richardswain

Love the sweeping curves!!

Now I've actually seen your layout, I have to say it's looking very promising indeed! The track plan is excellent, and you've laid the track really well, so keep going!

Regarding the C+L plastic fishplates, they can be used, but the rail faces have to have absolutely no burrs, otherwise they won't slide on and will just snap instead. Even with optimal rails they're still very fiddly to get on. But once they're on they look great, and do just what they're supposed to.

That was really interesting! I was especially impressed by your point changing apparatus!!! Kadees are something I have toyed with as an idea for avoiding the hand of God. But I like my stock to run feely, and the thought of having to put on artificial braking seems a bit odd. Do you know how other people solve the problem?

I admire your staying power/bloodymindedness!

Well done, my young Paduan. You did not give in to your anger, but instead through pungent fumes have come to the path of peace, yea, the very path that goes in two directions.

Wait a minute. It's been two years. Has it really? Have I been asleep?

But you didn't, did you? You built your own points, and still almost had something running inside a year!

a 70mm long drill bit!!! Be careful you don't snap it! I have managed to snap several, and they haven't been anything like that long.

Otherwise...stonking progress!

Dear "Vistiaen"(?)

I've had a look at the 3 points and adjusted one (the long left hander - could be called PL368. I shall call it Bob). The only thing I have changed though,is the slide chairs on the diverging stock rail, as that part of the point was slightly too narrow. I've also resoldered the tie bar/timber with 0.8mm copper shim under the rails to give it the correct height. But all the important bits though the common crossing and check rails are super as they are, as far as I can test (Jinty and various wagons and coaches). So don't beat yourself up!

The point with the dcc rail I might do the same thing to - I think you need to be extra careful to keep everything in gauge through the switch/stock rail area as you have the same problem here. But my Jinty still went through without snagging. I won't solder the tie timber as I have shown myself incompetant with the steel rail.

I have a few suggestions for  the point building method, beyond making quadruply sure that everything is in gauge, and (as we discussed verbally) making all the component parts the right shapes using the template before covering the template with timbers.

- Make the tie timber number S2 and not S1. If you do that then the switch rails are supported both in front (on S3) and behind (on S1) the moving timber.

- is there any reason you've soldered the feed to the common crossing to the top of a timber instead of the underside of a rail where you won't see it. Would you mind if I moved it?

- The small wires soldering the stock rails to the switch rails are between two timbers with slide chairs, which stops the switch rails moving there. I think it would be better to move them a little closer to the common crossing after the slide chairs end.

Otherwise things are going fine. Perhaps you can bring your Prairie tank over with you, as that was the one which was getting stuck and shouldn't (ie. has finescale wheels).

Mount that plasterboard!

Yours

A friend

That is going to look spectacular!

Glad to see you using the admirable "keeping the glue and the flux in a chopped up egg box" method. This will prevent you from upsetting the glue all over your work. Though it wouldn't do much damage now, as most of the glue came out last time I did it... err, I mean last time it happened...

Astonishing strength!

PS there really is quite a slant on those rails. Is it something you notice when not using a zoom?

I look forward to watching you build turnouts with a nail gun. Though I will do so from a very safe distance. Have you got the right flux, chairs and timbers? Do you have any idea whether a "normal" file can file the rails?

Do you not think you should ballast the siding a bit more? In the photo the ballast (ash?) comes right up level with the sleepers.

I have always been enormously impressed by your entirely scratchbuilt buildings. Especially considering that you'd never ever even vaguely tried anything like that before, I think it's excellent that you've made two buildings which are quite obviously miniature versions of the real thing. I especially love your gardening, both behind the cottage and particularly on the platform.

Why did you settle on the track plan you did around the goods area? What was there off to the left? A small turntable?

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out! Surely the baseboards can be separated by the careful use of a cutter. The wiring must be solvable with some sort of connectors?

Great to see such a family effort!