PECO announces OHLE

[Pete the Elaner]

3 minutes ago, 66033 said:

Typical! Spent months making my Goal post/A Frame gantry, spending fortunes on brass sections (still not finished) to now find a great looking version is available on eBay. Looks top!

 

The ebay stuff looks resin printed. Your soldered brass one will be much tougher.

I would rather have a brass one but 3d printing is much easier.

[Johnson Street IEMD]

16 hours ago, 66033 said:

Typical! Spent months making my Goal post/A Frame gantry, spending fortunes on brass sections (still not finished) to now find a great looking version is available on eBay. Looks top!

i am more optimistic about yours lasting the course, than the one I've just got but we'll see how this one behaves

 

Kat :-)

[Patriot87003]

Peco have released this video onto YouTube today regarding it’s OHLE, including a teaser at the end that further developments are due to happen in the near future …. Possibly the long awaited portals?

 

 

[97406]

30 minutes ago, Patriot87003 said:

Peco have released this video onto YouTube today regarding it’s OHLE, including a teaser at the end that further developments are due to happen in the near future …. Possibly the long awaited portals?

 

 

 

It’s interesting. My OHLE is built to the same dimensions as the Peco system as it will get used at some point. I use superglue to stick the wires to the droppers, and a soldering iron to soften the bond if I need to remove a section of wire. 

[JSModels]

1 hour ago, 97406 said:

 

Sorry, please ignore!

Edited December 14, 2022 by JSModels
Mistake

[rhnrhn]

2 hours ago, Patriot87003 said:

 …. Possibly the long awaited portals?

 

Interesting that PECO mention the AS Class 92 (with a nod to its trick pans) - perhaps that is motivating them, so let's hope so...

[Dagworth]

10 minutes ago, rhnrhn said:

AS Class 92 (with a nod to its trick pans)

But no mention that Bachmann already did it with the 90? (apparently inspired by my dancing pan 86s on Dagworth!)

 

Andi

Edited December 14, 2022 by Dagworth

[rhnrhn]

11 minutes ago, Dagworth said:

But no mention that Bachmann already did it with the 90? (apparently inspired by my dancing pan 86s on Dagworth!)

 

Andi

Good point. 

 

Re "your dancing pan 86s on Dagworth" - any chance of a link?

 

Richard

Edited December 14, 2022 by rhnrhn

[curlypaws]

I was glad to see the 2 and 4 track gantries promised. They seem very common through stations.

[Michael Hodgson]

4 hours ago, curlypaws said:

I was glad to see the 2 and 4 track gantries promised. They seem very common through stations.

If the mast spacing has to suit the length of the catenary wires, using gantries on durves will be difficult, since they will be 4 different lengths apart.  Whilst the lengths they are producing may have been calculated to suit track radii of the various set track products, that approach won't work for non standard curves, so some jiggery pokery may be neceesary over flexible tracks.

[Pete the Elaner]

26 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

If the mast spacing has to suit the length of the catenary wires, using gantries on durves will be difficult, since they will be 4 different lengths apart.  Whilst the lengths they are producing may have been calculated to suit track radii of the various set track products, that approach won't work for non standard curves, so some jiggery pokery may be neceesary over flexible tracks.

 

I see what you mean: just a 2 track line would need the wires 2 very slightly different lengths if the masts are to remain perpendicular to the running lines. You would need a huge range of wires & the modeller would need to have much more than average familiarity with trigonometry to choose the right ones.

It does explain why OLE has been left to kit/scratch builders.

[Michael Hodgson]

It's the same problem as the need to shorten the inner rail when curving flexible track.  You will have to do the same with catenary over inner tracks, but as the contact wires appear to be hooked at the end to connect to the next span, you'll presumably have to make your own bend on a shortened piece.  And given that droppers to the contact wire are equidistant from the end, that shortening needs to be done at both ends of the wires.  The simple mounting jigs are OK for spacing on straight track, but it will need a different approach to spacing on curves.

 

It does seem a while since they first advertised this range, and it looks good; this issue is by no means insurmountable, but it's not exactly "plug and play". 

[97406]

I’ve not been restricted to placing gantries based on the lengths of the Peco wires. I’ve found it easy enough to shorten wires to fit between the droppers when required, the length being governed by the location of the turnouts on my layout. So long as the wires are shortened at either end so the drop of the catenary wire is symmetrical, then it looks right. The eagle-eyed may spot one that I cocked up on my layout thread, but it will get replaced when I do the OLE on the extension.

[Johnson Street IEMD]

It's rather amusing this video .. will we see them release another video in two or three years saying ''watch this space'' after yet another new promising loco arrival like the Class 88, the 93 or perhaps the 99 ... arrives ? and whilst yes, the Accurascales Class 92 may be the newest arrival to this sector of the marketplace, it's the Bachmann 90 that's the most significant of the two, given the 90's more prominent place on the real world network, as opposed to the 92, which, aside from the sleeper service, are barely seen.

 

 

[Dagworth]

On 14/12/2022 at 20:55, rhnrhn said:

Good point. 

 

Re "your dancing pan 86s on Dagworth" - any chance of a link?

 

Richard

Unfortunately there is nothing online about how I did them, it all got lost in one of the great RMweb crashes of history. It's a memory wire mech that pulls the pan down, so when the function is switched on to allow the pan to rise the memory wire releases the pan to rise by spring pressure. There is a video of them in action at Model Rail Scotland in 2010 on Youtube.

 

Andi 

[Dagworth]

Found it...

 

 

[StuTheUseless]

I asked Peco about the portal at the Glasgow Exhibition, and they said it would hopefully be available this year (but with no guarantees).

[ThaneofFife]

if you wanted to build up a layout this range from peco is taking forever.  it was first announced years ago.  ive lost faith in them bringing more to the OHLE.  to me its an own goal for an indie to come with their own full range of masts gantries wires kits sub stations etc... 

[WolfofBadenoch]

On 24/02/2023 at 21:35, StuTheUseless said:

I asked Peco about the portal at the Glasgow Exhibition, and they said it would hopefully be available this year (but with no guarantees).

In previous years at Glasgow there have been examples of portals on display - can't remember how long ago they first appeared but it was certainly pre-covid. I couldn't see any this year and wondered if it was quietly being dropped.

 

As Thane of Fife says above it's taking forever! At this rate it'll take Peco longer to produce the portal than it took BR to install OHLE on the WCML!

[StuTheUseless]

The chap on the Peco stand at the York show last weekend said that the decision had yet to me made whether the portal was to be produced by Sommerfeldt or in-house by Ratio. I recall that this was the position about three years ago when I asked about the portal. He said it was still coming, as the design was done.

 

I'm giving up waiting, this has stalled work on my layout for too long. I know of three alternatives: the N-Brass ones, which might be too much for my meagre abilities, and the ones on Ebay produced by Blueflash90 and Torri Laser. In both cases the absence of registration arms would be a problem for me, I wouldn't be able to scratchbuild those. Any other alternatives that people are aware of?

[Matt]

43 minutes ago, StuTheUseless said:

In both cases the absence of registration arms would be a problem for me,

Stu I may be misunderstanding you but it looks like BlueFlash90s kit does include the registration arms.  Wasn’t aware of these before - they look great - has anyone tried them that can talk to his robust they are? Are they compatible with pantograph up operations?

 

edit: sorry should have read description properly… there ARE registration arms but not suitable for use - only cosmetic.

Edited April 13, 2023 by Matt

[StuTheUseless]

Yes I noticed that too. I'd like to hang wires from them but I'm not going to run pan-up but I don't know if they'd be up to that. I agree that they really look the part.

[Johnson Street IEMD]

I have gone for the Blueflash90 portals but am in the process of sourcing cantilevers elsewhere, along with some scratchbuilding once i get some workspace configured.

 

 

 

 

[97406]

 

Scale Model Scenery lattice gantries with soldered 0.7 mm nickel silver droppers. There’s a bit of styrene sheet attaching them to the gantries that can be refined next time.

Edited April 14, 2023 by 97406

[Johnson Street IEMD]

okay and which insulators have you been using ? @97406

 

I have some from nBrass and some laser printed ones, but they just arent compatible size wise. 

 

I gather there are different size ones that nBrass do, and Sommerfeldt do some as well ...