bagpipes331 Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 I think your steel plough might just trump my wooden one.... Might have to invest in a Skype capability for the new clubhouse. I thought the wooden variety would present a fire hazard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
69843 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I thought the wooden variety would present a fire hazard True, but it is far more likely that someone will cut themselves on the steel.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astockfan101 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 True, but it is far more likely that someone will cut themselves on the steel.... How about a brick one then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagpipes331 Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 How about a brick one then? OK, no wood to incinerate, no sharp steel edges, but we will have to negotiate a 6' fence, electrified 3rd rail and 100mph line speed, but after a few drinks probably won't hurt!! Needs a lick of paint though, but very conveinient for me to stagger home from Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcredfer Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 If that 66 clouted you one ................ there wouldn't be much left for anyone to Shed tears over ......... .... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Abel Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 If that 66 clouted you one ................ there wouldn't be much left for anyone to Shed tears over ......... .... Also, tripping at the wrong place could be an "electrifying" experience, rather more so than "tripping the light fantastic"... The usual... hat, coat, whatever, now where's the door, ah yes, just by the third rail!!! Poof!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcredfer Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Took some school-kids [yr 11 - 15/16yr old to wrinklies] for a walk round the local fields and paths to give them some ideas to write about. Looked at all sorts of things on the way ........... Eventually we had to cross a small Branch Line between Chippenham and Trowbridge. NO problem, - stopped by the gate, quick reminder to look and listen and not to hesitate on the way ...... Halfway across, one of the "less inspiring" kids stood on one of the rails and asked ...... "Are the trains that run along here, electric powered ones?" ................. ............................................. ......................................... ............... ............. .... .. . I have often reflected upon whether all that money spent on Education is actually getting value for money ......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Still he might have considered they ran on batteries.....as opposed to off the rail......mind u his mum best not take him near the London Underground.....could be nasty.....if he was to say see a fiver someone had dropped down on the tracks.....!!!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcredfer Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 ............................................................................... Sadly ............................................ mind u his mum best not take him near the London Underground.....could be nasty.....if he was to say see a fiver someone had dropped down on the tracks.....!!!!!!!!! ................................................................... absolutely "Spot-on!" ................................... I don't gamble, but I would put a Fiver on that!! ... That is the definition of the difference between a Gamble and a Bet ..... Later on the walk I spotted some Blackberries .................... NO - NO - they did not have alphanumeric buttons!! ..... What are they he said [yes him again - you know - the Live-Wire!] ... Blackberries, I said ... Really, he said ... Yes really, I said, try one ... No, he said, they are on a tree ... Here, I said, picking a real beut of a berry, try this one ... No, he said, that came of the tree [for the second time I avoided a long discussion about Blackberries and what trees were - some things are just not worth going there] ... Suit yourself, I said and dropped the fresh, sweet, sharp, explosion of flavour into my already salivating mouth ... and for several moments just stood and enjoyed nature's wonders ... At this point all the rest of the small group of kids said, can we eat some? ... Of course, I said these are on a public way and you can have some ... Wait a minute he said, can I try one too ... Of course, I said - warmly - shall I pick you a nice one ... Yes please, he said [please note here that politeness is not the total prerogative of the rich and powerful - some people actually mean it!] ... I found yet another absolute beut ... what an introduction to the delight for the young chap ... his smile will remain one of the most pleasurable school memories ... needless to say, he was soon discovering how many more of those big juicy ones there might be ... On reflection ............................. perhaps some things in education are really worth the investment, after all ........................... my sad reflection is that most of those things are not on the National Curriculum .............. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Doing some track work yesterday outside and picking up some brass Peco track pins managed to get one with the pointed end under the finger nail. Loads of blood and loads of bad language too. I also got sick and tired of the jam jar which holds the liquid flux blowing over or being knocked over by me when in full flight with the soldering iron. With that one you just have to let the jar fall over as a soldering iron at 400 degrees is far more dangerous than a flood of liquid flux. So I now put the jam jar of flux in the centre of a large plastic cable reel. The reel holds 100m of 2.5mm stranded wire which I use for the power bus on my 70m railway. No need for seperate power boosters and I can run 4-6 trains at once. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcredfer Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 For 3 weeks now I have been looking for my 16ft retractable Tape Measure ... ... I have asked my 8 yr old Mini Driver where she has put it, so many times .... I know she has had it to play with and dropped it somewhere in the piles of rubbish she calls toys ..... I have hunted all round the house and even under her bed [- now there is a scary place, shared with rats, beetles and other creatures of the dark .. ] .......... I have even been all through the shed and garage, you know, just in case it might have been me that put it down somewhere .... although I know it wasn't .... .... even looked in the tool box ........ Enough was enough, I had spent more on food to replace the energy used in the relentless search than a new tape would cost, so time to just go and buy a new one ..... Yesterday i bit the bullet and went to buy one ... nice smart one with a device which hold the tape out until you press the lever to allow it to retract - slowly .... HA! .. no more slapped fingers for me - with the tape retracting before you can apply the lock, with one hand .... Well, moving on, today, I decided to try to practice some soldering of "N" Gauge rail ......... [i have already polished the keyboard ready for the entries on the soldering] ...... .......... I went to the drawer where the "N" Gauge stuff is kept, to get the rail ......... .......................... ................. you're ahead of me already, aren't you .......... ................. at least now I can measure up to 32 ft, without having to place a finger on the ground to mark where the end of the tape measure came to and then try to extend the tape out further, single handed ... .. [shudders thinking of those fingers again!] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Been there done that...gotthe T shirt.....the really annoying thing is when you find it in a 'proper' place.....and you think.....well you know.....oh bxgger why did i not think to check THERE!!!!!!! When we were first married and not used to each other....and things went missing there used to be continuous jokes about some invisible gorilla moving things.......now? we just blame each other LOL. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 My personal solution for "clumsy". (half way through modifications to add CNC) Works even better if you bolt the bits down firmly before releasing handbrake. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 I must remember NOT to try to do more than one job at a time. Bonding up rail joints and filling a five litre plastic container with an acidic cleaner for work in the garden shed where the cleaning solutions are kept in 20 litre plastic containers. Well I got so involved with the bonding that I completely forgot all about the slowly filling container until I noticed liquid acid running slowly out the shed door. There was a "lake" of liquid acid in the garden shed. A synthetic chamois makes a great sponge for soaking up the lake of acid. I must remember not to wipe the car with it. Well look on the positive side ( if there is one) the acid is a triple cleaner, a disinfectant, cleaner and deodoriser so at least the sheds concrete floor is now clean, disinfected and deodorised. The only trouble is the smell of the cleaner which has a distinct "rotten egg" smell to it. So it smells like someone has eaten a case of Baked Beans and then gone into the shed to release the after effects. Still I must count my lucky stars for at least it wasn't Domestos which has a strong chlorine smell to it and yes I have that in 20 litre containers too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcredfer Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I am with the cleaner stuff - ish .......... Well I got so involved with the bonding that I completely forgot all about the slowly filling container until I noticed liquid acid running slowly out the shed door. ............ but how do you "bond" rail joints? .............. is it conductive? ............. is there voltage drop, if it is? ........... how big is the voltage drop? ........ do you still need Droppers? ........ Uummm .... to many qvvestions .... must go on that refresher Interrogators Course ...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 .. must go on that refresher Interrogators Course ...... I'll send Mrs SM42 round to give you a few tips. Clumsy status is currently at a heightened level at SM42 Towers as major re-landscaping has started in the garden. (Unfortunately not for a railway just yet but I do hope to future proof) No issues yet other than a few near misses I have learnt the following lessons: Don't stand astride the decking plank when trying to free if from one of those special screws (with round holes on the head to stop you undoing it by accident) Try to avoid falling into the thorny plants when the partly rotted timber joist you are sat on turns out to be more rotten than it looks. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagpipes331 Posted July 6, 2014 Author Share Posted July 6, 2014 Come on Mr SM42....show her who's the boss!!!!! This is what happened when I told Mrs B I was going to attempt a little light weeding...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Westerhamstation is in a vote off....for being published in BRM this October. If you would like to support you local sheriff clumsy member the link is here.... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/87624-brm-october-rmweb-edition-choose-your-content/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Well if working with tools in the garden ALWAYS keep the metal rake with the spikes down on the ground. Take it from me that standing on the metal spikes results in a nasty sudden blow to the forehead. As for weeding a workmate of mine weeded a narrow border because his wife asked him too. The first and last time she ever asked him to weed the garden. In the border were carnations and other small flowering plants. After he had weeded the border there was nothing but bare earth. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted July 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2014 Well if working with tools in the garden ALWAYS keep the metal rake with the spikes down on the ground. Take it from me that standing on the metal spikes results in a nasty sudden blow to the forehead. As for weeding a workmate of mine weeded a narrow border because his wife asked him too. The first and last time she ever asked him to weed the garden. In the border were carnations and other small flowering plants. After he had weeded the border there was nothing but bare earth. Nice trick if you can get away with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Here's a story of a former workmate of mine who tried to get away with something but it didn't work. Both he and his wife were very heavy smokers. His wife got cysts on the lungs and had to give up smoking. One night she was trying to cook dinner, wash up and make plum jam all at the same time. She asked her husband to stir the jam whilst she concerntrated on making dinner and the washing up. Her husband went outside to tend to the coal fired house heating system and got talking to the next door neighbour. Well the jam "caught" and his wife was to put it extremely mildly "not amused". I only found this out because I worked with him on the railways on night shift and he'd bring wonderful stew and casseroles to work to eat that his wife had made. However this night he had marmalade sandwiches. He said that having given up smoking the wife didn't take long to "bite". Apparently she called him a useless old b**tard and when he asked for his usual casserole she told he could make his own f***ing dinner. They were a nice couple from Leeds and his wife was usually a very sweet tempered lady......but not on this occasion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 As model railways are usually in small places when there is more than one person operating both people need to "get on". Here's another story although not connected to model railways. My mum and dad went round Australia taking 12 months to do the trip. They had a large station wagon car and a caravan with shower and toilet on board. One night at a place called Tenterfield in north western New South Wales they met another couple who had a motorhome. Dad said "g'day" and got a very posh "Good Evening" in return. Mum and dad had already parked their caravan next to the concrete slab and they then watched this posh couple trying to park their motorhome. Dad said they had huge trouble. The posh man was driving and his posh wife was trying to give directions. He couldn't see or hear her and vice versa. They eventually ended up abusing each other verbally and continued to do so whilst making dinner, waiting for it to cook, through eating dinner and whilst doing the washing up afterwards. They didn't draw the curtains or close the windows. They spent the night at opposite ends of the motorhome, which shows that in confined spaces you just HAVE TO get on..... Just a slight edit to this story in that mum and dad were in Dampier (Western Australia) and went to Seven Mile Siding which at the time held Pendennis Castle. Pendennis was pottering about the yard light engine and the crew asked dad if he would like a cab ride. Mum said he was on the footplate like "grease lightening". Dad being very much a GWR man was absolutely thrilled to bits. Mum said she had to tie a brick onto the top of his head for the next few days just to keep his feet on the ground. Dads first encounter with the GWR was in 1938 at age 7 when his dad took him over to the "common right of way bridge" at the London end of Southall station to watch the expresses steaming through...where he lived. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I am with the cleaner stuff - ish .......... ............ but how do you "bond" rail joints? .............. is it conductive? ............. is there voltage drop, if it is? ........... how big is the voltage drop? ........ do you still need Droppers? ........ Uummm .... to many qvvestions .... must go on that refresher Interrogators Course ...... Well I use 1mm solid copper (evening all) wire for my OO gauge outdoor railway. Yes the solder is conductive and the rail joiners are only there to align the rails. They get dirt in them quite quickly and lose their condutivity. I've found no voltage drop. Yes I still have droppers of the same 1mm solid copper wire. I have bus wires of 2.5mm stranded copper wire. On a railway of this size I buy the copper wire in 100m long reels from an electrical wholesaler. I have a 70m run and my DCC system is NCE 5amp radio. I did a test with a voltage meter to see what the voltage was on the rail furthest from the command station. At 45m away it was 14.5 volts AC. It was the same as the nearest point to the CS. The DCC Command Station is housed in the house and a 20 meter 15mm stranded dual copper wire runs out to the railway. I've been adding more points to the railway (hence the bonding) and it may surprise you that they are all Peco Insulfrog which I've found to be more reliable outside. The track is all code 100 Streamline except for straight sections which are Peco ST 204's which I buy by the box load. I hope that's of some help to you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I am with the cleaner stuff - ish .......... ............ but how do you "bond" rail joints? .............. My way of bonding rail joints is simple, 1. Using a wire stripper strip the plastic housing off the 1mm copper wire. 2. Make sure the outside of the rail where you want to solder is clean. If it isn't then clean using a small bladed screw driver. You can use a wire brush in a Dremel drill but great care must be taken as you could easily melt the plastic chairs due to heat buildup. 3. With a modellers paint brush (an old one) put a small amount of nickel/silver flux on the OUTSIDE of the rail between two plastic chairs. 4. With a hot soldering iron (375-400 degrees) place a small amount of solder on the flux which will boil and fizz and the solder will flow and sit neatly on the rail side. If a blob of solder forms the area is not clean enough. The cleaned rail side between two chairs should have a silver look to it. 5. Taking your bare copper wire hold against the solder on the rail side and brush a little flux on. 6. Holding the wire against the solder you take your soldering iron and with a good sized blob on it's tip you put the iron against the wire and all being well the flux will boil and the solder will flow giving you a nice strong joint. 7. The finished joint should be nice and shiny silver. If it isn't you've got a dry joint which will quickly fail. 8. Any excess solder which has found it's way onto the rail top can be removed with a large "flat bastard file". To do the whole joint takes around an eighth of the time it took me to write this. This may not be everyones way of bonding up rail joints but it's my way and it works for me. For me it seems that soldering can be summed up in two ways. 1. cleanliness and 2. Heat. You have to get the soldered area HOT. If it isn't hot enough the solder won't "flow" properly. It's just a case of trial and error. If your unsure practice on a bit of old nickel/silver rail first. If you make a complete mess of it, it won't matter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 In addition to the last post I have seen on another forum of a bloke who just put a blob of solder on the rail joint or the gap between two pieces of rail so that the solder was actually sitting on the fish plate. This is not how one bonds rail joints properly outside. That method negates the expansion of the rails which in hot weather will close the rail joint. With that other blokes method the joints can't close and so something else has to give. Namely the track which will go out of alignment and will probably destroy the track, ie the rails will break free from the chairs, and be useless. It's surprising how quickly the Peco nickel/silver rail heats up and I've found that laying track (and using new shiny track) can't be done in our summertime. The reason being that the rails become just too hot to handle in 35+ degree heat. Bonds will fail in time and they are usually found when cleaning the rails. I use a G scale track rubber as it's big enough to be able to clean two lines at once. I actually use the replacement rubber and take a small pair of modellers pliers with me to just "tug" at the bonds to see if they are ok. The reason bonds fail is due the migration of atoms in the solder. I don't know where the atoms migrate to but I hope they have an entry visa obtainable from the Department of Atom Migration. People say that you need to use a new piece of copper wire.... WRONG WRONG WRONG. 1. You just need to brush some flux onto the solder left on the rail side. 2. Using your soldering iron to heat that solder, heat it until it turns shiny silver. 3. You may need to add more solder to the rail side. 4. Brush some flux on the now "tinned" copper wire and heat that until it turns a nice silver colour 5. Using a small screw driver push the now tinned copper wire against the solder on the rail side. 6. Brush on a little flux and with a blob of solder on your soldering iron place it's tip on the wire and holding the wire with the screw driver you make a repaired/new joint. If the screw driver is the one you've used to scrape the rail sides it won't be soldered into the joint as it's dirty. Only one bond will fail at a time. I've never had two fail (one each side of the rail joint) ever. I should add that a new piece of copper wire would only ever be needed if the present bonded copper wire has broken but I've never had this happen to me. Yes the wire oxidises but the 1mm solid copper wire doesn't break in two. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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