Lecorbusier

Graham, Do you have a trackplan which describes at all the extent of what you intend modelling? Tim

What I didn't agree with on the Sinek talk was the lazy bracketing of 'millennials' coupled to the broad brush stroke generalisations ... but the effects of social media if only partly true were illuminating.

This is an interesting take on the impact of electronic devices .... not sure I agree with all of it, but interesting none the less!

I particularly like what I assume is a loco spotter at the end of the platform? .... Any similarities to yourself?

I have one of the LRM kits for this loco in the to do pile. Would you consider posting progress of your scratch build? I would be very interested in the process. Regards Tim

What aspects in particular had you in mind? ...... or is it simply the polishing many like to show it off to its best in the raw but which should has little to no impact on the painted loco?

Hmmmmmm!

Well they say every cloud has a silver lining though given a choice I would rather avoid the former and forego the latter .... power to your elbow and here's to many more years of productive modelling

As before ... no good on the questions I am afraid. Really like the new station layout. .... On the negatives .... I suspect over the medium term regret for not doing it might out-weigh the added expense of points? As far as the 3 way is concerned have you ever considered having a bash at your own trackwork? For 00 I found http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/3422-eastwood-town-update/ by Gordon S pretty inspirational. Feel free to ignore if this is not your thing though ..... but it would allow real freedom with the track layout. On the 'mirroring' front ... if you were to mirror the layout and landscape pretty faithfully ... then I would say the name stands and it would still be very much part of the real world in terms of inspiration. Anyway ... that's my take for what it's worth.

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that I must be something of an oddity You see, I find - if well done - that I thoroughly enjoy pretty much all genres of layout. I love watching mainline trains charge past a la Shap... with through station or not. Then again I have thoroughly enjoyed watching branch lines such as Clutton. I have spent much time at layouts like St Merryn .... but also really appreciate well conceived Cameo layouts like Trerice. I have just plucked these particular examples from the air ... there are many many others irrespective of gauge or scale ... a number of which I have enjoyed watching on you tube. All have points of operational interest and because of the excellence of the modelling, much to study in between train movements. Maybe I'm just strange

Interestingly the Rev Audrey made his locos male and I suggest quite middle class .... it was the coaches that were female and somewhat flighty. What's more the trucks were characterised as working class male definitely cutting up rough .....as indeed the diesel shunter was as well. What that says about the Rev. is anyones guess?

Of course, one man's dull is another woman's interesting .... and vice versa

Rule one applies. Build something you like and can enjoy within the limits you have ... that something (given the same parameters) would be different for each of us come what may. After all, Pempoul breaks Tony's cardinal rule (see above), but I do believe he thinks it is of merit even while not satisfying his ultimate preferences or being what he would choose himself to model.

True ... and Deltang is certainly cheaper.

As I understand things, there are much more rigorous standards and testing required if offered as a complete product and kite marked as such ... which is where a great deal of the cost lies for a small time operator like Protocab - but necessary to access the fit and forget market ... I know they are currently looking at ways to simplify this aspect with the various regulatory bodies. I think there are also pretty stringent safety aspects revolving around the batteries, which can be quite unstable if at all mistreated. Because with the Deltang it is the modeller who is ultimately responsible for the combination and install of the components (I am hazarding a guess here) and this is where the liability resides, things can be a lot looser - what we call in the building industry 'buyer beware rather than duty of care'. - I could well be wrong here, but that would beg the question as to why Protocab feel the need to jump through so many expensive regulatory hoops.

I may be wrong ... but when I looked in to Deltang it appeared to be more of a do-it-yourself set up rather than a product with back up and a fitting service. As such we are perhaps not comparing like with like as far as protocab is concerned. However, I will admit that I see this as my escape route should Protocab fold.

Hi Andy, The cost side of things I think is definitely an issue for many ... and how this will develop I think is still anyones guess. To buy a set for a typical loco I find is in the region of £90 which includes the the loco control unit, the battery, the loco switch and the charging point (I always manage to get a 10% discount offer). In the package it is the control unit I suspect that needs to come down in price ... it is set at perhaps twice the price it needs to be to really compete with DCC (assuming a high end chip at ±£30) - a chicken and egg scenario I fear as you would need deep pockets or a larger bulk of sales to allow this to happen. It would be interesting to know what cost centre would represent a tipping point for large scale adoption - £40 per loco perhaps? I understand that Protocab is quite well thought of in the larger scales where proportionately it represents a smaller % of the overall costs and it also has a good following amongst garden rail buffs. As you observe, I am building slowly and I can therefore spread the cost so that it is not too painful .... particularly as it means I have none of the expense of wiring the layout (if you are looking to run both DCC and protocab or have an existing layout this saving is of course lost). I suspect that if someone where to come with a largish order for a stud of locos then discounts would increase - but in the end, you just have to want to go down this particular route (as Tony has commented with his loco commissions it is amazing what people will justify if they want something!). Protocab appear to be keeping head above water at the moment .... it would be nice to see them succeed, though to do so they may need to partner with RTR in the end - who knows? I have a sad suspicion that they are going to do all the leg work for someone else to reap the benefits, but they do appear quite switched on so fingers crossed. I think in 4mm scale it is already possible to fit the kit into all but the smallest tank loco. My next build will be a Johnson 1F 0-6-0 tank and I have an arrangement which I believe works and will also help with the weighting of the loco (a craftsman kit) .... ( I also understand that a smaller cylindrical battery is in the pipeline) - so for my purposes the system already works.

(edit) ... Suddenly occurred to me that people might think that this is my build .... not the case just an example downloaded from the internet about 3 years ago - it was auctioned on Vectis but I could find no provenance so am afraid I don't know who built or painted it. It was titled as being scratch built rather than from a kit.

I am far too new to all of this to have any opinion or to be able to make any meaningful observations about the detail of what you say Tony. However, what a lovely positive gee up for today's modelling scene ..... a good start for the new year given how often discussions turn to what has been lost or what might have fallen away. Its nice to know that - warts and all -, todays scene still has reasons to be excited and positive.

That could be a great idea ... it will give you the full gamut of what actually happened in terms of operation/layout coupled to the what if scenario moving forward to your chosen period. There is nothing to stop you bringing one of the tunnels into the scene as well? Happy new year!

Reading all this detailed discussion on wiring and control I now have all fingers and toes crossed that the Protocab boys remain in business for the foreseeable future and their system continues to prosper. Not having to wire anything and just driving the trains makes life a tad less complicated .... though the mechanical lever frame and the fact that locos can move anywhere at any time I am sure will lead to just as much error and discombobulation. Happy new year everyone.

Here is a little more information on the Ambis range of hooks. Looking at the one fitted to my 3 plank wagon it looks to be the RCH option rather than the pre-grouping which may explain the profile. Come what may the etched offerings will need fettling to shape the hook as it starts at the maximum thickness and the point of the hook therefore needs rounding. Couplings.pdfCouplingHooks.pdf

From what I can make out the Slaters etch looks pretty good ... do you know if they happen to be available separately? On the D305 wagon posted earlier I used Bill Bedford's W irons which have his standard springing using Guitar wire .... a great system if you are not familiar with it. I have also used Bill's brake gear ... though with this you do need to remove the lug from the bottom of the break blocks. I have bonded some sheet lead to the underside of the wagon floor setting the weight at 35 grams unloaded.

That is just a wonderful piece of modelling .... thanks

I think you are right Stephen, I hope that with some careful fettling it will be possible to finesse the ambis hooks a little. Do you have a photo of the slaters coupling hooks?