RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted December 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 19, 2014 I think your man has this the wrong way around. There exist drawings from the Derby D.O. which show the letter forms to be used to prepare the patterns for casting the letters. What hasn't happened is that no one has made a commercial computer font from these drawings. Hence your man was not able to match lettering produced a the end of the 19th century with something that couldn't have existed much before the 1970's. That's exactly what I did. I took the drawings published in Midland record to the sign makers and after about half an hour of going through fonts we got the best possible match then used it for the vinyls that went on the pelmet on the front of the layout, done in the style and colour scheme of running in boards. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted December 20, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 20, 2014 (edited) I mentioned previously that one or two things required attention before putting the layout up again: Once John and Pauline had completed their Skating Event at Chester Racecourse, John was able to take pocession of the railway room once more. The first job he tackled came as a result of a fault which developed near the end of our time at the Halifax Exhibtion: We experienced some "dead sections" on some of the tracks on the Sector Plate. The cause was found to be a "Multi-pin" plug and socket had partially separated. This is where the connections between the "X-Box" computer and the Sector Plate are made. The cable in question is quite heavy, multi-cored sheathed cable terminating in a 15-pin D Series plug. This cable normally projected over rear of the Sector Plate baseboard, and was free to move as the Sector Plate indexed back and forth. However, at the Halifax show, the display boards mounted to the rear of the sector plate were too close, and put some restriction on the free movement of the cable. Over the period of the show this caused the plug to work loose just enough for the circuits to one or two tracks to be broken. As always, a permanent solution was sought. John anchored the heavy cable and interfaced it to a flexible Ribbon Cable, which in turn plugs into the Sector Plate. I think this picture explains it better than another thousand words from me. Steve. Edited for spelling! Edited December 20, 2014 by SteveAtBax 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted December 20, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2014 Steve, Talk to Mike Edge about using ribbon cable. It isn't always a good idea. Baz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted December 20, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 20, 2014 (edited) Another issue which has begun to cause John some concern has been the wear on the baseboards where the joining bolts are tightened. These bolt are 10mm dia, with a plain hexagonal head tightened by a wing-nut. Although washers have been used under the nuts, the heads have usually been pulling directly into the wooden baseboard ends, and these now show signs of wear on the older boards. Remember some of these boards are approaching thirty years old! John's solution has been to replace the Bolts with "Spinners" and captive "T-Nuts". First John and Brian spent a day erecting all the boards and surveying each board joint to determine the best direction to fit each Spinner. This was to ensure that they could be easily inserted and tightened without catching any under-board fixtures such as point motors etc. At each joint a "T-Nut" was fitted to one board and a luminous Yellow painted Washer glued to the mating location, to make locating the Spinners as easy as possible. In the Ribbon cable photo in my previous post above you can just see one of the "T-Nuts" behind the cable. The Spinners are lengths of 10mm screwed bar with a hand wheel secured at one end. An under baseboard view showing one of the Yellow Washers. Once all fifty or so have been done the problem should be solved... Steve. Edited December 20, 2014 by SteveAtBax 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted January 4, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 4, 2015 I called at John's yesterday. All the new "spinners" as in situ and more developments are in hand. John will soon dismantle many of the baseboards so he can continue with the point rodding etc. He also has work in hand to create all the yard lighting. Developments on the back scenes are also in hand by Rob. Geoff is busy with some more software developments and Les has the Hotel to fill his odd spare five minutes...... However, its not all "noses to the grindstone"...... I went with John and Pauline on a Vintage Tram trip at Blackpool. We'd been invited by Tony Stevenson (another Lime Street operator) who's a keen tram driver among other things. We took the "Balloon" from the depot to Squires Gate, then back along the Promenade to Talbot Square. From there we were on the 100 year old Box Car No 40. for the ride to Fleetweed. An excellent meal in the North Euston Hotel, with an entertaining talk then back to the depot by late afternoon. Steve. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted January 5, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2015 John has just sent this update on progress over the Christmas period: Hi Chaps, Happy New Year to you all. Thought I would update you all on today's progress. Although Brian and I have been working each Monday over the Christmas period, today was the first day back for Preston Plywood, so today Brian and I headed to Preston for some "Bendy Plywood". I also got the Birch plywood to replace the MDF backscenes we had. As you will see, after dinner we made good progress fitting the bendy stuff. I think you'll agree it will look much better now especially when Rob has done his stuff and it will allow a good view of the back of Les's masterpiece ! Next job is to sort out the birch ply panels, then you'll be getting a call Rob!! Unfortunately I had to buy a full sheet of bendy ply so if anyone knows someone who might need some for their layout, I have some. Onwards & Upwards, John. Steve. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Liverpool Lime Street before the wires. Around 1961/2 by Normand1946, on Flickr 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted January 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2015 John has sent another brief progress report: The stone arched section under the South screen is nearly complete (Les is just fitting the iron railings he had etched in between each arch), and soon the arched section will be permanently fitted. I have decided to take the opportunity to do some detailing in the area behind one of the buildings whilst it still easy to get at. These two pictures show progress so far. Once I have all the walls and gates done including the coping stones on top of the walls Rob will be round to bring them all to life with his magic paint Brush! More shots to follow as things progress. Steve. 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giggle pin Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 You really have some patience to make things so realistic. Great work. Bri Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted February 1, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 1, 2015 A little more progress......... John has completed the structural work on the "Back Yards". The relevent parts were passed on to Rob yesterday, as we all made a visit to the Stafford Show. It's up to him to bring them to life............. Steve. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted February 16, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 16, 2015 John has sent me an update on recent progress: "Rob has dealt with the Yard Walls, gates etc. as seen here: He's now taken a large collection of "yard clutter" home for weathering - barrels, crates, mangle, tin bath etc. Whilst Rob was working on the walls I managed to get the ground surfaces finished - flags, cobbles etc. in time for Rob to blend them in with the existing surrounding areas. In the meantime, Geoff has been developing a refinement to the way the Sector Plate is re-set at power up. The third picture shows a new circuit board that he has been working on. This board gives us automatic "trimming" of the sector plate each time the power is switched on. Although all the sector plate/fixed track vectors are pre installed in the computer, each time the layout is erected there is a slight discrepancy with relation to the indexing switch which tells the computer where the sector plate actually is on power up. This is due to slight differences in the alignment along the long axis of the layout every time we set up. In the past we have had to "hand crank" the first vectors we select to compensate for this error. One problem with this system was that every time the power was switched on, or if an error was encountered during a running session, this process had to be gone through to restore operation. With this new circuit we now set the reference point only once each time the layout is erected, then each subsequent time the layout is powered up the offset is automatically set. (Hope you kept up with that !)" Steve. 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted February 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 23, 2015 Having seen a recent video on Liverpool Lime Street I am particularly interested in the way that you are using CCTV to view hidden storage areas and approach roads; can you provide some more detail as to the equipment that you have installed, and the degree to which this is either off the shelf or bespoke to the layout? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Woolford Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Having seen a recent video on Liverpool Lime Street I am particularly interested in the way that you are using CCTV to view hidden storage areas and approach roads; can you provide some more detail as to the equipment that you have installed, and the degree to which this is either off the shelf or bespoke to the layout?The below reply from Steve on a similar question asked previously may be of some interest. Should hopefully save Steve from writing out another lengthy reply! Michael Michael, Thanks very much for your questions. I hope I can answer them fully (and accurately). I'll post a separate answer to each, so if they start off a dialogue, they can be followed more easily. First the CCTV: This is very much one of Geoff Peters' bits of magic. The original cameras were sourced from CPC, but they are no longer available. Recent ones have been found from China via the internet. I'm not sure of the specification, but getting the right field of view (focal length) is important. The monitors are also from CPC, and other suppliers like RS, Farnells, etc. have them. The bit in the middle - The Video Switch - is all Geoffs own design and construction. Its the thing that lets different camera views be presented to each monitor, and is what makes the operation of the layout possible. It is triggered by button selection on the consoles and also by the Router and the progress of a train along its route. This means an operator who sets a route is presented with an appropriate view automatically. e.g A Station operator might set a route "Down Fast to Platform 3". Besides the Router setting the route, clearing the signals etc. it triggers the Video Switch to show the operator a view of the Sector Plate, where he can watch his train being prepared. As he drives the train down the Cutting, an infra-red sensor tells the Router where it has got to. The Router then resets the Gantry signals, and triggers the Video Switch to show the train crossing the station throat and travelling into its platform. As it approaches the end of the platform the operator then selects for himself a view which will allow him to see the uncoupling point where he will stop the train. He does this by pressing one of eight selection buttons adjacent to his monitor. Point Motors and the Control Panels to follow. Steve. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted February 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 23, 2015 Michael Many thanks, very helpful. So it sounds like they component I need to acquire is a "Geoff Peters"......! Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted February 24, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24, 2015 John has sent me an update on recent progress: "Rob has dealt with the Yard Walls, gates etc. as seen here: He's now taken a large collection of "yard clutter" home for weathering - barrels, crates, mangle, tin bath etc. Steve. And here they are....... Rob returned the "yard clutter" to John when the Lime Street team went to the Glasgow show last Friday. (This has become a regular event for us.) As these pics show: John comments that we must run a "Monday" timetable because of the "washday" items on show. All this effort is going into an area which will be almost hidden when the whole layout is assembled! The foundations for the Arched Wall which supports the end of the South Station Roof can be seen. Rob returned the Arches to me on Sunday (at the East Lancs Rly) so I can pass them on to John at the Preston Show next weekend - where John, Les and Brian will be demonstrating. If you follow us on RMweb and are at Preston, please make yourself known. Steve. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Leacon Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 And here they are....... Rob returned the "yard clutter" to John when the Lime Street team went to the Glasgow show last Friday. (This has become a regular event for us.) As these pics show: Hotel Yard7.jpg Hotel Yard8.jpg Hotel Yard9.jpg John comments that we must run a "Monday" timetable because of the "washday" items on show. All this effort is going into an area which will be almost hidden when the whole layout is assembled! The foundations for the Arched Wall which supports the end of the South Station Roof can be seen. Rob returned the Arches to me on Sunday (at the East Lancs Rly) so I can pass them on to John at the Preston Show next weekend - where John, Les and Brian will be demonstrating. If you follow us on RMweb and are at Preston, please make yourself known. Steve. Excellent attention to detail. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Paul McCartney and Long John Baldry 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted March 2, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 2, 2015 They'll have to be in short pants for our 1947 setting. Steve. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Green Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Just playing about with some Smart Models roofing tiles. Printed on self adhesive photo paper. Looks OK and is a fair match for some portions of the hotel roof. Any comments or criticisms? 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post Steve Hewitt Posted March 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted March 20, 2015 Monday saw Rob and I at John's, progressing a few things. Rob returned the new backscene panels which fill the space behind the Station Roof. These include the curved section, made from "Bendy Plywood" which was featured in an update on Jan 5th. The other two panels, which were originally MDF, have now been replaced by Plywood. Here's a view which Rob hasn't included Taken from my garden at 09:30 today. The arched Wall which supports the end of the South Roof is now ready for permanent installation. Once it's in place most of the recent detailing of the Rear Yards will be obscured! This last shot is what a passenger on a bus might glimpse as it heads up Skelhorne Street. The end of the Hotel will be in the distance. No pictures of our other activities: I delivered another three Ground Signals, and a short post LNWR semaphore. These will eventually control movements our of sidings A, B & C and the End Loading Bays. John and I then spent some time working on the Operating Sequence, the results of our work will hopefully be obvious by the time we get to our next show - Wigan - later in the year. John is of course spending most of his waking hours installing the Point Rodding, what a task that is! More soon, I hope.... Steve. 20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Green Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 IMG_4021.jpg Just playing about with some Smart Models roofing tiles. Printed on self adhesive photo paper. Looks OK and is a fair match for some portions of the hotel roof. Any comments or criticisms? Varnishing the roof on a cold damp day was not a good idea. Good job it was only a test piece!! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulcanbomber Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I cut them 2 strips wide and then cut the the bottom strip with little cuts to show the individual tiles, and then lay the next strip on top of the the second strip and so on 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 1932 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted March 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2015 The arched Wall which supports the end of the South Roof is now ready for permanent installation. Once it's in place most of the recent detailing of the Rear Yards will be obscured! Before the Arched Wall could be fixed in place, it was necessary to re-confirm that it will be in the correct place to support the Roof's End Screen. This in turn required the re-installation of two of the absent baseboards which carry the roof's Support Pillars. John and Brian managed to do this on Monday, and here are a few pics: This confirms how little of the yard details will be visible. Steve. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iak Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Aye but its there... Wonderful stuff as ever gents. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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