Mark90 Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 Yes, I think having everything included is a big bonus. Some of the kits are a little older and need some tidying up, but I haven't had one yet that hasn't produced a decent result. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dragonboy Posted November 21, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 21, 2021 I too really enjoy building kits, and find a spell of wagon building is a sure fire way for me to rekindle a diminished mojo. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 4 hours ago, Dragonboy said: I too really enjoy building kits, and find a spell of wagon building is a sure fire way for me to rekindle a diminished mojo. I find that works too. I've had a mad fit of building wagons over on my own thread. Doing those actually helped me with the installation of point rodding, which I was expecting to be fiddly and tedious, but it wasn't because I was in building mode thanks to wagon kits. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dragonboy Posted November 21, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 21, 2021 Now that’s a tip I need I need to remember if I ever tackle point rodding but as I’m an N modeller that’s one of the few things I’ve rather put in the No Chance column, up until now. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 It did work rather well. Do a bit of point rodding, then back to a wagon. Whilst things were drying / setting on one thing, I did a bit at another. I can understand your reluctance to add point rodding in N. IIRC the 2mm scale association were producing etched components. Defusing an atom bomb might be less fraught perhaps. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted November 26, 2021 Author Share Posted November 26, 2021 (edited) Finally re-wired the fiddle yard today so trains can finally commence again. With the poor weather outside I haven’t had chance to spray the undercoat on the parkside kit. Still debating on what colours to paint it. The first port of call is the Peckett which was causing issues at the exhibition. Three weeks later the issues still occur. The track is clean and the loco fitted with a stay-alive, so electrical connection isn’t an issue. When the Peckett stops, the lightest of touches down on the cab will help it move again? To me, that seems that the wheels aren’t sitting level on the track but I’m at a loose send on why it doesn’t run. The contacts all seem intact… The other issue was the faulty point. The rectified wiring hasn’t worked so a new switch needs to be ordered, this time a SPDT instead of DPDT. Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted November 26, 2021 Author Share Posted November 26, 2021 (edited) A visitor to Lancaster Lane. Class 24 ‘D5054’ in BR Green. A lovely model by Bachmann. There’s been a lot of early diesel talk on a few other popular threads and I fell victim to a great deal online! With the layout set in 1959, the introduction of BR Green locomotives is plausible and I’ve had my eyes on the new Kernow ‘PWM’ locomotive however, like most new models, there’s been delay, probably until the new year so the Class 24 has scratched my itch for now! Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted December 15, 2021 Author Share Posted December 15, 2021 (edited) Inspired by the ever talented @NHY 581 and his recent escapades with the Hornby brake vans I’ve decided to try my hand at making the wood finish more realistic on my newly completed mineral wagons. Layers of paint where added with a stiff brush to create a streaky uneven finish and then, while still wet, a stipple brush was used to scratch away at the paint creating a wood grain texture. The artificial lights in my room don’t really pick up details and on the layout it still looks like a solid shade of brown. I’ll try again for some more natural light photos tomorrow although I may end up using some more varied shades of browns and greys. I feel like the current ones don’t have a wide enough colour variation to create a noticeable grain texture. Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 7 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted December 24, 2021 Author Share Posted December 24, 2021 (edited) Merry Christmas! Wishing everyone an enjoyable and safe festive period! Thank you for everyone’s modelling support over the last year! It’s crazy to think that this time last year the boards had only just been built. Hopefully 2022 brings happiness and joy as well as plenty more modelling. I’m sure I’ll do some more modelling in the coming days but for now, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted December 24, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 24, 2021 Merry Christmas Luke, and all the very best for the New Year. Al. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted December 24, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 24, 2021 Merry Christmas Luke. Great images. Rob. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 On 24/12/2021 at 21:48, NHY 581 said: Merry Christmas Luke. Great images. Rob. Thank you Rob! Your work is always an inspiration. Look forward to seeing the developments of Ewe next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 (edited) Hope everyone had a great Christmas and are well rested. Just a short clip from yesterday’s operations. Edited December 29, 2021 by LDM34046 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted December 29, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 29, 2021 Lovely slow smooth running, excellent. Al. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted January 2, 2022 Author Share Posted January 2, 2022 (edited) Good Morning and a Happy New Year! Hope everyone has a good break over the festive period. It’s been good to go through RMweb the last two days and catch up on everyone’s new projects. No major new changes to Lancaster Lane other than the addition of some new rolling stock and a few more kits to keep me busy! With a few exhibitions on the horizon (still subject to covid) the electrics will be getting an overhaul in the next few days as well as the potential start of the new extension in the next few months, of which parts are slowly starting to accumulate in the background. But for now, a two of my favourite recent photos! Happy Modelling! Luke Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 (edited) How many people does it take to polish a cylinder? Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 (edited) Foggy Cold Mornings. Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 (edited) An Update It's been a short while since I last posted any sizeable update and there's a good reason for it. This is the current state of affairs! Since the Gravesend Exhibition last year, I've had issues with one of the wire-in-tube switches reliably throwing the polarity of the frogs and never got round to replacing it. After much deliberation, and with the added dates of new exhibitions (now 2023 rather than 2022 due to Covid-19 cancellations!) Lancaster Lane needed to be reliable. I then took the leap to dive to into point motors. In hind sight it was probably something I should have done from the start however Lancaster Lane's original purpose was to be a budget shelf layout so wire-in-tube method seemed the best option... I went with (seeming) the most cost effective method and used SEEP PM1 point motors. These are point motors I've used in the past on my old layout and their price point and electrical simplicity made it a no brainer. The points were installed in a matter of hours and all four were successfully and reliably throwing the points. My first head scratch came when I then started to work out the manner of sorting out the frog polarity. While I didn't think of it at the time, my old layout featured insulfrog points so the frog polarity wasn't an issue and the SEEP motors worked fine. After a quick google the SEEP PM1 points feature a built in tab which is switched along with the point blade. Visible in the picture below the Frog's common is wired to tab F and the two rails are soldered to tabs D and E. As the point motor is thrown, the metal contact switches between the two tabs and changes the polarity. Further research, including that on RMweb, highlighted a major reliability issue with the PM1 switches and electro-frog points as the blade sometimes doesn't throw far enough to ensure a reliable polarity change. After checking a few of the electrical tabs on the points that had been soldered, there was enough of a throw for there to be an electrical connection however with 2023 looking busy for exhibitions I was concerned for long term reliability. A juicy solution for a froggy problem! The most talked about and 'easiest' solution for this PM1 issue is to use a DCC Frog Juicer, something I've never heard before. A simple circuit board is wired to both rails and the frog in the middle and the simple device detects a short in the system and instantly switches the frog polarity, quick enough to not notice any running issues. I've placed an order for the Gaugemaster option, the DCC80 and am currently waiting for them to arrive ready to be installed. Interested to try this new solution. In the meantime, a bit of cable management might be in order! I apologise for the lengthy explanation, however information on the issue I found was slightly limited, albeit helpful. I'm hoping my breakdown will help a few other modellers as I know the Gaugemaster PM1 motor is a popular product! Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 (edited) A ‘point’ in the right direction? The next step of the puzzle arrived this morning in the shape and size of the DCC80 Frog Juicers. For the two single points on the layout, they worked a treat and very confidently and reliably change the frog polarity. However another stumbling block occurred with the Peco 3-way point. At first I thought the DCC80’s would simply replace the switch in changing the polarity however I was wrong. My electrical knowledge isn’t the strongest and upon hearing other modellers articles, the Peco point consists of two motors but three frogs, two of which work in tandem. However I think because the DCC80’s are independent circuit boards they confuse each other which polarity they’re meant to be. I’m currently at a dead end with my only seeming option being to find more reliable point motors with built in polarity switches? The DCC Concepts Colbalt range is staring me right in the face but at a huge expense! I may have completely overlooked the situation and been the victim of my own creation. Clearly SEEP motors aren’t designed for (reliably) operating electro-frog points and Auto Frog Juicers aren’t the solution for 3-way points. All of a sudden the wire-in-tube method doesn’t seem bad at all! Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted January 18, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 18, 2022 Hi Luke, This is the wiring diagram for the Code100 Three-way electrofrog, I think the Code75 is similar. The important thing is to ensure that the frogs are completely isolated from the running rails and switch blades, so the middle four rails at the diverging end should have insulated rail joiners, and any links to the toe end must be cut. then the stock and closure rails should be bonded together as shown, and power fed to the point at that site. You will need to remove the plastic webbing to achieve this. Al. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 Thanks @Alister_G I double checked and I cut the links when I installed the point itself along with the isolated rail joiners on the inside rails. The polarity of the point worked perfectly fine when it was manually operated with the wire-in-tube switches, I think the issue lies with my attempt at trying to use the autofrogs which confuse each other. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted January 27, 2022 Author Share Posted January 27, 2022 (edited) Productive day yesterday with the arrival of the DCC Concept cobalt motors. Very impressed with them, easy to install and wire up with the terminal blocks. Straight forward wiring diagrams on the website. Good thing about the 3-way point is it's wired in a way so it's interlocking, a nice little touch. I haven't posted any photos of the wiring under the board, purely because it's a mess! A bowl of spaghetti is the best way to describe but it works and the connections are neat and well soldered. I wanted to make a tidy job of the switches so designed a small facia on Adobe Illustrator, printed on card to check for spacing and size. The other half, who's quite skilled in crafty bits, cut out the panel on thin acrylic using her laser cutter. Really happy with the facia, looks neat next to the NCE Power Cab panel. The finished product! Engraved with the point numbers should anyone else want to operate the layout. Small beads of superglue in the corners to keep it in place. Visible above are the remnants of the old slide switches. A job for the future is to cover these over with card and a bit of filler and re-apply the static grass. The two cobalts work a treat now and reliably throw the point and the frogs. Trying to run some trains this afternoon I noticed another problem. (Which may have actually been the original issue many moons ago at the exhibition!) One of the internal rails of the point appears to be dead. The frogs are live and the point blades are live however the left hand rail is completely dead. If my rookie knowledge of point work is correct, I'm thinking I can solder the bridge across the insulating joint? That way the rail is then the same polarity as the frog. A simple fix I hope with a bit of solder! Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 27, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 27, 2022 That panel looks very neat Luke - lovely! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 (edited) With the dead rail on the three-way point now wired up with an extra dropper, trains can finally run again on Lancaster Lane. A nice long operating session last night, the first time in three weeks. Having spent a while under the layout, looking at the top of the layout I’ve now decided I want to make a few changes to the scenic area as there’s a few areas I’m still not happy with. A project for another weekend! Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDM34046 Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 (edited) Just a few photos this morning with 5775 on the shunting duties. 5775 waits in the headhunt as the afternoon sky clouds over. Edited April 2, 2022 by LDM34046 5 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now