young37215

I have no idea, active braking is not something I am familiar with. The only change made to the factory settings is CV5, everything else is 'out of the box'. Like so many things, I need to spend more time on understanding the loco and chips capabilities! Something I have been meaning to do for some time is add a DCC Concepts Alpha Meter to the power BUS so that I can see how much power is being drawn at any time. Irritatingly the Alpha Meter is out of production at present and it was challenging to find one. After several abortive efforts I managed to source one which I have now installed. The readings are interesting, voltage shows a constant 15.9V which is what I expected from the way I have set up the ESU Cab Control power supply. Where I am surprised is the Amps that are drawn; on start up with over 20 DCC sound fitted locos (sound is off at start up) this quickly settles at around 1 Amp. With the sound turned on and several locos just idling, the Amps increase to around 1.1. When I move a loco under full power the increase is again negligible, up to no more than 1.2 Amps. I had expected to see a much higher Amp reading when powering a loco. I was initially suspicious, was there something wrong with the Alpha Meter? I then remembered seeing a Chadwick Model Railway Youtube video where Charlie installed the Alpha Meter and after a few minutes of watching this I was reassured; Charlie's experiences were similar to mine indicating that my Alpha Meter is fine. The additional good news is that I have quantitative data showing I do'nt need to think about a power booster for the 7 Amp Cab Control which at £200 a throw, is something of a result. Testing the Alpha Meter continues with 37022 and 7D13, 15.20 Corpach to Mossend arriving at Crianlarich.

A new video of 37027 with the max speed CV5 adjusted to 120 from the maximum 255. All other CV's are unchanged from the Accurascale programme, I am not sure that I am completely happy but the acceleration under full power is much closer to what I am looking for.

I was able to buy blinds for my Velux’s as separate accessories. These are invaluable in keeping the sun off of the layout

The thought of a wet Fort William has occassionally passed through my thoughts. With the platform and surrounds finished in gloss varnish which appears a simple enough task, it should not be too challenging to create the image 03060 suggests. I might have a go at this when I get around to installing the MAS which will require the station lifting onto the workbench. I nearly got to the end of the running day yesterday, 37112 and 20045 joined together at Fort William to provide the motive power for the up sleeper to Glasgow.

The box was in better condition than you might think as this 1981 view shows. It also reminds me that I need to construct the steps used to pass tokens to loco crew. Even after 2 years out of use it was still looking OK in 1984

I am also mindful of the timetables operated on WHL4 which are summer only ones from the early 1980's with 3 daily trains between Mallaig and Glasgow. The rest of the year there were only 2 trains per day between Glasgow and Fort William which reduces the operational interest of the line. I have thought of having one station covered in snow but discounted the idea because it would be unrealistic for the time of year operated. For now I have a more immediate challenge to address as I really want to complete the outline scenery this winter and need to get my head around how the Arrochar and adjoining mountaineous area will work best. I spent another few hours running trains yesterday along with some general tidying up. Spiders are a pain in the bum making their webs in the most inaccessable of locations, other than that though everything appeared in working order after the summer recess. Apart from some spot track cleaning, all of the locos ran happily despite their few months of inactivity. The other good news is that my wife is largely recovered from her bout of covid and I seem to have avoided it, net result is I should be reasonably safe to resume a more normal daily routine. 37012 was photographed approaching Garelochead with an Oban service. The bare rock face in the first picture would benefit from foliage adding, just one more of an increasingly long list of things to do!

Good question, the thought of being able to change the environment in some way is appealing but I have no idea how it could be achieved. Rain looks a step too far but an early misty morning with the mist rising up from the ground feels more doable. Something for the future perhaps; for now my focus is on the work required to complete the remaining scenery surrounding Arrochar. About 70% of the layout has scenery, completing the remaining 30% is the challenge for this winter. Back in 1983 Glasgow Oban services passed each other at Arrochar. Having passed 37027, 37012 heads west to Oban.

Another day pottering resulted in the video below. 37027's CV's have not been adjusted yet but with use of the drivehold feature, realistic running and a thrashing loco are possible.

An earlier return to modelling than planned courtesy of Mrs Young contracting covid. I have'nt shown any symptoms yet but it seems only sensible to keep a low profile for a few days to minimise the chances of passing it on to anyone else. With little else to do, I ventured into the loft and ran a few trains which included 37112's arrival at Mallaig which I videoed.

Best source I have found for the steam era material is Robert Robotham's On West Highland Lines. Several going cheap on Ebay at present!

Definately Garelochead and an air braked consist including OBA and VDA/VAA. It has always surprised me that WHL freight was mostly air braked from the late 1970's. Based on my experience there are a limited number of pictures with class 27 on the WHL on Flickr and these are predominantly passenger services. I find a search using 'Class 27 and [station name]' returns the best selection.

By the 1980's most station lamps on the WHL had been electrified with the floodlight, dustpan style lights attached to telegraph posts as shown above at Ardlui and Tyndrum Upper. My efforts to find a suitable proprietary model of this style did'nt get very far, the thread below failed to identify anything of use. As a consequence I have been contemplating scratch building for the last 12 months but have not got anywhere as yet. Crianlarich lights were different and unique to the WHL as shown above, I think these first appeared around the time the station building was pulled down in the 1960's. I used Woodland Scenics twin lamps (JP5676) to replicate them on my 1980's layout. I am sure you know that the Mallaig extension station buildings and signal boxes upon which the Peco models are based are quite different from the main WHL where Swiss chalet style buildings on an island platform were mostly seen. I have used 12V LED strip lights to illuminate my station buildings and a single 12V LED for my signal boxes. I have several packs of Ratio's signal box interiors which I need to get around to installing. If you are fitting out your signal box then you will need token machines in addition to the fittings in the Ratio pack. I have'nt got to this stage yet but when I do Modelu's token machine looks the best that I have seen so far. Based upon the numerous pictures that I have looked at there are only a limited amount of station fixtures. I have used proprietary models from Peco and Bachmann to model these.

To give people an apprecaition of how generation changes over the year, below is the monthly generation in KWH over the last 12 months starting with July 2022 from my 3.5KW array. 438 516 297 295 170 85 78 186 159 331 442 569

For the 7 or so months that 37027 had the white stripe, all of the pictures that I have viewed show a yellow headlight bracket. I'll be investing in a tin of warning panel yellow shortly

Evidence to support this, I need a tin of Precision P148 Warning Panel Yellow post 1985 to sort mine.

Duplicate post

They are very nice and a step up but I don't find that they make the Bachmann model look out of place. Hopefully you will reach a similar conclusion for the sake of your bank account....

I followed the 'life is too short' approach to the ribs although I do feel compelled to remove the top 3 of the 5 steps on coach ends. This is sufficiently soul destroying to convince me that my approach to the ribs was the correct one. A coat of roof dirt or similar weathering colour on the coach roof goes some way to dampening the visibility of the ribs.

Yes, but with mixed success. I have found that allowing the plaster to dry for days/weeks makes the cutting much easier. Once dried a few passes with a tenon saw makes short work of the cutting but a mess of the saw!

Accurascale advise that the chip is a standard ESU Loksound V5. These are capable of adjusting by way of altering the CV's so that running characteristics can be customised to suit a layout. I have several V5 chips which have been adapted and now have more appropriate speed, acceleration and braking settings for my layout. Finding the right settings is a question of trial and error but in my experience, well worth the effort. Just remember to keep a record of what setting you have changed for future reference. When we get around to adjusting 37027 I'll post the details of the updated CV's.

I am an impatient so and so I know but with my taste buds wettened by the release of the new Accurascale 37's, I am wondering where release of Volume 4 from the SDEG currently sits? Can anyone clarify and manage my expectations?

The effect of adding landscape is transformational I find, it looks much the same here. I recognise some of those rock mould shapes! Have you tried cutting them?; I have found doing so a useful way to create different shapes and sizes whilst avoiding repetition. Please keep the posts showing the layouts evolution coming, it is always useful to watch how someone else works and potentially learn from their techniques.

I did not make the fishboxes, they were bought from a small supplier by @Mallaig1983 . See the attached link for the details of them, I had no involvment in the purchase so can't comment on whether they are selling the fish boxes as part of their product range. Edit, Anyscale have the fishboxes listed at 20 for £3 plus P&P. https://www.anyscalemodels.com/shop/railways/1-76-plastic-type-fish-boxes-x-20.html When runnng in my 37 performed perfectly on sound and DCC only. The only issue I have is the acceleration and maximum speed cv's needs adjusting to slow the loco down. I'm not an expert by any stretch on fault finding, my only thought is are you allowing the stay alive capacitor sufficient time to fully charge? I've seen comment that this can take up to a minute depending on the maximum amps your controller can output. Mine seems to charge quickly, just a few seconds but I have a 7 amp output from my control system. You might get better help on the Accurascale thread or by speaking to their support team whom I have found very helpful and knowledgeable.

37027 only carried the white stripe from July 1983 to April 1984 so right in the midst of my 1980 - 85 time window. I am looking forward to sorting the acceleration out which is the only minor negative with the loco that I have found. The rails on the roof which should be hinges are not a major failing but does go to show how difficult it is to achieve perfection. Lets hope that Accurascale choose to model a few more banger blue liveried split box locos in the future, I will not take much persuading to buy more. Autumn 1983

Thanks Warren. I had thought something along those lines might be an option, another thing for the’to do ‘ list On reflection I should have pictured the boxes from a similar view to the reference pictures. That’s enough for today, off to watch the cricket and golf for the rest of the day!