Trofimow

I got tempted into buying a Photon in an Amazon flash sale despite (or maybe because of) knowing nothing about CAD or 3D printing. The learning curve has been vertical, and is not over yet. It has somewhat monopolised my limited modelling time, but has eventually yielded a successful print that hopefully will make up into an acceptable SR Banana van. I'm still learning what is and isn't possible, and what might be better done using more traditional methods. For example, the door locking bars have printed at scale size, with fresh air between them and the body side, which I find amazing, but will not surprisingly be too fragile for a working model and will be replaced with wire. Overall, I'm very impressed with what the Photon can do, especially at the price.

Still there, I think, but for PKP use, so not available to WE participants.

The rooms at the shed are no longer available, AFAIK. The Zbaszynek run does indeed involve a stretch on the Berlin -Warsaw main line, which can be fun as you have to keep up with the traffic.

I believe the current plan is 3 round trips Wolsztyn to Zbaszynek on weekdays and one Wolsztyn to Poznan and return on Saturdays. All subject to availabilty of locos and crews etc, etc.

It seems I have accidently discovered an unexpected (to me at least) capability of the emblaser 1.... It can etch glass. I've been using a glass chopping board over the baseplate of the machine and it has etched quite nicely through the card workpiece.

"So that prediction is the loco/train/flexistrip/Powerbase type magnets could handle a 1 in 33 on the straight and 1 in 66 on a third radius (20") curve." That's a very useful prediction, Nick. The new layout, when it eventually gets built, will have a ruling gradient of 1 in 100 from the lower deck storage, but one route is going to come out at 1 in 70 on a 3rd radius curve. Five Mk1's would be a very acceptable result for that loco. Regards Alan

Hi Nik, The pull was measured with a metal chain being lifted from a bowl on a digital scale on the floor, via a thread passing over a pulley on the edge of the baseboard, connected via a paperclip to the tender coupling. The scale is set to zero with all the chain in the bowl, and as the loco moves forward, the weight of chain it has lifted from the bowl is displayed. The loco is 280g and the tender is 95g. The flexible strip is a plastic compound impregnated with soft iron powder. It has minimal flexibility in the horizontal plane and would need to be cut into short lengths to go around curves. The steel strip I had at 25 mm is too wide to go between the rails, but a narrower alternative might be available. Regards Alan

I've been following this with interest as I retrofitted Power Base to the gradients on my previous layout with good results. That layout is now being dismantled pending a rebuild, and I am sufficiently impressed with the performance that I have decided to fully fit all the track on the replacement layout. I have sufficient power base plates recovered from the old layout to do the visible trackwork, but with over 100 metres of hidden gradients and storage the cost for the rest would be significant, so I've been looking for a cheaper DIY alternative. I obtained some steel tape https://www.psasolutions.uk.com/product/25mm-x-30-metre-white-faced-steel-magnetic-receptive-tape and some flexible magnetic receptive tape https://www.psasolutions.uk.com/product/12mm-x-10-metres-flexible-iron-magnetic-receptive-tape and tried some comparative traction tests using my Bachmann standard 4 2-6-0, which is quite light footed. The results are as follows: All on level Peco code 100 N/S track Plain track loco slips at 37 gram pull Power Base plates loco slips at 46g pull Steel strip 25mm loco slips at 46g pull Flexible iron strip, double width (24mm) under track loco slips at 40g pull Flexible iron strip single width (12mm) betwen rails loco slips at 57g pull So for hidden track where appearance does not matter, the last option would seem to be the best and at 40p per metre the most cost effective as well.

I wouldn't bother - there's a 28 day wait for delivery.....

Yes, thanks to Paul Bartlett again, there are colour shots on his website showing cranes at Bescott, Oxford and Chester in the 1980's in grey livery with red buffer beams. My chosen period is actually early 1960's, but I've only been able to find monchrome images from that era. To my mind though, the livery I've used looks believable for that period also. Alan

Thanks for the kind comments. I based the runner wagon on two pictures on Paul Bartlett's website showing crane 8512 at Exmouth Junction with a modified conflat as runner. The photographs show the twin stirrup arrangement with the hook engaged.

Finished my crane at last.....

Thank you very much for that Robert. That book is an absolute mine of information and does indeed provide answers to my questions and will be a great help in putting together more accurate formations for the layout. Trouble is, I've found it so fascinating that I'll now be on the lookout for more.

I've been enjoying the book on the class 71 locos by Simon Lilley and John Wenyon in which mention is made of overnight combined newspaper/parcels/passenger trains being one of the regular Class 71 (or rather HA) duties. Can anyone provide any information on the likely formation of these trains around 1960/61? I guess this would be too early for dedicated newspaper GUVs so are we talking a motley selection of NPCS vans? What about the passenger vehicles - what sort, how many and whereabouts in the train? Any information on what to include/exclude in a train would be welcome.

And postie has delivered! 27 hours from order to delivery at this time of year. An amazing performance by both Kernow and Royal Mail.

I couldn't resist and ordered one. The e-mail confirming it had been shipped came through a whole 7 minutes later - that must be a new record for fast service!

Thanks for the heads up - I've been waiting for this to be on again to get a decent recording to replace my knackered VHS copy. The documentary on how they made it is worth watching as well - various copies available on youtube amongst other places.

Hadn't seen that one before, it does provide a much more useable diagram. Doesn't seem to work in Firefox though, but is fine in Chrome.

Don't know if this has been on here before.... While searching for the reasons for the GE main line being in chaos this morning, I found a site that shows live signal box diagrams from around the network. Here's Liverpool St a short while ago http://www.opentraintimes.com

Pretty much hits the nail on the head. "Bonus Content" is welcome, but is only of interest and value if it is something new, not a rehash of something I already have as a long term subscriber.

After ages wielding a darning needle under a magnifying glass, and a major trial of my patience, this Has become this So the train of tractors is finished at last.

One BR Mk1 bucket...

I used these Bachmann wheels Each has a plastic bush between the wheel and the axle, so the axle is electrically dead. Ergo, no problem.

The split axle type wheelsets will indeed result in a short, but the other type of Bachmann or Hornby wheels which have the wheel insulated from the axle by a plastic bush will be fine. I've used these in my conversion, just running in the exiting bearing slots in the casting and retained with a plasticard keeper plate.

Take one stack of lowfits and add Oxford Diecast tractors, roped down as per photo purchased from Paul Bartlett's website There's 15 of these to do, but a couple at a time is all I can cope with for the sake of my sanity...