NorthHighlander

Interesting, Matthew. The web is rich with images of 75A going back well before 1932 when it was remodelled for the resignalling and electrification.  See Flickr and the ASLEF websites for the best views.

Images of the shed around the Great War makes you wonder how they managed to keep track of which locos went where - not a single computer in sight!

My memories are spending every Saturday morning in 1959-1962 at the end of the platform. If only...

The OS map I used(2500 scale) is pretty accurate but, of course, does not give the subtle variations in levels which I found to my cost AFTER I built two of the baseboards!

Your project sounds interesting too!

Best regards

Tony

I hope you get your smartphone ready for our first outing (hopefully) in September 2015! After all, YOU'll be the operator! The way we're planning it is for you to download the Protocab app to your phone or tablet and guest on our Concentrator. In return for a donation to charity (50p upwards!) you get a 'Duty Roster' to take a nominated loco from one part of the yard to another. Each roster will last around 5 - 10mins to give others a chance...of course, put lots of cash into the charity box and you'll get lots of goes!

The biggest problem I have is getting enough locos ready for then! So far 2x West Countries (one rebuilt, one air smoothed), one Q, one N1 (Bachmann conversion), a couple of Cromptons and a couple of interlopers in the form of a Bachmann BR Class 5 with the wrong number and a Mainline Warship, both of which have starred at the exhibitions we have attended so far this year. Keep your fingers crossed for an SECR P class because we haven't yet designed the Loco Control Unit for a small tank loco, but we hope to have it ready by next year.

Thanks for your support and encouragement!

Tony H

Dear KH1

I'm not sure if I've understood your question correctly, and please correct me if I have misunderstood, but our locos are powered by battery now, it's the means of charging that we are developing. At present, charging is done by means of a tiny plug but this means holding the loco. We want to get away from that by providing wireless charging. There are still some technical issues to be solved. The interim requested by many modellers is charging through the rails, which IMHO gets away from the benefit of doing away with pickups, wheel and chassis insulation and point and crossing insulation. But if that's what our customers want, then we are here to help.

(75A Brighton, by the way, has no wiring to the rails and if you look closely at the photos you will see that the tie bars and crossings are solid too!)

Thanks for your note.

Regards

Tony

Hello, KH1

We're developing this layout as a demo for the Protocab wireless control system we are about to launch. We've been 'about to launch' it for over a year and a half now, but testing and refinements have taken a lot longer than we had planned. The system is based on batteries in the loco and controlled over the air from (initially) Android smartphones. Initially, recharging the batteries will be through a plug in the loco but we are developing wireless charging so that the locos will be positioned over charging mats and the batteries topped up inductively. This technology is very well advanced so one of the developments that has delayed the launch is to be able to swap out the plug charging unit for an induction unit without having to replace the rest of the system inside the loco.

The plan is to show the layout in September 2015 and the operators will be the visitors to the show via their smartphones.

Thanks for your interest

Tony Hagon

Director

Acc+Ess Ltd

Well done, you! My mate taught himself guitar and can't read music but plays a mean hand...  Thanks for your words of encouragement!

I have found that the way to master Templot is to forget that track comes in sections and remember that track is designed to follow the trackbed. Think of points and crossings as nuisances that are necessary evils to get a train going in a different direction. If you want a point in your nice long plain track, just stick it in and then work out where the track bed wants to take you. Everything else is a refinement to make sure that the track does what the traffic department wants and that the Civil Engineer responds accordingly.

If you think of Templot like a Hornby track planner you won't master it.

And unlike many products bought from the net or in this case free to download, the support you get is fantastic. Just play and remember to store as background every nanosecond... or is it just me that forgets?!

Regards

Tony

Now THAT's an interesting thought, Shaun... will experiment. Regarding 6mm being too thin, I queried this with Chris at Wakefield but he showed me that the Barrow Road boards not being too big in width and length don't deflect the 6mm top to any extent. However, the sceptic in me says that my long and thin boards may need a thicker top so I haven't been too worried about sacrificing the first efforts (see later blog entries), as I can use them to strengthen the tops if need be.

When was your granddad at Brighton? I worked there from 1969 - 72 and visited the signalbox often. It was quite a hairy walking route, off the end of #4 platform across D,E and F sections and alongside Montpelier sidings. I always thought that the footbridge to the box was going to collapse at any time but it never did!

Thanks for your comments

Regards

Tony

Yes, Owen, a good idea to use a glue stick - I didn't think of it and if I had I might have wondered if it would adhere to the plywood...in the event this is only a temporary fix just to get the shape of the baseboard top for cutting but I will try your suggestion. When I get round to building the track I will be fixing the templates to a piece of substantial flat material with dry mount.

Yes, the layout is P4, you mean there are OTHER gauges in 4mm?? (lol)

Regards

Tony

Hi Owen.. many thanks for your good wishes. Whenever one embarks on a new layout, be ready for the long haul! The layout is P4, the loco fleet so far numbering 3 locos, with another 17 kits sitting on the shelf!

I should declare my commercial interest in Acc+Ess as its founder, but 75A is very much my sons' and my own personal hobby. Yes, Acc+Ess Protocab fitted locos can work on dc or DCC but have to be controlled from an Acc+Ess Protocab controller for the moment.

Today's progress on the layout is to realise that I hadn't had enough time with Chris to find out from him his baseboard building plan, so I have cut out the two side inner members for the first board (the buffer stop end of East sidings). I shall cut the inner members of the ends next and then the outer members of all four sides before laminating them and joining them together.

Regards

Tony Hagon

..not to mention Bill Bedford looking on (extreme left, position, not politics (AFAIK)