rjh

David, Chris, Thanks both. I hope you are aware thar Paul Karau (another admirer of DAW) did us proud in MRJs 246,247,248 by running an accoun of the MJ saga by Andy Avis, drawing on original material from the Williams.collection. More soon Regards Rodney

Chris from: Rodney MetJct Part 3 Miscellenia SEE the backscene... The first video below was filmed this last weekend at the REC 2018 Woking Show. It includesw both outside and inside views. The second is, of course,from the inside. Met Jct can be seen from approx 1:01.11 to 1:06.11 (ie about 5 minutes) in this well made video of the whole Woking 2018: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FlUSbdeMVJQ Finally, for now, I leave you with a link to a short, but precious, piece of 8mm cine film that Doug made in 1990 of the layout in operationw. Enjoy! It’s available here (only by direct URL): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0xJvKJjfJE Rodney Hills .end Rodney

Chris from Rodney MetJct Part 2 You are right w.r.t. locos, although in his earliest, the King Arthur, post WW2 shortages eg of nickel silver. (Aka “german silver”!) was built of tinplate hence the inevitable choice of Eastleigh Arthur No.799 “Sir Ironside”, the model nicknamed “Sir Tinplateside(s)”. DAW’s carriages are not metal though. Cardboard. Still looking good after about 70 years. next para.. gpfully working condition....realistic operation.... Indeed, that was the thinking behind grafting on a cassette fiddle yard (“borrowed” from Swaynton) utiliising one of the two short banking sidings that are hidden underneah the town. Something we intend to progress further. There is no evidence that Doug went in for timetabled running. 10 foot to 12 foot square. As per the plan (qv) actually 8’ 9” x 10’ 8”. The MRN chose to replace all Doug’s very clear handwritten italic text with actual type, but lost the 9” off the width. This unneccessary shrinkage to only 8’ 0” led me to erroneus and misleading assumptions about possible sites. ,end of part two

Chris, From: Rodney Hills Thank you very much for your comments on Doug’s masterpiece. I will pass them on to Mrs Pat Williams, who this time was only able to attend on the Saturday. Going through your “what is good about MJ” list... Para 3 ..backscenes ‘Ah, as a home layout, it was almost surrounded by the wall of the room amd indeed have have backscenes. Plese look at the plan for Stand 65 in the REC’s excellent Exhibiton Guide page 23 or at the MetJct Yahoo Group site homepage https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/metjct/info Be patient the latter diagram for some reason can take ages to appear. The door of the bedroom was immediately to the top left corner, swinging open to the left, this aisle giving access to the lifting flap, which is on the stretch of plain track (seven lines, incl H.L. branch rising at 1 in 30!). Straight wall with chimney breast protusion at centre, Southaven terminus had flat backscene behind a low wall along the baseboard edge. Wihdow wall to right of plan, top third plus right hand half of top wall having flat backscene behind low relief town buildings (spot the Bilteezis, spot the Superquicks!) BUT You visitors were standing OUTSIDE the ‘room’ and through the non-existent ‘walls’. Perhaps we should have raised some real walls all round the layout and relay whats happening inside the box via video relay, or even use webcams.... Instead we omitted most of the backscenes, so that you could see ‘in’. Read Cyril Freezer and Iain Rice on the ins and outs of ovals.... .end of part one...by Rodney Hills

Hello again, Notes from The Metropolitan Junction Railway Operating Department by Rodney Hills. 1. Due to a number of unfortunate circumstances, I have only been able to attend the Woking REC Exhibition on the Saturday afternoon. That means that the planned display of vintage controllers has regretfully been cancelled. 2. There is vintage in plently to be seen on Met Jct layouti itself, we don’t have any future showings lined up at present, so get along TODAY if you want to see it.(PLUS the rest of a fine exhibition) 3. We were pleased s to the number of visitors we had to Stand 65 on Saturday, including a gentleman who came all the way from Coventry to revisit Doug Williams’s handiwork, having been a visitor to the Beckenham house when his children were young and were fascinated when Doug let them run trins that automatically triggered the sound system. Re-instatement of the latter is on the ‘to-do” list. 4.p I would welcome copies of photos/videos of Met Jct taken at this Woking show, for inclusion in the layouts’s online prescence: https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/metjct/info Send me a msg in the fiirst instancoe, please. Regards, Rodney Hills

hello since The Metropolitan Junction Railway got a mention earlier in this topic, I thought that I would post a gentle reminder re the Woking show this weekend by showing this view of it at an "undress rehearsal" not that far from Woking. Undress, as everything on the top of the baseboards is detachable except: track, working rodding and lever frames and kever actuated switches, point solenoids(only a few of these). note also the signature D,A, Williams hallmarks: the complex P & C work, the baseboard joints through said work, the lattice signal gantry (fusewire, mostly). Doug even left a manual on how to dismantle the layout. regards, Rodney Hills PS -- Alongside we shall have the EMGS display /info PLUS some vintage control items, including all being well: The legendary ROLLA CONTROLA. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/133182-rec-woking-exhibition-2018-8th-9th-september/

Hello I just came across a site with download files of the following issues of Railway Modeller... https://archive.org/details/railwaymodeller Issues are ( . Railway of the month .. Plan of the month ... notable article and/or prototype station plan ) 1963 Jan ( . Ambition in TT-3 by H. Myott .. A modular layout [Minories add-ons] ... Burmham on sea drawings ) Jun ( . Peter Denny rebuilds Buckingham Great Central ..A garage scheme ... Special https://archive.org/details/railwaymodeller Country survey, your last chance) Aug ( . Borchester by J F Webster, based om RM pl an ..A thoroughgoing terminus ...psp:Blencow ...Madder Valley at Pendon ) 1964 Jan ( . Broadland Railway by Bury St Edmunds MRC .. Extendibility. by C J Peacock ... psp: Daventry ...) Feb ( . Wannetka Warlock & Western by Peter Haddock ..Terminal topics .. motorised Airfix Crane by J. Dugdale ) Mar ( . Glenfern Rly by Geoff Cowmeadow ..Small and Simple .. psp Aylesbury High St ) Apr ( . To be done........."etc ) May Aug 1965 Apr Aug Regards, Rodney Hills

Hello If the Exmoor half inch Bartholemew is available I would like to have it please. Regards, Rodney Hills (rjh) Surrey, UK

Hello If the Exmoor half inch Bartholemew is available I would like to have it please. Regards, Rodney Hills (rjh) Surrey, UK

Hello again, on-topic with the Rolla Controla...... I am taking it to the expoEM show at Bracknell TODAY SUNDAY 14 MAY 2017 and connecting it to the Test Track details of show: http://www.emgs.org/events/society-events/?event_id1=13 for more on R C search RMweb onn : rolla regards ,,. Rodney Hills

Hello, Interesting thread.... Ah, but who was "Dax"? ================== I've asked Steve Flint at Peco/RM and nobody there now apparently knows... Apart from the Living Lineside series, you find other little sketches in the same style as headers etc to other items over the same period. the Rolla Controla ============== I have one of these... search RMweb on: Rolla Controla you should get about seven hits with more gen. I am hoping to get to ExpoEM at Bracknell on Sunday 14 May 2017 and I am quite willing to bring the Rolla Controlla along and hook it up to the test track by arrangement. Let me know if you are interested in seeing / using the controller... "The R-C is to today's electronic pulse width modulation (PWM) controllers as the Baird television is to today's home entertainment systems". Regards, Rodney Hills archivist@merg.org.uk

Richard, Tony Gee will be at ExpoEM at Bracknell on 13-14 May 2017. see http://www.emgs.org/events/society-events/ Apart from the 70th Anniversay demo/display stand listed, Tony will be giving a lecture on Buckingham each day. Not too far from you? Regards, Rodney Hills Custodian of "Metropolitian Junction" by D.A.(Doug) Williams, which layout will be having a 70th in 2019.

Brian, That was quick.! I will try and get it scanned. BTW - there are a couple of typos in my post - I can edit and correct and preview but how do I save the edited version? regards, Rodney

Hello project, I have in my collection a photocopy of :h BRITISH RAILWAYS SOUTHERN REGION CARRIAGE WORKING NOTICE STEAM TRAINS Commencing 12th September, 1960, and until further notiice. SOUTHERN DISTRICT It has cover plus 55 pages in total, coverage as below Is all or part of it of interest? I should be able to scan and send electronically.. regards, Rodney Hills Surrey, Uk ....... Pages 1 to 45-upper cover WEEKDAYS Pages 45-lower to 55 cover SUNDAYS Stations included with approx number of workings, weekdays uness otherwise indicated Alresford 1 Bailey Gate 1 Bournemouth Central 65 ( c 6 1/2 pages ) Bournemouth Central Goods 6 Bournemouth West SX 83, SO 70 (c 6 pages) Bridport 3 Broadstone 1 Brockenhurst 37 Christchurch 7 Dorchester South 7 Dorchester West 1 Eastleigh c 110 Fareham 16 Fawley 6 Gosport 2 Lymington Pier 16 Lymington Town 11 Maiden Newton 5 Poole 10 Romsey 2 Southampton Central 19 Southampton Docks 20 Southamton Terninus 41 Swanage 21 Totton 1 Wareham 24 Weymouth SX 46 SO 55 Weymouth Quay 6 Wimborne 8 Winchester City 8 Yeovil Pen Mill 17 ----- SUNDAYS Bournemouth Central 28 Sun Bournemouth West 27 Sun Brockenhurst 15 Sun Dorchester South 2 Sun Eastleigh 17 Sun Lymington Pier 9 Sun Lymington Town 5 Sun Poole 2 Sun Southampton Central 3 Sun .. Docks 2 Sun .. Terminus 9 Sun Swanage 6 Sun Wareham 5 Sun Weymouth 19 Sun Yeovil Pen Mill 6 Sun .. ..END

Hello, snap. called Peco Technical Advice Bureau (wonderful period piece of a name!) yesterday about something else, but also told that the 00 BH LR points were next to be released after the 0 Setrack points. regards, Rodney Hills

Helo, 1. Simple line drawings of many pointwork variants http://www.gauge0guild.com/manual/02_2_2_Pointwork.pdf 2. one that got away, the Barry Slip http://85a.co.uk/forum/view_topic.php?id=2583&forum_id=11&highlight=barry+slip regards, Rodney Hills

hello again just noticed this weekend at Wells, Somerset http://www.scalefour.org/scalefoursouthwest/2016/ regards, Rodney Hills

Ashley, Are you able to attend Scaleforum? http://www.scalefour.org/scaleforum/2016/ demo stands incl Howard Bolton on track construction lots of other folks to get good advice from plenty of 00 modellers attend this , also expoEM at Bracknell in May, details below, regards Rodney Hills Scaleforum 2016 24th & 25th September 2016 Stoke Mandeville Stadium Guttmann Road Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP21 9PP

Hello, re six bolt fishplates.. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5QYmBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=six+bolt+fishplate&source=bl&ots=LHLFhT5zxg&sig=cgyGElqWjVbxoBxSwqocyCCK-UQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiMqv_n6v3NAhXLD8AKHfclDPEQ6AEIPDAI#v=onepage&q=six%20bolt%20fishplate&f=false extract from: Railway Track Engineering, Fourth Edition2009 by J. S. Mundrey Publisher: Mc Graw Hill India (2009) ISBN-10: 0070680124 ISBN-13: 978-0070680128 quote, last para below: Regards, Rodney Hills

Hello John, I have taken the liberty of snipping one of your photos in post # 9 and placing it here to emphasise your excellent trackwork... You mentioned at the start of the topic that the layout is constructed to 00-SF track standards. The narrow 1mm crossing flangeways are good on the eye, as is your single slip. May I ask you some questions?: Q1. What sort of radius are those curves? minimum? typical? Q2. 00-SF minimum Track Gauge is 16.2mm. You will likely be using this through the point & crossing work, but do you gauge widen elsewhere, eg: a. on curved tracks, if so by how much? b. in order to use ready-made plain track of 16.5mm TG? Q3. Are you using 26mm (8'6" scale) long sleepers or are you reducing them to complement the 2.38 to 2.68 under-scale-gauge, if so to what length? Q4. I imagine that the bullhead rails, chairs etc are from the C&L emporium, but are they a. the older C&L toolings OR b. the neater ex-Exactoscale components? Q5. (relates to Q2 above) Is the visible trackwork ALL individually chaired, or have you used ready made track bases away from P & C work? Q6. is this layout your first essay in 00-SF? Thank you very much. Best regards, Rodney Hills

Hello again, DUE TO HEALTH PROBLEMS LAST NIGHT, I DID NOT MANAGE TO GET TO THE ALRESFORD SHOW, today Saturday. SO no Rolla Controla on display this year, sorry. Perhaps next year... regards Rodney Hills

Good afternoon I plan to take my Rolla Controla to the Alresford show on SATURDAY 18 JUNE 2016. and hope it may be possible to have it operating (not suitable for coreless motors) Thi,s is not a TCS show but is organised by Bob Leggett. There will be a TCS stand, manned by Rod Hannah, that would be the best place to inquire if you wish to contact me on the day. I shall also try and post this notice to the TCS Yahoo Group. regards, Rodney Hills

hello again Stephen/Bertidog asked about R-C rotational speed.... (I shall try and scan all the paperwork and upload it somewhere) quote.. The current fed to your loco is 12 V.D.C. full wave rectified current, in the form of impulses having a variable dwell to control speed. These impulses have a frequency of approx 180 per second. The commutator has four tapered pickups for each direction. Yes, shaded pole motor 3000 rpm = 50 rps about 45 rps in practice which matches Rollason's 180 pulses per sec with four pulses per rotation. My standard model has NO 12v supply, there are two power pack (pp) models that do prices inc purchase tax R.C.1 standard £4-19-6 R.C.2 2amp pp £6-19-6 R.C.4 4amp pp £7-15-0 regards, Rodney Hills

hello thank you all for your comments and suggestions. regarding showing the Rolla Controla, I am not a member of the TCS (*) but would quite willing to bring it along to a TCS event. unfortunately your July Biggleswade date clashes with a prior committment, but I see you have something on at Alresford the weekend 18-19 June. That might be possible.... * - My good friend Andy Emmerson, a TCS member, spotted this R-C at a toyfair and put me in touch with the seller. regards, Rodney Hills