hartleymartin Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 It all started with the impulse purchase of two second-hand locomotives. I bought a Hornby J94 and A1X Terrier with a view to perhaps put together a little diorama layout and "play trains." Track-laying half-completed. Wiring run to the various sections. The two impulse-buy locomotives which started it all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 The baseboard was one of a pair of chipboard sheets picked up off the side of the road. I think that they were the sides or doors of an old cabinet. The frame is 42mm x 19mm pine bought from Bunnings Warehouse. The track is all Peco Code 100 with insulfrog points. I would have gone with code 75 and electric frogs, but the shop I was at didn't have any in stock.I've read numerous times that good ballasting and painting of the track and it isn't obvious that it is just code 100. The other advantage is that any older locomotives will also be able to run on the same track. I have since purchased two other locomotives, a Bachmann, ex-mainline J72 and a Hornby Pug, both second-hand. The pug will be permanently coupled to a shunter's wagon to ensure electric pick-up. 0-6-0 locomotives don't seem to mind the insulfrog points. The layout design is the classic 5-3-3 Inglenook shunting layout. I added one extra siding where I intend to put a small locomotive shed where a second locomotive can remain on display during the shunting operations. The plan is to have some sort of low-relief warehouse or mill on the long siding, and the front short siding will be set into a road surface. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tel2010 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Hi I was stuck with some insulfrog points recently for something i was doing,i bonded the switch rails,gave me quite good running with 0 6 0 locos.It makes the rails live both sides of point so if you needed to have another loco parked you would have to have a switch to isolate it. looks like a nice start to your project. Tel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 Finished laying the track today, although there seems to be a couple of small dips which will need to be corrected. Not pictured is the Bachmann (ex-mainline) J72 which arrived in the post today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 The bottom-right track is for a small engine shed. The idea is that I will be able to leave a second locomotive on display during shunting operations. The locomotive roster thus far is:J94 in Blue LMR livery (Hornby)A1X Terrier "Earlswood" in LBSCR "Improved Engine Green"J72 in LNER greenex L&Y 21 class "Pug" in BR livery (still to be delivered) From what I am able to gather these are the best of the commercially available shunting locomotives when it comes to slow-speed operation. A Bachmann Pannier is out of my price range at the moment. It would be good to have at least one locomotive from each of the Big-Four companies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cklammer Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 You are off to a nice start - just keep it coming! Best Regards, Christian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 There are a few irregularities in the track which will need sorting out. It causes the kadee coupling trip pins to catch on the rails through points. Not much scenic work will take place until that is sorted and proper wiring up of all the isolating sections has been completed. I tried a cheap PWM controller that I bought on ebay. It works much better than the cheap trainset controller that I have been using. Just need to find a power pack at a suitable voltage, DPDT switch and a project box to mount the controller. I had initially tried to mount the point motors underneath the board, but can't get them to line up properly. I should have just attached them to the points and been done with it. Now that the track is glued down, I don't particualrly feel like ripping it up, so I'll use above-board mountings, hiding the motors in buildings and such. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 Locomotive line-up. L-R Terrier, J72, J94 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 All three locomotives now have Kadee couplings fitted front and rear. I used No.20 which is intended for the NEM coupler pocket. I cut off the tails and drilled a hole where it reads "20." They couple much closer now than they ever could with tension lock couplings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc435 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Looking good Martin, I do love an Inglenook. You can loose hours, trying to work out how to get the wagons in their chosen positions. Keep posting Matey! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 At the moment I find that the wagons are too free-running. I think some phosphor-bronze strip will be needed to put a brake onto one axle on each wagon to stop them from running away down the sidings. I think some lead fishing weights will also need to go inside the vans, and underneath removable loads in the open wagons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc435 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Or set the layout up with a slight downhill into the buffer stops of the sidings, that way you won't get runaways fouling the points. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Should I use a single delayed action magnet at the throator should I put a magnet in each siding? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Looking at the locomotives now, I think that they look so much better for having had the tension-lock couplings removed. I have set the kadee couplings in quite close with the aim to close-couple as much as is humanly possible. From my understanding of loose-coupled coal trains in NSW, there was about 6 inches of slack between couplings. I am to have a similar gap between my wagons and locomotives when coupled. I might not achieve it, but it is amazing what a different close-coupling makes to realism. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 I took a closer look at couplings today. The standard tension-lock coupling between two Bachmann Blue Riband wagons is 5mm under compression and 7mm under tension. That's a whopping 15" to 21" in 4mm scale! No doubt, this is to ensure smooth operation on train-set curves. My aim with kadee couplings is to have the buffers on the inner side only just touching when under compression (pushing) going around a 24" radius curve. With sprung buffers on the J94, I've used my knowledge of the NSWGR railways which had a mixture of knuckle couplings and hook drawgear to come up with a more-or-less scale scenario. The inner coupling face of the knucle is just in line with the heads of the buffers. With soft sprung buffers, this is not a problem, and it has a particularly good scale appearance. However, the couplings are well below scale height. On the NSWGR, the top of the knuckle was in line with the height of the centre-line of the buffers. So there is still some compromise, but it appears to be a fairly happy one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Nickey Line Posted February 3, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 3, 2014 Should I use a single delayed action magnet at the throator should I put a magnet in each siding? Hi, I originally tried using just one uncoupler on my inglenook, but it becomes very tiresome having to pull all the way back to uncouple each time, Far simpler to have one at the entrance to each siding, as I believe the original inglenook had. Hope this helps. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 The originl Inglenook used, AFAIK, tension locks which, of course, have no delayed action facility, thus necessitating an uncoupler for each siding. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 I've just installed Kadee No. 18 couplers into the NEM pockets on three Bachmann wagons. They work brilliantly, and are just the right length for shunting wagons around 24" radius curves. The No. 17 couplers are 1.5mm shorter, and would require all wagons to have sprung buffers if they are to work properly. I think that this is about as close-coupled as is practical without sprung buffers and/or using a 0.3mm wire between the buffers to prevent buffer-lock, or using much larger radius curves. They should work on 18" trainset curves. I will be using uncoupler magnets on each of the sidings, although I think I'll use the small rare-earth magnets either side of the track, which will be hidden in the ballast rather than the proprietary kadee products. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 That's a nice looking layout and locos. I have the LBSCR Earlswood and it's one of my best runners. I also have a switching layout which I need to start using again. Why do you have so many locos from different regions rather than just one region? Just curious! (Maybe I need to read further back in the thread.). Keep up the good work and progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 I grew up in Australia, so I don't have a particular regional allegiance that you poms seem to have. Also, I've always been fairly eclectic when it comes to my taste in British Steam, quite possibly because I grew up watching Thomas the Tank Engine (it came to Australia about the same time I was born) I did consider purchasing a Bachmann Percy, but have resisted for the time being.Basically, the Terrier and the LMR J94 were impulse purchases at a hobby shop I frequent. I decided that I wanted another 0-6-0, and something which made a decent shunter. The J72 came up on an article about using Kadee couplings and I bought one quite cheap on ebay. I recently also scored a Dapol Pug in the lined L&Y livery. Not an 0-6-0, and so perhaps not a great choice for a layout with insulfrog points, but I have a soft spot for little 0-4-0s like that. I think that this will probably end up some sort of private/preserved layout which will be a good excuse to have the odd assortment of rolling stock. I also have something of a soft spot for the terriers (I plan on buying an O gauge one when it comes out) and I've got my eye on another one of them on ebay in the green southern livery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 When I've got a couple more wagons and made some more progress on the layout I'll post some more pictures. The next major job is to install point motors. I bought a few of the surface-mount PL12 units from Peco. I'll hide them under some small sheds. At the moment I'm thinking a Weighbridge, crew tea-room and maybe a site office or small storage shed of some sort. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Interesting! I'm sort of similar in that I grew up in Canada (where I still live) but I've always been an "Anglophile" -- I even married a Brit! It took me a while to choose a region. My mum was from the midlands and my wife is from the South, so I had connections to two areas. I've often been able to visit the UK frequently during the past 18 years which gave me a chance to visit steam railways. In the end, I settled on the Somerset & Dorset Line but also often run GWR stock. Also being very eclectic, when I'm in the mood, I will run my LMS or LNER stock, not to mention my Canadian CPR & CNR trains! Keep up the good work and post lots of pics. You're motivating me to get back to my switching layout instead of using my tail-chaser so much! Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Running it as a private/preserved railway would give me a good excuse to avoid weathering anything. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Still working on the layout. Just waiting on some magnets for the uncouplers before I proceed with work on track, point motors and finishing the electrical wiring. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Magnets have not arrived, but the Dapol Pug has!https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1/1604944_10152180110611251_2035161472_n.jpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.