NIK

Hi, Our clubs exhibition is over and was very successful numbers wise being very busy on the Saturday. The four scenic boards that were up have been moved to give more access. Our next open day is on the 13th April. There was a problem noted with the routes in the goods yard at the last open day so the direction the points move and their DCC addresses have been checked. Those corrections have been made to the mimic diagram for the goods yard on a Windows tablet (see attached photo). The routes will then be tried using an NCE cab and edited and backed up using the latest production version of JMRI. Then they will be tried on the layout itself. Regards Nick (a member of Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for new members)

Hi, The scouts provided the parking team and I think they coped well with the biting wind. The refreshments are limited to sandwiches at present as the School no longer rent out the kitchen. So our club has made a portable serving counter and portable stainless steel tables to make the sarnies on. Also the refreshments have become so popular in recent years that the majority of club members and other helpers work on refreshments. Recent health hygiene regulations also make sandwich making more demanding as they have now have to be made on the day and thrown away if they are unsold after 4 hours. Luckily only one sandwich packet out of approx. 800 had to be binned during the opening hours. All the unused crusts have gone to feed pigs on a local farm. When we were planning this show three years ago the Great Model Railway Challenge hadn't been announced. The trend was towards less people visiting exhibitions. As far as we know the school we are renting now has the largest amount of on-site parking in the area. Regards Nick (a member of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for new members)

Hi, Like many shows Sunday is normally considerably quieter. Steve Flint seemed chatty yesterday, the Hornby magazine goodie bags were much in evidence. The refreshments are the same price as last year and the tombola had a least one child who won multiple prizes. The Santas Globetrotting Vacation was producing lots of bubbles from Santa's factory. Regards Nick (BNHMRS member - still looking for new members).

Hi, Kernow say they will be revealing big news at the Basingstoke Show. Most of the layouts and traders arrived last night. Hornby magazines 2,500 goodie bags have arrived. We are looking for Yorkshire Tea for Steve Flint of the Railway Modeller. Santa's Globetrotting Adventure and the Royal Albert Bridge arrived mid evening and hopefully the layout the Basingstoke Bodgers built for the Radio Times Great Model Railway Challenge publicity will be there too as will an Atmospheric Railway Diorama from the GMRC final. So that's three layouts and a diorama from the GMRC. Free visitor parking is all round the back of the school. Regards Nick Murphy (a member of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

Hi, The Basingstoke show is this weekend. All the elves have been woken up in time for Santa's Globetrotting Vacation. The Royal Albert Bridge layout is being fettled and space is being readied to receive Copenhagen Fields and many other layouts (I think its a total of nineteen). With both Hornby Magazine and the Railway Modeller attending it will be quite an event. The Heritage bus service will be running from Basingstoke Station to the exhibition. Regards Nick Murphy (a member of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members).

Hi, There's been less going on with Beggarwood recently as our club gears up for its annual exhibition next weekend Beggarwood Lane's passenger lines were designed for EMUs and DEMUs and we have many kits to assemble. For those kits not using RTR chassis I would like to fit split axle pin point pickups as they seem to work well on Bachmann BR(SR) 3rd rail MUs. Here's the latest result of trying to get the split axle at low cost (doesn't involve using a lathe)- see attached photo: The pickup is done by a .45mm hole drilled in the insulating bush (using Hornby Coach discs for ~14mm wheels) with a 0.5mm brass rod pushed into the hole. The UV adhesive is cured after the second layer of heat shrink has been shrunk on. Regards Nick (member of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society (BNHMRS) - still looking for new members).

Hi, For the five dozen OO loco types (all with sound off) I've tested so far it is extremely variable - from 0.15 Amps @12V DC to 0.88 Amps @12V DC - all post 2000 CE designs. Heljan diesels tended to be thirsty as were Hornby diesel locos to a lesser extent. Regards Nick

Hi, The OP did not say what locos he had. I've attached a spreadsheet of the thirstiest OO locos I'd measured up to 2018. Most of the locos I've tested have been less than 500ma on 12V DC. However Heljan post prototype diesel mainline locos were 500ma or higher, as was my Dapol class 73 and Hornby 31, HST(new type) and Pendolino. A lot of people have large locos and many have old locos so the chance of drawing too much current having no information about the fleet is difficult to describe as minimal. Regards Nick

Hi ColinK, I assume you don't have a DCC command station like the NCE Power Cab & Power Pro that can change the acceleration and braking of a loco during normal operation. If that was the situation an operator could undo your good work. Regards Nick

Hi Paul, To answer your question on costs it all depends if the control panel/mimic diagrams/wiring are being made by a professional for you and how much they would charge. If they are being made professionally and they charge enough money then the cost of chipping 200 locos might be less (although there needs to be a cost of a DCC command station on top). As a general point DCC hardware (even using MERG kits) is more expensive than that for and equivalent DC layout (there may be exceptions such as extra long layouts in gardens where the cost of DC cabling might swing the balance). If however part or whole of a layout is being made professionally then the balance can change as DCC layouts are easier to wire up and diagnose. As for types of equipment - perhaps avoid Hornby and Bachmann as they have an interest in tying you into their other products and don't have quite the same interest in satisfying all their customers as a firm that only sells DCC equipment. Also equipment choice depends on whether you think you would like to add computer assistance software at a later date. Some DCC systems either don't have computer interfaces or have limitations as to what features can be interfaced. If you would like to add computer assistance software at a later date best to research what software might suit and pick from hardware that works with that. Traps for the unwary - not all DCC loco decoders perform equally well - see RMWeb topics on strangely behaving decoders. DCC loco decoder current capability: buy a DC current meter and measure what your locos consume at maximum speed - that is the second parameter to look for in a DCC decoder after will it fit. Regards Nick

Hi, Work on Beggarwood Lane went a bit slower the last two weeks as time was spent getting electrical cables out of the club's loft and talking to volunteers for our own club's exhibition on the 9th and 10th March. Both Hornby magazine and the Railway Modeller magazine will have stands and Steve Flint of the Modeller will be the Judge of best layout. Copenhagen Fields will be there as will Santa's Globetrotting Holiday and various other Great Model Railway Challenge spinoff projects. To help with planning the buildings and scenery on Beggarwood Lane some photos have been taken of the baseboards (from above) and formed into a big picture of the scenic boards: Regards Nick (member of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society (BNHMRS) - still looking for new members).

Hi, I didn't explain the fault as I was just using it as an example, not to ask another question. I never mentioned a decoder. The loco had derailed and caused a partial short via the wheels and pickups. The very thin wiring between the pickups got hot very quickly and soon burnt out. Regards Nick

Hi, The Lenz like all command stations should have a fast acting internal current trip. I've found that my NCE 5 Amp system can cause quite a bit of local heating if a low resistance is created but not quite low enough to operate the 5 amp trip. The very thin wiring burnt out in a friends Hornby ex Lima diesel when I was using the 5 amp system. So if you can split your layout into a couple of power district with the District cutouts set to 2.5 amps that might be the ideal. Regards Nick

Hi, I've done some more investigating. I've measured the voltage waveform my Gaugemaster LT Rolling Road (original) gives out. It produces full wave 100hz rectified pulses of up to 21 volts, Because of the low frequency the resultant peak current will be equal to the voltage divided by the winding resistance (the frequency is too low for the motor inductance to reduce the peak current). My loco was at the maximum on the Gaugemaster's speed setting when it faltered and came to a slow crawl - when crawling it seemed smooth so it was unlikely a winding had burnt out. I haven't been able to get the appropriate flywheel off with my gear puller in order to take the motor apart. I found a web site where a failed Class 16 motor had been taken apart and the part with heat damage was around the commutator. The windings appeared intact. I then tested my failed motor at low voltages and the current drawn varied like an overheated varistor. Ring yaristors are starting to be fitted inside motors for model railway use (next to the commutator). They are fitted to reduce brush damage and EMI. It is hard to visually identify if the class 16 motor has a ring varistor since they look very similar to the old commutator to armature interface. The selection guide for ring varistors I found gave the option of selecting a ring varistor with a turn on voltage just over the 12V or 1.2 times 12 volts or 14.4 Volts. In conclusion my DC controller (there are others of similar design) may be producing too high a peak voltage for 12V DC motors. The Heljan Class 16 motor might just be fitted with a ring varistor or alternatively the motor may have gone into magnetic saturation and overheated the brushes. Regards Nick

Hi, I was speed testing my seventh Class 16 to see if it was suitable as a donor chassis when its speed started varying slightly and then came almost to a crawl , drew over an amp and smoke came out of the body. I've measured the motor resistance at the plug end of its lead (with DCC blanking plug removed) and its now down to 6.5 ohms. So the motor is probably beyond repair. The DCC blanking plug PCB is charred and the two surface mount inductors have fallen off that PCB. The one flywheel that is accessible seems to turn freely. I had not recorded whether I had run the loco in at medium power before so I may not be able ask Hattons for free help to get it fixed. I think I will inspect all my Class 16s to see if they are properly lubricated and then carefully run them in, recording which locos have been done. I may try and rig up a current monitor to my PC so I can record the current as the loco runs in. May also fit a current trip to protect the wiring and the PCBs in the loco as well as the body. The attached photo shows the main pcb and the DCC blanking plug turned upside down and the two inductors that fell off. Regards Nick

Hi, I went through a running in process on my Heljan Class 16 that had the slowest first lap speed. It was warm to the touch so left it for an hour to cool down before putting it on my test track. Its first lap speed @12V DC (no coaches attached) was more than double that before the running in process and it peaked at 76 mph. So I'm feeling slightly more relaxed about their suitability for use in Tadpoles and Hastings units. I've found instructions on the internet of how to access the gears on a Class 16 so I will try and reduce any friction caused by solid or missing lubricant. Regards Nick

Hi, They weren't as cheap as Replica chassis but I wasn't sure if I took off the surround from the Replica chassis that it would be narrow enough for a DC Kits Tadpole unit. I also hadn't tested the Replica with its three pole straight wound motors. It also has a current specification too high for the DCC Decoder range I would like to use. As it turned out the Heljan Class 16 uses a three pole motor albeit skew wound but the Zimo MX634D smoothed out its cogging. I'm also a fan of flywheels on conventionally cored motors to reduce the cogging when uncoupling buckeyes and moving off. The price of Black Beetles was up to £80 at the time when Hattons had the Class 16 in their bargains section and their motor supplier (Mashima?) was in doubt. Also I did tests on a Black Beetle and it didn't meet the 75 mph top speed of a Tadpole (see diagram). Also you get two gear towers and carden shafts per Class 16 so with the addition of a motor you get a second motor bogie and a bit of chassis block left to pivot the gear tower from. EDIT you also get a PCB with a 21pin DCC socket and many miniature connectors - a 21 pin breakout PCB is about £10 plus postage. END EDIT Regards Nick

Hi, I've just done first lap speed tests on all seven of my Heljan class 16s I bought as donor chassis parts for Tadpole and Hastings units. Most of these locos have probably not been run in. The slowest loco at ~25 scale mph was then put through a running in process and left an hour to cool. It then did its first lap at 36mph and the second at 42 mph which isn't so bad. My test track doesn't have track feeds to every bit of track so the locos top speed may be a bit higher. I will try and repair my infrared speedometer so that I can get the speed of the loco on a piece of track with a direct electrical feed. Regards Nick

Hi, This might do (not sure what happens if you want more than a metre): https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-power/cbbr0091/cable-arctic-3183yag-1-50mm-blue/dp/CBBR3013?st=silicone 3 core Regards Nick

Hi, SMP code75 bullhead with Peco Insulators (without rings) seem a bit marginal on Beggarwood Lane (topic on RMweb). We've found it difficult to get the insulators to stick to the holes in the sleepers and the cork. The insulators seem to be made of a slightly slippery plastic as do the SMP sleepers. Cork is not really an engineering material and probably isn't dense enough unless an adhesive can be found that soaks into the cork before setting. Its not just third rail pickups that can hit the third rail on Beggarwood (and SE28 before it) - it can be misplaced sand pipes as well and even bogie sideframes if they are over wide. Regards Nick

Hi, There are a lot of points on viaducts in South London, so the national total is not insignificant, but for you it may partly come down to the wealth of the original railway company who built lines in the area you are basing your model on and the geography of the area (as has been said wouldn't put a point on a prototype bridge unless there was no other way round the problem). Regards Nick

Hi, Just west of Woolhampon on the Reading Newbury section I saw 4-car EMUs sparking away on a very frosty morning (Thursday) last week as well as IEP 5 car twins sets sparking on the overhead wire. The IEPs had the pantographs up only on the extreme ends. On this section of line the metal arm that connects the insulator pot to the contact wire seems to be about three inches deep and has holes punched in it presumably to reduce wind resistance (and weight?). Regards Nick

Hi, Another vote for copper clad sleepers (epoxied to a strong and stable baseboard, not cork). For very good alignment pattern makers dowels. Then bolts or other methods to keep baseboards tightly together. Apologies to those who have seen this photo before but there are at least three baseboard joins in this photo, most are three foot wide and the layout has no leg adjusters at present so it hasn't been fettled for photographic purposes. Regards Nick

Hi, Working down the club on Beggarwood Lane is gradually ramping back up after the bulk of the Great Model Railway Challenge related stuff is over. John S. has been cleaning and painting some Skytrex factory sides to make a low relief building. Stuart is seen making a groove for more conduit to be laid (using a vacuum cleaner to remove the debris). The position of one of the combined signal/speedometer sensors is being checked (the MERG HECTOR2 infrared unit will detect the passage of the train and some other electronics probably an Arduino clone will do the timing and display). The Mk2 third rail flash prototype as sketched above is being tested on a DCC test track - its has had a loco do 849 laps at 143 scale MPH without failure. I think this is the first view of the industrial branch after its conversion to a headshunt and siding. The headshunt is on the next board. The goods shed from the last layout (SE28) has been cut down to make a low relief structure. The track will be wired/rewired up to the goods yard power district bus (it was connected to the incline/main clockwise power district before) and then covered in to make a 'tramway' area. Regards Nick (a member of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for new members).

Hi Phil, Just because the motor runs when connected to a 9 volt battery it does not necessarily mean it is fine. It might have some shorted turns so that it draws more current than the Zimo can provide. Its magnet may have gone out of spec or separated from the rest of the magnetic circuit - again resulting in a higher current. A way to check this would be to get hold of a meter than can measure up to 10 amps DC and put it between the 9V battery and the motor (no DCC decoder in circuit). Regards Nick