Cwm Bach - A South Wales Branch Line

[CME and Bottlewasher]

For some reason my new Noch Grass Master decided not to work when I finally got around to taking it out of the box today. Unfortunately, I bought it over a year ago from Gaugemaster and I don't have the receipt. ):-(

Hi Chris,

 

You could always go for the version that Steve at FMR does - £25-£40ish - they advertise on the back page of the GOG Gazette.

 

Steve was telling me that he developed such for use on Leamington.

 

Hope that helps with a cost effective solution.

 

Kindest,

 

CME

 

PS I have sent you a PM with further details.

Edited June 26, 2014 by CME and Bottlewasher

[81A Oldoak]

Hi Chris,

 

You could always go for the version that Steve at FMR does - £25-£40ish - they advertise on the back page of the GOG Gazette.

 

Steve was telling me that he developed such for use on Leamington.

 

Hope that helps with a cost effective solution.

 

Kindest,

 

CME

 

PS I have sent you a PM with further details.

Thanks. I'll follow up your lead. Meanwhile, I'll try to get the delinquent Noch device working. 

[Giles]

For some reason my new Noch Grass Master decided not to work when I finally got around to taking it out of the box today. Unfortunately, I bought it over a year ago from Gaugemaster and I don't have the receipt. ):-(

 

One of the few useful bits of EU law gives consumers some better rights though..... Most consumer goods sold in the EU are covered against faulty workmanship etc. for TWO years, not one, under EU regulations - so if you can reasonably provide proof of purchase (it doesn't necessarily have to be the till receipt, per se) then it can be returned for repair etc..

[CME and Bottlewasher]

One of the few useful bits of EU law gives consumers some better rights though..... Most consumer goods sold in the EU are covered against faulty workmanship etc. for TWO years, not one, under EU regulations - so if you can reasonably provide proof of purchase (it doesn't necessarily have to be the till receipt, per se) then it can be returned for repair etc..

Hi Giles,

 

Being an ex procurement bod - and still trying to keep abreast of EU law - I have to admit that I wasnt aware of that legislation - which is most useful, thanks from one and all.

 

Some electrical devices stipulate one year warranty (which IMHO often shows a lack of faith in the product) but of course if there is an over-arching/umbrella law/legislation then such is overridden (perhaps membership of the EU is helpful after all - LOL!).

 

With purchases over eg. £300.00 then the 'cover' can be - if reasonably argued - seen as being up to eg. 6 years and if purchased with a credit card one is then covered under the Consumer Credit Act (1974) and then the credit card company is liable for the vendor and the goods etc. (in layman's terms).

 

Hope that all helps too - sorry for the hijack Chris.

 

Kindest,

 

CME

Edited June 28, 2014 by CME and Bottlewasher

[Giles]

Here's a brief over-view of consumer rights (faulty goods) in the EU

 

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/consumer-marketing/files/infographic_faulty_goods_en.pdf

 

And key consumer rights within the EU

 

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/mimica/docs/consumer_compaign_flyer_2014_en.pdf

 

Worth knowing......

Edited June 28, 2014 by Giles

[chaz]

Dave,

It has worked without problem on Abersoch Mark 2, my old 4mm scale layout, which is 20 years old. I grant that it is a simple and inelegant lash-up.....

 

Chris

 

I must admit when I saw your posted photo I wondered about the long-term strength given the mechanical loading on the solder. Your experience suggests that there is no problem BUT should you want to strengthen the joint, to make it even more resilient, there is a simple ploy. Lash the two wires together with a few strands of thin copper wire (separated from multistrand hook-up) figure of eight fashion before you solder the joint. The solder will flow in and around and make a very tough joint. The only disadvantage is that it will be a bit more difficult to dismantle the joint if you ever need to.

 

Chaz

[Donw]

Chris, Gaugemaster are pretty good about replacing things in my experience. If you order from them direct they may well have a record of it perhaps not if it was at a show.

 

Also the joint of the tortoise links is not under a lot of stress the tortoise operating arm should be free to move in the tube. I used the same fixing myself and it worked ok.

Don

[ixionmodels]

Chris would have got the Grass Master (GrasMaster?) out because when we were at Railex at Aylesbury, we sat down with Gordon and Maggie Gravett who were doing demonstrations of static grass application. They made it look ridiculously easy: blob on the glue, ground wire clip onto a pin in the baseboard, turn on the unit and shake gently. It was quite magical to see the fibres stand on end as they land.

Then it was a bit more glue, and bit more grassing and bingo, done! And it looks like grass! **

 

As an aside, I want to say how thrilled I was to meet some of my inspirational modelling 'heroes' - not the right word, as it devalues those men and women who do truly and sacrificially heroic things in the world - but I hope you know what I mean. For me, it was Gordon and Maggie, Chris Nevard and Giles Favell.

 

I am a high school Visual Arts teacher in my real life outside of Ixion Models, and so it's the 'Art' of model railways that has always attracted me. Photography is a big part of this, and my Ixion partner Chris is a very good photographer indeed, as this thread shows. Some photographers have the 'eye' for how to make a great model railway look sensational in pictures. For me, the doyen of model railway photographers is Barry Norman. I first encountered his work in the Sept 1988 Railway Modeller, when he photographed the Railway of the Month, which was Dave Elbourne's 4mm scale "Scotland Street". I still go back to that issue to marvel at those B&W pictures. I wonder how many of our "hero" layouts are memorable especially because of the work of a great photographer; Chris (and other readers), what do you think?

 

Lindsay O'Reilly.

PS: at Aylesbury, I bought Gordon's latest Wild Swan book and got him to sign it for me. I made him a return offer, that if he bought an Ixion loco at the show, I would sign that for him. He didn't get back to me on that.

 

**Whilst watching the Gravett's excellent demonstration, Chris - in the tiresome fashion of Britons everywhere - made the observation to Maggie that my wide eyes were primarily due to the fact that I was wondering how I would make this work here in Australia, where the fibres would have to fall UP in order to work. He thought her subsequent laughter was at his joke, but I know it was more in pity. She's a right lovely lady, that Maggie.

[Guest Isambarduk]

Sorry, we missed each other, Lindsay.   David

[81A Oldoak]

While on holiday in the South of France recently, I had ample time to ponder upon the problem of my seemingly defective Noch Grassmaster static grass applicator. The eureka moment came after almost two weeks - during which I also mastered the French version of sudoku - when I thought that since it was a year between purchasing  and using the device the factory-fitted 9V battery may have gone flat. And so today I made haste to a local emporium to negotiate the purchase of a suitable battery. Negotiations were concluded swiftly - "I need a 9 volt battery.", "£2.91 please.", "OK." - and the replacement power source was duly fitted. Upon switching on the Grassmaster the red LED illuminated. Illustrated here are the fruits of today's labour. I may place some refuse under the buffer. I have a photograph of a buffer at Bargoed that makes it appear like a tip.

 

I need to get on with the fiddle yard sector plate, but is a little too hot for carpentry at the moment.

[Barnaby]

You have the POWER Chris. Looking good.

[81A Oldoak]

The hot and sunny weather has been a deterrent to heavy work on Cwm Bach. However, SWMBO needed some MDF cut into small rectangles for something to do with our son's forthcoming wedding on 9th August. Since I was having to get my carpentry gear out, I decided to do some work on the sector plate. So I made a start at around 8am while it was still tolerably cool and the intended work area was in the shade.

 

The photos show the low level sector plate that will serve the "main" line into Cwm Bach. It will hold 3 roads each of 54" length. The track is loosely laid and I have included a couple of items of rolling stock for scale. The colliery staging will be a single siding at higher level along the back of this base. I haven't yet decided on a device for disguising the exit to the sector plate, but a pipe bridge or footbridge are under consideration. I'm afraid this symbolises my "make-it-up-as-I-go-along" approach to model railways so please don't quote Winston Churchill "Anyone who fails to plan is planning to fail".

 

The temperature is forecast to increase as the week progresses and as I'm in London on Tuesday and Wednesday and will probably be on the beach at Boscombe on Friday, I don't expect much progress in the next few days. Nevertheless, it is mildly exciting to think that I will soon have a running line of 15 feet.

[Barnaby]

Yummy stuff Chris.

Have you given any thought to the electrical connections between the layout & the sector plate.  I'm sorting that bit on mine just now and I fancy the bulldog clips to both align and make connection.  I think Chaz did something like this on Dock Green.

I am thinking of soldering some brass angle to each rail then use the bulldog clips to connect across with.  The one caveat to that is the area near the exit onto the layout is going to be crowed so maybe some method of push fit connections will be easier.

 

Regards

[81A Oldoak]

Yummy stuff Chris.

Have you given any thought to the electrical connections between the layout & the sector plate.  I'm sorting that bit on mine just now and I fancy the bulldog clips to both align and make connection.  I think Chaz did something like this on Dock Green.

I am thinking of soldering some brass angle to each rail then use the bulldog clips to connect across with.  The one caveat to that is the area near the exit onto the layout is going to be crowed so maybe some method of push fit connections will be easier.

 

Regards

Barnaby,

Cwm Bach is a DCC layout so all tracks on the sector plate will be permanently live with no need for electrical switchgear. I will need to make a simple device from brass tube and rod to align the tracks.

 

Regards,

 

Chris

[Barnaby]

Ahhh didn't think of that, mine also is to be DCC but I intend to use cassettes so maybe the bulldog clip way will be the best for me to get the cassette live. 

To overcome the problem of not having space at the layout entrance to attach the bulldog clips I will put them on flying leads from the layout track end and connect them to the rear end of the cassette.  Colour coding of the bulldogs to the track should avoid any direction problems.  A wooden guide to push sideways up against should sort out the alignment needs.

 

Thanks

[puddlejumper]

Have you thought of something like this:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_05_2014/post-7104-0-10521700-1399740317.jpg

 

This is how my friend Mike has done it on his layout Dunelm, it's on here somewhere, I'm sure he would be more than happy to tell you more

Doug

 

Edit, just realised I should have put this in Barnabys thread, apologies to Chris for hijacking

Edited July 22, 2014 by puddlejumper

[Barnaby]

Thanks for that P jumper.

back on topic Chris ***** apologies*****

Regards

Edited July 22, 2014 by Barnaby

[81A Oldoak]

I am not a DCC person, but I have heard that the ability to isolate track sections can be an advantage in fault finding.  DCC experts will be able to confirm / refute.

Thanks for the tip Paul. Cwm Bach is such a simple layout that I don't expect this to be a problem. Each of the three boards has its own independently fed bus-bars, so I can isolate each board and the track layouts on each are not complex. This is my first DCC layout.  I like the simplicity of wiring the tracks and not being caught out by failing to throw a track section switch during a maneouvre.

 

Regards,

 

Chris

[chaz]

 

Have you given any thought to the electrical connections between the layout & the sector plate.  I'm sorting that bit on mine just now and I fancy the bulldog clips to both align and make connection.  I think Chaz did something like this on Dock Green.

 

Yes I did, aligning and powering the cassettes (which, of course, are lifted off). Not sure I would do it that way for a sector plate though - might be better using an arrangement like a door bolt - but home made to eliminate any slack. I did have a sector plate on my home layout (now dismantled) and this used such an arrangement.

[CME and Bottlewasher]

Thanks for the tip Paul. Cwm Bach is such a simple layout that I don't expect this to be a problem. Each of the three boards has its own independently fed bus-bars, so I can isolate each board and the track layouts on each are not complex. This is my first DCC layout.  I like the simplicity of wiring the tracks and not being caught out by failing to throw a track section switch during a maneouvre.

 

Regards,

 

Chris

Hi Chris,

 

Just back from a few days away - great progress BTW!

 

The issue with DCC is that it really doesnt like 'shorts', so it is often prudent, even with a small layout to use a DCC Circuit Breaker, the use of Snubbers can also be helpful too.

 

By breaking the layout down into to ie two 'Districts' using the CB can help with operations as well as trouble shooting.

 

Hope that helps to clarify.

 

Kindest in haste,

 

CME

Edited July 22, 2014 by CME and Bottlewasher

[81A Oldoak]

I had some time today to do some work on Cwm Bach so laid a second road on the sector plate. I have decided to feed power to the rails via a simple arrangement of brass rod and tubing rather than permanent feed to all roads as originally planned (I did mention in another post that I tend to make things up as I go along). The first shot shows the alignment bolts. It all looks rather untidy so I may slap on some paint to improve the appearance. One more road needs to be laid and I'll probably install it tomorrow.

 

I have also enclosed a shot of a couple of locos on the sector plate. The 57XX is Bachmann Brass and the 64XX is the superb Lionheart model together with its Lionheart auto-coach mate. I have not yet summoned up the courage to weather the 64XX in its lovely BR lined-green livery. It will have to be done one day, but in the meantime I enjoyed running the auto-train up and down the layout this evening. The sound project on the 64XX is excellent. 

 

Regards,

 

Chris

[Barnaby]

Chris you say you make it up as you go along well I say necessity is the mother of invention and you provided a solution to your need that's simple, effective and low cost, how clever is that. 

 

Regards

[Donw]

Nice work Chris. As you say the is no need for section switches. You say each board has seperate bus bar feeds so could be isolated if necessary, sounds as though you have it covered.

Don

[81A Oldoak]

Well, I have finished the sector plate for Cwm Bach. There are three roads, each 54 inches long. The photos show the business end before and after painting the alignment gear matt black. The painting has smartened up the appearance and I may paint the whole structure black. Part of the centre road will have to serve as a headshunt when empty and full mineral wagons are shunted between the "main" line and the colliery branch. However, it is not a toal loss as there will still be sufficient space to hold the 64XX and auto-coach. Some time in the future I will build a dust cover to protect stock on the sector plate.

 

The station building is loosely laid in place on an offcut of timber for the time being. I need to install the backscene and ballast the track before work can start on the station platform. The final picture shows the auto-train in the station. This is the Lionheart GWR auto-coach straight out of the box. It will be detailed and weathered in due course.

 

The next job will involve some experimental landscaping and an assessment of the suitability Wills "4mm scale" Coarse Stone in 7mm scale. I also need to build the upper colliery storage siding on the sector plate board.

[CME and Bottlewasher]

Hi Chris,

 

Great progress and nice work!

 

Any thoughts on the Circuit Breaker and if you will progress it or not?

 

Kind regards,

 

CME