Fishplate

Hi @Nevermakeit No technical answer really other than I have used my friends aluminium panel and seen others as well. I like the finish that it can give. I also wanted a firm base for the switch panel. I had thought of hardboard, plasticard and various other solutions, but none appealed as much as aluminium. My Canterbury Road Mk1 layout, mentioned on Page 1, had a 20 thou plasticard panel mounted directly to the board of the fiddle yard. That worked fine, but needed plenty of support. I am happy working with wood, but I haven't worked with aluminium before. So, like many things in this hobby of ours, I had to make my mind up to have a go and potentially muck it up. I found the sheet in a well known DIY store several years ago at a very reduced price and larger than I needed for the panel and sub-panel. It also came wrapped in a thick plastic protective cover which, I thought, was really useful to mark out on. I cut both the metal and the plastic together. With 20/20 hindsight that wasn't the greatest idea as the further I got with the cut, the more the sheet and the cover separated with the aluminium sheet moving (so not thinking ahead there!). It was also interesting to clamp the aluminum in place and avoid marking the surface because of the clamps. For marking out after the first cut I put some masking tape across the metal and marked out on that. In the end, I'm not sure I needed to do that, but it worked for me (or maybe I had read or been told that?). Not sure I've made that good a job of the cuts. But, to be positive, the cuts are straight, it does fit the required hole and it doesn't have any dints or kinks in the main panel area, just on the cut edges, which I can deal with hide. One of the offcuts will make the sub-panel for the Dock. I will be marking the track layout out with pencil from the diagram I included in the picture above, then drilling holes through the aluminium and the supporting lift out panel to accept the switches. When they are all done, I will then highlight the track layout with marker tape in different colours for Up, Down and Sidings. It will then all be sealed with a matt varnish (as Cant Rd Mk1 panel was). Then it will just be a case of joining the switches to the layout. I haven't yet decided how many electrical sections I am going to have in the Carriage Sidings. They should will hold a 4CEP plus a MLV, so at least two. However, the option to have more to store multiple loco's on there is also part of the pondering. It gives greater flexibility for them and also with two coach EMU/ DEMU/ DMU combinations. I will have to be getting some stock out to measure. Much more information than you requested but I hope that is of interest/ helps and gives a feel for where I am heading. John

Araf Cwmru * *contribution based on Welsh road signage observed whilst on holiday beyond the west coast of Shropshire. In this respect my contribution is probably better observed than my Third Year French. Although, as with French, it is probably completely wrong. Well, to be fair, as I said to my French teacher: It's not completely wrong. I did get 23%, so it's only 77% wrong. Which is why I did Geography O Level instead.

This evenings task was to get Board 4 out of its travelling frame and mounted on my stock cupboard so that I can then start wiring up the control panel. Three hours later, task accomplished. Why is it when you set out to do task a), you find that there are actually several things in front of task a) that need to be completed. Like clearing the top of the stock cupboard should have taken five minutes, but. . . . . and finding the drop in frame you made a year ago for the control panel. . . . . . and locating the aluminium sheet you cut. Found all the offcuts. . . . . . . . . So when Mrs FP needed to change the ink in the printer that sits under my desk, the penny dropped. I had put it and a lot of other items in "a safe place" about two months ago whilst we were having the work done in the house. The safe place happened to be the cupboard where the printer ink is stored. Why does the human brain not remember the things that you've told it not to forget? On a positive note, having emptied several boxes looking for the aluminium and the panel, I found several other items, including the key to the (unlocked) stock cupboard, the bottle of flux for soldering and the brackets that held my destination boards on the wall at the last house and which will go up in this room in due course. So not a completely wasted evening Anyway, this is the result of three hours box searching/ shifting and generally scratching my head: Board 4 with aluminium panel loose fitted Outline of track diagram to be transferred to aluminium.

Nice picture but ooooo! No caption? Leaving the door open @KNP . . . . . . . .. . ?

Both looking great @MrWolf. Looking forward to seeing the overhanging banks in final form. Just something that is an everyday feature on a river bank that I can't recall seeing modelled before. Looks like a bit of midnight modelling going on?

Hi @Graham T, I have the same rolling road as @Alister_G. It is just the job. To add to what has been said: I give new purchases a minimum 30 mins in each direction, starting off at a reasonable speed (ie not max-ing out on the controller!) and then gradually slowing down to shunting speed . Gives the loco a good 'out of the box' workout. John

Hope I can achieve a similar level of knock togetherness @NHY 581 !

Indeed

It's P ing on this topic as well . . . . .!!!!

Oops . Hope you aren't "P" 'd off . . . .

I guess this must be the 'P' Class . . . . . ? I thank you. . . .

Simples! So all factory errors then. . . . Thanks Mick.

That is very nice @KNP Just sittin', waiting, for comments about crates and doors and the apparent reluctance of Little Muddle residents to participate in 'work' . . . .

My comment seemed to be caught by the RMWeb update process that was taking place. I presume that prevented me posting the picture from my topic: Above: Stove by the lookout window on the model on the left, as yours. It is diagonally opposite on the right hand model. Below: models turned round. The white chimney would more logically be over the SR on this side. . . .

Agreed. Ps: For the uninitiated, what does the full size version make? Pps : should we suspect the 1:25 version makes miniature widgets as well??

Hi @Mick Bonwick. Very nice. I have two versions of the SR pillbox brakevan, one as the model on the right in your picture. I noticed whilst watching a train go by that the chimney for the stove is right in front of the lookout window. Your model is the same. I pondered on Page 1, May 27th 2018, of my thread if this was really correct as I don't have any info on the internal layout. (I also pondered if I might have an extremely rare factory error which would be worth a fortune in . . . . . .). The other model I have has the chimney diagonally opposite the lookout, which seems more sensible. It would appear that there are at least two potential factory error models, so my hope that, one day Rodders we will be millionaires, are at least halved. . . . I didn't get any comment back on my page one way or the other, so am taking the opportunity to raise the query here to see if you or some of your audience might have any ideas? John ps Unfortunately away from home at the mo, so can't copy the pic from my thread here using this kindle thing with its annoying predictive text, hence page / date reference.

Hi @Stubby47. If freight trains normally arrive at the platform before being shunted to the lower part of the plan, this would be an ideal location to drop, and later pick up, the brake van. I like the fish van idea by @The Stationmaster as well. Looking forward to watching this develop. John

Resistance is frequently futile . . . . . .

That looks superb. Great feeling of space. Speaking of puts me in mind of:

Indeed @Graham T. Something I would like to do to this thing with its "predictive" text John

Hi @Nevermakeit and @Gedward my friend confirmed the material is associated with wet suits. It does make a very nice surface to pin track to. It is fixed down with neat PVA and lots of books whilst it dried. Any sound deadening effect probably lost by pinning into the plywood. Will only get noisier when I get round to blasting it. John

RMweb shows just how great it is in helping fellow modelers once again. The old adage of 'Its not what you know, it's who you know' springs to mind. Brilliant .

Your track is looking great. Unfortunately I only have an outline understanding of signalling and associated bits n bobs, insufficient for a comprehensive reply. Maybe the others following are similar. I wonder / expect there is probably a specific signalling topic on RMWeb where people of a signalling persuasion gather to ponder similar problems. It may be worth a wander around the home page and see if there is a signalling topic you can paste your diagram and questions into. However, the next person on here might give a complete answer. . . . . . . Hope that helps (vaguely?). Looking forward to seeing more. John

Hi @Nevermakeit, My friend gave me the material that was left over from his own railway. I will ask what it is precisely and report back. If I recall correctly it has something to do with swim suits.

Are Panniers like rats?????