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Can you also 'etch' clear acrylic with the same machine? It'd be nice to etch text (reversed for the underside of the plastic), flood the text with paint (or a Sharpie marker?) and then bolt that to the front. It'd look really neat. Ian

Thanks for the tip/idea. I might use that next time I encounter sagging Kadee syndrome (or just simply mis-aligned). Ian

I played 'God' for a short time (it's a part-time job ...) and made the sun come out: Wonderful what you can do with ACDSee these days. Ian

Best I can do is my photo from the 1978 Litchurch Lane Open Day: Ian

The Overbridge Continues After a break of almost 1-month since the previous post, 'some' progress has been made with the overbridge. One element of the support woodwork was extended on the SB side in an attempt to 'flatten' the 9mm plywood. It didn't work though, and the NB side still has ~3mm gap to the Upper Level baseboard. Some 'weights' do easily close up the gap that gravity singularly fails to do. I think that a single screw will have to be installed from the underside of the baseboard to close the gap. It's probably no bad thing that there is at least one 'permanent' fastening. The openings in the support walls (opposite the platform edges) has been drilled out through the ~25mm thick plywood. That wasn't easy. Then the whole Overbridge was treated to a lick of paint, grey of course. With the Overbridge Building in place, I cut some 5mm plywood for the walls that butt up to the Overbridge Building. It was at this point that I discovered an error on my part cutting the 9mm plywood surface on the SB side. I'd correctly drawn a line for the wall, but neglected to take the wall thickness into account. Oops. So, I had to cut another bit of 5mm plywood to glue (and screw) onto the support woodwork to 'widen' the 9mm plywood. With that 'fix' done, I could glue (using Tacky glue) the two walls into place either side of the Overbridge Building. Here's a few photos to show how it looks now: NB side: SB side (a view that's only possible by reaching over the Upper Level baseboards): And, finally, the forecourt side (again, only possible by reaching over the Upper Level baseboards): Yes, it's taken me ages to get the 'woodwork' done, but I wanted to make sure it was all correct. However, things should go a little quicker now as I get to installing the textures onto the plain woodwork. That will be fun ... Ian

Martin, I've retrofitted Kadees (#18 I think) to both of my Class 08s and, yes, the Kadee does 'droop' low a little bit. The 'fix' is to insert a sliver of plastic (I use offcuts of Peco turnout packaging) between the Kadee and the bottom of the NEM pocket (to 'lift' the Kadee a tad, and eliminate the 'slop'). It aligns perfectly well after that. Ian

Oddly, the Dapol UK website (https://www.Dapol.co.uk/search?q=decoder) doesn't have an Imperium 4-function 6-pin decoder in the list! I did find a CV listing (attached) that makes reference to up to 6-functions, but I can't 'translate' the text into anything meaningful. Since many other major retailers stock the Imperium-5 6-pin 4-function decoder (Rails of Sheffield & Kernow Model Centre to name just two), why not give them a call and ask about the instructions on how to use/wire the 4-functions? Surely someone has made it work ... Ian imperium-cvlist_1-0D.pdf

If you use the RMWeb search (I used Google actually), you'd find the following posting. Seems they had the same problem, and had to return it in the end. Ian

Jason, That's also what keeps me away from painting, even though I have plenty of paints and an airbrush (or three). Hence I still use inkjet printed textures instead. Yes, I do lose the 3D effect but I can check it looks good 'before' it gets applied to the model. Ian

Mike, I'm reasonably sure it's possible to reduce the colours and use 'edge detection' to isolate the outline(s) of the bricks/stones. In theory (?), it's possible to then have a Cricut cutter (or Silhouette Cameo) to engrave those lines into styrene. However, the cutting probably wouldn't be deep enough to keep @Jason T happy. Ian

Ian, Having space under the ramp for supports is certainly a bonus. As you can see from my photos, I'm using up all the space on my lower baseboards (storage sidings) so that wasn't an option for me. Threaded rods would work, but pieces of timber are cheaper (but not 'adjustable'). If you need the adjustment, then how about short lengths of threaded rod in the top of a timber support? You are only in compression (I hope ...) and so it's easy to fit threaded rod (or bolts) into timber using cheap tee-nuts such as these from ScrewFix (other suppliers are available): Ian

Ian A little late with a reply, but here goes: My 'acme' method to achieve the same thing was a single 90-degree curved baseboard element, bolted down horizontally at each end with a 'prop' part way round the corner to stop the ill effects of gravity. The baseboard was sufficiently flimsy in 'twist' (but strong in bending) that it simply accommodated both the gradient and the change of direction (by twisting slightly). The gradient baseboard is simple 6mm plywood with ~30mm high 'cheeks' of plywood attached to the sides with short timber blocks. Here's one of my double-track 90-degree curved ramp corners: And propped up thus. There is no 'connection' between the prop and the ramp baseboard. It's literally a 'finger' holding it up: The gradient (ramps) tracks are supported off the framework that supports both 'levels' of my layout with cheap white pressed-steel angle brackets. In my case, these support brackets had to do double-duty supporting both the 'up' and 'down' ramps, as seen below: Hope this helps. Ian

I've cleaned 'stubborn' wheels with a Dremel (well, a clone anyway) fitted with a brass wire brush. I leave the wheels installed and, with the loco upside-down, I power the loco at slow speed (jump wires ...) and then let the rotating brass wire brush get to work. The wheels usually needs a quick wipe with IPA (or similar) afterwards. It'll remove all your gunk, but (obviously) can't help with any pitting. Ian

If you've not checked already I'd check that the track is 'level' and that there is no 'twist' at the derailment location. It doesn't take much of either (especially twist) to unload a wheel leading to a derailment. Ian

If you watch the "Chandwell" YouTube channel, where he makes very detailed N-gauge buildings out of cardboard, his method is to keep the knife straight, and move the paper/cardboard around under it after each small cut. You can see this in action in his YouTube "Too many mistakes? The cornice wasn't quite right - what did I do?" just after the 1-minute mark (I didn't want to link/embed his video, as it's not mine to link!). Ian

As long as it's uber-sharp, I'm sure it'd work just fine. Keep it clear of your fingers though ... Ian

Ian, I've always used OEM inks, but not their cartridges. I simply refilled the cartridges that came with the printer (actually, I had quite a few of each colour cartridge on 'rotation'). All that was needed was 'widget' to reset the cartridge (available on AliExpress ...). I my case this was my only option as my printer was bought in Taiwan, and printer manufacturers make the cartridges 'regional' (just like DVDs). I could get cartridges for the printer in Hong Kong and Malaysia, but not in the UK! All that was in the days before the printer manufacturers finally released printers with refillable 'tanks'. I now use an Epson EcoTank model printer/scanner combo. Ian

There's a reasonably comprehensive 'collection' in 'Kit Building for Railway Modellers Vol.1 - Rolling Stock' (Chapter 15) and 'Kit Building for Railway Modellers Vol.2 - Locos & Multiple Units' (Chapter 6), both by George Dent. Ian

Ian, I have some inkjet printed texture-clad buildings I made in ~2015 that are still 'colour fast', even though they've been stored on a windowsill for ~5-years (but with a white curtain in the way). After I made them I simply sprayed them with general purpose 'waterproofing spray'; the sort of stuff used to waterproof jackets, shoes, umbrellas, and the like. Cheap and effective. The ink was OEM Canon ink, although I suspect that's not relevant. Ian

Steve, There are only the 2 nameboards on the two (ex-Midland) signalboxes for which I'd be very interested in your proposed transfers; Leicester Junction (Burton) and Burton Station South. ------------------------------------ I wonder what is the 'longest' signalbox name? It's all got to fit on the provided nameboard (mine are Peco / Ratio OO models). The longest signalbox name in Burton-on-Trent was possibly 'Wellington Street Junction' (26 characters, including spaces). However, a quick Google search gave the following RMWeb posting with names over 40 characters long!: ------------------------------------- Ian

Phil, If you 'seal' the paint (gloss clearcoat) before you apply the transfers (and then spray them matt clear afterwards) you 'should' be able to remove the transfers without affecting the underlying paint. This 'trick' seems to be what most modellers use for affixing transfers to locomotives to enable them to remove all their weathering and transfers without affecting the original paint. Ian

The Overbridge The Overbridge plywood is back from its 'attention' in the garage. The plan shape has been cut back considerably and risers have been installed on the underside to give the 'correct' height. In addition, a small 6½mm thick block of wood has been added to the far rear corner (well, it's the far rear corner when it's installed on the layout) that acts as a 'bump stop' against the baseboard support framework upstands. The Overbridge plywood also 'bumps' up against another baseboard support framework upstand, but with a zero thickness packer (aka, none was needed). It's these two 'bump stops' that help it be located correctly on the layout. This is the top view: And here is the underside view, with the image 'flipped' so that it is easier to correlate the top and bottom images: Not the most 'inspiring' of photos I know, and will probably cause many seasoned woodworkers to shudder violently. There will be some additional 'support' to the Overbridge plywood directly off the platform, but that'll have to wait until the underside of the plywood is 'fitted out' to represent the curved arches so I can get the location(s) right. The other 'problem' I have is the openings in the 'risers'. The ones in the 24mm thick plywood are 'easy' as they are at right angles to the wood. The other openings for the bridge arches need to run vertically down the photos, at an acute angle through the 9mm plywood 'wings' at the side. Any ideas / tips on how to achieve this gratefully received. Ian

Phil, Do let us know if you figure this one out. I'm in the same position with 2 signalboxes painted and assembled, but still missing their nameboards for the same reason. Maybe we'll all end up ordering 'custom' transfers from Railtec transfers. Or, we could place a 'combined' custom order? Ian

The Overbridge The plywood for the Overbridge has now been 'marked up', and is being dispatched for 'attention' in the garage: This'll involve cutting along the marked lines (which always seems harder that it should be) and attaching some 'risers' to the underside to support the plywood. I'll be following my usual 'baseboard method' of simply screwing on the risers (length of plywood) at right-angles. Some of these 'risers' will also form the basis of the walls of the overbridge. It'll all probably get a coat of grey primer (top and bottom) in due course. Ian

Peter, Oh boy, does that bring back memories ... My parents took me to Toton depot Open Day, and my Ian Allan LocoShed was duly underlined for D411. I had no idea at the time what this meant, but all my trainspotting friends accused me of 'cheating' as there was no way I could have seen a Class 50 just spotting at Burton-on-Trent. Ian