Dave John

Surely the first thing to ask is what the actual track voltage and waveform is ? So mikeg is that 13.6 volts measured as a maximum voltage from a DC controller? Is it a measured voltage from a dcc type supply ? Is it 13.6 volts as an AC supply as used by some O gauge stock? We are assuming that the light source in the coaches is LED. Is it ? Could it be an incandescent lamp ? Just asking .

" Signalling the Caledonian" by Jim Summers describes and has some good pictures of signals for shipping at Grangemouth and Wemyss bay, which was still there in 1968. These were effectively big semaphore signals on high lattice posts controlled from the signal box. That might well explain the elevated signal shown in that photo.

These are CR rather than GWR but the arrangement of cleats at the top of the solebar is similar. I used ezline elastic for the ropes. This blog shows how I made the cleats.

Hmm, interesting challenge Mikkel. My horse drawn carriages do have lamps , but they are fitted with tiny jewels. these catch reflected light but to make them really light up would require a tiny led. I'l have a think .

Heh ," there is a deception going on right in front of yours eyes " ....aircraft run on air ..... Never mind the silly technical stuff, the obvious error is financial. Airlines pay for fuel, so the supply of fuel is very carefully measured, by both supplier and user. The bean counters and for that matter the counters of bean counters and the taxers of the bean counter counters at both ends of that equation might notice if somehow the money wasn't flowing.

Hmm, looking at those sheep has anyone got a recipe for pre-Raphaelite mint sauce ?

Absolutely correct 26 power. The model is of an early road locomotive designed by Robert William Thomson, a remarkable man who should be remembered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_William_Thomson There was a discussion a long while back on forum which has now gone, but these photos turned up and I doubt I am breaking any copyright by reproducing them here. Makes sure they don't vanish completely. This was owned by a miller called White , used in the Aberdeen area. One in use hauling a ships boiler ( Leith? ) A team of 5 hauling a ships engine in Glasgow. A later type owned ( I think ) by The Duke of Sutherland and adapted for agricultural use. Anyway, having seen those pics I dug about in the bits box and made a model.

Some very fine work in that article Simond. Well worth a read.

That looks excellent.

Yes Mikkel.

Excellent modelling as ever Mikkel. The Forex material looks very interesting, your ability to form features such as gutters and edging shows up very well. Does it need any sort of treatment to stabilise it when it is placed or does it just stay in shape and need painting ?

Well, the wheels may involve rubber .......

Hmm, built in Scotland......

I have been with pottering on with the far corner of the layout, signals are installed, then unplugged and a lightweight scenic extension knocked up from foamboard and card. All a bit rough at the moment, but taking shape. I think it will enhance that corner and take the eye round to the storage yard in a more transitional way. Some sort of wooded area perhaps. I also painted a couple of figures and added them to this very odd thing that I made quite a while ago. Now you might well think that I have gone round the bend and dived into the world of steampunk which seems to be popular these days. But no, this is actually a model of a real steam locomotive, albeit a road locomotive rather than a rail one. Call it a mad easter quiz……….

Well, pronunciation aside Milngavie might make a decent BLT. Of course you could incorporate a section of the Bennie Railplane on the approaches too. https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1341 Or you could cause consternation by modelling Kirkcudbright.

Aye, congratulations. Few layouts compare, I hope to see it at first hand one of these days.

I have in the past ordered direct from redutex in spain using paypal. The stuff arrived within a week. However as you say Grahame things are in a state of flux atm.

Heh ,but to answer the op, sooner or later you will have to vacuum the layout to remove dust and fluff. If the ballast isn't stuck down then it would get sucked up.

Well, if we are playing with odd O4s here is a very rough version of the type that the Caledonian hired in. Only rtr I have, bashed into shape from one of the versions that were being sold for £50 a while back. If I ever get time and funds I'll put a proper EM chassis under it. Bit out of period for me, so a bit of rule 1 as well.

I have a couple of sidings with Inset track and a cobbled surface. EM gauge. I used code 75 bh on copperclad sleepers set about 50 mm apart but for the inner rails ( well cobble supports I suppose they are ) I stripped the rail off some old peco N gauge flexi. This has a finer head than code 75 and gives a better impression of U channel rails. One day I will find a clever way of cleaning the running rail without taking the rust off the inner rail. Maybe.

@Donw, I had the same problem with C+L 4 bolt chairs. I never came up with a clever answer, just hours of fiddly work with a scalpel. Took me over a year to make and lay the track for Kelvinbank.

Two magnets FEP. the one on the servo arm is 10x5x1 thick and the one in the brass U is a 3mm cube. The cube is superglued to a bit of springy brass which is then soldered to the push rod. You need to be fast with the soldering, these magnets are very sensitive to heat. A bit too much and they lose all magnetism.

So like many I’m stuck inside unable to work, so keeping optimistic I’ll treat it as a rehearsal for retirement. Time to take stock, have a good dig through all the boxes and see what I have available to make things with. Signal parts come on frets or bags of several bits. Of course all the spare bits are put away, so having sorted through them I realised that I had enough bits for a couple more signals. An ideal project, fiddly and time consuming. Takes the mind off other things. So here we are, a home /distant and a simple home. Both are plugin types to much the same design as the ones I made a couple of years back. Just sitting on the test jig for now. LEDS are each protected by a 1k2 resistor in the signal base, will be wired via an external resistance to dim them down a bit. And under the board. A simple home. But why? Well, there is a bit of the layout to the right of that viaduct which is yet to be developed. It does need some sort of corner bit to frame the viaduct, so that might happen too. The long crossing is 30” long and flows quite well so I might as well extend scenically into that region. First thing though I need to signal it so that is where those two will end up. Hope everyone is staying well.

If you are doing gluey painty scenic stuff with baseboards joined then cling film over the wooden ends while you do it. Reduces the chances of sticking them together.

They do look the same. Since it is just a vent it could well be a smaller diameter than the soil. A building I have been involved with ( built 1862) has nominally 3" vents but an 8" soil. That really is an elegant building, if I were a rich man .......