Whats on your 2mm Work bench

[Jim T]

I've spent the last couple of months tidying and sorting all my accumulated projects of years and getting my snug /railway room set up.

 

I had a brief fling in 2mm FS in the mid-90s when I was at Manchester MRS and (very loosely) involved with the iconic Chee Tor layout, but never got much beyond a small box of disparate unfinished projects. I've thought quite hard about my modelling (which is my second leisure pastime so I don't have a huge amount of time) and realised that what I really want to do is recreate some of the things I remember from the early 1980s when I first started travelling on the railway and taking pictures. So I've cleared out the OO stuff because I don't really have space and I'm starting on a project which should help me relive those happy memories!

 

Having a look at the contents of my little box, I've restarted work on a lowfit and an ex LNER Toad E. These are N gauge kits but receiving 2mm FS wheels and DG couplings for my new project.

 

A Parkwood (?) Lowfit on a Peco chassis. The buffers have been replaced with the old 2mm Association white metal castings. I've removed the Peco coupling box and filled in the gap in the buffer beams where the coupling would have been. Now I've laid in some Squadron Green putty to level out the areas where the DG couplings will be epoxied. Next step will be to file this smooth.

 

Brake van chassis with new centre section of the headstock in 60 thou x 30 thou styrene. Next step is filler as for the lowfit, then a little work to the body. You can see the roof which has had separate torpedo vent castings added already.

 

The wheels are old 1990s vintage 2mm FS - one or two had shed their tyres but I've tried to true them up as best I can by mounting them in the minidrill and using my fingers to find true, then CA'ing the tyre back on. Since I took the pictures I've located my little fibreglass pen and the tyres have cleaned up nicely, so 15-20 years in various garages seems to have done little harm!

 

The next job is to get the DGs folded up and build the jigs so I can shim them off the floor and set the final level - I found a good blog post on that here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/233/entry-2451-fitting-dgs/

 

Looking forward to a bit of track assembly (first foray into Easitrac) for those jig now...

[StuartM]

[backofanenvelope]

Now that bench I like! and that makes a good new years resolution

[nick_bastable]

One step forward and one backward

 

3 years later the 207 is running if minus the roofs

 

 

 

Worsley Works etches running on association bogies and a Farish motor bogie from the 108 converted with association drop in wheels

Digitrax 144 programmed with a 205 sound file and suger cube speaker  ( the start ups quite impressive on DC  ) 

 

And backwards the freebe ( via Valentin)  Lenz chip was to big for the Class 03 so a DCX76  was  fitted but now it runs slowly in one direction even with the chip removed    any ideas 

 

I will look at that when I have the right frame of mind 

 

The 201 Hastings unit carriages are running again minus roofs and bare motor chassis are also running so time for the wheels to go  of to Gordon for turning 

Edited December 23, 2019 by nick_bastable

[John lewsey]

nearly there sorry it's a bit grainy poor light in the garage

[2mmMark]

I've been working on a new lighting system for my 2mm NG diorama An Clár.  For a while it's had a mix of a 35 watt Tungsten architectural strip bulb and a pair of CFL low energy bulbs. Bright enough and OK to the naked eye but a terrible colour mix for photography.  Just goes to show what a remarkable device the human eye/brain combination is. Automatic white balance to a very high standard! I tried swapping Halogen candle bulbs for the CFLs which was much better but far too hot for comfort.  I'd also be worred about the amount of UV a halogen bulb can put out.

 

I obtained a couple of reels of the SMD LED strip with which to experiment. I chose waterproof 5050 LED strips with fairly closely spaced LEDs, warm white and cool white. For those not familiar with this stuff, it's a self-adhesive ribbon of surface mount LEDs & resistors which can be cut to length and rejoined electrically in a configuration of your choice. All it needs is a suitable 12v power supply. This does need to be fairly meaty as a long string of LEDs can draw a sizeable current.

 

I arranged the strips on a sheet of 3mm white surfaced MDF which will fit into the lighting box. Delightfully easy work, the MDF was cut with a Stanley knife, the strips cut to length and fixed down. The only slightly tricky task was stripping back the silicone coating to uncover the pre-prepared solder pads. Next time I may use the non-waterproof strip which comes without the coating. I did stagger the LED strips to avoid possible pools of light but with the coverage I've used, it's not been a problem.

 

The photos should illuminate (sorry!) matters.

Above is the board with the strips attached. Each end of the reel comes with ready fixed wires and a connecting plug. The board is 580mm by 280mm.

 

Lights on - really quite bright. There are 231 LEDs in total.

 

Trial placement of the board over the layout. I used the warm white which I think is the right choice for An Clár. The cool white LEDs are very blue in colour and threw the colour balance way off.

 

Overall I'm very pleased with the end result.  I will definitely be doing more with LEDs in future.  The reel of LEDs plus the power supply was just under £15.  A reel on its own was £9. The non-waterproof reels are cheaper.

 

Mark

Edited December 29, 2014 by 2mmMark

[Donw]

Mark looks quite effective. Any idea of the equivalent light output per metre of the strip?

Don

[2mmMark]

Don, I tend to work using an empirical vacuo-visual(1) methodology but you set me thinking so I consulted Dr. Google and found this useful web site:

http://heracolights.com/2014/03/10/3528-vs-5050-vs-5630-led-smd-diodes/

which tells us that a single 5050 LED is in the range of 16 to 22 lumens.

 

The strip I've used has 60 LEDs per metre so conservatively using the 16 lumens figure, that's 960 lumens, roughly equivalent to 60 watts. So my 231 LEDs are effectively giving around 3600 lumens or 240 watts of illumination. If they are nearer the 22 lumens figure, that's over 5000 lumens (660 watts!) for the layout.

 

On An Clár, the lighting is about 400mm above the scenery so the light falls very brightly on the scenery.  What the LEDs would be like suspended at about 900mm above a layout remains to be seen. Holding the LED lighting board waist high, there was still a substantial amount of light reaching the floor.  I think there's potential there.

 

On the Heraco Lights web site, I also found this:

http://heracolights.com/2014/06/05/warm-white-vs-pure-white-leds/

which explains why the cool white LEDs were disappointing. Pure white looks interesting with a colour temperature of 4500k. An Clár was built and painted under incandescent lights, hence why the warm white LEDs work well.

 

Mark

 

(1) a.k.a. "suck it and see"

[Donw]

Thanks Mark. I seem to remember a rule of thumb of about 10watts per foot of layout using flourescent tubes probably equivalent to 30 watts incandescent  which would suggest your lights are probably about double that ( I believe the visible secction is around 4ft) which seems to tally with your comments that it is quite bright. As you say suck it and see .

Don

[StuartM]

This week, I have mainly been making slips and 3ways

[2mmMark]

A lighting comparison as I finished the modifications this afternoon. Same camera (SONY RX100) same settings.

 

The Tungsten & CFL combination:

 

With LED lighting:

 

Quite a difference. A much more even light with the LEDs and I think a better colour balance overall.

 

Mark

Edited December 30, 2014 by 2mmMark

[StuartM]

If I think my track laying is less than perfect, it would seem the 12" to 1' gauge can bit a rough as well

a fascinating video of wheel on joined track

[Chris Higgs]

If I think my track laying is less than perfect, it would seem the 12" to 1' gauge can bit a rough as well

a fascinating video of wheel on joined track

 

Yes, some real track is awful. However, the difference is that real stock weighs tons and and has sprung suspension. Hence managing to stay on the track even with P4 style flanges. :-)

 

Chris

[StuartM]

Yes, the fact that the camera, which I assume is fixed to the loco/coach body is rock steady, means the suspension is doing its job,

I like to add weight to my trucks as they stay on the track better, now all I have to do is work out how to spring my wheels

[cornish trains jez]

Finally decided to have a crack at replacing my Farish VBA van chassis with a society kit.

Here is my progress made this afternoon. It's quite fiddly but already looks a hundred times better than the plastic chassis.

 

Any ideas on which type of buffers I should be buying for it?

 

Edited December 31, 2014 by cornish trains jez

[PaulCheffus]

Finally decided to have a crack at replacing my Farish VBA van chassis with a society kit.

Here is my progress made this afternoon. It's quite fiddly but already looks a hundred times better than the plastic chassis.

Any ideas on which type of buffers I should be buying for it?

image.jpg

Hi

 

I used 2-061 for mine actually it could have been 2-072 as all the buffers were renumbered a while back. I do know they were originally 2-121.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

Edited December 31, 2014 by PaulCheffus

[Donw]

Not sure if any are quite correct but the new lost wax buffers look good to me there are photos of most on the website.

Don

[DavidLong]

Finally decided to have a crack at replacing my Farish VBA van chassis with a society kit.

Here is my progress made this afternoon. It's quite fiddly but already looks a hundred times better than the plastic chassis.

 

Any ideas on which type of buffers I should be buying for it?

 

image.jpg

 

Hi Jez,

 

The correct buffers are 2-080 which are the Oleos with the 18" head. These were done specifically for the B.R. designed Air Braked opens, vans and bogie steel carriers (BAA/BBA). Don't use them on the HAA/CDA family as they had the 13" head (2-078)

 

David

[Branwell]

Almost finished the main station buildings for the Pennine Area Group's model of Lightclife ... chimney pots and signs to be added and then that's just about it. Putting blanks into the walss for the signs didn't work so had to recut slots into the walls, hence the white marks above the waiting room dooors - hopefully I can remedy this once the signs are in place. I've also made a start on the platforms and found a bit of time to progress my J94 replacement chassis.

 

think I might finally be getting the hang of how to take closeups with my camera as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pixie]

Finally decided to have a crack at replacing my Farish VBA van chassis with a society kit.

Here is my progress made this afternoon. It's quite fiddly but already looks a hundred times better than the plastic chassis.

 

Any ideas on which type of buffers I should be buying for it?

 

image.jpg

That's very neat Jez!

 

Not sure if it's any help, but I was recently tipped off that the NGS Seacow detailing pack which has some usable bits in it for the air cylinders and other undergubbins of these AB chassis.

 

Cheers

 

Pix

[John lewsey]

That station building is superb

[cornish trains jez]

That's very neat Jez!Not sure if it's any help, but I was recently tipped off that the NGS Seacow detailing pack which has some usable bits in it for the air cylinders and other undergubbins of these AB chassis.CheersPix

Cheers Pix! I'll take a look at those extra parts. I made some more progress last night and I'll post some more pictures a bit later.

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

[Caley Jim]

Decided to take the plunge and join RMweb.   I'll try and find (make?) time to post as often as I can.

 

For those who don't know me, I've been modelling the Caledonian Railway in 2FS since 1970 and am currently working on my second layout, Kirkallanmuir.

 

There has been a hiatus in this for the past 18 months or so, due to a house move, but the layout is now erected again in the garage.

 

As well as sorting out all the gremlins which have crept in while the layout has been stored, I am currently working on the bridge and surrounding retaining walls at the station/goods yard end of the layout.    In fact all that will be seen of the station will be the high level station building and the end of the island platform ramp poking out under the bridge.

 

The bridge is based on the one which carries Quarry Street over Hamilton Central station, although my version will be on a skew.  So far I've got the girders/parapets built from my own designed etches and the deck and the two abutments made up.  The photo shows the various bits fitted together,but not yet fixed.  The piers have still to have their copings fitted.  The left hand abutment (which will be to the back of the layout) is sitting in a piece of plywood on which the surrounding retaining walls and roadway will be built up before fitting it into the layout.  The roadway and walls attached to the other abutment will be too extensive to do that way, so will be built up in situ.

 

[D869]

Decided to take the plunge and join RMweb.   I'll try and find (make?) time to post as often as I can.

Welcome Jim!

 

I'd advise watching the time in a different way though because RMWeb can be more tempting than sorting out those niggling issues with your modelling projects.

 

Nice bridge, anyway.

 

Regards, Andy

[Donw]

Nice to see you on here Jim. I have admired your work for many years.

Don