Any Question Answered

[Valentin]

Just out of curiosity: could anyone tell what the device pictured below is and what is its purpose? I would have googled for it but I didn't know what words to put in the search field

 

 

Thank you,

Edited June 17, 2016 by Valentin

[Caley Jim]

It's a marker from which the pw engineers can measure the distance of the nearest rail from the face of the plate, in this case 1067mm, and also the cant of the track, I.e.the difference in height between the two rails on a curve, in this case 0. The nearest rail should be level with the top of the little white cube.

 

Jim

Edited June 17, 2016 by Caley Jim

[2mm Andy]

It's a marker from which the pw engineers can measure the distance of the nearest rail from the face of the plate, in this case 1067mm, and also the cant of the track, I.e.the difference in height between the two rails on a curve, in this case 0. The nearest rail should be level with the top of the little white cube.

 

Jim

 

And to add to Jim's pretty comprehensive description, the formal name is a "datum plate". The number 27 at the top is the plate number on that structure (in this case a platform wall I think?). The red square on the left should have the track name (Up, Down, etc) on it.

 

Andy

[Caley Jim]

...... The number 27 at the top is the plate number on that structure (in this case a platform wall I think?)......

 

Andy

I've only ever noticed them on platform walls. I suppose that is where clearances are most critical and have to be kept within pretty close limits.

Jim

[Nig H]

It's a marker from which the pw engineers can measure the distance of the nearest rail from the face of the plate, in this case 1067mm, and also the cant of the track, I.e.the difference in height between the two rails on a curve, in this case 0. The nearest rail should be level with the top of the little white cube.

 

Jim

Funnily enough, I was looking at one of these at Kearsley station on Thursday. I thought it was a thermostat for adjusting the temperature on the platform above. Thanks for the true explanation Jim.

 

Nig H

[2mm Andy]

I've only ever noticed them on platform walls. I suppose that is where clearances are most critical and have to be kept within pretty close limits.

Jim

 

They also appear in tunnels, on bridges, viaducts, etc. (as you say - where movement of the track might cause problems with clearances).

 

Andy

[2mmMark]

Just out of curiosity: could anyone tell what the device pictured below is and what is its purpose? I would have googled for it but I didn't know what words to put in the search field

 

 

Thank you,

 

It's a panel-mounted H&M walkabout controller for controlling driverless trains.

[queensquare]

It's a panel-mounted H&M walkabout controller for controlling driverless trains.

If that's an H&M walkabout then I think the ballast is a bit on the course side!

 

Jerry

[Pyewipe Jct]

Hi all, not sure if this is entirely the appropriate place for this, but it is a question about 2mm of sorts...

A rather large car repair bill, and the growing realisation that I'd have to live until at least 250 years of age to see all my modelling dreams come to fruition, has led me to consider clearing out the 'strategic reserve' a little - I have a variety of 2mm items on the list, including:

Two 2mm SA BR 08 shunter kits;
Two Edward Sissling LNER D49 kits:
various Fence Houses loco and wagon kits:
Barry Nicholson/Mick Simpson/Judith Edge/Worsley Works etched loco body kits;
Masterclass/Stephen Harris wagon kits;
plus a few other bits and bobs (motors, Union Mills tender drive units, etc.).

I'll be putting a note up on the VAG shortly and ultimately they'll probably go on eBay, but if anyone here is interested, please drop me a message for more details. Everything is as new and unbuilt.


Thanks for looking,

Kevin

[Valentin]

[...] (in this case a platform wall I think?). [...]

 

You're right, the picture shows part of the platform 2 at London Bridge station.

[autocoupler942]

I am worried that I'm not getting any recent entries on screen.

Most recent have been 1 on the 3rd (Ian Smith) and 1 on the 4th july.(squirrel). Am I missing out or has communication wilted?

I would not be surprised if it is my computer at fault - it's never been right since TalkTalk went up the wall back in May.

Any IT doctor near Stevenage with time to spare would be much appreciated - could also rummage  through my gloat box if interested?

Edited July 10, 2016 by autocoupler942

[nick_bastable]

I am worried that I'm not getting any recent entries on screen.

Most recent have been 1 on the 3rd (Ian Smith) and 1 on the 4th july.(squirrel). Am I missing out or has communication wilted?

I would not be surprised if it is my computer at fault - it's never been right since TalkTalk went up the wall back in May.

Any IT doctor near Stevenage with time to spare would be much appreciated - could also rummage  through my gloat box if interested?

no I don't think so just quiet this time of year as are most threads

 

Nick

[itsthegman]

Just a question about 2mmfs wheels for my Austerity.

I believe it's Graham Farish.

What do i need to do - does the society shop have replacement wheels?

Or do i need to send them to the man to have them machined.

 

Yours Hopefully.

 

G.

 

 

[Nigelcliffe]

Just a question about 2mmfs wheels for my Austerity.

I believe it's Graham Farish.

What do i need to do - does the society shop have replacement wheels?

Or do i need to send them to the man to have them machined.

There are no replacement wheels (unless you find someone with a very old set of "Neil's wheels" which are spare from 20+ years ago). Re-profiling is an option, but I don't think it will work well on this loco.

 

There is a replacement chassis etch available from Shop3, which builds up to a complete chassis with new motor, new wheels, new gears, etc..  Part 3-640, but do note the list of parts needed to go with the etch.

 

Or, there may still be parts available from someone's spares drawer for the chassis upgrade which wrapped new frames (from Printed Circuit Board) around the Farish chassis block - a process which does work, but can be very fraught in that the original Farish block needs filing down to very thin sections in some areas, so can easily get (disastrously!) bent in the process.

[nick_bastable]

I had one converted by having the wheels turned by Gordon.   Although never a fantastic slow runner its still going  six  years later and was my first 2mm motive power

 

Nick

[2mmMark]

The Beginner's Guide to 2mm Modelling has a fairly detailed set of instructions for finescaling the J94 but I see that's listed as being temporarily out of stock in the 2mm shop, so I'll provide an extract from the publication.

 

J94-1.pdf J94-2.pdf

J94-3.pdf J94-4.pdf

 

Apologies for splitting up the pages, the complete section was larger than the permitted file attachment size.

 

If you have a decently running loco, it's a viable conversion but as Nick says, don't expect very fine slow running as the gear ratio is quite low.

 

The 2mm chassis kit isn't too difficult to build and it's a good choice for a starter chassis.  The earlier conversion Nigel mentions is actually harder to carry out.

 

My recommendation would be to do the simple conversion detailed above and build the 2mm chassis kit alongside it. That way you'll have a working loco until you're happy with the new finescale chassis.

 

RT Models do detailing kits for the J94

http://www.rtmodels.co.uk/rt_models_009.htm

 

Mark

Edited July 12, 2016 by 2mmMark

[2mm Andy]

My recommendation would be to do the simple conversion detailed above and build the 2mm chassis kit alongside it. That way you'll have a working loco until you're happy with the new finescale chassis.

 

RT Models do detailing kits for the J94

http://www.rtmodels.co.uk/rt_models_009.htm

 

Mark

 

And as a bit of inspiration, two of the locos entered in the 2mm AGM competitions last year were based on the J94 with the etched chassis and details added using the RT models parts;

 

http://www.2mm.org.uk/galleries/agm-2015/index.html

 

Andy

[queensquare]

As others have said, the Association chassis is very good. My Austerity tank uses it although the body makes use of an old whitemetal kit with a new footplate and other bits.

 

 

Jerry

[josh993]

I thought I'd put it here as opposed to starting a new thread unless the topic grows that much, but I've recently acquired one of Farish's new J39's. I was just wondering if anyone has converted one to 2mm finescale yet and if so, how? I've done a brief such of the forum and the Yahoo group but it didn't really turn any results, the only thing I haven't done is go back through the last years magazines.....I must do that next!

 

I have seen that there is a chassis kit on the 2mm website but I can't find any instructions, only drawings to go with it? I was also wondering if it could be converted along the lines of the Jinty with the tender wheelsets being turned down?

 

I also have a Farish B1 to convert, but I'll save that question for the meantime......!

 

Thanks in Advance 

Edited July 12, 2016 by josh993

[Chris Higgs]

I thought I'd put it here as opposed to starting a new thread unless the topic grows that much, but I've recently acquired one of Farish's new J39's. I was just wondering if anyone has converted one to 2mm finescale yet and if so, how? I've done a brief such of the forum and the Yahoo group but it didn't really turn any results, the only thing I haven't done is go back through the last years magazines.....I must do that next!

 

I have seen that there is a chassis kit on the 2mm website but I can't find any instructions, only drawings to go with it? I was also wondering if it could be converted along the lines of the Jinty with the tender wheelsets being turned down?

 

I also have a Farish B1 to convert, but I'll save that question for the meantime......!

 

Thanks in Advance 

 

I'm the designer of the of the etched chassis, you can find drawings here http://2mm.org.uk/products/instruction_sheets/chassis_combined_drwgs.pdf

 

The instructions are generic for all the etched chassis kits. http://2mm.org.uk/products/instruction_sheets/chassis%20general%20etched%20loco%20instructions.pdf

 

Other people have also had the tender wheels turned down. The J39 also uses the Farish brass bearings for the loco itself, so you can use Association part 3-221 together with Association wheels for the loco - you'll need to make it run nice and smooth as it will be pushed along by the tender drive. Or you can have the loco wheels turned down as well.

 

There are various posts in the Chinese motors thread on this forum concenring putting replacement motors in the J39 tender.

 

There was a recent article in the 2mm Magazine by Bill Blackburn concerning the B1. That also involved replacing the motor in the tender with a coreless one to make it run slower - this should work for the J39 too.

 

 

Chris

Edited July 13, 2016 by Chris Higgs

[Yorkshire Square]

Josh, both of my J39s and my B1 have been "finescaled" merely by removing the wheels and sending them to Gordon Solloway for reprofiling. The loco drivers are obviously too wide in the tyre, but not obtrusively so. I've added washers behind the rear drivers on the B1 to reduce slop. The tender wheels have had their tyre thinned but only sufficiently to ensure the traction tyre can be retained, and the face reblackened.

 

At some point I will probably replace the loco chassis, but this is a quick and easy interim conversion.

[nick_bastable]

so people I have rebuilt the KESR railcar chassis using a belt drive and twin worms instead of the single worm drive of the original

 

 

problem is this

 

it appears level 

it runs very well on a trix track cleaner

it will run with one axle on the rails and the other bumping along the track bed 

on the track it is useless    

 

any ideas people 

 

puzzled of Deal aka Nick

 

locating my original post in the work bench thread  reminded me how superb Steve Sykes work was, was fortunate to meet him at GJ expo a true gent  

[Caley Jim]

To be able to give any advice I think we need a bit more detail. Exactly what do you mean by 'useless'? Does it refuse to run at all,or does it run erratically? Is there enough weight in it to give good pick up from all wheels? There may be enough weight with two wheels on the rails, but not enough when spread over four.

 

Jim

[nick_bastable]

To be able to give any advice I think we need a bit more detail. Exactly what do you mean by 'useless'? Does it refuse to run at all,or does it run erratically? Is there enough weight in it to give good pick up from all wheels? There may be enough weight with two wheels on the rails, but not enough when spread over four.

 

Jim

wheels are 6mm association tender wheels which all appear to pickup power, chassis has been weighted with tungsten sheet and balances about midpoint.  I have tried extra weight but on the rails its not working.   I don't think I made it clear on the edge of the wheels on pcb it runs like a trooper, wheel treads have been cleaned,  simpson springs added a light finger pressure while on the rails and away it goes with a fair amount of ump

 

still wondering if the chassis is twisted?

 

Nick

[queensquare]

Any chance of photos from a few more angles Nick

 

Jerry