hayfield Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Gordon I think its just getting the balance right between trackwork and stock, nothing wrong if you choose to use RTR stock over hand built track just make sure that the wheels are compatible with the standards you are using. Most of all just enjoy what you are doing !! Have you tried the new C&L flexi track, it has a much thicker base (1.6mm) also for those who like something a bit more detailed has keys in the chairs and in 60' panels. I find the bases have a bit more rigidity as do the Exactoscale fast track bases and the new Peco bullhead track 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted November 25, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2019 On 22/11/2019 at 18:50, hayfield said: Gordon I also found out the usefulness of mitre bond Known as "man glue" in our household. Again after discovering it when fitting a kitchen it is used for loads more than sticking plinths together I use the Screwfix stuff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Just now, RedgateModels said: Known as "man glue" in our household. Again after discovering it when fitting a kitchen it is used for loads more than sticking plinths together I use the Screwfix stuff I now also use an industrial grade superglue rather than the cheaper grades from supermarkets & chain stores. Its far stronger, seems not to clog in the nozzle and last longer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 10 hours ago, gordon s said: Is it Groundhog Day?.... Just woken up to see the start of what could be endless discussion on fractions of a mm. No problem at all with that, other than as Martin suggests, ET is not the place. Andy, I would prefer you start another thread on the pro’s and con’s of H0-SF as I’m more than happy with the running quality of my own track. Any comments I have made regards gauge widening on minimum side play, long wheelbase loco’s is not a reflection on the standard, but more likely to be poor workmanship on my part or a loco which has insufficient side play for the radius involved. An early start for me as another Winter League game with a must win result beckons...... My apologies for the interruption. I'm agreeing with both you and Martin. I'll follow up elsewhere. Andy 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 Thanks Andy, much appreciated... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 (edited) Evening all.... Had a fun few days, particularly when I printed off 40 odd pages and I just couldn't get them to line up with the existing plan. Tried for an hour or so, went to bed and still wondered why. After a while I noticed the track gauge didn't appear to line up with the existing track, so stuck my vernier across my prints only to find the gauge was 18mm.... Purely operator error through the use of a duff vernier. I upgraded to Windows 10 and for some reason had to recalibrate my printer. Simple to do if you have something that measures accurately....90mm became 83mm on my vernier so that was duly entered and of course everything was printed oversize to compensate. Dummy of the week prize goes to Mr S of Berkshire... The sheets have all been reprinted and thankfully they fit on the amended baseboard and align with the existing track. I really need more space in which to work as once you add the two boards together, they must be 10-12' across the room. Quite pleased the way it's starting to come together and can't wait to see up to four trains running through this approach to ET . Reading from left to right they are the shed road which will go up an incline to the bridge I mocked up a few days ago. The in/out road from the traverser that will descend and cut under the shed road on the next board round the corner. The four running lines. Two slow and two fast in pairs. No idea which is up and which is down, though no doubt someone will explain. Did they go up to London or down to London? For me it was and still is 'oop north and down sarf..... Then we have the good yard entrance and finally the diesel MPD. The golf course looks like it's going to be closed for a few days yet, so I may well get some more done in the next few days. Hope those who went to Warley had a good time. Thanks for posting pics and video's. Much appreciated as I doubt I will ever go. The days of struggling round a packed exhibition hall are long gone. Sad to hear three of the guys I've grown up with passed on today. Now I know how my parents felt as their contemporaries left the planet. Edited November 27, 2019 by gordon s 8 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted November 27, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 27, 2019 In railway terms, Gordon "Up" is towards London, unless you were the Midland then "Up" is towards Derby of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 Thanks Jonathan, but fascinated to know how that came about, as in latitude terms London is south of most cities. Of course anything north of Watford Gap is ‘oop north for those of us brought up in North London... 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted November 27, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 27, 2019 56 minutes ago, gordon s said: Thanks Jonathan, but fascinated to know how that came about, as in latitude terms London is south of most cities. Of course anything north of Watford Gap is ‘oop north for those of us brought up in North London... After we moved from Mill Hill to Edinburgh it took a long time to get used to the idea of signs on the M6 reading Penrith and the South. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted November 27, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 27, 2019 1 hour ago, Rowsley17D said: In railway terms, Gordon "Up" is towards London, unless you were the Midland then "Up" is towards Derby of course. What about the LYR, and other railways not going in any way whatsoever near, to or from London, even if via another railway? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted November 27, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 27, 2019 15 minutes ago, Regularity said: What about the LYR, and other railways not going in any way whatsoever near, to or from London, even if via another railway? It's not about geography, it's about socio-economic importance. You go "Up To Town" and "Down To The Country". The Up direction is generally towards the more important destination, often the railway company's works or headquarters. If in doubt, look at the crossbars on the telegraph poles. They are on the Up side of the pole. Likewise along roads, the crossbars are on the telephone exchange side of the pole. Martin. 1 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buhar Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 I understood Up and Down originated with colliery wagonways, the colliery, the centre of operations, being uphill of the unloading point (the wagonways were usually gravity assisted). On the railways the line to the centre of operations, London for many concerns, Derby for the Midland, Glasgow for the Caledonian, Manchester for the L&Y, was designated the Up line. In an number of places the Up line became the Down line and some, I think, were changed during signalling rationalisation not that long ago. Alan 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gordon s Posted December 3, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 3, 2019 (edited) Evening all. Hope you are all well.... An eventful few days. We managed a draw over at Sandford Springs and yesterday beat The Downshire to strengthen our position in the M4 Winter League. With just two clubs to go through to the knock out stages, we're in good shape with just three games to go, two of which are at home. Sadly I've said that before and we've finished 3rd in the group stages in the last two years, so this could be our year.... Just got to the 18th green yesterday when I saw a familiar face smiling at me. My dear lady wife had somehow got the key jammed in the front door lock and couldn't get in nor get her key out. No idea how it had happened, but I had to shoot home, climb over the fence and then go in via the back door, setting off all the alarms in the process. One thing I did realise is that I'm not as young as I used to be and climbing over a 6' fence was not as easy as I thought it would be, let alone the jump down the other side... "I can fix that", I said, so once home trawled through the web to find out how to dismantle a Euro lock and get the key out. Eventually I had to admit defeat and called out a locksmith this morning. A very professional guy, who for a reasonable sum, broke the lock and fitted a new one, so all is secure once again. Of course none of that is anything to do with ET, so here's the latest update. Still amazes me how you can stick loads of bits of paper together and 15-20' away they all still line up like magic. As expected I had to scrap two or three simple boards, but rescued the turnouts before they went off to the tip. Sorry it's mostly paper modelling, but the three dimensional layout is starting to take shape. Loads to do yet with a few turnouts to build and track beds to cut, but now I know it all lines up OK, I'm quite tempted to build the over bridge to the shed as a module with the four main lines underneath and add biscuit wafers so they can be aligned and attached to approach boards. Routing a slot in the end of 12mm ply and gluing in a biscuit is a very simple way of joining two track beds together and still get a flat surface. Here's a couple of pics... Had to clamber into the corner to get this view from the approach into ET. The up and down gradients are both 1:65, so steeper than I really want, but a compromise I'm happy to accept. The actual gradient is only 5m long and trains will be limited to seven coaches or the equivalent number of wagons as that will be governed by the length of the traverser bed. The finished boards will be open plan, these are just a few sheets of mdf and ply that were kicking around to allow me to lay out the paper prints. 17.22pm. Must be time for a beer. A bottle of King Goblin has just appeared. 6.6% by volume. I'll probably be asleep by 20.00..... Edited December 4, 2019 by gordon s 29 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gordon s Posted December 11, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 11, 2019 Somehow or other I managed to convince myself I could upgrade ET to 4 independent circuits from the 2 + 2 of the earlier design. I'm reminded of Catherine Tate saying 'I can do that'..... What was originally a tweak here and there has turned into half the layout being rebuilt...... Why do I listen to that voice in my head? Right now it looks like a bomb has hit my railway room, but another month or two should see some progress and even trains running again. The good news is that I've gone beyond the point of no return, so I've just got to get on with it. I've managed to consume another rain forest of paper and I hear there may be a shortage of 3M Magitape, not to mention a new toner cartridge. I have had to scrap a couple of plain boards, but sadly this fully wired one one will have to go. The pointwork and Tortoise motors will be lifted and used once again. Thankfully this one hadn't been ballasted as that really would have annoyed me..... So here's where I am. The four circuits are 90% there on paper and the trackbeds have been cut. First impressions are promising and I'm happy with the long curved section down this side of the room. The jury is still out on the over bridge, but having got this far, I'm not going to change the 1+2+1 format to 2+2 to accommodate a steel girder bridge. I understand the reasons, but it was really one step too far, particularly having relaid that half of ET already. What seemed like a minor change originally has turned into something much, much bigger. Sometimes a compromise is the only way to protect your sanity.... The four main running lines will sit in a shallow cutting with two bridges to the shed area. One will be the track entry point and the second road access into the shed area itself. Despite the current rework, I'm much happier with the four independent circuits and the traverser storage. Having the shed at 100mm higher than the main lines also improves the accessibility and visual aspects of the shed. Hopefully we'll all still be here on Friday..... 17 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gordon s Posted December 17, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 17, 2019 Survived the election and more to the point, made it through today after our Seniors Christmas Lunch at the golf club. It never ceases to amaze me the noise from 120 over 55's, not to mention the considerable consumption of alcoholic beverages. If there's a shortage of red wine in Berkshire, it's nothing to do with us.... The course is still waterlogged, so I've been quite happy to potter around in the warm. Managed to cut out some more trackbed and today I've tried to align everything so the up bits go up, the down bits go down and everything that's left stays in the middle. Surprisingly the various lengths of ply all seem to fit and cross over in the right place. One thing I must do is wear my hard hat as if I've clobbered the top of my head once today, I've probably whacked it against the overhanging eaves a dozen times. The top of my head looks like a road map with most of the lines in the red of A roads. I'm hoping to get these bits fitted properly with the various straightening side plates in place. The lower level down to the traverser will require side plates to stop any loco or stock that has had enough of running on rails, crashing to the floor. Otherwise I'm still tripping over junk and the garage is just about full of ply offcuts. Who have thought such a simple hobby would generate so much mess....or maybe it's just me. 22 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted December 17, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 17, 2019 Wow, that's some pretty good chippying! Looks like the printer has been busy as well. Would it be worth investing in a wood burning stove , to reduce the number of trips to the tip. Looking forward to further updates. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted December 17, 2019 Author Share Posted December 17, 2019 If you look carefully you can see the 2009 version burning nicely....... Funnily enough, ply doesn't burn that well unless you have a few logs to keep the heat going. In any case, the boys at the tip would complain. Their layout is far ahead of mine.... 10 1 4 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 17, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 17, 2019 2 hours ago, gordon s said: Who have thought such a simple hobby would generate so much mess....or maybe it's just me. No, it's not just you Gordon. I generally clear up move the mess out of shot before I take photos to give the impression that everything is neat and tidy. 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buhar Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I know it was light-hearted but please don't burn engineered wood in a stove, the glue and other treatments knacker the flue and also give off some nasty gases. 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustytrev Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Hello Gordon, Ply does not burn well if it is piled on the fire flat stopping any air drawing the fire through. Put on edge and randomly to allow the air passage makes it burn really well. The same is true with chipboard or any other wood based sheet material. trustytrev. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustytrev Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 2 minutes ago, Buhar said: I know it was light-hearted but please don't burn engineered wood in a stove, the glue and other treatments knacker the flue and also give off some nasty gases. Hello, Not much different to coal then. As far as I am aware the fumes given of by burning any wood is toxic. That is why chimneys were invented. trustytrev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted December 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 18, 2019 49 minutes ago, trustytrev said: Not much different to coal then. As far as I am aware the fumes given of by burning any wood is toxic. Coal and manufactured wood are completely different, The glues and resins give off some particularly noxious gases which you really don't want to inhale, they also coat the inside of a chimney/flue and hang around long after the fire has gone out. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted December 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 18, 2019 38 minutes ago, chris p bacon said: Coal and manufactured wood are completely different, The glues and resins give off some particularly noxious gases which you really don't want to inhale, they also coat the inside of a chimney/flue and hang around long after the fire has gone out. Yes, I agree with that. Funnily enough, engineered wood burns at a lower temperature, and (as Dave Bacon has noted) it sometimes leaves residue within the flue. If you do wish to burn engineered wood, mix it up with a higher calorific content, such as coal, or hardwood offcuts. If your main firewood fuel is indeed engineered wood, you will probably need the chimney swept twice a year. Use a good HETAS-registered sweep, and follow his advice. Please remember that the soot from engineered wood has a higher acidic value, so it might well shorten the life of any corrugated stainless steel flue. Cheers, Ian. 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted December 19, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 19, 2019 Hi Gordon, If you are still surrounding yourself with Templot printouts, there is a new version 225d released today, which includes your suggested new option to add a prefix to the page ident (watermark) for a print run (and for PDF output): You won't want to write an entire novel in that box, because the text size has to be reduced to fit the prefix on the page: If you create multiple print runs it makes sense to be able to identify the pages from each one easily -- other than squinting at the date and time in the corner of the page. Leave the box blank if you don't want a prefix. Many thanks for this suggestion, even if you don't remember making it. Your copy of Templot should update automatically if you restart it and follow the instructions (assuming you have an internet connection). More info at: http://85a.co.uk/forum/view_topic.php?id=3584&forum_id=1 cheers, Martin. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) Well, what can I say other than 'thank you'......Christmas has come early.... I'll play around with it tomorrow and see how it works. Health warning.....No need to do anything, but seeing your print above reminded me of something..... I'm an impatient soul when I'm on a run and sometimes my brain works quicker than my computer. When looking at a large print run where I only need a few sheets from the top of the plan, I click on 'next row' numerous times and often find I've gone one row too many..... The only way I know out of that is to cancel the print and start all over again....slowly. Is there an easy way of going back to the previous row if you've gone too far? Just curious..... No need to do anything at all as I can manage, but if you're bored one afternoon and it's five minutes work and there isn't an existing fix, a previous row button would be nice...... The good news is that I've stopped woodwork and got back onto turnouts today. Built four today. Two for the traverser entrance and the two back at the ET station end which will allow the four tracks to pass through. I just fancied a change from woodwork. The good news on that front is that the gradients appear OK. Funny thing was I had to scrap the business end of the first turnout I built today. I haven't built turnouts for a while and once I found all the right gauges and ancillaries thought it would be like riding a bike. Metaphorically speaking I'm now covered in plasters on my knees and elbows....,. Strange how easily you forget all the really small details that enable you to make something without a bump or drop as wheels run across. I still use my blind testing method. Close your eyes and if you can feel where the crossing is, then it's either tweaked or binned. Anything else would drive me bonkers.... No golf again as we're still soggy, but that's good news as I'll be plodding away on ET again tomorrow. Edited December 19, 2019 by gordon s 4 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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