Chawn Park Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 (edited) Dear All Tonight when shunting the exchange sidings one of my GF 08`s stalled a few times. After all the normal track and wheel cleaning plus checking pickup on back of wheels, with no improvement in smooth running loco was moved onto shed for an internal examination. Body was removed, 4 small screws, one in each corner of the body, then body just lifts away. Investigation found the motor contacts are just a press fit, these had worked loose so intermittent contact. Removed motor, cleaned contacts, re-tested all works totally smooth again. See Photo 1. Green arrow marks location of contact that gave the issue. I have posted this since this is first time I have had this issue and it may save time for others facing same issue. Shunting operations in the exchange sidings are now back in operation. Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park 1 1 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted January 29, 2022 Author Share Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) Dear All A few trains operating on Chawn Park layout. Enjoy Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park Replace photos 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted February 11, 2022 Author Share Posted February 11, 2022 (edited) Chawn Park N gauge project is all about my memories of trains passing through typical West Midlands Industrial landscapes. This weeks update .............. a few more photos The first photos in this small set shows a DMU passing along the high level lines with the steelworks building forming the background. I wished to avoid the flat baseboard effect so a complex arrangement of many different levels have been used. The bridges and viaduct forming the high level route is intermixed with the industrial buildings. Most are scratch built expect for the modern factory unit which is a ready to plant building. Below the tracks under the bridge arch a Mothers Pride bakery van passes a ready mixed concrete truck, A close up photo of some wagons in the loop running along the front of the layout. At the point where the wagons stand I laid the loop trackwork slightly lower than the main line tracks, from the angle of this photo the loop trackwork cannot be seen, but I think it looks much better than having all tracks totally flat Next photo. A small gathering of BR blue locos in the sidings The sidings tracks are laid at a slightly lower level than the main tracks in the foreground. Areas of long grass and shrubs represent the slightly rundown look. Trackwork is just standard Peco N gauge code 55 but with careful ballasting and painting gives acceptable results. In the background the high level lines cross the bridge behind the stabled locos and the steelworks buildings dominate the skyline. Finally a more general view over the left hand end of my layout. This photo was taken just before the station buildings were installed on the platforms. Details about the construction of the buildings can be found in section " Chawn Park Buildings - N gauge" . Thanks to everyone who have posted nice comments about the layout. Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park Replace photos 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted February 18, 2022 Author Share Posted February 18, 2022 (edited) Dear All This week I have added internal lights to a DMU to try and add another dimension to Chawn Park station at night. Enjoy Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park Replace photos 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Davexoc Posted February 18, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 18, 2022 6 minutes ago, Chawn Park said: Dear All This week I have added internal lights to a DMU to try and add another dimension to Chawn Park station at night. Enjoy Vic The lit stock is nice, and adds to the scene, but unless you run it as ECS, it then requires at least some of the seats populating..... Another job for the list? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted February 18, 2022 Author Share Posted February 18, 2022 (edited) I agree that adding internal lighting means next I must try and improve the interior detail and add some passengers. From these photos I have concluded that lights are just a little too bright, so I have just ordered some resistors. Regarding the interior, does anyone have a good photo showing the seat upholstery colour and floor colour of a CL156 in Regional Railways period ? I have quite a few external photos but not of the inside. Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park Replace photos 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted February 18, 2022 Author Share Posted February 18, 2022 (edited) Some information about the coach ( DMU ) lighting shown in recent photos. Chawn Park DC controlled ( not DCC ) and I wished that the internal lighting remained at a constant brightness regardless of train speed including remaining on when stationary. I look at several options and concluded a latching reed switch and battery suited my needs best. The latching reed switch is activated by passing a magnet and remains in same state ( on or off ) until it is activated by a second magnetic field. Alternating between passing north and south pole magnetic fields results in switching the lights on and off. The company layouts for U was mu source for the latching reed switches. I elected to mount the latching reed switches in the roof of the rolling stock, since I already have some magnets installed between track sleepers which control other functions, so I need to avoid the existing track magnets switching the lights when trains pass such locations. I plan to mount magnets just above train height at exit and entry points from my fiddle yards, thus the LEDs will only be lit for the time trains on the viewing part of my layout. At the end of an operation session any light fitted rolling stock on the viewing part of the layout can have the lights switched off by just passing a magnet across the roof of the train. The first train I have installed this system is a Dapol N gauge 156. The task was quite simple since the roof just clips onto these models. I order ( also from layouts 4 U ) some CR1220 Battery's and holders plus 3v LED strips. I have attached photo showing where I mounted the battery just under the roof and out-of sight through the windows. To make space for the battery holder it was necessary to file down the width a little until it was just a slide fit between the carriage sides. It is quite important you file down the width of the battery holder to ensure the carriage sides remain flat and do not bend outwards around the battery location. The 3V LED light was self adhesive it was so just cut to length and fixed to underside of roof. The latching reed switches must all face in the same direction along the length of all rolling stock. The reed switches used all have small red marking which made it easy to ensure which direction to mount them. For this first install I just used "blue tack" to hold the latching reed switch against the roof underside. This was to allow experimentation with position, I expect later to glue the components in place. Final task is to adjust brightness when some resistors arrive, but overall I am pleased with this system. Conclusion. Easy to install, they work well, low cost, good result. Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park Replace photos 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted February 19, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 19, 2022 Hi there VIc, Thanks for posting these images, and your descriptions of some of your techniques. Inspirational! Please keep them coming if you can! cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 (edited) Today when making further tests with train internal lighting an unexpected issue was encountered ! I have recently installed internal lighting in a DMU controlled by a latching reed switch, ( see my recent post on this subject for details ) the system seemed to work very well with reliable activation of the lighting as the train passed a magnet. I had left one of my main lines in automatic operation mode which just cycles trains around my layout in a sequence, I noticed the DMU with newly installed internal lighting, the lights unexpectedly had switched on as another train passed on the next track. Many other trains had passed without any issues, so what happened! Investigation found that a very few locomotives from my fleet have a much stronger magnetic field sufficient to activate the latching reed switches which I have installed to control the internal lights. This was quite disappointing after such good results before. Today I been experimenting with ways to try and shield the magnetic field and prevent these few trains with stronger magnetic fields activating the latching reed switches in the DMU roof, see photo where I was trying to use some ferritic steel staples to act as a magnetic shield. So far no solution has been found, which means I need to take care to avoid close contact between the few locomotives with the stronger magnetic field such as the Dapol Class 50 in the photo and the DMU fitted with the latching reed switches controlling the internal lighting. Is this issue already well known? Does any one have a solution One step forwards ...........then another backwards ! That's life Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park Replace photos 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Davexoc Posted February 19, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 19, 2022 I have noticed my class 50s attract to each other if side by side on a flat surface, so they do have far more powerful magnets than most locos. Do the reed switches work in any orientation? Just wondering if the action of the switch was up/down, as opposed to side/side, would that desensitise it to passing locos? Or even try fitting the reed across the roof instead of along it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted February 25, 2022 Author Share Posted February 25, 2022 (edited) New locomotive arrived at Chawn Park this week........... Class 47/0 number 47209 "Herbert Austin" In Railfreight triple grey livery. A very nice N scale model by Graham Farish. I noticed this one in stock at local model shop and thought it would fit with my West Midlands Industrial theme. The Austin / Rover car plant at Longbridge Birmingham with its rail connection is the type of Industry I try to represent on my layout. Sadly the "Austin" which is the local name for this car plant and its rail connection is all now gone and the site modernised and is now a retail park. So this model with its "Austin" name servers as a memory of another West Midlands rail connected industry now closed. Attached photos show the loco straight out of box without any detailing or weathering during first test running / running in. I placed a pound coin next to the loco just to show small size but still amazing detail and much better than my older Graham Farish class 47 models. Well done to the team at Bachmann from a happy customer ................. Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park Replace photos 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted February 25, 2022 Author Share Posted February 25, 2022 (edited) A few more photos, some with the " pound coin " again just to show small size. Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted February 25, 2022 Author Share Posted February 25, 2022 (edited) DMUs around Chawn Park A few photos showing a selection of DMUs around the layout. Enjoy Vic Edited April 8, 2022 by Chawn Park Replace photos 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted April 8, 2022 Author Share Posted April 8, 2022 Dear All I understand all photos from last year have been lost, thus I have started to re-load my photos. During next few days I hope that most of the missing photos will be back again. Hope you all continue to enjoy my N gauge / N Scale project. Look forward to your comments and feedback Vic 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted April 8, 2022 Author Share Posted April 8, 2022 TMC Models recently held a flash half price sale, I noted a very nice Graham Fairish Class 31 in Network Rail Yellow. Although this locomotive does not fit into the same time period as most of my existing fleet used on this layout, the excellent weathered finish combined with half price was just to tempting .............so here it is. Well done to the team at TMC models another masterpiece Vic 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted April 9, 2022 Author Share Posted April 9, 2022 Dear All Nice to see that reweb is back up and running faster and more stable. I am slowly re-loading photos which were lost when the old site server system failed. Below a couple of recent photos of Chawn Park N gauge model railway. This project is about railways in the industrial West Midlands. Along the back of the model I have scratch built a representation of the many large factory buildings typical of this area. In the foreground I have some exchange sidings which connect with the steelworks complex behind the high level main line. Vic 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted April 13, 2022 Author Share Posted April 13, 2022 A couple more night time photos of the station buildings. These photos of my model remind me of many winter nights with a long cold wait for my train. Hoping that a seat can be found on the often overcrowded peak time commuter services. More photos in my section about buildings for Chawn Park. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted April 14, 2022 Author Share Posted April 14, 2022 Tonight at Chawn Park N Gauge layout Running a class 37 with train of hopper wagons Vic 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 That's a very nice layout and impressive undertaking. I like the consistency of modeling and level of detail. The photos a very good. It must be time for some more. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted September 30, 2022 Author Share Posted September 30, 2022 (edited) Thanks to everyone for your positive comments about Chawn Park N scale model railway. Now the summer ends it is time to start up the model railway hobby again A visit to the International N Shown at the Warwickshire Event Centre on 10th September resulted in the purchase of some new items. It was nice to see the exhibition was quite well supported with a good balance of layouts, trade stands and experts sharing their skills. So back to news about Chawn Park N Scale layout. First photo in this set shows another couple of the excellent Dapol ICA "Silver Bullets" that i have now added to my existing rake. An interesting find was the Arch Laser range of 3D printed vehicles by Osborn's models. Photo 2 shows a Bedford TK road sweeper straight out of the box as supplied. I plan to add a few more details to this model at some stage but for now it is quite acceptable just as supplied. Photo 3 shows a Dennis Refuse Truck in Orange. This new model is shown placed on the road which runs from the steelworks complex in the background of my model and into the industrial estate area located between the high and low level main lines. Adding these extra road vehicles helps to bring the model further to life and helps set the period. Photo 4 shows a Milk Float by Arch Laser, this model carries a UD logo on the front, I assume this is United Dairy. The surface finish on this model is not as smooth as the others I purchased but it still a good model, maybe when I have time the finish can be improved by polishing the surfaces followed by a repainting. Adding crates with milk bottles will be more of a challenge in N Scale. The milk float is placed on the as yet unfinished road which runs below the low level main line running across the front of my layout. The railway overbridge can be seen in the shadows behind the milk float and further in the background one the the pillars of the higher level viaduct. I hope when this area is finally detailed to have an interesting viewpoint from the front of the layout through the arches with a canal on an even lower level to the left of this roadway and look into the steelworks plant at the back of the layout. Photo 5. This photo shows same part of the layout but from a higher viewpoint. The road with the milk float ( photo 4 ) is below the bridge which passes below the tracks from bottom left of this photo and continues under the viaduct. I have avoided posting photos of this area taken at a lower angle since some areas below these bridges are far from finished. More photos to follow soon Enjoy Vic Edited September 30, 2022 by Chawn Park 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted October 1, 2022 Author Share Posted October 1, 2022 This photo shows one of my oldest Farish models, this class 43 HST set is now over 35 years old. This same HST set has been running around Chawn Park layout for 30 years, I will try and find a photo of this same train when this area was just baseboards without scenery. The layout building was delayed whilst waiting for Peco to issue the then new code 55 points, so the track in the area of this photo was laid around 30 years ago! This HST is one of the old GF Poole models so no working lights etc. Common for models of this period the gears between motor and wheels used to split, this resulted first in a clicking sound being noted during running and later sometimes complete jamming of the transmission. To be fair to GF they did issue replacement gears free of cost in exchange for split gears returned to them. Often when I attended exhibitions where Farish had a stand I would exchange my spilt gears for new ones. Anyway my old models still run very well although they look quite poor when placed next to some of the current production models. I have modified this set by removing the original couplings and closed the gaps between each coach by just using a hand made replacement. I simply used a length of fine wire linking the bogies bent into same shape as a staple which drops in small holes drilled into each bogies. Since these HST sets do not have buffers I found I can run around 9 inch radius curves and still have coaches in very close contact. Finally in this set of photos, below a view of the lower level area where a collection of locomotives gather in the sidings. The old GF HST set can been seen in the background running on the higher level main line. In this view it is just possible to also see the corridor connectors that have been added which ensure no gaps can been seen between each car in this old HST train. Down in Devon at this moment and plan to visit Pecorama today. Vic 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted October 1, 2022 Author Share Posted October 1, 2022 (edited) In my last post I discussed my 30 year old GF Class 43 HST set and that I would try to find a photo of the same train 30 years ago, well here it is, see below. Quality of photo is quite poor but at least I still have some photos from that period of early construction. The GF HST set contained the two power cars and one coach, these are the ones standing each side of my Chawn Park up platform just after tracklaying in 1990. After constructing the baseboards in 1988, the fiddle yard was laid with Peco code 80 track and points. The fiddle yard is the area in the rear section of this view with the parallel tracks, this area was later hidden by the backscene. The viewing side of the layout was to be laid with the then new Peco code 55 track system, the flexi-track was available towards the end of 1988 but the points followed at intervals over the next few years, hence it was not until around 1990 that most of the track on the viewing side was laid. I will finish this post by giving credit to Peco, the points on this layout have seen at lot of use, 30 plus years of service in this time only one point failed and that was my fault I damaged it when cleaning the track, all other track points and point motors are still the originals and continue to give totally reliable service. Vic Edited October 3, 2022 by Chawn Park 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted October 3, 2022 Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 Class 17 Clayton standing in Chawn Park exchange sidings. This loco just arrived ready for shunting the steelworks in tonight's running session. Below High level view looking down over Chawn Park station Enjoy Vic 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted October 22, 2022 Author Share Posted October 22, 2022 009 Locomotive on N Gauge railway !!!!!! Following my recent visit to Pecorama where I saw the fantastic Bachmann Ffestiniog Railway Double Fairlie locomotives on display, well these are such nice little models, and they fit my N gauge track. Yes it is a different scale but it would be possible to run on my track. Suddenly memories of holiday's in North Wales and the Ffestiniog railway, so I purchased one ! I ordered a 3D printed crew and I have just spent a day giving this lovely little loco a light weathering and a few extra details. Below image shows the loco standing just at the end of Chawn Park station, at this location I can avoid the out of scale station although it looks a little strange standing on standard N Gauge track. Below Photo, this time I placed the loco on the exchange sidings. The fire mans side with very full coal bunkers looks like it is just leaving the shed. Below the drivers side Below photo of a real locomotive, this shows how good the Bachmann model really is Finally photo of the loco before I gave it the light weathering. Straight out the box the finish is fine, but for me it was just too clean so I just toned it down a little. The background of my N gauge layout is totally incorrect for this loco, but at least I have been able to run it and it is totally smooth running even at the slowest speeds. Anyway back to my normal N Scale modelling neat Vic 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chawn Park Posted October 22, 2022 Author Share Posted October 22, 2022 Back to N Gauge modelling, a few quick night time photos, enjoy Vic 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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