BEIJIAO - a large Chinese HO exhibition layout set in the 21st century

[TEAMYAKIMA]

2 minutes ago, newbryford said:

More stuff to take to a show....

Yes, you're right and that is a problem

 

3 minutes ago, newbryford said:

Why not shorten the layout legs.....??

I am a big believer in tall layouts - I am 6ft 3.5inches tall and I originally had a track height of 51 inches. I compromised early on and reduced it to 48 inches  - my friend who helped with the baseboards was short and he thought 51 inches was too tall.

 

After the Warley show where I got some comments I reduced the height again (to 46 inches) and that's the lowest I am prepared to go. Tall layouts give viewers the most natural view of a layout.

[luke_stevens]

1 hour ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

Tall layouts give viewers the most natural view of a layout.

 

Tall layouts give (tall) viewers the most natural view of a layout...

 

The average height of UK males is 5ft 9in, which means you are 6.5in away from "normal". The average hight of UK females is 5ft 3in...

 

😂

 

Luke

[Enterprisingwestern]

6 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I am a big believer in tall layouts - I am 6ft 3.5inches tall and I originally had a track height of 51 inches. I compromised early on and reduced it to 48 inches  - my friend who helped with the baseboards was short and he thought 51 inches was too tall.

 

After the Warley show where I got some comments I reduced the height again (to 46 inches) and that's the lowest I am prepared to go. Tall layouts give viewers the most natural view of a layout.

 

As you are the operator not the viewer, I would have thought it more sensible to build the layout based around your operating comfort, I'm not aware of a layout owner who has been pilloried and marked down for having a "low" layout, and high layouts, as there have been discussions on the forum about, penalise wheelchair users, people of a smaller stature and children, although here is not the place to be re-opening that can of worms!

 

Mike.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

8 hours ago, newbryford said:

Why not shorten the layout legs.....??

😁

In retrospect, it was unwise of me to answer your lighthearted question in the way that I did - the layout height controversy is for another time and certainly another place. 

Perhaps a better way of answering your question would have been to say that as Gordon volunteered his solution it was a no-brainer to kindly accept his offer rather than Plan B which would have involved me in a huge amount of work. 

[luke_stevens]

Good Luck for the Bristol Exhibition!

 

Luke

[john new]

Hope you got your guest operator, and that the show goes well.

[Al.]

All set up at Bristol.

 

 

[Al.]

[TEAMYAKIMA]

After a (mostly) very successful show at Bristol, I decided to review the whole layout in order to make life simpler for my crew - and me!

 

As part of that process, I have decided to sell off some stock - I have too much stock! Part of that thinking revolves around the time taken to set out long trains and pack them away again at the end of a show. 

 

From now on, simplicity is the key word. Our new, easy to use stock boxes have 10 slots and so trains of 10 coaches make a lot of sense. In the past I've had 14 coach trains which means that any given passenger train is split into two stock boxes and some stock boxes have parts of two different trains in them - not any more.  Likewise, freight trains need simplifying and so again excess stock will appear on ebay in the next 24 hours. Or you can contact me directly via a PM.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

On 28/04/2022 at 20:06, Al. said:

All set up at Bristol.

 

 

 

 

Al

 

Who is that tall fat old bloke in the dark blue shirt? I do have to say he looks remarkably like what I will look like in 20/30 years time.😉

 

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by TEAMYAKIMA

[Al.]

9 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

Al

 

Who is that tall fat old bloke in the dark blue shirt? I do have to say he looks remarkably like what I will look like in 20/30 years time.😉

 

 

 

I stand in awe of the delusional world you live in....

 

😉

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

2 minutes ago, Al. said:

 

I stand in awe of the delusional world you live in....

 

😉

 

TBH not for the first time! 😃

[Ian Morgan]

Yeah, somebody has stuck a picture of an old man on my bathroom mirror - very annoying.

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

After a very hectic six months (4 exhibitions) I (and the team) have considered the long term future of the layout.

 

I have come to several conclusions 

 

1. The operation of my layout is more complicated than many/most other large roundy-roundies. I either need two more operators (to spread the load and give the team more down-time) or I need to simplify our operation (to give the same outcome). 

 

2. Putting aside the practicality of finding two more operators, we are already an expensive layout and I don't think most EM's would sanction another twin hotel room and more travelling expenses. CONCLUSION - keep the same number of operators (6), but make the operation simpler.

 

3. From now on, the team should rota 'one hour on. one hour off' and for simplicity the shift changes should all take place at the same time - at 11.00, 12.00, 13.00 etc. Our original rota had 'one hour on, half hour off' with some changes on the hour and some on the half hour, which caused confusion. And sometimes even one hour on, half hour off was very optimistic.

 

4. The original system often had one operator running both the clockwise and anti-clockwise China Rail circuits. This was stressful - trying to keep an eye on two trains going in different directions at the same time. From now on, there will be one dedicated operator per track - three tracks, three operators.

 

5. There have been several little 'niggles' which, whilst being relatively minor, caused operator stress when repeated many times over in an operating session. They have to be addressed.

 

If the layout is to attract a wider pool of operators, and keep them, I will have to make life easier for the team. I have given myself a timetable of three weeks as I have booked a church hall where we can set up the entire layout and put some of these ideas to the test.

Edited May 12, 2022 by TEAMYAKIMA

[Neils WRX]

For me I really enjoyed operating the layout at Glasgow.

I made myself a little sequence in my head and followed that. The sequence minimised the number of points I changed each time so I could check either the input or exit points visually. This I felt worked well on the bi-directional line.

One comment on the mainlines some of the diesels did struggle with the weight of the long passenger trains going round the curves into the fiddle yard.

More than happy to help out again if the layout comes north to Scotland.

Thanks,

Neil.

 

 

[luke_stevens]

On 09/05/2022 at 06:46, TEAMYAKIMA said:

Likewise, freight trains need simplifying and so again excess stock will appear on ebay in the next 24 hours. Or you can contact me directly via a PM.

 

Hi Paul,

 

Can you give us the link to your ebay page so we can have a look?

 

L

[TEAMYAKIMA]

7 hours ago, luke_stevens said:

 

Hi Paul,

 

Can you give us the link to your ebay page so we can have a look?

 

L

 

At the moment there are mainly coaches and some gondolas with added loads - don't buy via ebay, contact me via RMweb and I'll offer you a better deal.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284804145254

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Now this is going to sound strange, bearing in mind my previous posts - has anyone reading this got any Bachmann DF4's they want to get rid of?

 

Whilst I have all kinds of weird and wonderful locos from all kinds of weird and wonderful companies, I would like some of the early Bachmann DF4's. Unfortunately, I sold mine a few years back and I would like to replace them now.

 

Orange or green - either would do.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

16 hours ago, Neils WRX said:

For me I really enjoyed operating the layout at Glasgow. More than happy to help out again if the layout comes north to Scotland.

Thanks,

Neil.

 

Thanks for that endorsement 

 

Neil was our first ever 'guest operator' and he helped us when we went to Glasgow in February and he easily fitted into our then operating pattern.

 

Since then we have welcomed two more guest operators - Tony for Aly Paly (who doesn't use RMweb as far as I know)  and Neal who joined us for Bristol.

 

Tony enjoyed his time at Aly Paly - so much that he has joined the core team and will drive the van to our next show - Taunton. Neal has posted on the Bristol show thread that he had a great weekend and is keen to be part of the team for Taunton and possibly other future events.

 

All positive news. 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by TEAMYAKIMA

[TEAMYAKIMA]

As part of my recruitment drive to enlarge my pool of operators, I am holding an Open House in a church hall in Watford on Thursday June 2nd and YOU are invited.

 

We will be test running all day and visitors will be invited to "Have a go!"  Let's say any time between 11am to 3pm is ideal and everyone is welcome.

 

Please send me a PM to get the address.

 

I hope to see some of you there.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

I do have to admit that I am slightly surprised that the only 'like' I've had to my idea of an Open House in Watford is from someone living in Australia. Now, call me a pessimist, but I don't honestly hold out much hope that St Enodoc is going to fly all the way over here just for a few hours and then fly back.

 

Come on guys - I'll even throw in tea and biscuits!

Edited May 17, 2022 by TEAMYAKIMA

[St Enodoc]

7 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I do have to admit that I am slightly surprised that the only 'like' I've had to my idea of an Open House in Watford is from someone living in Australia. Now, call me a pessimist, but I don't honestly hold out much hope that St Enodoc is going to fly all the way over here just for a few hours and then fly back.

 

Come on guys - I'll even throw in tea and biscuits!

I'd love to - but...

 

Watford? On a Thursday?

 

Pull the other one!

[SHMD]

3 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I do have to admit that I am slightly surprised that the only 'like' I've had to my idea of an Open House in Watford is from someone living in Australia. Now, call me a pessimist, but I don't honestly hold out much hope that St Enodoc is going to fly all the way over here just for a few hours and then fly back.

 

Come on guys - I'll even throw in tea and biscuits!

 

I'm sorry Paul, and I did look into it, but I am really busy around then...

...I arrive back from the Czechia, the Friday before (if I don't extend), and then after the long weekend I go to Berlin.

(I couldn't bring myself to tell the misses I would be out playing trains I mean on a training course!)

 

 

Kev. 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

I have been busy lately dealing with issues we had at Bristol.

 

We have suffered some warping in the fiddle yard boards. This seems to be worst at baseboard joints - sometimes resulting in the Kadee couplings becoming uncoupled. Very often it's the couplings between the loco and a passenger train as in this photo - bear in mind that on flat track those coupling match perfectly.

 

 

I have been dealing the warping and hopefully the uncoupling will be a thing of the past.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by TEAMYAKIMA

[TEAMYAKIMA]

As I have often said in the past - I make one change to make life easier/simpler and it simply creates another (new) problem.

 

Old problem - 

 

For taking connections across baseboards, I have always used a system where I have a socket on one board with leads and a plug stretching across from the adjoining board. These have always been underneath a board with the lead tucked into the underneath of the board when in transit or stored. The jumpers are generally very good, but they are a bit awkward to connect/disconnect under the baseboards. A couple of years ago when I needed to add a few jumpers across our end boards I thought it would be a good idea if I mounted them on the surface - after all there is plenty of room. So, I has a socket on one board and a lead with a plug on it coming up through the baseboard top on the other side.

 

New problem -

 

When we were stacking the fiddle boards at the end of a show those 'floating' leads , which lay over the baseboards, always got in the way - preventing the boards sitting nicely on top of each other.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of that original set up, but I do have a photo of the new arrangement. I have now added another socket on the 'other' side and another plug on the lead and so the connecting leads will be completely removed at the end of a show and the boards will immediately sit nicely on top of one another - On the other hand, that's two more things that can be forgotten and left behind when we go to a show!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by TEAMYAKIMA