davetheroad

have a look here at post #4 https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/141768-hornbyairfix-12t-van-chassis/

Have a look at the Bachmann Mini Long coupler 36-026

I have a lot of Dapol wagons and agree about the floppy couplings being a problem, the hooks can also fall out at awkward moments. The original tension lock had rigid bars, any flexibility needed came from the hook so I tried some mods on a Dapol wagon. I first made a height above rail gauge, I think the top of the coupler bar should be 8.5mm above rail top plus or minus 0.2mm. I then glued a 5mm spacer between the top of the coupling box and the chassis. This gives a bar height of almost 8.5mm and removed all the vertical flop. There is still a little side to side movement but that can be cured with a little rubber cement. To cure the loose coupling hooks I glued and trimmed a short length of 4x1mm Evergreen strip to the top of the coupling so the hook still moves freely but can't pop out. After so many decades why have manufacturers failed to adopt standards for the profiles of the coupler bar and hook? 5mm spacer between top of coupler box and chassis plus 4x1mm strip added to top of coupler flush with box the finished job

Thanks, they are cheap enough second hand

OK, sorry, I should have said easily removeable roofs. My latest Bachmanns have the sides moulded with the roofs and you have to cut the pipework on the end to get the roof/side off, even then they are not designed for easy removing. The latest Hornbys have the roof and sides as one moulding with the ends attached and they are easier to remove. I am interested in Corridor Brakes for use in a remote vehicle mounted uncoupling system which raises the hook on a tension lock coupler anywhere on the layout and at an operating distance of up to 15 feet without precise positioning of the vehicle. My eyes are not what they used to be!. The system (if it works) will use a servo or actuator to raise the hook controlled by radio and battery powered. I need easy access to replace the battery unless I install onboard charging. After the project is finished there will be perhaps 6 semi fixed rakes with converted brakes plus others for local and parcel trains. The local non corridor and excursion train can use Dapol coaches and the roofs come off

Are there any 00 scale MK1 coach models out there that have removeable roofs?

Ditto

I just noticed their website is no longer available, just when I was thinking of purchasing some BCK Mk1's

Look at these, Micron Radio Control specialises in RC but as far as I understand, a servo is a servo and as long as the correct voltage is applied the control signal is the same http://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/servo.html

It confuses me too. I have 3 hygrometers and just checked them. Here in the lounge it is 18.6C and 35%. The conservatory is 7.9C and 69%, the railway shed with dehumidifier and frost protection fan heater is 10C and 49%, the local weather forecast has it 0C and 89%. The relative humidity can vary a lot with temperature change. Maybe your garage has so many drafts the air in there is essentially the same as the air outside? edit - I just breathed on the lounge meter 3 times and it jumped to 36% and went back to 35% a minute later

What sort of dehumidifier is it? Desiccating or compressor? I have been running my desiccating humidifier for a couple of weeks now and the humidity varies between 47 and 51 percent with a daily water output of about 400ml. I don't know if this is normal but that 3-4mm crack at the top of the wall insulation on one wall worried me All the wall insulation is combined moisture barrier/insulation/ plasterboard on battens. I filled that crack yesterday, a fun job involving various tools taped to a broomstick handle because the layout was in the way. I await the daily water output reading with interest!

The cable appears to be half inch diameter armoured so is it 1.5mm squared wire?

Things can get complicated, he is no longer in the land of the living. My memory is returning, back when I had 2 gaugemaster controllers the trains used to slow down slightly when the 2kw heater kicked in

8 years ago and yes, humidity up to 85% which is why I recently acquired a dehumidifier. humidity now 50%. The sockets are 2 double boxes screwed to a wooden back panel

An interesting and slightly worrying topic as i have experienced hot plugs as well In my case the power supply to the outbuilding is about 20 metres of half inch? diameter armoured cable, partly buried and partly attached to a wall. there are consumer units at each end. I have an old 2Kw dimplex fan heater which I use for heating. When used at 2Kw the plug gets hot. At 1Kw the plug gets warm. After reading this topic I wondered if the problem was the socket mounted thermostat so I switched on the heater this morning using another socket for 1 hour at 2Kw HOT. So it is not the thermostat. I have a new dimplex fan heater used in the conservatory so I tried that for an hour at 2Kw and the plug got hot but not as hot as the old heater. A test at 1Kw had the plug getting warm. As a hoped for fix I intend to use the new dimplex at 1Kw with frost protection and remove the socket thermostat. however it would be good to know what the problem is. Could it be that the wiring can't handle 2Kw? It was professionally installed. I have searched on line but the information just confuses me The power consumption out there could now be a 1Kw heater plus a 300 Watt dehumidifier(occassionaly) and 2 long flourescent tubes and 4x25 watt daylight energy saving bulbs. No power for the layout as it is radio control battery power.

I have a single skinned garage which is insulated including moisture barriers and the humidity in there was over 85%. A recently mostly card constructed station canopy warped so I bought a Ecoair DD! Classic MK5 desiccating humidifier from amazon. I have been running it foe a week or so and for the last few days 24 hours a day in Eco mode. I also have a watterladen thermometer/hygrometer, also from amazon. Daily water extraction starter at 1. 2 litres and has dropped over 4 days to 0.7L The cost per day has dropped from 60p to 51.5p The relative humidity has varied between 47% and 51%. It appears the Ecoair is sucking more moisture out of the air than is being added. There is a lot of wood, unsealed plasterboard, cardboard etc in there and this only releases its excess moisture slowly so eventually the water extracted should stabilise as the only source is atmospheric through the trickle ventilation or opening the door and me breathing. When this happens I can experiment with running the unit for less than a day. My target was maintaining the humidity below 60% Desiccating humidifiers are best for cold rooms as thy work down to 1C Check out Meaco dehumidifiers as well

I am olympic standard at losing stuff., half an hour to find a screwdriver is nothing. My best loss is pruning secateurs, I bought a new pair and months later found the old ones in the sock drawer - don't ask!

This is a bigger shed made from 2 kits, the office is scratch built. I also used scalescenes for the walls. lots of details still to do. The 3rd image is also a modded Metcalfe kit. The kits are solid construction And i have a signal box to plus a couple of rows of houses awaitinf construction

Check out the S-Cab site for a system that charges from the rails and auto switches between track power and battery http://www.s-cab.com/

I chanced on this topic late but as I have been building a BPRC layout for 4 years I offer some opinions based on my experience. Firstly a couple of years ago I tried out 2 Bluehorse boards from BlueRail Trains in the USA. They use the latest version of Bluetooth Radio to deliver the commands to the board which can draw its power from DC or DCC via the rails or from an onboard battery. What I found interesting was that the board could seamlessly switch between power sources. If the track power was absent it switched to the battery. In effect the battery was a replacement for stay alive capacitors but with a vastly increased run time. Onboard charging via the rails was not included but there is no reason why it could not be. They have developed a new much smaller board but not released it yet. such a board would be an ideal solution. run with whatever power source you want or mix and match them on your layout. I would opt for onboard battery because that is how I power my 45 BPRC locos and I don't need track power so, although I could energise some plain track I don't fancy refitting power pickups and losing the benefits of less drag that I have with battery power. The track still needs cleaning, I do mine about twice a year and the wheels get cleaned when the stock is serviced, that is when I remember to do it.

Fettling your lima motor and drive chain can make a big difference. Replacing the motor with a CD type has also worked for me. They are smooth with good hauling power. the class 20 is happy with 20 coaches. Traction tyres are not a problem so far but with battery power I only clean the track about twice a year. Adding a coating of Bullfrog snot to an existing tyre should help with the black gunge problem. Here is a link to the service video https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=servicing+a+lima+diesel+loco&qpvt=servicing+a+lima+diesel+loco&view=detail&mid=4D20ACD6E32F295868464D20ACD6E32F29586846&FORM=VRDGAR

pull some hair out and chop it up?

Those big letters are probably stretched versions of these customised with gaps added. I would use something like Inkscape to draw the outlines as because it is a vector drawing program you will get smooth curves when printing. The image would be good enough to use as a source of your drawings. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Here you go, the north and south ends of the Penrith Island platform. The distance from the platform building to the end of the canopy is about 25 feet which appears to be the standard spacing for the support pillars along the platforms. My model which is partly inspired by Penrith will only have 2 canopies on the island platform because I don't have the width for the prototype 50 feet. My platform is 153mm for some reason. The platform building is 150 feet long and my model is flat roofed a bit like Oxenholme.

I suppose it complicates matters but the canopy has 2 ridge lines like this. Would a tapered awning be a valid solution with the horizontal supports getting shorter and the awning getting deeper?