Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[St Enodoc]

4 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Just a thought.

 

You have the panel with a vertical face,  would it be easier when operating if this was more angled?

 

I guess it depends on how high it is and how close the operator is standing.

 

Maybe some sort of hinge or angled blocks (with magnets) that can be used to slope the panel face.

Thanks Stu, that's worth a thought. The top of the boards are a fraction under 1200 mm from floor level. As long as the panel doesn't stick out further than the lever frame it won't get in the way. I'll see what the team thinks but if they feel the same it would be easy enough to make (yet) another set of mounting brackets. I'll try to remember to leave enough slack in the wiring to allow for that.

 

 

[Clive Mortimore]

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

Thanks Stu, that's worth a thought. The top of the boards are a fraction under 1200 mm from floor level. As long as the panel doesn't stick out further than the lever frame it won't get in the way. I'll see what the team thinks but if they feel the same it would be easy enough to make (yet) another set of mounting brackets. I'll try to remember to leave enough slack in the wiring to allow for that.

 

 

You have to allow for some slack.

 

[Clive Mortimore]

I bet john is having the heebie-jeebies looking at my wiring.

 

 

 

 

It works, don't it mate.

[St Enodoc]

6 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I bet john is having the heebie-jeebies looking at my wiring.

 

 

 

 

It works, don't it mate.

The "agree" button applies to both statements.

[St Enodoc]

10 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

You have to allow for some slack.

As the late, great Ken Dodd said "Don't go down the mine Granny, there's enough slack in your knickers already".

[Barry O]

15 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

You have to allow for some slack.

 

Clive

 

What are those tiny weeny capacitors for? Man up and get some bigger ones in!!

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

I didn't meet my self-imposed target of finishing the C65 over the weekend as I didn't find time to varnish the roof until tonight. I'll see how it looks in the morning - I might put another coat on the sides to give a little more protection to the transfers. Otherwise that's it.

 

Next in the queue is the BSL E147, which needs the body sticking back together before reassembling and repainting. I'm thinking of using Kwik-Grip (Evo-Stik) to reattach the aluminium sides to the whitemetal end and wooden roof, possibly with a reinforcing fillet of epoxy afterwards. Any thoughts?

Edited May 4, 2020 by St Enodoc

[Barry O]

3 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

I didn't meet my self-imposed target of finishing the C65 over the weekend as I didn't find time to varnish the roof until tonight. I'll see how it looks in the morning - I might put another coat on the sides to give a little more protection to the transfers. Otherwise that's it.

 

Next in the queue is the BSL E147, which needs the body sticking back together before reassembling and repainting. I'm thinking of using Kwik-Grip (Evo-Stik) to reattach the aluminium sides to the whitemetal end and wooden roof, possibly with a reinforcing fillet of epoxy afterwards. Any thoughts?

 

The evil stick/epoxy combination still works..or it is on some of my coach kits....

 

Baz

[Oldddudders]

On 03/05/2020 at 12:19, Barry O said:

What are those tiny weeny capacitors for? Man up and get some bigger ones in!!

But what are they there for? It appears to be a CDU - but the terminals show no wires connected. 

[St Enodoc]

On 19/04/2020 at 20:58, 5BarVT said:

Two different issues here. 

Timer is to stop the coils overheating and burning out: 24V 1.5A = 36W you’ll soon feel that!  Still needs a diode to protect against back emf.

At 1.5A I’d be tempted to go for a 1N5401 or equivalent (3A rated) rather than a 1A 1N4001.

Paul.

 

On 19/04/2020 at 21:21, St Enodoc said:

Yes I realise they are different problems. I'm not going to bother with the timer for now. I hope the diodes will be enough to stop the switch contacts welding up. Thanks for the details of the diode type. I should have some of those buried somewhere in my electrical bits box.

I had a rummage today and found that I've got about a hundred 1N4004s in stock. The spec for the diodes says they are OK for 1A continuous with a "non-repetitive peak current" of 30A for 8.3ms. As I'm only a mechanical engineer, I'm not clever enough to work out how much current will flow and for how long when I open the switch but I think I'll start off with those, probably running the coils at 19.5V from a computer power block that I also found during my rummage, unless someone tells me that this is a Really Bad Idea. If they do, I'll order some 1N5404s, which won't break the bank but will take a few days to be delivered.

 

PS should I connect the diode across the switch, across the coil (my guess) or doesn't it matter?

[ian]

Across the coil. (In the direction against the current flow when the switch is closed, obviously.)

 

This allows the voltage generated by the coil when you switch the current off to dissipate as heat.

Edited May 5, 2020 by ian

[St Enodoc]

10 minutes ago, ian said:

Across the coil. (In the direction against the current flow when the switch is closed, obviously.)

 

This allows the voltage generated by the coil when you switch the current off to dissipate as heat.

Thanks Ian, that's what I expected. Any thoughts on the current rating?

[St Enodoc]

23 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I didn't meet my self-imposed target of finishing the C65 over the weekend as I didn't find time to varnish the roof until tonight. I'll see how it looks in the morning - I might put another coat on the sides to give a little more protection to the transfers. Otherwise that's it.

 

Next in the queue is the BSL E147, which needs the body sticking back together before reassembling and repainting. I'm thinking of using Kwik-Grip (Evo-Stik) to reattach the aluminium sides to the whitemetal end and wooden roof, possibly with a reinforcing fillet of epoxy afterwards. Any thoughts?

I'm not having much luck with varnish these days. I put a coat of Humbrol 49 on last night and this morning it had dried even and matt except for a couple of places where I'd missed a small patch. Instead of doing the sensible thing and just touching those up, I put a complete new coat on - which has dried streaky and showing a lot of variation in colour. Tonight I gave it a scrub with Jif, which usually sorts out this kind of thing, but no luck. I think I'll leave it until tomorrow and perhaps just put another coat of grey on and forget the varnish.

[ian]

3 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Thanks Ian, that's what I expected. Any thoughts on the current rating?

 

'Suck it and see'. I tend to use what I have to hand from the 1N4xxx/1N5xxx family. However large the current it is only momentary so as long as it is a rectifier rather than a signal diode you will probably be fine. The main thing is that it is a far easier path for the current than trying to jump your switch contacts.

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, ian said:

 

'Suck it and see'. I tend to use what I have to hand from the 1N4xxx/1N5xxx family. However large the current it is only momentary so as long as it is a rectifier rather than a signal diode you will probably be fine. The main thing is that it is a far easier path for the current than trying to jump your switch contacts.

Thanks Ian, I'll do exactly that with the 1N4004s. If the smoke escapes I'll be sure to let you know...

[5BarVT]

I read somewhere that feeding a coil off a computer power block can cause problems.  I suspect to the power block, so if it’s old and disposable then so be it.  It’s what I intend to do for my Kadee coils, but I can’t say whether it works or not (or more to the point, after how long it ceases to work) as I haven’t been brave enough yet!

At 19V you’ll be approx 1.25A which I think will be the max freewheel current.  I suspect your 1N4004 should be ok.  Time will tell!

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

29 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

I read somewhere that feeding a coil off a computer power block can cause problems.  I suspect to the power block, so if it’s old and disposable then so be it.  It’s what I intend to do for my Kadee coils, but I can’t say whether it works or not (or more to the point, after how long it ceases to work) as I haven’t been brave enough yet!

At 19V you’ll be approx 1.25A which I think will be the max freewheel current.  I suspect your 1N4004 should be ok.  Time will tell!

Paul.

Thanks Paul. I actually found three or four potential candidates for the power supply. I'll try them all. If the 12V supply has enough oomph (mechanical engineers' technical term) I'll stick with that. If not I'll work my way up the voltages.

[ian]

If you are really worried about the diodes and have plenty of spares you could always put two in parallel. That should allow your mind to rest easy.

[St Enodoc]

7 minutes ago, ian said:

If you are really worried about the diodes and have plenty of spares you could always put two in parallel. That should allow your mind to rest easy.

I do have lots of diodes so that's a useful thought. Thanks.

[Denbridge]

On 04/05/2020 at 11:27, St Enodoc said:

I didn't meet my self-imposed target of finishing the C65 over the weekend as I didn't find time to varnish the roof until tonight. I'll see how it looks in the morning - I might put another coat on the sides to give a little more protection to the transfers. Otherwise that's it.

 

Next in the queue is the BSL E147, which needs the body sticking back together before reassembling and repainting. I'm thinking of using Kwik-Grip (Evo-Stik) to reattach the aluminium sides to the whitemetal end and wooden roof, possibly with a reinforcing fillet of epoxy afterwards. Any thoughts?

I recently found a number of BSL coaches were displaying signs of joint failure between the Aluminium and white metal. Each of those had been assembled in the 1970s using araldite or similar. Coaches of a similar vintage, assembled with evo stick seem unaffected by any such failure.

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Denbridge said:

I recently found a number of BSL coaches were displaying signs of joint failure between the Aluminium and white metal. Each of those had been assembled in the 1970s using araldite or similar. Coaches of a similar vintage, assembled with evo stick seem unaffected by any such failure.

Thanks, I've heard similar tales from others. That's the way I'll go then.

[Barry O]

I would stick with evils tick then covered with epoxy.

 

I know evils tick fails with age. I have a box of Lawrence/Goddard coaches which have loose floors as someone evil stuck them in on the first place.

Baz

[ian]

Both Araldite and Evo-stick do rely on people following the instructions to get the best result. There are those impatient souls who don't prepare surfaces, mix accurately and thoroughly or treat a contact adhesive like an instant grab one. (No, I am not accusing anyone, just pointing out that acquired models may have sub-standard glue joins to start with.)

[St Enodoc]

On 05/05/2020 at 19:58, St Enodoc said:

I'm not having much luck with varnish these days. I put a coat of Humbrol 49 on last night and this morning it had dried even and matt except for a couple of places where I'd missed a small patch. Instead of doing the sensible thing and just touching those up, I put a complete new coat on - which has dried streaky and showing a lot of variation in colour. Tonight I gave it a scrub with Jif, which usually sorts out this kind of thing, but no luck. I think I'll leave it until tomorrow and perhaps just put another coat of grey on and forget the varnish.

I left the C65 well alone yesterday but instead made up a little sample panel to compare eight different grey paints that I have - five Humbrol and three Railmatch. Interestingly, all the Humbrol patches dried completely matt, while the Railmatch ones have a satin sheen. Looking at the samples I decided to put a coat of Humbrol 64 Light Grey on the roof, which I did this morning. So far, it's not looking too bad...

[Barry O]

Railmatchdries with a strange surface which is water resistant. It doesn't seem to matter how much I stir it and shake it I can't get it to dry as one finish on coach roof sections. It must be a magic ingredient in the paint! (Colours tried LMS Roof grey, BR roof grey (for maroon coaches) and BR roof grey (for crimson/cream)

Baz