AyJay

Thank you all for your replies. As we all appreciate, a model railway is a compromise at all sorts of levels; compressed space, stretched time, suspension of reality and so on. This project is already well into its construction and some things are impractical to change now. If you care to look in May edition of BRM, there are photos of it in the readers page. Taking what has been said, combined with what I picked up from that website 'The Signal Box', this is my plan: Keep as is. 2nd signal box, cos it's already built and the point rodding is in place. Also recommended. Double slip 6a/5a due to rising costs and ballasting is almost finished. Ditto Junction signal S2-S4. Signals S7-S9 don't need changing. Move. S6 to end of platform so that it is clear of point 11a. S11, if possible (entire right module is a viaduct and there may not be the room to place in middle). Remove. S10, mainline protection of point 21a will be provided by S9. Change. S5 will change from DISTANT to HOME. Add. S1 is behind a road bridge, so it needs a high-level repeater. S5b to protect entrance to mainline from goods yard via point 9a/9b. S10b to protect entrance to mainline from goods yard via point 5b. S10c to protect entrance to mainline from engine yard via point 21a. A DRAW-AHEAD signal to be added to S6. S7/S8 are behind a road bridge, so a high-level repeater of the STOP S8 is required. Planned, but not marked on diagram. There will be reversed ground signals at points: 11a/11b. 9a. 6b and as required on engine yard. I think that covers it all, have I missed anything?

Hello Andy, Thank you for that, I'm pleased to see that you were able to see my plan. That seems to settle the matter of S5. S9 and S10 are both under the control of the signal box opposite the engine yard. The other signal box, by S6, is the start of the next block which disappears off the end.

Hello, I have not posted in a long time. I have a question about semaphore signals and I have looked on a couple of websites describing their use, but they don't answer the query that I have, so I'm hoping that there's someone knowledgeable about the use of semaphore signals who can help me please. My layout is BR steam, OO gauge and I am using upper quaTrackplan_V10point8_a3.pdfdrant semaphore signals that I'm making from MSE (Wizard) parts. A pdf of my trackplan is attached, so I'm hoping that it is visible once I post. All of the signals are numbered with the letter 'S' as a prefix and in bold black type (to distinguish them from the point numbering). They number 1 to 6 from right to left on the UP mainline (clockwise). Also 7 to 11 from left to right on the DOWN mainline (anti-clockwise). I have left out the ground signals for now. I took my trackplan with me to the recent London exhibition and spoke with one of the skills demonstrators from The Model Railway Club about signals, he said that he was a retired signalling engineer and he marked my plan for me. However, as I place the signals on the layout, something does not look right? 1. On the UP line, S5 is a DISTANT and S6 is a STARTER. But shouldn't S5 also have a STOP to guard the point after it, that is the exit from the goods yard? 2a. On the DOWN line, S9 is a STARTER and S10 is a STOP, to guard the point after it that is the exit from the engine yard. But then shouldn't S9 also have a DISTANT? 2b. The distance between S9 and S10 is very small, it is less than the length of a six carriage train, such that when the engine is stopped at S10, S9 is positioned midway down the 5th carriage. So should I just dispense with S10 and use S9 to also protect the exit from the engine yard? 3. Although not marked on this plan, another signal was also marked for the exit from the goods yard, and positioned close to S5. But it is not clear from the pencil scrawl if this is just a STARTER, or does it also have a DISTANT? 4. There was no STARTER marked for the exit from the engine yard. Should there be one? 5. S11 was marked as a STOP, but shouldn't it be a DISTANT? For the purpose of this layout, all of the points for the fiddleyard are considered 'off stage'. It would be much appreciated if someone can clear up these queries for me, as i said, the websites that I looked at were no help. Thank you

This is a pre-2004 version (think I bought it new in 2003), five pole motor, sprung buffers, pick-ups on the tender etc. The smoothest, best controlled slow speed runner I have ever seen. Unfortunately, this lump of metal fills the space from just behind the chimney, leaving only a tiny space in front of the motor. With the screw removed, I can see nothing holding this metal in place and it flaps about as if it's loose, but, it just won't slide out!!! I have tried prise-ing it with a screwdriver, holding it at every angle and shaking it --- just won't budge. There are no other fixings that I can see.

Yes, reasonable comment. However, the pack of decoders that i purchased comes with the 'stay alive' components, so I want to use them. Besides, the space for the chip is small, I'm having to cram it alongside the weight anyway, so I'd just like to make a bit more space to play with.

Hello all, I have just done a search on this forum for an answer to my problem and found something which brushes against the issue, but does not answer it; so here goes..... On the table before me is the earlier (non DCC) version of the Hornby Clan Line; I took the top off to see if there is room for a DCC chip and 'stay alive' capacitor. Unfortunately, there is a whopping great lump of iron in the ideal space, located just behind the smokebox inside the top and secured in place by a small screw accessible under the top. I want to cut a couple of cm's off the back end of this weight, but with the screw removed, the weight just rattles about and stubbornly refuses to come out of it's hole. Cannot get a grip on it with plyers and wriggling it with a jewellers screwdriver does no good either. I'm rapidly thinking that my only option is to buy a Dremel and grind it in-situ, but that sounds a bit extreme. Any ideas, anyone? Please!!! Alan

Well I'm visiting my 'local' model shop tomorrow and have a shopping list for all sorts of bits. At the moment, I have a river bed of sand on a brown base and intend to purchase the Woodland Scenics muddy 'water' for pouring over it. Looking at videos of this, I see that the river banks are all landscaped before pouring. Any suggestions for reeds and long grass? Plus things like ducks, swans, fishermen, boats, old prams, etc? As I drive home past my bit of the Thames as it meanders through Oxfordshire, I note that the colour is more a deep green and not a brown at all. This is the sort of colour, surface that I would like, so should I add any other colours before/during my pour? As a side issue, last night I fitted in place the viaduct that I made. It carries the track over said river and is made out of plasticard sheeting, covered in Slaters embossed sheets and painted in acrylic paints. I think that I did a good job of it. (there will be photographs presently) I have read separately that acrylic paint is easily damaged and I see that Humbrol produces a varnish for acrylics. Has anyone with experience here any words of wisdom for brushing varnish onto acrylic paints?

In the Spring edition of the BRM TV dvd, the subject of water was covered. Essentially, it was this new product laid thinly over an area painted dark in the middle. My thought was that this would not give any impression of depth. Looking at the river, I cannot see very far into its depths, so I guess I only need a layer few mm's thick. No, I am not planning to completely fill the 2cm channel, this can be a reed-filled bank. Good point about varnish shrinking though; how severe is it?

Another point that nobody has mentioned, so apologies if this is obvious..... Coal would be graded at the colliery before loading onto waggons, so you will have various grades (sizes) of coal lumps being carried, but not in one waggon, so don't mix the big lumps with the fine grains.

I have looked at a few youtube clips on creating a river/water, and these new 'artificial water' products are being pushed heavily. But not much said about using varnish. For the river that I want to lay, I already have a 2cm deep channel with a bed of sand scattered & glued onto a brown painted base. I have a tin of clear yacht varnish ready for use and am planning to build up a river with as many applications as necessary to give me some depth, with streaks of green or brown paint added. The river is to be slow moving i.e. no 'white-water'. Would my plan give a reasonably convincing river, or should I just forget about varnish and go for the more expensive alternative?

Hello, I have just skimmed through one thread on painting brick walls/buildings and see that there are several techniques. So I'm not about to ask how to paint. This is probably a question about what effect should I be aiming for.... To explain. I have just constructed a viaduct for my OO gauge railway, it is faced with Slaters red-coloured brick embossed sheets and at almost 1m in length, I am not going to attempt picking out individual bricks (life is just too short and it would probably drive me completely potty). Under one of the arches will be a river. When I have finished this, I will also need to build a single brick-arch bridge to go over the river elsewhere, so will want to use the same technique. I could leave the colour as it is, but the red looks too smooth. So should I consider completely painting over it all as if it was unpainted, or give it a 'wash over' to just tone down the red colour that the sheets come in? And if I do wash, any suggestion which colour to use which keeps it as 'red-brick'? Next comes the mortar colour. There are no real viaducts near me to look at, although I do drive under a railway bridge on my daily commute (so I cannot stop to give it a good look) I'm guessing that the mortar should be a dark/grubby colour? Then I need to consider how do I break down the even-ness of the colour and introduce variation, without picking out individual bricks? Lastly, what colour should under the arches be? I'm thinking that the one over the river should have a 'wet green & slimy' effect? I have a box full of assorted Humbrol / Warhammer paints at my disposal and don't mind buying any needed colours. Any suggestions please. Thanks

I've done it! The sticking point was the presence of the pipes just behind the rear driving wheel, one end secured to the chassis. The other end attached to the top cover, alongside the firebox, not to the underside of the cab. Placing the locomotive right way up on its wheels and taking a thin, blunt probe (I used a thin drill bit inserted the wrong way round in a pin vice), I inserted the end down into the holes in the running board on the top cover alongside the firebox. Then I gave the probe a sharp tap to dislodge the upper end of the pipes. If I had tried grabbing underneath with plyers, I would probably have broken the pipes. The tow as then free to be lifted. Replacement was simply carried out with tweezers. Seemples Tch!

Yes thank you for that. The exploded diagram does suggest that there is no other fixing, And I agree, then can be tight and just require 'coaxing'. I omitted to say that this locomotive is the 2-6-0 version. That just leaves the small problem of how do I remove the pipework under the cab?

Can anyone help me please. Now I know that this subject has been discussed on this forum, I found it a couple of days ago. But do you think I can find it again, No! Anyway... I'm trying to take the top off a black Bachmann 4MT, running number 76114, that I acquired a year or so ago as a 'Thank you' for renewing my BRM subscription. I’m trying to do this so that I can fit a DCC chip inside, although this posting is not really about DCC, just how do I get the top off? Turning the loco upside down, I have removed a small screw at the front obscured by the pony wheels. There’s another screw at the back, obscured by a piece of what I take to be the brake mechanism; I had to ease this part out to remove the screw. The chassis is now free to drop at the front end and will move a few mm’s at the back end. It just feels tight or pulling against something that I cannot see. On the other discussion (the one I cannot find) there was mention about other hidden screws, well I have looked, but cannot find any. The screw between the rear driving wheels has also been removed, but made no difference. What is concerning me, however, is the presence of the pipework on the right side of the locomotive, just behind the right rear driving wheel and below the cab (that’s right when facing forwards). The bottom end of the pipeword is securely fixed to a bracket that is part of the chassis moulding. The top end is fixed to the underside of the top cover. So this pipework has to be detached at one end. I have tried wriggling the bottom end and there is some play, I think that it’s just a push fit. But it won’t come out. The top end has no movement at all. I’m worried that I will break it if I use any more force. So, how can I detach this pipework and is this enough to free the back of the chassis, or is there something else? Thanks for any assistance.

I'm planning to have an 'Outdoor room' constructed in my garden this year, think I'll check with the manufacturers to ask about it's resistance to attack. May also ask about having a floor anchor so that I have something to secure a filing cabinet /bicycles to.