gmortimer

Hello Everybody Thanks for the replies! I have built track in my youth, and was taught to do so properly by Martin Wynne, for whom I had a part-time job. We used jigs to make turnouts, blades were machined, crossings were hard soldered, machine finished and polished, the standard of construction was very high, as one might expect. I would probably use chairs nowadays, a suitable adhesive would guarantee strength, some exploratory work needed to find the right stuff. I am impressed with the quality of running of compensated P4 motive power and stock, it creates the impression of mass so often absent from what now to me are small-scale models. They seem to have shrunk as I have aged, although I have hand-assembled printed circuits with resistors and capacitors as small as 0.5mm by 0.25mm, it has not been a whole lot of fun. I haven't built a layout for nearly 50 years, but see the job rather differently now. Everything needs to work perfectly. My experiments with P4 wagons demonstrated the ability to hold the road, even if not in the way the prototype does, with very small flanges, even properly-inclined rails do not seem to be much of a help, since true inclination is worn to profile by wheel contact from heavy trains. I am concerned about joints between baseboards, although these can probably be mitigated by some serious engineering. Especially if trackbeds are elevated, which I believe they should be, since I don't want my prototype to exist in a world in which it is the lowest point in a landscape prone to flooding :-). I make springs, for other work, from music wire. Thicknesses go down very small, 152, 190, 200, 230, 254, 280, 305, 330, 360, 410, 460, 510, 560 microns being standard sizes readily available. the thinner stuff does not require Herculian force to make it assume the desired shape, and it would be my preferred material for fragile parts made from round section, such as handrails, although I would recommend securing it with adhesive. It looks as if it would spring buffers well, as well as wheels. I will find out, I guess. The RTR EM track would be fine for me, but real track is of a shape which fits where it is laid, and so does not conform to the standards necessary for RTR track to make sense. Pointwork often involves curvature not easily achieved in a standard range. The layout of the sleepers is, to me, less important, but that is a matter of taste and prefered viewpoint. Best regards Julian

I am hoping to build an East Anglian layout at about 1958. I am toying with the idea of building it in EM. The wheel and track standards are, to me, - More prototypical; - reasonably accessible; - Mechanically robust, without the need for the precision of P4; - Compatible in scale with most detailing available. The last point is important to me. I think everything should be made to about the same standard of detail. To me, P4 implies a level of finescale unavailable to me in my lifetime, I can't make everything to perfect scale, or with the required detail. Nor can I hope to engineer track and pointwork to the tolerances needed. A locomotive with perfect scale wheels, but oversized handrail fittings, glazing and metal thicknesses, valve gear difficult to fit while allowing tight curves off-view, and a general impression that track standards exceed all others available in general modelling to me are offputting. But EM, perhaps fine, with 2mm wide wheels, seems achievable. But I am also thinking about using 00. The narrow gauge doesn't seem too big a drawback, depending on viewing angle, and PECO are going to make the code-75 finescale range of pointwork with scale sleepers and bullhead rail, perhaps. There are some very wonderful 00 layouts, such as Charwelton. At the outset of P4 I saw, at exhibitions, locomotives and chassis made by people who were natural watchmakers. This was 40 years ago, I am no watchmaker, though. These were the sort of people who could put a working mechanism in the clock in the weighbridge office of the goods yard, as well as make the bridge itself and accompanying balance in the office work. Anyhow, does anyone know how to convert the spoked-wheel 00 Heljan class 16 type 1 to EM? Best regards Julian