Pete the Elaner

2024-04-25T20:12:39Z

If Trevor has taken them, you will have some awesome photos.

April 11

2 hours ago, The Nottingham Extension said:

Stanley v5:

Shed removed

Road track, signal box and church added

Tunnel removed

Thoughts?

I notice the goods shed has been shifted along to almost the end of the siding. I always question this.

Unloading 4-5 wagons in a train requires shuffling them. This is a bit of a pain which is great for a layout if you like shunting, but a real pain in the real world where things needs to be done. Moving the shed along a little (which would be more typical from the plans I have seen) allows more of the train to access the goods shed by simply pushing it further down the line.

April 10

59 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

Robin's plan looks good but it's squashed into the space.

It does.

I have looked at Newport Pagnell which, for those unaware of it, was on a small branch from Wolverton. The line was 4 miles long with 2 intermediate stations, so single track all the way.

Newport Pagnell station had a goods yard beyond the passenger station. The platforms themselves held about 4 coaches, but fitting it onto a 15' layout in OO was about as small as I felt it could go without looking compressed, but you may feel it can be squeezed a little more.

There was a book about the branch with some useful photos. It will be out of print but you may be able to find a copy if the station has any potential for you.

April 9

19 hours ago, MrWolf said:

What would be the point of that? If you could even get a drugs marker put on the car, chances are all they'd get is a cannabis warning, or if charged with DUI and banned (if indeed the f'tards have ever held a license) they'll just buy another junker and drive it around until they get pulled again.

The most likely result in court is being bound over or maybe a suspended sentence.

If you think the police are indifferent to such behaviour, it's largely the fault of the utterly inept justice system.

Last year I was helping a friend clear some land behind another friend's house which was so overgrown you could only see one of the three garages on site.

We'd replaced the lock on the brick garage to store our tools, but after just four days someone crowbarred the door and stole two Stihl petrol brush cutters and a chainsaw.

I called 999 to be told that unless the burglary was in progress I should call 101.

An hour later, I got through and was asked if the burglary was in the house?

No. The garage.

Is the garage attached to the house?

No.

Then we can't attend.

About an hour later we were hacking into the creepers at the back of the next garage and found the items in bin liners hidden between the garages under a large ivy plant.

Obviously the thieves were intending on coming back with transport and probably had loot from other outbuildings.

I called 101 again to fill them in on what we'd found and ask if they would like to catch the culprits as there had been a spate of burglaries, all they would need to do is keep watch.

The answer, as you might have guessed by now was no.

So I offered to assist, what if four ex military types secreted themselves nearby that night?

I was then sternly told that it would be we who would be in trouble with the law.

Exasperated, I suggested that the desk jockey should prepare for mayhem and hung up.

We took all our tools home and decided that breaking and entering for the purposes of theft must now be legal, but we missed the press release.

That attitude from the police sounds about right.

A few years ago, I got off the train after work & witnessed somebody trying to break a bike lock with a hammer & bolster. Somebody was watching him, so he hovered around having a quick bash now & again. I stayed around to support the observer. He called the police & they insisted that they could not send anyone even after he replied "if you come now, you will catch him". The police station in MK is less than a mile from the railway station & traffic is rarely a problem.

There seem to be some crimes for which they do not bother with.

April 9

2 hours ago, Jeremy Cumberland said:

I thought there are (or were) a few places where trains use the main platform/straight road when there isn't a cross. I seem to recall this happening at Axminster, but it's over 20 years since it was my local station, and I might well be remembering it wrongly.

I think a few places in Scotland have right hand running.

Muir of Ord (just W/NW of Inverness) is on a passing loop & trains run on the right through the station. It felt strange but was consistent with the platform information signs.

April 9

5 hours ago, Kris said:

I've just spent a week at Harlech (the station is just as your plan) and spent a while watching the patterns of the trains using the station. Down trains and up trains always used the same platform even if there was no other train due. I suspect that this makes it easier for passengers to know where they need to be.

I have not been there for years, but I used to live near Kirby Cross, in Essex. Services always used to call at separate platforms there too & the platforms/tracks look ok, so I am sure they still do.

Most smaller stations like this are unmanned so it would be confusing to have most use the 1 platform then another unexpectedly used the other one without staff there to tell passengers to move across before it arrives.

It is also good practise to keep operational lines in regular use where possible.

April 9

Another vote here for Gaugemaster.

Their controllers give good performance throughout the speed range. Go for their cream coloured range. The black ones are feedback models, which are still good but some motors do not like feedback.

They also offer a lifetime guarantee & you will not need to find your receipt for them to honour it.

You can find used equipment cheap if you are patient. I found one of their handhelds for sale at a show for £3 last year. It was a newer model too. Their guarantee made this a risk-free bargain.

April 9

And also remember that red has a tendency to fade more noticeably than most other colours.

April 8

8 minutes ago, flockandroll said:

50W with 12V would be 4.17A

R =V/I

so R = 12/4.17 =2.88 ohms

But I need to be a little under 3A, so total R = 12/just less than 3 = just over 4 ohms,

so I would need to add a resistor of about 1.25 to 1.5 ohms in series with the water heater.

Is any of that correct?

I can't remember what resistors I have...

It looks right, but the resistor would need to dissipate a lot of power.

V=IR

P = VI = IR*I = I^2 * R

R = 1.5 so R^2 = 2.25

I = 3

2.25 *3 = 6.75W. That is a big resistor, or a matrix of smaller ones. Either way, it is a waste of power.

April 7

I drove over the line at Mursley last week. I knew the track was in place but I also saw a red signal.

April 7

Why worry at all? Their geometry is the same, so no compatibility issues there.

They are more reliable than insulfrogs. The only difference is that they do not auto isolate, which many view as a disadvantage but I do not. Having dealt with poor contact from point blades, I never rely on them to make contact anyway.

I would be happy with a mix of uni & electro. Isolating & re-feeding after every point would make them operationally interchangeable & if I wanted the frogs live, wiring them would be exactly the same process for both types.

April 2

You have a DCC decoder in there.

A blanking plate is just that; a small plug with some of the pins soldered together.

If you are happy with the way it runs, then leave it in place. A DCC fitted loco can run better on DC than a fitted one. This may sound bizarre, but at low speeds, there is a very low voltage between track & wheel. A DCC fitted loco needs a little more voltage to get going, so this gives a little more push across the wheel/rail connection.

A feedback controller or one with a pulsed output (like an H&M one on half wave rectification) can damage the decoder.

April 2

9 minutes ago, Geep7 said:

At the risk of opening pandora's box again, i'll be honest. I used to be sold on using 99% IPA, wiped on using a cloth, but having read some other suggestions, I've used electrical contact cleaner, again applied with a cloth, and I'll never go back. I only ever use a track rubber when removing any paint sprayed on.

There are some times when a cleaning block is simply impractical anyway:

Some tunnels are inaccessible. It is not always possible to build them with removable tops.

Overhead wires are very fragile (unless you make them overscale). Running a cleaning block on track below them is likely to cause damage.

I have also read that IPA can attract dirt because it is a polar chemical. Contact cleaner is designed to provide a clean electrical connection. Surely that is exactly what we are looking for?

March 28

I know less about the others but the advantages of the NCE are:

It is popular. Many of us can answer questions about it, both online & at local clubs. I feel this is a very underrated point to consider.

It is modular. With a Powercab, you only pay for the basic kit & if you want something extra (programming track, USB connection for your computer, upgrade to 5A), you only pay for the component you want. If you were to upgrade it to have the same features as a Powerpro, you will not be paying much, if anything more than buying the full Powerpro to start with.

It is well featured: You can access 4 digit addressing, 28 loco functions, you can feed it commands from a computer or mimic panel.

Like most things, you adapt to it; using the benefits & finding the ways around the limitations without actually realising they are limitations.

March 27

On 25/03/2024 at 11:03, Andrew P said:

Also, regarding the Alonso / Russell incident. Alonso got a penalty but still got points, Russel got nothing.

BUT what is still unknown is whether Russels Car suffered any Engine or Gearbox damage that could cost him to use an extra component from his allocation. If that is the case, (and we wont know until its examined), I think the Stewards should re look at Alonso's penalty, BUT OF COURSE THEY WONT.

It is unfair that cars sometimes need extra 'regulation limited' components or expensive rebuilding. I understand and accept why the limits exist so would not like to see their removal, but it does show why the rules have become complicated.

With regard to the Alonso/Russell incident, it is worth noting that the stewards did not accuse Alonso of doing it intentionally, but merely that his actions were erratic & therefore dangerous.

It is virtually impossible to prove or disprove intent, so the rules are deliberately written to not require it.

This is not the same as claiming the stewards stating it was unintentional. There is no need for them to get into a debate in what they considered his intention to be, so they will not comment on it. Not publicly anyway.

March 27

On 25/03/2024 at 10:51, EddieB said:

I'm intrigued that both Lewis and George commented on the speed of Checko's Red Bull. Is there an implication that something isn't quite legal (despite Max's car having passed scrutiny previous time out)?

I think that they were making a point to their own team that their car is well down on pace.

March 25

3 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

No doubt added to the every increasing 'Let Kier Starmer deal with it' pile that the Government is racking up at an alarming rate...

As for offering six hundred sheets for a rest day working, if I took that (wrong TOC for a starter!) that would put me firmly in then next income bracket and pretty much all of it would in effect go waft past my wallet straight to the taxman so I don't think many will bother.

I had a colleague with a similar attitude when we were given a bonus. It was a good one, something like £3k.

Him: "Not worth anything. The taxman will take most of it"

Me: "Er, about 30%, which will still leave us with £2k each. I'll welcome that thank you."

The government does seem to be leaving a huge mess for the next one. "Square One" will be a huge improvement over what we have now.

March 24

7 hours ago, 30368 said:

I enjoy your F1 comments Andrew but can't agree with your view of the Alonso/Russell incident. NO contact as far as I could see and we all know how tricky Alonso can be defending his position. After all it is motor racing. Perhaps young Russell will learn from this incident? He needs to since he has lost a good position twice now on the last few laps of a race by placing the car in the wall etc....

The stewards disagree with you.

Their ruling indicates that drivers should be racing & that suddenly slowing is an unfair way to trick those following.

The stewards opinion is more important than that of those of the (average?) viewer.

I have looked through the F1 sporting regs but guidelines on acceptable racing practices seem to be elsewhere. I do not believe in 'etiquette' & 'unwritten rules'. The rules should define everything which is allowed & stewards (or umpires/referees in other sports) should never have to arbitrarily decide on something not covered by the rules.

March 21

Apart from the reverse loop which has already been mentioned & with care, is not a problem, you have gone for a fairly simple design. That is an excellent decision.

Getting something running under its own power is a huge motivation boost & a simple design means you will achieve this more quickly.

You will also learn as you go. This is not a bad thing, but a complex layout leaves things looking a little inconsistent & makes restarting a huge decision. With a more simple layout, updating your earlier work or even starting again are both much more achievable options.

March 21

59 minutes ago, Cruachan said:

I don't think it would be possible to assemble a complete, correctly liveried, rake from the original tooled mark 4s, as Hornby never produced the TOE vehicle adjacent to the class 91 with that tooling, for example.

There are (or at least were) conversion parts available, from Keen Systems I believe. I would rather hack about an older Mk4 but their basic shape looks ok so they can be updated quite well with some detailing.

The new Mk4 tooling may well in time be re-used for different liveries. This is not as likely for the 89 because Accurascale are doing all variations of it in 1 batch, so it may be a case of buying it while you can.

March 21

What are you trying to model? A 4 platform station with main line services would look wrong if they were only long enough for 4 coaches. You could hide part of a station under a building though.

A branch line would look fine if that is your thing. I have seen designs full of track & others with minimal track but plenty of scenery. Neither one is wrong, right, better or worse; simply a choice.

March 19

6 minutes ago, big jim said:

bloody cyclists

Always blame the cyclist.

March 18

1 hour ago, Erixtar1992 said:

Its been there 3 years in a row now.

David Walsh is the owner.

Correct on both counts.

Surely it is good enough to be exhibited as a layout? It currently has no fiddle yard (I am sure these can easily be built). David does not consider himself a good modeller but, on the evidence of what he has built, I disagree.

I would rather be able to see it properly, not as part of a society stand.

Posted March 18 · March 18

Do you level it before each print?

I levelled mine when it was new, but not after the first print. Subsequent prints were disappointing, so I now do it every time. I assume that taking off the print plate to remove the previous print will move it a little?

When you think about how the print process works, it makes sense that levelling it is crucial. It should be an easy process too (It is with my Anycubic).

March 17

As others have said, Google Maps is a great place to start, but you may need more space than you think.

How much do you want to copy a real location? Search hard & you will find somewhere which can be represented in a small space. You may have to forgo things like shunting, pointwork, signalling or a station (which would be sacrilege to some), but is this worth it to you?

I found somewhere on the WCML in a cutting between tunnels & a bridge. It has no pointwork, no shunting potential, not even the ability to signal check a main line service. There is a station but it is on the main lines. This suits me fine because I prefer tinkering with it to running, but it would be a non-starter for most.

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