RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 23, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 23, 2019 I received an email from Kernow overnight to say that my red Bachmann 45 ton crane is on its way. Assuming that the travelling gear has been disconnected, it should be here early in the New Year. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 A very Merry Christmas to all friends and followers of the world of the Mid-Cornwall Lines. 5 5 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfield Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 has the crane been built into the new sequence-breakdown train or major derailment? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 3 hours ago, chesterfield said: has the crane been built into the new sequence-breakdown train or major derailment? Ha ha, as you well know there are no major derailments on the MCL, so it will sit in a siding, awaiting the call that never comes... See you soon. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 Well, as predicted the noble Earl reappeared this morning. He has already been reeducated to respond to 5058 Earl of Clancarty, although his name and number plates haven't been changed yet. Reprogamming was "interesting" as DecoderPro3 didn't recognise the Hornby TTS decoder. After one false start I chose the Sapphire R8245 version, which allowed me to change the long address. I think I need to update my decoder definitions but that will mean loading JMRI and Sprog II onto the Windows 10 computer, which will in turn mean new drivers and all sorts of fun. If the Earl works well enough on the layout I'll leave all that for another time. Separately, Santa brought me the Haynes Workshop Manual for the HST - I'll enjoy reading that as a reminder of my Craigentinny days. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandwich station Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 15 minutes ago, St Enodoc said: Separately, Santa brought me the Haynes Workshop Manual for the HST I thought the HST's were a bit later than the years you are modelling. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, sandwich station said: I thought the HST's were a bit later than the years you are modelling. Of course! However, one fine day in the future an East Coast 2+8 TRUB set might appear mysteriously west of the Tamar... All the best to you and yours. Edited December 25, 2019 by St Enodoc 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted December 25, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 And will the Mk2 push pull set (plus cow) reappear??? H says that V has a great sense of humour bby the way. And get that software loaded.. stop wussing!! Baz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted December 25, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 3 hours ago, St Enodoc said: Well, as predicted the noble Earl reappeared this morning. He has already been reeducated to respond to 5058 Earl of Clancarty, although his name and number plates haven't been changed yet. Reprogamming was "interesting" as DecoderPro3 didn't recognise the Hornby TTS decoder. After one false start I chose the Sapphire R8245 version, which allowed me to change the long address. I think I need to update my decoder definitions but that will mean loading JMRI and Sprog II onto the Windows 10 computer, which will in turn mean new drivers and all sorts of fun. If the Earl works well enough on the layout I'll leave all that for another time. Separately, Santa brought me the Haynes Workshop Manual for the HST - I'll enjoy reading that as a reminder of my Craigentinny days. All sounds very complicated for a toy train at Christmas. I hope you had a good day. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 42 minutes ago, Barry O said: And will the Mk2 push pull set (plus cow) reappear??? H says that V has a great sense of humour bby the way. And get that software loaded.. stop wussing!! Baz Oh yes, that's ready to be unboxed too. Won't need the Evo-Stik traction tyres on a level layout. Software - yes I know. I need to find the right drivers and then JFDI. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 27 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said: All sounds very complicated for a toy train at Christmas. I hope you had a good day. Apart from the interesting times with DecoderPro 3, yes I did! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Chamby Posted December 25, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 On 23/12/2019 at 20:32, St Enodoc said: I received an email from Kernow overnight to say that my red Bachmann 45 ton crane is on its way. Assuming that the travelling gear has been disconnected, it should be here early in the New Year. My black (early crest) one arrived from Sheffield yesterday... a lovely detailed model but it requires very delicate handling! I can see a lot of them just sitting in a siding looking pretty, rather than regularly running round a layout. Maybe you could introduce ‘random events’ into your sequence that might see it make an appearance occasionally? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, Chamby said: My black (early crest) one arrived from Sheffield yesterday... a lovely detailed model but it requires very delicate handling! I can see a lot of them just sitting in a siding looking pretty, rather than regularly running round a layout. Maybe you could introduce ‘random events’ into your sequence that might see it make an appearance occasionally? Phil, I think it's going to sit in a siding, as you suggest. When I was at Brighton Depot in the 1980s we had one of these so I couldn't resist buying a Bachmann one - however, the SR one is in black from an earlier period and the red one is a GWR one with a number of differences. In the end, I decided to go for the red GWR one rather than repaint the Southern one. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 5BarVT Posted December 25, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 25, 2019 4 hours ago, St Enodoc said: I think I need to update my decoder definitions but that will mean loading JMRI and Sprog II onto the Windows 10 computer, which will in turn mean new drivers and all sorts of fun. If the Earl works well enough on the layout I'll leave all that for another time. I think that you can download new decider definitions without new JMRI (I think I did that earlier this year). However, I have JMRI and Sprog on Win 10 and it wasn’t difficult. Happy Christmas (what’s left of it), Paul. P.S. Clive’s comment on the issue was so wonderfully restrained! :-) 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 7 minutes ago, 5BarVT said: I think that you can download new decider definitions without new JMRI (I think I did that earlier this year). However, I have JMRI and Sprog on Win 10 and it wasn’t difficult. Happy Christmas (what’s left of it), Paul. P.S. Clive’s comment on the issue was so wonderfully restrained! :-) Thanks Paul and the same to you. The problem, I think, is because the computer on which I run Sprog II and JMRI is no longer internet-connected, as it runs Windows XP which is no longer supported by MS or Norton, among others. All my online work is done on the Win 10 computer I bought a year ago. I plan to ask Andrew Crosland whether there is an easy way for non-IT people like me to move over to Win 10 but haven't got round to doing so yet. In the meantime, as long as the new loco works I'll be happy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted December 25, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 Just download the latest JMRI and it picks up everything else (remember to save a copy of your current JMRI loco list first) Baz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, Barry O said: Just download the latest JMRI and it picks up everything else (remember to save a copy of your current JMRI loco list first) Baz Thanks Baz. I think I understand that for JMRI and I should be able to copy my roster over from the other computer. It's the Sprog stuff that I'm a bit less sure about (it's a pretty ancient Sprog with only slightly less ancient firmware). I've dropped a note to Andrew C anyway so we'll see what he says. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 (edited) 23 minutes ago, St Enodoc said: Thanks Baz. I think I understand that for JMRI and I should be able to copy my roster over from the other computer. It's the Sprog stuff that I'm a bit less sure about (it's a pretty ancient Sprog with only slightly less ancient firmware). I've dropped a note to Andrew C anyway so we'll see what he says. I've downloaded JMRI so that's the easy bit done (haven't copied the roster across yet though). I suppose I could connect up the Sprog and just see what happens. Any reason why this might be a bad idea? Edited December 25, 2019 by St Enodoc 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted December 25, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 Not a lot 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 10 hours ago, St Enodoc said: I've downloaded JMRI so that's the easy bit done (haven't copied the roster across yet though). I suppose I could connect up the Sprog and just see what happens. Any reason why this might be a bad idea? 5 hours ago, Barry O said: Not a lot I connected the Sprog and tried to follow the instructions on "Installing Sprog Drivers on Windows 8/8.1/10" on the Sprog website. I got as far as section 4 and downloaded the drivers but when I opened the Settings menu it looked nothing like that in the installation guide and I can't find any way of progressing further to update the drivers and get the computer to recognise the Sprog. One piece of promising news though is that the latest version of JMRI that I installed last night includes the definition for the Hornby TTS Castle. Enough time wasted for now - I'll await Andrew's response before I try anything else. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 25, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2019 6 minutes ago, St Enodoc said: I connected the Sprog and tried to follow the instructions on "Installing Sprog Drivers on Windows 8/8.1/10" on the Sprog website. I got as far as section 4 and downloaded the drivers but when I opened the Settings menu it looked nothing like that in the installation guide and I can't find any way of progressing further to update the drivers and get the computer to recognise the Sprog. One piece of promising news though is that the latest version of JMRI that I installed last night includes the definition for the Hornby TTS Castle. Enough time wasted for now - I'll await Andrew's response before I try anything else. I actually did waste a little more time. I found a screen that looked very similar to that in the instructions by going through Control Panel to Device Manager but the Sprog didn't show up in the list of Ports and there was nothing listed for Other Devices. That's definitely it for now. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 26, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 26, 2019 I spent quite a lot of time in the railway room today, mostly attaching the set numbers to the bulk of the stock on the layout while listening to the first day of the Melbourne Boxing Day Test. Those sets that remain to be numbered are either those that are not yet ready to use because some or all of the stock is in the kit pile or those that are confined to the Pentowan branch and so won't come into use for some time yet. Doing this threw up a few flaws in the sequence, as I knew it would. I'll try to iron these out over the next day or so then do some more work on track occupation with the Post-It notes. I'm fairly confident that we will have a viable, albeit not perfect, sequence for the January running session and will be able to work around any oddities that pop up when we actually run the trains. 4 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 26, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 26, 2019 A relaxing evening with the two Earls and also Kilgerran Castle. It only took a few minutes to swap the loco chassis over between the two Airfix locos, so 4099 can now go back on to the layout and, when it goes along, the driving wheels might actually go round now. I took the couplings, numberplates and nameplates off the old 5058 ready to fit them to the Hornby version. I discovered that the Hornby nameplates are integral with the middle splasher front, which came away easily once I broke the glue seal. I've trimmed back the Hornby nameplates to leave just enough metal to give a good bond to the replacements - which are so old I can't remember who made them. Probably CGW, which shows how long ago it was. I fitted a rear DG coupling too, so next time (which may or may not be tomorrow) I can put everything back together, add the bits from the Hornby detailing pack, add a crew, add some coal and add some lamps. Since 5058 will only work Class A trains the lamps will be fixed in place permanently. Also, it isn't rostered for any double-headed trains so there is no need for a DG coupling at the front. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 28, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 28, 2019 Here's the replacement Earl of Clancarty - new name/number plates and rear coupling, with brake gear, front coupling, lamps, crew and coal added. Ready for its first duty, hauling the 0530 Paddington - Penzance express passenger. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post St Enodoc Posted December 28, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted December 28, 2019 I spent this afternoon in the railway room tidying up the starting position for the expanded sequence. My main tools for this were the master sequence itself and a large sheet of paper that I call, rather grandiosely, the track occupation planning sheet. It is simply a grid that shows what trains are in each of the Paddington and Penzance loops and in this photo it shows the start of the sequence. The columns are labelled Left, Middle and Right for each loop at Paddington and Penzance, while the rows represent the storage loops 2 to 13 at each location and show the number of coaches each loop can hold. Each Post-It sticker shows: - the train number in the sequence and whether it runs Up or Down (trivial at the start but not so as the sequence progresses) - the "core" set for the train concerned, namely the set or sets that are three vehicles or more long and so remain on the layout rather than being remarshalled by hand. If there is no core set, as with trains 23 and 35, I just write Mix on the sticker. - the subsequent workings of the core set and their direction. If there are no subsequent workings, as with train 620, the train can come back to where it started. In these cases I've drawn a square box round the core set number to show that it can start and finish from the far end of a loop without getting in the way of anything else. These trains will bring the by-pass tracks back into play. - the length of the train including the core sets and any other sets that form it but excluding the loco. For freight trains, I write the length based on the maximum wagon load for that train. The overall idea is to keep freight trains near the front of the layout for ease of remarshalling and then work through the rest of the trains approximately in the order they will run. I don't show the loco numbers on here, as they can be read from the sequence sheets, and I haven't shown the railbus and short clay workings, as these are self-contained without using the main storage loops at all. Having reached this point I set out the trains in their starting positions, as shown in the two photos below. Some of the stock isn't built yet, which means that a few trains can't run at all as there is no viable set or sets to form them. Some others can, however, run in shortened form. I had to substitute a couple of locos as the rostered locos aren't available - for example, my Mainline/Bachmann Mogul 6305 is defunct and can't run until a Dapol model replaces it, so I've substituted it with 5926, which won't appear in its own right until the Pentowan branch is operational. The next job is to work through the sequence on paper, using the track occupation planning sheet, so that I can fill in where each train goes to on the master sequence sheet. I'll do about the first 50 trains (there are 168 in this stage of the sequence altogether), as previous experience tells us that this is as many as we are likely to get through in a two-hour running session. I won't have time to do a dry run on the layout before the January session so, as Barry O has suggested, chaos might well ensue in three weeks' time. We shall see... 14 3 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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