Ray H

Andy What size is the interior of the shed?

As you've been known to say - "What, no grass!" Have a good holiday and do try some experiments with wider boards. BTW, don't forget that hand-built/Marcway (etc.) turnouts will be longer so the actual amount of usable track in the sidings will be less. Another good reason for having a wider board.

Adding the last 14 pages to make the ton before a train runs!

Result!!

We must keep talking about this whenever Andy is not around because (I'm determined that) we will reach page 100 before a train runs all the way round the potting shed! And with that he packs his shorts, sun cream and other holiday essentials and disappears off on holiday himself for a while - only joking (almost)! Where's that military type bloke that was rambling on about the leave his men were seeking? He and they should be up in arms and protesting loudly at any hint that the proprietor of this soon to be established (no doubt excellent) railway is taking himself away whilst they, the dear old squaddies, are left to languish in their camp , desperate to go on leave themselves!

How long's a piece of wire!

How far away was the next box? I think distant signals were generally placed between 1200 and 1500 yards prior to the first signal they related to so if your next box was that close you may be able to use the combined stop/distant signal. That distance was line speed related and designed to enable the fastest and/or the heaviest trains to come to a normal - i.e. not emergency or sudden - stop at the next stop signal after the distant signal. Can I just clarify that the first signal a driver sees (and thus the one furthest from the box) is the distant (as the train approaches the signal box), there are then any number of stop signals - depending on the complexities of the layout. The last of those (stop) signals is I believe now called the section signal and in the old days would have been called a/the starter (or starting) signal. Similarly, the first (stop) signal the driver encounters after the distant signal is regarded as the home signal.

The world and its wife seemed to have combined today to thwart any idea that I had of putting some primer on the body to highlight defects that still need attention so here's a closer view of the end of the vehicle as it is before painting. You'll note that the cabling on the offside(?) has been removed. I fear my next chance to do anything with the spray can may be Tuesday. The model will eventually be fitted with a DCC decoder so I'm contemplating drilling out the three "lights" and fitting LED based alternatives. The (actual) railcar currently sports a centre light below the windscreen, as does the 4mm model that I have. This appears to be missing from the casting and will need to be added (before I paint it!) as I've just noticed from a picture of the railcar on the Banbury branch that the centre light seems to have always been there. In the meantime these are the underframe parts that I recovered when the model was stripped down. All these parts are (white?) metal. There's also two things of a material that I don't recognise that could possibly be air (or vacuum) cylinders. They have a honeycomb like internal structure and I only know this because they were damaged slightly when removed and have been repaired with milliput and are somewhere else (which is why they got overlooked in the picture). The model had a lot of simulated piping on the roof. I have no pictures of this on either the model or the (real) railcar. However, I do have the two car OO gauge model which has piping in the roof so I presume that I can copy that.

I believe that the provision of a distant in this situation depends (generally) on the proximity of the next controlled signal(s). The purpose of the distant signal is (loosely) to give the driver an indication of whether the signals at the next box were clear - distant off - or whether the driver should at the time he passed the distant, be prepared to stop at one of the signals to which the distant relates. This would initially be the first stop signal controlled by the next box and if the line was clear beyond that signal the driver would be brought almost to a stand at that first (stop) signal which would then be cleared to allow the driver (with his engine & any train!) to "creep" up to a subsequent signal at danger. Mike - The Stationmaster of this parish (and possibly others) - will advise whether a banner signal would be appropriate. I don't believe that banner signals, which were basically repeaters for badly sighted (stop?) signals - were necessary for distant signals which, in a way, could be described themselves as (significantly in advance) repeaters for the subsequent stop signals. I don't know how long the tunnel is/was so can't definitely advise on the normal method of working in a situation like this - viz: where it is necessary to draw ahead to enable the train to be set back into the refuge siding. Obviously the signal could be cleared for the train to do that. This would be accomplished by offering the train to the box in advance (using the shunt into forward section bell signal) and once the train is clear of the main line and safely in the siding, cancelling that move. I believe that we touched on this earlier and proffered the suggestion that the section signal - for this is what the signal concerned is (if there isn't a signal controlled by Dent ahead of it) - may be far enough in advance to allow a train to proceed as far as that signal and once clear of the points, stop and the route set for the siding and then the train authorised to set back. On reflection I suspect that either method of working could be inappropriate if a (long) tunnel is involved as there is every chance that the smoke in the tunnel from the train (and any other) engine may be enough to prevent the driver seeing the guard's hand signal to set back. Here endeth my attempt to clarify the situation. Have you provided the sighting boards for a specific reason? The background doesn't look that confusing to me. Puts detonators on track to protect the innocent and beats a hasty retreat in case he's goofed!

Jason I wasn't trying to confuse Andy. He said which I took literally as meaning he had to do the same as you'd done (which implied in my mind that he meant) throughout the scenic section (including possibly mimicking the same component source]. The intention of my post was to clarify that he didn't have to do precisely that and could mix and match. I'm sorry if I unintentionally stirred a hornet's nest.

Funny you should say that because I thought I should do just that so he we go. Here's a couple of pictures of the model prior to my purchase. Here's the dismantled unpowered bogie frame and finally here's the re-assembled body as it was just a few seconds ago. It will hopefully be getting a light covering of primer today or tomorrow to see whether it needs any further work before it is attacked with micro drill bits to make holes for such things as door hinges, handles and grab rails - the latter two not being added until after the top coat has been added. I'll try and lay out the underframe components that I do have and post a picture of them later today.

Any I'm not 100% certain but I think that the different manufacturers all use the same (or very similar) section rail of the appropriate type, be it bullhead or flat bottom. I also think that with the possible exception of the 1.06mm thick PCB sleepers that (I think) C & L market, all PCB sleepering is generally of a standard thickness and is directly compatible with the various types of "plastic" sleepered track (with the possible exception of set track). Consequently you can mix and match and many seem to use PCB points and chaired track, a path that I'm still contemplating when/if I do get to use the garage as my layout room. I believe that the flat bottom rail users can use conventional rail joiners (like those from Peco). I'm not sure about bullhead rail joiners (as opposed to simulation fishplates) so you may have to solder rail joints with that rail. However, that then gives you some scope to vary rail sections and allows you to join flat bottom and bullhead as they do from time to time on the bigger model - 12" to 1ft. So, yes, you need to link up with Jason's excellent production but it doesn't necessarily mean that you need to use the same method everywhere. I believe that I've seen/heard of at least one model where they've stuck imitation chairs over solder track on the viewing side of the rail only!

Thanks Rob. I can see a certain similarity with some of the items that I have recovered from the model. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me turn the railcar on its side to get some pictures like yours when I was there yesterday! The chap I went to Duffield with has already had excellent service from Shaun - one of the several recent spellings for his name that I've seen so hopefully one must be right! I keep looking at the bogies that came with the model - the trailer bogie is now in pieces having had the paint stripped. There are two bearing missing on that and the nickel silver frame is all twisted, out of alignment and badly soldered. The power bogie is still as (originally?) assembled but the metal work for that is all twisted and at least one small casting is missing. The more I look the more I'm convinced that they're beyond redemption.

Cheers chaps. I'm growing more and more inclined to opt for a set of replacement bogies from Shaun. That is a shade annoying as it will push the total cost of the model well over the cost of a new one but we learn from our mistakes. I went to Duffield today and managed to turn up just as they failed the railcar so I missed out on a ride. However, it did mean that I was able to spend more time than otherwise taking pictures of the underside so that I can now assess what parts I still need in order to complete the model. I'm still open to suggestions with regard to a likely source of any missing underframe parts if anyone can help. Sorry if that seems a strange request but I've no previous experience of kit (re-)building or of 7mm supply sources.

He can't do that as there's another 20 pages to be added to this thread before we'll allow him to run any trains.

Rails Fingers Crossed.

My initial comment re the supply conduit was more to do with carrying things like ladders and the like over the shoulder and could equally apply to tallish plants carried in pots in your arms. As far as being on telly though I doubt it would work. It has sound but no grass . . . . . . . . . . . . although wait a minute. What about "Tracy Island"?

Probably an obvious comment but we have a garden gate between us and our neighbour. One of the posts started to lean inwards making the gate difficult to use so I wedged a length of conduit between the two posts to hold the posts far enough apart so that we could continue to use the gate. You won't believe how often we forgot that pipe was there and knocked it with something we were carrying and it was high enough up for me to walk under and I'm nearly 6ft. In our case we got a headache on the odd occasion when the pipe was knocked hard enough. I hope your pipe with integral cable has a bit more resilience.

Thanks for the comments. We've tried using some thin strip that I think was possibly meant for (maybe 2mm) sleepers to fix the rails too at the edge of our traversers at the club after the original steel bolt in a brass tube soldered to the side of the rail didn't provide a tight enough fit and wasn't electrically reliable enough. It seems as though the strip - or several fixed side by side - isn't man enough for the job according to reports I've had upon my return from a few days in Wales. I was being mean and trying to avoid postal charges and purchasing more pre-cut strip than we actually need hence my question about using the bandsaw. I have subsequently ordered some 7mm wide strip from All Components but the wide pieces like you've used look the business and we may have to fall back on that idea so the use of the bandsaw isn't completely ruled out although I appreciate the risks from the dust generated when cutting the sheet.

I bet that Lee bloke is costing you a fortune. Time was when you were posh if you had a (mains) power drill, then if you had a battery one. Lee's got two and I spy a third there as well. He even had to charge them at home as you're potting shed has got power connected yet. That said, it is really beginning to take shape and you're already on page 77. However, I still reckon there's a slight chance that you'll get to page 100 before a train runs (all the way round the layout).

Mike You suggested a fine tooth blade on the bandsaw for cutting Perspex. I was wondering whether that type of blade would also be an option for cutting PCB sheet into (sleeper width) strips. Me and hand driven saws are strange bedfellows when it comes to cutting in straight lines!

I've spoken to Dick Taylor and he kindly sent me copies of the somewhat brief instructions for the kit. The paperwork included a photocopy of the underframe parts. My model appears to have several bits missing or broken from what I can make out from the paperwork. Is there anywhere else that either does a complete set of parts or can supply the relevant parts individually as Dick implied that he doesn't supply the parts separately? My early thought were to replace the bogies as there were obviously bits missing from them as well. I took a rain check on that idea once I had Dick's contact details but I don't think that I've got any option but to replace them having now studied them in far more detail since speaking to Dick.

I suspect that an Up train was brought to a stand (or nearly to a stand) at the box, the bobby shouted to the fireman/driver that they were to go "inside" and authorise then to run forward far enough to clear the point. The guard would indicate to the driver when they were clear of the point, the guard would probably do likewise to the signalman who would then change the points and hand signal to the guard to authorise the drive to set back into the siding. I suppose it is equally possible that the starting or section signal would be far enough beyond the points to accommodate the full train, the driver would take the train to the signal, once the guard had confirmed that to the driver (by handsignal) that the train had cleared the points the driver may have used the signal post telephone to relay the message to the signalman and the signalman would then have instructed the driver to set back once the route was set using the same telephone. Both are conjecture on my part. The local working instructions would almost certainly have outlined the exact (official) procedure to be used.

Apologies, I'd forgotten that there were two ways in/out of the lye-by. The is no signal off the down line into the siding so I'd guess the move was hand-signalled by the signalman. There may have been a specified (normal) method of entering the siding giving one crossover precedence over the other or one crossover may have been unidirectional only. However, I'd guess that No. 6 crossover at the end of the platform would probably be the preferred way of entering the siding because the tail-lamp would have passed the box as the train came to a stand at the platform so the signalman knew the train was complete. I suspect therefore that the train would normally only drop back far enough into the siding to (just) stop in the rear of No. 7 signal and wait there. This had the advantage that the train was in front of the box where it is less likely to have been forgotten. That doesn't mean that the train couldn't set back further, I just think it would have been unlikely.

I don't count rivets but on an operational point, how did the loco of the cattle train get where it is? The train looks too long for the lye-by siding and the loco should have been the other side of the turnout. That bothy is brilliant (and so is the rest of the layout)!