Tony Teague

I probably share your concern but I am not sure that a spring operated ramp might not carry the same risks? In the end I guess that the only way is to give one or other approach a try! Tony

Andy Thanks, this is most helpful; I too have a number of similar Genesis kits awaiting building and so your experience should help me avoid errors. Tony

I did do an alternate treatment of a 3rd picture which might amuse you - with the untreated shot beneath: Tony

Yes, my layout has numerous (>70) Heathcote IRDOT's installed, and I particularly use them for automatically moving trains up in my fiddle yard; aside from careful adjustment of sensitivity I have never had any problem with their products - so I am tempted to give the uncoupler a try. Tony

Thanks philsandy - very helpful

I see no-one has brought up malachite....

Very privileged, along with a couple of good friends, to have been able to spend yesterday visiting Liverpool Lime Street, and I have to say that it exceeded all expectations! What an amazing layout, both in terms of its appearance, and its technical sophistication. Here are a couple of my shots which highlight the fantastic new hotel building, plus Peter Goss' recently installed figures: A huge thank you to John, Steve, Noel and Rob of the Lime Street team for looking after us - an excellent day! Tony

Thanks Philsandy and The Johnster for your further thoughts on this. I can see that I am not alone in adressing this problem, but equally that there are several viable solutions. I shall just have to take the plunge & try one of them out! I'll post the results here or on my layout thread in due course. Tony

Thanks for this Dave; I don't have the BRM video as I don't keep them but the demo on the Heathcote site looks convincing. I'll be interested to know how you get on with the installation. Many thanks Tony

Thanks Philsandy, and no I had not seen Brian Kirby's post which looks very interesting. The principles of it are very close to what Graham Muspratt has since implemented, excepting that Graham is using electromagnets. One way or another I think I am going to have to settle on tension locks, and a single version (probably Bachman) at that. I have quite a number of Kadees fitted but they just don't look right on wagons, and I have also found them unreliable if not very accurately adjusted, especially at changes in gradient. I also have 3-links, and whilst these look good, they do not lend themselves to remote uncoupling. Thanks for your help, all food for thought. Tony

Has anyone installed one of these? http://www.heathcote-electronics.co.uk/uncoupler_oo_gauge.html I'd be interested to understand their experience of it in use.# In a recent discussion on Graham Muspratt's 'Canute Road' thread, he has explained his own solution to the uncoupling problem, based upon Dingham Uncoupler electromagnets, see: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/114980-canute-road-quay/ I have a dreadful misture of all types of coupling on my layout and I need to standardise, especially for those wagons that I intend to shunt, so I am keen to identify the optimum solution. All help welcomed! Tony

Hi Graham Thanks for responding to my question; your three posts and the vid on your blog are all extremely helpful. I have a dreadful mixture of Hornby, Dapol & Bachman tension locks, 3-link and Kadee couplings on my layout, and so I have a great need to standardise, particularly where the intention is that wagons should be shunted. There is obviously a slight overhead in ensuring that all shuntable wagons are fitted with the soft iron wire, and I wonder, does this ever catch in / on anything else on your trackwork? I see also that Heathcote Electronics now offers a servo-based uncoupler for tension locks, see: http://www.heathcote-electronics.co.uk/uncoupler_oo_gauge.html I will place a question elsewhere to see whether anyone has used one, because this looks to be a further alternative, albeit based on similar principles to those that you have used. In due course I'll post something on my own thread about whatever I decide to adopt! Thanks again! Tony

Hi Graham This sounds interesting and it is a problem that I have yet to solve; do you have illustrations anywhere as to where exactly you fix the iron wire and how / where you have fitted the electromagnets? Any help appreciated. Tony

A Happy New Year to everyone who follows this thread and thanks for your postings in 2016! By way of an update, I decided over the Christmas period to take a break from the scenic side of the layout as I felt the need to build something - but I had to start by clearing my workbench... So after several days of finishing the painting of a couple of kit-built road vehicles, numerous half-painted figures, 60 Langley beer crates and umpteen barrels (both of the latter bound for the eventual installation of a brewery on the layout), I eventually had a clear space. These lorries are in Southern Railway green and now need decals plus some glazing to complete. Painting bottle tops is a tedious business! I decided to start with a couple of Parkside Dundas LNER vans which are needed to add some inter-regional variety to my predominantly SR van train; they went together very quickly and now await the paint shop, some weight, decals and couplings, but I have two questions for LNER and van experts! 1. Did these vans have brake levers on one side only, or both? The kit instructions are unclear but enough parts are provided for both sides. 2. How does the brake cross- rod thingy (loose brown part in pic below) fit? Again the instructions and diagram are unclear and I'd rather put it in the right place. All help appreciated! Tony

Tony Most grateful, and no, I have no idea who built it - but if they have read this they are hopefully hiding their head in shame! I, perhaps, unwisely, bought the assembled loco from a 2nd hand dealer at Warley two years ago - largely because it is a fairly rare kit of a prototype not modelled by anyone else, and of course, it looked cosmetically better than it turned out to be underneath! One lives and learns... Looks a lot better now! Tony

I am pretty certain that copyright is being breached through these being posted on YouTube, but this seems pretty common these days, and unless the copyright owner actively objects, it is unlikely that anything will be done about it. That does not make it right, of course. Tony

Tony I'm hoping you mean that the K class didn't go very well, rather than your deconstruction of it - which seems pretty thorough! A belated Happy Christmas! Tony

Hi Tony I am not sure how you could manage to "hijack" your own thread?? I for one find your postings inspirational and anything but boring! May I also publicly thank you & Mo for a great day at LB today; I always enjoy seeing the layout but it was great to be allowed to drive, even if I did set one train off in reverse.... for which my apologies. An excellent day. Tony

As Tony is aware, LB was an inspiration to me in deciding to relay my main fiddle yard for what was the third and final time! It comprises 20 roads, 10 Up and 10 Down, plus a single reversible road in the centre (enter from Down, exit via Up); there is also a matching reversible road in the opposite direction elsewhere; each road can take 2 trains one behind another, but road lengths vary - the longest will take 2 x loco + 10 coach trains, the smallest 2 x loco + 6 coach trains. Main Yard: I have a particular aversion to taking stock on and off the track unless it is absolutely necessary, and so having got the main fiddle yard working, I set about building two further fiddle yards - one lies down the centre of the room and is hidden under what will be a scenic area, whilst the other sits above the main fiddle yard and is served by a long entry ramp and an exit helix. Lower Yard; this holds 11 trains on through roads, plus three more on dead end sidings which require a reversal to exit: Upper Yard; this holds 13 trains: This picture shows the relative positions of the three yards and the exit helix, although at the time it was taken, track had not been laid in the top yard. Altogether there is storage for 69 complete trains of various lengths; this calls for careful marshalling as to where a particular train is stored, and this in turn is accentuated by the gradient into the top yard; certain loco / train combinations simply cannot make the gradient - especially RTR locos with kit-built metal coaches! There is more about the layout and these arrangements, including a track plan on my layout thread. Tony

Time for an update following some significant progress above Churminster loco shed! Attached to my first post in this thread was a picture in which you could see the full length of the layout, and in particular at the left hand side, the main fiddle yard was visible beyond the roof of Churminster shed and a few houses placed behind it. Once the fiddle yards were completed it became possible to erect the backscene behind this area, blocking off the view of the fiddle yards, as shown below: Since then, work has focussed on the two scenic boards in front of the backscene, and above Churminster shed, and with Mike Gascoigne having painted the backscene, this area is now nearing completion: from left to right at the rear are the public library, the police station, the vicarage and the parish church. the back gardens of the pair of semi's at the front right need detailing. a few more people needed in the street. I had intended to move away from card kits towards scratch building, but I already had a lot of these completed, plus kits in hand, and so chose to progress this area more quickly by using what I had; a number of the buildings have lights in them and these, together with the street lights now need connecting up. A few more people might also be an improvement. I will post some further pictures shortly as these do not do justice to Mike's backscene. Overall I am pleased with the effect, plus completing this area frees me up to work on the loco shed area immediately in front of it - which is the next area for attention. Tony

Amazing stash!....and I thought that I had a bit of a backlog!! Tony

On the subject of modern on-train dining, I would have to say the service and quality on Canada's Rocky Mountaineer (Gold Service) , which Lady Whizz and I sampled last year would take an awful lot of beating. Expensive mind you ... but it was our 40th Wedding Anniversary, so justifiable as a one-off. Having experienced the Rocky Mountaineer (Gold Service) myself I can totally agree with Willie Whizz that it was an exceptional dining experience with near perfect service; thoroughly recommended! Nearer home, I have to say that both the Northern Belle Pullman & the original VSOE (now Belmond) Pullman are also outstanding in terms of both service & food. Whilst a good dining service is sorely missed elsewhere on Notwork Rail, I have to say that I can't now see it ever returning - a great shame! Tony

I don't know of any diecast / RTR / RTP brewers drays but I am just building the Langley Models kit and it is pretty easy (no connection etc): http://www.langleymodels.co.uk Kit ref: G4 Tony

Tony, I think there is a picture of your CCT in David Larkin's 'BR Parcels & Passenger-Rated Stock; Part 1" pub. Kestrel - on p.65 - this shows 5 ventilators on the roof but but still no sign of dynamo detail. As I am not of the LNER persuasion, forgive me if I have picked a picture of a different diagram vehicle! (Larkin does not give the diagram number). Best wishes Tony

Rapid progress Graham; I particularly like the L-Cut building which fits in well. Tony