ChrisG

Jamie - hi and thank you for posting this little gem!   Hope you are well. I like thinking that Godfrey's trainset might still be there and waiting to be re-discovered!   Chris

If Graham 'Muz' is watching this thread, I have a  question he might know the answer to...

The availability of spare parts - I remmber David Jones asking me why on Earth I would want to dismantle the loco in the first place (!), but in the course of various dismantlings, alterations and repairs, I have lost a number of parts over the years.  Are they going to be available?

Meanwhile they fill a gap in my BR IOW roster and I've ordered a "Calbourne" and a "Newport", both in Malachite

Chris Gardner

I've only just seen this e-mail, but I have to report that I abandoned the idea of developing Nick's Cowes. I have downsized my ambitions as a result of deciding to leave the loft for the shed - more interested in a small layout I have a chance of "finishing" than a big one which is never going to be completed, and which requires climbing a ladder to get to. As one gets older......  I started fitting Nick's Cowes into the shed and realised how much space it would take and also how long it would take to build the sheer number of buildings required. My thoughts turned to my 20 years old model of Cowes which was still in the rafters in the garage. I got it down to assess the possibilities - one of which was that I would scrap it. I removed all the scenery in a couple of sessions and started pushing rolling stock around it, then driving locos, and concluded that the trackwork was still good. And so that's what I've been doing for the last few weeks. It's been re-wired, points and signals now controlled by servos, working on the platforms and  the station buildingm, the road bridge, etc. The shed is slightly more than 10 feet by 10 feet and the full plan involves a model of Newport in its last days (reduced operational trackwork), a continuous run with a cassette yard, the branch to Cowes, with a triangular junction (in a tunnel) and a scenic section representing Smithards Lane crossing and Gas House siding. Three nice little cameos and interesting operational potential, providing interesting operations for two operators. Base camp is to get Cowes finished and scenicked, running to a temporary cassette yard at right angles. The layout sits on metre high shelving units which store all the modeller's "round tuits", and the whole thing has a good feeling. Nick's Cowes is therefore where my old Cowes was, in the rafters in the garage. It's funny how things turn out sometimes, and it took me a while to work out what I really wanted to do layout wise.  Just got a Hornby Carisbrooke this morning - lovely looking loco, and I need to get working on the new Worsley Works two car push pull set to go with it...

Yes, mounting the frame is an interesting challenge. The metal plates on the bottom which stick out at the sides, with screw holes are designed to bolt onto a flat surface. You need to have cut a rectangular hole where the levers are and the gubbins goes under board. I have worked out a way of using my frame on Ventnor West which involved mounting micro switches which are activated by the bottom of the levers. Works a treat and I have now got the servos (signals) and turnouts (Cobalts) working on separate common returns. I will be using the same approach on Cowes. 

I still have some work to do to finish the wiring on Ventnor West - the control panel is now permanently mounted at the front, so I don't have the complication of plugging in a separate control panel. Much neater, and I hope, reliable!

Hey Nick - using Modratec?!  Brilliant.  I have had a few problems with mine, using electrics to drive turnouts (Cobalts), signals (Megapoints servos), and one turnout on Mark's bit of the layout (CDU powered solenoid). Basically the electrical switch units for the Modratec frame all consist of the same SPDT switches, whereas my three drive sources need a different switching configuration and work off different power sources!  This looks like it will drive me off Modratec at least as far as Ventnor West is concerned (I had a melt down at the last show following which I need to completely re-design the electrics for the layout). But my big news is that I am making major progress on setting up the shed in the garden to take your old model of Cowes!  I've  started working on the model of the Granville Road Bridge and hope to have the boards up in the shed within a week or two. Though VW is the current priority. 

Harold who makes Modratec is looking to sell the Company - it's too much for him in his retirement, but I don't think he's had any takers yet. I hope you've got all the bits you need. How are you going to drive the points and signals?

Chris

Just found a link to the 2013 "price guide"   http://www.markits.com/MARKITS_Price_Guide_2013_09.pdf

I'm very pleased to hear that Markits are still operating. I was beginning to wonder!  Whilst stories of phoning and excellent service are great, I cannot help thinking that success in the modern world is going to rely on having a catalogue, so that one can see what is available and identify it by product number, with a price list which isn't (like the old one) a work of fiction. Meanwhile simply having the old list of products available on line again would mean it would be possible to raise an order (which I do through my local model shop who are, like me, rather stymied right now!).

Chris G

Alton 

Hants

Having worked in Intellectual Property all of my working life, I am pretty sure that Mr. Jones has misunderstood  what it is he has managed to protect. Whilst he can protect his own CADS and production tools, so that no-one else can use them or copy them,  there is (as at least one other correspondent has said) nothing he can do to prevent someone creating their own set of CADs from the same prototype and own set of tools from their own CADs. He certainly cannot protect himself against duplicate models. 

If what he was saying is true, it would, for example prevent me from creating my own CADs to make a laser-cut Isle of Wight Road Van because I am tired of waiting for the one he was commissioned to make by Kernow Models yonks ago. 

Chris

I have to say I agree with pretty much all of this advice - I use 90% whisker couplers in KD boxes and on my shunting exhibition layout (Dock Street) I cheat by using a 148 equipped brakevan next to the loco to get better reliability.

Chris

Was getting concerned about the lack of response - did it mean that I am wrong in my approach.  I have to say that based on my experience I would not dream of exhibiting a shunting layout using the NEM socket version of the Kadees.  I've certainly seen your layout and admired the operation!

Chris

I have recently converted all my 4mm scale British outline locos and rolling stock from Sprat and Winkle to Kadee. Whilst some of the stock had NEM sockets, I found the Kadee 17, 18 & 19 couplers not reliable enough for remote coupling and uncoupling, and I have fitted with Kadee gear boxes and "whisker" couplers.  In the process I have a couple of underlying observations regarding the use of Kadee couplings for British rolling stock if you are looking for a) total reliability and b) handling short radius curves:-

1) The Kadee coupling was developed primarily for use with stock which does not have buffers. Thus the imperative of keeping stock a fixed distance apart does not arise;

the longer couplers when used to reverse stock around curves can easily deflect towards the outside of the curve reducing the separation between vehicles and causing derailments - especially with heavy kit built stock like mine

2) The Kadee NEM compliant couplings are more strongly sprung then the Whisker couplings and consequently less reliable for uncoupling and coupling;

As things stand I have probably solved 90% of the problems.  As mentioned earlier in the correspondence, I have fixed all sprung couplings in the retracted position to make things easier. I have also considered, but not implemented, the idea of a buffing beam between the buffers to keep certain items of rolling stock apart. 

On my Ventnor West exhibition layout I am achieving close on 100% reliability, and given that every train movement involves a shunt of some sort, this is vital to maintain hands-off operation. And Ventnor West is not plagued with the short curves I have on Cowes to Newport in the loft. 

One warning for those planning to use Kadees in NEM fitted stock is that not all NEM sockets are mounted in the same way - Dapol wagons are especially prone to inconsistent springing of the sockets, which can lead to unreliability. 

Chris Gardner

Alton 

Hants

Interesting news - 54' IOW stock heavily backed in the 2018 wish list ! (4mm scale)

Freshwater 2FS 7ft x 1ft 6in

They've quoted the sizes including space for the operators, as requested by exhibitors!  Rather misleading. 

We ar

Looks very promising ! ............... can Bill Bedford not be persuaded to do etched ends to suit ?

We are envisaging that some aspects of the ends will be thin card, cut on a Silhouette cutter or a  laser. 

Chris

I thought readers of this topic would be interested to see what I have been working on with Linny of Linny's Lasercutting. These are 1mm ply body and roof shells for LBSCR coaches, specifically the two types for which Bill Bedford supplies etched brass sides. 

There's still some checking to be done - this is the first test cut.   The plan would then be to add a card roof, thin overlays for the coach ends, plus buffers, bogies and scratchbuilt underframe. 

Not ready for production yet, but well on the way!

Chris Gardner

Alton

Hampshire

Although I enjoyed last weeks episode I thought tonight's was better.

 

Think the judges summary was spot on. Not sure i would have spent time installing a third rail for a time limited competition! Shame the Watford one had running issues as it looked the best layout visually and that may have made the difference.

 

Spot on Terry it a model railway not a train set. My wife laughed at that as she has heard me say the same often enough.

 

A good advert for our hobby, well done to all involved.

The third rail should really have got a mention - that sort of thing is what modelling is about: a lot of labour for a small but vital enhancement. 

What a superb model! Where does the Class 24 fit into the story? I have that coach from a Worsley Works kit but it doesn't look as good as yours!

Chris

The chassis is a single piece of resin - highly unlikely it could be done in EM. Your coaches are lovely! I still have some way to go...

Here's a photo of my rather botched model!  Quality of original castings is such that I might have been better scratchbuilding!

Hi Chris

 

You should upload a photo for us.

 

I have purchased 2 5 plank coal wagons and a 10t brake van from Smallbrook but haven't made a start as I need to establish whether the kit can be built to EM gauge standards. Alas I haven't been able to find out this.

 

I think Cambrian kits do a 5 plank which may (?) be slightly better and possible easier to convert to EM gauge.

 

I have a 3 sets currently completed plus a push pull set - what is the 'normal' level of sets that people have for their layout? I have set 495 to complete next. The Worsley kit trio make up 3/4 then I need to find a LBSC 6 compt. brake 3rd kit to complete but am currently searching for one. All will be in Malachite.

 

Is there an exact date when each of the IOW coaches were painted red? I think I remember reading that 2412 was the first in July 1950.

 

Pete

The chassis is a single piece of resin - highly unlikely it could be done in EM. Your coaches are lovely! I still have some way to go...

They look lovely, and nicely weathered too. I haven't plucked up the courage to do that yet!

This weekend I finished a Smallbrook Studio double verandah road van. I'm sorry to say it's a rather poor kit but it's good to have some variety in the brakevan department.

Chris 

Indeed he did.  I'd found those three articles in an index of the MRJ and have now bought them. They do make for very interesting reading. Andy usefully refs. a number of DAW's articles in MRN and MRC so I'll see which of them I have. I had already found a couple of later articles, apart from the August 1952 layout article on electricals and split potential control.

 

It also transpired that Doug was taught radio by the army at Nottingham University.  I think that may have been where my father was also trained in the same field  before being sent to Egypt. In lieu of writing a new textbook the army used the RSGB handbook to teach the basics.

 

Am I right in thinking that last weekend was only the second outing of MJR since its refurbishment with the other being at ExpoEM in 2016?

I'm a regular MRJ reader and that  was what first alerted me to Metropolitan Junction. I have also just remembered another layout which used to grab my attention, built in a garage and representing the whole Brighton Mainline - "South for Sunshine" I think it was called, by Lewis Carroll. Sadly, I have not found many of my modelling friends as enthused as I was about Metropolitan Junction. Modelling seems to have moved on, and many people today seem unaware of the difficult post war conditions in which many outstanding modellers plied their hobby. In an era where fully detailed accurate models of exotic prototypes pop out of cardboard boxes at the drop of a hat these pioneers can all too easily be forgotten. 

Chris

Chris,

 

I totally agree with your last sentence which says it all.  When exhibiting my 8ft x 7ft 6ins three level 00 gauge free lance main line layout 'Crewlisle' at the Bristol Exhibition many years ago, the late Cyril Freezer of RM & track plan books fame, stopped at my layout where we had a long discussion about the layout.  He finished by saying, "You have a lot of track in a small space but it does not look out of place".  Coming from him it was praise indeed & that statement made my day!

 

Peter

I happen to love your layout as well - I've seen it a couple of times at shows. For me this sort of compression makes for an interesting layout and it's no surprise to hear that CJF was impressed with it. He published many plans for similar layouts, and I have even built a couple of them in the past. My problem is that I do enjoy building trains, as well as hand-building track, so the building of the layout is a slow burn. My current Cowes, Medina Wharf and Newport layout has been on the go for more than 5 years and I have still not made and laid all the track. I know if I were to switch to Peco track and RTR locos and stock I would get things done in a fraction of the time!

Chris

Given that the main motivation behind making this series will have been to make money for the producers and the TV Company. our hobby didn't come off at all badly and they have probably come up with a pretty good format to sustain interest through the series. We modellers are largely passive partners in this endeavour, and our reward will be not money, but an improvement in profile and an expansion in the market for model railway products. Being screened in October, in time for Christmas will be a timely fillip for the hobby. 

Traditionally we have a geeky image based on an image of trainspotters dressed in anoraks with spotting books and railway modellers obsessed by ultimate detail and accuracy. The programme however showed modellers as normal people with normal behavioural characteristics. So far, all men all Caucasian, and predominantly from one age group. That probably reflects our demographic pretty well, but it will be good if there are people of different sex, age and race in the in the as-yet-unseen teams

The question of whether really good modelling can be achieved to a tight deadline is a good one, and our disappointment that "really good modelling" was hardly on display is understandable. My suspicion is that a programme where people are seen to achieve a complete layout in a short space of time is going to excite more interest than a one showing modellers creating miniature masterpieces over a period of years. 

Overall I am feeling positive. We've emerged well from what could have been a mauling. The main downside was that Missenden Abbey has done itself and the hobby no good whatosoever. I admired the standard of modelling but not the attitude which simply does not belong in the hobby (even though one sometimes encounters it)!  (My memory of attending a course there was that the participants were aspiring modellers and not the creme de la creme as they were portrayed on TV. The tutors, of course, were a bit different.

The geniunely new thing seems to me the injection of imaginative "themes". I know we have all themed our layouts for decades, but a theme of "Isle of Wight in the 1950s and 1960s" (which is mine) does not have mass market appeal. Whether the wives and mothers of modellers will find high-heeled shoes and lipstick disappearing from their boudoirs remains to be seen, but the idea that you can make a railway inspired by films is imaginative and no doubt there are more interesting "themes" to be unfolded in future episodes. Railways and Warhammer would probably do well. Railways and "My Little Pony"?  We shall see.......!

Chris Gardner

Alton

Hants

I fear the odious arrogance of the men from Missenden does not reflect well on our glorious hobby and  I hope it was simply a case of their having been put up to it by the TV Production company. Whilst the competitiveness might make good TV, railway modellers are generally a co-operative and supportive bunch, as I hope people realised by watching the teams participating - particularly the one which had never met before.  If the programme sparks  queues outside model shops at opening time tomorrow, that will be a very good thing! 

Chris G

See: https://www.dccconcepts.com/product-category/track-and-track-making-parts/dccconcepts-track-and-track-making-parts/

They are now selling working point rodding: https://www.dccconcepts.com/product-category/the-cobalt-collection/cobalt-point-motor-accessories/workingpointrodding/

The prices seem pretty high to me and no apparent solution for baseboard joints. 

Chris G

Plate 272 in the Paye book shows an unidentified non-hooped 10 ton van at Sandown taken in 1950.