Caley Jim

I most use Carrs 188 solder paint for kit assembly. Not sure what the flux is in that? Prior to getting that I always used Fluxite, and still do from time to time. I also have some red label, which is mainly for white metal, but can be used for brass or n/s (but not steel or tinplate according to the label). The label also says that if used for soft solder at higher temperatures it leaves a water soluble residue which can be removed with a damp cloth. Jim

Sorry, perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I was talking about how the loco behaved before it was fitted with a chip. Jim

The system I've used on Kirkallanmuir involves the wire being attached to a horizontal crank under the baseboard, one end of which has a tube soldered to it which passes up through a slot in the board and ends just below sleeper top level. There are two wires coming out the top of the tube, insulated from each other and from the tube*, which go out sideways and are each attached to the lower edge of the tip of a switch blade. This also reduces the stress on the joint between whatever you are using as a stretcher bar and the switch tip as the wire can flex. * The 'tail' of one wire has a length of insulation from decoder wire over it, then that and the second wire are slid into a piece of insulation from mains cable and the whole thing is then a reasonably tight fit in the tube. Jim

If using wire-in-tube you have to make sure the tubing is well anchored, especially round bends, so that it can't flex. If you incorporate a lot of cranks, then you are going to lose some movement at every crank, although you can arrange the holes in the cranks for the wire/rod so that there is more movement going out than is coming in (if that makes sense!). It's also good to have much more movement than required at the 'lever' end and absorb the excess with an omega loop at the turnout/signal end. This also makes sure that switch blades are held firmly against the stock rail. Jim

I have to agree that there is a certain frisson when you open a sheet of etches, almost the same as when you first apply power to a scratchbuilt loco chassis! As is well known I lost interest when the railway started pulling trains with motorised biscuit tins, but I have to say that I did rather like the Westerns, especially in maroon or desert sand. Jim

It's not so much that you are pushing more amps through, but that you are working with a slightly higher voltage which has some benefit in improving pick-up, especially in the smaller scales where mass is limited. One benefit you have with DCC is that you have very fine control . I have a CR 171 class 0-4-4T, fitted with a Branchlines minimotor. It is mechanically sound - can be brought down to a crawl - but under DC analogue control it was impossible to start it slowly, I suspect because there is a certain degree of 'stiction' (as my old physics teacher called it) in the motor. You had to crank the power up to get it to start, which it did like a jack-rabbit, and then try to quickly bring it back down. In DCC, it starts beautifully smoothly because the chip is putting that burst of power in for a few milliseconds and then reducing it far more quickly than a human could. My latest loco has 880µf of stay-alive in it which helps smooth running no end as dirty spots on the track have no effect. If you lift it off the track when it's running the wheels will do a further almost half revolution. Jim

Reminds me of the story of the guy who went to a fancy dress party with nothing on and carrying a girl on his back. "What have you come as?" he was asked. "I'm a snail and this is Michelle!" was the answer. Jim (Windae picked)

Like the fireplace! If you have a coal fire in there you'll get some authentic smells when the railway is running! Jim

An alternative to the bottle is an eye dropper. Jim

Sorry, Linny, but I don't quite follow that. If the cattle trucks are 15'6" oh and the Cambrian kits are 16', what is the problem? Can you not cut a a mm off either end of the Cambrian solebars to reduce the length? Or am I missing something, not being a modeller in one of the larger scales? Jim

That certainly takes the 30t gear well away from the driving wheels. My tendency is always to go for the biggest reduction I can get in the space available. If you can get a smaller primary gear and a larger secondary one, keeping the shaft centres much the same, then I would go for that. I have no experience of brass gears vs other materials, so can't help there.

In case anyone hasn't seen elsewhere, there are six under this one already (but they were a special order). Jim

In that case, I think you should do an end elevation to make sure that the 30t gear will clear the back of the wheels. Jim

Have you room to put a strap across somewhere under the tank tops to support the boiler? Either that or fit a narrow 'shelf' on either side, under the top of the tanks, for the boiler to sit on. As far as the spectacle plate is concerned, I always make it project below the level of the boiler with the rear of the boiler butting up to it. Can't help with the crease problem with rivets, In CR days everything was flush! Jim

I'd say that the first one above would be your best option, provided there is clearance between the backs of the third driving wheels and the 30t gear. You'll need an end elevation to check that. You also need to make sure that you can fit a bearing at either end of the worm shaft,but that would appear not to be a problem. Is it standard gauge? Jim

Certainly a better reduction, Valentin, but it looks as though there is an interference between the motor and the worm and not much room for the worm shaft bearings. Could you move the motor forward, putting the 16t and 30t gears on the other side of the worm, in between the two rear axles? This would also keep the cab clearer of gears. Just an arrangement that might be worth exploring. Jim

Two observations. 1) That will only give you a reduction of 14:1 (14:1 worm x 17:20 x 20:17) if I am reading it correctly. It would be better if you swapped the 17t gear onto the worm shaft with the 20t as the idler. That would give you 14:1 x 20:17 X 1(20:20), c16.5:1. 2) There doesn't appear to be much clearance between the wormwheel and the idler gear shaft muff, especially if what you have drawn is the idler gear shaft. One way round that would be to put the 17t on the wormwheel shaft and use a slightly larger idler gear, though that then negates some of the reduction if 20t is the largest you can put on the axles as the extra reduction you would get here would be cancelled out by an increase in rotation speed between this larger idler and the 20t's on the axles. It would also push the worm slightly further back. Jim

Thanks, Ian. It's the fireman taking a break and admiring the scenery while leaning on the bunker extension! Kirkallanmuir is wee bit far from any Sou' West interference, so I don't think even a member of the Royal Company of Archers could fire an arrow anywhere near them! Jim

Latest addition to my 2FS fleet of locos is a CR 323Class 'Jubilee Pug' 0-6-0ST. The finish leaves something to be desired, I know, but it's the best I can manage these days. Full details of the build are here. Jim

Painting took a little time, at least the lining did as it took several attempts for me to create enough lining with which I was happy. Even so, it's far from perfect, but it will have to do. I also had some issues with the balance of it. the smokebox and tank are full of lead, but that put the weight too far forward and there didn't seem to be enough weight on the rear drivers to keep them on the track. A couple of chunks of lead glued to the inside of the part of the rear beams representing the firebox has helped that, along with several wee bits glued to the underside of the chassis at the rear. She has now arrived at Kirkallanmuir to relieve No. 499 shunting the colliery sidings. https://youtu.be/MG2VJtgbu1A Jim

I would have thought that a 4F could haul much more than a horse could? Jim

I can better that! I have a gold shell crown on LL6 done by a fellow student when we were in final year. (1968/9) Jim

Are you going to get the pipework copper plated, or does the lab no longer have the gear for that now that copper band impressions are no longer used? Jim

That is serious Lego, that is!! Two of my grandchildren (5 & 9) are into Lego in a big way, but not that big!! Jim

Another way is to paint them white, then allow thinned black paint to flow off your brush into the sunken areas, just 'persuading' it into place with the tip of the brush. Capillary action will draw it along the edges. I've used this technique to paint the white panels on etched coaches in 2FS. Jim