rapidotrains Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 For those of you who have not been following the other thread, the whole UK adventure of Rapido Bill and Rapido Jason is now online in one spot: http://www.rapidotrains.com/blog/2014/11/26/1159/ Thanks for reading! -Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted November 26, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 26, 2014 Jason Great reading. Regarding your preference ot types of layout we do get a few chances to do real switching and running whole trians for a reason at soem of the module meets and it is a great way to run trains, if only we had more space at home!! Love your take on which way is 'UP' The Prince Rupert Hotel is in a great location in Shrewsbury although havent stayed there for a while. I didnt get chance to you but did briefly to Bill. I must have walked striaght past Terry as I didn't realise he was at Warley so apologies Terry if you are on here. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 I was thinking that the instrument panels could be made to light up using some cheap electroluminescent display material behind the moulding which would have perforations. Animated even! Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRUNFOS Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 For those of you who have not been following the other thread, the whole UK adventure of Rapido Bill and Rapido Jason is now online in one spot: http://www.rapidotrains.com/blog/2014/11/26/1159/ Thanks for reading! -Jason Did not realise you were in Town, could have given the unofficial tour, much better!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Tilt Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 (edited) I was thinking that the instrument panels could be made to light up using some cheap electroluminescent display material behind the moulding which would have perforations. Animated even! Andy. Jason's already hard-over on installing 'flashing lights' in there, heaven forbid that you've given him more ideas! Back then electroluminescent displays didn't really exist, we had a few high definition oscilloscopes in the rack, but most of the visual output was produced by UV recorders that printed the results on long paper rolls. We also had three reel-to-reel tape decks for data storage, and you can see those moulded into the rack already. Lastly we had a 16 channel Redcor mini-computer which is also moulded in place already, it's the far right hand rack and you can also see its teletype right alongside it. Edited February 1, 2016 by Mr_Tilt 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf27 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Steam powered technology! Cheers Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Tilt Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Steam powered technology! Hehehe, but it was the 1970s remember. Actually it was 'gas turbine powered technology' for the early test runs as we had turbine #5 in each Power Car configured as an APU. Later on it was 'diesel powered technology' when we moved the #5s forward to increase the traction power and replaced them with big Dale diesels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
multivac Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 (edited) Looking at the "machine room" that is TC-2 it looks positively space age compared to some of the computer rooms around at the time! As for the now "infamous" door wedging sandwich it would be a shame to leave it out. When the Rapido team mentioned it at the show I thought it was a yarn, but there is photographic proof. Someone should definitely invest in making models of the team to crew APT-E. I would buy a set. All the very best with the project. Edited December 1, 2014 by multivac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Tilt Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 It was 'space age' for its time. If you get the chance to visit the Concorde prototype at the Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Museum the interior of the aircraft, complete with its instrumentation racks, is remarkably similar to TC2. Of course they were both being designed at around the same time and used similar technology, and both are quite small inside as well. Have no fear, the sandwich WILL be there on the final production versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I think "Dwarf Bread" was inspired by BR sandwiches. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Boar Fell Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 It was 'space age' for its time. If you get the chance to visit the Concorde prototype at the Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Museum the interior of the aircraft, complete with its instrumentation racks, is remarkably similar to TC2. Of course they were both being designed at around the same time and used similar technology, and both are quite small inside as well. Have no fear, the sandwich WILL be there on the final production versions. When you gave us a tour of the APT-E early this year, that was the first thing we thought! All that clunky electronics. Wild Boar Fell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted December 2, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 2, 2014 It was 'space age' for its time. If you get the chance to visit the Concorde prototype at the Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Museum the interior of the aircraft, complete with its instrumentation racks, is remarkably similar to TC2. Of course they were both being designed at around the same time and used similar technology, and both are quite small inside as well. Have no fear, the sandwich WILL be there on the final production versions. By way of coincidence, when we visited Yeovilton we ate our sandwiches UNDER the Concorde prototype Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Adam1701D Posted December 5, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 5, 2014 I've created a gallery of shots of APT-E taken during my stint on the support team at the NRM at York. Whilst I was overjoyed to see her go to a proper undercover site at Shildon, it was mixed with sadness that getting up there from Peterborough for a day's work would have been pushing things a bit. There are some wierd and wonderful angles , shots of the interior of TC2 and the train prior to the repaint, which may interest some. Enjoy! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Tilt Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 A cracking set of photos there Adam, brings back many memories of what the train was like back then. I love that one looking right through the Joint Module, very evocative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riddles Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I've created a gallery of shots of APT-E taken during my stint on the support team at the NRM at York. Whilst I was overjoyed to see her go to a proper undercover site at Shildon, it was mixed with sadness that getting up there from Peterborough for a day's work would have been pushing things a bit. If all goes to plan, and Lottery Funding is granted, it will be going to a new NRM outstation adjacent to the Great Central Railway at Leicester North. That will be more accessible for you from Peterborough. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Tilt Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 If all goes to plan, and Lottery Funding is granted, it will be going to a new NRM outstation adjacent to the Great Central Railway at Leicester North. That will be more accessible for you from Peterborough. And what a job THAT will be!!!! At least we'd get a chance to put it back together in the right order and the right way round. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) Steam powered technology! Hehehe, but it was the 1970s remember. It was 'space age' for its time. Ironically it is literally "post-space age". Even the NASA space shuttles had relatively primitive computers that pilots in the early 1980s did bring HP-41C calculators with them on nine missions - just in case. Computers are so pervasive today, it's hard to imagine/recollect that in the 1970s they were still almost non-existent. Baring the early 8-bit micros, my first hands-on encounter with a real computer was in 1980 with a DEC PDP-11. Edited December 9, 2014 by Ozexpatriate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Tilt Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) Ironically it is literally "post-space age". Even the NASA space shuttles had relatively primitive computers that pilots in the early 1980s did bring HP-41C calculators with them on nine missions - just in case. Computers are so pervasive today, it's hard to imagine/recollect that in the 1970s they were still almost non-existent. Baring the early 8-bit micros, my first hands-on encounter with a real computer was in 1980 with a DEC PDP-11. We had an earlier PDP-8 in the Control Room of the APT Test Hall at the RTC. We used it for generating test profiles for the servo-hydraulic test and vibration actuators and for gathering test data at the same time. It used paper tape as a progamming medium which took for EVER to load into the system! However our first 'computer' was an Olivetti thing that just arrived in Derwent House one day just along from Room 220D, the Tilt Development Office. No-one seemed to know what it was for so I borrowed the comprehensive manual for a weekend to see what it could do. The result was my first ever computer programme which printed out an exact facsimile of a BR Expenses Form once you'd input the times and dates that you were 'Away from Home Station'. It saved AGES in filling out the blasted form by hand and for a while I was the most popular bloke in the Division. Edited December 9, 2014 by Mr_Tilt 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Colin_McLeod Posted December 9, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 9, 2014 In the early days when PCs were rare and wages paid in cash, there was a staff member who printed fake pay slips that did now show all the overtime, thus enabling the men to hide some of their income from SWMBO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stadman Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I visited the flight deck of a 747-400 once. The guy in the engineers seat was using a £5 calculator for his work, on a mulit million £ jet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stadman Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 D_M, pretty much yes heard the stories. Calculators watches etc, computing has come a long way. Was in Romania the other month with someone who worked on APT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 47137 Posted December 11, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 11, 2014 Have Rapido chosen the wheel profile for the model? I have EM wheels by Markits under most of my rolling stock, regauged to 00. They worked fine on my layout but derail on some club layouts. The mainstream manufacturers seem to invent their own profiles, ranging from subtle to ghastly. - Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted December 11, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 11, 2014 They will probably use RP25-profile wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mr_Tilt Posted December 22, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted December 22, 2014 (edited) Edited February 1, 2016 by Mr_Tilt 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelpara Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 All going well this time next year we will all have 00 scale APT-E running around the place 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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