Yardman

Any peice of track will do, just don't connect it to the rest of the layout.

The main difference is the program track is low power and will not damage an incorrectly fitted decoder. So should always be used on a new decoder install. Also a program track allows feedback to the comand station of CV's loco number etc. programming on the main is better for setting speed curves, sound parameters and the like as the effect of changes can be seen as you alter cv's.

Saw the SR pillboxes many times on Tyneside.

Hi AyJay, I tried that link agin and it worked ok. It's a PDF file so you need Adobe reader to see it. Try this direct link below . I found it difficult enough to make non-working rodding, I know it has been done in 4mm, but I would rather spend my time elsewhere. By the way signals are not worked from rods. Rods are there as they pull and push. Signals only require a pull so are worked with wires. Signals are also required to fail to danger. So if any part of the linkage fails, like a wire breaking the signal will return to a stop indication. You can see the signal wire posts in the photos. I didn't put the wires in, too small in 4mm. mechanically-operated-points_compress.pdf

The rod pedestals are white metal and have a location spigot. They come in different widths (can't remember sizes.). I mocked up the rodding on a plank of wood. I used square section Nickel silver rod I obtained elsewhere. Wizard didn’t have appropriate rod available at the time. Cranks, compensators and linkage were soldered to the rodding. I had to mine out the ballast under the track for rodding and fit that “on Site”. The stools aren't normally mounted on sleepers, but on their own pedestals. Track moves and it's position is adjusted by the platelayers, so it's not a good Idea to tie the point operating rodding to it. There is a very good document on point rodding produced by the Institute of Railway Signal Engineers on point rodding, the requirements for expansion, compensation, facing point locks, maximum length. etc. https://nanopdf.com/download/mechanically-operated-points_pdf. The rodding was painted to represent weathered galvanising, rust and lubrication working from prototype photographs.

I have used the Wizard Models components as I decided the other systems were overscale. The prototype movement is small and not noticeable in 4mm scale. I could also foresee maintenance problems with a working system. The only change I would make is installing the system before ballasting the track. Especially if the rodding goes under tracks. The Wizard Models components can be seen in these photos.

Workington's pair on a Brake van special on 24/05/1969. It was a great day out.

Its the Zimo decoder that needs re-mapping not the Gaugemaster.

There was what looked like a gate keepers hut at Hallbank Gate, still in existance in the early 60's. the course of the railway was clearly visible, but the track and gates had gone. Someone probably has photographs.

We once owned a cottage on the side of this railway in the 50's. The track had gone by then, but I walked the line from Brampton junction to Tindale. The cottage site is still there on Google Earth, but has been rebuilt into a larger house. There were still a few chairs, sleepers, etc. around at that time. and some signs of wagon loading points.

It's the fANS I'm talking about not the grills. Lovely loco the FP45, my son wanted to bring it home, but I said our garden wasn't big enough.

If you are running them on 12volts 1 to 2K (1000 ohms to 2000 ohms) is a good ballpark figure. LED's are a current device and not all have the same current rating. The current rating on a LED should be treated as a maximum, they will all work with less current. Make sure you connect them the correct way round or they will be instant;ly destroyed.

I have just seen the photographs of the green Deltics, which look very nice. The green ones I saw had white radiator fans. I can't say this is true for all of them, but the ones I saw during a Doncaster works open day were. It doesn't matter I can repaint them, then add some grime.

I used Logix and JMRI's fast clock to set the time for transition and my own relay boards driven from MERG CanACC8 boards (these boards may not be current now as MERG has 2nd Gen Can system). The transition depends how many channels you are prepared to commit to the change. Mine has four, which is ok, but could be better. I fitted an electronic slug circuit to each LED output to even it out. On Alwinton I used dimming fluorescents for the daylight as at the time I couldn’t find any high intensity LED’s. This has changed now and the layout I’m currently building will use all LED’s. My RGB LED’s only do the night operation. My lighting transition starts by dimming the fluorescents while changing the RGB strips from white to red to give a sunset, then to blue for night operation. There is just enough illumination at night for crews to see what they are doing. Building, station, yard lamps, vehicle lamps and sound effects are also controlled by the same fast clock At dawn, the sequence is reversed. This is the control panel with the fast clock.

Trying to keep the pies warm. The boiler backhead was a better location, but the crew might eat them.

I have done this using JMRI on a laptop controlling MERG circuit boards. See the August/September/October 2017 Railway Modeller. Two photos are shown here. The other photo is our HO American layout lit purely with LED’s. I haven't found any RGB LED’s capable of illuminating a Layout in Daylight mode at a reasonable price. White LED’s, yes. However this is a technology constantly changing. Beware of the current draw, at 12 volts this can be substantial. More photos on out website www.a19modelrailwayclub.org

I'm not really certain which side the Q6's were driven on. In the B & W picture it looks like the reverser on the LHS, but this loco was out of service in Tyne Dock shed and it may be partly dismantled. It was separated from the tender for a start. There isn't much space to stand on a Q6 footplate and when working the fireman would occupy most of that space. I've seen crews sitting on the sandboxes when running. Comfort was not a consideration in the days of steam. 63395 is RHD as the Vacumn gauge is on that side for the driver, but in BR days it didn't have that gauge. I'm not sure they were all RHD.

The boxes the crew sit on are the rear sand boxes. the crew sat side saddle on these. There weren't any cab seats as such. The Q6's were left hand drive ( not sure about all of them) ,but the regulator could be operated from either side. In this rather poor photo of mine (Taken in 1965), you can see the reverser on the LHS. The backhead in the colour photo is 63395 in preservation and is not correct for an in service loco. Q6's were not vacumn braked.

I've built several semaphores from dollies to gantries, all driven by servo's via MERG circuit boards, to me this seems the best way to drive them.

Stripes were started to be added to 350's from around 1962. Ladders weren't normally removed until 1965. However with such a large class of locomotives there would inevitably have been exceptions.

This model is of the kind of signal we had in th North Easdt in the 60's. This is a "Calling on" signal for permissive block. A "shunt AQhead" signal would show an S instead to a C when cleared.

Made mine out of some bits of brass strip. Its not difficult.

The track you are loking at is Tram Rail and has a profile as shown in the photo. In models the easiest way to represent this is with a slim rail from a smaller scale, applied as a check rail.

I think the warbonnet scheme was started on freight units after Amtrak came into being in May71 and Passenger units became redundant although Amtrak continued to use SF Warbonnet F's until their own power became available. Attached is a photo of an SF GP7. (from a pal in the states). It should be noted most GP7/9's were rebuilt with chopped noses and sometimes a Topeka cab when they received the yellowbonnet scheme.