Wright writes.....

[davidw]

20 hours ago, 31A said:

Talking of coaches, I've just finished this ex LNER D282 gangwayed Brake, using Comet underframe, sides ends and roof, and bogies and  most other bits from the MJT range.

 

 

 

 

More information on how I did it over on my layout thread:

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/83030-train-spotting-at-finsbury-square/page/27/#comments

 

 

I wouldn't want to necessarily use tension locks but how did you mount them?

 

[Tony Wright]

2 minutes ago, davidw said:

I wouldn't want to necessarily use tension locks but how did you mount them?

 

I was considering asking the same question.

 

My complete dislike of tension-locks is well known (even though I've demonstrated their use in some moving footage). In my experience, they have a habit of becoming uncoupled in use, they look like no coupling ever used by real railways (standard gauge at least) and, if attached to bogies, can cause derailments. 

 

Steve's model is very natural, an example of excellent craftsmanship and beautifully-observed. Then I see the tension-locks!

[31A]

41 minutes ago, davidw said:

I wouldn't want to necessarily use tension locks but how did you mount them?

 

 

The MJT bogies make no provision for fitting couplings apart from Alex Jackson type, so I soldered a piece of brass strip (etch scrap) with a hole in one end and an 8BA nut soldered to it, to the centre piece and headstock.  The piece with a "B" written on it in the first picture.  The couplings themselves are then packed down to the correct height; two pieces of 60 thou in this case.

 

 

 

 

35 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

I was considering asking the same question.

 

My complete dislike of tension-locks is well known (even though I've demonstrated their use in some moving footage). In my experience, they have a habit of becoming uncoupled in use, they look like no coupling ever used by real railways (standard gauge at least) and, if attached to bogies, can cause derailments. 

 

Steve's model is very natural, an example of excellent craftsmanship and beautifully-observed. Then I see the tension-locks!

 

Thank you for those kind comments Tony; glad you like my van.  Re. the couplings though, I'm sure we've been here before and I use tension lock couplings on my layout as it is a terminus and shunting of vehicles takes place, and the vehicles have to have couplings which allow that to happen.  Quite often I remove the couplings before taking pictures which are intended for viewing on here, to avoid causing anguish, but this time I'm afraid I forgot.

 

[micklner]

30 minutes ago, 31A said:

 

The MJT bogies make no provision for fitting couplings apart from Alex Jackson type, so I soldered a piece of brass strip (etch scrap) with a hole in one end and an 8BA nut soldered to it, to the centre piece and headstock.  The piece with a "B" written on it in the first picture.  The couplings themselves are then packed down to the correct height; two pieces of 60 thou in this case.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for those kind comments Tony; glad you like my van.  Re. the couplings though, I'm sure we've been here before and I use tension lock couplings on my layout as it is a terminus and shunting of vehicles takes place, and the vehicles have to have couplings which allow that to happen.  Quite often I remove the couplings before taking pictures which are intended for viewing on here, to avoid causing anguish, but this time I'm afraid I forgot.

 

MJT do a  etched Coupling for NRM Tension locks  it is here .

 

https://www.dartcastings.co.uk/mjt/2580.php

 

They also do a generic etched version for other makes of Bogies.

https://www.dartcastings.co.uk/mjt/2583.php

 

I have some on mine they work fine , no derailing, and you can uncouple the stock without lifting them off the track ,  etc etc.

 

 

[gr.king]

Coupling-gate again...

 

Almost any kind of model coupling can be susceptible to problems if the details of the geometry are not consistent, or at least compatible, on all vehicles as well as being appropriate to the scale, the type of vehicles, and the track quality/characteristics.

 

I have no functional problems with small tension locks of suitable length and width for the stock and the track (including those on bogies), fitted "straight", at consistent heights and not mangled by rough handling. Variable fitting heights, skew fitting, hooks and bars in different styles, bent hooks or couplings not wide enough for the overthrows on curves can mess up results though. Tension locks are inexpensive (very unlike Kadees and some others), can be home made if necessary, and possess the virtue of allowing propulsion without buffer locking. Cosmetically of course they are ghastly, especially on the exposed end of a vehicle.

 

Can anybody report any experience, in suitable circumstances, of Iain Rice's "Bringewood" variation on the tension lock design, a small home-made wire version with delayed magnetic uncoupling facility? Its nominal compatibility with basic commercial tension locks, allowing a stage by stage changeover from one type to the other, seems a rather attractive feature.

[31A]

16 minutes ago, micklner said:

MJT do a  etched Coupling for NRM Tension locks  it is here .

 

https://www.dartcastings.co.uk/mjt/2580.php

 

They also do a generic etched version for other makes of Bogies.

https://www.dartcastings.co.uk/mjt/2583.php

 

I have some on mine they work fine , no derailing, and you can uncouple the stock without lifting them off the track ,  etc etc.

 

 

 

Oh I forgot, I did try one of those once.  I couldn't get on with it for some reason!  Didn't seem to want to be at the right height I think, and not easily adjustable?

[micklner]

1 minute ago, 31A said:

 

Oh I forgot, I did try one of those once.  I couldn't get on with it for some reason!  Didn't seem to want to be at the right height I think, and not easily adjustable?

Bend to approx height/length needed, before soldering . Never had a problem with ones I have done. You need to ensure the coupling box is not full of solder when made up !!

[johndon]

In keeping with Tony's making it for yourself philosophy, I give you my latest creation although it is something that does not, physically, exist...

 

I make a living writing computer software but, until now, have only ever done this for Windows desktop PCs.  As software moves inexorably to ‘the cloud’, I figured it was about time I learnt how to write applications that run in a web browser and figured, while I was learning, I may as well create something useful and this has turned in to a Scale Conversion Tool.

 

It has the following features:

 

Convert Actual Length to Scale Length.  Enter a ‘real’ length in the units of your choice and it will be converted to the equivalent scale length in whatever units you choose.

Convert Scale Length to Actual Length.  Same as above but the opposite way round.

Convert Scale Length to Scale Length.  Enter a length in one scale and have it converted to other scales.

Convert actual curve radius in chains to scale radius in a choice of units.

Convert Imperial to Metric.

Convert Metric to Imperial.

Convert Thou to mm.

Convert mm to thou.

 

Scales supported so far are listed below although you can enter your own scale ratio for most of the calculations if you wish.

 

2mm scale (US/EU N) - 1:160

2mm scale (2mm FS) - 1:152.3

2mm scale (British N) - 1:148

3mm scale (British TT) - 1:101.6

3.5mm scale (HO) - 1:87.1

4mm scale (OO, EM, P4) - 1:76.2

7mm scale (O) - 1:43.5

 

Free to use, it can be run from here: http://www.leyburnsolutions.com/scaleconverter/scale.php with the only skill required being able to enter numbers in to boxes on the screen.

 

I've tested in in Edge, Chrome and Firefox on a PC, Safari on a Mac and Safari on an iPhone.

 

I appreciate that, a lot of those used to doing things for themselves can probably do these sorts of calculations in their sleep, but it may prove to be of use for some...

 

John

Edited November 17, 2020 by johndon

[westerner]

I use a scale ruler.

[TrevorP1]

11 minutes ago, johndon said:

In keeping with Tony's making it for yourself philosophy, I give you my latest creation although it is something that does not, physically, exist...

 

I make a living writing computer software but, until now, have only ever done this for Windows desktop PCs.  As software moves inexorably to ‘the cloud’, I figured it was about time I learnt how to write applications that run in a web browser and figured, while I was learning, I may as well create something useful and this has turned in to a Scale Conversion Tool.

 

It has the following features:

 

Convert Actual Length to Scale Length.  Enter a ‘real’ length in the units of your choice and it will be converted to the equivalent scale length in whatever units you choose.

Convert Scale Length to Actual Length.  Same as above but the opposite way round.

Convert Scale Length to Scale Length.  Enter a length in one scale and have it converted to other scales.

Convert actual curve radius in chains to scale radius in a choice of units.

Convert Imperial to Metric.

Convert Metric to Imperial.

Convert Thou to mm.

Convert mm to thou.

 

Scales supported so far are listed below although you can enter your own scale ratio for most of the calculations if you wish.

 

2mm scale (US/EU N) - 1:160

2mm scale (2mm FS) - 1:152.3

2mm scale (British N) - 1:148

3mm scale (British TT) - 1:101.6

3.5mm scale (HO) - 1:87.1

4mm scale (OO, EM, P4) - 1:76.2

7mm scale (O) - 1:43.5

 

Free to use, it can be run from here: http://www.leyburnsolutions.com/scaleconverter/scale.php with the only skill required being able to enter numbers in to boxes on the screen.

 

I appreciate that, a lot of those used to doing things for themselves can probably do these sorts of calculations in their sleep but it may prove to be of use for some...

 

John

Thank you. That’s handy! I’m quite accustomed to converting day to day engineering units but this is handy for modelling work. - Being lazy I often guess!

 

I may not use it a lot but I have lots of tools I only use now and again.  

[Chas Levin]

On 16/11/2020 at 10:15, john new said:

 

Good tip and a quick search via a very old RMWeb link shows that luckily these are still available via the wayback machine as the 9 Nov 2006 capture included the PDFs (some of the later one's didn't)  Link is - https://web.archive.org/web/20061109075131/http://www.mousa.uk.com/Cat/free.html  and from there open the links.

Thank you for posting this! The coach seats will come in handy, but also by coincidence the instructions for Bill's C12 chassis included some details of help with my current build: I've been struggling slightly with braking arrangements...

[Chas Levin]

2 hours ago, micklner said:

MJT do a  etched Coupling for NRM Tension locks  it is here .

 

https://www.dartcastings.co.uk/mjt/2580.php

 

They also do a generic etched version for other makes of Bogies.

https://www.dartcastings.co.uk/mjt/2583.php

 

I have some on mine they work fine , no derailing, and you can uncouple the stock without lifting them off the track ,  etc etc.

 

 

My goodness - how did I not know about these?! The convoluted solutions I've come up with to attach NEM pockets to bogies that would have been saved by these! Better late than never - thanks for posting this Mick, now on order

[PupCam]

On 14/11/2020 at 23:01, t-b-g said:

 

How about one of these?

 

 

Sorry!   Late to the party on this, it's absolutely marvellous.

 

Any chance of any technical details and/or photos; home brew R/C link, motors, battery etc?  

 

Disorientation when driving?   You should try R/C model flying! 

 

Alan

[t-b-g]

45 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Sorry!   Late to the party on this, it's absolutely marvellous.

 

Any chance of any technical details and/or photos; home brew R/C link, motors, battery etc?  

 

Disorientation when driving?   You should try R/C model flying! 

 

Alan

 

The person who made it, pretty much all home brewed, does post on RMWeb sometimes so I should really leave it up to him to describe it but basically it is a home made plotter type device with two motor driven "arms" at 90 degrees to each other, controlled by either a joystick or a steering wheel. Where they cross, there is a carriage which swivels and has a strong permanent magnet to drag the tractor around and an uncoupling magnet to allow wagons to be left anywhere. Beyond that, I am lost! All the working parts are under the baseboard, which is a thin layer of pcb.

 

I will talk to Laurie to ask if he has some photos of the mechanism he may be able to put on.

[Barry Ten]

58 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Sorry!   Late to the party on this, it's absolutely marvellous.

 

Any chance of any technical details and/or photos; home brew R/C link, motors, battery etc?  

 

Disorientation when driving?   You should try R/C model flying! 

 

Alan

 

I've been spending quite a bit of time using Real Flier, a nice bit of simulation software for r/c models. You link your transmitter to the PC, and then fly virtual planes, gradually getting the hang of reversing the controls. I've heard that it takes about 10 hours of flying to make it seamless but I'm not quite there, although getting better.

 

Al

[Headstock]

Yippee,

I've done some modelling and I can contribute to the well deserved BG love in. This one is a dia. 113, probably the most common type of LNER full brake, teak, turnbuckle, Fox bogies.

 At one time this was a Kirk kit from many centuries ago. It has had multiple bionic rebuilds over the years, until nothing is left of the original but the floor. The latest and final modification is a new brass body, now in rather uninspiring grey undercoat. It has also acquired a new set of buffer beams and new buffers in the extended position. It will be Bristol bound, running on the hook rather than the buckeye. The stepboards required a little bit of realigning to match the new door position, they received a new coat of primer as a result.

 
The demise of the venerable but not terribly accurate original body, effectively means Kirk kits are now extinct amongst my rolling stock. Red letter day or something caught in the eye moment? Make of that what you will.

 

 

[31A]

18 minutes ago, Headstock said:

Yippee,

I've done some modelling and I can contribute to the well deserved BG love in. This one is a dia. 113, probably the most common type of LNER full brake, teak, turnbuckle, Fox bogies.

 At one time this was a Kirk kit from many centuries ago. It has had multiple bionic rebuilds over the years, until nothing is left of the original but the floor. The latest and final modification is a new brass body, now in rather uninspiring grey undercoat. It has also acquired a new set of buffer beams and new buffers in the extended position. It will be Bristol bound, running on the hook rather than the buckeye. The stepboards required a little bit of realigning to match the new door position, they received a new coat of primer as a result.

 
The demise of the venerable but not terribly accurate original body, effectively means Kirk kits are now extinct amongst my rolling stock. Red letter day or something caught in the eye moment? Make of that what you will.

 

 

 

 

That does look very nice!  I look forward to seeing it painted.  Could I ask, how did you do the extended buffers?  I could only find retracted ones in the ranges of the 'usual suspects'.

 

 

[Headstock]

31 minutes ago, 31A said:

 

That does look very nice!  I look forward to seeing it painted.  Could I ask, how did you do the extended buffers?  I could only find retracted ones in the ranges of the 'usual suspects'.

 

 

 

Good evening Steve,

 

I'm afraid I had to make them myself but using an MJT casting as a starting point. The retracted buffer was cut off from the casting and the body drilled out, the head was then remounted to some brass tube and reassembled to a second wider piece of tube, with suitable washer soldered to the end. The Frankenstein like assembly was then remounted in the MJT casting.

 

Wouldn't it be awesome if someone like Dave Franks was to produce an extended buffer, suitable for Gangway full brakes under most normal conditions.  Not to mention, gangway brake end carriages on most formations running on the buckeye. Hint hint.

Edited November 18, 2020 by Headstock
better English, I hope.

[Dunsignalling]

On 14/11/2020 at 23:01, t-b-g said:

 

How about one of these?

 

 

Now and again, somebody comes along and just moves the goalposts.

 

Fantastic!

 

John

[Bucoops]

10 hours ago, Chas Levin said:

My goodness - how did I not know about these?! The convoluted solutions I've come up with to attach NEM pockets to bogies that would have been saved by these! Better late than never - thanks for posting this Mick, now on order

 

If it's of interest I found that it was quite easy to fit the "universal" one to D&S bogies.

 

[Tony Wright]

9 hours ago, Headstock said:

Yippee,

I've done some modelling and I can contribute to the well deserved BG love in. This one is a dia. 113, probably the most common type of LNER full brake, teak, turnbuckle, Fox bogies.

 At one time this was a Kirk kit from many centuries ago. It has had multiple bionic rebuilds over the years, until nothing is left of the original but the floor. The latest and final modification is a new brass body, now in rather uninspiring grey undercoat. It has also acquired a new set of buffer beams and new buffers in the extended position. It will be Bristol bound, running on the hook rather than the buckeye. The stepboards required a little bit of realigning to match the new door position, they received a new coat of primer as a result.

 
The demise of the venerable but not terribly accurate original body, effectively means Kirk kits are now extinct amongst my rolling stock. Red letter day or something caught in the eye moment? Make of that what you will.

 

 

It looks splendid, Andrew; as it might well have done before.

 

I, too, have whittled down any surviving Kirkies to the odd one or two, but I think the contribution Ian Kirk made to the hobby should not be underestimated. For blokes like me (and blokettes) who model the ex-LNER/BR/ER, his carriage kits were a Godsend, enabling all sorts of different Gresley types to be built (at the time when any RTR offerings were ghastly).

 

Of course, they've now been superseded, but (especially in teak) they can still produce excellent 'layout' coaches. Several of the cars running on Grantham are Kirk derivatives, and look most-convincing. 

 

This is one 'survivor' I still possess.

 

 

 

I offer little but 'apologies' for illustrating this in response to the Gresleys you produce, but as a 'layout' coach in the truest sense (in a rake of a dozen or more), as it bowls by at speed it offers a 'reasonable' impression; in body profile, superior to the current RTR equivalents.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[PupCam]

10 hours ago, t-b-g said:

 

The person who made it, pretty much all home brewed, does post on RMWeb sometimes so I should really leave it up to him to describe it but basically it is a home made plotter type device with two motor driven "arms" at 90 degrees to each other, controlled by either a joystick or a steering wheel. Where they cross, there is a carriage which swivels and has a strong permanent magnet to drag the tractor around and an uncoupling magnet to allow wagons to be left anywhere. Beyond that, I am lost! All the working parts are under the baseboard, which is a thin layer of pcb.

 

I will talk to Laurie to ask if he has some photos of the mechanism he may be able to put on.

That's excellent!  I love devious solutions to problems and wasn't thinking along those lines.   I've built a couple of very small R/C cars in the past, many years ago when the technology just wasn't there (we are very fortunate today) but they weren't 4mm/ft shunting tractor small by a long way!

 

But now ...... I'm not so sure 

[31A]

9 hours ago, Headstock said:

 

Good evening Steve,

 

I'm afraid I had to make them myself but using an MJT casting as a starting point. The retracted buffer was cut off from the casting and the body drilled out, the head was then remounted to some brass tube and reassembled to a second wider piece of tube, with suitable washer soldered to the end. The Frankenstein like assembly was then remounted in the MJT casting.

 

Wouldn't it be awesome if someone like Dave Franks was to produce an extended buffer, suitable for Gangway full brakes under most normal conditions.  Not to mention, gangway brake end carriages on most formations running on the buckeye. Hint hint.

 

Morning Andrew, both 'thank you' and 'agree' symbols would be appropriate!

 

[micklner]

10 hours ago, Headstock said:

Yippee,

I've done some modelling and I can contribute to the well deserved BG love in. This one is a dia. 113, probably the most common type of LNER full brake, teak, turnbuckle, Fox bogies.

 At one time this was a Kirk kit from many centuries ago. It has had multiple bionic rebuilds over the years, until nothing is left of the original but the floor. The latest and final modification is a new brass body, now in rather uninspiring grey undercoat. It has also acquired a new set of buffer beams and new buffers in the extended position. It will be Bristol bound, running on the hook rather than the buckeye. The stepboards required a little bit of realigning to match the new door position, they received a new coat of primer as a result.

 
The demise of the venerable but not terribly accurate original body, effectively means Kirk kits are now extinct amongst my rolling stock. Red letter day or something caught in the eye moment? Make of that what you will.

 

 

Sounds like the Model Railway equivalent of "Triggers Broom" . Its only had four new Heads and Three Handles !!      MJT sides ? very nice !

 

[gr.king]

9 hours ago, Headstock said:

Wouldn't it be awesome if someone like Dave Franks was to produce an extended buffer, suitable for Gangway full brakes under most normal conditions.  Not to mention, gangway brake end carriages on most formations running on the buckeye. Hint hint.

 

I wouldn't describe the prospect as "awesome", although it might be advantageous, if cosmetic results are the overriding consideration, but the permanently retracted buffer has practical advantages. When combined with either a centre coupling with a propelling facility, and / or soft springy corridor connectors with smooth flat end plates, close coupling can be maintained without risk of buffer locking, even if the adjacent piece of rolling stock has long buffers.