Dave John

Very true Mike, but turning the master handle to off stops it instantly and usefully it stops if there is no signal.

With this project I really wanted to see what could be done with simple, cheaper components. The way things are going it might be the only way forward for some model makers. Most rtr, particularly in the bigger scales is beyond my pay grade.

I did have a look at some of the cheap rc toys, but I didn’t see anything that looked like 4 channel for as cheap as that combo. My original intention was to use 4 cells but I found that the n20 twin shaft really needed 12v to give me the speed and torque I was looking for with an axle hung traction motor. So, 8 cells and a voltage regulator in the electronics.

The axle hung twin motor thing is something I have fancied a play with for a while , I bought a couple last year and they were only about 7 quid each. For the money they are very impressive and having axle hung motors gets round a whole host of traditional design issues, particularly if you want springing and compensation. ( you can actually turn them 90 degrees so the loco spins on its own axis, try doing that with a traditional centre motor and loads of gears model diesel !)

Above all, I enjoy playing about on the bench. Still a few innovations to come on this one, magnets will be involved. There is a lot of nice rtr about at a price, but I don’t find I’m interested in it. Each to their own, but I enjoy the bits of RMweb  where  folk are making thing and having a go at doing awkward things differently.

Gorgeous. You have got the eyes and lips perfectly, very difficult to get right. 

I know exactly what you mean about Andy Staddens ladies. They have something about them, a flow to the figure. He has an eye for it that is truly artistic. 

Impressive looking wagon. . 

The roof forming method is very clever, these subtle roof shapes are so difficult to get right but that looks spot on.  

Well, it is an exercise in thinking about scale and what we take as being normal. 

For instance those driving wheels would be 5' in 4mm OO for which they were made. However they are thicker than a gibson wheel, so I wouldn't use them for EM. However they are only a OO wheel insofar as it says so on the bag. Machine out the centre and they just become a component, in this case a 1m driving wheel of a realistic thickness at 1/50 th.  

Really a case of thinking about scale from a different direction. 

Oh, excellent pic, many thanks.  Old sleepers, but reasonably ballasted. The metal band at the ends is a detail I had not noticed. Just looking at the notch in the sleeper top I wonder if they had been used for chaired rail at some point and then recycled for use with fb. 

Or possibly red and cream . 

But , yes that is the direction I'm heading in . 

I do like the idea of sets of connected modules. 

The spring one is particularly effective, a framed picture effect. 

Yep , thats the sort of style I am thinking of. 

Both good articles, many thanks.

Certainly the Corsican railways are the sort of thing I have  in mind, though I don't want to go down the rivet counting faithfullness to prototype path. One layout of that is enough.

Aiming for the early to mid 1960s will I think justify a railway which is in use for freight not just tourism though it is likely to be very compact if it ever gets that far. 

I have seen your models 33C , very nice. 

I think I'm heading for a styrene body on a brass spaceframe, but I felt the need to do a mockup to give me an idea about the internal volume of the engine compartment since there might be a lot in there. I'd agree about motors , I have bought a couple of the n20 double shaft types though their use will depend on detail bogie design.

Heh, I do have a copy of that drawing, it is actually Kelvinbridge signal box. 

This is me playing with names. My layout has elements of both Kelvinbridge and Partick Central stations, but for space constraints I could model neither perfectly. So I compromised , I took ideas  from both and generated the imaginary name Kelvinbank. 

If I had an extra 10 feet I would faithfully model Partick Central but house extensions are difficult with a tenement flat . 

Well, since Kelvinbank is steam I am thinking about something a bit more modern. Not very modern, perhaps 1960s and involving the infernal combustion engine. To that end I have been thinking a bit about wheels, so this evening I had a play on the lathe. 

I do have a number of old Romford wheels, many from partly made kits and the like I acquired over the years. So I put one in the lathe and machined the centre out, it was in an unusable state anyway. That gave me a nice ns tyre. I soldered in a turned disc and a bit of 1/8 " id brass tube. the other wheel is kinda true, the bit of choc bloc inside holds it together. At 20 mm that makes them a 1m dia wheel. About right for a small diesel. 

That has let me play about a bit with a rather heath robinson but workable variable back to back wheelset. ( No I'm not going for working Talgos )  It happily runs through my improvised pointwork. Ok, it is a OO flange profile, but I'm using at a bigger scale, so it doesn't look too big. 

I had a look at the Paris system, shame it has been abandoned . It does put me in mind of  the Glasgow subway, still very much in use. 

My designs may end with some french influence. 

Interesting ideas there. No idea about location yet, might be somewhere obscure. 

A good solid looking start . The wheels are an awkward design with the spokes offset at the hub like that but your castings have worked out really well. 

Hi Lacathedrale, 

It is 130 mm at the platform end. Slightly more at the bridge and a bit less at the signal box. 

Hand brushed over Halfords rattle can primer Krusty. 

I make the body then a give it a clean and quick prime , shows up errors well and then apply archers rivets. Then another flick over with the primer and the red lead painted on. For that I mixed Deck Linoleum brown , Red and Flesh.  Then the transfers on and sealed , followed by the Black metalwork and weathering. 

Since I use etched brass W irons the wheel and axlebox assemblies can go in last, makes painting easier . 

Aye , the wagons in that Dunblane train almost look as if they have wooden wings over the axleboxes.  Strange, and perhaps they are ex SC rather than Caley. 

Here is a photo of the ballast plough. Made about 15 years back, Basically scribed styrene with 10 thou slaters rod in a groove to look like the half round beading. A bit rough, but ok from a passing glimpse. The footboard has distorted a bit and it could do with a number plate. 

I think some did use leather Compound. The Caley ones do look to me like a heavy tarpaulin style material, but thats just my eye. 

Just had another look at the Ballast plough. The only bits from the kit I used were the ploughs, roof, internal partitions and lifting gear. The rest is in styrene, pre silhouette days. I seem to remember that getting all the letraset lined up was a nightmare. Dates it a bit. 

So do I, The models of Mike Sharman were a significant influence on me. I still tend to design chassis using the compensation methods he used. 

As a vague aside ( and I would only say this in the blogs section ) I tend to fret a bit when folk say " lay your track so it's perfectly flat and make your models on a perfectly flat plate so they are perfectly square" . 

Harumpf .

I used to work for a company that made optical components bigger than our models to a surface tolerance of less than 2 wavelengths of visible light. Flat, but not perfectly flat.

If that wheel is just 1 thou off the track electricity goeth not up and tractive effort goeth not down. Thats what I learned from the models of Mike Sharman, once I understood it I realised how sensible it was. 

Anyway sorry to wander off topic in your blog Snitzl, I do enjoy them and have learned a few tricks on the way. 

A brilliant and very unusual model. 

It is refreshing to see such a  combination of imaginative design and well engineered construction these days. 

Looking at it again. 

There is a lot of attention to detail in that, a lot of work involved. 

I bought some Tamiya ones to get me started Mikkel, I thought they looked a good range of colours at a reasonable price and formulated for brush painting. 

That is deck linoleum brown with a drop of white not mixed in completely to add a bit of grain. I have learned that they do brush and mix well but you have to get a move on, drying time is fast. I will buy some retarder with the next order. 

I like that lettering. 

Not really Caledonian.  The Hornby ones are ok, and I did note that the printing on them was very good. However they are a one piece moulding including the roof, so there would be a lot of chopping up required. Add to that changing all the details for Caley style ones. 

I reused the Hornby wheels for that but even after thinning the flanges it does sometimes hit the inside of the chairs, a comparison with gibson or 51 L wheels shows that they are finer. 

Also having looked at the panelling they just aren't quite right for true Caley coaches, and the Hornby panelling on the guards duckets is just printed on. Given the amount of work that would be needed I think I would just fire up the silhouette and scratchbuild. 

36 quid buys a lot of plasticard........