BEIJIAO - a large Chinese HO exhibition layout set in the 21st century

[F-UnitMad]

1 hour ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

I had interviewed several people for the job of being my front of house team and finally chosen these two and was about to introduce them to the existing team members, but then all exhibitions got cancelled - DOH!

 

I thought the aim was to get people to look at the layout more???!!???   

[Ian Morgan]

4 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Will they have to be bilingual?

 

You are not supposed to discriminate on sexual preference, or have I got it wrong?

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Although I am a committed RTR 'modeller' I am also committed to making any/all improvements I can to my RTR models - sometimes to what might be thought of as extremes.

 

For example, I am obsessed with close coupled coaches.

 

This is how Bachmann 25K coaches come................

 

 

I have fitted Fleischmann profi close couplings like so ( a 2 minute job ) ..........................

 

 

That would be good enough for many/most people, but not me. 50 minutes later they look like this .......................

 

I do admit that they do pull apart slightly when in motion but sitting in a platform they look like that. All I can say is that it's a good job that I am furloughed from work at tyhe moment!

 

[bbishop]

21 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

I had interviewed several people for the job of being my front of house team and finally chosen these two and was about to introduce them to the existing team members, but then all exhibitions got cancelled - DOH!

 

 

I would not have selected the one wearing glasses.  Bill

[luke_stevens]

22 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I do admit that they do pull apart slightly when in motion but sitting in a platform they look like that. All I can say is that it's a good job that I am furloughed from work at the moment!

 

But how do the perform going round curves? I did that with a bunch of European coaches and found they couldn't manage the club curves. And how easy is it to get them to couple up? That has been a problem in the past...

 

Luke

[TEAMYAKIMA]

1 hour ago, luke_stevens said:

But how do the perform going round curves? I did that with a bunch of European coaches and found they couldn't manage the club curves. And how easy is it to get them to couple up? That has been a problem in the past...

 

Luke

 

Two good points

 

1. I don't know. All the baseborads are in store at the moment. Hopefully may be able to set something up this weekend and test them

2. Yes, that is an issue. You sometimes have to 'bash' them together and it has to be on dead straight track, Another problem is that every pairing is unique. You MUST keep the order 1,2,3,4,5 etc. If you take one out there will be absolute chaos.

 

So.....................

 

1. I must test on the most twisty FY track

2. I must assemble the trains several times to double check that the 'set up' is reliable

[TEAMYAKIMA]

OK, update.

 

Firstly I am slightly worried about my rate of progress.

 

There have been problems at all four exhibitions I've taken BEIJIAO to so far, but at those times I was mainly working 40 hours a week. Since Warley I have been working 16 hours a week and, in fact, been furloughed for 8 months and so when we finally get to go to our next show I will have ZERO excuse for any shortcomings - I can't claim that. "I haven't had time to sort the problems."

 

I appear to still do a lot of work on the layout, but progress doesn't seem to progress as fast as it did in the past. My wife has a theory that it's because I haven't got a 'deadline' and if I don't have a deadline I don't go into 'panic mode' and if I don't go into panic mode I don't make good progress.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

OK (again!) here's an update.

 

I have spent TWO weeks fiddling with my red/grey 25G train.

 

At Warley it was 17 cars long but I have since bought three more YW hard class sleepers - only to realise that my FY will only accept 19 car passenger trains and so I am selling a YZ hard class seat coach to one of my team. 

 

All 19 cars now have destination boards - all Beijing to Shanghai. Even this took a disproportionate amount of time - sourcing 19 destination boards all the same, sorting the best 19 (some were poor quality), trimming any flash and researching EXACTLY where they fitted on the various cars.

 

 

The 15 Bachmann passenger cars now all have battery powered lights which automatically come on as they enter the scenic section and go off as they leave. There are also two cars (CA & RW) made by N27 and they come with track powered lights and luckily the light level and colour match the ones I've fitted to the Bachmann cars. There is also a Bachmann generator car (unlit) and a N27 baggage car that has lights and full interior but for the moment I will run that with the lights switched off as I have no intention of painting/detailing the baggage car at this time.

 

All the 17 passenger cars are fully painted inside with fully detailed interiors except one of the new Bachmann YW hard sleepers. Since this photo I have painted the floor black, but I have run out of suitable unpainted figures and so will leave this at that for the moment and move on to the 25K train now.

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Now on to the 25K train and if you thought I was being anal with the 25G cars - think again! With the 25K I am far worse.

 

For both the 25G and 25K Bachmann made excellent hard class seat cars (YZ),  hard class sleepers (YW) and generator cars, but they didn't make dining cars (CA), soft sleepers (RW) and baggage cars (XL) and they are made by N27.

 

Luckily, as regards the red/grey 25G train there is virtually no difference between the Bachmann models and the N27 ones. YES, they are different, but it's not really noticeable when they are on the layout in a train - in particular the colour interpretations match perfectly and the corridor connections all line up perfectly and so from normal viewing distance as the train passes by everything looks perfect - nothing jumps out at you.

 

Not so the 25k's - to be continued

Edited January 22, 2021 by TEAMYAKIMA

[TEAMYAKIMA]

The 25K train is only 14 cars long and this is because each of the two China Rail circuits have five FY roads and each of those five is divided into two extra long roads and three standard length roads - a two/three split in each direction and I decided that I would allocate only one of those four extra long roads to a passenger train. So the clockwise 25G occupies and extra long road and the 25K occupies a standard clockwise road.

 

There are more marked differences between the Bachmann and N27 versions of the 25K cars than there were with the 25G cars.

 

There are four main differences between the Bachmann cars and the N27 ones.

 

1.There is a difference in the blue colour. 

2.The whole Bachmann car on the right appears to ride slightly higher than the N27 one on the left.

3. The corridor connector on the Bachmann one appears to be mounted slightly higher in the body than the N27 version

4. Whatever those things are above the corridor connectors, there are completely different, both in colour and shape.

 

 

More later - off to do some modelling!

 

 

Edited January 22, 2021 by TEAMYAKIMA

[TEAMYAKIMA]

I must admit that when we moved into our new house just a little over two years ago I presumed that after a few months I would be getting ready to start a new smaller Chinese layout which I could set up and run in my new shed.

 

Little did I know that over two years later I would still be 'sorting' the old layout - and that's after cutting my hours from 40 to 16 per week at work and being furloughed for a full nine months!

 

In fact in a strange way having been furloughed and being off the exhibition circuit for 2 years is a mixed blessing - at my next show (October 2021?) I will have no excuse (none!) if the layout isn't 100% perfect. I certainly won't be able to claim, "Oh yes, I knew about that (problem) I just haven't had time to get around to fixing that".

 

One problem that is getting sorted by my friend Peter Morgan is the two smashed up QJ's which got mangled in the post in the run up to the Warley show. It was entirely my fault that they weren't packed properly in their boxes and somehow when we unpacked them some parts went mising in the chaos which was Warley. Peter has just 3D printed some of the missing parts on this QJ - a work in progress.

 

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

My anality continues unabated. This is just one example - and by the way this has taken days and days and days of my time.

 

My layout will have to have USP's if it is to get exhibition invites and one such USP is to have long passenger trains with full interiors  -  and lighting because otherwise exhibition viewers cannot see all the detail.

 

So one passnger train is 19 cars long and I fitted with LED lighting which was fed by an on-board battery which was controlled by a 'latched' reed switch - ie a magnet turns the lights on and off as the train enters/leaves the scenic section.

 

I fitted most cars with a 1220 3v battery but somehow one coach had a 2032 3v battery and the lighting seemed brighter/better in that one. Both batteries gave 3.03 volts so surely the LEDS should shine the same - here was a test comparison I set up on my workbench. Hopefully, this shows that the bottom one is brighter. The lady at Layouts4U explained that the 2032 battery can deliver more microamps - hence they shine brighter even if the voltage is the same - so all the 1220 batteries had to go!

 

 

Hopefully this very poor photo shows a before and after comparison of a 1220/2032 set-up

 

 

And so I began converting all 15 coaches in the 19 car formation (4 had factory fitted lights) but needless to say the change had unexpected consequences which meant a lot more work than you might expect. 

 

More on this story tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by TEAMYAKIMA

[TEAMYAKIMA]

OK, back to the passenger train update.

 

One downside of the larger battery upgrade and consequent brighter lights was light bleed around the top of the window frames. This only became visible when you look at the coach at certain angles - ironically it's most noticeable when you bend down to look in the windows!. Here is an example ....

 

 

The new battery already meant carving away a lot of the iterior detail at one end of the coach (the toilet and wash rooms) in order to make room for the considerably bigger battery holder - old and new battery holder shown in photo below. Now I had to add strips of plasticard to keep the window tops in shade to prevent the light bleed from the brighter LEDS.

 

 

One last feature I added in one car is a guy in the toilet ................

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by TEAMYAKIMA

[Enterprisingwestern]

On 18/01/2021 at 00:29, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I do admit that they do pull apart slightly when in motion but sitting in a platform they look like that.

 

A bit of soft foam or cotton wadding in the gangways will blind the eye to the gap?

 

Mike.

[F-UnitMad]

24 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

One last feature I added in one car is a guy in the toilet .........

Now that has to be a first for coach detailing!! I hope it's on the correct side, that the public will see.

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

17 minutes ago, F-UnitMad said:

Now that has to be a first for coach detailing!! I hope it's on the correct side, that the public will see.

 

 

Oh yes, that simple addition took several hours and I wasn't going to do that just for the benefit of my operators.

 

Why did it take so long? Well, I wasn't going to add this post but since you've commented on it I will.

 

I first set up that toilet cameo by fitted a slightly longer LED strip which carried on further down the coach and for some reason the light bleed was all along the top and down both sides - in short, you could see light between the coach side and the window frame. So I carefully cut out that section of glazing - a delicate task - and then painted thick black paint all around the window and then glued it back in place - job done.

 

 

But as always, nothing is that simple. Having painted the inside of that toilet white, it was now apparent to me that all the other 14 other coaches had the basic blue colour walls - the base colour of the interior molding and so even though the others aren't lit I had to go through all the other 14 and paint the toilet walls white as well. Will anyone but me notice this 'improvement' ? NO! But I will!

Edited January 31, 2021 by TEAMYAKIMA

[TEAMYAKIMA]

1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

A bit of soft foam or cotton wadding in the gangways will blind the eye to the gap?

 

Mike.

 

On 18/01/2021 at 21:38, luke_stevens said:

But how do the perform going round curves? I did that with a bunch of European coaches and found they couldn't manage the club curves. And how easy is it to get them to couple up? That has been a problem in the past...

 

Luke

 

Luke

 

Yes, they couple 'easily' - I've just tested them again. Each coach has its number in the train (1 to 19) painted underneath and they are also clearly marked 'viewing side' and 'non-viewing side' and so as long as they get set up on the layout in the correct order they will all couple'

 

Mike 

 

It might be possible to do something, but TBH I doubt it because if the 'S' bends in the FY - see below. I think it would most likely lead to derailments and reliability is paramount. 

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by TEAMYAKIMA

[Enterprisingwestern]

2 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

It might be possible to do something, but TBH I doubt it because if the 'S' bends in the FY - see below. I think it would most likely lead to derailments and reliability is paramount. 

 

Hmmm, yes, good idea in theory!

 

Mike.

[steveNCB7754]

7 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

One last feature I added in one car is a guy in the toilet ................

 

 

 

 

 

Love the pose of that lady at the window -  (thinks)  'How much longer is he going to be, because I'm definitely regretting those two bottles of water!'

 

 

Also, I assume these lighting strips don't have any flicker/fault circuitry (as some coach lighting can have) -  the last thing we need, is flashing in the toilet!!  :-)

 

 

[james37420]

Hi Paul,

 

I was wondering what the minimum radius a Bachmann QJ will negotiate? Sorry the question is not about your layout.

 

By the way I saw the layout at Warley at 2019 and really liked it- made better by the fact you took the time to point out all the special features. 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

I did do research recently for a possible new smaller layout. I think it was 16 inches and the sy and js was about 12 inches. I did actually set up a large sheet of plywood and laid out curves at 20 inches, 18 inches, 16 inches etc and I was amazed how tight I could go. Unfortunately I've lost the data i collected and I've lent the test tracks to a colleague and won't get it back for a few months 

Edited February 3, 2021 by TEAMYAKIMA

[luke_stevens]

Usually the issue isn't what radius some thing will go round but what will it stay coupled to! A long loco could go round a curve but its coupling will be outside the tracks derailing any thing is is hauling.

 

Luke

[john new]

31 minutes ago, luke_stevens said:

Usually the issue isn't what radius some thing will go round but what will it stay coupled to! A long loco could go round a curve but its coupling will be outside the tracks derailing any thing is is hauling.

 

Luke

As a relatively recent returner to active modelling I find this is a problem that is much worse with these titchy little modern couplings. Regarding those is it just me that thinks the thin pointy sticks protruding (the modern style) are actually visually more obtrusive than the wider full width bar of the older style?* The wider visually merging into the buffer beam. 

 

* The older metal ones in particular.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

1 hour ago, luke_stevens said:

Usually the issue isn't what radius some thing will go round but what will it stay coupled to! A long loco could go round a curve but its coupling will be outside the tracks derailing any thing is is hauling.

 

Luke

 

Hello Luke

 

Well, YES & NO.  I totally see your point in a generic sense but assuming that the train is being hauled boiler first I don't think it is an issue because the train is connected to the relatively short tender not the long locomotive.  If the train is being hauled tender first then I totally get your point.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

TBH I've recently taken some stick from one of my operating team for being obsessed with the coach lighting and interiors which will be seen by viewers for a split second as the train passes by whilst ignoring other more prominent scenic featiures on the baseboards which will be on view all the time.

 

He has a point, but all the scenic boards are in store in my garage and I can't move them into my shed by myself so until my son-in-law (in my bubble) comes round to help I can't gain access to them. However, I do have access to the FY boards and have decide to deal with all FY issues first and then swap the FY boards for the scenic boards when he next comes over.

 

I have discovered several issues with the FY boards which need attention. Firstly ................

 

I regret I don't have a 'before and after' comparison, just the after shot.  At some point since Warley I had upgraded the inter-board connectors on this board and placed board with the new sockets to the right of the crossmember without realising that the wires would prevent access to the baseboard connector and so I spent an afternoon moving the sockets to the left of the crossmember.

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2021 by TEAMYAKIMA