Dan6470

Wow, I have just spent the last days reading through this thread, like everybody else I'm very impressed and take my hat of to you and the team. I have tried to access the old RMweb pages to see the early stages of Lime Street Station but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available at the moment but I do appreciate the above photographs. May I ask what the baseboards are constructed from and also the platform edges, they look like pine but with the shape you have, perhaps not. Thanks Dan

Hi Gordon That was fast, thanks very much. I perhaps don't understand what you mean by a double slip with a switched crossing, is that a switched crossing within the double slip. If that's the case then I'm probably going to be confused. Before asking any more questions I'll wait until you complete slip and hopefully you'll post a photograph that will explain all. Once again thanks. Dan

Hi Gordon, Smashing photograph of the N2, you look to be making quick progress and I see that you've committed yourself to the building of a double slip - wonderful stuff. I know that you've been a little apprehensive about the double slip and perhaps doubting yourself a little bit but I've got faith in your abilities, I've seen the beautiful trackwork what you've produced before. If you have a opportunity to document the construction of the cross over and double slip it will be invaluable, well certainly to me! Best regards Dan

Gordon, Nice to see you progressing with ET. With reference to SG's point about freight locos accessing the shed, do you think it is really necessary for such a shallow gradient 1:100. I know in the past you have made a number of experiments/tests, same as myself, in which the conclusion was a minimum gradient of 1:100 for the movement of stock but if the only movements over the gradient would be light engines perhaps the gradient could be increase to, say 1:75? As far as I can see the only negative would perhaps be a future desire to move coal wagons down the incline to feed the engine shed. Just a thought. Dan

Hi Gordon Thanks for getting back to me. I had a feeling that the lower loop was to feed storage tracks. I've got to say that those retaining walls looked superb and with your step by step instructions appeared very easy to build. Keep up the good work. Best regards Dan

Hi Gordon, Good to see work progressing. Hopefully you won't mind me asking a question. With reference to the revised plan in a previous post, it seems that the inner two tracks of the quadruple track from the new junction goes up to Eastwood Town and the outer two tracks return to the turning circle. Are these to be used for storage or am I misunderstanding the diagram. Dan

Hi Gordon Good to see work progressing; that's because a number of us have probably set Eastwood Town as our home page in Firefox/Internet Explorer/et al and where you find it therapeutic, I'm sure, others find it kind of addictive. But to be serious for a moment, there is a wealth of information that you are sharing here and your methodology and relaxed attitude as Grimleygrid put it are indeed admirable. Although I cant get over the octagonal on the dinning room table ... wow Also, like Pete, I was very interested in seeing a close up of the switched crossing. Have you designed all the double junctions with switched crossings? I had never knowingly come across them until Eastwood Town but there again my knowledge base is in its infancy. Keep up the good work but take care of the back first. Dan

Hi Martin, Thanks for the info ... I sure am learning a lot here;). Dan

Hi Gordon I trust that will be the 4RA201J Code 75 Nickel Silver, 12% NI, Bullhead - 100 yards. £35 seems a pretty good price. Dan

Hi Gordon, Thanks for getting back to me. I too have considered the adoption of 00-SF for my turnouts, the arguments/justification seem to outweigh any negative aspects. Although it does seem strange that the Roller Track Gauge and the Check Rail Gauge haven't been milled onto the same gauge as with the gauges in your photographs. A shortage of the roller track gauge for 00-SF will probably cause me to go towards the DOGA Universal/intermediate gauge. With regard to your brass Roller Track Gauge/Check Rail Gauge did you obtain it from C+L,? I understand from a previous post that you construct your turnouts using C+L components having previously found that the SMP rails measure 0.82mm as opposed to 0.92mm for scale BS-95R bullhead rail. I'm assuming that SMP gauges are set for 0.82mm rails. Dan

Hi Gordon I don't understand why the photos didn't show up but the post that I refer to is number 28 on the second page of Eastwood Town. But here, hopefully, are a couple of the photographs. Dan

Hi Gordon, I've been following your progress with great interest and appreciate the difficulty that you've had over the last weeks with your injury. Nevertheless the description of your methods for track construction is very encouraging for those modellers that are wanting to try to construct their own turnouts but haven't done so yet, I include myself amongst those modellers. We have communicated on the subject previously but just now reading through the Eastwood Town - Update I have a couple of questions that hopefully you can help me with. From the above photographs I notice that each of the gauges that you are using have four grooves in them. I'm assume that the gauges can be used as roller track gauge and also for check rail gauge. Can you please confirm? Also can you please advise what standard you have adopted. Clearly high, I mean with regard to the gauge DOGA intermediate, which I think they call universal now, DOGA Fine or 00-SF. Thanks Dan Ps. Do be aware that any answers you give will probably result in further questions

Hi Stewart, No hurry at this end, still redecorating the "Railway Room". Then I've got to build the baseboards, build the track, lay the track and ballast before I get anywhere near the electrics. So no sweat, sort you PC out then I'll be very happy to see your controller. Dan

Hi Stephen, I appreciate what your saying, very difficult to find one controller that can do everything but maybe, just maybe, the following link may prove interesting. http://www.freepaten...com/3994237.pdf It's based around a saw tooth waveform with pulses superimposed on it and as the saw tooth waveform increases towards maximum output the pulses are switched off. I'm not too sure at what Frequency the pulses are, produced by a multi vibrator and are adjustable via a variable resistor, but it looks interesting and incorporates a feedback circuit for continuous output and an overload protection circuit. So ticks all the right boxes. Have a look and see what you think. Dan

Hi all, Sorry for the delay in responding to your posts but nevertheless I do thank you for the time and trouble you have gone to in answering my questions. Hi Stewart, 30 mins for 180° sounds good, I would love to see the schematics/article if you can post it or even pm me the details. Hi John, thanks for the your post and links. Through the research that I have undertaken I am familiar with the circuits of Rob Paisley, by that I mean that I have come across them, and as you say it is quite easy to get distracted when you start to look at his ideas. The TechTronics circuit is also quite interesting. Simple in its operation, it would seem that the control is just through the manipulation of the amplitude of the 120Hz, or in our case 100Hz, rectified waveform. Does it have any overload protection? I can see that D4 provides current limiting but I’m not sure if this would be faster enough in case of a short circuit. How have you found this in practice? Also, since my proposed layout will have some gradients, I would like a controller that can maintain a constant speed and I assume that this would have to be through some form of feedback. Perhaps this could be added to the circuit, it’s certainly food for thought. Thanks very much. Hi Stephen, thank you for your post. I haven’t come across any double motor locos but would assume the same problem in double headers. You mention the variable mark space CV (constant voltage) controllers causing hum but, may be a stupid question, can’t this be resolved by using a higher frequency for pulses, as mentioned in my original post, 20khz or above? Thank you Jack, the PWM walk around throttle is interesting. It would seem that PWM lends itself to slow running which is one of my criteria but I have to try and eliminate the hum that Stephen mentions. Once again thanks for your post. Hello again Stephen, you mention using a 555, I assume 555 timer. How far have you increased the frequency? Is a practical to go to 20Khz with a model railway throttle? Your last comment here “Therefore PWM CV type controller...perfect for micro layouts and switching layouts...not for large club layouts with legions of locos of different types†perhaps there’s a way around this problem with a switch that will switch out the PWM circuit and revert to a DC throttle. Thing is, I’m totally in the dark here. I recognise that I’ve got to do some experimenting here but I would much prefer to be lazy and be spoon fed. No, it’s not that I’m a Yorkshire man ... we're just tight careful;) Dan