Bradford Interchange (circa 1987-91) in N

[njee20]

selective photography more than anything on mine I think! 
 

The biggest problem I find with the code 40 is how ‘wobbly’ it is! It’s so flexible that I’ve got loads of little kinks that I fear will really stand out. Peco is so much more rigid. 

I’d definitely stick at it though; obviously the photos have all gone for now 🤦‍♂️ but I don’t recall yours looking bad at all, sure it’s salvageable, and code 55 will feel like a compromise!

[jonhinds]

21 hours ago, njee20 said:

The biggest problem I find with the code 40 is how ‘wobbly’ it is! It’s so flexible that I’ve got loads of little kinks that I fear will really stand out. Peco is so much more rigid. 

I’d definitely stick at it though; obviously the photos have all gone for now 🤦‍♂️ but I don’t recall yours looking bad at all, sure it’s salvageable, and code 55 will feel like a compromise!

Aye, the lack of rigidity can take a lot of getting used to. I think a slight kink here and there can look prototypical, as long as nothing’s derailing or losing power. I certainly couldn’t go back to code 55 now that I’ve gone to the dark side.

 

Today I’ve been running the powered car of the Farish 150, and as long as it’s running at a certain speed over the turnout frog and certain rail joins I can get smooth running. Fortunately the natural stopping point of the powered car when orientated to the buffers seems to be fine as sits on well-behaved plain track. So even in worst-case scenarios it’s still possible to run things!

 

There aren’t any electrical dead spots far as I can tell, so I can only guess that it’s a mixture of uneven track (trains do wobble a bit on the turnouts), the gap(s) between frog and certain rails, and possibly a bit of excess solder that’s slightly insulating particular spots. All hopefully fixable.

Edited April 13, 2022 by jonhinds

[jonhinds]

Made some fair progress on the overpass this week. Painted & weathered the support girders and concrete panelled section. Now superglued in and looking suitably grim for the era.

[jonhinds]

Well, everything seems to be running a lot better now, although DMUs still have a tendency to lose power at low speed compared to locos (fewer pickups?).
 

Dug out a couple of channels in the cork for the Peco concrete platform edging, which will be elevated around 3ft above the rails. Retaining wall also weathered and detailed.

 

 

Started making the front of the Red Star building, scribing brick lines into 30thou plasticard with a Tamiya scriber. I went to the trouble of measuring a standard brick at the location, then counting bricks to approximate overall dimensions. I drew the design template on my iPad in Procreate.

 

 

 

[jonhinds]

Bradford Interchange’s resident station pilot. I’ve been faffing with an iPhone photo filter app and quite pleased with how this pic came out.

 

 

Eventually planning to have this converted to 03371 with conical exhaust. The real thing was based at Hammerton Street until 1983. It then moved to Newcastle until its 1987 withdrawal, and survives in preservation at Rowden Mill Station.

 

It’ll need DCC conversion as this isn’t one of the new batch of Farish 03’s. Can anyone recommend a good service?

 

 

[woodenhead]

I put off doing my class 04, I was even going to sell it for a pittance to get a new one with a socket.  But when I looked at it's value versus having a go myself, I finally gave it a go.  It's not as hard as it seems, I did my 08 as well at the same time.

 

I used a Zimo MX615R - a tiny chip, if you are thinking about sound on locos with 6 pin sockets the new Zimo MS500 is also tiny - same size as a non sound chip and with an sp12x8x8 mini box I've fitted sound in my class 25 and 24s simply by removing one cab interior with the only soldering being the wires that come attached to the chip to the speaker.

 

[woodenhead]

I've a few videos on my thread of the sound installations I've done, none required surgery to the loco beyond popping out the cab interior.  DMUs have a nice space for a speaker, but I've found it really difficult getting the bodies off, the window glass appears to catch on the circuit boards.

 

[jonhinds]

Many thanks! I’m a little reticent given my soldering skills aren’t the best, but from the sounds of things it shouldn’t be too difficult.

[woodenhead]

23 hours ago, jonhinds said:

Many thanks! I’m a little reticent given my soldering skills aren’t the best, but from the sounds of things it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Ditto, my layout only has soldered wires to the frogs on the points, everything else was presoldered or using clips.

 

I've only soldered two locos the 04 and the 08, the speakers need soldering but not so bad as relatively lots of space to solder in - just make sure you've secured the speaker down - magnets tend to have a mind of their own when you've got both hands full with wire and iron.

[5BarVT]

On 22/04/2022 at 13:58, jonhinds said:

I drew the design template on my iPad in Procreate.

Interesting.  How easy is it to use on an iPad?

Paul.

[jonhinds]

2 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Interesting.  How easy is it to use on an iPad?

Paul.

Procreate is similar to Photoshop, so not the best software for design work. For instance, you can’t draw a line with a predetermined length. There are guides that allow for drawing perpendicular straight lines and certain angles, and you can use layers to trace. I use lots of workarounds as I’m familiar with the software. I’ve seen Inkscape recommended for Mac/PC, which is proper vector software and probably much better.
 

The iPad and pencil are amazing though; very quick and responsive.

[jonhinds]

Some era-appropriate advertising has appeared.

 

[woodenhead]

With those colours it's almost a warning re the Queen's 70th Jubilee and sharks circling around the Monarchy

[jonhinds]

4 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

With those colours it's almost a warning re the Queen's 70th Jubilee and sharks circling around the Monarchy

Maybe Silk Cut knew more than they were letting on…

[jonhinds]

Picked up these 3D printed relay cabinets, BRUTEs and ‘80s metal seats from Mac’s Models. Easily some of the finest detailing I’ve seen for the money, such as actual mesh on the benches!  Sadly it appears they’ve permanently ceased trading in the past month.

 

 

Painted the seats in Tamiya clear red, with the rest still to do. I’m really impressed with Tamiya so far, as their acrylics (& thinners) seem to airbrush a lot better than the Humbrol stuff I picked up, and with only a couple of layers needed.

 

Also working on the platform edging and corrugated canopy sides, as seen at bottom. Hopefully getting the platforms in over the coming week or so.

[jonhinds]

First platform laid, just need to detail and weather the top surface now.

 

 

 

I decided to use rivet decals for the iron sides of the overpass. Hopefully the rivets should imply the presence of panel lines at this scale, although I guess I could scribe them in later.

 

 

 

Also scribed the second side of the Red Star building, aiming to make the number of tiles exactly correct to prototype. What I wouldn’t give for a laser cutter right now!

 

 

With the paper templates. Only two more sides and the roof structure to go. Also started on the signage.

 

[jonhinds]

Well, the stalling issues have continued so I took the nuclear option and installed a hefty stay alive on the C150.

 

The issue is absolutely the track, particularly the turnouts.

 

1. Several rail chairs have broken, leading to lateral kinks.

2. Not only are there large gaps between frog and rails, but they’re also misaligned by a few tenths of a mm.

3. A switch blade has bowed slightly on one turnout.

4. Some soldered joints may have an intermittent electrical connection.

5. Turnouts have several undulations where wheels can drop.

 

Should I rip them up and start again, knowing what I know now? Absolutely, but I haven’t the appetite for it yet. My current aim is to relay the problem points when the FiNetrax easy build turnouts are available for FB rail. With an SA fitted (£17 extra per Zimo decoder) everything runs fine, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to have onboard.

 

I appreciate this is bad practice, but ultimately I want something that looks right and is fun to build, and as a medium-term sticking plaster this works for me. I just want to build scenery and run trains!
 

I’m in two minds whether to lightly ballast and weather the points, as they will be hacked up eventually.

 

Here’s the 150 newly in action on the points, complete with cheesy video filter:

 

 

[JBM37404]

3 minutes ago, jonhinds said:

Well, the stalling issues have continued so I took the nuclear option and installed a hefty stay alive on the C150.

 

The issue is absolutely the track, particularly the turnouts.

 

1. Several rail chairs have broken, leading to lateral kinks.

2. Not only are there large gaps between frog and rails, but they’re also misaligned by a few tenths of a mm.

3. A switch blade has bowed slightly on one turnout.

4. Some soldered joints may have an intermittent electrical connection.

5. Turnouts have several undulations where wheels can drop.

 

Should I rip them up and start again, knowing what I know now? Absolutely, but I haven’t the appetite for it yet. My current aim is to relay the problem points when the FiNetrax easy build turnouts are available for FB rail. With an SA fitted (£17 extra per Zimo decoder) everything runs fine, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to have onboard.

 

I appreciate this is bad practice, but ultimately I want something that looks right and is fun to build, and as a medium-term sticking plaster this works for me. I just want to build scenery and run trains!
 

I’m in two minds whether to lightly ballast and weather the points, as they will be hacked up eventually.

 

Here’s the 150 newly in action on the points, complete with cheesy video filter:

 

 

From another code 40 user As much as its a pain probs take it up and go again. I'm putting super elevation in on a curve and have tested it around 100 times already but as yet it may come up. It's better to get it working properly otherwise the enjoyment is getting ruined. Great work so far and you have plenty going on with the buildings and the atmosphere is spot on. 

[jonhinds]

1 minute ago, JBM37404 said:

From another code 40 user As much as its a pain probs take it up and go again. I'm putting super elevation in on a curve and have tested it around 100 times already but as yet it may come up. It's better to get it working properly otherwise the enjoyment is getting ruined. Great work so far and you have plenty going on with the buildings and the atmosphere is spot on. 

Thanks! Yeah, it’s a pain as I absolutely wouldn’t hesitate to start again if it was Peco track. I’m impressed you’re going for super elevation; when everything works perfectly it looks a million.

 

Sometimes the only way to master these things is a bit of error! By getting so much wrong, I’ve learnt a lot about best practice with track building, hopefully save time and hair-pulling in future.

[JBM37404]

Just now, jonhinds said:

Thanks! Yeah, it’s a pain as I absolutely wouldn’t hesitate to start again if it was Peco track. I’m impressed you’re going for super elevation; when everything works perfectly it looks a million.

 

Sometimes the only way to master these things is a bit of error! By getting so much wrong, I’ve learnt a lot about best practice with track building, hopefully save time and hair-pulling in future.

There is always compromise to be made its how much can be accepted before it ruins the fun. If you can get your current set up working better and it saves you some hassle then all good. How do you find the code 40 gets on in the heat/cold?

 

My layout sits in a building in the Garden which is a real sun spot although I can open large doors and windows when in to cool it down.

[jonhinds]

4 minutes ago, JBM37404 said:

How do you find the code 40 gets on in the heat/cold?

So far okay. It’s indoors in a room with a bit of temperature variation but nothing too severe. I’ve left minute gaps between each length of rail rather than soldering them together, with droppers soldered to every section.

[Lacathedrale]

Just popping in to say I loved that video filter on the 150 - I'm not normally one for that kind of thing but it is just perfect.

[jonhinds]

On 24/06/2022 at 23:16, Lacathedrale said:

Just popping in to say I loved that video filter on the 150 - I'm not normally one for that kind of thing but it is just perfect.

Many thanks!

 

It’s been a while since I’ve had chance to do anything on the layout. Just been testing out the easi-shunt couplings today, and all working well. One advantage of code 40 is the magnets can be placed directly under the track rather than cutting into sleepers.

 

 

Hopefully will be able to finish off the platforms soon, and after that a bit of progress on the overpass. As the track is just about working okay, I’ll put off repairing/replacing sections until the scenic work needs to be glued in.

[Flying Pig]

1 hour ago, jonhinds said:

Many thanks!

 

It’s been a while since I’ve had chance to do anything on the layout. Just been testing out the easi-shunt couplings today, and all working well. One advantage of code 40 is the magnets can be placed directly under the track rather than cutting into sleepers.

 

 

Hopefully will be able to finish off the platforms soon, and after that a bit of progress on the overpass. As the track is just about working okay, I’ll put off repairing/replacing sections until the scenic work needs to be glued in.

 

Perfectly spotted next to the brutes for the closing shot :)

[jonhinds]

31 minutes ago, Flying Pig said:

 

Perfectly spotted next to the brutes for the closing shot :)

Thanks! The 47 driver must have a flair for composition 😆