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Vecchio

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Posts posted by Vecchio

  1. Using the Z21 on Donnersbachkogel and having been at a number of shows I was brave enough last time to leave the heavy Lenz backup system at home. And thanks god, no issues happened. More annoying were some colleagues having their phones in their pockets and press random buttons by doing so. We had 2 trains starting to move out of the fiddle yard because of that.

     

    The Waterman problems (minimum those he had at Milton Keynes last year) were rather booster related than wifi related. On top of that they had a lot of stock from traders, some of them had axles in the wrong way round (probably happened after weathering) which led to some short circuits. 

     

    As you can read between the lines I am a fan of Z21 (also z21), I will go with my second layout, Frimingham, for the first time on show on the 8th of June. And of course a z21 will also be used there. 

     

  2. On 11/05/2024 at 06:53, Johann Marsbar said:

    ..and finally a rather OTT paint job on an Austrian aircraft.......

     

    It is interesting that the Austrian Pilatus Porter has the Austrian roundel which identifies it as a plane of the Austrian air force.  Would like to know what they are using that for... probably paratrooper training...

  3. On 14/04/2024 at 07:02, Johann Marsbar said:

    The rest of that day and the following morning were spent in Vienna

    Considering the short time you have been there you have seen (and photographed) a lot of different locomotive types and trams. Having lived and worked in Vienna for 40 years my selection of photos is probably smaller than yours. Problem is if you live there the trains are nothing special, so if it is not something new or very old you do not take notice of it. 

    • Interesting/Thought-provoking 1
  4. I wonder you didn't see the BBO class 16 (ex KKstb class 310) in Strasshof. Some people (in this forum) say it is the ugliest loco ever built, I consider it as elegant. Probably it was running somewhere as a special service. 

     

    Strasshof, 17th June 2018, the loco gets prepared for fathers day and is already in steam. 

     

    42008495724_00d0b0cc69_z.jpg20180609_164828 

     

     

     

     

    • Like 10
  5. will be approximately 10-12kg, depending on the ply you are using. The handles are a good idea, I rather put them close to the ends (as you need two people for that anyway) but put a third one at the centre of gravity (normally the middle, but if you have heavy stuff at one side it may change) so you can also lift it on your own if needed. . 

     

    Found a photo of my green fiddle yard. Those are sandwiched (scenic side against scenic side), and have a weight of 18kg (I used 6mm ply) for 2 boards in their frame. 

    You see the handles on the side of the 2 top packages. Worked a treat yesterday at Royston. 

     

    53653101039_e3742100aa_z.jpgIMG20240414113219 

    • Like 3
    • Interesting/Thought-provoking 1
  6.  Log cabin experience: I have mine now for 10 years, it needs of course painting every other year. It is Billy-oh Devon with 44mm walls, double glazing, roof and floor in 19mm wood. It stands on a concrete base. The roof is insulated with 75mm PIR board. I am rather happy with it, the only thing that happened was that after a few years the roof started sagging. I corrected this with two roof trusses, since than no trouble. Invest in proper roof tiles (bitumen tiles, everything else is too heavy. I used Katepal roofing shingles). After 10 years mine looks still good. 

     

    Shed from its creation onwards: 

    53647527739_96d1440a89_z.jpgDSC00777 

     

    53647404088_751a194ba7_z.jpgUntitled 

     

    53647404098_decd71f4a7_z.jpg20141205_085000 

     

    And today. You can see my layout is packed up, going to Royston tomorrow.

    53647417433_d511d47e5b_z.jpgIMG20240411175938 

     

    Temperature: the roof insulation is a must. 

    What would I have done differently if I would have know before: The floor out of 19mm boards is rubbish. Hard to clean because of the gaps between boards, and also the nails are coming out. I would go for a damp proof particle floor board, 22mm,  and some durable lino. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
    • Informative/Useful 1
  7. Looking forward to this show, not only because I am a member of the Milton Keynes Model Railway society, but also as it will be the first time we show Frimingham , an end to end 0 scale layout, to the public. 

     

    53293571232_9fd57419a2_z.jpgIMG20231029123022 

     

    We have turntable style fiddle yards on both ends, so we can quickly change from one train to another or just turn one around... 

     

    53259800266_c6e960c0a4_z.jpgIMG20231013172742 

     

    Hope to see some of our forum writers there! 

    • Like 4
  8. 19 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

    In view of the apparent damage being caused by social media perhaps they shouldn't install cables.

    Remember life before the internet and mobile phones?

    In most of the continental tunnels of Switzerland, Germany and Austria you have leaky feeder cables since more than 20 years. I agree that social media is not a must in the car, especially not for the driver (google maps excluded) but I feel pretty safe if I listen to the radio and the tunnel control centre can tell you over the radio channel if there are any incidents you should know about. 

    • Like 3
  9. Thanks Stefan,

     

    I know perfectly were they are as I worked in the 12th district for 14 years... (Oswaldgasse 33, once a cable factory, now housing). Problem is the number of relatives in Vienna is almost down to zero, means the chances to get there are low. I suppose it was also the personal judgement of the customs officer. I sent another decoder back a few years ago (after Brexit) and there was no problem. Will try again, but after the next show. This time the 4010 Transalpin will run without sound. At a show you cannot hear it anyway. 

     

    Actually I am in Spain end of this month - may be I put the envelope into my suitcase and post it from there...

  10. Zimo return: Went well wrong, got the envelope back after more than 6 weeks - "insufficient documents for customs clearance". My Austrian friends were a bit over-bureaucratic.

    They were probably not happy with the value - a damaged decoder has in my opinion a value of zero. 

    Anyway. something for later as I am on show on the 13th April in Royston. 

     

    Quick check of my scenic fiddle yard

    53625898681_e79f55c89d_z.jpgVID20240401134601 

     

    53625897761_b13647fe41_z.jpgIMG20240401134727 

     

    Now it is time to pack everything up. 

    • Like 7
    • Friendly/supportive 3
  11. Well they are ok on a branch line, as long as you have the picture of a power station on your background. There were trains from Poland and from the Czech republic delivering coal to the power plant in the video, I suppose it was twice a week.  I got myself the PKP (Polish) Vectron with 13 Fals hoppers to simulate such a train on my layout. As far as I know the plant stopped working a couple of years ago for environmental reasons.

     

    Roco had for some time hoppers in their program (Falns) which were actually working, means the flaps opened when they went over a special ramp (also from Roco) 

    • Like 1
    • Agree 1
  12. Mainly block trains. Main load was coal for power stations. They have a drive through unloading system. I attach a video of a Czech coal train going through Austria (with their own locomotive, which is a multisystem Siemens Vectron, 8800 hp). The train load is 2000t of coal for a power station near the city of Graz, in the south of Austria. The train crosses the Semmering pass, where it needed banking and a double header to get over the rather steep pass.  

    The banking and double header engines are Siemens Taurus, in the video at about 8 minutes from the start. Those locos have a similar power, 8700 hp each. 

    After crossing the pass the train runs with one engine to the power station and unloads the coal. See at 36 minutes from the start. 

     

    I think the whole video is worth a look, as the train drives over the Semmering pass, first Alpine crossing ever built, finished 1854, 14 tunnels and 16 viaducts. 

     

    Enjoy!

     

    P.S.: My parents had a house close to the Semmering line, I was there every weekend and during the school holidays. This was probably the start of being a railway fanatic...

    • Informative/Useful 2
  13. Another voice for z21. Works great, easy to understand, no more numbers to remember if you use a smart phone or tablet as a controller. 3A output, so you can have several locos running at the same time.  Point control (if you want to use it) works very well, also here no numbers, but a graphic representation of your layout on phone or tablet. rout programming, and the route is actually visible. If you want feedback and computer control go for the black one (Z21), if not the white one (z21) saves you a lot of money and does all I said before.  Use it in the club (Frimingham) and also at home (Donnersbachkogel).

  14. 18 hours ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

    Boy or Girl.....well done let us be the first to congratulate.....:)

     

    well - the next plus one generation of railway modelers arrived a few weeks before my Mark 2b coaches. And they were a bit early as it frequently happens with twins... boys by the way.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    toby & elliot.jpg

    • Like 6
    • Round of applause 4
    • Friendly/supportive 8
  15. For me Z21 is the best system currently on the market. We using it since several years on our 0-gauge club layout, and this week I introduce it also for the 00 club layout. Who wants can still use a wired controller, even with a knob (Roco multimouse or Lenz LH100), with all the disadvantages of the old (NCE) system. And who wants can use their own smart phone or tablet. We will have a club database, so everybody can add his locos at home and then we copy them together onto the club database. Works a treat.

  16. 38 minutes ago, KingEdwardII said:

    Switches built into point motors like the MTB MP1s don't have this problem. They are constructed to work in tandem with the motion of the motor and enable the frog polarity to match the position of the turnout tie bar. I have no problems with my 30+ MP1s.

     

    Yours, Mike.

    Just for your information - I use RC servos, an I used micro switches actuated by the servo arm. 

    • Informative/Useful 1
  17. Well the chipping of my blue and white express train didn't go too well, even I found a nice space for the speaker and the stay alive. Dyslexic people should always check their work before they switch on... I have soldered the first 4 wires correct to the 8-pin plug, but the second 4 in mirror image... Understandable that the decoder didn't like it. Will see what the Austrians say. 

     

    On its way after filling in a customs declaration...😑

    53505936826_6c3d45191f_w.jpgIMG20240203104035 

    • Like 2
    • Friendly/supportive 3
  18. 53496480438_793e6a1b41_b.jpgIMG20240129202628

     

    Together it is, and now some people will ask themselves "what on earth did he do?" Well, I ballasted the fiddle yard, there will also be some greenery.

    Why should a fiddle yard always look like track wacked to a board?  I have seen a few 'green' fiddle yards, and they look better. Gives also the operators something to look at. 

     

    53496330081_b0a2c9676b_b.jpgIMG20240129202635 

     

    Now I can run much longer trains than before, also I can use all of my models, before it was restricted because of the radius. For instance the 4010 (the white express train for those not familiar with Austrian trains of the last century) I couldn't use.  

     

    Point control is done via DCC and servos. The Z21 makes it easy by allowing routes. One click, all points set. 

    53496629894_a5af89a680_b.jpgIMG20240129202824 

     

    There is a little video showing one round on the layout.

    53495448887_630b5def5d_b.jpgVID20240129202428 

    • Like 12
  19. Some more work on the layout. I found out that for some reason the old and the new part are different in height. 2.2cm. Means all legs out, insert nuts for adjustable legs out, cut them, all back in... on we go, leg after leg...

    53494025840_a6e825685b_z.jpgIMG20240121105947 

     

    The overhead line gets tested on the new bit.

    53492720587_d7e8107cbe_z.jpgIMG20240128121611 

     

    Now everything is closed again, the landscape still needs a little bit of plaster and paint to get back to normal. 

    53492750537_426e9a62db_z.jpgIMG20240128192138 

     

    View from the fiddle yard side. 

    53492750542_9667a2dc64_z.jpgIMG20240128192123 

     

    Also a few electric connections needed to be made, to get power and DCC signal to the fiddle yard.

    53492720527_b7bc5a559b_z.jpgIMG20240128175630 

     

    Hope I can get it all together tomorrow. 

    • Like 7
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