Jon Fitness

Ooh, I could get away with quite a few then Cheers JF

I rather like that

Question is, have you got that signal back in place yet?! Cheers JF

Unfortunately I couldn't make it up there to see it. I'm hoping it'll come down a little further south one day! Every bit of video I've seen of it makes it look amazing so fingers crossed! JF

Received today Thanks Stephen! Yes I was concerned about that but I'm assured by my customer that he's using a Megapoints board. I think the more recent versions of these boards do switch off between uses but it's the signal to the servo rather than the power that gets switched off. I think it's also possible to toggle that function on or off too. I could never calculate how much power each LED will draw but I'm sure it shouldn't be so much as to upset the operation of the board or servos. Obviously on large bracket signals or gantries with multiple lamps, it may make a difference so I wouldn't risk it without knowing the details of it! I know that Dave specifies a 2 amp regulated supply to his boards as potentially, all twelve servos could move simultaneously during complex route setting. The era of lamps being turned off during the day was very early on before long burning paraffin lamps were invented. A well trimmed and maintained lamp should burn continuously for 7 days between fillings. Anyway, Happy Christmas to all, I'm off to build a signalbox kit! Cheers JF

Final round up for 2021! A couple of tubular post GWR signals, one of them being for platform mounting. The weight bar is hidden under the planking at the base of this one. Well, on the real thing it would be! For a change, the LEDs are powered from the constant 5V DC supply to the servos which is available as soon as the servos are powered up. This means no external power is needed for illumination. I'm not sure how many I could power on one servos supply though so I'll restrict this method to single arm signals for now! Merry Xmas to all my followers!

Looks fantastic Ken. I have one in the to do pile which I think will be my next loco construction. JF

Those etched posts are a great help, as you say, everything can be soldered to them for absolute strength. I maybe need to refine my construction methods as they seem a little wide at the top but otherwise OK.. Cheers JF

Back to GWR again. A couple of "wooden" posted ones as retrofitted with the later pattern steel arms. Both made from Borg Rail fold up etched posts with my own Boltons Bits etched fittings. The lamps and finials are the usual excellent Modelu 3D printed items.. Just the weathering to do and fit some servos! More soon JF

This one is a LNER ground signal, using most of a scale signal supply brass kit. This is mounted on a supporting frame and next to it is a vertical stack of white lights. As far as I can find out, there is no letter or number stencils shown and the indicated route is either shown by the appropriate light or by one/several lights being lit. More soon JF

Jeez! Rivet counters paradise there Steve!! JF

It is. I couldn't go back to 4mm scale even if I wanted to now. Eyes and fingers wouldn't allow it! I have managed a couple of GWR signals with working linkages to the contact boxes but it was way too time consuming and I don't know how robust it turned out to be in use.

A quick catchup from the signal bench here. The LMS signals after final completion and a little weathering. Again the wooden planks were kindly laser cut for me by Nikki Wilkes. A couple more GWR distant signals for Stephen Fay, one using the excellent etched fold up tapered posts from Borg Rail. The sightboards are on my "to-etch" list but in this instance are cut from scrap etch. Both are lit and servo operated. As you can see, neither have finials as I now leave these separate for the customer to fit on arrival. I've had too many snap during the delivery process. Latest off the bench are these two BR(E) upper quadrants for a layout that's modelling the more recent era. The semaphore with the 2 aspect is a starter that leads into a MAS area. When at danger the red shows in the semaphore arm and the colour light remains blank. When set to "off" the green aspect in the semaphore is blanked off and the colour light shows either yellow or green. The twin post signal is a 1980's replacement for a much earlier bracket signal. All that grey paint! All these signals have been lightly weathered but the low autumn sun seems to blitz it out on the pictures. My smart phone maybe isn't when left to its own devices!

Yep. The batch of 10 from which mine comes were supposedly for replacement of an SLT trolley bus service between Bolton and Leigh for which Bolton Transport actually owned the vehicles. I suppose the 2 pedal option was to help the ex trolleybus drivers to adapt. In reality, Lancashire United took over the ex trolley bus route in the end! The redundant trolley buses were returned to Bolton Transport for disposal.. JF

Slow but steady progress on the larger LMS bracket signal.... With the arms in position ready for the linkages... More Soon if the linkages don't drive me mad JF

Greetings all. Now those who know me, know I have another hobby or two and this is one of them. It's the thing that keeps me at the bench building signals for people... I've owned it and almost finished restoring it over the last 23 years (). Last Week I unfortunately had to move it from where it's been stored to another location which I'm hoping will still be as safe and sound, but needs must. I performed an oil and filter change and other maintenance checks before the 30 mile trip. This was it's first serious run out since I got it and a first on busy roads for me too. Happily, all was accomplished safely with kind assistance from a good friend.. The oil change was definitely needed. Black sludge and a blocked filter.. Ready to leave... The journey and arrival! Back to the signals next JF

Will do. Probably towards the end of October now

Ah, Craven Arms...

Jeez that looks complex! I had enough trouble getting my triple one to work in 7mm scale. I absolutely couldn't do it in 4mm scale. Fantastic work, I bow to you oh Master!!! JF

They're lovely aren't they? Modelu's finest 3D printed ones. Hollow to allow them to be plonked on a 3mm warm white LED. JF

More progress on the LMS tubular post bracket signals. The 3 doll version seems OK but there will be a few tweeks to the etch design necessary before they get produced. This one is being produced as a 2 doll with c/o arms as a platform starter. More Soon JF

Ah, the old cast whitemetal arms. Since superseded by new etched nickel silver ones. I'll change them both I think.... JF

Another GWR cash register signal done and once again, I've cheated and used a return spring. This method meant a little more leverage is necessary to move the individual flags but it all works. The main lamp and finial are Modelu, The backlight is scratch, The cash register bit is heavily modified MSE and the arms and mechanical bits are Boltons Bits. There's 3 flags, MAIN, SHED and Carr Sdgs., each one with its own servo. It's also the first I've ever done with a backlight to the flags which meant they were printed on OHP. I've tried to photograph the illumination but although it looked ok in the flesh, my camera phone just couldn't cope and it bleached out so these are of the unlit signal. More Soon JF

Now these have been a long time coming and they're still not quite right yet. The LMS design tubular post bracket signals were once incredibly common across the railway network but are disappearing fast as renewals are either done looking like a scaffolders store yard or simply done away with in favour of Lego-esque colour light signals. As a test etch, I had both a 2 doll and 3 doll balanced bracket done and a 2 doll offset one. All include parts for cross shafting and the supports for the lampmans staging. Here's the 2 doll balanced structure which I'll be finishing off shortly. All should be capable of taking 2 different diameters of main post which varied depending on the loading above the bracket. This is a completed offset bracket for a customer which also was requested with a 2 disc ground signal at the base. Again, quite proud of this as all etched items are my own products, even if a couple of mistakes had to be sorted out during the build! These will obviously be altered in the production etches and are of course what test etches are for This next one was basically an updated copy of one I'd done about 10 years ago for Rod Morgan's West Kirby layout using my newer etched arms with a scratchbuilt theatre style route indicator. My most recent ones were two of these GER wooden posted signals with remote arm and spec plate. Both proper wood posts with MSE arms and lamps with Modelu finials and my own etched ladders. Both were lit and servo operated. More soon honest, even if its back to GWR stuff again..... JF

Ummm, I've done it again haven't I? All summer without an update. Anyway here's a signal based update montage.... April's output was LNWR based. These 2 were constructed from Scale Signal Supply kits and were servo operated but unlit. I altered the brackets a little to make a narrower version for a tighter location. May and June's output was the usual GWR or BRW signals. Still the most popular railway's signals The GWR cash register signal was a strange one. It arrived as box of bits from the customer with some exquisitely assembled scratchbuilt bits included which had all been assembled with superglue! I had to carefully pick them all apart and try to reassemble them with solder which wasn't easy. It was necessary though as further soldered construction round them would have made them fall apart. The signal uses an SSS arm, Modelu lamps/finial and the rest is scratchbuilt. The elevated ground signal was mostly scratchbuilt with a few of my own etched bits and a modelu lamp The BR(W) 2 doll and 3 doll brackets I'm quite proud of as all the etched parts are my own products plus the usual Modelu Finials and lamps. All lit and servo operated with superb laser cut ply planks done for me by the wonderful Nikki Wilkes. More in a mo.... JF