Brighton Trafalgar - An Edwardian LB&SCR Terminus

[Nick C]

I'm not sure you need the slots for the rear legs of a bufferstop - I think they'd just use a beam bolted to the wall.

[Caley Jim]

I have a drawing for a CR loading bank buffer stop which has a beam with self contained buffers and hinged ramps which fold down to allow wheeled vehicles to be rolled onto a wagon with end doors.

 

Jim

[Nick C]

There's a photo of a suitable Brighton prototype here: https://www.kentrail.org.uk/horsted_keynes.htm - looks like a wooden beam sat on a ledge of brick, with a couple of vertical lengths of rail bolted on (presumably to keep everything the correct height)

[Lacathedrale]

Thanks for the info, maybe I'll revisit it in due course. Any thoughts on the platform road buffer stops please let me know, it won't be long before they're also under consideration.

 

I extended the bay/dock to its proper length and I'm quite happy. I still need to flesh out a bit more about what's happening around the station building - it looks lke there'll need to be a carriage road through the foreground wing to permit the loading and unloading of carriages at the end loading dock:

 

 

I have been playing around with the slightly more provincial looking London Road/Kemp Town style with each wing having two windows - and overall being slightly more modest, but I really do want the station building looming over the concourse like a greek temple - so for now I'm going to stick with the rule of cool.

 

Unfortunately the kit-built Precursor arrived and as could be easliy predicted - it ran like a one legged donkey, so that's gone back to the seller for a return and refund. Similarly, the Precedent performed wonderfully on DC but when I put the LaisDCC chip in it was straight to the horrific jerky mess that they'd been in my Terriers, so that's gone back too.

 

Both the Terriers and the Precedent therefore are waiting on components, so next on the operating table are my rake of scratch-bashed bogie coaches - they need some temporary bar couplings added so I can shunt them around with tension locks. After that, I should be in a very good position to run a service as I intended.

 

Edited February 14 by Lacathedrale

[friscopete]

I always use lais in my US locos plastic and brass ,shays ,rod and diesel and never had any problems at all .I use the cheap Bachmann eZkrap controller or a  MRC Tech6 as I am a cheapskate .One Lais decoder doesnt like  coreless micromotors is it the next18?

[Lacathedrale]

16 minutes ago, friscopete said:

I always use lais in my US locos plastic and brass ,shays ,rod and diesel and never had any problems at all .I use the cheap Bachmann eZkrap controller or a  MRC Tech6 as I am a cheapskate .One Lais decoder doesnt like  coreless micromotors is it the next18?

 

I can't really explain it, I just have three locos all of which I've tried LaisDCC decoders with all of which have run badly. By comparison, the Zimo and even DCC Concepts Zen chips I've tried have all been silky smooth.

[Caley Jim]

If the loco runs well on DC and like a donkey with the chip then the issue lies with the chip.  Try a different chip or try tuning the chip.  Can't help with LaisDCC decoders, but these articles might help with CT and Zimos.

https://www.2mm.org.uk/articles/CT-decoders.htm

https://www.2mm.org.uk/articles/Zimo-decoders.htm

 

It's well worth investing in a SPROG and using  JMRI to do the programming on a test track.

 

Jim

[Lacathedrale]

Thanks @Caley Jim - as I said I've historically used Zimo and not sure why I bothered with LaisDCC overall. I have a pair of Zimo Next18's for delivery today (thanks again @NHY 581) for the Terriers, and a 21-to-8-pin adapter to see if my last remaining DCC Concepts decoder will yield better results in the Precedent before I buy a Zimo MX634D.

 

Here's the mockup of London Road:

 

 

It's missing some windows on the platform side at ground level, and because this building is a good 30' less wide than the shrunk-down Brighton building, there is more than enough room for the carriage dock to lead off alongside the building.

 

As an indication, the footprint underneath is the width of the baseboard (of which Brighton's building fills, and is roughly the same depth at this building). The space out the front is about the right sie for the concourse.

 

Edited February 15 by Lacathedrale

[franciswilliamwebb]

1 minute ago, Lacathedrale said:

not sure why I bothered with LaisDCC overall

 

Don't bin the LaisDCC chips, they're still useful for things like coach-lighting.  Perhaps not a priority for your era, but a thought all the same.

[Lacathedrale]

27 minutes ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

 

Don't bin the LaisDCC chips, they're still useful for things like coach-lighting.  Perhaps not a priority for your era, but a thought all the same.

 

I didn't bin them, I have returned them to the seller.

[Lacathedrale]

As expected, the Zimo chips were a world apart and worked perfectly as soon as I had disabled acceleration/deceleration (since I use that function on the handset) - it had taken them about 25 deconds to get to full speed before that. I have (as is tradition) lost one of the chassis fixing screws for Boxhill as well. Sigh. If anyone knows what spec the screw is I'd quite like to buy one, particularly since it's also retains the coupling :(

 

The LNWR Precedent performed admirably, but my hope that the 21-to-8-pin adapter would be suitable was dashed, the tower of power is just too tall to fit inside the diminutive tender. It does tend to lope a bit, and my hope is that with running it in will smooth out.

 

I have also worked out (with the help of a number of people in the Signalling subforum) a notional signal box diagram of the layout - it's still a WIP and requires the actual signals to be represented, but I'm quite happy with it so far:

 

 

It's not something I'm really working on too actively except during downtime at the office, so I am permitting myself this extravagance :)

 

 

EDIT: I have finished the basic cladding on all the platforms, though there's a little bit to do on the concourse. I think I need those buffers recessed into the platform surface on the running lines, which may involve some cutting - so I'm going to call time on this particular sub-project for now.

 

 

In terms of the next few working sessions:

 

1. Recieve and fit the 21-pin Zimo decoder into the Precedent

2. Repair the dings on the LNWR rake (one missing axle, one broken coupler, one missing buffer)

3. Fit bars for tension-lock coupling to the scratch-bash rake

 

That done, I am somewhat befuddled to say: the layout will be operational!

Edited February 17 by Lacathedrale

[Lacathedrale]

I couldn’t sleep at all this morning and I’ve been up since 3 o’clock - so I managed to fit some hooks for tension lock couplers onto my bogie coach rake (for which a little part of me died inside, and the only solace I can take is that it’s temporary)

 

My LNWR set of coaches arrived and I think the eBay auction description was a little poor form, but I’m sure they’ll brush up well. I need to find a 14mm wheeled axle from somewhere, and one coach buffer - but the biggest change is going to be painting them properly.

 

The above picture is a quick colour test using Vallejo Nocturnal Red mixed with Black. The intermediate section is just to use up the paint on my palette.

 

I have a extremely light blue grey which I think I will use on the panels, but it’s already looking slightly more respectable!

 

 

[NHY 581]

Morning, 

 

Glad to hear the Zimo decoders were as successful for you as they were for me. Good bit of kit. 

 

With regard to the lost screw, I may be able to assist if yours remains on the run. 

 

Rob

[Lacathedrale]

Well, I can't quite believe it myself - but the layout is fully operational. There is a small list of things to do, the main one being to give everything a good clean - but I ran out all the locos and coach rakes and back, did a bit of shunting, etc. and no fundamental problems as far as I can tell.

 

The once, and future king

 

Stroudley's Suburban Survivors

 

Frankly I feel a bit like a dog who has caught his tail - so it's definitely time to slow and and reflect a bit before anything else.

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

Well, I can't quite believe it myself - but the layout is fully operational. There is a small list of things to do, the main one being to give everything a good clean - but I ran out all the locos and coach rakes and back, did a bit of shunting, etc. and no fundamental problems as far as I can tell.

 

The once, and future king

 

Stroudley's Suburban Survivors

 

Frankly I feel a bit like a dog who has caught his tail - so it's definitely time to slow and and reflect a bit before anything else.

Just play with it for a while. That will do you a world of good.

[Lacathedrale]

Found one of the LNWR bogies was missing a frame end, so was being pulled laterally and dropping the wheelset - so time for a bit of emergency fannying around. When I grabbed it I posed next to my recently repainted version:

 

 

I haven’t made a big effort to tidy up the edges at all, but even this first pass, I think is a significant improvement.

 

The track also got a thorough clean and seems to be behaving much better now.

[TJ52]

Really pleased to see your recent return of mojo regarding the layout and the progress you've made.

 

As St Enodoc suggests, time to chill out and play trains!

 

Terry

[phil_sutters]

I thought I had better chip in to get you beyond the dreaded 666 comment. I like your old Crescent three-way signal. I still have several Crescents. They date from my Hornby Dublo days when HD only did upper quadrants. I don't ever envisage using them. I just can't throw away the few remaining bits of that era of my modelling history.

Have a good week.

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, phil_sutters said:

I thought I had better chip in to get you beyond the dreaded 666 comment. I like your old Crescent three-way signal. I still have several Crescents. They date from my Hornby Dublo days when HD only did upper quadrants. I don't ever envisage using them. I just can't throw away the few remaining bits of that era of my modelling history.

Have a good week.

I know a fellow over here (on RMweb but hasn't posted for a year or so) who used no other brands.

[Annie]

When I was a teenager I used to look out for Crescent signals in model shop second hand bins.  I thought they were wonderful things.

[NHY 581]

I think there's a lot of fun to be had using pokey finger acctuated points and signals. I'm contemplating repeating the use of Caboose Industries point throws on the next layout and as I only anticipate one  starter signal, I may well use a HD example. 

 

Mindful that all my layouts go to exhibitions, I've yet to have any adverse comment made regarding the 'hands on' approach. 

 

Rob

[Lacathedrale]

LNWR Coaches suitably remediated and another painted, but then the coupling hook crumbled to nothing in my hands. Each coach only had one functional hook anyway, so now it's unusable. I've also found the Ratio axles to be 1-1.5mm longer than those from Gibson/etc. so my replacement wheel rattles around like anything. I'd really rather not re-bogie them but I'm not sure what to do!

[Caley Jim]

22 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

 I've also found the Ratio axles to be 1-1.5mm longer than those from Gibson/etc. so my replacement wheel rattles around like anything. I'd really rather not re-bogie them but I'm not sure what to do!

Can you fit some sort of bearings to shorten the required axle length?

 

Jim

[Jol Wilkinson]

On 18/02/2024 at 12:32, Lacathedrale said:

Found one of the LNWR bogies was missing a frame end, so was being pulled laterally and dropping the wheelset - so time for a bit of emergency fannying around. When I grabbed it I posed next to my recently repainted version:

 

 

I haven’t made a big effort to tidy up the edges at all, but even this first pass, I think is a significant improvement.

 

The track also got a thorough clean and seems to be behaving much better now.

I find it remarkable that anyone would get the LNWR livery so wrong as on the carriages you bought on Ebay. I have too often seen kit built models described as "built and painted to an excellent standard" when the word mediocre would be more accurate. 

 

It isn't difficult to find online photos and details of both prototype and model LNWR carriages. While the quality of the painting can be variable if the painter was inexperienced or wasn't familiar with suitable techniques for two colour liveries, getting the colours that far out is  ridiculous.

[Pacific231G]

10 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

I think there's a lot of fun to be had using pokey finger acctuated points and signals. I'm contemplating repeating the use of Caboose Industries point throws on the next layout and as I only anticipate one  starter signal, I may well use a HD example. 

 

Mindful that all my layouts go to exhibitions, I've yet to have any adverse comment made regarding the 'hands on' approach. 

 

Rob

I started off by using pokey finger control on my small H0 layout but, when I scenicced it, added caboose industry point switches arranged along the front of the layout and connected to the tie bars by short wire in tube. I don't know why but it feels far better operating them from "off-stage"even though only just so. Like an idiot though I failed to allow room in the track plan for dummy standard type J point levers (the sort where swinging a weighted arm pulls the lever over) invariably to be found in small French termini. 

They do need some space beside the point to operate and act as point indicators as well as levers.