CourthsVeil

Marc, I think you should stick to the idea of a COAL yard, they are rarer than scrap yards. And sooo dirty too… "… I'm fancying building a low-relief small overhead crane on that end of the layout" Would it not be possible to incorporate one in a coal yard? "Room for a mirror too, maybe?" YES ! ! ! please. I'll be following along to see the progress you make. Keep us posted, please. Regards Armin

Now, where's this EXCELLENT button ??? Armin

"…the quality isn't great…", maybe, but the pictures ooze atmosphere, which is rare, Mike! Well done, thanks. Armin

Wish the very best to you, Adrian, have a fruitful new Year. Armin

Hi Shadow, just looking if there is any update on this nice little layout. Have been looking out for news for a while. Hope everything is still going OK. Regards Armin

Jim, hope it’s all well at yours, it's been a bit quiet here? Regards Armin

Of course your pictures are of interest, Jules ! Thanks again for sharing them. Armin

Can only emphasize your above statements, Marc. Would just add that framing the foamboard (link) eases the attachment of a backdrop, flat relief buildings and a control panel (link). Also, not only the wiring can be hidden (link, 4th pic) as you describe, but the mech of a wire-in-tube system too (link). That's why I call it "RiT" = "Rod-in-Trough" But works with a real WiT-system as well: link. Apart from the solvents etc. issue one should be aware that this stuff does melt when heated. Therefore the often recommended hot glue gun is not such a good idea (guess how I know?). To get rid of the nasty colours the boards come with, I usually start work with priming it with a PVA+acryl paint mix (see 3rd link above). Though being incredibly lightweight, foamboard is very strong. Therefore – and considering the additional work involved – I prefer it much over any foamcore construction. And, as others have said, we have missed you, Marc, and your posts very much. So I'm really glad to see you here again! Kind regards Armin PS another reason why I prefer them: here in Germany they are mostly sold as insulating boards measuring ~122x60cm (cost 5.30€ !!! ). Cutting in half gives me TWO baseboards of four sqft each. Perfeckt, isn't it?

Perhaps you should do it seldom? Let dust 'n cobwebs accumulate and then be surprised… Armin

Daniel, like a lot what you are presenting here – well done! In my last layout I've used gravel soil from our garden. Real gravel soil: washed, baked and then sieved onto the PVAed board. The sieve I use is really fine: 0.18mm or seven thou. Have a look there… May be sprinkled with some coarse "stones". Regards Armin edit: wrong word used – it is soil (fine earth) instead of gravel !

Chaz, often aquarist's filter floss is recommended – must be applied very sparingly (otherwise one gets leaf balls/clumps). I personally now prefer cocos (or sisal?) fibres cut down to 6-12mm (see there). Also, I find masking tape a bit too stiff to wrap neatly around the stem and branches. Soft tissue (split and soaked with glue) adheres much better… Like your choice of grey colour for the bark – well observed! Armin PS: instead of PVA I now use latex binder, remains flexible and can be coloured as well.

There has been another thread with nearly the same title: klick me! Possibly more interesting info there? Armin

It fits – well done, Jimmy. Armin

Again, really very nice and full of atmosphere: a sunny day made to enjoy… Regarding chains, I went to a local watchmaker/jeweller and bought one. Was surprisingly cheap! Saves you a lot of trouble with the Beloved. Greetings Armin

Our not! Requiring food as every summer day… Armin

Lookin good – very convincing. Go along that way. Armin

Surrender! The K.I.S.S. gang wins! No moving parts, just two cheap Bridge Rectifiers… Brilliant! That’s my view of the thing: as the train rushes (or trundles) over the track sections it “senses” nothing than an Alternating Current – regardless where its wheels touch the rail. This AC is rectified. Period. Taking my hat off to… the noname problem solver (need not subscribe to that ominous school!) Regards Armin PS: Stu could complement his train with a tank wagon containing a one milliFarad capacitor. Hat, coat…

Hi Stu, I hope you will not frown too much when I hijack your thread for a short time. In the meantime I tried my luck with the concept I presented in various former posts. I proposed the use of a relay to ensure simultaneous switching and maintaining power. Was really a steep learning curve! Went not without another amendment to my proposal – I had to learn that latching relays always need TWO pulses: one to switch, a second to switch back… Here’s the new (and final) circuit: Today I finished my test rig, made a video clip and here it is – just 15 seconds, but that’s enough. This is not the real thing (i.e. a monorail loco driven by a real prime mover), but just a manually pushed wagon with a LED that proves the constant flow of current. … https://youtu.be/th00VOto4ck Pls don’t mind the flickering – has nothing to do with the switches or the relay. It’s just due to insufficiently cleaned wheels. Me thinks this should work likewise with a real motorized loco – but a good flywheel is recommended! End of hijack… Regards Armin EDIT: to keep this intrusion short I posted a detailed explanation in my Port Chambre thread.

That's how (and why) we love them! Because "Dogs have…" If I may: Armin

There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about these static grass applicators. Some of my thoughts: Do we need conducting materials (or even a circuit) when investigating or using electrostatic charge? WP says: Amber, for ex­ample, can acquire an electric charge by friction with a material like wool. Also an image there shows: Paper strips attracted by a charged CD. Are these materials conducting? Then there is the issue of a balloon rubbed on your cardy – mocked up by people who haven’t tried it, but praised by others. Nothing conductive involved there. Draw your own conclusions… If one thinks he needs conduction over all, why not mist the area in question with a flower spray? Salt is good for cooking and to make rust; the ions in tap water are sufficient. The repulsive force vanishes depending on charge and distance -> the fibres will stand nicely with more volts and with less room between the sieve and the base. No wonder that the results with the Flock-It (~15kV) are better than with a flyswat providing some 5kV… The electrostatic charge dissipates much quicker than the glue sets; the drier the air the longer it takes. Giles’ various tips in this thread are sound and very valuable – esp. the “bedding in” with finest (!) gravel. Which I did! May then be fixed with hairspray. Also 2ManySpams’ (#19 l.c.) recommendation re. a light (!) mist with some light (!) grey spray paint works very well. As Paul R said above: I guess it all comes down to practice and experience. Right !! At least I am not afraid of spending some bucks on stuff in order to do various experiments. Pays later! At the end a warning: Electric charge (more precise: discharge) is dangerous to electronic devices -> better you disconnect/shut down all such devices (decoders/ frog juicers etc.) or take them away (chipped locos) – if possible. Saves you a lot of trouble! HTH Armin

Great photos you made, well done, Andy. Thanks for sharing. Armin

Yes, well done, Adrian, a pleasure to look at ! Many thanks! Regards Armin

The last drawing in my post #53 above could be misunderstood (in fact it contradicted to what I had written before). Therefore I replaced it by a correct one. In the meantime it dawned to me that the two SPDT relays could be replaced by a single DPDT relay. Regards Armin

A shame that it is not possible to hit the AGREE button more than once! Stu has made it quite clear to anybody who can read: Regards Armin

See post # 891 (prev. page)! Armin