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ROSSPOP

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  1. ROSSPOP
    She left the erecting workshop in 2005 and entered the paint shop coming out in BR colours and sporting all the additions of an S&D lady, namely front sandboxes and correct tender.
     
     
     
    Now in 2014 she returned to the workbench for evaluating....There is just enough room for a Zimo MX648R Decoder and sugar cube speaker behind the backhead providing she is well insulated against shorting out, particularly across the speaker terminals.....
     

     
     
     
    Hard wiring is quite safe providing everything is protected against shorting out, which I learnt the hard way whilst doing a Heljan Class 33, when the speaker dropped down inside the body onto the metal motor housing...... £ 83 gone up in smoke... I made that 16 packets of cigarettes and I dont smoke!!!!!!
     
     

     
     
    The exciting bit is putting it all together and closing the lid........
     
     

     
     
    Hey Presto!!! An old Gal with an LMS 3F soundfile from Digitrains which has transformed her performance so much......Now to save me pennies now that I`m a pensioner and do the same for my LMS 2P, S&D 7F, Ivatt 2-6-2........
     
     

     
     
     

  2. ROSSPOP
    Needed to try my hand at 7mm building construction. Also thoughts about a small-ish end to end 7mm layout/test track to run my stock. Found what I was looking for on a book about the Banbury and Cheltenham . Sarsden Halt should have been called Churchill Halt, but Lord Ducie at Sarsden House intervened..... I have therefore used modellers licence and changed it back......
     
     

    I had acquired a fret of GWR window frames from Churchward Models and with photo references and my `Guessometer` I made a working drawing...... and work began.
     
     

    Making the windows first was crucial.....
     
     

     
     

    Carcass was made from plastic sections....
     
     

     
     

    Wished I had`nt used Slaters brick sheets as the quality I was looking for is not possible with this medium and the quality of embossing is out of register....... Hey! Ho! you live and learn.
     
     

     
     

    Windows fit !!!!
     
     
     

    Drainpipe and gutterings fabricated from parts supplied by S&D models.
     
     

     
     

    Scribed my own slates and ridge tiles
     
     

     
     
    Painted with Humbrol and Phoenix enamels

     
     
     

     
     
     
     

  3. ROSSPOP
    Having been tempted by RTR additions to my loco and rolling stock since Hornby and Bachmann introduced quality products it was time to rationalise things prior to my retirement.
     
    Not all of my RTR loco conversions to P4 gauge were absolutely successful and this was due mainly to rigid long wheelbase chassis of the more recent productions. Older products such as Bachmanns Jinty, BR Class 5, BR Standard Tank were made with one driving axle sprung. These have been kept and together with my etched kit built locos all have been hard wired into DCC Sound using ZIMO decoders and sugar cube speakers thanks to products from Digitrains which was a chance choice and one that I remain greatly impressed.
     
     

     
     
     
    It was whilst attending O Gauge Guild exhibition at Telford that Richard Webster of Liontrains advised I consider choosing NCE Powercab as my operating system for DCC...another chance decision I have never regretted.
     
     
     
     

    Although Bachmann now produce an excellent LMS 3F, in my view there is a more finer quality to model edges in etched brass kit construction despite the lack of detailing as in this modified Gibson kit.
     
     

    Having learnt to fit decoders myself on my 4mm stock, which is not at all difficult once you read up and research, it was time to look at fitting sound to my O Gauge fleet .
  4. ROSSPOP
    It has always been a mystery to me about the cost of adding Sound to O Gauge locos, so I thought I would share my own experiences so far.
     
    I recently joined the Warley Model Railway Club where DCC operation in O gauge is the norm. Gathering other peoples experience encouraged me to upgrade my 7mm locos into DCC Sound.
     
    One important facter pointed out to me is that current sound decoders cater for N Gauge, 00 Gauge etc and for the very larger scales LGB, Guage 1, etc but there is little information on the inbetween scale of 7mm and I guess this has a lot to do with the mix of quality modern electric motor verses older heavy duty technology that exisits within the O Guage world to cater for hauling long rakes of variable quality stock.
     
    I was always of the understanding that O gauge required High Ampage Decoders which come at a high price, but if you are installing modern motors in your kits , this aint exactly so.........
     
    My stock are fitted with Buhler, Mashima, Maxon mechanisms all of which draw the same ampage as their 4mm equivalents. Armed with this knowledge I put all my motors to the test............
     

    All motors drew less than 0.5amp in normal running and no more than 0.8amp at stall, which meant that I could use an appropriate (4mm) decoder as I had in my 4mm locos.
     
    As already mentioned, I am very impressed with ZIMO decoders and I opted for ZIMO MX645 which is rated at 1.2 amps normal and 2.5amps max, and up to 3watts of sound, more than capable of handling my 7mm stock. I have been keen to avoid generic based steam sound and have chosen appropriate real GWR sounds from Youchoos supplied through Wickness Models.
     
     
     

     
    I started with my GWR Diesel Railcar an ancient kit (1986) with an equally ancient motor set up. I was surprised it drew less than half an amp at full pelt.
     

    Thanks to all those evenings long ago in the 1970`s determined to make those open framed K`s motor and gears to mesh quietly, this set up runs very smoothly.
     
    For all those modellers out there that have got this far and are perhaps hesitant, there is no great difficulty in hard wiring decoders yourself. With Zimo decoders.......
    Purple wires go to the speaker, red and black wires are left and right side pickups, orange and grey are right and left motor. The blue and white attached to the stay alive capacitor. The remaining wires in this project are seperated with black tubing to be used another time on fitting LED lighting. All exposed wires need to be sealed with heat shrink tubing. and everything insulated from the metal body/chassis parts. I used a Zimo LS 2040B bass reflex speaker which is housed in a plastic baffle box.

     
    These sound decoders are very robust but will not tolerate electrical shorting between motor and pickups and metal loco bodies. As I did`nt anticipate DCC when I constructed my locos over the past 6 years some time was spent eliminating any problem areas within the metal chassis. To help me , especially when guzzling Coors Light ( wimps water ) or disturbed by phones and doorbells I label all wires as I go along.
     
     

    First task....separate motor leads from pickup leads
     
    Insulate as much as you can from metal chassis.......

     
     
    Then tidy up making sure no wiring is able to be pulled or snagged on swinging bogies.

     
     
     
     
    For any of you that have lasted this far this is the link to see how she sounds...........

  6. ROSSPOP
    There is a prescence on the track about handmade/kit built O Gauge locomotives that you can`t get with a 4mm equivalent and DCC sound can add to that
    atmosphere.
     
    Some sounds I have turned off due to loudness and in my view unrealistic. Apart from tweaking here and there I am very pleased with the GWR sounds from John Gymer at Youchoose.
     
    This is the last of my quartet of sound projects ......for the time being.............
     

  7. ROSSPOP
    As some of you know the platform and signal box are already completed..........
     

     
    This project will be based on an actual location, not I may add, down to the last jot as I intend to add an extra siding or two by adding a single slip point into the equasion to improve operating potential and possible extension at a much later date.........
     

     
    At the signal box end I needed to think about the crossing gates and a working distant signal that in reality was probably a tubular post at the time of this photo. But I have changed to a wooden post.
     
    Crossing gates are a typical GWR figuration from a Sevenscale kit now produced by Springside Models.....
     

     
    I`ve taken a chance and used the whitemetal posts as supplied to motorize using a servo motor on each gate.....
     

     
    I won`t connect the cranks up until in position on the diorama....... meanwhile they have been etched primed before spray painting in company colours which will be weathered when in place.....
     

     

     
     
    For the single signal which protected the crossing and was pulled on when the gates were closed to road traffic, I used an old 1960`s CCW kit with extra parts from Scale Signal Supplies and Colin Waite.....
     

     

     
    Again all etched primed....can`t stand paint coming off models......
     

     

    This will also be operated with a `bouncing` servo
  8. ROSSPOP
    Nothing particularly new or exciting with trackmaking . Having used Exactoscale point kits in 4mm, I continued the theme by using C&L 7mm point kits which have everything you need and with which you can specify preferred rail chairs.... GWR twobolt of course.
     
    Having experienced annoying rust problems, and to some extent, soldering issues, with steel bullhead rail in 4mm I have chosen nickel silver rail for this project, which I am sure will make soldering joints more reliable over time and humidity.
     
    Making your own pointwork is a hobby in itself and isthe preferable option for this DCC project.
     
    There are three important wiring locations to think about.......
     
    Left and Right stockrails.........
     

     
    .....and the Frog.......
     

    I prefer to use suitably sized paxolin strip fixed to the plastic sleepers with Gorilla superglue. These will be drilled and dropper wires soldered on when affixed on the layout...
     

    I prefer to use blue tack to keep point timbers in place during assembly as it makes lifting the pint of the trackplan much simpler than double sided tape etc........
     
     
    Of course you will find that the slide chairs at the point blade end will fall off when you lift the track up... so I fix them and any other errant rail chairs in place with THIN Rocket superglue......
     
    For the plain track it`s the time honoured use of a track jig........ every fifth sleeper at the right end is unfixed and will be the location of the soldered dropper wires which will be hidden by `cosmetic chairs`

     
    Then off we jolly well !!!! ...............
     
     

  9. ROSSPOP
    So trackbuilding progresses at a sedate pace in the `senior` scale..... The way I had made the `servo` assisted crossing gates meant that I needed to fix them in place on the diorama before driving the `railroad` through.....
     

     
    I`m not gluing the track in place yet but am building in `sets` as I go along.....
     

     
    I`ve halted at the turnouts as I need to fabricate some 7mm sized turnout operating units.
     
     

    I `m intending to use the same system I have used in 4mm......angle cranks above and below baseboard connecting with rod and tube....
     
    These are some 7mm trade offerings I`ve gathered over the past year and have managed to make some robust units...

     
    The C&L turnout kits I`ve had for sometime and used rather thin paxolin as stretcher bars which I fabricated a holed lug as the attachment point for the actuator rod.
     

     
    thank goodness you can get 14BA nuts and bolts !!!!
     

     

  10. ROSSPOP

    10/10

    By ROSSPOP,

    Placed an internet order this time yesterday......just arrived with the morning post .now that's what I call impressive.....
  11. ROSSPOP

    Churchill Halt Trackwork 3

    By ROSSPOP,

    Trackplan is now down and a single slip has replaced the originals catchpoint to improve operating potential.
     
     

     
     
    Wiring follows the traditional dropper method disguised with suitably modified chairs......
     
     
     

     
     

     
     

     
    Turnout operating rods are now in place and awaiting completion under the baseboad.
     
     

     
     

  12. ROSSPOP
    With all the important wiring up done there has been vigorous testing of track and pointmotors. Mogul 9316 runs through her paces today as this week I converted her to DCC sound.
     
     

     
     
    There has been much tribulation with setting up and motorising the crossing gates using servo motors.
     
    Finally got somewhere, so here is my effort in the true spirit of Michael Bentine....
     
     

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