Caley Jim

Do you have any concerns over the fastness of the colours on computer-printed texture papers, Jim? I ask because a friend made a number of buildings in 4mm using the downloadable sheets from Scalescenes and found they faded badly over time, even though they weren't exposed to direct sunlight.

 

Steve

I think it depends on the ink used and the paper.  Brian Taylor of Smart Models recommends using matt photographic paper to print on  He had two versions of one of his kits at Perth, one printed on 80gsm paper and the other on matt photo paper.  The difference, not only in the detail, but also in the colour was quite noticeable.   the reason is that on plain paper the inks tend to run together to a small extent, while this doesn't happen on the photo paper.

 

Below are a some photos of the Station, Signal box and Goods shed roofs on Connerburn, all done with 80gsm strips.

 

 

Jim

Hi Jim,

 

I found a livery reference I had previously missed in LNWR Liveries, it's toward the back of the wagon section - "The WCJS also owned a considerable fleet of meat and refrigerator vans which were painted similarly to their LNWR counterparts, namely grey for ordinary meat vans and white for refrigerators, the later having grey underframes and curb rails"

 

Fortunately this is the livery I've painted!

 

There is also a photo of the 6 wheeled version (WCJS no 308) built in 1908 to replace accident victims, essentially two D46 vans spliced together.

 

One aspect that is puzzling me is the plate, I am sure I have seen reference (and a photo) of a WCJS number plate painted blue, I've check the usual sources (Caledonian Liveries, LNWR Liveries, A Register of West Coast Joint Stock plus a few others) but cannot find the reference again.

 

Does this ring any bells?

 

Thanks

 

Angus

The livery comment in the LNWR book would seem to contradict that in the WCJS book, which is surprising given the authors of the latter.  Perhaps that information came to light after the WCJS book was published.

 

I have never heard anything about WCJS plates being blue!   I feel a query on the CR Assoc forum coming on!

 

Jim

Nice little box Ian. One of the things we do with Slaters brick plastikard on CF is to sand down the brick faces to take away their rather blobby/shiny appearance.

 

Tim

I did the same for the sides of the turntable well on Kirkallanmuir.  For other buildings, though, I'm planning on using the downloadable brick and stone papers from Smart Models.  Apart from bull-faced stonework, I feel that using embossed plasticard is 'overkill' in 2mm scale, having seen the use of printed surfaces on Wansbeck and the Metcalf kits we used on a previous group layout.   I'll still use paper strips for slates, though, as a bit of texture helps there.

 

Jim

I forgot to add in my earlier post (#27), for the benefit of those not in possession of the book, that these 50 vans were, like all WCJS, dual fitted.

 

Jim

 

I would also make the assumption that is these vans were made on the WCJS account they would retain their oval build plate (the LNWR plates were rectangular) and WCJS number?

Presumably accounting practise would dictate this?

'A Register of West Coast Joint Stock' by Casserly and Millard (HMRS 1980) states that 50 refrigerator meat vans were built by the LNWR thought to be similar to their Dia 46.  They were numbered 287-336 and appear to have been painted in a plain dark grey livery with no markings on the body, although it is possible that in the c19th they were inscribed WCJS in small letters in the lower left corner.  The ownership and running number were on the usual cast iron plate on the solebar - so, yes, presumably an oval plate.

 

Jim

Here is the photo of the F/B rail in the sleeper bases.

 

These are definitely bullhead chairs.  Looks like there's been a mix-up.

 

Jim

I like the effect of the 3 way point, did you build it (clever if you did)?

 

Dava

Technically it's a tandem turnout, a 3 way has both sets of switches at the same place.  Not so dificult if you keep your wits about you, unless you do it on interlaced sleepers in 2FS!  Kirkallanmuir has 4 of them.  :-)

 

Jim

Hi Chris,

 

What I thought should be the foot of the rail does not fit the sleeper bases but what I thought would be the railhead does.

 

Hence my confusion!

Could it be that you have bullhead sleepers?  Those for flat bottom rail have a different shaped chair.

 

Jim

Anyway, I joined 2FS about 4 years ago but appear to have lapsed!

 

Don't have any recollection of a renewal reminder but will take care of that at Modelrail Scotland 2016.

I maintain the membership records, but without knowing your name I can't trace when you lapsed, however you would receive renewal invitations in both the February and April Magazines and, if you gave an email address when you joined and which was still 'live', you would also get email reminders.

 

You don't have to wait until Model Rail to rejoin, there is an application form at http://www.2mm.org.uk/join.htm .

 

Chris has answered your question regarding flat bottom rail.  I'm a bullhead user myself!

 

Jim

Just received my two sets.  They look superb and i can visualise some nice little cameos.  I particularly like the policeman as the Preiser one was far too continental with his spike topped helmet and cloak!

 

Jim

You can straighten it in the same way as described before by drawing it between finger and thumb, but keeping it upright, rather than on its side.  To be honest, I wouldn't be too concerned about any of these lengths, other than perhaps the third and fourth from the top.   If you are using Easitrak, then as long as you ensure that the track is well glued down to a flat trackbed, the rail will be held level.  Likewise, using pcb sleepers, just make sure that the rail is securely soldered to each sleeper and/or chairplate and that the sleepers are securely glued down.   In my experience, track doesn't need to be dead level to the last thou, indeed can you ever ensure that it is, or that it will stay that way?  My advice is not to get too hung up about this.

 

Jim

Excellent, just what I'll need to populate Kirkallanmuir!  just ordered one of each set.  Only ones I've seen in the past were from Preiser.

 

Jim

How about using the rods provided in the etch to drill the holes as the starting point of the steel rods. You could also make some custom 'bearings' to fit into the etched chassis sideframes with a 0.5mm hole in them to then drill the rods.

Chris

A thought I've had since raising this is to etch a jig with holes which could be used to drill the rods. This would have to be done after filing the rods to shape as that process can result in slight stretching of them. This is not an issue if you use the finished rods as a jig to drill the frames, but could be a problem with what I'm thinking about if you used the etched jig before forming the rods.

 

Jim

I am a firm believer in steel valve gear and coupling rods looking nice and chunky with decent bearing surfaces - because that is what steam engines have.........

I fully agree with this.  Nothing looks quite like steel as steel!  Likewise, nothing looks quite like coal except coal!  :-)

 

I'm wondering how I could make steel rods to match etched n/s chassis?   Perhaps etching the rods in steel from artwork off the same CAD drawing, but that would prohibitively expensive unless you were etching a lot of rods.   Perhaps the best option would be not to etch the bearing holes, and then use the scratchbuilt rods as jigs to drill them as i have always done in the past.

 

BTW, it must be nearly a decade since I built a loco (though I have re-built a couple of chassis), so maybe I'm due one too!!

 

Jim

Hi Newbie Question,

 

When i order replacement axles from the 2mmFS society for my wagon stock is it a case of taking out the old measuring the length overall and ordering that size?.

 

Thanks,

That's basically correct.  As I understand it (not having any converted rtr stock) the manufacturers use different length axles and don't even seem to have been consistent themselves, so the same make of stock can have different axle lengths.  If you can't get the exact axle length you should get the next longest and gently deepen the bearing holes with a drill until the axles fit, but I stand to be corrected on that.

 

Jim

The organisation is all volunteers, people doing it in their own time for benefit of others.  If someone takes a week or two for holiday that puts a delay onto things. 

As the person who maintains the membership database, I have just had a list from the membership secretary of the application forms which are in the post to me.  There doesn't appear to be any overseas members among them (as you don't give your name I can't be sure whether you are one of them).

 

He also said in his email that he was going away for a few days, so it may be a week or two before you hear anything.  If you let me have your name and email address in a PM, I will make sure that he let's you know when he has processed your application.

 

Jim

So I have finished my first section of easiTrack, that was part of the welcome pack, hoping to take on the wagon soon. Completing the track has raised some questions I have concerning easitrack and general track building.

1. How would you join separate sections of track together, thinking along the lines of fishplates in the peco world. I have search the association shop and was not able to find any?
2. I had trouble working out what way up the top of the bull head rail was, I think I have got it. But the question is, how detrimental is this?
3. Also I found the process of making the easitrack 2 out of 10, 10 being really hard. Using that sliding scale, how would you compare the construction of an easiTrack point?
4. Lastly are there any alternatives to easiTrack, also in comparison how difficult are they to construct?

Sorry for all the probably simple questions, I'm rather new to all this. Also I really want to make sure I understand the space before making a commitment to 2mm finescale.

 

Thanks,

 

Joe

Hi Joe.  Glad to see you giving 2FS a go!  

 

To answer you questions (well, three of them):

1   You don't need fishplates.  Attach a dropper wire to the end of each length of track and pass them through holes drilled in the relevant places in the trackbed.  You simply align the ends of the rail accurately when glueing the track down and then solder the droppers together underneath for electrical continuity.  These also give you places for track feeds.  If you want an isolating gap, omit the droppers

2   It can be difficult to work out which way is up, but using magnification helps.  If you find it difficult to thread the rail into the sleepers despite lightly chamfering the ends, you've probably got the rail upside down!

3   I haven't built any turnouts using the new pegged chairs, so can't comment, but I have built a fair number of turnouts on interlaced sleepers using a mix of Easitrac and pcb sleepers.  Results can be seen on my layout thread - link in the signature below.

4   There are several other systems based on pcb sleepers, but these are all much more time consuming than Easitrac, at least for plain track.

 

HTH,

 

Jim

The Forth and Clyde area group had Sauchenford at the Aberdeen show this week end. Three photos attached.

A 'drone's-eye' view of the layout with a loaded coal train leaving.

A couple of shots of a quiet moment with Alisdair's 08 resting in the lye siding. The PO wagon is in memory of our late friend and fellow member Colin Brady.

 

Jim

.... and a couple of Queensquare's shutters, 1F 1676 and Jinty 16548.

I presume you mean 'shunters'!  Or are the shutters going up to hide the learning curve?

 

You will need to get used to the braking and remember to 'shut off steam' a bit before you get to where you want to stop.  That will depend on what the setting of the braking CV.

 

Jim

When building his GER 2-2-2 with 7' drivers, Trevor Nunn used compensation beams with off-centre pivots to transfer more weight to the drivers. .....

I did a similar thing with my CR 2-2-2WT (for hauling the officer's saloon) in 2FS.

 

Jim

I'm actually using the steel rail. I don't get on with nickel rail, the frantic cleaning that it needs will probably wreck the top line of the rail anyway!

Tim, as Jerry points out, it doesn't need aggressive cleaning,  apart from scraping off any paint in the first instance.  A rub along it with a narrow strip of hardboard, or the finest grade on a cheap nail burnisher, is enough.

 

Jim

I've noticed that rail is a very small section and is often bent or curved. Anyone got any ideas on how to straighten it out? I'm thinking I've seen some rollers somewhere, but can't remember where that was.

I simply draw it between my finger and thumb, slightly curving it against the existing curve.  You may need to do this several times, back and forth, until you get it reasonably straight.  Assuming that you are using Easitrac, once it's fitted in the sleepers and they are glued down, using some weight on them until the glue sets, the track will stay flat and in alignment unless there are serious kinks in the rail.  The rail doesn't have to be dead straight first.   The same would apply to soldered track, whether assembled in a jig or in situ.

 

Jim

Another 'just off the workbench (desk)'.

 

The MR traction truck was another which was built and painted before we moved house, but now I've got round to giving it a load.

 

The Flleetline 8hp stationary engine has been lying in the gloat box for many years and is a rather crude white metal casting, but once painted and given some rust it will past muster, '2 foot rule' etc.,etc.

 

 

The chain is 3 strands of fine copper wire from mains cable platted together then run through a match flame to take the shine off it.   Again, it won't stand too close examination, but looks the part IMHO.

 

Jim

I know full and empty coal wagons would not be in the same train, but they were on the build list, and it does have a randomising effect on the trains look.

If that makes sense

Richard

They could be if it was a pick-up goods which had picked up the empties earlier and also had some fulls to drop off further along its journey.

 

Jim

Ordinary card give a coat of knotting might do alright.

Don

How about using the strip that you can get for edging kitchen worktops?  It looks like Formica or similar.

 

Jim