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Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00


St Enodoc
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I've started the next two signals - a ground disc, which is straightforward and a two-arm signal with a 4ft stop arm and a 2ft calling-on arm below it.

 

I'm feeling my way with the calling-on arm, as I've never done one before (although @Barry O of this parish made me one nearly 40 years ago using Colin Waite parts, for the first St Enodoc layout). The first job was to move the lamp to the opposite side of the post, where the pivot is. I had a false start there, trying to reuse the lamp that I'd cut off. That didn't look right at all, so I had a rummage in the signals box and decided to use one of the square lamps from a ground disc kit instead. I filed a flat on the pivot moulding and glued the lamp on. It looks much tidier. Now I need to find a simple and neat way to represent the prism shape that contains the reflector to direct the light through the "C" indication when the arm is off. I haven't found the answer to this yet so any ideas would be welcome. The two sides of the prism that are at right angles need to be about 2.5mm square.

 

No photos at the moment until I've sorted out the prism, after which things should be pretty straightforward (famous last words).

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1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

I've started the next two signals - a ground disc, which is straightforward and a two-arm signal with a 4ft stop arm and a 2ft calling-on arm below it.

 

I'm feeling my way with the calling-on arm, as I've never done one before (although @Barry O of this parish made me one nearly 40 years ago using Colin Waite parts, for the first St Enodoc layout). The first job was to move the lamp to the opposite side of the post, where the pivot is. I had a false start there, trying to reuse the lamp that I'd cut off. That didn't look right at all, so I had a rummage in the signals box and decided to use one of the square lamps from a ground disc kit instead. I filed a flat on the pivot moulding and glued the lamp on. It looks much tidier. Now I need to find a simple and neat way to represent the prism shape that contains the reflector to direct the light through the "C" indication when the arm is off. I haven't found the answer to this yet so any ideas would be welcome. The two sides of the prism that are at right angles need to be about 2.5mm square.

 

No photos at the moment until I've sorted out the prism, after which things should be pretty straightforward (famous last words).

Hi there,

Have you got a photo of the prototype of your two arm signal?  If so can you quote me the source or post the photo?

I am looking for one for a signal I need to get made!

Cheers

Paul

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16 hours ago, Tallpaul69 said:

Hi there,

Have you got a photo of the prototype of your two arm signal?  If so can you quote me the source or post the photo?

I am looking for one for a signal I need to get made!

Cheers

Paul

Paul, there are plenty in the usual sources - Vaughan, etc. A web search for "GWR calling on arm" will also find some. Harder to find pictures of the CO arm in the Off position though. There is one on this page:

 

https://www.roscalen.com/signals/Cambrian/index.htm

 

Scroll down until you reach Machynlleth.

 

Edited: There's also a page for High Wycombe!

 

https://www.roscalen.com/signals/HighWycombe/index.htm

Edited by St Enodoc
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I think I've worked out how to do the prism.

 

I spent a good while trying to find something that could be filed or sanded easily in one go to the right shape but didn't come up with anything. What I've done instead, and I think it will work, is to cut a short piece of Evergreen angle and fix it to the side of the lamp with the "screen" facing forward. There is of course a gap behind it which needs to be filled. I plan to part-fill the gap with a few scraps of styrene, then finish off with filler and sand to shape. I'll report back.

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Here we go. You be the judge...

 

20201029001calling-onarmrevisedversion.JPG.d51dec512b9169a544615a028946057b.JPG

 

20201026003calling-onarmfalsestart.JPG.0ce27abae78dbc2948c4b25ce0857b12.JPG

First, the failed attempt. I didn't even bother with the prism as the lamp a) didn't look right at all and b) was far too big, so didn't actually leave enough room for the prism within the overall length of the arm.

 

20201026001calling-onarmfalsestart.JPG.88849674bb5f0a74688e7d34f92db303.JPG

 

20201029002calling-onarmrevisedversion.JPG.da1a89eab027261135f3073327202e70.JPG

I think this will do. The square face on the front is about 2mm square and the distance from the pivot centre to the end of the prism is about 6mm (the arm itself is 2.5mm deep and 7.5mm from the pivot centre to the end).

 

I've a couple of ideas for future versions (I need a further two of these at Porthmellyn Road, plus another at Pentowan) that will make the job slightly easier but once this is painted I think all will be well. I'll try the label printer set at its smallest size for the "C" on the front. If that's too big, I'll print something from the computer instead.

 

The next update will be when I've assembled the arms.

Edited by St Enodoc
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On 27/10/2020 at 08:17, St Enodoc said:

Paul, there are plenty in the usual sources - Vaughan, etc. A web search for "GWR calling on arm" will also find some. Harder to find pictures of the CO arm in the Off position though. There is one on this page:

 

https://www.roscalen.com/signals/Cambrian/index.htm

 

Scroll down until you reach Machynlleth.

 

Edited: There's also a page for High Wycombe!

 

https://www.roscalen.com/signals/HighWycombe/index.htm

A better one here:

 

https://www.roscalen.com/signals/GWSR/Toddington/index.htm

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I was on a roll so carried on for a while before dinner.

 

20201029003PM52and48armparts.JPG.e36752f12be6350c2a5b9cc98fc57813.JPG

Here are the parts for both arms. The main stop arm parts are just the same as the ones I've made before but I cut back the pivot for the calling-on arm as far as I dared without the little piece surrounding the hole for the operating wire falling off altogether. You should be able to see how much smaller it is than the one for the main arm.

 

20201029004callingonarm.JPG.8df020448839b83c93ba0d433eae04a9.JPG

 

20201029006callingonarm.JPG.10a58c7cd50049c70d5c519be16244f9.JPG

These two photos show the calling-on arm after gluing the etched arm itself to the pivot.

 

20201029008callingonarmOn.JPG.4a954236656305bdc03288b8b20f3cec.JPG

Here's the arm mounted on the post to check the fit. In the On position you can see that the screen is obscured...

 

20201029009callingonarmOff.JPG.7f97ad26a4577376633fb47b5eb19eb4.JPG

...while in the Off position it is revealed. The spectacles fall nicely in front of the lamp too.

 

That's it for tonight apart from priming both arms and letting them dry overnight.

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20 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

New one on me, that prism thingy. Every day's a skool day!

I don't know whether it's actually a prism, Graham, or just a reflector at 45 degrees to the indicator screen. Either way, it's inside a casing that from above or below looks like a square cut in half on the diagonal. The prototype had the lamp bracketed out from the post but for the sake of functionality I like to use the (overscale) Ratio pivots.

 

What I haven't found yet is a good photo of the arm from behind so I'm not sure of the backlight blinder arrangement. I'll probably just make that up.

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A bits-and-pieces day today. The JST RCY connectors haven't arrived yet, which is a little disappointing given that the first lot only took two days, so I couldn't install any more signals.

 

No matter. I continued with the two that are under construction to the point where they are now painted and the stripe is in place on 24 disc. Thanks to a couple of tips from Steve Pearce @31A for fixing Modelmaster transfers, mainly using Klear before fixing the transfer and Transfix rather than Micro Set/Sol afterwards, this one seemed to go on much more easily than before. The ground disc is now ready for the actuator to be fitted but the two-arm single post (52/48) hasn't quite reached that stage yet. Everything is painted now, so tomorrow I'll have a go at the transfers on the main arm. The calling-on arm was easy to paint, as the recessed centre part made a good guide for the edge between the red and white. I should be able to assemble the signal tomorrow. I will cobble up the backlight blinder from a full-sized one. From the indistinct photos that I have, it looks to be about half the size of the ones on the main arms.

 

Separately, I had to fix some more shelves (Ikea LACK, which will please Rob @NHY 581) to the lounge room wall, so I didn't get much time in the workshop or railway room. I did manage to cut some ply rectangles for some more relay modules, though, and hot-glue some relays to them. When these modules are finished I will have enough to complete Porthmellyn Road signals.

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Watched the bleeding slow cup.. right from the Haka you could see the  Wallabies were beaten.. didn't end up well for them...

 

But it did let me complete my tax return....

 

Baz

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57 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Watched the bleeding slow cup.. right from the Haka you could see the  Wallabies were beaten.. didn't end up well for them...

 

But it did let me complete my tax return....

 

Baz

Men against boys. Until Australia develops a proper second-tier competition like the Mitre 10 Cup (or National Provincial Cup as I still prefer to call it) as a feeder to the Super Rugby comp, whatever form that takes in future, I can't seen any real likelihood of change.

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12 hours ago, Barry O said:

Watched the bleeding slow cup.. right from the Haka you could see the  Wallabies were beaten.. didn't end up well for them...

 

But it did let me complete my tax return....

 

Baz

 

11 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Men against boys. Until Australia develops a proper second-tier competition like the Mitre 10 Cup (or National Provincial Cup as I still prefer to call it) as a feeder to the Super Rugby comp, whatever form that takes in future, I can't seen any real likelihood of change.

Of course, it was raining. Everyone knows that the Wallabies can't play in the rain (cf. Australia v Scotland, Newcastle, 2012. I was there... and needed a few whisky macs to revive myself afterwards). Notwithstanding the number of handling errors that resulted, there were several panic moments where the ball carrier threw a speculative "pass" instead of taking the tackle and setting up another phase. The tactic of keeping Caleb Clarke out of the game worked but only to the extent that it let the rest of the NZ backs into it. Only one of the Wallabies looked as though he belonged on the same field as the All Blacks - Dane Haylett-Petty at full-back.

 

On balance, I would imagine that doing your tax return was more fun.

Edited by St Enodoc
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On 29/10/2020 at 12:55, St Enodoc said:

I'll try the label printer set at its smallest size for the "C" on the front. If that's too big, I'll print something from the computer instead.

The label printer "C" turned out to be just too big at about 2.5mm high, which was a shame, so I printed the "C" on the computer, using Gill Sans MT Condensed Bold 6pt.

 

No, I've no idea whether it's right either but it looks fine to me.

 

I cut the letter out, 2mm square, and to avoid any risk of the ink running I glued it on using a paper glue stick.

 

20201101001callingonindicator.JPG.fa02d820f7503e5068ca96eaa5e42f64.JPG

 

We're on the home run for this batch now, with the transfers drying on the main arm. I'll be able to trim those later, then varnish both arms so they can dry overnight. After that, only the spectacles and assembly to follow.

 

The next batch will be the same as this one except that the ground disc (25) will have a yellow stripe. I haven't got any suitable waterslide transfers for that, so I'll try a piece of Pressfix instead.

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11 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The next batch will be the same as this one except that the ground disc (25) will have a yellow stripe. I haven't got any suitable waterslide transfers for that, so I'll try a piece of Pressfix instead.

Are you going for yellow on white or the later yellow on black?

I’ll have rely on The Stationmaster to say when black came in.  White is the safer bet ‘hasn't been updated yet’ but black looks smarter.

Paul.

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7 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Are you going for yellow on white or the later yellow on black?

I’ll have rely on The Stationmaster to say when black came in.  White is the safer bet ‘hasn't been updated yet’ but black looks smarter.

Paul.

Thanks Paul. I've no idea when it changed either.

 

Yellow on white is my plan, unless Mike @The Stationmaster tells me I shouldn't. Funnily enough, I think that looks nicer than yellow on black and it's my train set...

 

There'll be another at Pentowan eventually. Perhaps I could make that yellow on black, just to confuse the drivers.

 

 

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After all the frothing over the Bachmann winter announcements and a new-tooling Manor...

 

...there isn't one.

 

However, the long-delayed 94xx is on the list for release within the next three months, although the price looks rather eye-watering. Perhaps my Lima/Bachmann 8412 will stay in service a little longer.

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1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

However, the long-delayed 94xx is on the list for release within the next three months, although the price looks rather eye-watering. Perhaps my Lima/Bachmann 8412 will stay in service a little longer.

 

I'm feeling rather smug in that I had already decided not to go for a 94 as there were more appropriate (for me) offerings in the pipeline. However, if I read it correctly, the 94 is only available with sound... Not wishing to open up that particular can of worms again, that's a very significant extra sum of money for a feature I would never use...

 

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18 minutes ago, TrevorP1 said:

 

I'm feeling rather smug in that I had already decided not to go for a 94 as there were more appropriate (for me) offerings in the pipeline. However, if I read it correctly, the 94 is only available with sound... Not wishing to open up that particular can of worms again, that's a very significant extra sum of money for a feature I would never use...

 

That's right Trevor. The listed catalogue numbers all have the suffix SF, which must be why the price is so high. Perhaps versions with no suffix will also be available. There's not much wrong with my 8412, apart from the wrong cylinder covers, but overall it is of its time. We shall see.

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1 minute ago, St Enodoc said:

That's right Trevor. The listed catalogue numbers all have the suffix SF, which must be why the price is so high. Perhaps versions with no suffix will also be available. There's not much wrong with my 8412, apart from the wrong cylinder covers, but overall it is of its time. We shall see.

These are just new announcements into the range, for the 94xx there are also DC models at £130

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1 minute ago, woodenhead said:

These are just new announcements into the range, for the 94xx there are also DC models at £130

Ah, I see - do you think they'll all be available within the next three months?

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13 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Thanks. I must have misunderstood the meaning of these quarterly announcements. I thought they were to tell us what would appear on the shelves in the next three months, irrespective of what had been announced previously.

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