martyn11post

All the best to the staff and thanks for some great models produced.

It's strange to think 15 years ago I was last working in the trade and remember thumbing through the magazines to see what was on offer (and normally how much more expensive we were!). Couldn't fault what they did and their customer service was impossible to beat. Many a happy order was placed and received.

Something I may have missed and apologies if it is referred to earlier as I couldn't find it?

• The 'steam' units featured in the intro, was that cut from the series or did I miss it some how?
• Or is that to be revealed Jan 10th  ?

Otherwise an enjoyable series, has it's faults, but as do all series you can't please everyone all the time. Just good to see the hobby getting air time on TV and commendable the way the new generation of the Hornby team got to show their excellent results.

So I thought I would start a new project...

The requirements:

Must fit in the coffee table 770x855mm

N Gauge (Space reasons and added challenge as I haven't been outside of OO for a long time...)

Stock: Kato Class 800, Dapol HST & 2+ DMU's TBD

Aim to have two loops with sidings. 4+ Trains operational. With computer control sequencing between sidings and stopping at the station.

Below is a 'first draft' where I have used Peco Track as a starter on AnyRail with embellishment from paint!

The gaps are where standard straights would not fit (i.e. would have to cut short lengths)

The station and direction of travel is shown. The hidden area will be the grey area. The purple dots are where the trains should stop/pause before returning to their siding. On doing so the points will change and the second train will do a loop. It maybe possible to also 'double stack' hence the 4+.

All will be DC, but with blocks/computer control and hidden reed switches.

The first issue is track layout. The size obviously has it's limitations and although only the inner loop uses 1st Radius, the two outer loops of consist of second radius loop and a third radius joined in by first radius points ST-5/ST-6.

I expect the Class 800 to be limited to the full second radius loop (and that might even be too tight). I would be interested to hear alternative track suggestions and if the Dapol HST would struggle navigating ST-5/ST-6 points?

Thanks,

Martyn

I'm after some 4' (16mm) diameter disc wheels for a loco I'm looking to build.

Only options I currently have is Hornby class 82 spares or Alan Gibson?

Any other alternatives?

On 14/05/2020 at 13:48, classy52 said:

Just a quickie (gotta stop saying that), would the topless wagons go with the hooded wagons in a prototypical rake?

As a general rule, open wagons are used for hot material (as in ~>100°C) or anything for further processing (pickling/tubing). e.g. Trostre/Corby/Hartlepool/Llanwern flows.

Covered wagons are used for cold material or finished coils. e.g Shotton/Round Oak/Llanwern.

So would have happened on the Margam - Llanwern, but probably rare, as the hooded (VTG) are being converted to open and most of the open fleet are used on Corby flows in that period.

On 12/05/2020 at 13:37, Locksley said:

Finally for now, I did a bit of work on my Sentinel, hardwiring a Zimo MX600R chip, stayalive, and some LEDs into it, plus a set of Smith 3-links.

 

 

And I treated myself to a 48DS, which again received some weathering, Smith 3-links, a hardwired MX617F chip this time, with a stayalive and some LEDs. Runs like melted chocolate now, beautiful

 

 

 

 

Beautiful models, out of interest where did you get such small, but bright LEDs? The Sentinel comes alive with them.

Thanks,

Martyn

9 hours ago, Busmansholiday said:

the wagons used by Network Rail were air braked and we didn't have anything that could work those. As a result, there was only one easy solution to this and that was to lease some compatible locos, enter the Class 20's.

 I always wondered why 'you lot up North'  had Class 20s

What a brilliant run through the fleet, thanks for sharing.

On 04/04/2020 at 13:19, Michael Edge said:

I hadn't even looked at the wheels, nice of you to give me another complication...

Flangeless centre wheels don't give any trouble in a model though so that would be easier.

The ex ICI one (I know it's lighter and different) at Cottesmore has disc wheels, we measured up and took lots of photos of this one.

It's hard to tell from my photos whether they had flangeless wheels and we didn't note it if they were.

I spent an enjoyable morning at the NRM looking at the GEC archives, one of the locomotives on my backlog that I want to do. I've never looked to see if the centre wheels are flangeless... might be a few weeks before I next see one. I had no intention of modelling the suspension it is way to complex, but fascinating to watch as it undulates on steelworks trackwork!

Have a look at: https://www.3dcrowd.uk/

14 hours ago, Busmansholiday said:

Whilst making steel is a pretty well known process, different companies specialised in different types of steel.  As such, if you could offer that particular type of steel cheaper then your competitor you stood a chance of stealing their business. The photography bit was partly to ensure that any specialised equipment you used in the process (some was oftern designed and developed "in house" by your R&D department) didn't get copied by the competition. There's also the fact that when coming to sell the product, if you can show pictures of your competitors premises that makes it look bad (dirty, disorganised etc) you can gain "brownie" points in the long term battle to win over customers.

Worth noting also, the reasons include safety, integrated steelworks are very dangerous places. You don't want trespassers as they may come into harms way by accessing these areas (and ultimately the liability lies with the company). Hence security is tight. Photo's could encourage others to break the law to gain access. Whether for interest, or for more malicious reasons. Also one of the downsides with smartphones, is when an incident occurs it is all too easy for images/information to be in the hands of the media before official channels are used. Which then leads to damaged reputation/misrepresentation of an 'event'. Hence taking photos (without permission) remains a sack-able offence.

That said, without these photo's we would lose a wealth of history and I look forward to further instalments!

My personal archive (obtained in the same way) will have to remain under lock and key for a few years to come (2050+!)

Although I have built up an archive on Steel Company of Wales which is probably out of any copyright issues.

Corus/Tata 2008-

Out of curiosity, what is the pink machine above? I was after something of similar size (less of the colour!)

On 12/10/2019 at 09:28, Accurascale Fran said:

Specification is as follows

• Pack of two Wagons, each with individual running number and decoration
• OO Gauge / 1:76.2 Scale Models
• NEM standard coupler pockets with ‘kinematic’ close coupling functionality
• NEM narrow tension lock couplers
• Sprung metal buffers
• Etched metal factory fitted detailing
• Extra fine factory fitted detail plastic parts
• Extra fine factory fitted Pipework
• Individual lettering, logos and codes from real wagons for authenticity
• BSC Axle Motion bogies
• Blackened RP25.110 profile wheelsets with 14.4mm back-to-back measurements, and 26mm over pinpoints
• Designed for easy conversion to EM and P4 gauges

 

Does anyone know if the wagons will come with coils? The open wagon JSA is implied by the pictures, but I may have missed where it is explicitly stated!

If so, the coils look the wrong size from the picture, not a big issue as I will make my own!.

As for the wagon, they look superb!

19 minutes ago, Grimleygrid said:

The first samples of our BBA and BLA wagons have arrived:

 

 

I drive past the real thing daily, they look pretty darn good. I think the metal chassis is genius. Look forward to them being released!

Tidy video just appeared in front of me on Youtube, love watching the tippler and transverser, but the coupling up at the end is incredible! 

On 26/06/2019 at 07:29, Locksley said:

 

 

I've also printed a first draft of a stanchion set for Bachmann's BAA steel carrier at the request of a mate. I'll most likely stick these up on Etsy too once I know they fit.

 

 

YES PLEASE!

Also as a slight distraction... the internal wagons, I'm curios how you get the 'chalk' writing to look so good.

Thanks,

Martyn

On 26/06/2019 at 10:58, Holmside said:

Er, cannot get to this . I just get directed  to ( presumably the home page) of the ' modeltrainsweathered' website . It is not at all obvious (to  me at least) how to get further. As a keen student of coke ovens in my youth, however,  I really would like to see this. Can anyone help me out here ?  Thanks in advance

http://web.archive.org/web/20101125224455/http://modeltrainsweathered.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4411

Always another way

(And wow, what a model)

Any ideas what the limestone wagons from ~25min are? There seems to be plenty of a 'standard design'

33 minutes ago, truffy said:

 

I'll bow to your greater experience with CAD, but could the cost of CAD increase with little things like data acquisition and 'getting it right'?

 

And, from what I'm understanding of this thread, that's where DJM's IP comes into it...not modelling the prototype, but the data and eye to detail that allow a worthwhile CAD, and subsequent tooling, to be produced.

 

I guess that's the difference between a 'pence CAD' and a 'thousands of pounds CAD'.

Sorry will clarify "pence" is a turn of phrase; not an accounting standard practice. The point is CAD drawings are the cheaper part of the production process versus tool making.

You can spend whatever you like to get every rivet in place from 3D scanning to good old engineering drawings.

On 07/05/2019 at 04:42, BWsTrains said:

this is what you need:

 

K&S HO Scale .002 Aluminium 5x7" Corrugated Sheets - 2 sheets

 

2 pristine sheets for a very modest price hardly seems worth the effort to DIY ,

 

Colin

Hi Colin,

This sounds good but I couldn't find a UK supplier? Lots of Australian sites, but I can't afford the postage!

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Martyn

I think 2019 will be remembered as the year we may have hit peak "Model Railways"

Umpteen suppliers all slogging it out. Retailers becoming manufacturers, new entrants appearing. Great if you're a customer (unless you've been tucked up by crowdfunding); not so great if you are a manufacturer.

The press release was bizarre, no question about that, but I suspect it probably is a reflection of how challenging the market has become. Hornby's financial woes over the years have been well reported; and I hope they can turn it around for the sake of the hobby. So if even the big boys struggle, it is no surprise DJM appears to be in not great shape. Unless you have a solid business plan and focus on some core models it will become a runaway beast.

No reason why it (DJM) can't be turned around with some careful management (and probably sack the IP adviser and replace them with a PR expert...  )

"Always under promise and over deliver... leave them wanting more"

And Crowdfunding... bit of advice, only invest in things with track records or have a working prototype; otherwise you're just buying a CAD drawing.

It costs pence to knock up a CAD drawing and 3D print a prototype, so in the grand scheme of things that should be the minimum requirement! No matter how much you want that never before made model you've been dreaming of. I've made the mistake before. I've "invested" in about 30 crowdfunding projects, around 5 have been disasters and they were in the first 10 I invested in.

I was really pleased to see crowdfunding used in the industry; there have been some notable successes, but the reputation is probably tarnished by the failure to materialise on some notable projects.

I really do hope this sorry tale comes to a happy conclusion for all parties.

On 05/03/2019 at 07:53, justin1985 said:

Great tips here! What materials are people using for the sheets themselves?

 

I've seen people mention the thick aluminium from metal takeaway containers before, and pretty sure I've also seen the metal that caps the top of cork sealed wine bottles recommended! (Both sound like excuses to consume ...)

 

Is it possible to get plain rolls of thicker metal foil? I've noticed that all of the normal Alu foil I've got from supermarkets over the last year or so has had a chequerboard pattern in it - presumably adding strength without thickness in some way? Certainly rules it out for this kind of use.

 

Justin

Hi Justin,

I was using Tesco Strong Foil (other brands are available).

It has sat in my cupboard for awhile so not sure if newer stuff would have the chequerboard pattern, but I have seen that pattern on some foils in the past.

It is still pretty thin. I was also going to try the thicker takeaway containers and see what the result is. I suspect I will get strength but lose detail.

My final option was to try using actual tinplate, you could cut open drinks cans, but I have access to tinplate sheet. Just got to be more careful on the edges!

Regards,

Martyn

3 hours ago, ianmacc said:

I wonder how Peco feel about this? 

Probably not impressed! It is first generation 3D printing.

On 24/02/2019 at 01:45, monkeysarefun said:

About 25 years ago I bought a strip of corrugated iron, I think Walthers or similar,which is some kind of stiff tin or something. I cut strips of cooking foil and place it over the top of the commercial strip, and slide something like a credit card across the top, which presses the foil into the grooves, then cut the strip into panels. I've never needed to buy a second strip of commercial corrugated iron.

 

Its a similar technique to the tool you posted above, but is the tightar5e version of it.

Thanks all, I've tried monkeysarefun's idea as a starter but instead using Wills corrugated iron as the master and some thick kitchen foil. The results are good, I like how the rivets are kept in place. I've used a cotton bud instead of a credit card as it seemed to occasional tear, but apart from that it is quite time consuming! I read on another forum a suggestion to spray the back with watered down PVA to give strength to it. As you can imagine it is quite flimsy, but it does allow you to add some individual character to each sheet.

10 hours ago, Benbow said:

Have a look here https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/64587-westerham-ewer-st-more-work-on-the-dark-corner/&page=99

 

I think the above is a great idea to increase production flow!

My problem is quite simple... I need corrugated iron, lots of it, to clad an industrial building. My problem is the plastic options (wills/slaters etc) always look very thick.

In a similar way to making roofs by cutting individual tiles, my aim was to use 'tin foil' and make individual sheets to give a more realistic look that can be tailored.

I have so far found two tools which could do the job:

Brunel Models (Australia): https://www.brunelmodels.net/product-page/corrugated-iron-maker1-72

As used by Luke Towan: 

The alternative I have found is this one from the US: http://masterpiecemodels.com/product/corrugating-tool-set-172-scale-mmtl007-19-99/

The thing that is putting me off is mainly the cost (including postage!). Are there any more 'local' alternatives to achieve the above?

Regards,

Martyn

I like Bullied loco's, I like kits... but clearly not as much as some people do... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292809999562?_trksid=p2471758.m4704