hayfield

I won a secondhand Athearn GP38-2 with a bid $1 over the only other bid of the starting price. The description was all about the appearance and box - it didn't say it had been tested, so that was a bit of a warning flag. However, I wanted it for the body, I already had a chassis that would fit if necessary. Put it on the rolling road and there was a terrible racket from one truck. I thought "gears" (and other words!). Took the body off, and the 'dogbone' on the end of the driveshaft had come out of the coupling on top of the truck and the driveshaft was flailing about.Put the dogbone back into the coupling and clicked into place, back on the rolling road - no more racket.

 

So I have a virtually new loco - there was no wear visible on anything else - for about 31GBP. I'm happy.

I think most of what I have bought as either untested or non runner have been down to minor faults which were easily repaired, the best being the Bemo H0m loco for £30 which turned out to have a dead chip, as I use DC no issue at all. Have found one set of lights not working though

I have a friend who had a P4 layout built in the 80's with chipboard, the boards had to undergo major re-framing as the chipboard had sagged in lots of places over the years

I had a layout which used MDF for the baseboards, it lasted 2 years in a damp club room without any ill effects, but it was sealed (all over) with silk emulsion paint. I think chipboard would also be protected if painted with a paint which repels moisture

Ply seems to be the best option though

An Amstrad Tower System?

Toshiba from memory

Thanks JM.  As you probably know all of the plain sleepers on ET are cut to 32mm.  There's not much I can do with head on shots and the giveaway is often the thickness of the wheel tread rather than the 2mm under gauge. Of course you have to ask the question how many of us spend all their time looking at head on shots as in reality they aren't very interesting.

 

When I'm looking at a top layout in 00, I think the whole scene takes your eyes away from the compromises we all make.

 

Congrats on your Christmas tree, John....

 

It wasn't until I looked closely did I realise they are separate circles.  I did think for a few seconds it was a spiral.....

 

Still trying to motivate myself to go out in the cold to pick up some ply from the local woodyard.  We've had the odd snow flurry, but nothing serious.  Even so it's lovely and warm in here, so I may well default to pointwork building.

Us three oldies who make the Last of the Summer wine men look professional, and had enough trouble making the circles round, as for a spiral which reduces in diameter NO Chance. I was surprised it held together for 2 days, especially as the shuttering has been outside for 3 months getting damp, plus the N and 00 gauge tracks were cast offs from layouts 20 odd years old with places where it refused to bend (if we do it again all the track will be new). 

Having said this I think the rustic appearance added to the effect, with the exception of not being very photogenic. Great fun though  

K's did a couple of 0-4-0t locos, one being LNER the other being a Taff Vale, might it be a milestone kit ?

Anyway if it is a K's the wheels are code 75 compatible, but if they are plastic centred ones they may wobble a bit, and if it has one of those plastic HMP2 motors the chances are that it will need replacing

Having said this if the kit is a K's or another make, in good condition and at a fair price I would go for it, even if it needs a new motor and wheels. £40 seems a fair price if its in good condition

The only thing I have noticed is that due to the shortness of the switch rails, they have to be hinged. A method Norman Solomon showed me was to use cast metal fishplates soldered to the central part of the slip rail, allowing the switch blades to pivot in them. Works a treat and looks the business to suite

The other thing is to have a quality plan, the tips of the vees must be in the correct position (distance from each other) Templot or similar quality template

Picked up some of the circles today as we took it apart, now do I use the 0-16.5 and use it as a test bed for the other stock I have amassed and get them painted and working, or go for the H0m, which I am totally bemused by. I can now see why they cost so much, but then the two coaches cost me more than the loco which in hind sight was a steal

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a total aside, I bought Mrs S a Sonus speaker and Spotify subscription as a Christmas present.  I've been a music fan since the 60's and have cupboards full of vinyl and CD's that have been amassed over the years.  Whist the sound quality falls short of hifi standards, I have to say I'm impressed with the whole kit and caboodle.  No doubt younger generations will be falling about laughing right now as they've been doing it for years, but the ability to call up any artist, track or album from around 43 million held somewhere in the ether staggers me.  Not only do you have unlimited choice, it plays within nano seconds.  Loads of selected play lists mean I spent ages listening to people I didn't know and in one foul swoop, it's made every record or CD we have redundant.  Of course now I'm trying to find tracks or artists that aren't listed.  

 

You have to, don't you....

 

It's made me think and I am tempted to invest in a hifi version with Tidal streaming that promises CD quality with no file compression.

 

Just thinking about the technology involved blows my mind.......

We are going totally retro, as soon as the flooring is laid we can retrieve our possessions from the storage centre, including our 1980's Hi Fi system complete with vinyl, SHMBO has decreed I must get it working as we have room for it and the speakers (she wants smaller ones), still I have Sky in the family room so she can play her records to her hearts content, also buy some s/h ones from the charity shops if she wants

I suggested a train around the tree was an American tradition we should follow.

 

Immediate veto from SWMBO

Do it when she goes to bed 

Except you can't follow the request in red capitals and place an order without paying........................

Perhaps sending an email, but at this moment in time I would be very wary of sending any money. Is cash on delivery an option? or is that a thing of the past ?

 

Just for the record, I purchased Experian business reports for both Cooper Craft and Ford Nursery on 30/10/17. From the reports their addresses are listed as:

 

FORD NURSERY

WILLOWS, OAKE, TAUNTON, SOMERSET, TA4 1BE

 

COOPER CRAFT

WILLOWS, BROOM LANE, OAKE, TAUNTON, SOMERSET, TA4 1BE

 

 

Jonathan

 

In one way its easy to see how you assumed the two are together especially as there are not unit 1 unit 2 etc, on the other hand there are several old farm yards near me where two or more businesses work from separate units. Also remember a lot of businesses have registered addresses at their accountants etc. So its a bit of a mine field.

I have only met the chap at shows, and bought what was on show. He seemed just a normal chap who was a bit shy (I never mentioned any thing about the problems) / embarrassed in his manner. Its just a great pity what has happened  

Had to dig a bit on the Wizzard web site, under tools and materials

https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/tools/00-gauge-frame-assembly-jig-ls16/, also P4 and EM plus there are some washers for hornblocks  https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/tools/assembly-jig-adaptors-for-6mm-wide-hornways-ls59/

Three of us were approached to decorate a Christmas tree for the local Parish churches Christmas tree festival, needless to say other than briefly chat about it we did nothing and when we actually decided to do something, getting access to the premises proved problematic

I had some old OSB boards in the garden which the builders had used to cover the window and door openings, we guessed the dimensions and cut 5 circles 3" wide.One of the lads painted the boards Tues/Wednesday Thursday we lashed 3 circles for track at intervals up the tree, Friday we completed laying the track, looked much better in the flesh as the camera shows up all the warts and poor carpentry skills 

The top circle had 009/N gauge trains

Middle H0m

Bottom had 0 16.5 though 00 could have been run

Surprisingly (especially as the 00 & N gauge tracks were old and dirty off cuts) everything worked well both days, we had Chelmsford's Thomas pay and play train set for the kids to use, everyone loved it, One of the group who has a garden railway and provided the N gauge track and stock decided to start again with the N gauge during the winter, two of the visitors were going home to go up in their lofts to find their old train sets

I am allowed for the first time in 42 years to have a train running round the Christmas tree, decision is 0-16.5 or H0m ?

If we did it again what would we do, start much earlier, use new track through out and add lighting

Gordon

After reading your comments on your wood working teacher, mine must have been turning in his grave about my skills, Three of us were challenged to do a model railway themed Christmas tree for the local Parish churches Christmas tree festival

We spent weeks chatting about it, on Monday we cut the circles, built / lashed it up on Thursday and laid the track on Thursday

In addition one of the lads borrowed Chelmsfords MRC Thomas train set for the children to play with

Sadly our curved boards are weak imitations of those you build and surprisingly survived the weekend 

Good suggestion, however there is an assumption there is stock to sell so running this size of business may not be just down to method of sale process and might be down to many other factors perhaps not related to sales process alone. Im sure and hope it will come good eventually, as you say it's still early days. I don't envy the chap as I have a bit of an idea as to how much money he probably had to sink into this venture.

The last thing any trader wants is someone suggesting they have no stock. There has been comments on here and the C&L website that there are 2 storage units full of stock, plus regular updates stating which items that had been temporally out of stock are now back in stock, even when Peter ran the business at times there were stock items which went off sale

As you have said Phil will get it sorted out, most customers are receiving their orders with a few exceptions which in fullness of time will be resolved.

For the volumes Phil sells eBay is an expensive way of selling. He has a website and a phone which he answers

Have spoken to Phil recently and I am certain he will be reassured by the recent comments of support and understanding, he is finding out the hard way on the job the difficulties of a one man band and doing his best to sort them out. As said in all businesses mistakes happen, plans have to be altered. No one wants the business to succeed more than Phil (his savings are invested in it) and needs it to. He will get there in the end, perhaps a bit slower than some expect or in many cases quicker than anticipated

He has a break for a month from shows, which will give him more time. And wisely shutting down for a few days extra for a well earned break to recharge his batteries. Also the Christmas post will not be helping at the moment ( I have not received something yet in the post which normally would have arrived by Wednesday). At least the range is still available

Peter

Phil stepped in at the last minuet to keep the business going, he designed a system which he thought fitted the bill at the same time there were issues in transferring the website and email system plus he could not continue the postal method Peter used for large packages. As Martin said he is a one man business doing everything himself. Plus the existing stock he recieved was just mixed up and not labeled, it took him ages to sort out 

It is true that he subcontracts the manufacturer of components, but these have to be packed up in to retail size packages, and in the kit packs they have to be assembled. Knowing Phil as I do he is an honourable man learning a new set of skills whilst on the job and not in the position of being able to hire in staff of throw thousand of £'s at a website. To his credit he has put his hands up and admitted to making some mistakes, he is also trying to unravel the initial IT problems he had. He does not have a magic wand and is trying to work through the problematic orders, whilst at the same time processing new orders

All I can say again, he is a nice chap who is approachable and doing his best. Give him a call and calmly resolve the issue. 

Eh? You've lost me there.

 

C6T.

Sorry for the confusion, the most important thing when buying a house is the general living conditions, is it the house which suits the family needs and an area you want to live in. The railway whilst important to you is (in my opinion) the last thing you take into consideration, its only a deal breaker if there is no room at all for the railway.

The house we now live in was probably quite down the list if we looked at the railway side on its own. 20 months down we are not only living in the best house and the nicest area of all the houses we looked at, the new workroom is far better than anything else in the properties we looked at, and quite different to our first thoughts when making an offer.

I have had a chat with Phil this morning and he is doing his best to catch up on his backlog whilst satisfying his customers, one of the main issues was the IT problems he suffered where some of the order details were either missing or corrupted, the next issue is international postage and sending large (1m)  parcels, Phil now has solutions in hand

If you have a problem or want to place an order at the moment the best thing is to phone him (you never know you may be one of the customers he is trying to contact.

I have a couple of questions regarding track making before I start with my large ish layout in 4-SF and I hope someone could help answer a few of them?..

 

1) Does anyone use a Proxxon table saw to cut up plywood (3mm thick) for sleepers? Is it accurate enough?  I am a little worried about delamination too, But I did think it might be cheaper to buy some 3mm plywood sheets and make my own sleepers/timbers as I need alot and it would work out cheaper I think.

 

2) My points are on curves, ranging from 38" curve to like 50"odd,  Is it ok to use pre-assembled C&L crossings? as they are quite straight or the pre-made Vee's? Or would I need to custom build all that because they are on a curve?  (see pictures below)

 

3) I have started doing the whole "nudge timbers" in templot and I am wondering if anyone could just have a look to make sure I am doing it right?  I have only done the one's on the main running line and the station area..  I didn't touch any that support the important rails and vee's as I know that's abit of a no no!  (box file attached)

 

4) Are there any special chairs I should use for the check chairs for 4-sf? As C&L don't do one's with the 1mm gap

 

5 (bonus question) How do people go about hiding the dropper wires so that they remain hidden?  I'm going with plastic fully functional chairs

 

Many Thanks

1 Personally speaking, unless you have a use for the Proxon other than cutting timbers I would buy them from C&L

2 You might be able to gently curve pre-made Vees, on the other hand buy either an EMGS or Scalefour Vee filing jig. Very simple to use. Watch the inside radi on curved turnouts

4  Use the Exactoscale 0.8 mm check chair cutting through one web and glueing the remaining half once the check rail is in situ (and in gauge)

5 Normal method of wire soldered under the rail, through a hold is fine, as when ballasted is hidden

In our first flat I was able to use the spare room. I then used the loft in our terraced house. The next house was a semi, first the loft, then a small bedroom then I converted the garage

We have moved again, the plan being to buy a house with either a garage, outbuilding or the ability to build a large shed. In the end we bought a house which fell into the last catagory. BUT whilst getting quotes for a suitable building we also were planning to extend the house to the rear (shed at the side of the house) The cost of including a brick built structure to the plan was about the same, the running costs would be much less with security being far better

The result was the plan was developed further giving a room which was accessed from inside the house and actually made the extension to the living quarters even better, plus the house now has and additional study/bedroom.

In short keep all options open, you have to live there first and foremost, find the property you like the best, then design a solution to the model railway 

I have only built one turnout using this method, but what a marathon !!  I guess as you use this system you can get faster but compared to using plastic chairs ob plastic turnouts it took me at least 10 times longer

As for looks, to me the etchings whilst in 3D were too skinny and lacking the depth of a moulded/cast chair

Hi Gordon,

 

In the olden days (1970s) I manufactured tie-bars based on these methods as part of my Kit-Trak range. The tie-bar was unclad 1/32" fibreglass, 3mm wide. The 1mm dia. pins were turned from nickel-silver, having a thin head below the tie-bar and a small profiled groove to receive the foot of the switch blade for soldering. Anyone with a lathe (I saw one in the background of one of your pics ) would be able to replicate that method. I will try to find a pin drawing. It produced a reliable and unobtrusive fixing.

 

regards,

 

Martin.

Tucked away in one of my box of bits I have at least a pair of your tiebars (not slips unfortunately). Had no idea these tiebars were engineered as described, will look closer once I have unpacked everything

Part of the move agreement was that the railway would be OUTSIDE and not in the house. However adding it to the extension has made a much better kitchen family room, for the next generation it adds to the value of the property, as it easily can be used as a study or 4th bedroom. 

Whilst slightly on the small size, benefits are, no going out into the cold, cost of heating is minimal, small window at one end great for siting the railway, integral Beer fridge, better security, best of all very close to the coffee machine

Agree you cannot have enough cupboards and shelves

Gordon

A method I use on double slips which have equally short switch blades, is either one described by Norman Solomon or developed from one of his ideas,

It is making a hinged joint. I use cast metal fishplates where one end is soldered to the fixed rail, the switch rail is just slotted in, the blades are soldered to the tiebar which holds all in place

Another method is to use Peco N gauge plastic rail joiners as the hinge, looks not as good but very effective also isolates the blades form the common crosing