Chuffnell Regis

[Graham T]

The point rodding saga continues, slowly.  I've now added the compensators.  Next I have to build the connections to the next point, and then merge this into a four-rod run up to the signal box.  

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Graham T

[Johndc120]

Hi Graham, 

 

slowly catching up with this thread thanks to Paul linking my page to it. lovely work so far.

 

a fantastic effort so far with the rodding. the wills rodding is very good although a bit fiddly as it's quite short lengths.

my biggest advise with the wills rodding is to rationalise it a little. it is quite overscale when you compare it to the real thing and modelu's efforts which is pretty close to scale. this is most noticeable when you have many rods together as it gets extremely wide with only a few rods. if you just miss a point or fpl as you go down the run it can look a bit better even if it's not 100% correct. 

 

I happened to do a comparison for someone else which is the photo below of the wills vs the modelu. 

hope this helps and keep up the good work

 

regards

John

 

[Graham T]

Hi John, thanks for the comments.  I agree that the Wills rodding is overscale (and fiddly!) and I'm sorely tempted by the Modelu version.  But I'm going to resist ripping it up and starting again.  If I did, the next thing would be to re-do all the trackwork.  Then the baseboards...

[Graham T]

Of course, I really should have thought the whole thing through better.

 

Proper prior planning prevents p*** poor performance.

[MrWolf]

I remember a grinning Sergeant Andrews quoting that with relish to a bunch of surly cadets who were digging a latrine trench at Belvoir Castle, just as the heavens opened.

[Bogie]

Don't beat yourself up about it too much - it is just a model.

Edited July 22, 2021 by Bogie
Silly typo

[Johndc120]

3 hours ago, Graham T said:

Hi John, thanks for the comments.  I agree that the Wills rodding is overscale (and fiddly!) and I'm sorely tempted by the Modelu version.  But I'm going to resist ripping it up and starting again.  If I did, the next thing would be to re-do all the trackwork.  Then the baseboards...

I would tend to agree with you, carry on as you are and maybe that is something for future layouts, I do think the Will looks good when buried in the ballast etc but as I said just avoid having to many rods together

 

regards

 

john

[Graham T]

There will be a short run of four rods, then a longish run of three, which I think will look ok.

[Graham T]

In between games of Mousetrap and visits to the aquarium, I've managed to do a little more work on the point rodding.  I added a (completely made-up) connection to the trap points.  No doubt nothing like any prototype that ever existed!  (But Rule 1 etc...) 

 

I also painted the concrete blocks that the signal cable wheels are mounted on; I still need to paint the wheels themselves and then tone everything down.  The rodding will probably be painted gunmetal, and then again toned down, and then I can get the ballasting done here.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

This shows the run on the right from the first point on the layout.  Next I need to add the drive rod (?) and FPL to the point feeding the bay platform, and then assemble the four-rod run up to the signal box.  On the left you can see the single run from the first FPL up to the trap points.  The scraps of cork you can see will all get covered in ballast eventually, of course.  It all looks a bit scrappy right now, but will hopefully come together in time!

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

So, here are the finished home-brewed trap points.  Complete with fictional rodding, that has now been painted gunmetal.  I think it looks ok, but will add some black around the cranks and rod guides to suggest grease/oil.  I also changed the colours of the deflector ramps to make them look rusty, an improvement I think?  So this bit is now more or less ready for ballasting

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

And here's the view from the first point on the layout.  I've just made a start on painting the furthest rodding from the camera; you can see the difference between the gunmetal and the plain plastic.  This deflector ramp has also been painted rust, then immediately wiped over with a cotton bud to lift off some of the paint.  I've now got a first point motor to try out, so will install it here and see how I get along.  Then I can trim off the ends of the tie rod.  Be prepared for some coarse language...

 

Still need to get rid of that surplus bridge!

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

This arrived from TMC yesterday.  It's the Dean Goods from Oxford Rail and looks lovely.  I won't get into the debates about accuracy of dimensions and fittings; to me that doesn't really matter too much.  But I think the loco looks suitably finely built and detailed, and very well finished off (apart from the brightwork, which I'm not such a fan of).

 

Sadly however, beauty seems to only be skin deep in this case.  It runs terribly.  Needs a 1:1 scale hand to get it moving, and then runs quite jerkily, and not at all at very low speeds.  I don't really want to send it back to TMC (and am not sure if I can anyway - the outer packaging had been really battered in the postal system, and so was the Oxford Rail box, so I had to tear the latter in order to open it.  So I doubt if they would accept it back).  Also, I live in Austria, so it would take weeks to get sorted, and then I'd have to pay more customs fees to get it back again.

 

So, I'm scratching my head a bit as to what to do about this one...

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Graham T
typo

[Alister_G]

I would invest in a rolling road, if you don't already have one, as it allows you to exercise locos at speed without fear of them heading off the end of the layout. They can be quite expensive, but they are well worth it. You would need an eight-roller version, if you regularly have tender locos.

 

However, without that, the commonest cause of poor running in a brand-new loco is the factory-applied grease, which can be quite thick. If you take off the keeper plate on the bottom of the loco which holds the wheels in, try and clean out all the grease you can see.

 

There really is no substitute for an extended running in session though, that's the best medicine.

 

Al.

[Graham T]

Thanks Al.  I was considering a rolling road, and if you recommend it then I'll definitely get one.

[Alister_G]

21 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Thanks Al.  I was considering a rolling road, and if you recommend it then I'll definitely get one.

 

The one I have is the DCC Concepts 8-roller version. It's very useful, not just for running in, but for general maintenance, particularly wheel cleaning, you can set the loco running and then use a cotton bud with Isopropyl Alchohol on it to clean each wheel in turn as it runs.

 

It's also useful for testing DCC locos when you are setting up acceleration and braking curves, and so on.

 

Here's a nude J94 getting a workout:

 

 

Al.

[Graham T]

Nudity!  Aagh!

[Fishplate]

5 hours ago, Alister_G said:

 

The one I have is the DCC Concepts 8-roller version. It's very useful, not just for running in, but for general maintenance,

 

Hi @Graham T, I have the same rolling road as @Alister_G. It is just the job. To add to what has been said: I give new purchases a minimum 30 mins in each direction, starting off at a reasonable speed (ie not max-ing out on the controller!) and then gradually slowing down to shunting speed . Gives the loco a good 'out of the box' workout. 

 

John

Edited July 24, 2021 by Fishplate
Clarification

[Graham T]

Thanks for the tips John.  I ordered one this afternoon

[Gedward]

1 minute ago, Graham T said:

Thanks for the tips John.  I ordered one this afternoon

 

Me too! 

[Graham T]

I seem to remember saying something earlier in this thread about enjoying ballasting?  Ignore me.  I do not include ballasting pointwork in that comment!  Quite pleased with how this has turned out though (although I'm still not entirely convinced by the colour of the sleepers...)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Graham T

[Gedward]

2 minutes ago, Graham T said:

I seem to remember saying something earlier in this thread about enjoying ballasting?  Ignore me.

 

I still have nightmares over ballasting my last layout, especially points. And all that was more than 30 years ago. 

[Graham T]

This is probably the trickiest part of the point rodding so far, where it transitions from two, to three, and then to four rods.  You can see that it's bodged in places, such as I've managed to get the point drive rod (?) twisted through 45 degrees, but that isn't actually noticeable to the Mk 1 Eyeball, so I'm not going to try to change it.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

I've also been very slowly adding to the ballasting.  A tedious process, as I have to go around with a cocktail stick after everything has set removing any stray chips.  It also needs to be a little deeper in places, so quite a bit of fettling (and indeed "firtling") will still be needed.

 

 

 

I'm also still not 100% happy with the sleeper colour.  It actually varies a bit across the layout, because I didn't paint all the track at once, and I think I prefer the lighter grey sleepers.  But how to repaint them?  I could try doing it with a fine brush, at the risk of driving myself batty.  And I'm pretty sure that the paint would also soak into the ballast anyway.  Or else use an airbrush, but then I would need to repaint all the rail sides afterwards as well.  You can see in this photo that some of the ends of the sleepers are a lighter grey, and I think that fits better with the ballast colour.  I'd be interested to hear any other views or ideas!

 

 

  

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

I need to clean all the track again too, where I've ballasted, as the Mogul isn't especially keen on the odd splash of PVA that's strayed onto the rails!