martin_wynne

Hi Martyn, Simon, A tip for identifying which way up is the rail top is to press the end of the rail into a bit of blu-tack on the bench. For some reason it is easier to see the rail section looking at the impression left in the blu-tack than to look at the rail end itself. Or at least it is for me. For those reading this who don't know, the top of bullhead rail is the thicker edge. This may seem counter-intuitive, but the chairs won't fit if you try it upside down. The reason on the prototype is to allow for wear of the rail head: regards, Martin.

Keeping it is cheap. A bucket of soapy water occasionally. It's driving it that costs money.

Hi Simon, The best solution is not to unstick it from the plan, simply trim all round close to the timber ends. But for that to work reliably you need to print on thick enough paper to hold the timber spacings and be left in place under the ballast. I suggest 160gsm paper for printed templates, which is almost a thin card. Maybe in 7mm scale you could go even thicker, printer permitting. edit: Just to add that when sticking the template to the work board, stick it only outside the timbered area, so that after trimming round the timber ends it lifts clear. Martin.

The pre-curve or not? question generally depends on the type of rail and the construction method. For bullhead rail in soldered construction with the rail vertical there isn't generally any need to pre-curve the rail for the sort of radii which Gordon uses. For much tighter radii it can help. But if you are not careful it can be a hindrance because it is difficult to pre-curve the ends of a length of rail to match the middle part, which makes laying it to a constant curve trickier than starting with straight rail. Flat-bottom rail has much greater lateral stiffness than bullhead, so some pre-curving is usually needed. But it is quite difficult to do properly without twisting the rail, and ideally needs a proper rolling tool with rollers turned to match the FB section. For glued construction in plastic chairs, some pre-curving is almost essential. That's because the chairs hold the rail inclined at 1:20 from the vertical in prototype fashion, and simply bending straight rail to a curve causes it to straighten up. It needs to be pre-curved and twisted at the same time, so that the 1:20 inclination is maintained round the curve, and the chairs can sit properly on the sleepers while the glue is setting. Likewise the making of knuckle bends, etc., while maintaining the 1:20 inclination needs some skill and practice. Generally beginner trackbuilders would do better to learn with vertical rail, in which case soldered construction is the only option. Not necessarily copper-clad -- call me old-fashioned but I think rivetted plywood still has a lot going for it. Cosmetic half-chairs can be added after it is all built, laid and working and the result can look just as good as functional plastic chairs, but much easier to build and test. The absence of the 1:20 inclination is barely noticeable in 4mm scale, any more than the grossly overscale web thickness in most model rail sections. • Note that even when all other rails are inclined, check rails should always be vertical to match the prototype. regards, Martin.

I disagree. Without a train it is a picture of a bridge. With a train it becomes a picture of a train. Martin.

Hi Jock, I'm not a Christian so the contents of the Bible mean nothing to me. I would hope that not one of them would want an incendiary bomb dropped on a child in their name. We must forget eventually. Otherwise we would still be remembering those who died in the Roman invasion. I think a human lifetime is long enough (three score years and ten -- is that biblical?). Or maybe a century. After that it is for the historians to make what sense of it they can. We can change the future but we can't change the past. Martin.

I celebrate it when I've got to the end of the list -- usually about March 19th.

I'm not sure. A lifetime later might it not be better to draw a line and consign them to the history books? Because we also have to remember... In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the British Royal Air Force and 527 of the United States Army Air Forces dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city of Dresden. The bombing and the resulting firestorm destroyed over 1,600 acres of the city centre. An estimated 22,700 to 25,000 people were killed. A uranium gun-type atomic bomb (Little Boy) was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by a plutonium implosion-type bomb (Fat Man) on the city of Nagasaki on August 9. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000–80,000 in Nagasaki; roughly half of the deaths in each city occurred on the first day. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition. In both cities, most of the dead were civilians. Martin.

On a lovely sunny morning of a new year I have just been knocked for six by finding this image on the BBC web site today: My father was in the first party to enter the site. The departing guards had sabotaged the water supply, and the first job was to get a new water supply into the camp. They raided the local fire station to get enough hoses. Some of the poor inmates were so thirsty they were stabbing holes in the hoses to get a drink. My father had to pull them away to avoid wasting water and get the tanks refilled for everyone. He said it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do in his life. I'd rather not add some of the other things he told me. Martin. edit: link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30573936

That was the hottest, driest, coldest and wettest day of the year so far.

Evocative pic of Swan Village station: http://www.west-bromwich-photos.co.uk/morephotos.htm

Christmas tree lights overload. Which one is Kenton: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/christmas-tree-brightens-up-route-8329120

That's one page request every 2 seconds. Someone has a script running to watch this page. I wonder who that might be?

His real name is easily found by following links from his Profile page. No idea where he is though -- somewhere near here I imagine: Seriously though -- I hope you are ok Kenton. Martin. edit: Train entering Rush & Lusk station Forming the 09.27 Dublin - Drogheda passenger service, an Irish Rail 121 class locomotive hauls a rake of Mk3 push-pull stock into Rush & Lusk station. The GNR(I) signal cabin was another victim of the 1992-97 line upgrade project although, when last seen in 2007, it was still standing. © Copyright TheTurfBurner and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I have to admit this question is not uppermost in my mind.

Rusting on Christmas Day:

Damn. I was hoping for 24 hours.

Whenever I see those layouts I'm puzzled what purpose the moving trains serve? They would be equally attractive models with static trains. When the trains move, it simply highlights the fact that nothing else moves. The canal boat doesn't move, the horse and cart doesn't move, no wind rustles through the leaves, the drinkers outside the pub never lift their pints... If you are primarily modelling the scenery that's all rather a let-down -- unless you are representing a single instant in time, in which case the trains should be static too. Whereas on a model of a railway it doesn't matter if none of that moves because it is not the primary purpose of the model -- it is just there to look nicer than green hardboard. Martin.

But John and Gordon aren't out on the real railway. They are in their workshops building model track using track drawings. The relevant drawing office terminology seems the obvious thing to use in that case. And their eventual passengers will be made of plastic, so when having a meeting with themselves about some untoward occurrence on the line, matters are unlikely to get "dangerously confusing". With apologies to Gordon for invading his topic with this. Martin.

Hi Mike, Yes, but I don't see how that invalidates it. Especially as it is also in black & white in the book: I don't think this argument is going anywhere. In bullhead days at least, the physical track object was usually called catch points by track engineers, and that is the term which I use for it in Templot -- which is about building track, not operational matters. regards, Martin.

Hi Mike, Well yes, I did say that the term "trap points" referred to function. Reference to "British Railway Track - Design, Construction, Maintenance" -- the stand PWI handbook running to many editions over many years: Edition 3 of 1964 refers to "catch points" throughout when referring to the physical track object. The term "trap points" does not appear therein. The term used is Catch Roads. I will post a scan of the relevant pages here shortly. Edition 3 was the last one to contain details of bullhead track. When Edition 4 appeared in 1971, the references to Catch Roads was changed to "Trap Roads" for flat-bottom track. And when I have found where I've put my copy, I will post a scan of tat too. The p.w. drawings for the manufacture of these things in bullhead rail call them "catch points" regardless of the use to which they will be put. regards, Martin.

It's for real Pete -- see also for example: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_sam/6068154767/in/photostream/ The reason is that these are sprung catch points installed on a gradient to prevent breakaways rolling back downhill into the path of following trains. The sign is a warning to train crew passing over them that they must not reverse their train. Which was sometimes otherwise done when restarting a train on a gradient. regards, Martin.

Hi Gordon, A "point" is a single moving switch blade. It is called a point for the obvious reason that it is sharply pointed. Two such points linked together by a stretcher bar, and their associated stock rails, makes a "set of points" or "pair of points". Also called a "switch". A "turnout" comprises a switch and a "common crossing"*, with "closure rails" linking between them. So a single-point object as in John's picture is called a "catch point" (actually there are two of them in that turnout, just to muddy the water). If there were two points linked together, it would be called a "set of catch points": image by Andy Dingley (scanner) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons See also: http://templot.com/companion/index.html?gs_firstoff.htm#first_time_trackpad *common crossing is the UK term. Elsewhere in the world called a frog or a V-crossing (in contradistinction to the K-crossings in the middle of a diamond). Closure rails are called closer rails in some places. regards, Martin. edit: link added.

Both. The physical object is called a "catch point" -- see the p.w. engineering drawings. "Trap point" is the signalling term for the function it is performing. Trap points can also be full turnouts, crossovers, part of a double-slip, etc. So when you are building it, it is a catch point. And when you are using it, it is a trap point. Martin.

Hi Don, Try using thicker paper than ordinary 80gsm copier paper. 160gsm paper is ideal for track templates and a lot less expensive than photo paper. It is almost a thin card, which means the trimmed pages can be butted together like tiles, which makes aligning them accurately much easier. And it's thick enough not to cockle when glued. Martin.