67A Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 7 hours ago, AdeMoore said: Wow you’ve certainly gone for it Mike very impressive. is the lift out section just that or is it hinged? What was the method of power also bridging the gap and powering the actual lift out section? Cheers Hi Ade, The lift out is a lift out, there is a height restriction preventing a hinged system, as for power this end has not yet been wired so watch this space! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 Hi all, Just a quick update to let you all know that the control panel is now all but dismantled the only section remaining is the scenic section which I hope to remove intact and incorporate into a much smaller unit which will simply be attached to the main layout frontage. I have managed to complete the wiring at the 'Garsdale' end fiddleyard albeit in a temporary panel which will be replaced when I make the three new separate panels but at least it all works and is some progress. Next week I shall tackle the 'Dent Head' end fiddleyard hopefully. This is the current state of the old panel A pile of redundant wiring and switches begs for recycling! This is the new temporary panel for the Garsdale end. Switches on the left control the 10 fiddleyard roads, the two above the horizontal bank control the approach points power supply as an overall 'fan' of lines and the horizontal switches control the points. The controller is my test unit. That's it for now guys. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Scottish-Exile Posted July 28, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 28, 2019 Impressive stuff as ever Mike. Well impressed with your determination to chop & change as needs be to better serve your needs. A lot of guys once they've built a layout would baulk at having to do major surgery to re-design it!. The 2 Helix I got from you are still stored in my garage but hopefully things will be progressing soon. Deborah & I got married last year. She has now sold her house and mine is about to go on the market next week. We're actively house hunting for our together-forever home and think we've found the ideal place. Well, that is to say, I think it's ideal as it has a 20 foot games room which I've ear-marked for my model railway!. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 On 28/07/2019 at 17:50, Scottish-Exile said: Impressive stuff as ever Mike. Well impressed with your determination to chop & change as needs be to better serve your needs. A lot of guys once they've built a layout would baulk at having to do major surgery to re-design it!. The 2 Helix I got from you are still stored in my garage but hopefully things will be progressing soon. Deborah & I got married last year. She has now sold her house and mine is about to go on the market next week. We're actively house hunting for our together-forever home and think we've found the ideal place. Well, that is to say, I think it's ideal as it has a 20 foot games room which I've ear-marked for my model railway!. Hi, (apologies your name has slipped the grey matter as usual) Sorry I've not replied earlier, I just have not been on the forum with all the chaos going on. Congratulations to you and Deborah and hope the house hunting goes to plan. The wiring is all but complete on the fiddleyard which just leaves the re-jigging of the main control panel which is now redundant. The layout will have its own separate panel and each end of the fiddleyard will have their own so as to keep 3 operators busy when having running sessions. Main thing at present is getting a bit of good weather to carry on with Bermuda Road which is outside and going to the Poynton show in 4 weeks! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 Hi all Managed to actually get all the new wiring completed over the weekend and ran a couple of test trains to prove the circuits, it was a real delight to see trains running again I must admit, next job before proper operation can take place is to make the two new control panel boxes for 'Garsdale' and 'Dent Head' and as mentioned previously the main control panel is to be reduced from the large floor standing model to a much smaller affair to regain some floor space, there is a good chance an impromptu running session will take place on Wednesday evening so some photos of the re-stocked fiddleyard will be posted after that. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted September 1, 2019 Author Share Posted September 1, 2019 Apologies guys, still being led astray with updating 'Bermuda Road' for the Poynton show in a couple of weeks, its one of those jobs that no matter what you are actually doing you always see something else that needs doing or in some cases I break something whilst fixing others!!! In addition I was searching for some entrance doors to the MPD and a gate for the factory and after a few weeks of trying I made replacements, I only painted them ready to fit this week and guess what I found today!£$%^&&. So its probably best to leave Dent updates until the Poynton show is well and truly over, all the wiring is now complete and the layout runs but needs a few tweaks in places through the trackwork in the fiddleyard. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted October 5, 2019 Author Share Posted October 5, 2019 Hi all, Been to the Wigan show today and it was fabulous, real good selection of layouts and excellent trade support together with seeing so many people I knew made the visit brilliant. I have filled up the fiddleyard on Dent during the week so if all goes well tomorrow I'll post a few long awaited photos of trains running through Dent at last. Mind you I'm tempted to go back to Wigan to be honest. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 Hi all, Been to the Wigan show today and it was fabulous, real good selection of layouts and excellent trade support together with seeing so many people I knew made the visit brilliant. I have filled up the fiddleyard on Dent during the week so if all goes well tomorrow I'll post a few long awaited photos of trains running through Dent at last. Mind you I'm tempted to go back to Wigan to be honest. Well its tomorrow and I never went to Wigan again, I just messed about in the den and ran a few trains so here are some photos of the proceedings guys... Stranger on the line in the form of Ex:LNER 02/4 'Tango' class 2-8-0 heavy freight loco emerges from Rise Hill tunnel The loco is hauling a train of bogie bolsters laden with all manor of steel construction materials so we shall see a selection as the train traverses Dentdale This view shows a Bogie Bolster 'A' with 'I' section girders BR Std Class 4MT 2-6-4T 80120 is awaiting a chance to return north having been short of steam earlier The Tango' passes the stricken Std 4 Here we can see a few more loads including various girder section, tubes and pipes Heading for the depths of Widdale tunnel. Shortly after the steel train has passed we have the first glimpse of a northbound ICI chemical tank train hauled by Clayton Type 1 doyen D8500 Camera setting must have been wrong here, I set it on 'selective focus' looks like a bad choice The chemical train passed Dent signalbox Followed by the goods yard Quiet station forecourt - not surprising eh! Halted by the home signal Once line clears the train proceeds under the spillway toward Rise Hill tunnel. Cont?... 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 The Clayton heads over the bridge And into Rise Hill tunnel. Shortly after 8F 48045 emerges with a southbound Anhydrite working Proceeding under the spillway the crew can take a breather on the level track through Dentdale Bridge No.96 the 'Coal Road' is next to be encoutered Rumbling through the station with its load for Widnes Unusual view showing the opposite side I truly love this train and have another eight wagon conversion on the go with which to complete the rake of 20 The 8F rumbles over Widdale viaduct on its way to Hellifield where it will take the Blackburn route. Hot on the heels of the 8F comes the Carlisle-Skipton stopper The Met-Cam unit later Class 101 slows for the station stop Again a view from the far side and I have only just noticed the 'drunk' female passenger! Ready for the off Next stop Hellifield I can just imagine the gear changing as the DMU enters Widdale tunnel. Cont/... 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 That was that for running trains, here are some behind the scenes views which I know many of you like This is the 'Garsdale' end of the fiddleyard, sadly the number of set trains has been reduced from the days of the spirals with the 13 road yard below or the short lived end-to-end period but this will make running more enjoyable I'm sure Looking down from the centre of the fiddleyard This is the 'Dent Head' end however train lengths are curtailed due to the brick wall The two run-round lines which where added in the end-to-end design have remained and I now use them to stack 4 long length trains, at present one is the Thames Clyde Express with Peak D55 and the other is a long rake of 21T mineral hoppers with a 9F at the head. Behind the 'TCE' is the steel train you saw earlier. This is the new 'GARSDALE' panel, the green cross is the scissors crossover for swapping rakes of stock from Up to Down lines This is the new 'DENT HEAD' panel And this is the old master control panel sadly in need of rebuilding into a much smaller affair, it will be done! That's it for now hope you all enjoyed. 8 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Scottish-Exile Posted October 6, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 6, 2019 Great update as ever. Cheers Mike 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium AdeMoore Posted October 6, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 6, 2019 Truly inspiring stuff Mike, great photos of your layout as ever and enjoying all the behind the scenes to. Nice work. Cheers 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 Hi all, A quick note to say the new scenic section control panel is almost up and running however for some in-explicable reason when the I re-attached the self same wiring into the new panel and switched it on almost all 10 Cobalt point motors have gone berserk! with continuous clicking which when investigated it appears the gear system has ripped itself to bits on most of them, same power supply - same wiring just a different wooden box and utter chaos, no wonder my head hurts!!! I have about 6 refurbished units sent back from DCC Concepts following various faults such as ripped gears and extremely slow operation so I will change these once I get into my Leonardo Da'Vinci mode and see where we go from there. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted October 27, 2019 Author Share Posted October 27, 2019 Hi all, Had a good day out to the Hazel Grove exhibition where I met Andy P, George T and Martin who has his Chester Northgate layout displayed. It was a good show with good trade support. Regarding Dent, I spent most of the day yesterday changing seven faulty Cobalt point motors, its not the changing it's the access which is the main problem with so much stuff to move in order to get under the area in question followed by back breaking contortionistic moves just to remove them! Once out I tested one or two to find either a continuous clicking noise or whirring motor sound neither of which I can understand as it all happened following the control panel swap, strange thing electrics! Here are a few views of the new panel in position I still have a few more wires to connect so once everything is working we will be able at long last to see some trains running again. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 I feel for you with the Cobalt conundrum, Mike. Did you check the voltage they are getting in the new configuration? In my experience, Cobalts don't enjoy seeing higher than spec - or even up towards the high end of in-spec - volts. Under-powering if definitely recommended. Won't help you with stripped gears, but may prolong the life of those remaining... Cheers Scott 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted October 28, 2019 Author Share Posted October 28, 2019 17 hours ago, jukebox said: I feel for you with the Cobalt conundrum, Mike. Did you check the voltage they are getting in the new configuration? In my experience, Cobalts don't enjoy seeing higher than spec - or even up towards the high end of in-spec - volts. Under-powering if definitely recommended. Won't help you with stripped gears, but may prolong the life of those remaining... Cheers Scott Hi Scott, Yes that's what I can't understand the same transformer set at 12v was simply reconnected, its the black box seen to the right on the last lot of photos. I initially set this at 9v when I first fitted them several years ago but found as time went on the operation was definitely slowing down quite significantly so I upped the voltage to 12v which seemed okay, I believe they can operate up to 14v but I would be reluctant to give the full amount. We shall see what happens eh! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 You're not going to believe this, Mike, but today whilst I was at work, a number of my Cobalts started randomly clicking! I have them connected and powered up, and they have been sitting dormant on the layout for 3-4 years. All of a sudden, at 2pm this afternoon, my son who was home at the time, heard a sound coming form the railway room. His bedroom is under the railway room, and he'd heard one go postal at 2am a few years back, so knew what it was, went up and got under the layout, turning off the 9V wall-wort transformers I have powering the accessory bus. How strange for mine to decide to misbehave at almost the same time as yours... Cheers Scott 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 On 29/10/2019 at 12:33, jukebox said: You're not going to believe this, Mike, but today whilst I was at work, a number of my Cobalts started randomly clicking! I have them connected and powered up, and they have been sitting dormant on the layout for 3-4 years. All of a sudden, at 2pm this afternoon, my son who was home at the time, heard a sound coming form the railway room. His bedroom is under the railway room, and he'd heard one go postal at 2am a few years back, so knew what it was, went up and got under the layout, turning off the 9V wall-wort transformers I have powering the accessory bus. How strange for mine to decide to misbehave at almost the same time as yours... Cheers Scott Hi Scott, It seems I am not alone and we both have entered the 'twilight zone'! All appears to be normal when I was operating last night so here's hoping. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted November 14, 2019 Author Share Posted November 14, 2019 Hi all, Slightly off topic for Dent but can anyone identify the locations of these photos, I am wading through thousands of old photos and the old grey cells are well grey even more! I hope someone out there recognizes some of them, they may all be the same place to be honest. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 Hi all, I know its been a while since I posted so would like to wish you all a happy new year first and foremost. Not a lot has changed on the layout apart from the addition of some stock and the revised fiddleyard system is now fully operational and proving popular with my mates on operating nights. One long-term objective has been achieved over the holidays has been the completion of the final eight Anhydrite wagon conversions which now total 20, the standard rake for 9F haulage, I will not be building another 20! 7 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 Hi guys, Hit the wrong button after hassle reducing file sizes! Here are some images of the full Anhydrite rake behind 9F 92058 an S&C regular performer back in the good old days. 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 Seemingly incongruous in the opposite direction we find the diverted down ROYAL SCOT behind a pair of English Electric Type 4 'D400's as we called them back then, however these were introduced in 1967 and the 9Fs did not bow out until 1968 so all is well in my make believe world. D421 and D420 both entered service in May 1968 so just make the cut, my favourite of the class was D444 but it would have to be used following the end of steam as it did not arrive until the November. I actually scratchbuilt a version of D444 back in 1968/69 from tin plate with carved wooden cab fronts and simply painted detail such as grilles etc, it ran on the Hornby Class 37 chassis, however my mother was quite religious and when the parish priest came round he was invited into my room to tempt me to become an alter-boy which he had little to no chance of, whilst here he asked if he could play with my 'train set' - heckles up immediately - "its a model railway"! Anyway he could not take the hint to slow down and with that the whole train careered off the viaduct smashing onto the concrete floor which destroyed my pride and joy, my retort was " You stupid effing- C" his was " I don't think Michael is alter-boy material" with that my father came into the room and told him to leave, my mother was left distraught praying for forgiveness for her wayward son! 14 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 Another new addition was a complete surprise on Christmas day, I had originally pre-ordered it when it was announced the the price soared and I promptly cancelled the order saying I was not prepared to spend over £200 on "a glorified wagon". So imagine my shock when I opened this up! The gift tag was from my Wife, her friend and members of my running nights crew who all chipped in knowing it was something I would never buy myself, they know me too well. I have to admit however it is a fabulous representation of a typical breakdown crane from the steam era and the fine detail in the slewing and hoist mechanisms are a sight to behold. The instruction sheet is quite hilarious when it describes the re-rigging operation should the owner ever need to carry this out, it begins with "we suggest you go and have a cup of tea and sit in the garden for 10 minutes to calm ones nerves". I quite understand this as it looks a real work of art, it was bad enough rigging the real things which I done many times in my stint at Derby Loco Works Crane Shop, now the 'Roundhouse' building used for the Mickleover MRC annual show, this brings back many memories when I attend this each year. There is one obvious fault with the model sadly and that is the fact the hook does not swivel in the block thus preventing the equalising bar from being positioned correctly over anything requiring a lift resulting in the ropes being twisted. Needless to say its doubtful any actual lifting will be carried out so its a minor issue. That's it for now guys, hope you all have a good 2020. 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark axlecounter Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Happy new year buddy , them cranes are very good, one or club members has one but his unwound it’s self I had the job to sort it out. yea it get me in knots ha ha. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 2 hours ago, mark axlecounter said: Happy new year buddy , them cranes are very good, one or club members has one but his unwound it’s self I had the job to sort it out. yea it get me in knots ha ha. Hi Mark. Happy new year mate. Perhaps you should have followed the instructions re: the cup of tea - more like a large Malt me thinks! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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