rdr

the point of an exhibition layout is to entertain the visitors, but there is also the thought of how to make that happen. It must be viewable for all but also able to convey the view that the exhibitor is after. After all it's the exhibitors view that made the layout and all the thought processes and designs were either from memories or pictures that captured the idea to start with. You will know what height to make it when you see what you've made.

i for one am proud to see the police force stepping up to the front and managing the dangerous issues of the modern era. There are far too many traffic incidents on these so called floating highways, for example ............... hang on a minute ................ wait a second ................... ok, i haven't found any yet, but i'll keep trying.

it does look good and with the limitations of the model it works great. The sheds coming on nicely, i bet you can't wait to get things up and working. We're expecting our exchange to happen within the next week and completion first week of September so all hands on deck that week as i have to extend the outbuilding another few metres. I'll be interested in your views on lighting, something i've not looked into.

looks good and a reasonable speed. A couple of minor thoughts, the lift cables could be further apart depthwise to minimise the side wobble and possibly have two lift pulleys which will stop the lopsided end lift, rather than a loop.

i agree, but think if all the people in the whole exhibition were doing it, or even just half of them...chaos.

The trouble with waiting for your completion date, your mind wanders and plans get altered as more information and ideas become available. Ideas pop in your head and you end up needing extra space for these to be implemented on the layout. A few ideas have been milling around my head over the last week or so. 1. An extra board has been added, six in total. 2. Operational artics dropping and receiving containers in the yard, crossing a weighbridge on entry and exit of the yard with an office and security gates. 3. Cars, taxis and buses dropping off/parking and collecting at the station entrance. 4. Longer more realistic D10 points and removing the three way point. 5. An additional track in the station with run around for goods and single loco hauled passenger stock. 6. Two platforms with a pedestrian underpass. For the vehicles to be controlled by computer as well as the trains, there needs to be a method of returning the vehicles to the layout in a specific order without any human interference. On the extra board, i plan to make either a system of multiple storage loops or several dual road turntables for both the container yard and the station approach. They will be hidden from view just before the fiddle yard. This extra board will allow the viewable area a much needed 600mm extension and 1630mm for the vehicle loops/turntables. Having several storage loops or dual road turntables will allow me to sort the vehicles by computer, rather than just have a repeat of their exixsting order.

you can add flexible resin into the normal resin which makes it a bit more tough and less brittle.

just noticed this thread, great to see Warren Lane surviving.

i've stripped a load of lima locos and triang/Hornby coach bodies with DOT3 brake fluid, they have all survived to this day and feel perfect.

Well i'm still patiently waiting for a move date hoping a lovely letter drops through the door soon so i can liberate all my bits from storage. Recapping over this thread i've put some more thought to stock storage and the pros and cons of various methods to do this. While pondering it suddenly hit me (ouch), i have two baseboards with traversers that link to make one 2.95m traverser. They hold the stock when the layout is operational, so why not use this space to keep the stock when the layout is back in the framework. There will have to be some clever design to both hold the stock and allow them to move freely onto the layout. My idea is to have a version of the "U" shaped fiddle yard cassette system but permanently fixed side by side with only a small amount of side play and felt or fine brush sides to soften any movement. It will have a removable top sheet to ensure the stock is seated on the track correctly and the rail base will be made from angled strips of plastic to guide any derailments back into position. The end of each traverser will need a stop plate to keep the stock in place and any empty space will need to filled with foam blocks to prevent movement. Full length trains will need to be split when housed in each traverser board, but that could be easily done by leaving a gap in the top plate at the join to get in and decouple. I'm sure there are going to be some snags i've not thought of, but this looks like it could work.

Thanks Guy, the method i described did not need an etched plate, you've got that from a video i guess. I seem to have come across a very unwelcoming group of members with you and John. My apologies in having an idea outside your viewpoint or skill set, i'll remember to avoid such situations in the future.

1. spread a thin layer of paint across a surface and press the stamp onto it. Should i have to design a complicated machine to do this, would the paint have to be a specific thickness and be within a specified tolerance regarding viscosity. Would the ambient light have to be just right and the mains voltage be monitored in case of voltage spikes or frequency changes. Would i have to install air conditioning or make a "clean" room. What i did see when reading through this thread was the inventiveness of the modelling community and the positive nature of each person, sadly John you seem to have missed out on these points. I have no need to try this, i merely offered an alternative from a different viewpoint. I could regale you with examples of i was there and i saw that, but that would be silly, wouldn't it.

yes i had a look at a quite a few videos. 1. ink/paint the pad 2. align to the job 3 apply the ink/paint With the greatest of respect, it's not that complicated, but each to their own i guess.

i thought i had seen it done. Where a machine is needed to automate something a simplified method would certainly produce results. A simple jig and an ink/paint pad would work quite well.

professional slot car tracks use this tape for the hand built tracks and each car can draw in excess of 5 amps when accelerating so i'm sure it would cope. That tape can be bought from an online shop called Pendle slot racing. https://www.pendleslotracing.co.uk/

i'm sure i've seen the numbers and such applied this way

looking at this from another perspective, you could get an sla 3d printer and make a flexible stamp to print it on directly.

the context of the program says Reading ish, but as we know it could have been filmed anywhere.

i've been re-watching the old episodes of Callan this week and at 05:55 in series 3 episode 2 a train passes but i can only hear it not see it. Now i'm pretty sure it's a western, maybe other ears could verify this.

one way of getting rid of your small backlash problem would be to use a harmonic drive rather than a gearbox on the stepper.

i'm sure my older brother tried this. He had a large lump of clay/plasticine (sp) and was making a car about 1/10th scale i think.

lol, dry humour does go past a few

is it free, or do i need to donate. PS. What colour is the paint

any you have left i would like them. I can collect anytime.

have you seen the sister thread "where have all the garden butterflies gone"