West Kirby Town: narrow gauge is coming to town.

[two tone green]

Apethorne Junction is an all time great along with your layout Rod.

[Dmudriver]

Hi Rod,

 

I thought that 'really was like the real thing'?  Did you try adding any weight to the locos before adding another power bogie per chance to see what they would pull? 

 

That is a very nice looking 25 and I'm pleased to see you adding oddities like strange headcodes too.... something out of the norm makes for a much more interesting railway.

 

Cheers

Lee

 

Hi Lee.

 

The 2 I borrowed had had a bit of extra weight added to the bogies, I believe.  I'm a bit wary about adding too much weight as it seems to me that a fair bit of power could be taken up shifting that extra weight.  I'm not an engineer and doubtless some will tell me I'm wrong but that's the way I see the world!!!

 

I tried to find a different livery for the 25 - my 50 is large logo and the 37 has the "scottish stripe" (my terminology!!)** but 25s, apart from "Tamworth Castle" seem to be clean blue or dirty blue and various shades in between (ignoring the green era), certainly in the era I'm modelling.  The numbers are in different places occasionally and there's doubtless detail differences but I find I need something a bit different to stand out from the others.

 

Rod

 

** Was it to indicate a different drive set-up?  I believe it did have some mechanical significance as opposed to just being a livery variation.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Dmudriver

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I've been having a bit of a problem with a couple of the microswitches on Tortoise motors.  One was to a frog, which ended up dead on one setting of the point: not a problem for the diesels and DMUs which pick up from both bogies and therefore straddled the dead section, but the shorter wheelbase steam tank engines (all 2 of them!!) did find it out.  The other was part of the signal interlocking and was allowing ground signals to be cleared when the crossover wasn't set correctly.  

 

I'd been having nightmares about having to fit new Tortoise motors but last night a found a spray can of switch lubricant.  I fired this into the gap where the arm (for the want of a better word) moves across and lo and behold, it works!!  Short term, anyway: I'll wait and see long term.

 

The kettles also found a couple of dead sections of short track** where fishplates were not providing continuity - again, the diesels had no problem.  A quick dab with the soldering iron sorted those so that made for a rather productive evening.

 

More soon.

 

Rod

 

**  When I was doing the electrics, I aimed to fit a dropper from each section of rail to the bus bars under the baseboard, but I relied on fishplates for continuity on short, "filler" sections of track.  With hindsight, either extra droppers, or soldering the rails to the longer ones would have been the way to go.  So much for short cuts!!!

[Simond]

Tortoises don't have micro switches inside. The arm carries some springy finger contacts which short out sections of printed tracks on the PCB. Your contact cleaner is likely to be very good st sorting the problem

 

Despite dire warnings, it is entirely possible to strip, clean and reassemble tortoises, but do the first one over a washing up bowl cos there's lots of bits in there!!!

 

Best

Simon

[Dmudriver]

Hi Simon.

 

Microswitches was my best guess at the springy finger contacts inside the body -     I understood they were wiper contacts of a sort.   I've heard that you can strip them down but my nightmares weren't so much about taking them off and cleaning them as getting them back in the right place (with the wire through the hole in the tiebar) and then redoing all the wiring and getting it right first time!!  Fingers crossed the contact cleaner does work longterm.

 

Rod

[two tone green]

Be careful with some of the contact cleaners out there as they are not plastic and paint friendly.

[railwayrod]

Hi Rod.

 

Have just managed to find time to catch up on your thread and I am very impressed with what you have done since I last took a peep. I like the buildings etc among other things. great work.

 

Rod

[two tone green]

And inflammable. Don't put the stuff into a live circuit and let it dry before turning things on.

[Simond]

Tortoises - one thing that does cause problems is if the black arm thingy is not moving across fully. If so, adjust fulcrum point, or wire stiffness, (or, heaven forfend, position of motor) to obtain full movement at arm and blades.

 

Re cleaners, yes there are some out there that will cause problems, but most are "mostly harmless". It's probably the case that the non-flammable, plastic safe ones actually don't do much in the cleaning department, but that's life. We used WD40 liberally on and in outside tortoises at Swanage for several years, but it is messy. I don't think it caused problems in the long term, it was certainly ok for around four or five years.

 

Hth

Simon

[spenc]

Hi Rod

Have you done any more with the cassette I am thinking of getting some for my layout and putting peco track on it,just wondering what glue would be recommended to stick them on, to stop anything falling of the end I will try the guttering ends the layouts coming along nicely.

Steve

[leopardml2341]

Hope you don't mind me stepping in Rod, but to answer Steve's question, I'd use something like this:

 

http://www.screwfix.com/p/evo-stik-sticks-like-sh-t-290ml/22070?kpid=22070&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=CNL3juugsM8CFUieGwodlAwGZA

 

No connection, just based on experience:)

[spenc]

Thanks Andy don't think I will shout that out in the shop.

Steve

[leopardml2341]

  

Experience of what? Sticking things with sh*t?

Given the usual clients in a branch of Screwfix, I wouldn't worry...

Well Really!

[HSB]

No need to shout it out - you just write the part number down on an order form. I was going to say 'on a bit of paper' but that would probably be misrepresented by somebody!

[Jon Fitness]

Thanks Andy don't think I will shout that out in the shop.

Steve

Hope it doesn't smell the same too!

[leopardml2341]

Hope it doesn't smell the same too!

It doesn't, but try getting it out of fabric.........

[Dmudriver]

Hi Rod

Have you done any more with the cassette I am thinking of getting some for my layout and putting peco track on it,just wondering what glue would be recommended to stick them on, to stop anything falling of the end I will try the guttering ends the layouts coming along nicely.

Steve

HI Steve.

 

So far, I'm afraid, I've done no more with the cassette.  I was looking at it the other day and thinking I must, but I'm concentrating on the fuel point at the moment so it could be a month or two yet.

 

Rod

[spenc]

Hi Rod

I will put some pictures on my thread when I make them today I have picked up a couple of gutter ends as well.

Steve

[Dmudriver]

Hi Rod

I will put some pictures on my thread when I make them today I have picked up a couple of gutter ends as well.

Steve

Hi Steve.

 

I've just found your thread and am now following it, so look forward to seeing how you sort the ends out.

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

Just a bit more progress.  The railway shed has been reroofed - with hot bitumen and felt, compared to the thin, cheap stuff that was on it before.  It's had its first real test this evening - heavy rain and hail.  My layout's nice and dry, though!!

 

I've now got drivers in the 25 - one at each end!!  Unfortunately as it's dark in the cab, I can't get a decent picture.  It's something that's always concerned me, one at each end, as I imagine it's not prototypical: I'd assume an off-duty person would sit in the second man's seat.  Am I right?

 

Of course, I have heard of someone who had each driver on a servo (or similar - operated at the same time as reversing direction) so that he came up in the leading end and went down below the level of the desk in the trailing end.  I'm not that far advanced yet!!  However, when there's stock on the hook, the rear driver isn't that noticeable.

 

Finally, when the body was off to fit the drivers, I took a photo of the speaker inside the 25.  It's a bit big!!!

 

 

I must get that video done!!  Soon, ......... honest!!

 

Rod

 

Edit:  If you look closely, you can see the drivers in the cabs - they're glued to the control desk as, if they were on the seat, we couldn't get the body back on as they'd catch on the desk!!  Actually what you see is their backsides and sleeves - one's got a blue shirt, the other white.

Edited October 1, 2016 by Dmudriver

[pwr]

Rod

 

Glad to hear the roof is fixed. Water takes no prisoners!

 

Paul R

[two tone green]

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

More progress - though not all photo-able!!  I've soldered up the roof of the fuelling point - a really pleasant soldering exercise.  It needs priming and painting but in the meantime I'm setting out the base for it.

 

I've been working on the lights of a Heljan 40 for a lad at the club: he's fitted the chip and speakers OK but the lights defeated him.  I've sorted those today so I'll get a couple of photos of the visitor before it leaves.

 

Also, Paul Davenport is working wonders on my buildings.  Here's pictures of the right hand block of the 9' length:

 

 

 

There's more detail in these than the pics of the then previous part-finished ones - absolutely superb!!  There's deliberately no extension where the fire escape is - to give a bit of clearance from the nearest track - but it is prototypical.

 

In between these will be flatter-fronted buildings - prototypical in look but not in position: this is to fit in the space available.

 

They look superb and I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole set on the layout.

 

More soon.

 

Rod

 

PS  I've also been spending time selling one of the Club's layouts and preparing it for moving to its new home.  Then we're having a bit of a move-around of a branch terminus connected to the club's large continuous layout, together with a new engine shed/stabling point which will be more easily accessible from the centre of operations on the layout.

[MarshLane]

Hi Rod,

Hope things are well, WKT is coming on nicely! I'm wondering if I can tap you for some info/knowledge. As you know I've been working on my O gauge depot with the aim of it being part of a fixed loft layout, and also removable to be a layout in its own right. With the building getting ever closer to completion, thoughts have turned to the layout. During a recent conversation about putting a new 6'x8' shed up in the garden to house the baseboards when not in use, along with a little workshop, a comment was passed about why not do it properly and put a shed the full width of the garden, rather than being in the loft, which makes the house cold in winter! Hence, it looks like I MAY gain a 27'x10' shed, possibly with something similar to your fiddle yard running outside.

 

So my query is, with your shed and layout, knowing what you know now, is there any advice you can give, or anything you would do different if you were doing it again, or equally, anything you did that has worked well? Also if, I may ask, what your shed is made from, I'm assuming tongued and groved, and how do you heat it in winter?

 

I've still some issues to solve, like getting electric in there, but thought I'd ask you for your advice before going any further!

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Rich

[Tove]

Oh Wow,

 

I can only echo your own comment`s,in that they are 'suberb'...

 

But there`s one thing that i think look`s really effective,and that`s the rendering under the roof line.

Was this done with sand paper?.

 

Brian.