7mm King Street Goods

[CME and Bottlewasher]

On 17/11/2020 at 13:46, Barnaby said:

Another one for my to do list is auto magnetic coupling/ uncoupling.

Seeing Giles work on this topic on this forum has given me some ideas I need to try out, now to get out my Neodymium magnets.

 

I see it's a typically Giles detailed working.  A beautiful engineered mechanism to solve an engineering problem. 

 

Sadly my effort will no doubt be some what cruder. 

Questions I need to answer/ trial -- How critical is the magnetic strength requirement -- do you need to have a magnet on each coupling or just on one end and a non ferrous plate on the other.  Then a like pole magnet under the board would repel the  same pole coupling magnet. 

Mnnnnn ideas.

1/  set up a basic not to scale magnet coupling using my neo's or use the Magclic scale ones I have to hand. 

2/  only have a magnet on one end with just a magnetic plate on the other.

3/  The tricky bit; like other systems I want to have a FIXED magnet in the track I may try an electro magnet so I have some control but I'm hoping that a passing wagon will stay coupled and only undo when I pause over it.

4/  as long as the buried magnet is the same pole they should repel hopefully not upwards but split the coupling.  I may need to angle the buried magnet but that's to be tried.

5/  rig up using not to scale neodymium magnets to prove my thinking  and have a play.

 

Good work Giles thank you, your giving me ideas to try.

 

Best

 

Couplings are a perennial issue aren't they. I'm trialing yet another brand as the micro Tension Locks don't quite fit the bill for me anymore. Now I've got to work out how to demagnetise electromagnets - more challenges!

[Barnaby]

Yes very true CME I've still not sorted my magnetic ones out but Giles has shown how it can be done.

In the mean time I'll probably leave the 3-links on but use the Lincs hook which is reasonably easy to fit and operate from fixed magnets or electro, as you say it's a perennial task.

 

Best

[bgman]

As a quick aside you may wish to remove the photograph of the box from Hattons if it shows your address on it ? 

[CME and Bottlewasher]

On 06/12/2020 at 12:06, Barnaby said:

Yes very true CME I've still not sorted my magnetic ones out but Giles has shown how it can be done.

In the mean time I'll probably leave the 3-links on but use the Lincs hook which is reasonably easy to fit and operate from fixed magnets or electro, as you say it's a perennial task.

 

Best

I'm using Dinghams for ease of fit to the befferbeam. With a bit of fiddling I might be able to double end them on certain locos? Or else they're ended like Winterleys - which worked well but not an easy fit on deep diesel bufferbeams. Fingers crossed I've finally gotten a good compromise?

[Barnaby]

........................ and back to the surface mounted DCC Concept point motors and their use and operation.

 

What I know about DCC Concepts SS point motors and driver pcb's is that they have 2 control areas per pcb ie 1 pcb can control 2 points.  Also each side of the board can switch the frogs, send a signal to the point motor and also has outputs to power 2 leds.  KARBUNGAH 

 

DCC Concepts advise on best use of their switches and leds and have them already wired and plugged.  They also have wire xt leads to plug into the leds and the pcb.

They have a useful technical desk which I intend to send them my track plan and how I want to wire it up for their advice/approval before I make a start and damage anything as they do give out warnings about suitable voltages etc.  It seems they will work off direct connection to the DCC track with the DCC controlling all.   You can also use just DC or a mix of them both but I'm not sure I want to try the mix variant.

As I only have 5 points to switch I'm going for the Concepts plug and play system using their prewired leads and components, probably one of my Christmas presents to me.

 

I was looking at a recent post on here on PeterBB layout topic where he showed some recent work making up a mimic panel so that set me thinking about mine, thanks Peter, off to draw up my mimic panel.

 

Best

[Barnaby]

First attempt at Mimic panel.  Now where did i put that thin Perspex to provide a protecting cover for my paper printout.  or maybe I'll just use it as a template and line out in black car pin striping.

 

Edited April 9, 2022 by Barnaby
extra wording

[Barnaby]

A new addition to the fight against the cold is a personal heater.  I've just spent £20 with free delivery for one it's 500 Watt ceramic heat source and comes with a variable on/off stat adjust and includes a tip over safety switch.

It is very effective, I had purchased it after hearing a sports commentary discussion on the very cold working conditions they had in football grounds.  One reporter had seen another reporter with a portable personal heater and as they all get plenty of sockets for their laptops etc this small plug in unit works wonders.

I had purchased it because I'm often working on my PC when my central heating has switched off and this small unit sits on the desk/bench along side me does just the job.  

 

 

It could also be useful in my workshop for some localised heating to warm my hands up quickly.

 

Regards

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by Barnaby
insert word

[Barnaby]

I've been having a re-think over my layout size again. 

I have already taken the decision to keep my layouts on the micro to mini size i.e. the main scenic board to be max at about 8ft but could be made even smaller if required. 

 

I have decided to do more of a micro build in 7mm but keeping the fiddle yard side when doing any new builds.   

Presently my fiddle yard is 50/50 with with scenic to the front consisting mainly of a kick back siding come head shunt and the Fiddle hidden behind a backscene panel.

 

This will give me options that allow me to complete my builds as they are smaller while still allowing me to enjoy building different locations etc.  Having the fiddle yard all ready is a big help as all my electricals. mimic and control systems are intended to be kept there with a multi-plug/socket to transfer all the electricals across.

My present layout build is currently being rehashed to conform to these RULES and will allow for up to 5 points being switched.

 

 It is intended to allow me to keep playing trains while I build any new "layout" then when ready I will just align and connect up and I'm off............. the best of both worlds ....... allegedly.

 

Best

Edited January 9, 2021 by Barnaby

[Barnaby]

Taking another detour before the SS Cobalt point motors are wired in then to be followed by laying down the track ballast I find myself playing about with my back scene buildings.

 Gareth from theses forums has produced another fine building kit a Terraced House see here>>> 

 

 

The kit comes in several pieces just requiring a suitable adhesive to glue together. 

One extra I am obtaining is to get the corner bricking that Gareth shows laser cut out in brick strips for me.  I know I could cut them out from plastic sheet but I value my fingers too much and a supply of them could be useful for other builds.

 

I hope to receive both items next week, then I will assemble them and prime paint them.  I do like the fact that they have some roof thus showing some side elevation and will sit away from the back scene board.

I may be acquiring multiples of them once I've had a play about with my back scene as I'm hoping I could turn them into other build options i.e. shop/small workshop etc. or as intended a row of terraced housing.

 

 

Regards

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by Barnaby

[Barnaby]

Look and see what Mr Postman has brought to me..........

Making a start on The Gareth Terrace House>>>

 

........... and reminded of a posty tune with a great bass line in it for Andy P, oh and the girl twins now resident at The Cavern Club Liverpool are a bit all right too.

 

 

Best

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by Barnaby

[37114]

On 12/05/2020 at 10:58, Barnaby said:

Just a heads up to a new [to me] supplier who is very helpful, makes beautiful parts and has in stock a variety of items we often need from buildings to all the details you can't be bothered to make but if fitted they really add to your model.

 

I was browsing the net looking for fencing ideas when I saw these - so I ordered some.

 

the posts

 

some exquisite ladders 

 

Well worth a look www.stoneybridge.co.uk  and a purchase or two.

 

Best

Thanks for sharing the link, looks to be a great source of useful bits.  The layout looks great, look forward to see this one continue to develop.

[Andrew P]

On 11/01/2021 at 22:06, Barnaby said:

Look and see what Mr Postman has brought to me..........

Making a start on The Gareth Terrace House>>>

 

........... and reminded of a posty tune with a great bass line in it for Andy P, oh and the girl twins now resident at The Cavern Club Liverpool are a bit all right too.

 

 

Best

 

Yeah, LOVED THAT mate, gives me new ideas as Wipe Out is one of our numbers. Cheers.

[Barnaby]

Progressing the build 2 sides now adhered to the front >>>

 

 

Regards

Edited April 9, 2022 by Barnaby

[Barnaby]

........... a little bit more progress.   Requiring further application of liquid plastic adhesive and applied pressure to flatten/smooth down some of the edges.

>>> 

 

Best

Edited April 9, 2022 by Barnaby

[Barnaby]

Hello I've not got much further with my house build [model] as I show previous and not much happening on my layout either.

 

I'm prepping my point work ready to accept the  the Cobalt SS 6-pack point motors, they are very small but work perfectly.

I'm developing a hinge down component board to make it easier to work on.  The individual point motors will be fitted along side each point connecting directly to the TIE bar with the control Pcb mounted on the hinge down board.  All the wiring to the points and mimic board will come from and to here.

 

I found a new model supplier from a mention Rod [Dmudriver on here] gave him as a kit source of Peco point replacement parts.  He does have some great items on his web site and well worth a visit.  Greenwood Models he is called. >>> https://greenwoodmodelrailwayproducts.co.uk/ 

I've ordered some replacement TIE bars off him as they look very good and will improve my connection to the point motors as my Peco points have been installed a couple of times now and the existing TIE bars are a little cut up & tatty.

I have been looking for an 0 gauge re-railer and he does a flat pack one of those too, so I purchased one.

 

Best

[Barnaby]

Yaaaaaaaaaaawwwwn not much happening here. 

Got the new tie-bars from Greenwood models and very neat they are too along with the re-railer which I have assembled.

I'm going to mount the control pcb for the SS point motors on a hinge down sub base board to make any wiring a little easier when working in that area.  I've cut out a suitable piece of board and found some suitable hinges in my stock.

Still got to finish off the woodwork for a small table/shelf to house the DCC controls on but it is all coming together.

 

Then this morning I got a double mag delivery 1/ my Hornby Mag & 2/  Hornby Wagonload Formations as it has a lengthy article on Scrap workings which I want to include on my layout.

 

I'm just off out into the garden to plant up some flower pots.

 

Best

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Barnaby

[Barnaby]

...............along with the finish building of this layout I have been mulling over how to make my layouts more FUN to RUN.  I want to make up some Way bills and Wagon cards and devise a way to add to my spreadsheet so I can print out some headed suitable cards which I can shuffle , roll a dice what ever to bring some variety to my small layouts.

This shall be going on in the back ground of my builds with occasional notes here.

There does seem to be quite a bit of Waybill info on line mainly USA based but if any of the software is editable that will be great but failing that I will just have to set up my own as I'm reasonably competent with Excel.

 

I've started another post in the Help Forum looking for existing ideas as I see no point in re-inventing a wheel but........ >>>  

 

 

[Barnaby]

......... I recall talking with Chris Van Der Heide an USA modeller he of Algoma Central model Railway in H0 fame.

Chris had put a huge amount of effort into wagon cards, way bills and the like, unfortunately my pc lost its hard drive and all my ref data too.  From what I recall I've managed to recover some of it and will have a wade through it in the mean time here a some additional notes.

Chris has made all his Excel work freely available and it is fully editable, what a man.

 

A minimum, basic wagon card/waybill system is as follows:

1. The wagon card minimally has the wagon initials and number. Anything else descriptive is a bonus.

2. The wagon card is folded to make a pocket into which the "waybill" (shipment info) will be inserted

3. The "waybill" minimally includes the "To" destination (receiver) of the car. Shipper, contents, routing or other information is optional but helps add to the feel we're actually moving cargo.

4. With the "waybill" inserted into the "wagon card", the two together will tell you where to move that wagon.

Everything else is improvements or variations on this.

 

Best

 

 

[georgeT]

Hi Barnaby, Love the house you are building, really looks the part,

l am in the process with a few friends in trying to make a time table to run a garden layout end to end, with a station at each end where we need to have reasons for locos / stock to be in the right place, rather than just running what you feel, and its harder than you think ? at the moment we have about six or seven locos to work (plus visiting locos) with and plenty of coaches / wagons, we have a station pilot loco at each end for shunting stock around, but we need a rota to work to, also we have a two way radio to talk to each end about 70ft away garage to garden shed.

[Barnaby]

A little more "background" on the spreadsheet WB & CC pockets and insert.

 

A not yet Anglicised photo of the pockets and inserts printed out but I still have to edit it ie Car No. to Wagon #, Color to Colour etc.  I may reduce the content detail too as Chris's is very detailed, he has 4 different spreadsheets on differing topics with 3-4 different layout pages, MASSIVE it is.

This will not be a regular updating process but only reports back to here when I have completed sections.

Regards

Edited April 9, 2022 by Barnaby

[Barnaby]

5 hours ago, georgeT said:

Hi Barnaby,................................................................. we have about six or seven locos to work (plus visiting locos) with and plenty of coaches / wagons, we have a station pilot loco at each end for shunting stock around, but we need a rota to work to, also we have a two way radio to talk to each end about 70ft away garage to garden shed.

I've just been reading and getting re-familared [made up word] with Chris's work and have found this topic with spread sheets again all editable and freely available. 

Simulating Customer Demand on a Model Railroad I've not yet gone into it in any depth but from his heading it sounds useful.

 

Best

[davefromacrossthepond]

Barnaby,

 

Here's something that might be of interest:

https://www.micromark.com/CAR-ROUTING-SYSTEM

 

Not sure if micromark ships overseas or not. While perhaps not as fun (nor as cheap) as doing it yourself, it is an option.

 

Dave

[Barnaby]

Thanks Dave I do have that noted and yes they do ship across across the pond too. 

I may fall-back to that but Chris's spreadsheets are freely available and fully editable too.  This will allow me to Anglicise them to be more suited to here in the UK and my needs.

 

I think there is a UK distributor for that product but I don't seem to be able to find it right now.

 

Best 

[Robin Gristwood]

Hi Barnaby,

In my thread you can see what I am using https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_06_2018/post-24137-0-97460500-1528491284.jpg

 

 

I think this is the same Excel spreadsheet based database to produce and print both the car cards and the waybills.

If this is something you want to know more about, please let me know.

[Barnaby]

Hello Robin thanks for that they do look very neat and clear.

My layout is  nothing more than a small 0 gauge plank so I will not have lots of wagons and not much scope for running so I want to maximise the shunting interest available.     

All the USA based spread sheets have copious amounts of detail in them so while Chris's spreadsheet is freely available and can be edited I'm a little unsure what effect any editing might have on his many "Lookup" formulae he has added.   I've done some simple editing which seem to be ok but we'll see how it goes.

 

Yours do look very nice so I'll go and read through your posts for some more ideas.

 

Regards