Ron Heggs

Asian figures in HO/OO scales are just not available. Have scoured the usual manufacturers and sellers in Europe, China and Japan, and they do not make them. There are the odd Arab and Japanese figure, but no others. Most of the usual Western figures are not usable or convertible without a great deal of work. Dress, hats, briefcases and luggage are just not right for the vast majority of Sri Lankan rail passengers and the populace in general in the Highlands

Unfortunately, I am not a sculptor otherwise I could have few 3D printed

Does anyone who uses a Cameo 3 with the Autoblade have issues with the machine resetting the blade every time there is a change in the cutting/scoring in a single job?

I only use a single blade depth setting for each type/thickness of material, but arrange for different coloured layers for different cut directions to reduce the scuffing at corners when the blade would otherwise change direction. Therefore there is no reason for the Autoblade to reset at every change of colour, etc. To overcome this the blade selection is set to Ratchet type which does not require the machine to do annoying, unnecessary and time consuming resets

Ron

My Cameo has recently started skewing the mat when cutting. Tried running the mat back and forwards through the cutter to find out the source of the problem. The mat is OK, being fairly new, but the sliding rollers have worn completely smooth, and are not keeping a firm grip of the mat against the main roller

Silhouette don't supply spare rollers. As my workload is quite extensive and heavy, in desperation I ordered a new Cameo 3, which was delivered this morning

They only other option to repair the existing Cameo, is to order a set of new rollers from Hongjet, Malaysia -

http://www.hongjet.com.my/store/product.php?id_product=221

These provide the necessary grip and do not slide within the roller bar depressions

Will report back when I have received and tested them

Ron

Apologies if this has been asked / answered before, but I am experiencing problems importing DXF files that feature curves - for example brick arches above windows, where the arcs are not importing as arcs, rather more like a partial arc and then a line. I've tried various DXF versions, both AutoCAD and Draftsight. The only way that I can work round is to draw the arc in line segments in the CAD package, but obviously time consuming and far from ideal.

 

many thanks for any assistance

Have you tried creating or converting them to polylines, before  saving as a DXF file

Ron

Any updates coming soon Captain?

Have 8 lattice post semaphore signals to finish for the Sri Lanka project, and a large steel trussed 4 span beamed bridge on stonework piers to complete. Then it is back to the next section of the approach trackwork on Manchester Central, as I have all the materials and tools to hand, ready and waiting 

As always, Ron, great modelling. I always look forward to updates on this project, but mostly Manchester Central.

Have the rail, sleepers, timbers and the Templot prints for the next section of the approach trackwork on Manchester Central. Just need to finish the Signals for Sri Lanka then I will be back to the 2.6 metre workbench 

A few pictures of the latest models winging their way to Sri Lanka

A disabled toilet building for Ella Station

The abandoned toilet block at Ella Station

A brick built goods shed at Ella

A steel framed & corrugated steel clad goods shed at Ella

The Water Tower at Ella Station - fitted with lighting under the tank

The Small Shrine by the Ella Station Entrance

The Small Shrine is fitted with lighting - A small figurine of the Lady Buddha is required inside

... and what post from me would be complete without a bridge?

Kithalella Bridge - between Kithalella and Ella

A few additional Semaphore Lattice Signals are under construction at present

I've been happily using my Silhouette Portrait cutting lots of rectangles in 10 thou styrene.

 

rectangles.jpg

 

The last couple of cuts haven't gone through all the way.

Is it likely to be a worn blade or something other than that?

 

Do I need a higher blade pressure and/or depth of cut with an adjusted blade?

 

Cheers,

Mick

More than likely the blade/blade holder is blocked up with stray styrene from your extended cutting. Remove the blade holder and examine the blade protruding through the hole, which will collect any stray styrene. I clean my blade every couple hundred cuts, just to be sure

Ron

The layout is now taking shape on Kirala Island close to Colombo in Sri Lanka The Demodara Station section has been transported to the island, and is still under wraps. The section being built is the line between Demodara and Ella passing through Kithalella, with a number of tunnels, viaducts, and a bridge en route

Ella Station

Kithalella Station

3 Arch Viaduct

4 Arch Viaduct

... and the famous Nine Arch Viaduct

There's just a little landscaping ahead

A few items just shipped to Sri Lanka for this part of the layout

An underbridge close to Ella Station

Tunnel 41 portal and a portion of the curved tunnel

Tunnel 40 portals and tunnel. Yes, this part of the line is straight

The Water Tank at Ella Station

An Administration/Storage Block at Ella Station

Under construction for Ella are Two Goods Sheds, a Disabled Toilet Building, an abandoned toilet block and a Shrine

... and to complete the main models for this section the Kithalella Bridge is also under construction -

The bridge is built as three separate spans and four piers, to enable easier and safer shipping from Spain to Sri Lanka, and clipped together for the layout build

The handrailing has yet to be fitted, and the pier tops finishing

The underside is just as important

Painting and Stonework to be done over next few days

Anyone wanting to follow the action can do so on Facebook page Kirala Island@ChrissLeisure

We have a 30 minute window of opportunity to catch the Correos lady in the council office, 1015 - 1045, do you fare any better Ron?

 

Mike.

Our postal service is a little better. The local Correos office is a sub-office of the Benissa main office, and is open 9.30 - 10.45 Monday - Friday only, except National holidays, Local Fiesta and Saints days, staffed by a single person from the Benissa office. Mail is transferred to/from Benissa at 11.00am when the local office is closed 

Postal deliveries are not made to our villa unless it is a priority signed for letter/package, because we are 2km out of town. If the packages, etc. don't fit in our local postbox then they leave a collection note instead, and we have to pick up the package from the Correos office within 14 days or 7 days if it is a signed for delivery. It works out OK when you get use to it, at least you get to know all the local postal staff personally

Ron

Correos delivery advice in the postbox this afternoon for package collection from Correos Offiice in the morning. Droppers here we go

Any gauge widening through these at all or 4-SF (16.2?) all the way through?

No gauge widening at all on these approach trackwork sections across the viaducts into the trainshed and goods yards. May revert to 16.5 on the carriage sidings and external trackwork

Ron

Thanks Ron

 

They are very acute crossings. I am even more impressed. The switches are also long. Are you using a tighter EM specification or is it the normal EMGS track measurments?

 

Regards.

Trackwork is to 00-SF to give tighter control over track gauging through turnouts, crossings, etc. which is required when trying to replicate trackwork to scale, allbeit to a 'narrow gauge'. All the locos and rolling stock will be RTR 00 gauge since the time to build my own stock would mean I would never finish the layout and run any stock before I 'kick the bucket'

Impressive.  What are crossing ratios on the single sided tandem?

 

regards. 

The crossing common crossings are 6.5^o and 13.5^o respectively, with the adjacent slip common crossings being 5^o and 3^o respectively. As you may be able to see both roads through the crossing are curved with radii of 1654mm and 3840mm, and the slip is at a radius of 1584mm

 

Hope this is sufficient information for your interest

 

Ron

Sorry my head was in the wrong space with my reply

The tandem turnout in the foreground has the following common crossings 8^o, 5.5^o and 3.5^o. The reverse crossing/check rail combo is 7.5^o

The tandem turnout out of platform 5 has the following common crossings 8^o, 4^o and 4^o

Hope this is the information you were looking for

Ron

Hi Ron,

 

Are there some check rails missing from the long tandem in the foreground? It's not very clear in the photo.

 

regards,

 

Martin.

Hi, Martin

As usual, you are quite correct. I wondered why I had five check rails left over. My bogie test vehicle apparently moves through the crossings with no catching, clipping or deviation, etc. But no doubt it would raise its head when in full operating mode. In future will mark all check rail positions with thick coloured markings prior to track laying operations

Cheers

Ron

Have you tried using 0.5mm brass rod Ron?, smaller baseboard hole and less obtrusive.

 

Mike.

I have used 0.7mm brass rod on some of the previous droppers as it is generally easier to push through the 30mm foam insulation baseboard and then colour label for the appropriate circuit, and also easier to hold in place whilst soldering to the underside of rail or pcb. Although it is overall quicker to use normal pvc insulated multi-strand wire, and fixing all similar colour/circuit in one operation

Ron

Impressive.  What are crossing ratios on the single sided tandem?

 

regards. 

The crossing common crossings are 6.5^o and 13.5^o respectively, with the adjacent slip common crossings being 5^o and 3^o respectively. As you may be able to see both roads through the crossing are curved with radii of 1654mm and 3840mm, and the slip is at a radius of 1584mm

Hope this is sufficient information for your interest

Ron

A few pictures of the completion of latest trackwork build -

From top to bottom the tracks on left lead to Platform 7, platform 6, service road, platform 5, platform 4, service road, platform 3, platform 2 and service road

The unbuilt trackwork towards the top comprises lead into Platform 1 and tracks into CLC and Station goods yards. These will be part of the next build 

12 single turnouts, 2 3-way turnouts and 2 crossings - 1860's complexity remaining unchanged until 1958 

Wiring for droppers advised by Correos to be delivered Thursday

The trackwork section has been extended to approx. 2200mm to achieve suitable track ends for the following next sections. Expect to start the fixing the droppers later this week when the wire is received

Will clear the workspace and take a few pictures of the trackwork tomorrow

That's interesting to know. Are there any downsides to using styrene indoors in your location that you've noticed? I'm thinking along the lines of with/without air conditioning, variable indoor temperatures/humidity? My eventual Spanish modelling space is likely to be a garage/utility room connected to the main house. Just curious...

As always, inspirational modelling.

The main model structures built in styrene, such as the viaducts (2), bridges (6), high level goods yard and the Train Shed, have all stood the test of time, between 3 and 10 years. The layout is in our windowless underbuild (basement) where the temperature varies between approx. 15 to 22 deg C, year round, and has an automatic dehumidifier set at 50% RH with waste water piped to drainage/waste. There is no heating or cooling equipment used. Ventilation is provide by a wall fan controlled by a humidistat and a large shuttered grill in the opposite wall.The walls are lined with 30mm thick rigid closed cell polystyrene insulation. A plastic panel suspended ceiling is employed to catch any concrete dust from the floor above, and the ceiling void carries all the service piping and cabling for the villa. The floor was laid with a damp proof membrane and a 100mm thick reinforced concrete slab which was painted with two coats of garage floor paint. The floor beyond the layout baseboard perimeter (walking and access areas) has been covered with 20mm thick foam rubber panels, normally used for play areas

The atmosphere within the room  is dry and at a comfortable temperature at any time and day throughout the year, and none of the models whether built from card or plastic appear to have deteriorated in any way

Always happy to help. Hope this helps answer in some way your question

Ron

Today the picnic table (worktable) has been converted from metalworking to trackbuilding. The cut 4mm wide copperclad strips were spot on, and were trimmed down to 22mm length pieces for the six outstanding turnout tie bars. Took a few hours cutting 3.5mm and 4mm wide stained ply strips for the next track sections which will help complete the first 1500mm of approach trackwork outside the train shed, feeding platforms 1 to 9. Pictures when it is all ready for fixing the droppers, etc.

The first  section of the deck has been detailed -

Two more sections to be detailed. These can wait until after the return to the trackwork builds. Why, you may ask. Because -

Good news for Xmas - SWMBO got me a surprise present, proving she does listen to my modelling problems. Actually she is always asking what is taking me so long to finish the layout

The surprise is a 24v DC mini-diamond bladed table saw and a supply of copperclad PCB. So I can now make more progress on the trackwork builds. A quick check of the saw this morning, and the resulting 300mm long strips are OK

Couldn't test the saw before this morning because the weather on Wednesday was hurricane winds which just happened to snap the 200mm dia trunk of our specimen Orchid Tree. Whilst the winds have subsided completely, the last few days have been a clearing up of the debris in the garden, and moving all the trunk sections and branches to the local recycling centre. Temperatures here are back to normal with 20deg C daytime and 12deg C overnight, with light breeze

Happy and Productive New Year to All

Not sure it's been mentioned yet, but there are a lot of interesting 1960s photos of Manchester being posted on Flickr, including some of Central station, such as

https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterarchiveplus/39200517021/in/dateposted/

Thanks for the info. I have these in my research archive already

Ron

All the detailing of the deck beams involves over 400 items, all of which require cutting out of the etch sheets, cleaning and the rivets embossing. As it has taken four days of work to complete this preparation before starting their assembly to the deck build, you can understand my curiosity as to the number of rivets that has caused a daily dose of stiff back and an aching wrist

... and the calculated count was 7172

Another few of days should see all the detailing on the deck completed, with pictures being posted hopefully before Xmas

Ron

As the deck construction continues. I have been sorting out the components for the two latticed span beams. Disaster !! There is an etched 20thou brass sheet missing holding 129 items for the major portion of the lattice work. An extensive search through drawers and boxes has drawn a blank, a new sheet will have to be ordered with delivery some time in the New Year

Yet another pause is in the offing after the deck is completed, or alternatively I could slow down and enjoy the festive season without fear of a tipple or two causing too much modeller's finger shake and/or blurred vision