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

[ColinK]

I like the way you’ve coloured the plugs and sockets.  I might have to do the same, especially as they are under the baseboards.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

19 minutes ago, ColinK said:

I like the way you’ve coloured the plugs and sockets.  I might have to do the same, especially as they are under the baseboards.

yes, I'm embarrassed that I made that error, but getting under the baseboards to plug the plugs in is awkward and painful and time consuming at my age and the sockets are quite dark and all those factors probably played some part in me plugging the wrong plug in - hence my choice of bright yellow rather than orange - a very clear change from red.

[john new]

1 hour ago, ColinK said:

I like the way you’ve coloured the plugs and sockets.  I might have to do the same, especially as they are under the baseboards.

As I have now made a floor level power box - something I also adopted when I wired my latest little layout to it, a separate plug type for the 15V AC and the DC feed to my PowerCab. I also paired and taped together the two feed wires. As the DIN lead to the Combi goes in the front and the power feed at the back I am unlikely to plug those in the wrong way round. 

 

Like you I have adopted coloured cables, I bought a pack of ready wired XLR cables all in different colours. 

 

These are good tips to learn as we get more experienced.

 

Edited March 12, 2021 by john new
Added the product link from my Amazon history.

[Ian Morgan]

Bit late for you, but may be of interest for others. I have been getting some of these connectors for the club's Junior Section Modules. They are similar to yours, although they are only 3-way. However, they are also 'keyed', so the grey plugs will not fit the blue sockets, or vice versa. I do not know if 'keyed' multi-way connectors are available.

 

Neutrik Connectors from Banggood

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by Ian Morgan
re-loaded image

[steveNCB7754]

On 12/03/2021 at 09:44, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

....  The BIG issue was how to prevent something similar happening again.

 

 

 

 

One of the design ‘Tenets’  I remember from my early career went something like, ‘If someone can do it the wrong way, someone will’.  Hind sight is a wonderful thing of course, but even the development of the steam locomotive was predicated on mistakes (sometimes even fatal ones).

 

Now I realise this may not be physically possible, but one way around this would be to NOT have these sockets near each other AND then have each lead plug only capable of reaching its designated socket. Obvious I know this is easy for me to say, sat at my kitchen table, but maybe next time.

 

Not withstanding all this, the layout is looking great and I look forward to seeing it in action again :-)
 

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

11 hours ago, steveNCB7754 said:

One of the design ‘Tenets’  I remember from my early career went something like, ‘If someone can do it the wrong way, someone will’.  Hind sight is a wonderful thing of course, but even the development of the steam locomotive was predicated on mistakes (sometimes even fatal ones).

 

Now I realise this may not be physically possible, but one way around this would be to NOT have these sockets near each other AND then have each lead plug only capable of reaching its designated socket. Obvious I know this is easy for me to say, sat at my kitchen table, but maybe next time.

 

Not withstanding all this, the layout is looking great and I look forward to seeing it in action again :-)
 

 

 

The only way to make anything idiot proof is to not have an idiot anywhere near it in the first place!

 

Mike.

Having done similar things with decoders!

[TEAMYAKIMA]

48 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

The only way to make anything idiot proof is to not have an idiot anywhere near it in the first place!

Mike,

 

If you think that I am going to comment on that in any way you've got another think coming! My operating team do read RMweb you know! 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

I discovered that Rietze had done a Chinese police car some years ago and so I searched ebay - ouch!!

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rietze-Audi-80-B3-Polizei-China-SELTEN-HO-1-87/174502622280?hash=item28a12ab448:g:6rEAAOSwCQ1foBWr

[TEAMYAKIMA]

In an attempt to make the layout more accessible to more people at exhibitions I have simplified 'the story'.

 

Originally there were three 'systems' and the layout was set in 2004 and so the three systems were

 

1. Industrial system

2. Diesel China Rail double track lines which were completely steam free by 2004

3. Single track steam powered line inspired by the Ji-Tong railway which was using steam up to 2005

 

We discovered a couple of problems ................

 

The concept of three different systems on one layout was a lot for people to take in - especially when we had to try to explain that the single track line was not part of the national network, but a locally financed regional railway which bought cheap s/h steam locos to get the line off the ground in 1995.

 

CONCLUSION - that part of the story was too much for the average punter to get their head around.

 

The next thing we discovered was that most videos of the layout posted on youtube tended to be dominated by the diesel powered China Rail lines.

 

CONCLUSION - for various reasons, the steam lines had too little action. We need to give the steam lines greater prominence which means increasing the number of steam trains.

 

RESULT 

 

We have dropped all references to the Ji-Tong line. Now, there are only two 'systems' - the industrial and China Rail. The single track line is now re-defined as a secondary China Rail - hopefully an easier concept for exhibition viewers.

 

As steam finally disappeared from China Rail in early 2003 and was 99.9% gone by late 2002 we have re-located the layout from 2004 to spring 2001. This now allows us to authentically run more steam trains and also frees up up various other issues which are no longer relevant now that we have dropped references to the Ji-Tong line.

 

Here is the re-worked display screen .............

 

 

 

[john new]

On 12/03/2021 at 13:28, Ian Morgan said:

Bit late for you, but may be of interest for others. I have been getting some of these connectors for the club's Junior Section Modules. They are similar to yours, although they are only 3-way. However, they are also 'keyed', so the grey plugs will not fit the blue sockets, or vice versa. I do not know if 'keyed' multi-way connectors are available.

 

Neutrik Connectors from Banggood

 

Useful link, for wiring up do they take standard spade connectors? I mean those you use for car fittings, sold in Halfords.

[Ian Morgan]

1 hour ago, john new said:

Useful link, for wiring up do they take standard spade connectors? I mean those you use for car fittings, sold in Halfords.

 

The sockets take a standard spade connectors, the plugs have screw terminals.

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Ian Morgan

[luke_stevens]

12 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

Mike,

 

If you think that I am going to comment on that in any way you've got another think coming! My operating team do read RMweb you know! 

Yes, and I'm going off to sulk!

 

Luke

[steve W]

11 hours ago, john new said:

Useful link, for wiring up do they take standard spade connectors? I mean those you use for car fittings, sold in Halfords.

Yes - as long as you use 3/16" (4.8mm) ones. The more usual Halfords ones in the store I use are bigger and either cannot be housed on the spade or are loose. Much cheaper to look for the right size from an electrical supplier or even eBay. The connections can also be soldered to the spades.

I have used Neutrik style connectors like those on Pauls layout extensively and they are resilient and reliable. The Chinese clones are a lot cheaper, but still seem to be OK for our purposes.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Then way that I look at the concept of the layout is evolving - or should I say - has evolved.

 

The concept has had another minor tweak today - the last I hope - and so I now need some more type 22 YZ hard class coaches - anyone got any they want to sell?

 

I will need up to six and I know that there were two different models made by Bachmann - a very early release which was not at all accurate and a later far better version and that moulding cam in at least three different styles of green - and other liveries.

 

So, basically I'm looking for green ones but will consider other liveries if anyone wants to sell any. 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

 

On March 8th last year I posted this photo of some progress - new truck at the front of the layout with man cleaning the windscreen..............

 

 

In the last 12 months, the scenery has taken a bit of a knock one way and another - sometimes quite literally......................

 

 

 

 

But today .................. Today the fight back began. I found the truck and found the man, but to my horror his hand had fallen off!

 

 

I searched through my stock of Preiser figures and found a figure with the right kind of hand - actually a left kind of hand!

 

 

So, 20 minutes later, once the glue and paint had dried, I could recreate that scene. Note also that I've repainted the truck's box into a more realistic grey colour - RESULT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by TEAMYAKIMA

[F-UnitMad]

Wot, no rear view mirrors?

 

 

Sprinting for exit, sorry....

[TEAMYAKIMA]

2 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

Wot, no rear view mirrors?

 

 

Sprinting for exit, sorry....

 

No need to apologise. Yes, something I noticed at the time. All I can say is that the model didn't come with wing mirrors - by that I mean there are no factory made holes in the body to accept wing mirrors and TBH I was just keen to get something done and out of the way yesterday. Maybe I'll go back to that issue in a few months after everything else is done and dusted. 

[peach james]

no need for mirrors- just park by braille, they do it all the time around here...

 

[Ian Morgan]

Etched truck mirrors are available for 2mm scale. Does anyone do them for 4mm or 3.5mm scale?

[duff man]

2 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

Etched truck mirrors are available for 2mm scale. Does anyone do them for 4mm or 3.5mm scale?

Dan Taylor Modelworks,  etched mirrors in various styles on one fret, about £7.50 a fret.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

More scenery upgrades underway. This first appeared last year but never got finished or fixed down. Now with interior, lighting and signage. It will form part of the truck stop at the front of the layout - an area which has been a rather dead space up until now.

 

 

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

More scenery upgrades underway. There used to be two workers waiting to collected by a minibus, but one disappeared...............

 

 

So I added some more - and 'yes' , they all have typically Chinese skin tones and 'yes' they have been shortened by about a scale 4 inches.

 

 

I added some next road along too ................ and 'yes' the van needs wing mirrors - I mean 'It REALLY needs wing mirrors!'

 

 

[F-UnitMad]

1 hour ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

..... and 'yes' the van needs wing mirrors - I mean 'It REALLY needs wing mirrors!'

         

[SHMD]

What year was this set in again...

 

 

Kev.

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Have recently moved it to 2001.

 

Let me guess, that's a 2004 model minibus - yes?