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Dave John

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Posts posted by Dave John

  1. Indeed , Blackfivesmatter is right , Join  the CRA . Latest issue of "The true line" has a good article by Duncan McLeish on the railways of Strathmore with 4 excellent pics of Blargowrie in its later years . Previous articles have covered the early years and the soft fruit traffic. The signal diagram is available, as are many drawings of stock and locomotives. 

     

     

  2. Go for the highest ratio you can fit in , 60:1 in this case. What you need is a loco that is as controllable as possible at low speed for accurate coupling up and running round, the short model railway distances make maximum speed a bit irrelevant. 

     

    That little 670 class 0 4 2 I made a while back has a 60:1 HL box , goes like a rocket above about 9 V  but it is still very controllable. 

     

     

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  3. To be fair Johnster quite a lot of folk have been quietly pushing forward some techniques for battery radio control. Giles and Corbs have made some wonderful stuff , and I have had a go using basic rechargeable batteries and radio control over on the 1/50 scale blog. ( batteries and r/c gear for under 30 quid ? ) 

     

    Motors are another point you raise. Although geared I have used axle hung traction motors with some success. Expensive ? Nope 6 quid a go from China. 

     

    Removeable lamps ? Hmm, I haven't cracked that yet. However I do have easily removable bodies held on with magnets which also conduct the electricity for body mounted lighting. Test show that low currents don't harm the magnets. 

     

    I accept that I'm playing with close to 6mm / foot rather than 4 mm and that some of my scratchbuilding might be viewed as crude. But with modern manufacturing techniques some of the ideas I am playing with ( and which you suggest ) could I think be scaleable to 4mm by the specialist rtr manufacturers. 

     

     

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  4. Older types of fluorescent lamps did emit a small amount of UV, more modern fluorescent lamps emit less UV. They are being withdrawn from sale as of last year and will no longer be manufactured in time. 

     

    White LEDS used for lighting only emit a tiny amount of UV, the manufacturers have developed phosphors which give high yields in converting the blue light from the LED chips to the white spectrum. 

     

    Strong sunlight is the serious problem for colour fade. Blocking it with film or blinds is really the only answer. 

     

    Even so, some pigments are more prone to fading than others and can fade due to oxidisation without UV.

     

    Note also that the Lumen output of LED lamps does reduce over the lifetime of a lamp and there may be a shift in the colour from the lamp. More noticeable in commercial applications where lamps are on for long periods, but something to bear in mind over time.

     

    One last simple point. LEDS last a long time but they do accumulate dirt. A rub over with a damp cloth works wonders. 

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  5. WARNING  : Tunnocks wafers are highly addictive. Entire housing schemes in the west of Scotland are full of folk who eat vast quantities of them. They used to just enjoy a small rollup but the idiocy and greed of politicians means that obesity and heroin are cheaper than tobacco. ( Political rant, just ignore me ) 

     

    I have tried wagon sheets on tunnocks wrappers, far too much ink bleed for my inkjet printer, might be less so for a laser printer. I did try using cigarette papers taped down to ordinary paper as a carrier but it just ended up as mush. 

     

    I do think wagon sheets are important for the pre grouping modeller, I continue to experiment. 

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  6. No I'm not put off by them. Quite the opposite. 

     

    If I am placing an order with for instance Alan Gibson then I enjoy writing a letter  that starts "Dear Sir," contains a concise list of components and ends "Yours faithfully,". 

     

    Why? Well this might sound utterly pretentious twaddle, but I am a modeller of Edwardian railways. I consider writing a letter and enclosing a cheque to be in keeping with my modelling style, I can enjoy doing so as part of my overall modelmaking experience. I should of course type such letters on an Underwoods typewriter, since that was the preferred supplier to the Caledonian Railway from 1911.*  If I ever get hold on one. 

     

    On the other hand I am quite happy to order electronic components direct from China via ebay with paypal. One of these days the chap in China will get a properly written letter in Mandarin.  Maybe. 

     

     

    * reference "Operating the Caledonian Railway, Vol 1 " , Jim Summers. 

     

     

     

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  7. I'd suspect the issue is flux rather than the solder itself. I have a lot of drums of standard 60/40 cored but I always use fluxite or bakers fluid, no issues  with brass kits or wire to ns rail. For electronics I make sure things are very clean and use it straight. Hot iron, 400 + deg. 

     

    Very old reels can get a layer of grey (lead oxide ? ) on them. Just pull a length through a folded bit of emery, removes it. 

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  8.  

    There seem to be few peak roof lime wagons owned by railway companies rather than private owners. However, the Caledonian built 40 Dia 25 lime wagons from 1886 to 1888. I would be surprised to find any of them lasting into the grouping.

     

    An example;

     

     

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  9. There were three Caledonian D 39 6 wheel NPC Vans allocated to Stephen Mitchell ( No. 200-202) and one to F&J Smith for the carriage of tobacco. They carried the users name in large letters. Not sure , but I think they might have been thirled.

     

    There was considerable Tobacco traffic from Glasgow, usually in npcs.

     

    See "Caledonian Railway Wagons" by Mike Williams for further details. 

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