trisonic Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Very enjoyable thread. But after all, no mater how big the layout, how expensive the models or how long they took to build, aren’t we all just "Playing trains" to some extent? Depends on your point of view. Running trains is my least enjoyable part of "Model Railways" - much prefer the building of models, when finished I tend to lose interest.... Best, Pete. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 (edited) I had imagined this as a "quick put it up and take it down again" layout. The flap back hinges are the same type as Brian Lambert uses but with the pin driven out and replaced with an L-shaped piece of stout wire. Each board is linked to its neighbor by two hinges. Pull out the wires and separate the boards to store after playing. trap bus-wires under hinge each side - and connect to rails - seemplez! Wiring automatically disconnects when hinge pins are removed or clips are undone the only connecting wires that will need to be removed are the ones to the controller Edited October 2, 2013 by shortliner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I think the fundamental difference between modeling and playing trains is that playing trains is just that. Train, track and controller and being transported back to the simple pleasures of childhood. None of this scenery and detail stuff to worry about as with modelling. The joy of seeing a train go round and round at warp factor 9, the wheels barely staying on the track is a joy to behold, and if your train is old enough and built like the Hornby tanks (army type rather than engine type) of old then if it falls off no harm is done. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&WR Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Funny thing is, SM42, that I don't hesitate to let The Small Controller drive my stock as he is quite cautious. He even tells me off when I let the King Class/HST/Voyager have a good old gallop in case there is a derailment! I did, once, make the mistake of letting one of his friends (a bigger boy) come in and play with him on the layout without supervision, or at least I was in the room next door listening out. There were happy sounds, then quiet, then scampering downstairs, then the sound of the friend racing off home. I went in to investigate what was going on and there was carnage. It took a while to interrogate TSC to find out what had happened & it appears the older friend had proposed a game of "let's run over the toy soldiers with the trains" and TSC was too overwhelmed to demur. Naturally sad friend has not been invited to have a railway day again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 None of this scenery and detail stuff to worry about as with modelling. The implication there is that you need to do "scenery and detail stuff" to be a modeller. Or that doing such stuff precludes the playing trains. Not so. I like Pete above have great difficulty on doing "scenery and detail stuff" or at least to my satisfaction so layouts come and go with little enduring interest. But I still consider myself as a modeller. I build models of locos and wagons. But that doesn't stop me placing a circle of track on the floor and enjoying the moment of seeing my work race around proving to me that they work and are not just for some static exhibit (even if I know that will be where some may end up). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 On the contrary Kenton. No such implication was intended . I simply meant that when playing trains these things become secondary. The modelling bit, for me, comes when it all comes together in some form of context, be that as a single item, a whole layout or anywhere in between. Playing trains has no such constraints. Just the trains whizzing by and our imagination. I too find scenery and detail (or inability to recreate it ) often drives me to distraction, but all that is forgotten when I play trains. Which is not as often as I'd like. Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 SM42 is a happy boy as he is playing trains tonight. A temporary railway has been built around the conservatory window cill with bridges across the doors. A J94 has performed the opening run with 8 vans on the drawbar. Joy The only problem is Mrs SM42 hasn't seen it yet. Andy (Still buzzing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 (edited) David Barrow, a very well-respected US modeller, builds/tears down/rebuilds his Cat Mountain & Santa Fe RR frequently - HE has certainly built one version that was "minimalist" to say the least (virtually all scenery was imaginary) that raised howls of protest in the US model press at the time - I believe he is currently modelling a slightly more scenic layout, based on an industrial area in Lubbock, Texas. However remember the Rules #1 = It's MY railway, #2 = rule #1 takes precedence over all other rules and objections Edited December 7, 2013 by shortliner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 (edited) Further to the opening of my play railway I can report that I have found the Bachmann 8750 has superior haulage capacity to the Hornby J94 by about 30%. Currently running class 25 with 37 on the hook. Wagons wheels squeaking and rattling over some horrendous rail joints. Me sat in the middle with coffee, cake and BRM. What could be better, except perhaps a beer instead of coffee. An SM42 also had a few circuits last night. Looked very good in the dark with its 3 headlights and 2 illuminated carriages on the drawbar. If you can, give playing trains a go. I'm still smiling here. Andy Edited December 8, 2013 by SM42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Goldfish Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Has mrs SM42 found out yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Yes Mrs SM42 has found out. Hard to hide it really. "Oh sweet man" was the response. Lucky me! Not sure how long I can stretch it out though. Might be able to make it till the end of the week I'll keep it going till she starts asking questions. What I do know is that it will only take about 30 mins to set up now the woodwork has been done. For a brief moment last night I did start to think about scenery, but then that may be taking things too seriously Luckily the conservatory doesn't get much use this time of year. Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJ Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 We got my 3yr a Hornby Thomas set for his birthday, and have added a few more wagons and sidings. I had forgotten just how much fun sitting on the playroom floor running Thomas and a few wagons around was. We have even made a tunnel and a hill out of shoeboxes. MrsJ has remarked more than once that it always works first time unlike my fancy detailed scenic, still under construction, layout! Playing Thomas is the perfect tonic when I get stressed by yet another short circuit or dodgy point motor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Further to the opening of my play railway I can report that I have found the Bachmann 8750 has superior haulage capacity to the Hornby J94 by about 30%. Currently running class 25 with 37 on the hook. Wagons wheels squeaking and rattling over some horrendous rail joints. Me sat in the middle with coffee, cake and BRM. What could be better, except perhaps a beer instead of coffee. An SM42 also had a few circuits last night. Looked very good in the dark with its 3 headlights and 2 illuminated carriages on the drawbar. If you can, give playing trains a go. I'm still smiling here. Andy I think you should post some pictures on here before Mrs SM42 Beeching wields the axe! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 (edited) I think you should post some pictures on here before Mrs SM42 Beeching wields the axe! If I could I would but it never seems to work for me. Technology is not my strong point (how many KB in 1 MB? Is the answer that obvious?) and I have checked the help section but I can't get it to work.. Will keep trying though. Luckily the railway only took a couple of hours to build, once I had worked out how to bridge the doors after an unsuccessful (and in hindsight un-necessarily complicated) attempt. So now with the civil engineering pre built, it could be up and running in about 20 minutes. Andy Edited December 10, 2013 by SM42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 If I could I would but it never seems to work for me. Technology is not my strong point (how many KB in 1 MB? Is the answer that obvious?) and I have checked the help section but I can't get it to work.. Will keep trying though. Luckily the railway only took a couple of hours to build, once I had worked out how to bridge the doors after an unsuccessful (and in hindsight un-necessarily complicated) attempt. So now with the civil engineering pre built, it could be up and running in about 20 minutes. Andy I can't say technology is my strong point either, and neither is woodworking! Would like to see your door bridging construction lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Jackson Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I've just ordered my son a Hornby pendolino set so should be lots of fun on xmas day 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 (edited) Here goes with some pics I hope, after a bit of headscratching. Door bridges were simply constructed from two 21mm battens wider than the door resting on the cill either side and 9mm ply screwed underneath. Crude but effective and much simpler than my original idea of putting the ply on top and notching the battens and screwing to the bottom of the cill overhang to keep the top surface flush with the cills. It can be seen in some of the pics. Andy Edit as managed to add same picture 4 times. Will try again soon Edited December 11, 2013 by SM42 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM42 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Some more pictures I hope Across the big door and past the palm Second radius curves fitted nicely around the cill on the corners Andy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Great stuff! The palm tree shot is particularly nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium OnTheBranchline Posted December 13, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2013 There's really no difference in calling a layout a train set and vice versa. It's like calling a movie a film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&WR Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) Sometimes Christmas and New Year's Eve are done, the first proper day in the office is over, a couple of little bargains have fallen into the shopping basket and it's just time to play trains: I had laid the track last night in anticipation and came home to find The Small Controller had kindly added the Lego, cars & so on to make things a bit more realistic Edited January 6, 2014 by C&WR 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 A great way to run something new in, and fun too- I built son a "train set" when he was young, and was transported back to Hornby Dublo days of complete happiness with an oval on the floor. Nothing wrong with simple pleasures... and I do like to see a Duette still in use- what a piece of kit; indestructible it seems! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean hpw Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I LOVE to play trains and I hope I always do! Recently I built up an old Wills Finecast (before they were taken over by SE fincast) LMS Flatiron kit, followed the instructions, and the weight distribution is simply non existan, HOWEVER It did give me a good hour of amusement watching the old Tri-ang OO chassis doing wheelies around a track on the floor! Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&WR Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) A great way to run something new in, and fun too- I built son a "train set" when he was young, and was transported back to Hornby Dublo days of complete happiness with an oval on the floor. Nothing wrong with simple pleasures... and I do like to see a Duette still in use- what a piece of kit; indestructible it seems! Thanks, Ben. I was ridiculously excited to get my Tornado for £43 (with judicious use of some about-to-expire Clubcard vouchers) in the Tesco sale. I'm just disappointed that we will need this room for The Long Haired Controller's business in future as it would make a lovely railway room! The Duette isn't my original one. The old one went away for repair as the thermal cutouts were banjaxed and the repairer lent me this in the interim. We subsequently lost touch, but as I have a working controller (albeit very rusty on the casing) and he has gained an absolutely mint casing (I was fanatically careful with my railway stuff as a boy because it was a treat to have in more straightened times) with no cost to each other I think we're both happy. Because I had looked after stuff so well it nearly all ran straight out of the box, or with some minor servicing & in one case a new set of brushes. Therefore I was able to let The Small Controller have the delight of playing trains straight away even though they had been packed up fr the best part of a quarter of a century! Edited January 7, 2014 by C&WR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Goldfish Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Ah Sunday's, time for a little light fine-scale modelling while 'the boy' does his home work: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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