NIK

Hi, Measurements have started to be taken for where the working cinema can fit. There is already a 3D model of most of the scenic baseboards so a 3D sketch of an idea has been added for a cinema based on a conversion from a small theatre. By making the structure the equivalent of three storeys high it blocks more of the hole through the backscene. Above the cinema is a space that could be used as a dance studio or similar (the old theatre rehearsal space and the theatre flies where the curtains and hoistable scenery was controlled/hidden). Parts of the station and elevated signal box (probably based on Battersea Park signal box after the addition of the power panel) should further obscure the hole in the backscene. Work is being done on the added Industrial sidings and rail served warehouse. Now that there are sidings and a point rather than just a truncated single track branch it will have its electric connections wired to the goods yard power district rather than the clockwise mainline. With sidings to shunt where derailments could cause shorts and a point requiring switching to avoid shorting it would be unwise to have it connected to a mainline. Small infrared laser rangefinder chips will be trialled on these sidings as the sidings are not visible from the goods yards operators position (they are behind the mainline embankment). It is intended to interface the rangefinders to CBUS so their view of the sidings can be represented a bit like a car reversing sensor but using a graphical display instead of beeps. Regards Nick (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for new members).

Hi, Loco current consumption is not necessarily related to loco weight. OO diesel and electric RTR loco weights have been going up in recent designs but the current consumption to weight ratio seems to be coming down (I haven't measured the weight and current consumption of every RTR diesel and electric). Regards Nick

Hi, If you have the money and the time you could buy a DC 3 Amp Analogue meter (mechanical type) such as CPC sell https://cpc.farnell.com/multicomp/sd-38-0-3a/meter-moving-coil-3a/dp/PM11428?mckv=I0JyMwHw_dc|pcrid|75179126737857|kword||match||plid||slid||pid|PM11428|&CMP=KNC-MUK-CPC-SHOPPING-M-440-Shopping-Electrical+and+Lighting-Industrial+Automation+%26+Control+Gear&msclkid=3b20a8086f1a12478d64f405253fe0f6&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=M-440-Shopping-Electrical%20and%20Lighting&utm_term=4578778739727432&utm_content=Industrial%20Automation%20%26%20Control%20Gear Mount in a box (could be a used takeaway box or a blank electrical pattress box if the meter will fit) with a terminal block on the outside to wire in series with one output wire from your DC controller. Make sure the DC controller is switched to the appropriate direction before turning up the knob or the meter may hit the reverse stop. If your DC controller can put out more than 3 amps then you would have to buy a higher current meter. I use a current meter to measure each of my locos RTR or kit built before looking to see what DCC decoders might be suitable. A suitable DCC decoder check list might be: 1) will it fit?. 2) has it got enough current for the motor and lights etc?. 3) has it got the features I want (motor control, consisting,lighting effects, smoke generator control etc.)? 4) has it got good documentation? 5) has it got a good reputation for reliability? 6) can I afford it?. 7) does it have features I might use in the future (Railcom for example)?. Regards Nick

Hi, I think most DCC decoders supply fast pulses of approximately DCC voltage - 1.2 volts to the function outputs - varying the gaps between the pulses to adjust the amount of power supplied - so I don't think voltage can be used directly but with some electronics one could discriminate between different pulse widths - some decoders may have up to 255 different widths. Whether the electronics would be any cheaper than a DCC decoder with the extra function outputs built in is another matter. It would probably be larger in size than a decoder with the extra outputs. A good engineer of miniature items could fit a detector to the couplings of a loco so whichever end of the loco was connected to a train the loco tail light was turned off that end. Regards Nick

Hi, According to the Bank of England website UK CPI rose 31.9% 2007 to 2017 (last year for which there is data). So one could lob 31.9%? off the doubling to adjust for the CPI measure of inflation. I hate to think how much the RRP of model railways has gone up in the last ten years. Regards Nick (studying the RMWeb bargain hunters section regularly).

Hi, Its already digital - you push it with your fingers. Regards St. Nicholas

Hi, Probably not - although I've only used Spratt and Winkle up to now. Probably not correct also for coupling systems that use electromagnets. Best to check. As to future coupling options that happen not to have been invented yet who can tell. I'm hoping to fit my DCC EMUs and DEMUs with DCC operated Buckeye couplings. Regards Nick

Hi, Its possible to confuse human generated static with the output of an electostatic grass applicator. From reports of some of those who have touched both contacts on an applicator it may have the larger energy. A former club member left a loco with sound on his layout while electrostatic grassing. It was dead afterwards. A museum fitted thousands of LEDs to a model of an airport runway. After static grassing the LEDs were dead. The Miniatur Wonderland in Hamburg remove all electronics before electrostatic grassing. Some electronics has protection against human static (test may be 8kV across a 100pF capacitor). I understand some electrostatic applicators run at 20kV - I haven't found the capacitance. For a club layout with lots of electronic modules I've added plug in connectors so the electronics can be removed during static grassing. I find infrared sensors are a pain to take out and put back in without losing alignment. Static damage to electronics might show itself by failure at a later date. Regards Nick

Hi, My club uses darkish brown (to represent Humus) so that if a small amount of grass comes off the layout it still seems natural. Regards Nick

Hi, I don't know about the other layouts but Santa's Holiday was designed before the filming started to be re-used if possible as a children's layout. So the joins between boards especially the track were made stronger (wood supports and epoxy glued copper clad sleepers for the track ends). What couldn't be taken into account was any damage due to the TV company using a courier to transport the layouts back to the teams. Santa's Holiday will be at Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society's own exhibition in Basingstoke in mid March 2019 as should be at least one part of the Basingstoke Bodger's layout from the TV final - a Tribute to Brunel's Saltash bridge (N gauge). There will be about 20 layouts including Copenhagen Fields. One of the two judges seemed to be a very dab hand with scenery judging by her vlogs so scenic standards had to be considered by the teams in deciding where to spend the limited time during filming. Regards Nick

Hi, EDIT some magnets are available now that are END EDIT much more powerful now than when reed switches first appeared so could you look into using powerful magnets and putting the reed switches under the sleepers (parallel to the rails)?. Regards Nick (using infrared sensors reflecting off aluminium foil under EMU bogies to trigger third rail arc flashes) PS It's been noticed the big arcs occur when a EMU leaves an electrified rail under a lot of power.

Hi, Does anyone know if the Talgo 250 Dual Bi-modes need to slow right down in order to pan up?. Regards Nick

Hi, Thank you - I think I have now bought it. I may take the motor bogie out and then pair it with a powered 2-EPB. The motor bogie would then go in a kit/MJT EMU/DEMU. It doesn't seem all that long ago I was buying brand new 4-car EMUs for £100. So this one may appear on Beggarwood Lane - a Basingstoke club layout possibly as part of a 5 x 2-EPB train. I'm hoping to add writeable RFID tags to my trains - perhaps I should include data on the tag on whether the unit has a motor. Regards Nick

Hi, I think the Bachmann 2-HAP was in grey (EP?) at Warley. I'm after some Blue ones so I may have to wait a while after the first batch. I'm not sure Southern Pride are churning out BR(SR) Mk1 EMUs as they don't seem to have had the CIG, BIG, REP and Original BEP in stock for many years. Regards Nick

Hi, Is it multiple units in general that are getting difficult for manufacturers to finance?. The Kernow 2-Hampshire has no centre car - a situation more like 1960's models. The Bachmann Cl101 has no centre car. Bachmann may have its own plan for future multiple units. It has a backlog of non DCC multiple units to update/replace. Bachmann are going to introduce low profile drive mechanisms including with the 3 car Class 117 with two coreless? motors. They may see how that performs and is greeted by buyers before considering another EMU. Hornby has it problems but presumably financed the Class 800 on the basis its a new train that replaces the iconic HST so if they don't go in now Bachmann might buy the livery licence/1:1 outline CAD info. The class 800 is also an express train rather than a commuter sardine special. Regards Nick

Hi, Last week a couple of photos got taken of the things that have been happening on the layout while the layouts related to the Great Model Railway Challenge are being worked on. Stuart was installing another narrow strip of heavy duty scenery made mainly of wood screwed and glued to the front of the layout near the goods exchange sidings. Rob was working on a small chapel next to the electrified carriage sidings at the left end of the layout. Hopefully after the Santa's Holiday layout has been to Warley we will get more space and workers back to get Beggarwood Lane moving forward a lot faster. We are also looking for operators who can be available for model railway exhibitions so Beggarwood Lane can go back on the exhibition circuit. Santa's Holiday is our Clubs layout from our heat of the Channel 5 TV show Great Model Railway Challenge. It is on the PECO stand at Warley near the entrance. Team members from the Basingstoke Bodgers will be running that layout and answering questions - why not say hello if you are going to Warley. Regards Nick (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for new members).

Hi, Santa's Globetrotting Holiday should be set up by now at the NEC for the Warley show (on the PECO Stand near the entrance) and the Basingstoke Bodgers who made it should be enjoying a curry - a Basingstoke Bodgers Balti?. A few MERG bits have been added to the layout to make it easier for the operators to run the layout through the operating sequence hundreds of times over the weekend if needs be. The commentary from the TV show heat has been re-recorded and can be played via a MERG designed sound system - whether it is powerful enough to overcome the hub-hub in the hall is another matter. Bodgers possibly disguised as Elves will be there at Warley to operate the layout and answer questions. If there is room the Brunel Tamar bridge tribute model that was part of the TV final may be on display. Regards Nick (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for new members).

Hi, The last club layout I was involved with we fitted PECO AWS magnets to SMP code 75 bullhead track and some locos touched the top of the magnet so it might be worth checking your track can take the depth of the magnets or take a bit off the bottom of the magnet. Regards Nick

Hi, Its a good question. Maybe the force/current to move point blades on a ballasted point is higher than that to keep them in place - I think this is how the H&M point motors worked- with a overcentre spring in the motor to keep the blades parked once the current was removed. Nowadays some point motors can be used to operate semaphore signals where stalling the motor could bend or break the signal. Hand made points don't usually have over centre springs so there has to be some mechanical force to keep the blades in place. If the force from a point to a servo is too high the gears will move the motor and the servo potentiometer will tell its electronics to correct the movement. This might not happen if the servo is turned off once a certain current is reached. Stall motors such as Tortoise presumably use the stall force to keep the point blades in place. Regards Nick

Hi, A loco at £160 DCC ready - a mainline diesel or electric?. Regards Nick

Hi, I did a haulage test (on the flat) on a Black Beetle in a 2-HAP powered coach, so for those who have access to one: It may have been spinning its wheels when more coaches were added but I was wearing headphones at the time. Regards Nick

Hi, I think the MX638D has always been £20 in the UK. It was I believe introduced a few months ago after the MX634D was taken off the £20 offer (previously the offer was £19). So the £20 UK offer Zimo DCC non sound decoders are I believe now: MX638D MX600R MX618N18 MX622 MX622N I haven't tried CT decoders yet but I've found the £19/£20 Zimo decoders I've tried to have very good loco motor control and lots of features to select via CVs. I haven't tried the Bachmann 36-568 (made by Zimo) yet. Regards Nick

Hi, The OP asked about diesels on inter-regional passenger workings to the Southern Region other than Class 47 (and the few Deltic trips to Ramsgate). Regards Nick

Hi, I don't know for sure who the other team were involved in the split decision but another team was mentioned by a judge after the winner was announced. Sir William McAlpine was to be the third judge I understand but he sadly passed away between the start of production and the filming. I thought all the teams throughout the series had done a really good job - so much more challenging from baking a cake with a TV crew present, when I saw a still photo of the winning finalist I didn't understand the amount of working railways in the lower levels but the TV show final showed the lowest? level - T gauge or N gauge?. I also though the winners were brave risking cutting the translucent base for the top level tracks with a jigsaw. Regards Nick (a sub bodger - some are born Bodgers, some achieve Bodging and others have Bodging thrust upon them).

Hi, In my last post I mentioned the proposal to add two Speedometers at the ends of the straights on the scenic section of the layout. Heres a picture of the proposal: The HST and display of 125 MPH is mainly to show that the display would go over 99mph just in case. We have run HSTs at open days and HSTs did run into Waterloo or London Victoria for a short while. The idea of the layout was to try and please visitors with a good service of trains and also hopefully some good scenic modelling and trackwork so speedometers should add an extra bit of interest whilst staying within the concept of the layout. Regards Nick (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for new members).