Vecchio

Nice. I like good old Austrian stock. Now you need just the push pull version (1142) and some Wiesel coaches.

Which version of the draisine do you have? I think there were DCC ready, DCC and DCC sound. I purchased DCC ready (cheapest) and put a Zimo sound decoder in it. It was necessary to cut a bit off the circuit board as the sound decoder is longer than the standard version. Also - as I purchased the DCC ready version there were no contact points for speakers and stay alive. It was a right pain to solder some enamelled wire to the Next 18 socket... But I am happy with the result. Runs like a bigger loco.

You are getting a bit annoying with your announcements. Another one I had to pre- order. Hopefully you will cure the wobble which most of the Hattons ones (including mine) had. Now please, give my wallet a bit of breathing time... Looking forward to this model.

Pre-ordered the WCRC buffet one. Couldn't resist...

Great photos! I really enjoyed that.

Jut got mine, the problem I see is the length. There is obviously no proper standard for coupling length (or NEM pocket position...). Accurascale went for the safe way, if a coupling is too long it is only a visible problem, if it's too short it means derailment. I replaced the couplings on my Hornby class 156, but between the units I left the original ones, as with the Deller's they are good 5mm apart. I use the Dellner's only at the end of the units.

I grabbed my little visitors in both locations - In Italy they went probably in when the door was open - as I had it open most of the time when working on my models. (was a bit warmer there then here). Now in the UK I have actually a new garage door - but in both bottom corners there is a tiny gap - and it was probably big enough for a pair of them to settle in my garage.... (Filled both gaps, so far no problem...)

Just to give mental support: You are not alone. Had them in my Italian show layout in 2006 (stored in a garage) and recently (2019) at Donnersbachkogel. 20191031_084522 20191031_084532 And even the animal brigade didn't help... 20191031_084611

Its not only the paper, also the ink which may fade. Is there any UV light (sunlight) in the shed where you store it? I have put blinds on all shed windows - not for privacy but for less fading layout colours. Regards Vecchio

Have you tried looking at square point rodding (Wizardmodels). The square wire for 7mm point rodding has exactly 0.49mm2. I hope this helps.

Hi Lez, the bridge on the Crinan layout is based on the banavie bridge, but you may notice it has 10 or 11 fields, while the original bridge has 17. Also it is set in a different location. There will be for sure more people doing the same or a similar bridge, as it is a very popular object. In any case there will be a small break in my reporting now as I have to go to my mum's funeral in Vienna.

Now it is time to marry the turntable with the bridge. Following the original there are 4 beams supporting the bridge in the centre. They are not 100% straight, but this view will not exist after the tracks are on. from the side all looks perfect. IMG20230123173355 side view IMG20230123174300 and from below IMG20230123173333 Enough for today.

Well I tried to answer as good as possible - there was one I had problems with. Where do you buy - I use all 3 channels - so the choice shouldn't say 'mostly on the internet'. I will for sure also scan the second hand stuff on shows, and sometimes grab some new stuff from a Highstreet retailer. Nice survey - what will you do with the outcome?

Lez, I know 5 rpm is too fast, but what I am planning is a kind of belt/ thread drive which will also incorporate the function of a slip brake. This will bring it down by factor 4 or 5 depending on the diameter ratio I will use. This is still too fast for the real thing. I never saw the Banavie swing bridge working, but I measured the time of the movement of the swing bridge (road) in Fort Augustus. It was close to 3 minutes. If I do that on a show layout people will turn away because they think it is not moving *).... With 1 rpm the 90 degree movement will be 15 seconds, I think this is a time I have in mind. Not to forget that I can also reduce the voltage the motor gets. This gives further control over the speed. *) By the way - I have a moving water crane and moving loco shed doors on Donnersbachkogel - the majority of people doesn't see it...

See if you can get an unimat 3 (they were made in a creamy white colour). Much more precise than a unimat SL as the 3 has a cast and milled (adjustable) bed while the SL has just 2 bars. Once worn you cannot re-adjust them. Or go for a small Chinese machine. May be not as small but very good and precise these days. I had an Emco compact 5 for more than 40 years and just recently changed to a slightly bigger Chester DB8. The latter is a Chinese built machine but I have to say much more precise than the old Austrian Emco. Sometimes, when bored by the model railway, I make one or the other model steam engine. If it comes to metalwork you need to look in my thread Home made catenary. This is some old stuff from my Italian-Austrian border layout, but I did the same for my current show layout "Donnersbachkogel"

Amazon was nice to me and brought me a "GRAR BOX motor". It runs very silent, on 12V it makes 5rpm. The thing is unstoppable - no idea what the torque is. I will need to further reduce the rpm and I definitely need a slip clutch so that the motor doesn't destroy the bride when on the end of its way. (I know, there will be a microswitch, but a mechanical safety device is always advisable...) IMG20230122170547

The weekend is ending and I am in my workshop again. Just the hub has to be re-made. Well, I made one, this time the holes were not off-centre, but the diameter was too small. See below hub no 1 and hub no 2... IMG20230122145510 On we go with hub no3, now 1.5mm larger in diameter... Hub no 3, now at the next stage, the arms are soft soldered in place. IMG20230122144541 Now you will see what I planned with the 009 wheels. IMG20230122170011 IMG20230122170047 The top part will marry with the bridge, the bottom part will be connected to the foundations. IMG20230122170128 On this photo you can see (not very well, but you can) the wheels of the original DSC_0167 A long way to go, but I am happy with the progress so far.

Now I am making the turntable, which is the "bearing" of the bridge. Material purchased, first I have to cut some handsome discs off. IMG20230120130043 Then I turn a boss on one side, which allows me to hold the workpiece when working on the other side. IMG20230120135012 After that the "rail" of my turntable gets turned. IMG20230120173911 Many parts have been made, some of them were rather at the small side for an 8 inch machine... IMG20230120210754 But unfortunately I made a mistake - the holes I drilled into the hub were quite a bit off-center. Means back in the workshop and another hub to make. IMG20230120185301 Assembly only after the weekend. Need to go out and spend some time with my lovely wife who accepts living with a maniac who is producing lots of aluminium swarf... IMG20230120174329

Thanks Lez. The lead in the pockets is not enough. But I can add more below the bridge, between the longitudinal girders (not yet fixed to the model). At this point the lead will also be invisible. And yes, I would like to see it turning. For the bearing I use a turntable as it is normally in use at cranes. You have a number of wheels running between 2 plates. The original shows eight wheels as far as I can see from my photos. So I try the same. If it doesn't work with the 009 wheels I use small ball bearings instead. Drawing I made just during the last hour, now I need to find a suitable piece of aluminium. I will pay MK metals a visit tomorrow. bridge turntable.pdf

Some stuff was from the kit, but I also purchased a rivet sheet from slaters. So what is on top is from the bridge kit, what is on the sides is from Slaters. In any case the most important thing is a good eyesight - everything pretty small... Next challenge is the turntable. The original runs on 8 flanged wheels, I have some 009 wheels spare - so we will see....

Today was a rather quiet day so I could put some effort into my bridge. Finally it starts looking like a bridge... Assembly of the two halves IMG20230119122922 Now both halves connected. IMG20230119162549 And everything looks better wit a bit of primer. I am far from being ready, but the next design elements will cover up some areas so I decided to paint it now. IMG20230119172147 IMG20230119172214 IMG20230119172234 As it is a swing bridge we need a counterweight. So I left the ends (where I suppose also the original has the counterweight sitting) open. What is heavy? Lead. Probably not a sexy material these days but I was working with this material for years as I had to test dimensions (cable industry), and surprise, I am still there without a lead poisoning. What is poisonous is the oxide, not the metal itself. And of course hand washing is a good idea... IMG20230119173547 And into its pockets. IMG20230119173612

Slow progress, but finally both new sides are ready. I hope I can put them together tomorrow. Only excuse for slow progress I have is that I am one stone lighter now - well one kidney stone (surgery last week)... IMG20230118195721

I could show them for you - but you have disabled sharing on flickr. On the dark line on the bottom of your flickr photo click on the arrow to the right (second symbol from right hand of screen) - the chose BB-code. Copy the text string shown in the box and paste it into your RMWEB thread. When you send your reply the photo will show where the string of letters was. Hope this helps. Nice photo by theway.

Quite a lot of guesswork in this thread. I suppose we have to wait until the system is available to make proper comments or even decisions. What I hope for is that Hornby's initiative will bring market prices down... Happy modelling!