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In my role as Publications Officer for the 2mm Scale Association, I'm currently working on a revamp of the "couplings" chapter of the erstwhile 2mm Handbook. I was intrigued by the reference to Lin-Cup couplings, which I hadn't heard of or seen. So I went back to the June 1976 issue of the 2mm Magazine to read Lindsey Little's original article. His goal of "something inconspicuous, not too unrailwaylike, close coupling, sturdy and capable of being made by a squint-eyed tyro with ten thumbs" sounded promising... I decided to have a go at making some following the instructions in the article. If nothing else, this would allow me to photograph them for the new handbook. Firstly, here is a photo of a completed coupling, glued to the underside of a Buchanan Kits open wagon. The underside of the wagon is a mess because I had to remove the folded-up coupling "boxes" that I had previously fitted before painting. This illustrates a nice feature of the Lin-Cup: the "gubbins" is all hidden behind the solebars, with only a wire hook protruding beneath. Like an Electra, the hook hangs at a 45-degree angle (when the wagon is upright) thanks to the small lead fishing weight behind the pivot. The headstock of the wagon keeps the wire shank horizontal and hence the hook at the correct angle. Unlike the Electra, the pivot is on a 60-degree(-ish) angle to the headstock, so that when another coupling pushes against it, the hook both rotates both down and towards the vertical, allowing the opposing coupling to snap past. The coupling seems to have been more utilised in 7mm scale, in the form of the "Lincs" auto coupler (see here). But I haven't seen it during my (comparatively recent) involvement in the 2mm scene. Although I haven't yet tried them in operational use, I think this coupling has several benefits. Firstly, and importantly for me, it is robust and quite forgiving of misalignment. At the same time, it is probably the least conspicuous 2mm auto-coupling other than the fiddly Alex Jackson. Here is a comparison of wagons fitted with Lin-Cups (right) and Electras (left): It's hard to see here but with the Electras you can actually see the weights hanging down behind the wheels, as well as the pivot tube beneath the headstocks. There is a further advantage to Lin-Cups not visible here: you could still fit dummy representations of real 3-link or screw couplings, hanging down from the coupling hook. This is not true (I don't think) with Electras, where the delay "dropper" would get in the way. (As yet I haven't found the time to try making 3-links, it has to be said.) The next photo is a comparison with DGs, which prevent you even from fitting the coupling hook: When it comes to operation, the Lin-Cup lacks the "delayed action" facility of DGs, Electras or Alex Jacksons, where you can uncouple at one location and propel the wagons to another spot without coupling up again. But it makes up for this, I think, by (a) the above advantages and (b) the fact that you can uncouple using simple permanent magnets underneath the track. This works because the only way to uncouple is to reverse the train (taking the tension off the hooks) while over a magnet. Similar to the "Electra shuffle". Here you see two wagons as they would look while pushing along clear track (top) and while over a magnet (bottom): Notice that the couplings hang down quite a long way - this could be limited by putting some packing under the wagon floor to stop the "weight" end behind the pivot from moving up so far. Here are two end views to show how the coupling hook moves when over a magnet. The magnet here is actually fixed (temporarily) below the wooden base of my test track. So why are these couplings not so popular? Perhaps there is a fatal flaw that I am yet to discover, but I suspect it is partly the fact that they are not commercially available and you have to make them yourself. This turned out not to be too difficult, but it would be very hard without first spending a little time to make jigs like those recommended in the original article. The first is for bending the "frame" and just consists of two bits of nickel silver soldered together. The hardest part was cutting/filing one of these into the shape of an equilateral triangle, which I did by guesstimating. I've been making the frames from 28swg phosphor-bronze which makes it easy to spring onto the tube. The second jig is for soldering the steel hook to the tube. A jig is essential here as it has to be soldered at a 30 degree angle in one plane (so that it will pivot sideways) and a 45 degree angle in another (so that it will hang at 45 degrees in the resting position). I found a scrap bit of aluminium angle and followed the instructions in the article, drilling and filing a slot to hold the brass tube. It's hard to see but the section of aluminium against which the hook is sitting is bent up at 45 degrees. For the record, my tubes are 0.8mm (O/D) brass from Albion Alloys, which gives a nice free fit over the p/b frame. I scribed a mark at "5mm in front of the frame" to guide me, but I found that slightly longer is needed for the wagons I've tried so far, because the coupling hook extends through the headstock and prevents the coupling frame from being fitted right up against the inside of the headstock. The hook is made from the same spring-steel wire (or guitar string) used for Electras. In use, I fixed the hook to the jig with masking tape and held the tail end down with a bit of wood. I used Carr's Yellow Label flux and plenty of solder. A decently-sized soldering iron bit was helpful as the aluminium acts like a heat sink. Here's a close up of a finished coupling, once the fishing weight has been "crimped" on and secured with cyano. It's certainly no harder to make than an Electra, and I'm quite impressed so far.

I recently realised that all of the basic technology needed to operate a micro-layout (direct current circuits, voltaic batteries, primitive motors) had been developed before the 1840s started. Reading a bit further, I discovered the US inventor Thomas Davenport - not the very first person to build an electric motor, but almost certainly the first one to use it to power a model tramcar in the mid-1830s. His design was elegant, but not ideally suited for today's smaller scales: I also stumbled across Alfred P. Morgan's 1913 The Boy Electrician on Project Gutenberg, with its clever chapter on building a model electric tramway and this simple design (Fig 315) for a "A Pole-Changing Switch or Current Reverser": Well, Tinories is supposed to be a portable layout that can be set up and operated anywhere, and I had always planned to build a very basic battery controller. This simply had to make the locos move backwards and forwards; for my own use I considered acceleration and braking to be unnecessary fripperies, and only the thought of soldering had deterred me from knocking something together earlier. Inspired by the pioneering vision of Davenport and the optimistic ingenuity of Mr Morgan, I finally set to work: The base of the controller is just a plastic lottery card covered with Humbrol copper (MET 12) paint to disguise its origin. It only occurred to me afterwards to check that enamel copper paint isn't conductive; luckily it isn't! A drawing pin is glued to one end of the card. This is the pivot around which the actual controller moves. Edit: I would now drill a hole through the card and push the drawing pin through it, gluing it to the underside of the card so that the pivot is a bit more robust: A short length of PECO flexitrack was glued to a second strip of lottery card, using pre-soldered fishplates and a terminal block to make the rails live without any soldering: A hole was drilled through the centre of the terminal block so that it could drop over the drawing pin that had been glued to the base of the controller: Then the first terminal (taken from another electrical terminal block) was glued onto the base, at the opposite end of the card to the drawing pin. To my surprise, it was actually very easy to stick the curved underside of the terminal to the plastic card with generic super glue:: The next step was the only one which required any care. I pressed one of the rails against the first terminal, and then glued the second terminal in place so that it touched the other rail and made a circuit. (A multimeter isn't necessary for this stage; a lamp or buzzer - or even a loco - would be just as effective in showing the right location to complete the circuit). Observant readers will note that I need to buy a new 9 volt battery: The same for the third and last terminal: ... and finally a short wire between terminals 2 and 3 so that they become positive or negative depending on the rail that is making contact with them: It's possible to customise the controller to taste, but I decided to leave it at that. I didn't even need to glue a knob onto the controller arm because a 9 volt battery fits snugly between the rails of 16.5 mm track and provides a convenient grip: Update 22 May 2021: just an additional photo showing the 56 ohm dropper resistor I use to get the Bachmann Norris loco to crawl as slowly as possible. It varies by loco, so the deWitt Clinton needs a much smaller dropper to run.

I found pictures of a couple of interesting wagon loads on the Stour Valley line at Clare and Sudbury. I asked on the Scalefour Forum what these might be, wondering if the round tank might be a septic tank. In the end the consensus of opinion was that the cylindrical tank was probably a pressure vessel being installed as some kind of industrial plant. I decided to have a go and make them as wagon loads. I modeled these up and printed them out. I also modeled up a Fibre-glass septic-tank just for the fun of it. As wagon loads these look pretty good. Finally, and connected to my plans for a 16mm narrow gauge shed, I modeled up a bench vice based on the drawings in Roy Link's excellent Crow's Nest tramway book. I now need to make a workbench to attach it to. This is a cruel enlargement, the vice is actually 32mm tall. Lots of fun projects. David

The poly stuff for RBO turned up, so much spraying of dilute PVA and sprinkling of leaves, and light leaves too, has ensued. It's sitting with the glue drying while the Engineering Dept. ponders on actually planting it. It all gets a bit real when your actually going to have to try The Plan out. It will work. He says. Here's a coupe of pics of the Permaway fishplates, which highlight the quality of the fishplates and the not-terribly-goodness of my track laying skills. Fitting them to existing track complete (both sides with the web in between the rail ends) doesn't appear possible due to getting them over the rail head, but chopping them and glueing is simplicity itself, they fit nicely into the web. Fitting them to the blades end of the Peco crossing vee points requires cutting away some plastic where the rail ends meet to match the rail profile. I'm always a bit nervous hacking away at ready made point because I kind of suspect it'll all go sproing - but it didn't. A really sharp blade probably helps here. Also, in the 'inside' of the vee there's a plastic base bit - to get these fishplates in I had to file the bottom off to about halfway along, taking off maybe 1mm or so as the plastic rises above the bottom of the rail a bit. On the 'outside' there's a square plastic moulding under the rail - a slight file along the bottom of the fishplate and it sits in just fine. As I go I'm cutting away the Peco insulated joiners that were necessary to stop joints kinking. There's a few halved metal ones, for those I'm just filing a bit off the bottom of the fishplate as they then serve to hide the joiner. The mould marks aren't worth getting excited over - I suspect paint will hide them easily. Very pleased with them, slightly grumpy I didn't pay more attention to where they would go when track laying. Hey ho!

A short entry - a stub if you like just to conclude this series of entries on the Mink F build(s). Paint was from my usual citadel pots. Transfers from Fox (usual disclaimer). I used gloss before and after the transfers followed by a matt coat. All by brush. I had greater success with transfers than I have had previously so it must be technique learned. Some final toning down of the transfers (they’re always so white) is required, along with chalk marks &c.

Hi folks, Have been self isolating yet again so stole some "working from home" time to get nearer to completion a project that has been hanging around for quite a while. I bought an old Bachmann conflat wagon with A-type container over a year ago from an exhibition. I had ummed and ahhed about either buying a Bachmann one, which I knew had a detailed container but less refined wagon OR a parkside kit and cambrian container kit plus transfers. I went with the Bachmann one for cost reasons but was dissatisfied with the conflat (as I knew I would be) so used a parkside kit thus costing more in the end! The issue with the old Bachmann conflat was the moulded brake handle which merges into the chassis. So here is the Bachmann container on top of the parkside conflat. I added lanarkshire vac pipes and coupling hooks. The shackles were made up from roxey brass hooks and tensioners and slaters chain. I have done this once before with another container and I must admit I did not enjoy it but I feel they are essential. The wood floor of the wagon is dry brush affair, painting the floor black then dry brushing wood colours enamel paints and dark grey. A further dry brushing of gunmetal finishes off the effect. It's the Martyn Welch technique. The container is virtually as is. I wash decalfix and humbrol smoke pigment into the details. Rust and brake dust pigment is brushed on and "cleaned" away with a cotton bud. The wagon is treated the same way with brushing of powders. It's a small project that had previously stalled but I am happy with the outcome. Don't tell the boss!!

Eventually I'll break my slump. Eventually. The clear on the Heavy Gundam did, in fact, orange peel. I guess I'll need to knock it down. I hate sanding. I sprayed another coat of gloss white on the Kaempfer; I think it's about there. Better be, too. I'm running out of season and gloss white. My airbrush was acting up, too. Drying in the tip. I've never had that before. This is Model Master enamel, too. Ended up wasting half a cup of paint when the thing completely clogged. Frustrating. I may have damaged the nozzle trying to separate it to clean it, too. I need parts...

Having a couple of years with bits and pieces from my previous house assembled as a 'testing plank' pretending to be a layout I have decided at long last to attempt to bridge the gap from one side of my converted garage to the other to make something approaching a real layout - one where you go from one bit to another (!) in this case from the station on one side to the storage sidings on the other. Having bought a quantity of 12mm ply as tops for some new baseboards, and 18x44mm timber for the framing, construction of some new boards the has proceeded. These will fill the gaps between the old chipboard surfaced and partly scenicked (sp) boards inherited from the previous location. In case you are wondering 'this framing is too flimsy', you would be right except that all the boards are sitting on sub-frames that are much more substantial. This initial assembly (as shown in the photos below) is one end using a mix of old and new boards. at some stage I will make boards for other end to form a loop, that will be used mainly for test running as the layout is meant to be a terminus with a through line to another part of the system (a link from the S&D to WR used mainly for freight exchange). So here is current progress with boards assembled to check levels and flexi track laid out to try to work out the curves. This will involve unforeseen changes to the station throat pointwork, in fact a radical simplification which will be good in the end, caused by the fact that my garage is about 18" narrower than the room which previously housed the layout. The plus side is that I have much more length. Its only when putting it out in the flesh that all these issues really appear, so much of what I drew on paper doesn't really work! Part2 might actually have a drawn plan to help explain ... First a view from the inside, with one of the old boards that has some track work with preserving ... secondly a close up of the left side showing the new station throat board and lastly a view from the outside showing the sub-frame My previous attempts at realigning the station throat were just not good enough to give even a minimum radius of 3'6" (absolute minimum for P4) hence realigning the track to swing out nearer the station side wall of the garage .... I'm happy to say that the whole assembly is level and fits!. Just need a bridging piece to the traverser style storage sidings / fiddle yard. The boards are not in their final position, they will all move out towards the end wall, (behind me in the last photo) so I can increase the length of the station by 2-3 coaches with another new board fitted in between the existing old station boards. The really narrow board with the old station throat will also be replaced with yet another new plywood topped board - more to follow