O Gauge from a standing start

[Gareth001]

Just ordered a set of nameplates for the Hudswell Clarke with (obviously) the wife's name on, which forms part of the plan to order a Peckett........

[Donw]

Just ordered a set of nameplates for the Hudswell Clarke with (obviously) the wife's name on, which forms part of the plan to order a Peckett........

 

That's her Xmas present sorted then!

 

Don

[Gareth001]

She's a lucky woman.

[Gareth001]

Well...time for an update. It's slightly scary to note how long it's been since the last one....but time flies and all that. Must try harder.

 

So the big warehouse all got drybrushed (took ages..there must be a better way. Thinking of experimenting with a small flat sponge) and the sliding doors were made up with styrene sheet and strip. I tried rivet transfers to represent the bolts, but not impressed, so I embossed the bolts from behind with a jewellers screwdriver. Sore hand, but not a bad result. The rust still needs toning down a bit.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Gareth001

[Gareth001]

The inset track outside the warehouse has now been started, after a lot of procrastination.....I soldered up a press tool out of square brass tube, and embossed setts into Das clay. It's quite quick, and I think the effect will be pretty good when it's painted and weathered.

 

Here's a pic of the tool, and of some finished setts before painting. I'll add weathering powders and some ash from the fire to fill in where the setts are a little too deeply embossed for my liking. It's nice seeing a bit of rust forming on the check rails as well...very glad I went for steel rail. I'm seriously considering radio control, which will let me keep the rusty rails....If anyone has any experience of this, especially the DelTang system, I'd be really interested to hear about it.

[Gareth001]

A couple of views showing the inset track (so far).

[Gareth001]

Picked up a Slaters salt wagon on Ebay...it looked as if it was donkeys years old, but made up into a nice little addition to the stock....just need an excuse to include a salt wagon!

[Gareth001]

With a little bit of motivation, I thought I'd have a go at the drainpipes, which are evergreen tube with hoppers from styrene sheet and 16swg wire collars. I need to add the mounting lugs at each joint, which will be fiddly...I was thinking about leaving them out, as they'd be so small, but I made the mistake of trying one to see what they would look like, and now I'm going to have to do the lot......I've also added the base for the loading bay.

 

Photos can be a bit cruel, but they do show up bits that I might have missed....such as the stone course in the brickwork which clearly needs some work.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Gareth001

[asa]

The drain pipes look fantastic,a nice tidy job.Well done

[Gareth001]

Thanks asa....they were surprisingly quick and easy.

[Barnaby]

Glad you reported in again Gareth as I was reminded of those grid moulds and have ordered some.  www.dioramadebris.co.uk 

 

Like the warehouse, cobbles and pipes too

Best

Edited May 2, 2016 by Barnaby

[Gareth001]

Thanks Barnaby. I've also bought another mould from the same supplier for individual bricks, which even have a frog moulded into them. Whilst I'm not going to actually build anything with the bricks (I'm not quite that deranged....yet), I have made some and they'll look good scattered around or in a pile of rubble. The mould makes 240 bricks at a time. I'll post a pic when I've painted them.

[Gareth001]

Here's a pic of the bricks....they're a bit hairy because I cast them in Das. They'd be cleaner in resin or plaster.

Edited May 4, 2016 by Gareth001

[Barnaby]

Yes Gareth I ordered a brick mould [1:48] as well intending to do the same for some general debris or stacks.  Good to see that they come out well.

[malcs]

Just found this, I'm about to delve into 0 gauge and I am intending to follow a similar path.

 

Thanks Chaz...you're right of course. I'm very much at the "will it fit" stage, and I'll certainly be looking to vary the angles, etc. when it comes to finally positioning the buildings. So...thought I'd pop the transfers on the Mogo, light dust of weathering and job done....no such luck. The transfers were a nightmare, and it took ages as each individual letter had to be positioned with the point of a knife. Not sure if I was doing something wrong, but lots of swearing, some muck and grime and a coat of matt varnish later and it was time to leave well alone before I lost the plot and threw it out of the window! Reasonably happy with the result though, and learnt a lot....I reckon I can do better next time. Results below:

 

dsc_0201.jpg

 

dsc_0206.jpg

 

Stage 1 complete....order a point kit from C&L tomorrow! Does anyone know the radius of an A4 point ( I can't bring myself to call them turnouts!)

[Donw]

 

Just found this, I'm about to delve into 0 gauge and I am intending to follow a similar path.

 

Thanks Chaz...you're right of course. I'm very much at the "will it fit" stage, and I'll certainly be looking to vary the angles, etc. when it comes to finally positioning the buildings. So...thought I'd pop the transfers on the Mogo, light dust of weathering and job done....no such luck. The transfers were a nightmare, and it took ages as each individual letter had to be positioned with the point of a knife. Not sure if I was doing something wrong, but lots of swearing, some muck and grime and a coat of matt varnish later and it was time to leave well alone before I lost the plot and threw it out of the window! Reasonably happy with the result though, and learnt a lot....I reckon I can do better next time. Results below:

 

dsc_0201.jpg

 

dsc_0206.jpg

 

Stage 1 complete....order a point kit from C&L tomorrow! Does anyone know the radius of an A4 point ( I can't bring myself to call them turnouts!)

 

 

The A B C series of turnouts (to me the points are the blades which are moved to operate a turnout) are not a simple radius there are four elements involved and naturally the GWR did it different to others.

The first bit is the switch . The LMS, LNER and SR adopted semi curved blades while the GWR went for fully curved. Refering to the Semi curved type the pointed end is a straight length planed at an angle the letters A B C etc define the angle A is 1/24 B is 1/32 C is 1/48 etc The next section of the blade is full rail width and curved the radius is again defined by the letter so an A switch has a radius of 3374mm in 0 gauge. 

The next bit is the closure rail which leads to the crossing and this is determined by the crossing angle a crossing angle of 1:4 with a A switch will give a radius of 790mm. The radius can continue through the crossing an the track attached to it or both can be straight.

Templot quotes the effective substitution radius of the whole turnout as 1717mm (67ins) but understanding the whole thing shows it is tighter on the closure rail which can cause an issue.

 

Where the switch and closure radius are equal it is known as a natural turnout.

 

I hole this helps. If you need tight turnouts a straight switch could be better.

Don

[martin_wynne]

Hi Malcs,

 

As Don says you will do better with a straight switch -- an A-4 turnout is a silly size to use.

 

You can get a shorter turnout and at the same time an easier radius by using a straight switch.

 

If you select a 9ft straight switch in Templot instead of the "A" swich, you can print the template. You can use all the same components from a C&L kit -- only the template will be different. The planing on a size A switch blade is the same for a 9ft switch.

 

 

9ft switch (upper), "A" switch (lower). You can see that the A-4 is longer, despite having a sharper radius (30.5" instead of 34.5"). Those are very sharp radii in 0 gauge, so a small difference can have a significant effect.

 

These are for 0-MF (31.5mm gauge) (recommended), with "regular" type crossings (frogs). You can get different results with different settings, but the difference between the two switches will remain.

 

regards,

 

Martin.

[Donw]

The reason for the A,B etc. switches giving a tighter radius is these provide an easier transition into the turnout curve. The easier the transition the tighter the radius has to be. Thus a B6 will have a tighter turnout radius than an A6. With a straight switch the switch length is shorter so the turnout radius starts earlier and can therefore be easier. So replace an A switch with a 9ft and a B switch with a 12ft. These were used in the 1800s but around the turn of the century the A,B switches came into use. The easier transition made a lot of difference full size where the forces involved in curves were much higher than our models. However in a lot of small stations yards etc. Straight switches were not replaced until it became necessary. Some were still around in BR days.

 

Don

 

ps Templot has a useful feature that it flags up tight curves very useful if you start to bend turnouts a little bendy is normally fine but having the radius flagged up is very useful.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Donw

[Gareth001]

Slightly worrying to note it's 6 months since my last post, but yet again life gets in the way.....anyway, I've spent some considerable time thinking about whether to go DC or DCC, and the answer I came up with was neither. I've opted for radio control, using DelTang components. I was a bit worried about this, because I wasn't sure about how good the slow running would be, and there isn't an awful lot of info out there. It's a bit of an investment when added to the cost of a loco too (about £50 with a dedicated controller), but you do save a bundle on controllers, etc. and the grief of all the wiring disappears.

 

I had to feel my way a bit, because there aren't really any instructions for this, and it was a bit of a shoehorn job into my little Hudswell Clarke. It took a bit of nerve to start cutting it about and unsoldering stuff as well. I have to say, however, that I am delighted with the results. Beautiful slow running, no wiring, no rails to clean. I've played with it quite a bit now, and the performance has been perfect....not one judder, prod or poke. Shunting is reliable and controllable down to gently compressing buffers. I hate seeing lovely looking locos stutter and fail at exhibitions....it just destroys it for me. I reckon this really is the way forward, and a major manufacturer will surely bring out an affordable system soon. They'll clean up!

 

I've wired it all up so that I can just drive the loco (you do feel you are actually driving a self propelled loco rather than charging the rails) onto the fiddle yard, flip a switch and the on board batteries are charged via the rails and the pickups, which are still in place.

 

I would post a photo of how it all fits in, but it was a bit of a struggle, so i don't really want to take it apart again at the moment! I shall report on operating times and battery life in due course.

[Gareth001]

A couple of pics of the HC, clearly in need of a little love and affection.

[BG John]

I'm very tempted by RC for my O gauge layout, so it's good to read about people it works well for. I'll have two Dapol Terriers to convert, but I think I'll be selling my Hudswell Clarke, so won't have to worry about squeezing the receiver and batteries in it!

 

I'd like to know exactly what bits you bought, and where from, as the links on Deltang's web site go mainly to suppliers who don't seem to advertise Deltang products. I'd also like to know more about your charging arrangement.

[Gareth001]

It is a bit confusing, and it took me a while to get my head around it.

 

I used a Deltang TX20 transmitter which I built up from a kit (nice and neat, but instructions a bit woolly for a novice) I got some help here https://riksrailway.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/how-i-constructed-deltang-tx20.html where Rik has generously detailed his build...much better that the instructions, so thanks Rik. I used a Rx-60 receiver, which is tiny, and 2 x 3.7v LiPo batteries which I wired in series to give 7.4 volts. This is ample for my shunting layout: with the current gearing on the Ixion HC I can get a heady 15mph, and having recently driven a full size steam loco (thanks kids!) which I've been waiting to do for 50 years, I can confirm it's plenty fast enough! .

 

I also bought a GT-Power charger. I got all this from Micron Radio Control http://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/ and I found the proprietor Andy very helpful. Like anything it's simple when you know how, but I couldn't find an idiot's guide anywhere, and figured it out little by little. If I can help at all, do let me know. All I can say is it's head and shoulders above anything else I've seen or used. I'll never go back. Gaugemaster Combi for sale.

 

I wired the pickups directly to the batteries, which means the rails are live, but powered from the loco. Probably best to avoid any shorts! I installed a switch to isolate the control board (I put it in the speaker recess under the loco, and it can be switched without taking the loco off the track. So: flip the switch, attach the charger to the rails and off you go. 

 

Watching a careworn saddletank crawling over rusty rails is vindication enough!!

[BG John]

Thanks Gareth. I need to do some more thinking about it, but that's very useful.

[raymw]

Hi Gareth,

 

You'll have to post a video!

 

Would a central wiper, like the Hornby dublo 3 rail locos, be too visible? if you had a bit of 'loose rail' in the fiddle yard, or elsewhere you could charge it via the wiper, and the wheels on both sides could be electrically connected, thus any 'shorts' on the main track would cause no problems (you could have metal tie rods on point blades, etc.). Maybe add a reed switch inside the loco for charging, with magnet in the fiddle yard charging area...

 

Best wishes,

 

Ray

[Gareth001]

Hi Ray...I'll try and sort a video soon.

 

A wiper system would work, as long as you could make a suitable unobtrusive shoe under the loco. A lot of people do use reed switches, I believe....you could also just use a 3.5mm jack socket tucked away somewhere. There just aren't too many places to hide on the smaller locos, even in 7mm.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Gareth001