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O gauge fiddle yard cassettes query


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54 minutes ago, Furness Wagon said:

I"m liking this idea with the guttering simple and effective. Also not a chance getting a 3A AC shock.

Marc

You shouldn't actually get a shock from any DCC supply as that's a function of voltage, which is still very low,  and the resistance of your body which is high  (I=V/R) not the current the DCC supply is capable of putting out.  The AC voltage might be just enough to be felt as a tingle but, in electrical hazard terms, model railways are classified as toys so must be absolutely safe. 

 

I really don't like turning cassettes loaded with even short trains even in OO/H0 (especially other people's trains!) and  that would apply several fold in O gauge. The best answer seems to be to have separate short cassettes for locos and individual vehicles that can be turned on the "fiddle table" without even having to lift them off. Using suitable bulldog clips to both join aluminium angle based cassettes resting on the fiddle table (but definitely not if you're lifting them off it) and transmit power between them seems to be simplest  and a very inexpensive way to achieve this provided the clips can remain outside the loading gauge.  

Edited by Pacific231G
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On ‎21‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 00:08, Furness Wagon said:

On thing we found when operating DC there wasn't a need to insulate the sides as when you cut the power to the loco the current went as well. If you operated DCC you got a tingling sensation as the AC current was still flowing. We had to put plastic tape one the sides to insulate it.

Marc

 

This. Very much this!

 

If you run DCC, insulating tape all along the outer sides, full length.

 

My club's O gauge layout uses cassettes - a mix of loco-length and multiple longer (2-coaches max) which are aligned/powered via small bulldog clips. So a 4 coach rake (or equivalent) would use 3 cassettes. Slots cut in both ends of each take simple plasticard end stops.

 

I think our cassette bases are mdf and the fiddle boards are toped with ply, well gloss varnished.

 

TBH, it's still a scary prospect making sure the cassettes are properly aligned/connected and they are a pain to even slide loaded ones across the fiddle board, never mind try and lift them.

 

I'd always prefer a traverser arrangement.

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I would agree with many of the comments above... I think that cassettes are simply too unwieldy and awkward in 7mm scale and ripe for a disastrous accident. If possible, I would think sticking with a traverser or sector plate would be a much better arrangement.  

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On 9 March 2019 at 01:47, south_tyne said:

I would agree with many of the comments above... I think that cassettes are simply too unwieldy and awkward in 7mm scale and ripe for a disastrous accident. If possible, I would think sticking with a traverser or sector plate would be a much better arrangement.  

With East Dean, we kept the cassettes to a metre long, which was quite handleable. An essential part of every cassette was a pair of plastic end plates that fitted into vertical slots cut into the ends of the angles. We never lost anything off the end of a cassette, or dropped one, even under the pressures of exhibition operations.

 

Jim 

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We used cassettes on our club layout Gorbriton (at Warley last year). As we are using Dingham couplings we didn't want to turn things round (Dinghams work best one handed) so we made short cassesttes for locos  we had three cassette sizes 1.25 for the trains and 50cm and 25cm for tender and tank locos respectively. These clip together simply . The aluminium used was 25x20 an odd size but it was cheaper than either 25x25 or 20x 20 and 1.5mm thick.  The bases are 9mm ply. To ensure clearance for flanges the aluminium was screwed down with a washer between the screws and the base avoiding any problems with flange depth.

 

Don 

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4 hours ago, SirBud said:

After reading many threads about this, attached is a description of how I made cassettes.

 

That's very informative and the workmanship is impressive, thanks for sharing. Is there a reason or benefit you have identified as to why you use track on your cassettes rather than have the wheels running on the edge of the aluminium as others do?

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The peco track is already at the correct gauge and relatively inexpensive, and I don't have any experience of running wheels on aluminium angle.  Track is very easy to clean using conventional methods (track rubber, pads or machine) and I wasn't sure it would be as easy if using angle.

Sitting on the ply, the track was also at the same height of the layout track.  So I only needed to worry about horizontal alignment.  I adapted the concept someone else had used with the "blades and forks" system for power transmission which is very robust and reliable - it "self cleans" each time you engage and disengage Cassettes.

Best regards,

Trevor

 

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p.s. The track also acts as a reference to everything else.  And being manufactured to a high degree of accuracy this approach means that all Cassettes fit together perfectly without the need for accurate measurements.

Regards,

Trevor

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8 hours ago, SirBud said:

After reading many threads about this, attached is a description of how I made cassettes up for the layout I'm building.

I found it a quick and economical way to make them and they are very reliable and robust.

I hope it is of help to others.

Regards,

Trevor

Cassette_Construction.docx 2.79 MB · 6 downloads

 

 

We came up with a very similar solution  for our club just using the aluminium.  The Aluminium lengths overhand the ply base by about 25 mm each end. The lefthand side facing the end of the cassette has a sort length of Aluminium angle fixed underneath the end with a smaller section piece (to give clearance for the wheels) fixed above. Any cassette can therefore be plugged into another at either end, turning them round makes no difference. The layout proper ends with the ame arrangement. In use locos have a shorter cassette so for an arriving train a long cassette is plugged into the layout with an appropriate shorter one attached at the end. When the train arrives the loco can be uncoupled the loco in its casstte pulled out and can be inserted at the layout end  either turned for a tender loco or as it is for a tank. If desired a different loco can be used ready for the train to return to the layout.  This was on show at Warley last year. I dont think any of the Youtube videos show the cassette. The layout was Gorbriton.

 

Don

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