Chris M
-
Posts
2,464 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Exhibition Layout Details
Store
Posts posted by Chris M
-
-
Some experiences have a value far beyond their price. The chances are you will only do it once so go for your favourite loco and hang the expense.
-
7
-
-
My layout isn't dcc but is occasionally very loud - not all the time but just occasionally mainly to entertain youngsters. How would that go down?Never had any riders, asked for, but I have added some to layout invites, mostly with regard to the sound volumes of some dcc layouts, backed up by a 2 1/2 lbs ( just over a kg) toffee hammer, placed in full view of those it was aimed at.
One thing exhibition managers need to keep careful control of is the number of operators. More operators than necessary increases expenses and also provides free entry to people who might otherwise pay at the door. I have done the opposite of this - paid to go into an exhibition and then found myself operating a friend's layout that was short staffed.
-
It's great that there are so many spheres of interest in model railways. If you find something satisfying / interesting then great do it.
I agree with the previous post that a complete line is more interesting than a station. I would rather have a complete branchline with compressed stations and tight curves than a scale branch terminus station. I like to see trains making progress along the branch and crossing others at passing places. My branch line layout does not have room for goods sheds at every station which is a shame because I think a pick up goods working it's way along fromstation to station would be interesting to operate.
I have taken a large scale shunting layout to exhibitions. Realising that visitors don't get an aweful lot of entertainment from seeing a few wagons moving backwards and forwards I used to explain what was to be achieved in terms of parking incoming wagons and collecting outgoing wagons. I would discuss how to achieve this and then let a watching youngster actually do the driving while I operated points. This went down very well with the visitors and I found it enjoyable as well.
-
3
-
-
Just out of the box 70815 in the woods at Moorswater 31.5.17
I hate to see people using locos straight out the box, they always look more realistic with a bit of weathering.
-
1
-
-
I think it is a rather poor show. I expect the service didn't make a profit so that is why it has been dropped but this does rather ignore the customer service point of view. After a day in London it would be great to have a drink on the train home. I was surprised and quite disappointed to find last year that the evening trains didn't have any on board refreshments. Next time I will just have to buy something before I get on the train which somehow just isn't the same.
Never mind - worse things happen.
-
Try checking the back to backs of the wheels. Probably won't help but if they are just a fraction too wide it could cause a problem. Also check the bodie is completely free to move around.
-
I've posted this in another thread but I decided to post it here as well to make sure you EMD fans don't miss it. I've always liked my GP38s. Don't worry about me - I'll start taking my pills again tomorrow!
-
3
-
-
I was recently shown a video (Japanese I think) with two N gauge trains drifitng. This must have been on my mind because today I was about to mow the lawn today when I found myself doing this instead. My GP38s have always been a favourite loco.
-
8
-
-
I'm now using an app called soundcue lite £4.99 to fire my sounds.
-
2
-
-
Here are my Castle recordings modified to fit the layout. Sorry the sound quality isn't great, thats down to the ipad not the actual sound.
-
1
-
-
Didn't the revolution guys suddenly get lots of orders after they confirmed they were going ahead with the class B tank wagon?
-
Could owners of diesel exhibition layouts with sound please take note of this thread and not leave all their locos ticking over all day.
-
I also do cow, sheep and tractor sound when youngsters are watching so again Sooundbyte could be useful
I also do cow, sheep and tractor sound when youngsters are watching so again Sooundbyte could be useful
-
Thanks, I'll give soundbyte a go
-
I have just obtained a new Farish Castle and luckily have some Castle recordings already. I think these will give me a good start point for sounds to go with the Castle either climbing or running at speed. If anyone else wants to use them the videos are on youtube and you are welcome to download them to use the sound.
-
I recently started a new thread with a link to my video of N gauge sound and Randall has suggested I post the link here as well. On my layout trains merely pass through and do not stop which makes adding sound very easy. I have a speaker under the layout (which is only 7 ft long) connected to my iphone where i have various sounds. I just select the correct sound for the train and hit play just before it enters the scenic section. I made sound files to suit from recordings using audacity to chop, lengthen etc.
Meanwhile out in the garden where the stock is of course much larger I have dropped a reasonable bluetooth speaker in the first wagon to give me real whistles. The chuffing sound is from a mylocosound chip fitted to the loco. Power is dc track power. I quite like this but have to exercise restraint as I do like to speak with the neighbours. Since the video I have made the load a little higher to hide the speaker.
-
1
-
-
I also use audacity.
I shall be going to the Severn Valley diesel gala this weekend and hopefully collect a few more sounds. I cant wait for Western Champion to be back in working order so I can get more of a Western on the main line. Being N gauge and following Dapol's recent announcement I am less interested in class 50 sound than I was.
-
What a difference. I find Aller Junction very convincing, as it has the sound of the whole train, but not the Shay, because the wagons are silent.
When you are out in the garden the wagons do make a nice sound as they pass close. They have metal wheels and give a nice clickety clack over the rail joints. A couple of them also squeak as the go along which is nice. I could oil them but I like the squeak.
-
1
-
-
I also have a garden railway which is analogue track power with some battery power. My shay is track powered and is fitted with a mylocosound chip which is very good for £49. As with many sound cards the whistle isn't great and of course it can't be activated as the loco goes around the garden. Again I have edited some mp3 sound files this time to give me a selection of whistles. I then put a bluetooth speaker on the first wagon. On the video it is partially hidden by logs and I have since made it completely hidden. Once this is linked up to my phone I have a choice of very convincing whistles I can blow wherever I like. Luckily my neighbours are very understanding people.
-
This won't be everyones "cup of tea" but hopefully it will be of interest to some. I have been playing around with sound clips on mp3 files to add sound to my railway. I know how long each train takes to pass through my scenic section on my N gauge layout and have used an mp3 editor app to get some sound clips that are just the right length for the passing trains. I then dropped these clips onto my phone and connected it to a big speaker under the layout. The phone I was filming with picked up much more of the model loco sound than you hear when watching but nevertheless the video gives you the gist of it. It needs to be played through big speakers.
Ok this is not a substitute for DCC sound; it is not as convenient or as well matched to loco movements. It does however have some advantages, especially for N. First it is a good deep sound, with a more powerful speaker I have managed to get the floor vibrating (I don't think this was good for the speaker or relationships with others in the vicinity). Second you get a whole train sound, not just the loco. Third, because I have to press a button at the right time I don't play sound all of the time. This kind of makes it more special when I do.
-
4
-
-
As I said a while ago, they are fine on the flat pulling full length trains with no problem but not great on gradients.
-
We live in a capatilst society where businesses are out to make a profit... cheap labour in china, even in 5 years time it'll still be way cheaper, and the nearly negligible costs of transportation mean there will be no mainstream stuff being made in the uk for many many years if ever.....
i do not accept that things will be made to a better quality either if they are made in the uk... that's why large chunks of the uk manufacturing sector either went burst or outsourced there work overseas.....
There are costs that arise from dealing with a very different country on the other side of the world. How far this goes towards offsetting labour costs is open to debate. It also as to be said that the Chinese have sometimes "dumped" goods to us at below cost price. For instance some ten years ago the price for certain Chinese automotive parts was lower if buying from the UK than if buying from China. So we can never be sure if we are paying the true cost.
A little anecdote regarding quality. Back in 1998 when Rover was part of BMW Group the car with the lowest warranty claims in the whole group was the Rover 400, yes I know it doesn't seem likely but there you go. Obviously BMW didn't mention this but it shows we can do quality in the UK.
-
I have five N gauge lower quadrant signals. Initially I connected them to a standard AC supply from my transformer. They worked fine for a number of exhibitions but during the course of on exhibition they all failed, one by one, over the course of the day. Having thought about it I realised that my cdu is on the same power supply as my signals and I had installed a new cdu just before the exhibition where the signals failed. Not being an electronics expert the only explanation I can come up with is that the new cdu caused some spikes in the power supply that blew either the voltage regulator or diode in the signals.
I would expect the signals will be fine if the new voltage instructions are followed and there is nothing else in the circuit that might cause a spike. It seems to me that the very small electronic components that have to be used can't cope with large currents and so long as you take reasonable precautions to ensure the voltage is within the new instructions they will be reliable. The mechanisms of my signals have coped with me pulling them apart, fiddling about and reassembling them remarkably well.
I decided to make mine work connected to (on)-off-(on) switches. I also decided not to connect the lamp because it is very fiddly and you can't see a light on real signals during daylight. I fiddled about with resistors in the 12 volt power supply until I got the arm to move at a speed I liked. A number of exhibitions later they are all still working fine and I have every confidence in them. One issue is that using manual control they can go off the end of the gearing and get stuck. This is rare and is down to operator error. I have a little override button which will blast 12 volts through the motor. This makes it scream a bit but usually brings the signal back into use. A couple of times I have had to pull a signal off the layout and take it apart to reset it. This suggests that the internal mechanism would require quite a rework to enable these signals to be sold with this type of control. Fitting a servo to move the arm is probably a better solution if you have a means to control a servo.
-
What a completely pointless post. I was always taught, if you have nothing to say, say nothing.
Jerry
Ok, I'll express myself more carefully.
The original question seems to have been answered. Following on there has been a lot of discussion here about how high a cameo layout should be but I would respectfully suggest there should be more discussion about what makes a cameo layout interesting for the paying customer at exhibitions. Is movement important? Should there be explanations of the scene and the movements? Is a model of a real location more interesting than a fictional one? Should the operator be at the front, side or rear? Are cameo layouts only of interest to serious modellers or should they be aimed at the general public as well? It has been mentioned that allowing youngsters to interact adds to their enjoyment, perhaps we should all try to do more of this. What thoughts do others have on allowing interaction? Due to the size, simplicity and usual location of the operator cameo layouts are probably better able to offer interaction than large layouts. It seems to be agreed that a cameo layout is about the way a scene is presented but what is the best way of providing entertainment value with this genre?
For me, The End of the Line is a fantastic example of how to create a well modelled and very interesting/entertaining small layout. Absolutely brilliant.
Lymebrook Yard
in Layout topics
Posted
Hi Steve
Haven't seen this thread before but saw the layout today. Brilliant layout. I would agree it was the best layout in the DEMU show. It is well planned and well executed.