DaveGala

Stephen Point taken about oil lamps etc.....but here's a picture to demonstrate what I mean if you are modelling a more recent period: The rear post clearly shows cables running up the outside. With regard to SMD LEDs, I have soldered them, with a very hot iron and 60/40 resin core solder, to pads on PCBs as well as tracks on vero board without any failures. However, it may take too much time to heat up a brass area to terminate the LED and consequently risk destruction. The answer is to have a short tag wire terminated/soldered close to, but not too close to, the LED. I struggled to feed two wires up a tube post. The reason for this was that the wire on the LED was not long enough to reach the bottom of the tube and needed to extend it. The extension had to be a slightly larger csa to enable termination. After sleeving the joint to prevent shorts, there wasn't enough space in the top (narrower) tube to allow the 2 wires to feed through. My signal is 7mm by the way and as I experiment before final construction and installation, I'm sure that I will get it right in the end!

I don't suppose anyone will read this after all th eyears that have passed since this post, but........... I am building some signals at present and I have researched the way that cables were run to electric lamps. They all went up the outside. Pre-wired SMD micro LEDs have very fine wire attached.......cut the negative short and solder it to the brass signal somewhere.......that leaves just one small diameter wire (for a single signal)......just glue it to the outside of the post! After a bit of paint, it's hardly visible........

Mick I know you are very much a Hull expert from my many searches on line. I would like to ask a couple of questions if I may?: a) I have a copy of Line Diagrams of the NER (NERA) and on the page showing Southcoates railway station, there are references to buffer stops on sidings or head shunts. However, there are also references to Wheel Chocks on similar lines (next to the footbridge). What are wheel chocks in this context? b) On one of you many published photographs I have seen a baulk of timber (sleeper?) fixed by the side of track which looks like it pivots to block the line whenever needed. Am I right in thinking this? (I think the photo could have been close to Beverley Cherry Tree signal Box). If so, how would it be used? ie Under what circumstances? Thanks and regards Dave

Hello IS Did you ever get one? I've got one I want to sell.

Thanks Ultrascale don't do the worms as they haven't got the right patterns or whatever. He might get one elsewhere when it's off the shaft and can be double checked for dimensions.

A colleague has a 7mm Heljan Deltic which runs every week on my garden railway. The railway is a loop about 50m long and locos can and do run for long periods...as has the Deltic. To prevent drive issues he has replaced the plastic spur wheels with brass ones. However, after a sustained run, the loco stopped. Further investigation revealed this damage: Both bogies had identical evidence of serious wear and tear. There was no indication that this was about to fail as it was running....no noise or excessive current drain. Of course if he had looked underneath, the brass dust would have been obvious....but who looks underneath their models on a routine basis? The bogie was taken out and the motor and worm removed. This is how it looks: The damage appears to be on the worm only. Superficial examination of the wheels reveals little or no damage. The worm is brass as the original plastic would be the sacrificial element but clearly, a brass worm with brass wheels doesn't (in this instance) work. I understand that Heljan don't stock worms as spares and even if they did, it would probably be brass which wouldn't be suitable. There are several questions: a) Has anyone ever come across this before? b) Has anyone checked their worm drives as a maintenance matter? c) Does anyone know how to turn a steel worm? Dave

There is an article in Model Railways November 1976 entitled Portrait of the Bongos. Oddly, the drawing shows a spoked tender wheel (see post above)......the accompanying photos are of 61306 which has discs!

Yes...I took a still from the video of this tender going to Mizens. You could be right about storage tank mods but I wonder why Piercy included this pattern in the kit? And also note the coupling hook which has replaced the drawbar.

I think the first 10 Darlington locos had spoked tender wheels. All the rest had disc wheels except for those fitted with self weighing tenders. Yeadons page 21 (61009 and the tender from 61001) show this quite clearly and page 41 (61140 with self weighing tender). A minefield! I bought spoked wheels for mine before I realised that discs were correct!

I have a Piercy B1 and I've been looking at odd things that have become apparent as I research the loco and tender. I wonder if anyone has any knowledge regarding these two things? a) I have noticed in photographs that the centre driving wheels on at least 2 locos seem to have an extra balance weight or something. The photos should help! This is 1000 so it's quite an early example. The additional small 'weight' looks like a flap of some kind but in the example below: 61010 in the late 50s early 60s with the same 'weight'. It's not on all photos of this loco though. Does anyone have any information on this oddity? b) It's a long story but the Piercy B1 comes with tons of white metal pieces, none of which are identified. There is a list in the instructions but the only way to identify the pieces is to take each one and locate it on the drawing...take the number from the drawing and then mark up the part. (It took me 2 days to get through them all!). One piece called 'Water Gauge' puzzled me as I couldn't see where it should go. After a lot of looking I finally found some pictures of the front of a B1 tender which showed the part in question. Unfortunately not all tender fronts are the same....so.....which example should be used for a Darlington B1 61010-61019? This tender shows the handles for something(water and scoop perhaps?) at an angle....one on the left side and one on the right. This is the same as the Piercy part. This picture of a model tender is (I think) based on 61306 and shows the handles in a vertical attitude......... So, does anyone have any information on these rather obscure areas? Thanks Dave

Yes...I think that's it!

Thanks to one and all for some exceedingly interesting stuff. Some time ago I saw a short film on (I think) Talking Pictures....they show shorts quite often and some are very good....note: Berth 24 about the docks at Hull. This particular film, possibly BTF, or BFI, was about the movement of a transformer from A to B. There was no 'loading gauge' as such but the whole length of the route had been assessed for the transformer overhang and at each point en route where the t/f could have hit something, they jacked it over until it was deemed to be safe.......later on a different part of the track, they would jack it back again. Fascinating. Dave

I have never understood how loading gauges were used by railways. Almost every picture I have ever seen of them shows a simple curved bar hanging from chains. This can only be of use if a van is too high or something.....it looks as though this apparatus has no use on normal multi-planked wagons et al. Very rarely, there are pictures with similar curved bars bu this time with chains hanging dow from each end. Clearly there is a width element to this which could apply to any wagon or van. Some have quite odd shapes....almost conical! So, the question is: How were loading gauges used in practice? Thanks Dave