Railpassion Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Looking neat. Which colour for the rail sides? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 20 hours ago, Railpassion said: Looking neat. Which colour for the rail sides? Woodland Scenics Steel Rail. I happened to have a couple of paint pens lurking in a drawer, but I will probably airbrush the rest of it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacathedrale Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 On 01/01/2022 at 17:57, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said: A bit more ballasting this afternoon. It'll need a lot more fettling before I'll be happy, but I am pleased I went with real granite ballast. I've tried Woodland Scenics before and it's too rounded for my taste... looks like pebbles, not ballast. I also extended the power bus around to the other side of the layout ready for the staging yard. Soldering is such a joy. What's the sound transmission like? I'm thinking of using chincilla sand but the 'copydex/WS' brigade are convincing me otherwise... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted January 4, 2022 Author Share Posted January 4, 2022 (edited) 14 hours ago, Lacathedrale said: What's the sound transmission like? I'm thinking of using chincilla sand but the 'copydex/WS' brigade are convincing me otherwise... Zero - I use Woodland Scenics trackbed on a roll. Highly recommended. The stone ballast is just decorative infill really. I use N scale granite from Gaugemaster. Edited January 4, 2022 by Dr Gerbil-Fritters 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacathedrale Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Nice, thanks! I've got some WS roadbed sheets and foamtack glue I was planning on using, glad to know that the ballast itself isn't a huge factor despite being real stone. Thanks! ps. you still have me looking wistfully at French H0 after your introduction to me of Acheaux ... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 On 27/12/2021 at 18:08, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said: I still seem to be enjoying this little layout more than the others I've knocked together over the 7 years this thread has been running. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 Very little progress to report. I did receive the holder for the Powercab handset from Tarkine Models in Australia. It's designed specifically to fit this particular handset, giving secure snug support and still allowing access to all the buttons. I'm very pleased with it, and efficient service from Tarkine and Aus Post. Even her maj's hobby rozzers left it alone. No customs to pay! That's the first time in a while they've not held a parcel for ransom... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacathedrale Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 I can't get how unergonomic and inelegant those 'early' DCC handsets look - like a Hi-Fi remote from 1999. Why no progress? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted January 26, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 26, 2022 1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said: I can't get how unergonomic and inelegant those 'early' DCC handsets look - like a Hi-Fi remote from 1999. Why no progress? I'll take your bait, William. They are very comfortable to hold and you can do everything with one hand - once you get used to it, without even looking at it as far as driving trains is concerned. Why change what works? 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted January 26, 2022 Author Share Posted January 26, 2022 5 hours ago, Lacathedrale said: I can't get how unergonomic and inelegant those 'early' DCC handsets look - like a Hi-Fi remote from 1999. Why no progress? Probably because most of them were designed in the late 90s early 2000s and there's no commercial imperative to improve them. The Powercab is a bit big for my hands - and I have hands like shovels. (I play bass guitar) I don't operate often enough to find it completely intuitive or comfortable just yet. What I would really like is something like the Protothrottle but a smidge smaller. I prefer analogue levers and switches to rotary pots with no stops, personally. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 7 hours ago, Lacathedrale said: I can't get how unergonomic and inelegant those 'early' DCC handsets look - like a Hi-Fi remote from 1999. Why no progress? Maybe there has been progress, like, oh I dunno..... using an App on your smartphone perhaps?? But some of us are such awful Luddites that we stick with what we have that works, and have no desire to spend extra £££ just to have the latest "ooh, shiny!!" technology. As for all this wireless wizardry, it didn't look quite so impressive in the Faraday Cage that was the Telford ICC, for the Guildex Show a few years ago. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted January 26, 2022 Author Share Posted January 26, 2022 I flatly refuse to use anything 'touchscreen' - zero haptic feedback. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted January 26, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 26, 2022 The only thing I don't like about power cab controllers is the throttle. I naturally thumb downwards to slow things down....on the power cab that is go faster.... causing me to be shouted at as the DMU which is supposed to stopping at the branch line terminus suddenly making a suicide dash into the buffer stops. Give me a twirly knob to play with any day. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted January 26, 2022 Author Share Posted January 26, 2022 (edited) My preference would be a nice T shaped throttle lever... push forwards for accelerate and pull back to decelerate... Could also include a voice that says 'retard, retard' at key points Edited January 26, 2022 by Dr Gerbil-Fritters 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted January 27, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 27, 2022 5 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said: I naturally thumb downwards to slow things down....on the power cab that is go faster Not on mine it isn't (and yes, I'll beat you to it - perhaps that's because I'm in Australia...). 1 hour ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said: push forwards for accelerate and pull back to decelerate See above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 13 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said: The only thing I don't like about power cab controllers is the throttle. I naturally thumb downwards to slow things down....on the power cab that is go faster... It's not like that on mine, either. Or any other I've seen in use. Maybe yours is faulty? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
long island jack Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 13 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said: The only thing I don't like about power cab controllers is the throttle. I naturally thumb downwards to slow things down....on the power cab that is go faster.... causing me to be shouted at as the DMU which is supposed to stopping at the branch line terminus suddenly making a suicide dash into the buffer stops. Give me a twirly knob to play with any day. The lines around the thumb wheel are a bit of a clue, they decrease down wards, looks like you've got one wired up wrong 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted January 27, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 27, 2022 I have only used other peoples and I always get the thing wrong and instead of stopping they zoom off. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 I got round to fitting two of my Br50s with the front couplers yesterday. I really like the brutish look of these, even though they're actually quite light engines and eminently suited to branch line operations. I did a bit of shunting just to try things out. A van and a flat to the goods shed, and a loaded hopper to the coal merchants. It all seemed to work ok, but I need to work out where to locate the uncoupling magnets. I'm not getting much time on the old moba at the moment which is frustrating as I really want to crack on with the scenery... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 I had a thesis completion meeting today, after which I needed some therapy. I got the piston rods, cab ladder and handrails on. Now all she needs is a bit of weathering... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 (edited) 50 2840 has had a first pass of weathering.. I need to tone down the magnetic arm of the kadee though, it looks a bit naff... One of the things I really like about Roco is that spare parts are readily available... this seems to not to be the case with UK models so much, which makes repairs/modifications rather difficult. I've got some bits on the way from Germany for these loks to bring them up to EpIV standard and it was just a matter of finding the part numbers and ordering from the Roco website. Edited February 4, 2022 by Dr Gerbil-Fritters 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamThomas Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 On 04/02/2022 at 17:05, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said: 50 2840 has had a first pass of weathering.. I need to tone down the magnetic arm of the kadee though, it looks a bit naff... One of the things I really like about Roco is that spare parts are readily available... this seems to not to be the case with UK models so much, which makes repairs/modifications rather difficult. I've got some bits on the way from Germany for these loks to bring them up to EpIV standard and it was just a matter of finding the part numbers and ordering from the Roco website. Roco/Fleischmann seem to be holding stocks for models up to 10 years old - they recently had a sale of older parts @ 50% off. Sometimes, it can be tricky to find the correct part number, especially if your is a variant. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 A few pics from a short operating session yesterday. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 My box of spares arrived from Roco today - so I can repair the damage to the Kabintender among other little chores. I only noticed in the photos that the roof over the access doors has folded flat back against the roof instead of being aligned to the hand rails... I can also replace the water hatch levers which did not survive my attempts to cram a decoder into the Kabin. So far, the difficulty of installing decoders into these models is the only downside I've encountered. To be fair though, I had just as much difficulty with a Hornby BoB, S15 and even more with a Bachmann 4CEP. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted February 8, 2022 Author Share Posted February 8, 2022 Excellent service from Modelleisenbahn GmbH... means that my Br50s will soon be equipped with automatic train control system. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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