Deliberately Old-Fashioned 0 Scale - Chapter 1

[Nearholmer]

Thank you All; some useful thoughts there.

 

The dead-froggery on the short crossing is something I'd overlooked. Track-wipers are a definite possibility; I've made successful ones before, to collect current for a "wickham trolley" type vehicle that actually had plastic wheels. I suppose the other option is to make a crossing with all parts live, switched appropriately - one way might be to use a largish piece of copperclad, and solder all the rails direct to it 'all solid', then cut slots in the rails and the copper to split it into four quarters. it could then be either buried in ballast, or sleepers carefully fretted out with a piercing saw (the former sounds better!).

 

The watery bit, BTW, wouldn't be a thriving wharf, but a weed-choked river, the boat probably being at least partially sunken. I've got a cracking photo of such a scene in a book about the W&U, which makes me think that what I've sketched might subconsciously have been be inspired by Outwell Village Depot, which I think had a track crossing a loop.

 

With the right scenic treatment, something like this could accommodate Nellie and The Dock Shunters (a 1960s pub band, possibly), and  Wrenn/HD 350hp DS,  as well as more modern and refined r-t-r, which I guess works OK on Code 100 (please confirm or deny). The last 00 r-t-r I bought was a Percy train Set in about 1982, so I'm not really up to speed on these things!

 

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by Nearholmer

[ChrisN]

I use code 100 as I thought some of my older stock would need it.  In the end I have had to change some wheels on my older coaches.  However, I have a number of newer locos, a J15, a C1, (? LCDR  B3), plus some older items and they all run fine.  I also have a Webb Coal Tank which does not like the points, maybe too tight.

[rockershovel]

The diamond crossing on my O27 door layout is “all live” including a live centre diamond, which works well. 

 

I’ve found by experiment, that having so many points in a small space produces a LOT of voltage drop and adversely affects controllability. I’m currently experimenting with additional power connections and the effects are immediately obvious. 

 

I’d suggest that if you are basically operating “one engine in steam”, then you incorporate some droppers and have the same “all live” configuration - I don’t see any possible short circuits in your plan. 

 

 

[Nearholmer]

Bear in mind that what I’ve drawn is really small, and 00, and would be in new NS track, so the potential(!) for volt drop is small, but I do always add lots of feeds on portable layouts, because if anything is going to go wrong, it will always go wrong in public!

[Donw]

21 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

The diamond crossing on my O27 door layout is “all live” including a live centre diamond, which works well. 

 

I’ve found by experiment, that having so many points in a small space produces a LOT of voltage drop and adversely affects controllability. I’m currently experimenting with additional power connections and the effects are immediately obvious. 

 

I’d suggest that if you are basically operating “one engine in steam”, then you incorporate some droppers and have the same “all live” configuration - I don’t see any possible short circuits in your plan. 

 

 

Lots of turnouts in a small space will only produce extra voltage drop if you are feeding through the turnouts by the fishplates. Feed each section through droppers (which can be connected under the baseboard if you wish to route power through the turnouts) and the problem should be resolved. 

The Peco short crossing has insulfrog so there are short isolating gaps at the noses of both the acute and obtuse crossings V and K. Wide wheels can momentary bridge across the rail tips at the isolating gaps causing a momentary shorts. Old fashioned analogue controllers may flash up a short but as soon as it is gone carry on normally. DCC because of the high power output (enough for several trains) can panic and shut down. In the early days of DCC some people found that feeding a crossing through a car bulb stopped the system from shutting down and gave visula evidence of where a problem was occurring.

Don

[Nearholmer]

We were all a bit weary today, so stayed indoors this afternoon, and played trains in the time-honoured fashion, building a complex layout on the floor of youngest’s bedroom, with a branch across the landing to the lido in the bathroom.

 

Many Playmobil families had a grand day out by rail!

 

 

[Simond]

Playmobil is brilliant. My kids liked it almost as much as I did.

 

HNY

Simon

[Nearholmer]

Very well put.

 

It’s the real direct descendant of German toys, including Maerklin toy trains, of c1900, whereas what we know as ‘model railways’ are the descendants of the marriage between c1900 German toy trains and c1900 British model engineering.

 

All three strands of the family can be enjoyed on its own merits.

[Nearholmer]

Nellie's nascent railway now has a separate thread of its own: 

 

[Nearholmer]

Well I never!

 

Hornby, as in modern Hornby, have announced that they are going to make/sell replica No.1 tender engines as part of their centenary range.

 

The artwork looks to me as if the model has an ETS electric mech, rather than being clockwork, and it seems quite pricey when compared with WJV/Raylo and smaller Ace locos at £525, but I guess it is aimed at a very narrow market ...... only 100 in each of the four colours.

 

I think they have also committed a terrible sin, by naming a range of dreadfully bad steampunk toys in 00 as ‘Bassett Lowke’, but I’m not totally sure I’ve understood that correctly.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by Nearholmer

[RateTheFreight]

Agreed about Bassett Lowke branding, just bizarre and slightly smacks of someone who doesn’t know the history picking it (although presumably Simon K signed it off). 
 

Whilst great to see tinplate O make a return to the Hornby catalogue I think the price point is way out for what the model is. I’d of considered one had it been half that price. I suppose any publicity is good for coarse scale O but hopefully it encourages folk to check out the modern repro’s too to keep them going. 

 

In some respects it’s a shame they didn’t reincarnate one of their famous clockwork locos either as a stand-alone item or as part of a small train set with repro buildings etc. 
 

Greg 

[PaulRhB]

Noted all versions of the tinplate loco sold out already at Hattons!

[Nearholmer]

I win the sweepstake then ...... I said they’d sell, even if they are a bit over-priced.

[Northroader]

Stop the world, I want to get off. Never thought there’d be that amount of people willing to pay that amount of money for that model, which looks far inferior to the original version, the mechanism is probably better, but the rest looks c**p.

[Mark Carne]

9 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Well I never!

 

Hornby, as in modern Hornby, have announced that they are going to make/sell replica No.1 tender engines as part of their centenary range.

 

The artwork looks to me as if the model has an ETS electric mech, rather than being clockwork, and it seems quite pricey when compared with WJV/Raylo and smaller Ace locos at £525, but I guess it is aimed at a very narrow market ...... only 100 in each of the four colours.

 

I think they have also committed a terrible sin, by naming a range of dreadfully bad steampunk toys in 00 as ‘Bassett Lowke’, but I’m not totally sure I’ve understood that correctly.

 

 

100 of each, total batch of 400 isn't so small, I remember being told by Len Mills that Ace only produced 200 M7s in total. And the WJVintage/Raylo Terrier has got to somewhere around 350 units.

 

This price too, seems crazy, but I think it can be partly, but only partly explained, by the probable fact that this is an exclusive production by ETS for Hornby. I seem to remember that WJVintage/Raylo deliberately chose not to go exclusive, allowing ETS to use the tooling after they had completed their run, to keep the price down, hence Terriers and Yankee Tanks in the ETS range. So if ETS have charged a small premium for making a batch of something they cannot, and in all probability, would not use the tooling for afterwards, then Hornby put their usual percentage on, plus the conventional profit margin for authorized retailers, you arrive at a serious price tag. Plus, I can imagine the marketing bods saying this is a premium product, it needs a premium price!

 

And I don't believe for a second that they have all sold already....

 

Cheers, Mark

[Nearholmer]

2 minutes ago, Mark Carne said:

And I don't believe for a second that they have all sold already....

 

Neither do - I just wanted to claim victory in the sweepstake.

 

Possibly Hatton's initial allocation/reservation has sold, but then that may have been modest in size.

[Annie]

29 minutes ago, Northroader said:

Stop the world, I want to get off. Never thought there’d be that amount of people willing to pay that amount of money for that model, which looks far inferior to the original version, the mechanism is probably better, but the rest looks c**p.

From the pictures they look like bad plastic copies of the real thing.  I know they aren't made of plastic, but they don't have any kind of tinplate look about them and the proportions are strangely off as compared with the originals.

[brianusa]

Could someone post a link to where these expensive, plasticky, BL, not BL copies of Hornby No.1s can be found, please.

       Brian.

[Nearholmer]

Brian

 

The No.1 replicas are shown in the ‘Hornby 2020 range’ thread near the start.

 

The steampunk stuff branded ‘Bassett Lowke’ has its own thread, but it upset me so much that I ‘ignored’ it, so can’t tell you the name!

 

Anyway, here are catalogue picture of replica, and an original (only picture I could find from a similar angle).

 

I actually think the replica is very close to the real thing, and probably only looks plasticky because of modern paint technology and/or very flat lighting (or, is it a computer-graph?).

 

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by Nearholmer

[Mark Carne]

32 minutes ago, Annie said:

From the pictures they look like bad plastic copies of the real thing.  I know they aren't made of plastic, but they don't have any kind of tinplate look about them and the proportions are strangely off as compared with the originals.

TBH, it looks to me pretty accurate, the original 1920 loco was an ugly swine, much improved the next year, by bigger driving wheels, a better, bigger mech, and smaller diameter handrail in one piece that goes around the smokebox.

[Mark Carne]

8 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Brian

 

The No.1 replicas are shown in the ‘Hornby 2020 range’ thread near the start.

 

The steampunk stuff branded ‘Bassett Lowke’ has its own thread, but it upset me so much that I ‘ignored’ it, so can’t tell you the name!

 

Anyway, here are catalogue picture of replica, and an original (only picture I could find from a similar angle).

 

I actually think the replica is very close to the real thing, and probably only looks plasticky because of modern paint technology and/or very flat lighting (or, is it a computer-graph?).

 

 

Great minds think alike sir! The Hornby image does have a particularly computer graphic look.....

[Annie]

Yes I can now see that they are the same Kevin, but the catalogue picture doesn't do them a lot of favours. 

[Nearholmer]

As Mark says: ugly.

 

I rather like the early, very small, tank engine version, which used mostly the same parts but somehow turned out cute, well cute-ish.

[Mark Carne]

Photo from the launch event today.

 

I'm with you Kevin, well, I guess I like the early pattern No1 tank loco, I've got 12! Not so many common parts as you might think, cylinders, smokebox door, handrail knobs, chimney, dome and mech, that's about it in common, running plate, cab and boiler all different. But these all benefited from the improvements I mentioned earlier, there wasn't a 1920 No1 tank loco, in fact there wasn't a 1920 No1 loco, it was just the Hornby loco, because it was the only loco that bore the Hornby name.

 

Mark

[Nearholmer]

I realised a while back that someone would pick me up for calling it a No.1, when it isn’t quite.

 

is the wheelbase a gnat’s too short on the replica?

 

(Twelve?  Twelve?!?!)