Llangerisech

Hello Adam, Thee sleeves were devised by Alan Smith for use in the Manor brass chassis kit that I prototyped. I have been using the sleeves in all sorts of chassis since and you basically drill the main hole and the countersink section to get the depth. Apart from that I never glued them. They are a little squishy so once tightened up expand a bit and don't tend to fall out. If you drill a tad oversize a spot of glue is fine but may not be required. They can be used to hold two halves of a chassis together as on th Manor or used to insulate the chassis from the footplate. I have found many uses for these. Cheer's Nigel

Hi Andy On behalf of the 2mm Scale Association, I can confirm that our Diamond Jubilee Expo on the 20th/21st June in Derby has been postponed and the plan is to hold the celebration at the same location in June 2021 making it a 61st anniversary celebration instead. many thanks Nigel

Hi Neil, The old ones were lumps of white metal and I have been looking at options including using the 3D print idea instead of re-stocking the old ones. Computer issues have rather held this up over recent months, but this will get followed up very soon. In the meantime, if you really need a dynamo, the P and D Marsh A414 set is on a par with the old shop items. The hanger however is rather long but easily shortened. regards Nigel (Products Officer)

Car all loaded and ready to set off to (hopefully) sunny Stoke Mandeville. Looking forward to the show and hope to see many RMwebbers there. Just don't ask too many questions as my voice is still shakey after recovering from a cold! Nigel

As I am a member at the Epsom club, Llangerisech will be representing the "home" team at Nescot. We look forward to seeing you there and possibly having a chat about 2FS - including the Club's developing Lewes layout in the scale.

Hi Nick, It is a Peco item which has been modified so heavily that many folk fail to recognise it! The carrying wheels have been added to the bridge and were plastic wheels from Langley with the flanges removed. The handrails use the original stanchions with new n/s rails threaded through 0.3mm holes. The rails are the normal ones leaning outwards and therefore gauge correctly by fluke. The well is spray painted before the Scalescenes brick paper is added round the edge. The mechanism uses a clearbox and mecano gears with microswitches triggered by a sub-baseboard disc and positionanable brass lumps. It was heavily inspired by a certain Mr Greenwood, but as ever, us mere mortals never quite understand everything he does, so just have to copy what we can and hope! Cheers Nigel

Hi, I should point out that the little blue fella only appeared when the audience had an average age below 10 years. Even then we had a 3 year old rivet counter asking where were Annie and Clarabel!! We had a good show. Thanks to David as usual plus Tom on Saturday and Matt and Hilary on the Sunday. Hilary has posted a great video on Youtube you can see below. Cheers Nigel

Great to see what Tom has been doing with this 3D print malarkey. I am almost tempted!! Now for those who prefer a bit of old school tech, some soldering and basic woodwork! Here is the start of my new layout Drws y Nant. Main boards are built and this fiendnish bit of track would either work or kill the project. Happily it all seems OK up to here, so a bit of cleaning up and sorting the point tiebars will finish off this section. The trackbed rises from the lower ground at the front of the layout, then there is a river immediately behind, then a road then lots of trees. And I mean LOTS and LOTS of trees! The square area drawn on the boards will be the level crossing. This crossover is unlike any other formation I have seen with the imbalance in length meaning that the through line closest to the front passes through the diamond. Figuring the isolation cuts as it was built was fun and I could only use elements of templot to create it. Having got that done using the etch chairplates that Laurie Adams designed, laying the rest of the plain track with Easitrac should seem straightforward. I did find that I used a lot more slide chairs than expected, cut in half for the tricky bit in the middle. This is all hopefully going to add up to a faithful rendition of the prototype. The real place is between Bala and Dolgellau so all my existing rolling stock from Llangerisech will be at home. cheers all Nigel

The Farish Castle conversion etches have arrived with me in time for the AGM this weekend. So if you have thought about moving on from a Pannier conversion, this could be for you. The etch includes rods, replacement slide bars, crossheads, front bogie and front frame extensions. Due to the design of the tender, it is assumed that the builder will employ the original Farish wheelsets turned down to Association standards, or modify Association wheelsets with wagon axles. I will see you with a completed example up at Bournmoor if you are there. regards Nigel

Hi Looking forward to the show. For those who haven't seen it, Llangerisech is 2mm finescale with 9.42mm gauge track, in case the listing had you confused! See you there. Nigel

Hello Roger I am told by Alan Smith who manufactures the Easitrac item that the type of cranks you refer to are included in the Easitrac tiebar kit (part 1-430). They are moulded in an engineering plastic, so would be ideal for what you require. As shop 1 is with David Short, he can probably give more detail if you enquire before ordering. regards Nigel

Hi Andy, Blacksmith Models were sold by Cove Models near Farnborough did these years ago. As you say, the original Mallard etches were 4mm and they simply halved everything. My clerestories are the same source and I remember buying up as many as I could at the time. I should have looked beyond the GWR and picked up one of these as, like you, I have predeliction for BGs and the like. Looks like a really neat job.

Hi, Bit late to the question on this thread, but as Products officer I have been loaned an N class by one of the Wealden group members to attempt an etch for the rods. As Chris has said, you could use the Pannier rods to get something started as I am only at a very early stage with the artwork. However, the Farish valvegear is a fair bit chunkier than the Dapol ones, and while I'm happy leaving the valve gear on the Dapol Brit and Schools, the Farish N does look rather thick. As I have mentioned in the Products thread the intention is to make most rod sets available either as private members products such as Nigel Hunt's LMS stuff, or direct via the Association if unavailable elsewhere. So no deadline yet - I'm finishing off the Castle bits and bobs - but I don't want to leave the N too long. regards Nigel (putting head in noose again!)

I can only agree with the plaudits already posted. Not a duff one there and a thoroughly enjoyable day. Good to catch up with many familiar faces and see how some of the layouts have evolved since first seeing them. I hate to pick out any favourite, but the sight of Fine Fare supermarket and "It's Frothy Man!" on a poster were some of the many details that made Hornsey Broadway very nostalgic. The attractions of everything on Burntisland are impressive in differing ways and certainly inspiration to those of us on the Lewes 1886 team. Then the bucolic charm of Kyle of Sutherland and Foxcote New Pit lead you into another area of appreciation. But as I say, not a single layout to be dismissed.

Those who came to the Epsom club show may have seen the club stand with evidence of some progress on the project. Andy's wagons were on display along with Tony's revised baseboards and Dave's templot print showing how fiendish some areas will be. The loco Epsom has also made progress I still have to create the distinctive Stroudly roof profile, so we just have a flat base at present. I bought a dome from N-Brass that will need a little fettling to match the drawing, but easier than starting from scratch. However, with a chimney and smoke-box door turned on the lathe it is starting to look like a locomotive. There is loads of detail to add yet, but it has run very well in testing, so we should be able to run it at a scale speed and stay within the 10mph restriction of the Lewes station environs. This did seem to catch the imagination of some potential new members, so we may be adding some new faces to the team if the reception at the show is anything to go by. Although this loco won't be at the club open day this Saturday, many other bits will be on display if you fancy a closer look. Nigel

Selection of products is a very inexact process. Certainly we look to see what commercial items are out there and if there are simple ways of facilitating conversion to 2FS. So the current Farish hornblock-equipped locos are a good example. We only need to combine etched rods for each loco type with the existing generic shop products originally devised for the Jinty and you have a full conversion kit. Having said that, others have produced these etches and they are freely available, so there is no point in stocking them in the shop. One of the points of this thread was to point people in the right direction for these sorts of products. Obviously a number of members have developed products for their own use and then offer them to the Association. If they are likely to be of interest to the mebership we will stock them. Of course this does tend to bias products towards areas of personal interest, but we have sufficient spread that this shouldn't be a problem. This thread can be used to suggest or request items too. I can then see what resource and skill we need to deliver the item. As for what is in the pipeline - well, quite a bit.... There are etched replacement chassis being developed for the Farish Large Prairie GWR 51xx, Dapol Hall, 28xx. There are rod etches in development for the Duchess and Castle classes. Various L&Y wagon underframes are at test stage and the ongoing research to ensure wheel production of all types continues. After a bit of a hiaitus the milled brass chassis for the Dapol/Ixion Manor (which can also be used for the Hall and Grange) is now showing on the shop listings (3-701) along with full instructions to download. The etched Hall chassis mentioned above will give an alternative approach. Fundamentally it looks like Dapol conversions will offer bearings and whole chassis options if possible - an A3/4 chassis etch is also being developed. Like Tony's Shop 2 thread, we will try and give tasters at the appropriate stages. However, don't expect anything in a rush (usual caveats etc.). If you want to suggest something to fill a gap and we feel it worthwhile rather than a one-off, we will look into the viability of production. Best regards Nigel

Thanks Jerry A very good example of what we intend this thread to achieve. I will try to keep track of items that are available for future reference, but I take the point that in this case, it is a grab 'em while you can moment. Nigel

Hello Valentin Well we have the files, so it is fundamentally a question of arranging some to be printed. I will liaise with the supply and chain and give you an update on this ASAP. No current date can be given, but good to know that there is interest in the product. There is also the possibility of using the Branchlines item too if you need something in a hurry. It all works with 1.5mm shafts and can be cut to length, but may end up a bit long for some 2mm applications. Nigel

Just to give you a flavour of the way I hope this will work. I was asked about conversions for the Fairburn tank using the new Farish hornblock system. I was able to point the enquiry at the Small Suppliers section of the 2mm website to check out Nigel Hunt's etch for this locomotive. Using that and the products from the shop will give everything needed to convert that loco to 2FS standards. Nigel

After the success of Tony's Shop 2 thread, I thought it would be a good idea to have a new thread on the subject of 2mm products, both from the association and elsewhere. As the current Products Officer, I will use the thread to ask questions of the membership about possible Association product developments and to update you all about what we have going on behind the scenes. Also, I will stick my neck out and offer to point folk in the right direction for other products. As many products from members and small manufacturers get launched and then go quiet, newer modellers may not be aware of who does what and where certain items can be purchased. So a variation on any questions, but specifcally aimed at products for the discerning 2mm modeller. If you see a question posted and can answer it, do feel free, as I certainly don't have all the answers. I am often asked at shows where such-and-such an item comes from, and the aim is to do the same on this thread. I hope you all join in and make this a useful resource for 2mm modellers. All the best Nigel Ashton

Thanks for using Llangerisech as the thumnail for the video Richard. Typically, we had one the odd coupling gremlins visit just as you were filming - you can't trust 'em you know. Good show for us with the layout mostly behaving itself and not too many operator errors. Looking forward to tomorrow with a couple of old hands on the team so I can look round a bit. Nigel

Hello Steven, Well I, along with various others, do both converted RTR and scratch approaches. My 1930s approach is mainly scratch/kit and most items are built to true 2mm scale. On the other hand, I have 1960s and 1970s periods which are nearly completely converted RTR, but it's the same layout and no-one complains! Some N gauge stuff is closer to 1:152, others slightly chubby compared to 1:148, so even using RTR you get as much discrepancy as you do when mixing 2mm kits and RTR. Just be careful with some of the more blatent oddities, but other than that, just do what looks right. Wagons usually get away with a lot and only really coach heights show up the two approaches. Unless you have two of the same type to the different scales next to each other, folk don't see it. RTR wagons bodies can be put onto 2mm chassis kits for a better look. There is a kit for the Peco underframe (also fits some Dapol), but some of the Farish Blue riband is pretty good as it comes out the box, so just drop in wheels will be acceptable until you get the urge to replace the whole shebang. Nigel A

Well that worked - my memory of setting up the old PC must have faded to black! Anyway, communication with the system is now established, so thanks for help. Nigel

Many thanks both, I will give that a whirl when I have a bit more time tomorrow. Windows clearly saw the locobuffer when it was connected, but the driver makes sense to link with JMRI. Mind you never had to do this on the last W7 pc... Will keep you posted Nigel

Hi, I have used JMRI for a while, but recently had to change computer. So, new Windows10 machine, latest Java version freshly downloaded and a Locobuffer USB to connect to the Digitrax Zephyr DCS50. I have installed the latest JMRI 4.10 production release, but while it allows me to choose the system and the connection, it only gives serial port choices as No ports available or None Selected. As it is a drop down, I can't choose anything else! When I first connected the Locobuffer to the USB port, windows recognised it and told me it was ready to go. So as the software isn't talking to the hardware (which was working fine on the last machine), should I change to an earlier version, or is it an odd combination of Locobuffer choice and USB on this version of JMRI. It does strike me as odd that it is still referred to as a serial port in JMRI. Any ideas or suggestions? Many thanks Nigel