DCB

Hi Just a query but... In 1915 Gresley rebuilt Ivatt Atlantic no 279 as a 4 cylinder loco with outside Walschaerts valve gear. The drive from the outside cyllnders was to the rear driving axle. There was another 4 cyl GNR Atlantic a compound with drive to the leading axle but this one drove on the rear axle at least the outside cylinders did .My question is how on earth were the inside cylinders arranged. They were too close to the leading coupled axle to drive on the leading axle and and the leading axle was in the way of a conventional drive to the trailing axle. The inside cylinders were not right forward like a GW Star or Thompson Pacific. There looks to be an A3 like drive to drive the inside valves fromthe outside valve gear. It just looks like it could not work. Does anyone know how it was arranged.. If so can you point me to a GA drawing or similar. 1915 Gresley rebuilt Ivatt Atlantic no 279 as a 4 cylinder loco with outside Walschaerts valve gear and drive from the outside cyllnders to the rear driving axle.My question is how on earth were the inside cylinders arranged as they were too close to the leading coupled axle to drive on the leading axle and and the leading axle was in the way of a conventional drive to the trailing axle

Preserved railways circa 2007 should be ideal model subjects, you just need a red 6 coach Mk1 rake and a Two Tone one, and about 50 locos. Everything from a 14XX to a 9Fto a class 50 or 14 pulls the same trains backward and forward, maybe with a token 8 wagon train of empty wagons on Gala days. V2, Lord Nelson, 92220, 1420, I saw them all at Toddington on the GWR when my son was small. For full realism rows and rows of rusting NSE Mk1s and dying diesels can be added to give a realistic air of dereliction but hey this is escapism right? Lets imagine most of those rusting hulks in bits around the shed yard will run again. (V2 RIP)

I have been looking at the Thomas The Tank engine books and this months Jan 2018 Railway Modeller article re freelance and I have been plotting a move to freelance for my "Bed" railway. It's low budget and I can't do much regards making it prototypical so a few carved up Triang Jinties, Pollys, M7's B12s, K's Rod etc will have to suffice. Sodor between Barrow and the Isle of man, where in fact there is Sod Or there was Rev Awdrey's location and his Gordon could well have shuttled expresses back and forth the 30 or 50 miles or so twice per day while Henry pulled the fish trains and James, Donald and Douglas hauled the goods leaving just a rather overworked Edward to haul the locals. What I want is something similar, an excuse for Boat trains for a decent size passenger loco to haul, Fish, some locals, a self governing Island so the grouping didn't merge it with the big 4, decent traffic levels which effectively rules out Skye, and other Scottish Islands. Somewhere which could have purchased Woolwich Moguls and ROD 2-8-0s after WW1 to run a double track mainline 30 or so miles long and where they used their own locos to maximise revenue instead of allowing the big 4 running powers for their locos and had a big loco solely for prestige purposes maybe named after a famous general like "Kitchener" "Byng" or "Gordon" ". Any suggestions gratefully received

It depends on whether the gradient is straight to a large extent. 9mm ply is not going to bend easily to start the gradient and will probably end up a bit like a sine wave rather than an even gradient. with a gentle transition. Far worse is if you have a curved gradient the ply wont twist and your trains will be leaning sideways at 1 in 50. well supported 3mm ply is probably better or well supported sundela board. Don't forget powerbase needs to extend at least a train length along the flat at the top of the gradient. EDIT I built a double curved ramp by cutting it from ply, probably 3mm up and down lines are at different gradients with one curving inside the other and where I went wrong was leaving the area under the track beds open. I should have put a sheet of 6 or 9mm ply under it to provide somewhere to put the supports, On the curve because of twist the end of the support inside of the curve holds the trackbed up and does not need a screw while the outside hold it down and needs a long screw tightened firmly to hold it down. I use any old timber but have some thin strip wood formerly a venetian blind for packing, I find card compresses too easily and settles over time. With any gradient it is important to measure the actual gradient not calculate from an assumed level plane, to your "Professional" 1 in 100 is good enough for level and your 1 in 50 on a 1 in 100 base becomes 1 in 33. Its why my "Bed" layout gives so much trouble as I can't keep the base level.

No way could it possibly be 21 watt as it only illuminates when the thermal breaker breaks, The bulb itself is not the resistance. It is likely to be around 12 volt 3 watt screw in as used for 1950s car warning lights. Watch the size of the glass as they do vary. My Marshall 3 is an older type so its no good showing you what mine takes, but the bulb has enough resistance to allow allow a modern mechanisms to continue to run even when the trip has tripped and the light is on

I use Duracell in my camera as rechargables don't give enough voltage to work it and I have never found any appreciable difference between the voltage the batteries which have gone too flat to work it. I reuse mine to operate LEDs in buildings out side, but I suspect your "Duracell" are either the discount version sold in Poundland which have different packaging to the proper long lived versions or are simply counterfeit.

Generally the smaller the connector the better, the limiting factor is the screw gripping the wire and the more nearly the wire fits the hole the better the retention will be. If it is a permanent join twisting the wires together and soldering before heat shrinking a cover instead of using a connector strip is much better. I find 90% of wiring faults are wires necking off in screwed connectors. If you have a Bus wire it sounds like you are going DCC so make sure your wiring will take the full load of the locos and stock using the layout, its easy to get a couple of amps worth and that will really sort out duff fishplates and point blades. I would never use a single bus, divide it into power zones or sections with switches or your hobby will be amateur electrical sleuth as you try to find where the fault is without removing every single loco and lighted coach from the layout and then testing every point with a multi tester. Even with power zones faults can be challenging but an intermittent fault and DCC without power zones is the stuff of nightmares

Malvern Road was weird in that there was no platform on the station building side of the line, there was an end load dock I think but otherwise just an island platform with a strange notched end to take a second track to form sort of a single sided bay. It was crammed into a confined space when the Birmingham line was opened in the early 20th century. I think there were a number of stations around Glasgow and Edinburgh built in cuttings with buildings at ground level which may provide inspiration..

That why the GWR didn't like vacuum turntables, too slow, too complicated, Minehead turns much faster than that with a couple of burly Somerset lads pushing not sitting back on their padded seats like those cosseted LNER types.

Lead, Lead flashing or sheet lead is good, I melt car wheel balance weights into moulds with a blow lamp but that is because I have lots of them (and a wheel balancer) I hammer the flashing to fold it into shapes which will fit available spaces, The glue to use can cause issues, I tend to shape the weights to fit s they don't need glue but where I do have to glue it I use Evostick Pipe Weld (sparingly) as I have seen boilers etc distort with other glues.

I use small end cutting pliers, usually come as part of a 2 pack from Poundland for £1 or the same thing for £5.99 from your local model railway exhibition. Works on all ex Airfix locos 14XX 61XX 4073 etc Just grip it firmly under the head and pull. I found one on Ebay see below. End Cutting Pliers With Non-slip Insulated Handle 3.94'' 100mm Cutter Nipper

You don't say what sort of controller you are using. some PWM and feedback controllers cope very badly with sticky chassis. Some of the old H&M controllers had a boost button to give a pulse of uncontrolled 12 volts to overcome sticktion and my diode based Jouef/Playcraft style controllers give very good starts without racing away as do Morleys. Morleys cost £75+ while I think my controller cost £3

There is no definitive "Good" baseboard material, ply, Mdf, Fibreboard, Sundela, concrete, Oak, I have tried most with reasonable results but chipboard, it is heavy, weak, absorbs moisture and disintegrates, can't be sanded to a decent finish, splinters, the sharp edges rip your trousers and skin, and it transmits noise, This evening while recycling materials from a skip I chucked several sheets of 12mm Chipboard back in. However don't let me put you off, It does stay flat unlike most materials, doesn't usually come with live woodworm and as a base plane rather than a track bed on a permanent layout it can do a good job, especially the tongue and groove 18mm flooring grade..

If you want a really weird station try Cheltenham Spa, the current one former Midland Birmingham -Bristol line. The station buildings are at street level and the street goes over an overbridge. There are buildings both sides connected by a pair of parallel footbridges, one for the station the other a public footpath and both sides there were steps and a ramp but I think the Down side ramp goes outside the building and is now locked. Now the good bit, the Down side building with booking office was built circa 1750 as a large house or small mansion nothing what ever to do with a railway, and 50 plus years before Liverpool - Manchester and pressed into service as a station building much later not sure when but t was reconstructed in the 1890s for the opening of the MSWJR. So if you want an excuse....

Just thinking about how much "You've been framed" or "Destroyed in Seconds" would pay for a clip of a preserved 03 waddling down the tramway pushing parked cars out of the way... The insurance companies might be a bit awkward, "I parked my car on a railway line and a train hit it" might not sound like much of reason why it was the train's fault.

You have not given enough information. If the crossing is for instance part of a double junction where the up line crosses the down line and the one route is on one controller or cab and the other another you need to switch the red and Black lines in Junctionmads diagram above. I use a 4 pole changeover relay powered by a micro switch on the point selecting Dn main or Dn branch, but a 4 pole 2 or 3 way switch (Rotary?) would be as good. It is the "Knuckle" for want of a better word connecting black rails which causes the complication not just the Frogs. I live frogged several Peco insulfrog code 100 crossings 30 yeas ago and fitted relays which are still going strong. Live frog crossings are one area where DCC is much simpler than DC and the skill level required for DCC significanty less than DC.

Having played with Anyrail since my first doode I don't think this layout can be built without hand built track and it would be 2nd or 3rd radius hand built track, specifically curved diamonds. The problem is the middle roads to the hidden loop, I can't find any diamonds which are obtuse enough to allow them to cross the upper roads, neither can I find any to allow the branch to leave the terminus as drawn. I would delete the line from the junction with the terminus line to the loop and re draw the loop using streamline short Y points and 3rd radius curves, it will involve cutting set track but should be straightforward enough. Having done this there is room for some hidden loops to liven up operating.

Looks great but if it is 00 gauge your station is far too short. You will be mixing and matching streamline and set track and carving lumps off points and the junctions are drawn for curbed diamonds which I don't them exist in RTR so I redrew them as streamine Y point short Diamond set up I think the branch is a step too far and I can't get a run round and access to the loco depot top left as the curved diamonds don't exist, The Circle in the mainline concept is great but you need more storage, maybe a pair of loops with the hidden tracks minimum or your station will become a visible fiddle yard Attached is my doodle showing I can't work out what to do with the branch

There is a very good scenic break where the LNWR line crosses at the right hand end of the plan, a cheap and nasty steel or iron bridge over the Midland in an otherwise impressive LNWR Stone viaduct hidden behind a building so you could not see the midland diving under. That is how the full size was designed not just a suggestion for the model. This is still there despite the station site being a road and car parks now. I took pics earlier in the year of three bridges in quick succession over the appropriately named bridge road...

It was not as straightforward as that. Topography determined where branches departed from the "Junction Station." In my neck of the woods, Cotswolds, half way along the back loop platform was quite common with direct access from branch to main line but not vice versa (Faringdon Branch not sure of Junction Station and Shipton on Stour branch at Moreton in Marsh) , A branch platform with a run round loop curving away sharpy away from the main line so the platform curves almost 90 degrees with access from branch to main but requiring reversal through a trailing crossover was a feature of the (Cirencester Branch at Kemble) and access only from a dead end bay accessed by trailing connection with no direct access to main line (Tetbury branch at Kemble). The Single track to Kingham diverged from the double track line to Andover at Andoversford after the pllatforms but no trains terminated here, most terminated at the two through platform plus short dead end bay Cheltenham Lansdown. The famous Dart Valley line to Ashburton had access to and from main lines the other side of the river Dart bridge from Totnes two platform station where trains terminated but which had no dedicated branch platform. The Moretonhampstead Branch similarly diverged at Newton Abbott but had a dedicated platform which could not be accessed without leaving the station. Liskeard had a right angle branch platform for the Looe branch and a curved connection (Trailing I think) from the main line, the line went north, turned 180 degrees, went under the main line, turned a further 90 degrees and reversed or continued to turn another 45 degrees to pass back under the main line in much the same direction it left the station but about 100 feet lower. Maiden Newton had a dead end bay with no run round and employed gravity shunting with a dedicated gravity shunting siding while Yelverton (?) where the Princetown branch diverged except that also had direct access to the main line but facing away from Plymouth where most traffic came from and employed gravity shunting using the branch and a short siding originally leading to a turntable. The common factor being there is no common factor and all the above were GWR, The lines had to fit the land, oop north the MR Buxton line had a junction in open country with no platforms and a large station at Millers dale involving 5 platforms two parallel viaducts to terminate trains as Viaducts are a cost effective way to provide extra tracks in hilly territory. Ideally there should be a way to get freights directly off the branch and on to the main, if not vice versa. Your station already has two crossovers to run round trains and is not unlike Dulverton terminus for the Exe Valley branch in Devon except that was on a single track from which the branch diverged at Morebath Junction, again one with no platforms. Terminating branch trains at a through station without actually modelling the branch can add to the operating experience, the one thing you lose is the potential for two trains departing at the same time in the same direction but unless you have two operators this is a bit irrelevant.

Exactly and when contact is lost the capacitor charges up to around 20 volts and as the capacitor is on the motor side of the cut out the current is not limited so its sparks everywhere as the rusty bit of track is reached

I am trying to reduce the gradient to a set of storage sidings currently in the 1 in 18 range. To do this I have to get rid of most of a 2" X 1" upper baseboard support put in 30 years ago as I try to move the start of the gradient further back along a lower baseboard put in 25 years ago when the sidings were added as an afterthought. My current thought is a piece of 3/8" or 1/4" ply something like 2ft 6" X 10" screwed and glued firmly to the 2" X 1" upper and lower supports with holes for the track, and access and slots for wiring pre cut and then the 2" X 1" cut away for clearance. I'm not sure whether to go for the whole width or just a foot or so where the track ascends and where the upper needs to be cut away. Any suggestions as I need to get it done tomorrow hopefully before the Christmas Carol playing season kicks in

I have never found a controller with a big electrolytic capacitor in it but have used a H/D Marshall 3 with an external Capacitor. It does improve running but unlike an onboard capacitor it stores electricity when contact is lost and releases it when it is regained, the arcing this produces can be quite spectacular causing burnt rails. The only advantage is it smoothes the output and decouples the output from the 50 cycles or whatever mains supply.

Realistically you are looking at a loco depot in 00 for mainline locos and DMUs or an industrial area for small 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 locos and a few wagons in the space you have. I would get the distance between tracks right down to under 50mm to give an illusion of space and with such a small space it is better done by shuffling bits of track on a board than on a computer. I would put a divide about 6" in from the back for some hidden sidings maybe kickback style accessed by a sector plate. I would work on the scenics to hide the hidden siding access and make it believable. In Scotland class 37s were seen hauling just one bogie Grain wagons and in Cornwall on single china clay wagons so a Distillery or Clay Dries would make a potential layout but fitting in a DMU won't be easy. However you have plenty of potential for an N gauge or 009 narrow gauge system. Maybe shelve the 00, keep it in a display case and build an N gauge layout to operate?

It looks like two prototypical sections in each direction as in one each side of the station could work well. Trying to sequence trains to follow each other around a layout is horribly complicated and expensive. I would not get too hung up on 50mm track spacing, for storage loops as long as the trains clear each other the closer the better. I am working on lengthening an 8ft hidden siding module to 10ft to take 8 coach rakes and it fits 6 roads into 12" quite nicely. Point control is bydiode matrix with a 6 way rotary switch to select the road and a separate operating button. See Pics