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Light Switches? ... Turning the Tables...


jcredfer
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Well if Blackpool copied the Eiffel Tower....I suppose it was always going to happen.......somewhere.....ROFL......

And a copy was also partly built (link: http://webodysseum.com/art/the-london-eiffel-tower-plans/ )

on the site of Wembley Stadium by Sir Edward Watkin whose grand plan was to have a railway from Paris (he owned the Paris Ceinture and made a start on the Channel Tunnel) via the SE&Chatham, the Metropolitan and the GCR all the way to Seffield, Manchester, Liverpool and even Wrexham in North Wales!

 

My mum used to see the structure from her Aunt Perl's house (where she also watched a Zeppelin catch on fire and crash over N London in WW1) until it got demolished in preparation for the Wembley exhibition.

:declare:

dhig

 

 

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How can it be that both of you and Jaz seem to think that the idea for those towers came from the French first   .........    :O    ..................   we always think of things before the French   .....   it is simply that   ....

 

And a copy was also partly built (link: http://webodysseum.com/art/the-london-eiffel-tower-plans/ )

on the site of Wembley Stadium by Sir Edward Watkin whose grand plan was to have a railway from Paris (he owned the Paris Ceinture and made a start on the Channel Tunnel) via the SE&Chatham, the Metropolitan and the GCR all the way to Seffield, Manchester, Liverpool and even Wrexham in North Wales!

 

My mum used to see the structure from her Aunt Perl's house (where she also watched a Zeppelin catch on fire and crash over N London in WW1) until it got demolished in preparation for the Wembley exhibition.

:declare:

dhig

 

    ................    they retro-thought the idea in negative time   .....     :sungum:  :sungum:   .............   and we thought they needed a bit of a morale boost at the time, so said nothing about it  ...    :sungum:  :sungum:

 

PS. I love No. 19, with the designed in Piza effect  .......  I guess they climbed on to the top bit when it was at ground level and then simply had 1,000 horses rotate the outer base collar, anti-clockwise until you reached full height  ...   they would then just turn the horses round and wind anti-clockwise to get you back down again    ......   :jester:     ..................................                ........................    Eerr - please tell me that isn't so  ....   :scratchhead:

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 I love No. 19, with the designed in Piza effect  .......  I guess they climbed on to the top bit when it was at ground level and then simply had 1,000 horses rotate the outer base collar, anti-clockwise until you reached full height  ...   they would then just turn the horses round and wind anti-clockwise to get you back down again    ......   :jester:     ..................................                ........................    Eerr - please tell me that isn't so  ....   :scratchhead:

"Err - please tell me that isn't so  ....   :scratchhead:"

Nay chance......

Standard practice from about the mid 1950s - they used to call it "Lift slab" I believe

And it probably all began with 'Concrete Bob' McAlpine and his Glenfinnan viaduct on the West Highland Mallaig branch.

:bye:

dhig

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Will aliens who arrive here in a couple of hundred years   ..........  

 

to find a scorched earth devoid of the humans who burned to dust along with the fragile records they kept, having failed to recognise the real problems for the human race   .....   will they wonder at the vehicles and roads which did survive the intense heat   .......  

 

will they then conclude that the bodies, which they can see with their scan capable eyes, inside bridge structures were sacrifices of workers to placate the Rail God   ......... who was much angered by the use of so many inefficient road vehicles    .........      

 

will they also see the remains of previously laid and abandoned railway track-ways  .............................    

and conclude that the previous inhabitants of this planet must have been determined architects of their own selfish destruction   .....   :jester:   .........................................   :scratchhead:  ...............    :O  :O

 

 

Note:- For those of such tender years [of which I know there are few in this location] it was not unheard of for rival gangs to deposit the victims of their warfare into part constructed motorway bridge pillars, covered with a layer of cement, to have a long term and hopefully undisclosed, resting place.

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A quiet Winter's scene for the first entry on a Sandwich  .............

 

Do you like the Snowman, complete with Carrot for a nose  ....   

 

15804327847_ed6da91606_c.jpg
winter church 3 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

At least, it was quiet   .......     until   ........

 

15964287646_387d020bfb_z.jpg
winter church 2 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

I like the patches of snow on the roof and the touches of snow on the grave tops   ..........

 

Needless to say this is not my work   ......    :cry:   .............    but you would assume that anyway   ......     :jester:

 

This shows how lucky we are to be living in Salisbury, where Declan, who not only made the Scene but runs the Salisbury Model Centre shop.  [How does he find the time?]

I was really impressed when I saw it in the Shop and asked if I could take a picture.  Not only did he say yes, but offered to pose a Loco too, take the pictures himself and email them.

A big thank you for Declan from me.

 

[box shifters can't come anywhere near that for service. There are some things your Visa just can't buy.]

 

 

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A quiet Winter's scene for the first entry on a Sandwich  .............

 

Do you like the Snowman, complete with Carrot for a nose  ....   

 

15804327847_ed6da91606_c.jpg

winter church 3 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

At least, it was quiet   .......     until   ........

 

15964287646_387d020bfb_z.jpg

winter church 2 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

I like the patches of snow on the roof and the touches of snow on the grave tops   ..........

 

Needless to say this is not my work   ......    :cry:   .............    but you would assume that anyway   ......     :jester:

 

This shows how lucky we are to be living in Salisbury, where Declan, who not only made the Scene but runs the Salisbury Model Centre shop.  [How does he find the time?]

I was really impressed when I saw it in the Shop and asked if I could take a picture.  Not only did he say yes, but offered to pose a Loco too, take the pictures himself and email them.

A big thank you for Declan from me.

 

[box shifters can't come anywhere near that for service. There are some things your Visa just can't buy.]

well I thought it was YOUR work and you plagiarised ;p......

 

still i know you are busy, and making sure MD ged a great Xmas......and you still get a A+ for getting us into the spirit of the Xmas competition.

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Thank you Tony and may I wish you and yours the very best for the coming Christmas season.

 

 

Julian

 

P.S.I am sorry to report that, whilst I amtruely pleased a few people have enjoyed the odd smile, my humour only serves to cover my total lack of knowledge and skills at modeling trains  .....

 

....   don't believe me?   ......   http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/69603-why-are-railway-modellers-so-clumsy/?p=1696889

:scratchhead: 

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While waiting for the Baseboards, I got to thinking   .......    dangerous  .......  

 

What about all those tracks across the joins between the baseboards?  There are many of them which cross at steep angles like 45o which gives room for sideways and fore/aft movement.  I did ask about methods and the Solder to screws seemed to be quite neat, but maybe didn't address the possible sideways inaccuracy of those steep angles.

 

I have seen another alternative from the link to full copper-clad in here  http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/80418-deadmans-lane-let-sleeping-dogs-lie/page-8&do=findComment&comment=1699448

 

I also remembered seeing an inserted [6"?] length of track, right across the join, but was reminded of possible join visibility over ballasting.   ...    :scratchhead:   ...   that's where I got to thinking  ......

 

......    what if the ballast was attached to the sleepers and not the bit of board underneath?  That way, I could glue the insert bits of track to 4mm ply, with a small tongue sticking out of the ends - which in turn would fit into a same shape cut out, in the ply beneath the fixed track   .......    both glued to the same height and the tongue would fix the sideways distances  .....   

 

Out with the Network Rail team, for a trial of Ballasting without a base   ....    night work, of course   .......    

 

15390534404_35c31dea5d_c.jpg
Night work by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

The main idea is to glue the ballast but to prevent it from being glued to anything underneath.  It was really heartening to see the guys hauling that massive piece of Cling Film into place and pulling it absolutely flat   ...........    not to mention attempting to Sellotape the sides of the sleepers to the Cling Film to stop any movement between them   ......   I said NOT to mention that  ..    :nono:

 

With the track levered into place the ballast was placed and a mix of water, PVA and Fairy Dust Washing Up Liquid, was liberally dripped over the ballast.  A second soaking was done later that night.

 

15987124956_0441d2dc3f_c.jpg
Gallons of glue by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

Result         .......................     it needs a bit of glue trimming at the edges and slightly more ballast between the sleepers   .....   but both are easy to adjust  ...

 

 

15393219843_37e7936239_c.jpg
Morning stuck-up ballast by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

It seems the plan may work

 

This is a diagram of the overall idea - it is probably possible to simply put the whole thing together dry, with a Cling Film cover on the tongue and ballast away as per normal  ...   same with the outboard bits of the matching cut-out bits  ....    :scratchhead:

 

16012069472_28a109120c_c.jpg
Insert Track joints by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

.......    Ok   ..........   what snags have I missed   ......

 

 

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Looks like a possible solution. I do wonder how long the ballast will last without cracking off, but I guess that depends on the glue used. Maybe you could find something that's slightly "flexible", such as Copydex. I think you can water it down for use with ballast.

 

Then again, I guess it's not too difficult to repair any joint sections should the ballast crack.

 

Cheers,

Mick

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Looks like a possible solution. I do wonder how long the ballast will last without cracking off, but I guess that depends on the glue used. Maybe you could find something that's slightly "flexible", such as Copydex. I think you can water it down for use with ballast.

 

Then again, I guess it's not too difficult to repair any joint sections should the ballast crack.

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

Copydex does sound an improvement, thank you again Mick    ..  [Where is the "Takes Hat off to.." Icon]  ......

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Been thinking again  ....   in-between taking MD to get a green spiky thing, to put lights and cover in balls and stuffed animals  ....   feeding it en-route [MD - that is]   .............   sticking the spiky thing in a stand and then putting lights  ..  etc, all over it  ...   :angel:   and - Eerr - one of those on the top.

 

Naturally I wanted to keep the more gentle "lead-in" to the curves, but at the same time, a small side issue seemed worth a moment.

 

Only a small thing really, but those curved bits of rail, over the baseboard joins, will have to be fairly short, because of the curve - so as not to allow the outer bit of the curve to lift the outside rail upwards.  I simply chose one of the bits of track, which passed over a Baseboard join and looked at lengths of the track pieces.  The bit I chose [pretty much at random] was 4th Rad curve [22.52" Rad apparently] and a sector of 22.5o . I took a piece out of the spare track box and looked at it to see how likely it might be to lift.  Considering it will only be secured at the ends, the possibility was there.  

 

[NB. I considered replacing the 22" Rad with 33" Rad, but the geometry wasn't going to work, in the small space available.]

 

I considered a few options:-

 

1. Place Flexi-track with Easement over the whole distance and slice a bit out where it crosses the Join.

2. Use all Set-track and slice the 4th Rad curve in the middle, for a shorter insert. [22.52" Rad, followed by 33" Rad, the a piece of straight track.]

3. Compromise, with a cut section of 4th Rad and the remainder done with Easement.

 

These 3 options are on the top left corner of the drawing here  ....  where the outer track forks and goes to the right to pass along the long platform

 

15843641299_09c70ba5f3_c.jpg
Set-track, Easment and cut 22 in Compromise by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

Like many others here abouts, If tight curves like the 4th Rad one are to be involved, it seems likely that Set-track is probably the best route   ....   that option is the one in the layout in the above diagram   ......   the other 2 options both fit perfectly as well and have just been slid out and down the page for comparison.

[NB. For AnyRail users, to get the 1/2 size bit of 22.52" Rad, I dialed in the requirements on a bit of Flex.  22.52" x 11.25o]

 

I then took each of the options [1 & 2] and laid them on top of the Set-track option to see how much difference there might be [ie, how much of the Set-track stuck out sideways from under the Easement options.]  I was interested and rather pleasantly surprised to note that there was very little stuck out at all - which may influence the decision in the long run.  ................      :scratchhead:

 

Hhummm   .....  

 

 

Edit - spelling

Edited by jcredfer
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I would like to echo Brass0four thoughts, this last year you have put a smile on my face innumerable times.....and on occasions fits of laughter or the sniggers.

It is always a pleasure to meet up at a railway meet. I find your humour very uplifting,

 

And I would like to take the time to say

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! to You, MD and your lady wife.Hope you all have a great Christmas break.

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H

A

P

P

Y

 

C

H

R

I

S

T

M

A

S

 

 

To all those people who have visited here and left  ..

 

Humour.....   :jester:

Good advice  .....   :mail:

Friendly comments  .....   :locomotive:

Great ideas  .....   :mail:

Problems to be solved  .....   :paint:

 

15279501343_3dae2f8330_q.jpg
 

 

Superb Mini MD and Harvey  .....   :sungum:  :sungum:

 

15563011818_8276f21235_q.jpg
 

 

Thank you all  ....  and a Happy New Year too

 

-

 

Edit: and especially to those who return to do more of the same - thank you very much  .....

Edited by jcredfer
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  • 2 weeks later...

At last, a solution   ........

 

Wing Co saw this advert and that was it   .......  all his logistical problems solved in one go   ......     :sungum:

 

...................    a New Year's Eve Barbeque Party    ..................

 

Beer for the boys, ladies' wine in the chiller, spare ribs, Ice-cream, benches to sit upon   ........  then - a quick instruction to Pilot Offr Kite, to get out the Barbeque and the Elsan shed   ....

 

 

15535126823_3abf819d0b_c.jpg
Here Sir by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

.....    and soon all is ready for the main event    .........

 

 

15532514434_e1e9f77bb5_c.jpg
All set then by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

I think the sun-shades might be a bit optimistic though  .....   

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

At last, a solution   ........

 

Wing Co saw this advert and that was it   .......  all his logistical problems solved in one go   ......     :sungum:

 

...................    a New Year's Eve Barbeque Party    ..................

 

Beer for the boys, ladies' wine in the chiller, spare ribs, Ice-cream, benches to sit upon   ........  then - a quick instruction to Pilot Offr Kite, to get out the Barbeque and the Elsan shed   ....

 

 

15535126823_3abf819d0b_c.jpg

Here Sir by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

.....    and soon all is ready for the main event    .........

 

 

15532514434_e1e9f77bb5_c.jpg

All set then by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

I think the sun-shades might be a bit optimistic though  .....   

I am so sorry....somewhere along the line I missed this.....still I have my smile NOW....... :sungum:

...quick question who is hiding in the penguin outfit??????

Looks like a possible solution. I do wonder how long the ballast will last without cracking off, but I guess that depends on the glue used. Maybe you could find something that's slightly "flexible", such as Copydex. I think you can water it down for use with ballast.

 

Then again, I guess it's not too difficult to repair any joint sections should the ballast crack.

 

Cheers,

Mick

you can rewet PVA quite successfully.....

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I am really not sure  .................

 

                                         Neigh, Neigh,     from the gift  horse's  mouth,    

 

......................   that Mother-in-Law would appreciate all this horsing about  .....  

 

The little gem came from a collection F-in-L left when he, sadly departed many years ago.  It has been sitting, since then awaiting interest from another quarter, which didn't materialise, so was offered to me as being more interested and who would enjoy seeing them going around again.  They did at one time grace his front garden around the pond and drew lots of interest for many years.  Even now parents, who used to watch as kids, will point out the tracks to their children and tell them about the trains which ran there.

 

The years had taken their toll on the Loco, so into the Cradle it went - to discover   .....

 

Contacts under the Tender, as well as the Loco  .......   those brass contacts were simply black and not conducting at all well   .....   

 

15633435723_2c628f4db1_c.jpg
Obvious Screw by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

a closer look revealed that a single screw held both Bogie and brass Contact Strip   ....      Easy then  .........

 

15633435723_2c628f4db1_c.jpg
Obvious Screw by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

.......................       just a few turns   ..............    then an ominous little clunk     ...................    and the Bogie was free, along with the Contact Strip      .........................      as was the Non-Captive nut inside the Tender  ...    :O

 

Luckily the top of the Tender is secured with 3 tabs through the Chassis and the heart-rate restored to more normal levels   .......    :locomotive:    ......   and the nuts  .......

 

15630930624_786d755c86_c.jpg
Free nuts by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

I confess to cheating with the other Bogie and contact   .....    a small dob of Blue-Tac on the nut to retain it in place before the screw was removed, so the screw could be gently slid back into the nut and tightened

 

 

 

There may well be a some more, of a similar vein, which could be restored to run again, which would be rather nice.

 

 

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Thank you for the PVA tip Jaz  .....     .....     the Base-Boards haven't materialised yet but emails have indicated they may well be in production soon   .......     .......................    

 

                             .................  tricky typing with crossed fingers  ..   :jester:

 

I am so sorry....somewhere along the line I missed this.....still I have my smile NOW....... :sungum:

...quick question who is hiding in the penguin outfit??????

 

you can rewet PVA quite successfully.....

 

The Penguin went missing a while back    ..............     no-one wanted to tell the Old Man     :no:    :O   ...................     so Corporal Jones went down to the costume shop in Salisbury   .....    

 

It took some very fast talking to convince Wg Co that it had just grown   ........     lots of Fishy comments   .....   .................    still he hasn't yet noticed that Cpl Jones is missing now   .........    will have to deal with that when it crops up       ....................    Jonesy is simply none too pleased with the new diet either    .........     :jester:

 

The Wg Co may not notice for a while as he has another little matter, which managed to Apparate at the Barbeque  .......    best to keep the Old Man busy, as it stops him coming up with more crazy schemes    ...........

 

........................     Sssshhhhhh     .........    I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but I know you wouldn't tell anyone   ....     there is a Secret project on his drawing boards   ....    Sssshhhhh  ...    :secret:

 

 

Anyway he is still busy with that little trouble that Apparated at the Barbeque  .....

 

Harvey turned up   .....

 

.........   late, surprisingly, given his usual constant running around getting in the way and jumping all over everyone  ..........    

 

.......................    apparently all the Apparition, all over the place has rather gone to his head     ................    I should have taken more notice when the Old School Tie came out      ........     :nono:

 

I've had to hide the Wand, so he can't get his muddy Paws on it   .........

 

16067328057_5be21ee208_c.jpg
Don't Mess by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

TTFN  ....................    you won't tell anyone about   ......    you know what, as Wg Co would dance on my head   :scared:    ......

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

In the beginning  ..............   

 

 

................    there was a plan  ............

 

NOW ..........   

 

Is it a Ship, - is it a Plane - 

 

16188206489_c484513806_c.jpgDSC00299 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

Perhaps it's a Frame  ...  ??

 

16374424585_0886b17e2f_c.jpgDSC00304 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

Maybe a more overall view  ....

 

...............    Oh dear    ......     it seems there are more of them   .............   perhaps they are here to take over   ......    :O

 

16188207759_0a54539bdd_c.jpgDSC00298 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

 

Perhaps I can solve it by going back to Baseics

 

 

......................    Oh my  ...........   whatever next   ................    they are lifting up into the air  ............   is anything safe?    ......... it's rotating and floating down again  ........   

 

16373537422_1754c5f3e5_c.jpgDSC00312 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

Well that's quite nice, I reckon I might be able to use that in connection with the Plan [Mark 569] above  .......    :scratchhead:  :scratchhead:

 

Maybe more later, when I checked out all the fittings and placed it in behind the door, where it is out of sight and mind    ...................     [NO - NOT my sight  ......     :jester:  :jester:  ]

 

 

 

 

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I have to agree with you there   ...............    particularly as the skill is not mine  ........   

 

Looks like quality. ;)

 

The Gentleman concerned is one Tim Horn, who resides in Norfolk   ......    he is also the owner of a CAD/CAM Laser Cutting machine, capable of sizable chunks of Ply  .......

 

He has quite a number of standard size designs and can make up to any custom design, as in this case.

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.........  Sshhh!!  ........   she's out again   .........     :secret:   ..............    this way, quick  .....

 

I have to agree with you there   ...............    particularly as the skill is not mine  ........   

 

 

The Gentleman concerned is one Tim Horn, who resides in Norfolk   ......    he is also the owner of a CAD/CAM Laser Cutting machine, capable of sizable chunks of Ply  .......

 

He has quite a number of standard size designs and can make up to any custom design, as in this case.

 

 

................     the reason behind the odd sizes, for the Boards    ....................   and the hole in the middle  .....     Now you see them   ....

 

15760823023_22b92f443a_c.jpg
DSC00316 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

 

Now you don't   ................     ;)   ...

 

16379913692_2ddc82898b_c.jpg
DSC00315 by JulianR 2013, on Flickr

 

 

Hence the 350mm [14"] width to the Boards   ..................   and the position of the Mould-Maker's Dowel Pins for alignment, being on the sides of the boards   .....    that way the Boards can stand on the flat ends    .....

 

Quick, put the Door back   ......   I think she is coming back   ........... :whistle:

Edited by jcredfer
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