Les le Breton

Thank you turtlebah, for posting the Gordian knot of single (and double,) slip wiring for turnouts. And thank you Phil S for the erudite, Alexandrian solution. They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. Terry Pratchett

Thank you for the video RE6/6. This must be in the railway category, "There's a prototype for everything," it truly takes les petits gâteaux.

A beautiful rendition of buildings, that clearly weren't regulated by the local authority, back in the day, when individuality was supreme. You are building a truly magnificent model railway; this photograph is a super cameo in its' own right. Thank you for taking the time to post your inspirational development.

It’s amazing how life gets in the way of railway modelling! In between grand-child minding, hospital visits for my better half and a visit to Morbihan to repatriate my Blaze, I have only squeezed in time to paint a gangers’ hut. Then started to solder power feeds, to my turnouts which isn't photogenic, but the Breton flag is, in mho. Ladies and gentlemen, sorry about the delay – someone forgot to fill the choo-choo with diesel. The guard of a London to Oxford train

It seems a swizz that subscribers like us are penalised for our loyalty. Unfortunately we live in a culture which doesn't take any notice of loyalty.

Folklore has it that boats make their owners happy twice, the first joy arrives when the boat is purchased and the second, when it is sold! I write as someone whose wife was keen for me to purchase a boat for my 50th birthday. It's a Blaze, single handed dinghy, not as exotic as the boat for sale above but more fun IMHO. When asked by non boaters to describe it I usually say that it is the dinghy equivalent of a lotus seven, only wetter. The picture isn't me by the way.

Hi thindude, had you considered using a glue gun? For a lightweight construction, it is adequate and has the added benefit, of being very quick to harden; without the interminable wait for PVA drying, or the expense of superglue. I think you've found a great idea, particularly for trying out new track plans, or quickie layouts.

That looks like Marley's ghost on the lurk! Lovely signal box he's haunting.

Whilst considering various breweries, perhaps Wadworth brewery in Devizes is worth considering, their 6X is a dream liquid, well worth falling over with. I visited there with my dad a few years ago and I think they still have their team of drays.

You are so right Edwardian, what a wonderful conformation that we are all mongrels and we should be proud of it. After further research I have discovered the following history. The Brythonic Celts arrived in the British Isles from Central Europe in about 250 BC, settling mainly in the southern half of Great Britain. Soon after, some of them spread to Scotland and the north-western part of what is now France. The Goidelic Celts, arriving a hundred years or so earlier, had made what is now Ireland their own, and centuries later they migrated on an expansive scale to Scotland and the Isle of Man. The history of migrating peoples is never quite as neat as it seems, of course. The landscape of South Wales is enriched by Ogham stones left by Goidelic- or Irish-speaking Celts in post-Roman times. There are therefore, two related but distinct groups, Goidelic and Brythonic Celts. Brythonic was to become Welsh, Breton, Cornish and the more or less extinct Cumbric. Much basic vocabulary, syntax and grammar is the same amongst the Brythonic Celts; more so than with their Goidelic Celt cousins, the Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx speakers. The Brythonic Celts even have the same National Anthems too, only the words have been supplied in the appropriate language (from the original Cymraeg). I thoroughly enjoy the erudite gems that Castle Aching publishes amongst the railway tracks. So returning to the RMweb raison d’etre I have a couple of pictures of a railway created by a great friend. Plumelec Station, sadly closed. Trains through the picturesque commune of Lizio French style water tank.

I understand, that Bretons were Celtic immigrants to their current abode. The Breton language is very closely related to the (repressed by the English,) Welsh language. Whether folk tale or not, there are reports, that whilst marching to their positions, for the battle of Crecy, the Breton battalion was singing one of their folk songs and they were shocked to hear a Welsh regiment singing the same tune. As a consequence, they left the field of battle, to avoid hurting their relations. As in Wales, Brittany adds their own, ancient language, to many road signs, it is amazing just how many towns have Breton names which are very similar to Welsh ones. Sorry to have spoiled the flow of your interesting Topic, I should have quoted from the post on page 146 relating to the Bretons being Cornish! The whole of life is just like watching a film. Only it’s as though you always get in ten minutes after the big picture has started, and no-one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it out all yourself from the clues. Terry Pratchett— from Moving Pictures

Hi folks, whilst on holiday, I have been pondering signalling Aberaeron. Having followed the “Station Masters” brilliant advice and knowledge, in the RMweb, “GWR Signals and where they go?”, I realised that when I reinforced the baseboards, I avoided adding the ply in places where turnout servos would be planted, and forgot completely, the planting of semaphore signals! I would be grateful for any advice. At present I don’t think the management will allow an extension to the dockside, (the red dotted line), so for all intent and purpose I am building a terminus. The top, red track is the main line, exiting stage left, with the station above; The long, parallel blue line, has the loco shed at the left end; The left hand black siding is for loco coal and sand; The brown siding is alongside the cattle dock (a private siding in the prototype); The right hand, lower tracks are three goods sidings. All contributions and help to advise me would be gratefully received. Passengers must stay with their luggage at all times or they will be taken away and destroyed. Sign at Paddington Station, London

As an oldie, returning to rail modelling, I am very grateful that so many folk have given up their precious modelling time, to post their knowledge in RMweb forums. I have only just found this brilliant topic, started by dantimmy. All of the posts in “GWR Signals and where they go?” are informative:- Modellers seeking wisdom and; Those imparting it and; The stationmaster particularly, deserves a medal. Again, many thanks to all. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

What a lovely gaff rig she’s got!

Hi 40034_Nick, I recently fitted a Train Tech, Warm White, Coach Lighting Strip from DCC Supplies. It is now in my Airfix GWR autocoach. I cut down the top of the partitions between the luggage store and passengers’ area, so that the battery casing fits. Double sided tape attached the lighting strip to the ceiling. The LED kit is quite high in the roof and is only sighted from a very low angle. The lighting is very effective, and as previous folk have suggested, having an automatic start and stopping system is helpful prototypically and less wasteful of battery use. The only real problem for me, is finding funds for other coaches!

Not light engine then!

After a long holiday in Morbihan I have returned to modelling Aberaeron. I managed to fit, scenic baseboards undercarriage reinforcement, three for each baseboard. Using the templates and track alignment drawing, I was able to find suitable positions for the 3.6mm ply, which didn’t clash with the likely sites for turnout motors and frog connecting wires. The guide lines are rather faint but the photo shows how useful the templates are. Using a glue gun is less messy than using plasterer's scrim and PVA. I have also managed to add reinforcement to all three scenic boards.

Edwardian, like Jim 15B and many others I have enjoyed your Castle Aching saga. Noting your approach to adjusting photographs I wondered whether you had tried using a ruse I have found useful. I save the picture as a j.peg and make a copy for adjustment I then open the copy into paint.net and make the changes I require, making sure that I frequently save the development en route. If you are aware of this I apologise for wasting good modelling time. Thanks again for your erudite posts.

I too have a new 48xx from a certain Liverpudlian emporium. I decided to dip my toes in the unknown (to me) delights of DCC sound, and being frightened of making a fatal mistake by fitting it myself in such a tiny loco, I opted to have it all fitted by the aforementioned shop. Once it was wedded to my Hornby e-link it performed brilliantly in every way and the sound really adds atmosphere to the layout. We must be two of the lucky ones. To give the lovely 48xx a raison d'etre I am now in the throes of fettling a second hand Airfix Autocoach, how do I get the bell to ring? I continue to be in awe of your lovely layout KNP and, like many others looking forward to more of your posts, particularly the elusive track layout.

Hi y’all, The current threads support a long held belief of mine; that the majority of Brits are mongrels of one sort or another and the sooner everyone understands this, the better. It is interesting that railway modellers are publicising this theory so readily. Perhaps it is a result of how the hard core supporters of particular railways like the LMS, BR(W), Steam, Diesel etc. are finding their pre-conceived distaste of other religions has been gently eroded by BRMweb posts which clearly demonstrate the strengths, weaknesses and delightful values of all. Ladies and gentlemen we are at the forefront of social maturity. Keep up the good work please. Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom. Terry Pratchett

Hi KNP, Thank you for posting your wonderful layout, Little Muddle, in the BRMweb. The photographs are truly inspirational. I am also particularly grateful, for the clear construction details you have generously included, which are a great help for this aged newbie.

I have been tinkering with the wiring for the double slip point and used the following logic to arrive at the edited diagrams in my last post. I hope it makes sense now! Apologies for my tardy development of Aberaeron, owing to domestic arrangements!

I am planning to use Peco Smart Switch servos to operate my Code 75 turnouts. I have been struggling to decipher how I should wire the spaghetti of connections without damaging my electric investment. I have looked at numerous postings on BRMweb and further afield, including Brian Lamberts’ brilliant website. I would therefore be really grateful if you could use some of your precious time to peruse the two diagrams I have included, hoping you could advise me whether they are correct. By combining the operation of servos 1 and 3 with one switch, the main line [the top line of the diagram,] is protected from movements arriving from servo 4. (Like an interlock system?) The switch of servo 4 is redundant on the control board. All contributions to help would be greatly appreciated. Typical pitfalls I created has informed this edit today!:- To forget that the frogs are at the opposite end of a turnout where the switch and its’ servo are positioned! To forget that route indicator lights are positioned on track at the switch end of the turnout! Please allow the doors to close. Try not to confuse this with “Please hold the doors open”. The two are distinct and separate instructions. London Underground driver announcement.

Today I managed to use the PECO turnout templates, to get an idea how the track will work out. The Loco shed end of the layout The double slip with cattle dock siding The terminus end of the track

Thanks you sdw7300, sharing your experience is a great help. However, the future of my e-link may be longer than expected. Not wanting to give up my quest, for a working 48xx while waiting for help, I started to investigate if there was a fault with my own preparations. Firstly I decided to check the cable connections between my e-link pod and the track. Using my circuit tester I discovered that there was an intermittent, faulty connection in one of the pluggable terminal blocks! Taking no chances I changed this connection, and gave the test/programming track another clean. After setting things up again I tried to get the loco accepted by Railmaster and had to delete the loco stored with an inoperable CV list. This only deleted the faulty record when the computer was re-booted. Then, with a clean sheet on the screen and more mouse button activity, voila, 4825 moved with sounds! RESULT!