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Have I got some mojo back? A new tiny O gauge project!


marc smith
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Hi Marc,

Good to see you posting again.

If you are using a cassette, you could dispense with the point altogether and use cassettes mounted on a sector plate.

 

But looking forward to how you do this.

Stu

Edited by Stubby47
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Hi Stu,

Yes, I did think of disposing of the point altogether
However, it's also nice to see a point, or part of one, as they are so very much part of the railway (obviously Smith! lol)

And the point here (pardon the pun) is to use some bits & pieces I already have to hand
I'd started a thread, ages ago, about modifying these old Lima points - but sadly, like so many projects
I never did too much with it.

I had thought of several ways of using Lima points on a larger layout, and several ways of disguising how tight a radius they are
and how crude the sleepering and general appearance is.
So if this doesn't work out too well -  as with other very small projects, it doesn't matter too much
I could scrap the whole thing, or just replace the point with a sector plate, as you say

I also bought half a Peco diamond crossing sometime back (for a quid!) as I wanted to try doing a "stub point"
More of that later - and at my current modelling rate....... much later! ;)

Cheers all

PS. It's good to be back - but not good to quote Gary Glitter!

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Here's a comparison of the Lima O gauge points.
Firstly, as they come (this one's even got the box)

Then I cut 2 of them down - to get rid of that awfully sharp diverging curve
and cut away that huge box structure containing the switch mechanism
On one point, I have also replaced the plastic check rails with off cuts of rail - which I think also helps a bit

As I said, I think once the sleepers are mostly buried in coal dust a grime - perhaps we won't see the awful spacing so much?
The final view shows the comparison with my cut down Lima point, alongside a standard Peco O gauge point

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Would the Ixion Hudswell Clarke and Dapol Terrier go round that curve? No would be a good answer to save me adding any other projects to my to-do list, but I'm curious for future reference!

Hi BG John, the current answer is, I don't know

I haven't tried my Hudswell Clarke through it yet.

However, my Bachmann Brassworks 08 ran through it fine in tests I did a couple of years back

I'll hopefully be trying my Ixion through it soon (maybe this weekend)

 

Please forgive my lack of experimentation here - I've only just dug these items out again, after a long time

My intention for this layout was to use my 0-4-0 simplex, and possibly an Ixion 0-4-0 diesel

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Would the Ixion Hudswell Clarke and Dapol Terrier go round that curve? No would be a good answer to save me adding any other projects to my to-do list, but I'm curious for future reference!

The Ixion Hudswell Clarke will happily negotiate a 36" radius curve and I have had one down to 28", albeit with some protest. The Ixion Fowler 0-4-0DM will manage a 24" radius curve, but with long overhangs at both ends. The Minerva Peckett 0-4-0ST is marketed for 36", but will take tighter curves with long overhangs.

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As others have said, good to see you playing trains again!  I reckon if you set the foreground line at a slightly lower height than the back one it would add to the illusion of depth.  Having one line sloping up from the point and one down would definitely add to the fun in construction, all the more exciting when balanced on your knee! :-)

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Thanks for that info 81A Oldoak.
I'm not actually sure what the radius of the Lima points is
If anyone knows for sure - that'd be great

Thinking about it, the Lima points were made to run Lima O gauge stock
They of course made an 0-4-0 diesel shunter, a BR Class 33 (Bo-Bo wheel arrangement), and an 0-6-0 tender loco.
I'm fairly sure that among the various coaches and wagons Lima made, there was a long-ish wheel base 3 axle van?

Of course, differing wheels and axle sideplay will also be a contributing factor as to what can negotiate the curves too
My mojo must be returning, as I have just bagged a bargain from ebay - An Ixion 0-4-0 diesel shunter, for a very nice price
I really shouldn't be buying more stuff just yet, but it's an early Christmas present to myself :)

EDIT: Indeed Mr Wenlock, I already had planned that curved front to the layout as slightly lower than the trackbed
As I always seem to include this in a design. Barry Ten once said this was a hallmark of a "Smith designed layout"
As you say, it adds more to the sense of depth - but it also allows you to get your camera in there without clouting fences etc

Edited by marc smith
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Hi Marc,

 

Good to see that you're back modelling. I'm sure this project will have as much character as your others. What happened with the coal themed project, I believe you started laying track?

 

I'm currently busy working on stock. Having a show deadline really does give you a kick up the bum!

 

All the best buddy,

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All of the recent RTR O gauge locomotives will manage Lima points and curved track (somewhat surprisingly). The Ixion Hudswell-Clarke and Dapol Terrier will sometimes derail on track joins if they aren't perfectly aligned. Also surprisingly (for me at least, based on previous attempts at combining 3-link couplings with sharp curve radii in 4mm scale) I've had no problems either pulling or propelling rolling stock (up to a 6-wheel coach in length, not tried bogie stock) around Lima curves, though when propelling it helps if all the stock has sprung buffers!

I've never posted on RMWeb before but I may post some photos of my layout at some point - it's a minimum-space "tailchaser" with a pre-war light railway setting, the baseboard is in 2 sections so it can be stored in a space about 3x6ft when not being run.  I used Lima curves for the main circuit, two of the three points are scratchbuilt ones acquired second-hand but the third (in the station goods yard) is a Lima one, like you I cut it down at both ends and removed the bulky switch mechanism (it's now operated by a GEM manual point lever)

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All of the recent RTR O gauge locomotives will manage Lima points and curved track (somewhat surprisingly). The Ixion Hudswell-Clarke and Dapol Terrier will sometimes derail on track joins if they aren't perfectly aligned. Also surprisingly (for me at least, based on previous attempts at combining 3-link couplings with sharp curve radii in 4mm scale) I've had no problems either pulling or propelling rolling stock (up to a 6-wheel coach in length, not tried bogie stock) around Lima curves, though when propelling it helps if all the stock has sprung buffers!

 

I've never posted on RMWeb before but I may post some photos of my layout at some point - it's a minimum-space "tailchaser" with a pre-war light railway setting, the baseboard is in 2 sections so it can be stored in a space about 3x6ft when not being run.  I used Lima curves for the main circuit, two of the three points are scratchbuilt ones acquired second-hand but the third (in the station goods yard) is a Lima one, like you I cut it down at both ends and removed the bulky switch mechanism (it's now operated by a GEM manual point lever)

MAY post photos isn't good enough. You're committed now ;).

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For my US outline layout 'Schiller Point' I built the switches (ok, points) from Code 100 rail & copperclad sleeper strip, using a 1:1 photocopy of a Lima point as a template. :yes: even my Atlas 6-axle SD40 can negotiate them, but not pull stock, due to overhang.

I had less success with UK stock & 3-links. Especially on reverse curves. If you can avoid those, that might help.

As for Marc's 'cut down' Lima point - remarkable just how small it really is, isn't it??!!?? :O :D

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The Peckett should manage a 24" radius. I've got a Tower Models Barclay which has a silar wheelbase and overall dimensions which managed it. I found that I sometimes needed slightly longer 3 link couplings when shunting stock but sprung buffers greatly help. At the time I was using dumb buffers which made things difficult.

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Thanks for all your kind words folks - much appreciated :)
And E Pinniger - yes please, post some photos, plus welcome to joining in on rmweb. It's the best model railway forum on the planet :)

It's surprising how many odds & ends I've accrued over the years, and my last O gauge min-space layout "Poynton Sneer" was an attempt at modelling on the cheap, and using bits & pieces, and odds & ends I'd either picked up cheaply, or just had lying around the place unused.

In similar fashion here, on the plan you may have noted (if you can understand my scrawl!) the building on the left of the layout
"Oliver & Evans Co." - this was a very early attempt at scratchbuilding in O gauge, using card. It was pretty much all re-cycled card too
I wanted a concrete rendered building, which had seen better days, and liked the idea of bits of rendering coming off, revealing underlying brickwork
Anyhow, here it is, and I also wanted to do something like this, where the track emerges from behind a building, rather than the usual bridge or tunnel....
 

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Edited by marc smith
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