Richard Mawer

Mike, this sounds like a very useful chat. So you didn't get any impression that there was going to be any change of plan on the GW version livery? Also, apart from livery and numbering what are the other differences between the model and a pre-war version? What is this about chimneys? Rich

Ha! I'm not so bothered whether it is post 46 or pre 45. It just annoys me that it could well be accurate for just 1 year or be completely fictitious. It's personal choice whether you prefer GWR or shirtbutton. I prefer the latter, but that's not the point here. If they want to do it GWR why not use the 9000 number sequence?

At best it's a very short time period. I believe the photo is a hand painted version. There is therefore time for Bachmann to change it for the production model. I urge people to email Bachmann. Surely the choice should be number and livery both post 1946 (but the BR examples have 9000 numbers), or have both as pre 1945.

I totally agree with MG 7305. Bachmann please take note!!! What a squandered opportunity! Even if the loco did appear in this livery (doubtful) it would have been for such a short time! I don't understand why you would go to great levels of accuracy with the mouldings etc. and then do that? I pre-ordered mine straight after the initial announcement, but I'm sorry I will cancel if this is not changed. I won't run it in highly suspicious or very short-lived livery. Nor will I pay £110 or so and then respray.

Hi Ray. I agree with Mikkel - as you know. By the way, where did you get the lead from? Finding it hard to find lead these days. Great article by the way. Rich.

As mentioned in the last entry, over Christmas I made my second MERG Servo4 electronic module. You will recall I put too high a voltage through the first one (and one donated by a friend) due to H&M Duettes delivering far more voltage than they say when they are not under load - BEWARE! This third module tested ok and looked right. I plugged it into a new (checked) 12vdc supply and still all looked and tested ok. I plugged 4 servos in and they worked. I wired it up the power for common return, wired it to the panel switches and added piano wire bent double back into the cranks of the servo and offered them up under the points through holes in the baseboard under the tie bars. I originally hadn't centred the servos up first, so some bent the piano wire and were working at odd angles as a result. I redid this with the laptop and now have much better positioned servo armatures. The points then changed via the panel switches in the desired manner and all was well. I am pleased to say the double sided sticky pads are still working well. Not the cheap polystyrene ones: they pull off. These are very strong. One did not feel overly secure and then I realised I had stuck it on the label side of the servo and of course the label was coming off - well, the servo was coming off and the label was well secured to the baseboard. I was then able to play trains for a while and enjoy the fruits of my labours over the last year. This is as far as the last blog entry got to. I got a few more locos out and was enjoying life when all of a sudden a train ran off the continuous run and into the loops - but I hadn't changed the points!!! Was there a ghost in the machine?? After a bit of experimentation I found that one of my Dean Goods and particularly my 61xx caused the points for the storage loops to change over. This happened with the suspect locos running, but with them at random places around the circuit. Both locos are in need of a service, but why did only 2 of the servos change and only in one direction??? I have to say that the MERG modules are very easy to make and you do not need to know anything about electronics. Most of the MERG membership know a lot and they are very helpful and I received loads of advice when I put my situation up on the forum. We tried lots of things to find the cause and a solution. One of the MERG members in my club (High Wycombe and District Model Railway Society) had not only very kindly offered to mend my first two modules, but also had some ideas about my phantom point changes. We swapped out the offending module for one of the repaired ones and hey presto the problem had gone. Well almost, I still had some "twitching" of the servos at times, but no complete change over. It turns out the problem was twofold. 1) although I thought I had made the module well and it looked and tested ok, it turned out there were some dry joints. Mark had found some on the other boards too. 2) The suspect locos are producing RF from poor running and the module was picking it up. The dry joints were making the module interpret the RF in an odd way. The "twitching" is quite common, but can be dealt with. The solutions are to improve the running of the locos, which I need to do anyway, and to keep the track clean. Separating the Servo wiring from the track wiring as much as possible will also help. There are also some configuration changes I can make to the module to reduce it. These are all standard. Overall, I am really pleased with the look of the slow changing points and also with how easy the modules are to build. I also like how cheap the combination of servos and Servo4 Modules are. The members of MERG are brilliant and pleased to help. So a big thank you to Mark, Chris, Keith, Bob and all the others in MERG. I have learnt that dry joints are hard to spot, but cause lots of problems. Just because a module works doesn't mean it works fully and faultlessly. I hope my future soldering is better and I shall certainly be checking very closely indeed to find any possible dry joints before I install the modules. I shall certainly be using servos powered by MERG Servo4 modules for all the other points and signals. Now, this time consuming interlude has been concluded I can get on with the next baseboard construction - at last!

I hope didn't have the same issues as me!!!!! I'm supposed to be reasonably able with DC wiring, so it's a bit embarrassing. It's Computers and DCC that I don't understand. I've had lots of very good help from the MERG members with the computing aspect of all that side. At least its now all working, but already the underside of the boards looks a bit of a mess. It's all part of the making it up in stages as I go along. Each part is thought through, but I didn't link all the steps or parts together too well before embarking. How's you layout coming on now? Rich

Irritating got even more irritating!!! I made all the cuts in the track, installed 4 out of the five micro switches and even before I could wire them in (so the dead sections on the far rail were totally dead) the locos were still doing odd things. Another session in a darkened room and the reason for it AND the answer came to me. So I put in place Plan..... (Now what is it?) .....oh yes Plan D!! I soldered up all the damage I had just done to the track (!!!!!) and added just one more break, 2 wires and another centre sprung dpdt switch. Job done! How did I make such a mess!! Big lessons: try before you do 6 lots of stuff! Think about back flows of electricity. Don't test for electrical isolation or continuity with a loco on the track. Expect locos and stock to bridge isolating breaks Expect the unexpected. Oh yes and don't blame sticky locos if you've not cleaned the track! I am sure I knew all that 30 years ago, but ......... Anyway, locos are now running with trains of coaches! It's been nice to see the 30 year old Castle perform for the first time in it's life and to see the new City being put through it's paces: a lovely loco! At last I have been able to move onto the next phase: to make another MERG Servo 4 board and fix the servos to the double junctions. As you can see, the points have so far been held over with Blu-tac. You take the springs out of the tie bars if you are going to use servos, so you get the slow action change. I have previously made a "servo 4" control board, as mentioned in an earlier entry in the blog. They are quite easy to make if you follow the instructions religiously. BIG LESSON: don't use either the 12v dc or the 16v ac feeds from Duettes to power them!! Not only did I blow up the main capacitor on the first board I made, but I had the same result with a board given to me by a friend! And that was after I changed from ac to dc following the first indoor firework display! Luckily another friend (aren't model railway clubs good!) has repaired both for me. So while I wait for them to come back, I've made another. Each "servo 4" board controls 4 servos and you program the boards from a pc to set the two extremes of travel and the speed of change. The board remembers the settings and the servo then moves from one setting to the other by changing a simple on/off switch: easy AND realistic. With the electrical tests done and a new, regulated power supply (simple plug in 12 v dc) the board was up and running. Thanks to advice from some clever people at MERG I've modified the board a little to work on common return, but I am using a common return for all the Servo 4's that is separate from the power bus for the trains, to keep "noise" down on the power - no, I'm not 100% sure what that means either, but I'm told it stops the "chatter" or wiggling that sometimes can happen with servos. I couldn't get the pc to operate the board and servos at first, but sought some more advice online from other MERG members. They are a helpful bunch. Although I got lots of advice I was still static and unresponsive -as it were. Then I put the software on my daughter's laptop and all was sorted!! The next issue was actually fixing the servos under the baseboard and linking to the tie bars on the points. My first attempt was the Evostick very sticky double sided tape pads to hold the servo in place and use a section of guitar string supa-glued to the armature crank to connect to the tie bar and provide an element of spring to hold the point blades hard over. The sticky pads worked (so far), but the guitar string was a disaster. Far too bendy. I ended up using piano wire bent through the armature and back on itself. I've learnt another lesson as well. Even if you think the servos are set half way, they might not be. When you plug in the pc there is a chance they will travel right over and bend the wire, if not damage the point blades. Its going to be better to plug the servos into the board and the board into the pc, before fitting the armature to the servo and the servo under the points. We live and learn. I had another project in mind for the Christmas break. I have to add horizontal rails along the front and rear of the high level junction main board so that the weight is spread. Instead of making whole lifting sections, the ends will be more open framed to allow holes to be cut and removable scenery so that the points into and out of the loops can be reached if needs be, but to allow for the correct alignment of the track, boards will be laid on the frames and the track fixed before the boards are cut around the formations. But that might have to wait.

What a memory for the details of when and where!! For me, it's all in the mists of time - or should that be wine - who knows? Great photos and memories. Merry Christmas!!!!! Rich

Jim, I've just had a quick glance at your blog and comments. Very good and impressive. I shall be following with interest. Just a quick question. Templot??? is that free software? Is that what is used these days? It looks impressive and I think I need to improve on squared paper and pencil translated onto paper cut outs and pencil lines!! Cheers Rich

That sounds very much like a plan!!!! Thanks. Rich

Update! I have just figured out a simple way of achieving the wiring I need without having to use another 6 push buttons on the panel, holding one down at the same time as holding the dpdt over - I am going use micro switches operated by the points and motors to route the power to one loop at a time as per the points. Then I only need to hold the dpdt over while the train leaves as per the original plan. I still have the issue of fitting isolating fishplates to track in situ on each loop, but.........

Jim, Good luck with the layout. What era and region are you going to model? Tip: keep your dreams to a reasonable size. I have a feeling I may never finish this by a mile! Rich

Isn't reality irritating at times!!!!! In "Bells and Whistles" I said how I'd sorted the wiring for the storage loops (which feed into a return loop). Reality is that it doesn't quite work how I intended. After lots of testing, I finally realised that because locos stop in different places as they cross the double break at the end of the loops, they are the cause of some odd ghost movements that were starting to seriously irritate me and prevented me moving onto the next part of the project. The breaks in the rails and the wiring are designed to automatically stop the train towqrds the end of the loop whilst out of sight, but then allow it to pull away under when required, using the other controller. The insulfrog points forming the exit are supposed to route the power to the right loop and the sprung, centre off, dpdt switch is used to switch the end section on, so the trains only exit when wanted. It transpires that some of the locos stop partly over the breaks, with their wheels or their tender wheels shorting the gap and then as the power feed is changed from one controller to the other, and the common return rail effectively swaps over (the exit from the loops is via a return loop), the shorting wheels can feed power/return to different rails in the exit trackwork through point stockrails and the wiring. The end result is that occassionally, depending on point settings and which locos have stopped how far over the breaks, two locos start up instead of one! The results are rather obvious!!! Considering all this occurs out of sight, it is set back. I had not envisaged such back flows of power. The (very rough) circuit diagramme is below, but only shows two loops. I am still not 100% sure how it is happening, but it certainly is and I have tested continuity over and over, with locos in all sorts of positions. I have even undone track feeds and removed the wires from the switches to prove the point. I am now having to insert further breaks to make each loco stopping space into a separate isolating section with a further push button controlling each. So much for simplicity! It will be fun trying to fit isolating fishplates to track already glued down!!!! Ho hum! At least, due to my testing, I was able to get some green locos moving. Here are my Saint, 61xx (in the process of becoming a 51xx), City and one of my Dean Goods. I have also been asked about the layout itself and how it fits in the loft. Here are some photos to put it in context. It is at a very early stage, with only the storage loops and continuous run built and no scenery at all. I need to loops working fully, before I then build the incline up to the junction and then on to Buckingham West and finally the branch to Brackley Road. This is the twin double junctions on the continuous run. The one on the left leads to the storage loops (and reverse loop) and the one on the right will lead to the incline up to the Junction. The incline will be built alongside the collar beam seen running towards the camera. This is the baseboard for Buckingham West - the main terminus - with the continuous run in front at the lower level. The line here will be in a cutting with a brick arched retaining wall up to the higher level. This is the entry end of the storage loops with the continous run in front and the reverse loop out at the rear. The loops will be covered by the Junction station, with the ground sloping down to the continuous run in the front. The boards for the juction are propped up at the front. This is the exit of the storage loops and shows the dumbell/reverse loop bac to the continuous run. The mainlines are to the front. Note the boxes of stock and buildings waiting to escape their 30 years incarceration and becoe a layout! With the Buckingham West baseboard seen to the left, the mainline crosses behind the hatch and dives under the Buckingham West board. The collar beam is again seen in the centre of the loft, but this is the other end. The incline will be on the right side of this and the small branch terminus (Brackley Road) will be built on the left side with trains leaving away from the camera and swinging right handed to the junction. This shot puts the central collar beam into perspective with the Buckingham West boards in the background. The loops and the exits which caused me so much trouble. More work required!!!! Thanks for reading. Rich

Silly me. I've found your blog points. Talking of running to a sequence, have you thought of going against the clock? I've found a pc progtamme called fast clock. Not only does it put a big digital clock up on the screen, whic can run from 1:1 up to any speed you want - say 3:1, but it can show your timetable moves as they come up on the clock if you want. As you do, I wrote out a fully worked timetable whilst on holiday in the summer. I hadn't even got the loops and continuous run built by then! Oh well. Rich

Ray, That's the way of layouts - once its working, there's always something else to do. I have some Ratio kits for the Christmas break - both the Quick Assembly and the "detailed" ones. I also have more Merg kits to solder - and my first inertia controller to finish. I bought 5 home signals from ebay. A chap called "track and signalman" (ebay name) makes them. I think the Ratio Quick Assembly kits are the best ones. Two bracket signals are stuck somewhere in the post!!! The breakthrough for me was the servos and Merg kits. The servos can be programmed to move quite slowly and you can also get a "bounce" at the end of the pull - and they also need on/off switches, instead of passing contact. I don't know of anyone that makes a double pole switch where one side is passing contact for sollenoids and the other is on/on for section switching. First priority for me though is to get the reverse loops working again. I have a short somewhere. Also to make it all as clean as possible and find a way of keep it clean and working in a fool proof manner. It's too fickle at present and I need to build the Junction station over it. I'm working out in my head how to work under the Junction for wiring and servos and to get to the loops if needs be. Yes I know I should have sprted it more at the planning stage........ It is all sounding like a hinged baseboard and cut rails at each end. Oh well. Do you have a blog or are all your bits on separate sections? Regards Richard Regards Rich

Ray, Loving the match sticks in the auxillary output! I've just done that again as a temporary fit up for the CDU!! The plugs are in my work box. My plans for cab control are that all signals and points are operated by servos using MERG Servo 4 boards. They are triggered by simple on off switches, so I have bought DPDT switches for each signal or point. One side of each switch works as a simple on off for the servo and the other side can either be used to "lock" some of the signals to points or to switch power feeds from one controller or another to a track section ahead of the signal. I use common return wiring just like you. The rationale behind this is that whilst the Starting signal remains "on", the local controller has operation of the station. However, when that operator pulls the Starting signal "off", he hands control over to the operator in advance. There will have been an exchange of bell codes prior to that. When the Starting signal is pulled "off" and the route shown as clear, the local operator sends "train on line" to the man ahead who then drives the train towards his own station. When it arrives, he sends "train out of section" to the man in arears and the Starting signal can be restored, putting control back to the local man. I hope that make sense. The similarities between our layouts are uncanny, but you are years ahead of me - and much neater! Rich

Ray, It's like reading where my own blog should be in a year or two's time!! I too have chosen Gaugemaster inertia controllers (and some of my own making - a blog entry to come), but for now am also making use of a couple of old Duettes - no comparison. I have also elected cab control - but using signals to change controllers. There are also changeover switches like yours, to switch out a panel for one man operation. I looked at DDC but for the same reasons, opted against it. Your panels and wiring look so good. Neat and tidy. It is good to be able to see what my layout might one day be like, there are so many similarities. It's (hopefully) like a time machine. I look forward to reading about your continuing developments. Regards Rich

With the continuous run (Circuits) panel made and the route selectors for the hidden loops fitted and working, attention has turned to wiring in the changeover sections in the loops and the cab control switches on the Circuits Panel. I started out with a simple break in both rails towards the end of each storage loop so the locos would be driven in on the down controller and stop as they passed over the break. Then I put in a single break at the far end of the points ladder beyond the loco so I could use a single 'push to make' switch to add power to the loco from the up controller so that the train wouldn't start off when the up controller was being used for another train going round the circuits. When desired, the button could be pressed the up controller would connect to the final part of the storage loop and drive the train out, round the dumbell and back onto the circuit, but in the up direction. So much for theory! In practice it turns out I have a number of locos with pickups split diagonally across the driving wheels on one side and the tender wheels for the other. I don't understand why this arrangement was ever devised because it confers no benefit that I can see. If the pickups were on both sides of the drivers and both sides of the tender then it would significantly improve electrical pick up over points and crossings. However, (rant over) the upshot is that these locos stop as the drivers cross the double break, but won't start on the up controller (with the feed button pressed) because the tender pick ups are still on the down side of the breaks! Plan B. By adding another double break near the entrance to each loop, most of each loop is now switchable to either up or down controller via a sprung (momentary) centre off dpdt switch. So I now hold the switch over to the Down side whilst the train enters the loop. It then stops either half over or fully over the original double breaks, and then by holding the switch over to the up side, the loop and starting section are energised by the up controller and I can drive the train out. There's always a way!! The control panel for the continuous run/circuits only has one controller: down. The layout is designed to use cab control: switching control of station sections by pulling off the requisite starting signals. The destination controller drives the train the whole journey. The circuits' controller will be used to drive down trains from Newton Purcell (junction) if it stopped there, or from Buckingham West (if it were a through train), all the way to the continuous run and into the hidden storage loops. Up trains will be controlled from either Newton Purcell or Buckingham West (depending whether a stopper or through) and therefore a selector switch exists on the circuit panel to select which station will have control of the up trains as they leave the loops and run round the circuits before being signalled up the incline to Newton Purcell. All of this will be done by block bells (when there is more than 1 operator). Down trains are standard in their signalling, but up trains are a little more complicated because the destination controller has to start the train out of the hidden loops and run it a few times round the circuit before it heads off up the incline to Newton Purcell and as I said, that could be operated by Newton Purcell or Buckingham West. For example, if it's an up through train, the circuit man starts by doing the unusual thing of offering the train to Buckingham with a separate bell that misses out Newton Purcell, but still using the normal exchange of bell codes. When the circuit man gives 'train on line' he should already have selected the correct route out of the loops (so it's the correct train), selected Buckingham West as the up controller and be holding the loops' sprung switch to exit/up. Buckingham then turns his controller and drives the train out onto the circuit. After a few laps the circuit man then offers the train to Newton Purcell in the normal manner by bell code. He will offer the train along to Buckingham West by bell and when he receives the 'line clear' from Buckingham, will pull off his signals, but most importantly his starter signal. This hands control of Newton Purcell's up line to Buckingham. Newton Purcell in turn gives the 'line clear' to the circuit man, who changes the points and signals over (these will be linked) and sends 'train on line' to Newton Purcell who sends it to Buckingham West. Buckingham then continues to drive the train all the way to his own station. "Simples" as certain meerkats say! Now to find a few old bike bells and cheap solenoids. Oh yes, and to sort out those servos, build the incline and the small job of building Newton Purcell, Buckingham West............. Rich

Ah yes, I have a Beal book too. Didn't0realise he was a rev too (I mean as well as Deney, not me). What was it with vicars and railways? There's Rev Awdry too of course. 6 panels! Lots of friends to operate then. I agree, lots of blog to enjoy, I am sure. Rich

Hi. This sounds superb and also very similar in concept to my layout : terminus to junction, on to a continuous run and hidden loops on a dumbell. There is a branch from the junction to a small terminus. Have you read any of the Peter Deney books? That was my inspiration. Forgive my ignorance, but what stage is your layout at? Rich

Well that's what you get when the wife goes on a girlie weekend to a spa - time to do what matters! I have completed the second diode matrix (to control the exit from the loops), built the control panel for the circuits and storage loops, fixed it all in place and wired it in. What's more, it all worked first time. I can now control entry into and out of the loops by a single push button per loop and not have to think about how the train is being directed. The long line of green buttons is the exit and the red buttons are the entry. At the top there are the point switches for the twin double junctions, which will be operated by servos. These switches will also control the signals. The red button in the centre is the bell to the next panel. The middle switch operates the isolated sections in the loops and changes them from incoming controller to ongoing and finally, the switch at the bottom selects which station will control the outgoing train - the junction (next up the line) or the terminus if its a through train. The large space at the bottom is for the incoming (down) controller - which will be a home made inertia controller - half done, needs finishing - another topic! Overall, a good weekend. Serious progress. Rich

Gents, thanks for all the replies: very informative. As my layout is based on mid to late 30's I shall be pre-ordering the white roof. As ever, the replies on this site are top notch! Cheers Rich

Can someone let me know the different periods for the two GWR versions of the up and coming Streamlined Railcar - Flying Banana? 4D-011-000 streamlined railcar #3 (GWR Lined choc/cream + grey roof) 4D-011-001 streamlined Railcar #2 GWR Choc & cream with white roof Many thanks Rich

Mikkel, Its not you! They were there. I'll have to have a fiddle with it and get them sorted. Sorry, but don't know what's happened. Rich