term project that i can start researching now.
So far all the knowledge i've got about workings in this area are from photos and the commentaries that come with them but is there information available out there for the freight timetable, diagrams, motive power etc that i can access so i can run a prototypical freight timetable on a given day in 1980?
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You've got a good stock of points and track there with which to start a decent layout. As someone in a similar boat to yourself i would recommend the following...
1. Plan things out using a layout program, i use xtrackcad but there are many programs out there which fulfil a similar purpose. The planning phase itself can be quite enjoyable and investing some time in this stage can prevent the frustration of mistakes which can lead to stagnation and eventual abandonment of project.
2. Introducing some flexi track could help the track work become transitions more sweeping which will look better and help with smioth running.
3. You've got plenty of room for a gradient to an upper level branch, i achieved a rise of 55mm in 1800 which equates to very slightly over 3%. In a smaller space. I don't run prototypical length trains but my locos can lug 5 coaches or 10 haa hoppers up the gradient which is good enough for my purposes. If you want to tow longer trains you could run into problems though.
Good luck!
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Incredible, it makes my efforts look decidedly rubbish!
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I've visited Duxford twice in the last year and i didn't see any evidence of a railway, although that could be an indictment of my observational skills. I did see some aircraft though. I think.
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This is such an epic project! I wish i had the time and space to do something like it.
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You can upload a parameter file of british outline stock which automatically scales to the gauge you're using. The file is included with the downlad so no extra searching is needed. Just browse the oarameter files i think it's called br.xtp
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While i can't say it's ever held me back, the occasional jibe about being a 'lefty' or 'cacky' are a fact of life. I am fortunate to have never been bullied by my teachers into 'conforming' although maybe primary teachers were a bit more enlightened in the 1980's.
While i write and generally lead with my left hand, my right is far from being a useless appendage. I shy away from using 'specialist' left handed things such as scissors instead i adapt to my environment.
The only bugbear i have is when using shared appuratus such as the control desk at work as lefties and righties tend to prefer the desk arranged in different ways which leads to the occasional whinge from the less tolerant members of the team.
It has never affected my modelling hobby at all. In other pursuits i bowl left, bat right, racquet left, box southpaw and catch poorly with either hand.
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16t minerals
in Modelling musings & miscellany
Posted · Edited by Neal B
Here are a few of my mineral wagons modelled for the late 70s. A first time doing kits in N gauge for me. Apologies for the photo just a quick mobile snap and my proper camera wasn't to hand.