peach james

1: change the cylinder block. 2: add a generator 3: call it a showmans. Oh, wait...no, that's something ELSE that's likely to start a flame war ! Different cylinder block, different arrangement of valve gear. On a 4mm scale model, mostly just altering the cylinder block, make it more "square" on the LHS, rather than rounded, knock the cover off the front to make it square too. I would suggest thinning the rear tyres down too...they look stupid thick to my eyes. If you are going all out, the distance between the cylinder block and the chimney appears a bit big too- as well as the cylinder block being offset too far (the exhaust on the real one is straight into the chimney, not offset- I don't know enough to know, but would make an assumption that is because the engine blocks porting on the piston valve engine is offset to the outside, and to the inside on the slide valve version. (the internal porting _is_ different, as 99% of piston valves are inside admission, vice outside admission for slide valves...)

I bloody well wish. I live 53 km from my job as a heating plant engineer- and while I am well paid for the work, it's rather less wages to the cost of a house here now. I get paid $37.48/hr by the government for sitting stupidvising a pair of 600 hp steam heat boilers. That'd be great, if 38*2000=76000*3= $228 000 was the average house price. My stately estate, some 53 km from here, some 22 km past the nearest store is now worth $>750 000. Or, for all intents, 10 years of my earnings. Except of course, that's 10 years _before_ taxes, or interest...so more like 30 years of income. The _cheapest_ house in North Van is 1.38 million ... no idea what something in the English Properties is worth, even though I ha(d?) distant relatives there. I have a pension as well as my income, but still... James

"over several days" Ha ! I'm at several _decades_ with some of the things made of lego... if you came to the 2019 November show @ the PNE, VLC borrowed some of my straight roadplates. We were there with Bricknell Road in OO, which we would like to do again this November if the show happens. Feel free to introduce yourself...we usually can do with another operator !

Once on a time, say, about 1988-93, I used to exhibit a Thomas layout. It was 4x6, (or 1200x2400mm) which exceeds your space by quite a bit. Later on, I moved on to building my own, which sits on 60x60" (actually, 60.25x60.25"). I can confirm that the Hornby Thomas, Percy, Duck, James, Bill, Ben, Oliver will all comfortably run around 15" curves, because that's what is on it. (Strangely, I don't think I have any photos...certainly not many...) So, building a layout that sits in 90 cm wide is practical. I used Peco turnouts- I think a mixture of setrack small turnouts, and one curved one, which might be Hornby rather than Peco (it certainly isn't the long radius Peco curved turnout...). In 60x60, I had 5 loops in the back, and a passing loop on the front, with Faller road on it. (and it was all automated, with Lego Mindstorms RCX's (x3) to run it automatically...not DCC). If I was going for a layout for kids, I would try to make it so they can configure it- it's a pain in the buttocks in some ways, but good in others. I would look at KATO Unitrack, or Bachmann EZ Track (yes, spelled like that...), and go from there- both of them are designed to be taken apart and put back together many times, whereas the UK systems (Hornby and Peco) are not as good for that. If you want to attach the track to something for now, that would make sense, just do it in a way that you can recover the track later for them to have at it on their own, would be my suggestion. (use white glue, something that water will remove ? Or over here, draft stop calking, which can be peeled off when they get to wanting to "change" the layout on their own...) My (then 8 year old- now 11 !) has a Kato N gauge loop in the bedroom in OO9 (N gauge, OO scale) that he occasionally plays with- both of my minions are far more about the easy to use than the more traditional, as my 16 year old dragged out the box of wooden railway and it's currently set up all over the living room floor. (both my two children are autistic- and killing a childhood by saying no, you are too old for that seems like a daft thing for someone with 450 000 pieces of lego to try to do !). So, I would say stay DC with a single controller for now, and that yes, a loop that goes away under the bed is perfectly practical. I would use a non traditional baseboard material (some form of plastic) for the top surface to allow to remove the track in 2-4 years, and my preference would be Unitrack. It is not cheap, but there are a couple of advantages that I can see for a kids layout over the traditional track- 1: it has built in ballast for laying onto the floor (if carpeted) 2: it is fairly easy to connect/disconnect 3: it is engineered to be connected/disconnected 4: resale is likely possible if they decide to get out of it, probably at 1/4 of what was paid in. https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/magento/catalogsearch/result/?q=kato+unitrack+2-260 or Bachmann EZ track- Rails carry it: https://railsofsheffield.com/products/Bachmann-trains-44505-e-z-track-15-radius-curved-track-4card?_pos=1&_sid=427bef5c0&_ss=r I hope you get enough info to help you- remember that asking for opinions on here, you are likely to get at least 1 more than posters ! James

" JPR scores again, and god said "You should have been specific" " !

Just for a note here- the throttle on 70038 in OO is droopy too... so it's a Hornby "feature" (?)

Having played at the experimental part of model engineering... 1: High pressure steam (>300 PSI) means a water tube boiler. Tried. Several times. See Sentinel for examples. See Fury, CPR and D&H (US) for examples of multi pass systems running high pressures. In conjunction with that is the triple point of steam, which is about 3200 PSI. There are stationary plants which run above that for efficiency (n) reasons. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercritical_steam_generator ) Water tube boilers in railway applications have had a storied history of failure. Sentinel made at least 6 locos with them, and a series of railcars. They also appear in Hush-Hush, and the abovementioned Jawn Henry. 2: Turbines. Turbines are less efficient than steam at lower power outputs. Even the Cofflin CG pumps we had used an "excessive" amount of steam in comparison to the HP generated- they ran about 10 000 lb/hr for 600 hp (or about 17 lb/hr) in comparison to high speed reciprocating steam which could manage as low as 14 lb/hr. As you get smaller than 600 HP (the CG pumps come quite a bit smaller- they were used on the SAR class 25's for feed pumps), the steam demand doesn't drop that much. Similarly, dad recounts fitting a Stones lighting dyno onto 8122, and said it was rather a hungry beast for 500w of electricity...small turbines suffer from inherent losses which make them less desirable than you may think. Traction turbines have to face the same problem as Naval turbines- varying speeds, but with the added horror of varying loads at varying speeds. 3: we ran 600 PSI operating pressure, 865 F superheat temperature (full power), on HMCS Protecteur. This was a GE designed plant, from the 1960's. The USN ran some steam at 1200 PSI. (the Leahy & Belknap classes, and the SL7's) . Y-100's ran at 550 PSI (RCN, RAN and RN versions). --------- Turbines are ill suited to the demand profile of railway operation. So too are water tube boilers. Just the wrong tool for the job, like picking up a wrench to use as a hammer. While open reciprocating steam engines probably were near their limits as per the Standard classes, there isn't a great easy replacement for them. Steam-Electric combines the worst of just about every world- the book "Rails Remembered Volume 4" is about Jawn Henry, and the tribulations it suffered. Suffice to say, putting the power plant on the ground and stringing wires makes more sense than trying to move it all around in a 12x12x150' box. James

That would be Saturday . Fortunately, my parents are married, so I'd not know all the custom of the wierdroom PO2 James Powell, RCN (Retired)

I'm still at it- the heap of rail has been cut to lengths for curves, so I have 3x tied 120" pieces, 7 not yet tied, & 10 each of 120 - 0.320", 119", 118 7/16", with neat 1/4" holes at one end of each one. Next step will be welding one of the -.320 pieces on, and seeing how they look for length. Hopefully I've got it right this time, if I have then it's back onto the drill press and out with the holes on the 120 and -.320 pieces, and the hot melt glue gun (MIG welder) gets used... I've had to dig into the stash of tieplates at home for more of them- I'm on my second lot that I brought in. James

The one the image is of has (what looks to me) to be sensibly designed stairs as well, for those able to manage them.

David, it depends... The larger ones here are in a no-mans land between vehicle and medical aid, the same as motorized wheelchairs. I know, there's one sitting in one of my sea cans right now...fortunately currently surplus to requirements. I think generally, there hasn't been a huge movement to do anything about them because it is more convenient as it is. Certainly, there are drivers (using that term deliberately !) of the larger ones who shouldn't be let loose on them, but its the last vestige of their freedom. The slower ones (the "4 mph" ones, per se) are generally not seen except in shopping areas around here, whereas there was a fatal accident between one of the bigger ones and a dump truck not that long ago in Langford. (4 ? years ago). Reading the RAIB report on the Alice Halt incident makes it clear to me that RAIB views the current standards as being acceptable, and that it doesn't seem to warrant a huge change, but that incremental changes (not having a 90% corner to traverse that then blinds the operator...) are justifiable. Practically, I think that the RAIB has it about balanced right when you look at what they are saying- look at the usage of the footpath crossing to determine what is required to make it safe. James

You can use either a DB168 or a SE8C. If you use the BD4N's, be aware, all they do is provide an occupancy- no feedback into Loconet. You have to use a DS64,DS74 or DS78V (or a SE8C) to put the inputs into Loconet. The BD4N replaces the BD4, which was cheaper and easier to wire... Yes, you can use the BD4N to drive a remote panel LED. If it was me, and I wanted to sense the above, the answer would be "it depends", because if you are using Zimo decoders, I would go with something which does RailCom, so that you "could" automate the staging yard. James

With 2 detection sections per loop, you don't need to worry- sketch out the track plan : ______|_0__|__________0_______|____ -----0-----/--------|--0--|-------------0----------|-------\-----0---- (train enters here) (with each 0 = a sensor block) and think it through- you don't need to know anything but the front and rear of the train for the software part. Basically, you have the software driving the train until it hits the short "stop" detect, and that's it...it should be able to be done by hand as well, with LED's providing the indication. If the rear of the train is still on the turnout on the RHS, then drive the train forward until it clears- and if it fires the LHS detection, then you have gone too far. I'm unsure how easy it will be to run as an automatic unless it is done with either RailCOM or Transponding (r) on the first block to identify the decoder ID required. (ABC using Diodes would be easier, in some ways...). James

You need to have the tail of the train detected, and I would suggest some of the intermediate wagons/coaches...not necessity every wagon but enough that you know when the turnouts are free to change. James

Driver & Fireman are going to have a heck of a bump in about 80', followed by the rather disconcerting sound of falling into the rails in the 4'. Is actually quite a shock when you do it at 7-8 MPH with the 3.5" gauge one (back when I was young...) The Brit in your photo- the throttle rod is droopy (above the hand rail), when I think they were fairly rigid. I'd suspect in full size they were hollow tubes for stiffness. I should check mine and see how they look. James

Can you reprogram them to fire 1 at a time vs both at the same time? Or are you out of outputs to do that dodge? DS 52 has a CDU, could be used ? James

Na, the Klicky's are assembled in Malta we've most of a nativity of Playmobil here- including 3 wise men. But they're not that wise, because they are riding on camels, not "We three kings of Orient are, one in a taxi, one in a car, one on a scooter blowing its hooter, following yonder star..." While I have a vast amount of Lego, I have a fairly large Playmobil collection too- if you look behind the Lego building, you can see most of it

Phil, there is an important question to ask: WHICH Playmobile trains do you mean? Because there are 3 distinct groups- Faller Hit & Play Train (and E train) (1974(?)-1985) LGB Era Playmobile (with metal rails & LGB Mechanisms) (1985-95-97) Plastic Track Playmobile (which 5258 is the last set, a rather snazzy BoBo, a EMU(ish) thing, & a steam engine) https://www.klickypedia.com/themes/train/ As far as Lego trains go, there is a fair chance that we will see a secondary manufacturer made motor unit and transformer next year. (FX Bricks). They've already introduced 2 radius of curves larger than the Lego (40 stud) radius, and 32 & 8 L straights, with the intent of ~104r turnouts (in testing/pre production). As far as I understand, they intend on introducing a power pick up that will allow the use of a pFX brick (bluetooth) to act as the intermediate to Power Functions motors. James

They still are available to some extent or another- 5258 is the "current" set, and klickpedia says it is still current, but I don't see it on playmobile.ca. I'm not too bothered- my days of buying more playmo trains are over, as the niece has all of the battery operated ones :).

The first image- it has blue skies. And a snowplow. I'm looking forward to this as well, James

I've been mucking around on the club layout mostly- I had it put together, have taken it apart (again), are waiting on bits for it... The current task is to build a gantry signal for the end of the platform, as I have just finished freeing up two sets of servo wires for the station approach board. That's because I finally wired up 2x, 9 pin connectors for the station and hill boards. Another addition during the conversion to DCC has been a pair of plugs for Digitrax gear (RJ-12), one on each side of the station approach board. The much nicer looking Digitrax UP5 is on the front, with a RJ12 connector on the back. I'm awaiting a package from Lee's Electronics to be able to power the newly motorized Peco turntable from the DCC, rather than using an external power supply. It's almost 1 step forward, 1 step back. I have to take a look at my work schedule and figure out when the next club meeting will be- we're still slated to go to Nanaimo for the train show, but the chances of it happening are anyone's guess !

USCG unofficial motto: You have to go out. You don't have to come back. They came for me. Them and RCM-SAR. I won't say what I think of the Rt Honorable Nigel Farage. Mostly because Andy Y. would probably have to punt me for it...

What's the difference between Pre 1963 BR (W), and post ? One had branches...

I just picked up copies on the big island of RM and MRJ from Bolen Books. They certainly did have problems getting magazines for a while, once again I have a gap in MRJ. I think there was Hornby Mag too, but I only bought the RM for adverts (!). I'm not sure how Tanners in Sidney are doing, I haven't had to go out there in a while :). I liked it when Britannia could get in magazines- it was like having a Canadian mail distributer for MRJ.

Simon, I know it is a bit different as this is a commercial undertaking, but perhaps what you need is a way of harnessing the local clubs to provide "stock lads" (though I suspect more will be >65 than <20 ! ) and/or, the internet community to augment you & your staff. Even if it is a case of putting back coaches/wagons into trains after derailments, such a thing might help relieve some pressure from you to "deal with" putting back on the 2-27 wagons on the train that end up left behind (or piled into a stock tray) after an incident. Ideally candidates would know more than they will...as in, what train goes where, how digitrax and RR&Co work, and how to make the perfect cup of tea :). but, if you could get some local support, it might make it a little less of a chore to run as you are. How I'd look at it is via a scheduled day (or multi days) for the "stock lads" to help, and provide a basic outline of what is needed on your 1/2 day of testing/setup prior to opening for the punters. (as a must attend, not a "perhaps" attend). That way you have some idea of their competency to do the job, and explain the role of the job (stand here, look good, until wagons are strewn all around, then put them back on the train...). I'm of no use- there's no road from Shirley (Canada) to Shirley (UK ) James James