ian b Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Another brief one! I've decided to go with Dapol's easi-shunt couplings, at least for passenger services for the time being. Had a few doubts about the uncoupling magnets as the Dapol ones aren't cheap and I reckon I need around 14 places to uncouple. Thanks to a recommendation from Karhedron I purchased some 2 x 3mm neodymium magnets and have installed these at the end of each of the terminus roads. They uncouple stuff well and at £7.50 for 100 I could probably cover the entire layout in them! The only downside is the delayed uncoupling is proving a problem so i'll get a couple of Dapol magnets for these spots. Still not having much luck with my Dapol 27s but DapolDave is on the case now so i'm feeling hopeful! Promise that the next update will have a few photos! Ian B Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlw Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 This is looking really good. Nice to see another scotrail layout Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 A couple of photos I just knocked off on my phone to show some progress! 37401 draw forward off the shed over newly ballasted track... ... and sits in platform 2 awaiting arrival of the next train from Carlisle 37022 awaitig departure on a Carlisle service while 47035 waits to take forward to next through train to Leeds. The duff is the first of the fleet to be fitted with easi-shunt couplings. All bar three of the magnets are in place- just waiting for a nice parcels to arrive with my couplings in! And the aforementioned magnets- nicely hidden in the ballast! All comments welcome!!! Ian B Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 Hi all- apologies for the lack of updates but its been a bit of a hectic period and now I've decisions to make! Had some grand news in the we are expecting our first child later this year however this will result in a house move, and finding a rental house with a 13' spare room is proving challenging... I've currently got two-thirds of the layout ballasted about half of which is fixed so I'm considering hoovering up the loose pre-empting the destruction (and possible demise) to come. The boards do split into 2 18"x 6'6" sections so preserving only the station is a possibility ( but not overly exciting operations-wise). On another note I'm seriously thinking about going DCC with whatever layout I end up with. I've converted my two class 31s which was a fun (and successful!) exercise and I've already got a Bachmann Dynamis which I use to power up my Hornby sound fitted 50 from time to time. Anyway, got to try and devise a future for Jedburgh if I can- it's the first layout in quite some time I'm attached to! TTFN! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted August 18, 2013 Author Share Posted August 18, 2013 Dear me- not an update since March?! Shocking! Well the intervening time has brought many changes! Jedburgh is now in a new home (250miles further south!) and survived the journey well! On reassembly I went for the DCC option and savagely hacked all wiring and switches off, which was actually a strangely satisfying, if nerve-wracking, experience. I've been busy converting locos left, right and centre and currently boast a fleet of 17 conversions, two with sound and one fitted with lighting by me! A list of the fleet is below- photos will hopefully follow later this week as i'm currently ripping apart the real Chessington South's track and putting new spangly stuff down. The Dynamis has been ditched. I've had it for a few years and was quite a fan until it decided that it would occasionally cut reception just as a £300 loco was reaching the end of the line! One or two experiences like that and I was not laughing and at the Hartlepool exhibition had a play with an NCE Powercab, which I quickly purchased and haven't looked back! The fiddle yards at the back of the layout had been driving me crackers for quite some time- theses have now been lifted and replaced with an iffy cassette system, which works surprisingly well... Stock-wise i've been gradually acquiring the new BachFar mk1s and 2s in blue & grey, trying to get as many different numbers as possible. I didn't realise how many numbers had been released- a massive different from the old Farish coaches which kept one number for 15 years! Anyway- current locos listed below. Any comments/ questions welcomed!!! 03066 fitted with a Digitrax DZ125 into the cab roof! Quite proud of this difficult conversion! (BR blue) 25322 fitted with DZ125 (BR blue 'ice-cream van' livery) 26038 fitted with Bachmann 36-558A (R/f grey) 27008 fitted with 36-558A (BR blue) 31285 fitted with DZ125 (R/f grey) 31438 fitted with DZ125 (BR blue) 37401 fitted with ZIMO MX648 sound decoder (mainline) 37408 fitted with DZ125 (LL blue) 37413 fitted with DZ125 (LL blue) 37417 fitted with DZ125 and working headlights using LEDs and fibre-optics (LL blue) 45114 fitted with DZ125 (BR blue- slimmed bogies, to be converted to flush front and renumbered to 45113 'Athene') 47035 fitted with 36-558A (BR blue) 47535 fitted with ZIMO MX648 sound decoder (LL blue) 47612 fitted with 36-558A (InterCity) 60029 fitted with 36-558A (R/f metals- to be renumbered to 60008 'Moel Fammau' as per crew training duties from Thornaby) plus 101 & 108's both fitted with 2 x 36-558As Maybe one or two of the rest of the locos will be converted, but i'm content with the 'core' fleet at the moment. All locos are also fitted with Dapol Easi-shunt couplings which I would heartily recommend! Again apologies for the lack of photos, hopefully soon to be rectified! Ian B Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Just a quick one to prove things are happening, although very, very slowly Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1977joey Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Hi Ian, Glad to see you back here & looking forward to seeing more of your layout All the best, Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Hi guys, If this works you should be able to follow the above link to take you to a short (and pretty naff but its a first effort!) video showing the shunting of the stock from the midday Inverness arrival at Jedburgh. Featured are my little 03 and sound and light fitted Farish 37417. Hope you like! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 And another little vid! Following on from the previous video the stock of an arrival from Nottingham is now shunted. This is hauled by 31285 as the allocated 47 was removed in Carlisle for attention. Following this 31438 then arrives with a Carlisle to Edinburgh service... Ian B Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bri.s Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Great videos , I've done similar and decided to convert my layout to dcc at the moment only a 37 fitted with sound , and not by my doing either lol so well done fitting those . I see your going to convert your 45 to a flush ended one how will you do this , I've wanted a 45 like that for ages but don't know where to start . Keep up the good work Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Thanks Bri! So far i've thinned the bogies, fitted some of the pipework and easi-shunts to the peak, along with a DZ125. When I get chance i'll be taking out the headcode panel and replacing with plasticard and filling so its flush. The plan then is to drill out the lights with a .75mm drill, along with a 1mm drill for a high intensity light when I get one! Then i'll plug the holes with fibre optic cable and fit LED lighting. At least thats the plan... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJ Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Great videos. Not sure how I have missed this as it ticks all the boxes for me - N gauge, BR blue etc. I'm doing a similar era in N (but at the other end of the country!) and have been very impressed with the Dapol couplings. I have mostly used the Dapol magnets, buried into the cork underlay and hidden by dummy sleepers (I only needed a couple) but there is a location where I can't fit them, so I will try the small magnets you describe - they are well hidden How complex was converting the 31 to DCC and any advice or guidance? I fitted chips to all my DCC ready locos but not yet brave enough to try an older loco - and advice gratefully received! And how do you get the 03 running so sweetly? Is it just super clean track or is there a secret??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Hi Tom, The older locos (31, 37, 45 & 47) from China are all the same to convert and it's been pretty well covered on other forums- basically chop a chunk out of the chassis where the contact from the motor fit against it, solder two connections from the decoder to the contacts and use the screws holding the chassis together to hold the other two decoder leads in place. Placing the decoder is the knack! The awkward thing is getting a good connection from the screw terminals. For my 2 31s one has the DZ125 in the cab and runs beautifully. The other I took the insulation off the decoder and replaced it with something a lot thinner so the decoder now fits on top of the motor. Having problems getting it to run sweetly though but it's never been too brilliant anyway so that's probably something I'll live with. I've just soldered the pick up leads direct to the brass pick ups at the back of the wheels which has slightly improved things. The 03 is the hardest loco I've converted. The loco has always been a lovely runner but there's very little space inside. I managed to carefully trim the insulation around the decoder right back and removed the excess wires so it fitted into the cab roof! I really took my time on it and am over the moon it worked out so well! As for the track it really isn't too clean at all! Any further questions please ask! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bri.s Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Thanks for the how too ,you say your tracks not too clean but still have good running locos , what's your secret lol. I've been having a look at doing a class 45 conversion and on another forum someone had said they used precision Taylor class 47 marker lights I might try those my self . Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Sounds like a good idea- the only reason I'm not going with something like that is because I'm going to get the lights working. Find it massively frustrating with DCC when a loco doesn't have them so you can't quite tell which direction it's going to move in! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Like busses- nothing for ages then loads of posts at once Here we see 37408 drawing forward off shed and dropping onto the arrival from Carlisle hauled by 31438. Once the train has departed for Edinburgh the Ped draws forward before setting back onto the rear of the next Edinburgh arrival, hauled by 37401. Apologies for the dodgy driving and sound effects- I was holding my 6 month old daughter when I filmed and drove this! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Hi all! Said daughter is now 2 years old and, following a house move the railway is entering it's third incarnation! More updates will follow soon but just as a taster ( and to prove the locos get TLC even when the railway is in upheaval!) here is a photo or two taken in the last week or two. Hope you like Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Waiting their turn... Layout photos to follow tomorrow hopefully! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Hi all! Quick update on the layout. Following our last move the layout is now housed in a garage and I thought it would be rude not to make the most of the space so, following the destruction of an unwanted wardrobe, I used the sides and door to make more baseboards! The track now runs approx 65ft around the garage walls in a very long loop with a fiddle yard being installed on one side and the original station, along with a new high-level station, being on the other. It will still be operated as Jedburgh in the 80s but I have collected quite a few Norfolk-based engines now too and they will get a run out with my European stuff when the mood takes me! Please see the attached photos which show 47541 running with my Dapol Scotrail mk3s. The loco has long been a naff runner and things haven't improved so it's going to be properly stripped down shortly! More updates soon I hope! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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