CF MRC

If the loops don’t engage freely in the slots and become wedged then I find the noise and vibration go up massively - I suppose because one end is effectively fixed. Tim

I had a conversation last weekend with a visitor at Ally Pally regarding drive shafts and UJs. He was adamant that the two ends of the UJ should be at 90 degrees to each other. I had a strong recollection that 45 years previously a very good engineer at the MRC, Alan Cruikshank, had told me that the yokes should be in line with each other - that is the way they were arranged on the Hymek diesels, as an example. The input and output shafts should also be in line or parallel to each other. Needless to say, all my previous engines over the last 40+ years have had this feature. Wind forward to 2022 and I thought I would try making the UJ for the Raven 4-6-2 class at 90 degrees, as an experiment. It worked, but was perhaps a bit noisy. As is their want, this drive shaft was propelled in to deep space when I accidentally powered up the tender motor with the other end non-constrained. The next shaft was made in-line and performed much better. This link & video shows why: https://www.rccaraction.com/tech-center-matter-way-yokes-face-telescoping-driveshaft/ Hope this is of interest. When demonstrating at shows, it is always fun chatting to people who may / may not be knowledgeable. Tim

I love to see trains running in the landscape; but also when operating CF (especially from the South end) I can just imagine sitting in the cab, watching the climb through Belle Isle. Tim

We’re very much looking forward to the show. You’re welcome to come behind the layout if you wish: and anyone else if interested. Tim

Many, many thanks for voting CF as Layout of the Year. We keep on chipping away at it, still being far from finished of course. The achievement is entirely down to the team that contribute in so many ways; the support of the MRC and the excellent components available from the 2mm Scale Association. It is now 40 years since we started planning the project - here’s to the next 40… Tim

Fascinating layout. Thanks for bringing it.

It’s not always possible to get everything right in a show, but clearly the seats did arrive. Our apologies if they weren’t there early enough. Tim

If you’re being that picky, then the water gauges should show stripes/chevrons. Tim

Darlington works has been a bit quiet of late with a slight diversion into 4mm scale scenic modelling for the MRC’s OO layout. However, I did make the cab sides for the NER 4-6-2 class at the Missenden modelling weekend. Subsequently, the spectacle plate was made from quite thick brass as well as the running plate top. This is 5thou steel shim, being stronger than brass or N/S and able to take a good chemical blacking. The cab sides were obviously made as a pair, sweated together for cutting and filing. I decided not to put on the external cab window beading as it is very fine (in reality) and generally gets in the way of the black and white lining. The cab window frames are required, however, but only one is visible as the engines always ran with the rear window slid forward. Representing the rear slides was worthwhile and will also gave a greater surface area for soldering on the roof at eaves level. The window layer was aligned using a couple of stainless steel pins through the handrail knob holes whilst soldering. Next stage was to get the cab erected and the footplate extension boxes in front of the spectacle plate. The rear cab roof support was made from thick brass and the whole assembly held in place with two bolts - the engine is being designed with ease of painting in mind, breaking down into useful sub-assemblies. The next job will be to make the styrene pattern for the back head, which substantially fills the cab, seats and cab floor. A good job for demonstrating at Ally Pally next weekend. The loco now looks that little bit more complete. Tim

The Peco code 55 track would look better, of course. Tim

I think that the critical comments about the steam roller wheels on the Hornby TT120 locos are quite justified. However, I suspect that it is actually the pizza cutter flanges that spoil the appearance, rather than tread width. It could be fun to see what can be done with them: it would certainly make no difference to road (rail?) holding on halfway decent track. I don’t think the increase in body width is that great: there are lots of dodges that can be done to accommodate valve gear on such models - whether Hornby have or not, I don’t know. I certainly prefer the true gauge / scale combination. Tim

My recollection is that the bars of the frames are at least 4” thick. Tim

Re: Dave’s American 2-6-0; the tender gives it away and the short smokebox shows it to be an as-built Baldwin. Tim

Looks familiar…maybe the bar frames a bit thicker? Tim

Somebody has to do it… Tim

The comments about replacing motors or servicing are interesting. We have always used coreless motors on Copenhagen Fields. The number of times these have been replaced due to motor failure are minimal, in fact I can’t recall when one was replaced for that reason. These motors have generally been made by Maxon and are expensive. However, we have recently started using the Tramfabriek motors which are good value and have worked well over the last few years. http://tramfabriek.co.uk/drives-n.html#!/~/ The improvement in performance of a Dapol B17 re-motored with one of their drop in units is very significant - the room lights don’t dim when one starts! I strongly recommend the use of coreless motors in 2mm scale: there is less vibration - so better traction, they run better with flywheels because of no magnetic lock and are easy to install - they can simply be glued into a saddle. Tim

They needed to supply ear defenders with them. The later 0-6-0 chassis was quite a breakthrough, however. Tim

You have photographed Denys’ FS quite a few times, Tony. One of them is the landing page of the MRC web site. https://www.themodelrailwayclub.org/ Tim

https://www.maerklin.de/en/products/details/article/39968 Maybe our home grown products aren’t so bad after all. Tim

I thought on this doyen of ECML threads somebody ought to mention a famous centenary. One has to do it. The loco in front is 2mm scale Royalty, having been superbly made by the late Denys Brownlee in 1987 and subsequently covering hundreds of miles on Copenhagen Fields. Tim

I think it will look odd without the boiler lined out, Ian. Tim

Just turn up the amps until something glows / smokes… Tim

CF has always had its own bespoke front barriers made from Speedframe. They incorporate a low rail for children to stand on and take into account the strange shape of the layout. They take up a minimum amount of transport space (the vertical frames are permanently assembled) with the horizontal rails adding useful low ballast to an otherwise slightly unstable travelling case. If you want see the layout without barriers then come to an MRC mini exhibition at Keen House or 2mm Scale Association event (as in HAMW, series 2, episode 3). Tim

The Raven 4-6-2 class is now mechanically complete. It slightly ‘stuck its elbows out’ on the slide bars when running and so a restraining wire was soldered across the back of the crocodile, using 145 deg solder. https://youtu.be/EoCENm7k2bI The driving wheels are lined out at the hub but the rims are not yet black. Tim