Dave John

Time for a bit of playing. I have been working on getting couplings sorted out but it does strain the eyes so a bit of scenic messing about around the viaduct makes a pleasant change. Taking pics doesn’t half show up all the rough bits that need a second or third going over. Its also a bit difficult to get a picture of, really how do you get nine feet of track in focus? Not joking, really if you know how then tell me. Anyway , here they are with a few bits added to make a scene.

I have used them for several projects, here is an example. When I used them on metal I put a primer on first, then the rivets, then an overspray of primer. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2091/entry-18626-girders/ Due to UK supply issues I ordered the last ones direct from archers, arrived in about a fortnight.

In a similar way to the above post, but without electricity. Might be of interest. Kelvinbridge, ex CR. The photo is I think early 1960s, it never changed from its original layout. The same idea, a twin trap point set into point blades. There is no headshunt, the tunnel under kelvingrove park is just behind the photographer. So any shunting movement into the yard would have been in darkness. Fun in steam days. Note the rather large piles of coal, complete mystery to me how they stayed up since there was no sign of staithes or other supports. I live 2 streets away on the right. I did think about modelling it, but went for Partick instead.

Thanks Paulie. There is a bit of a background to most of the sounds I would be interested in. All this is a bit long term, my Caley stuff is all dc and some is small, decoders and speakers would need rebuilds. To add to the fun I have several locos which had two westinghouse pumps. Might all be a bit pie in the sky, but I thought I'd investigate the possibilities. Cheers.

Thanks for the advice. The record sleeve says copyright 1963, so it should be ok. I'll investigate the technical side of things.

Ok, this is a question for the sound experts out there. Lets say that I have a rare record of Caledonian engines in action. Well, I do. Argo Transacord EAF 74 as it happens . There are sound clips on there which can no longer be recorded such as a westinghouse pump in full action. So if I were to transfer that recording to my computer, remaster it, split it into tracks and the play specific sounds while I am playing trains thats fine I think, personal use. I have done so. Now lets say that I send a copy of those tracks to a sound chip expert who puts them on a chip and then makes that available to all interested parties am I infringing copyright? Would anyone in the sound chip business even be interested given the market might run to half a dozen ? Bear in mind that I have no real experience of on board sound, I am asking the question in the vague possibility that someone either tells me that its possible but pricey or that you all tell me I'm an idiot and that I should go back to worrying about the correct number of bolts on scale chairs. So, opinions gents ?

Hmm, its never a good idea to have track you can't get at. It always needs cleaned and things always go wrong. Ok, So you need a removeable mountain. I have used foamboard to build up scenic areas. Now if you made a contoured moutain structure on a foamboard base and then put some support battens like you have done only lower the whole thing could just sit nicely over the spiral , yet be easily removed for access. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2091/entry-19565-a-viaduct-takes-shape/ shows something of the kind under construction. I'm sure if you search out stuff on american model railroad sites they will have lots of ideas, they do tend to go in for hidden spirals and curves.

Its a lovely layout, I have been trying to copy some of your scenic ideas, I too need a screen of trees. Mind you that wagon keeps confusing me, I keep reading it as Guinness on Trent. Sign of a miss spent youth I guess.

I had the same sort of issues when having a go at building a curved viaduct. It is simulating concrete but the general construction of foamboard clad with embossed styrene is as suggested by various posters above. The underside of the arches is made with corrugated iron plasticard with the back as the face side to give the effect of the timber formworks cast into the concrete. There are a few pics of the whole thing going together on my blog; http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2091/entry-19618-a-viaduct-and-a-background/ and associated posts.

Thanks Steve. It is an 812, made from the Caley Coaches kit. Features beam compensation on both engine and tender and is fitted with a portescap motor and gearbox. Its been a workhorse for years , but is getting a bit scruffy, could probably do with a repaint. The layout is 30 inches wide at the bridge end tapering to 28 inches at the other end.

Now that I have fitted the uncoupling magnets it is time for a bit of real world playing, er, testing. Sorry about the rather rough video but it shows what I am trying to be able to do without the magic hand appearing. I think I’m slowly getting there, but all that pushing stuff about really shows up any errors in track or stock. Anyway, hope its all vaguely watchable.

Thats a fun idea corbs, its interesting to see where railway modelling takes people.

Hmm, atmospheric pics as ever. I do like this thread. Ballast that needs cleaning, that wanders off into odd colours, gets where it shouldn't and vanishes from where it should be ? Historically the railways had a lot of folk that spent their lives cleaning it, removing it from where it shouldn't be and putting it back where it should be. Call it a work in progress GN, I suspect the PW way gang has wandered of for a friday game of golf and a few pints. Actually the yellowish tinge would be rather nice if you were modelling the CR: various observers note that CR ballast was a bit yellow from Blast furnace slag mixed in with ash on minor lines. My guess would be chromium salts, but it is just a guess. I'm sure that you will get it resprayed in the end, but meantime it doesn't detract from the overall feel of the pictures.

Really superb workmanship. Hmm, you are going to have to build two of them. One in painted livery, the other in polished brass showcase condition. Its rare to see a model that looks that good in an unpainted state.

Heh, I suspect magnets have come of age and a lot of folk are playing with them Mikkel. Getting on with it all quite well, though the caledonian pup is getting fed up with all the baseboards not being in the right place for sleeping under....

Oh, just a case of talking it slowly and carefully.

With hindsight it would have been an idea to cut the holes for the uncoupling magnets before laying the track. I am making slow but useful progress cutting them all from underneath. Good job I put all those boards on hinges. So drill through from above 1mm, cut the hole to just leave a bit of cork underlay from underneath with a forstner bit, superglue in a disc of 10 thou styrene. ( guess how I cut all those ) Here is a pic of the uncouplers at the end of the storage sidings. The extended bit has a magnet so they latch in the up position. The board and the microswitches automatically feed the right supply to the sector plate. From above just a bit of ballast to repair. The other task is painting magnets. I calibrated one with a compass, with luck I’ll get them all north up first time round. Not really exciting stuff but it needs to be done.

Hmm, so what we want is a simple roundy layout. Just an inner and outer loop. Stations close together, some as close as 800 yards. Track gauge that scales out to four feet so OO is actually right. Easy to handle 3 coach trains. A simple signalling system that says stop or go and actually stops the trains if they go when they should not. Fantasy? Nope, its called the Glasgow subway....... Sorry , couldn't resist. Actually one of my walks, I do a lot these days, is to walk the subway. I live a stones throw from kelvinbridge so thats number 1. You can follow it on google earth but I calculate that visiting every subway station on foot is about 25 miles of walking. Takes a full day but you do get to see a lot of the city. The Caledonian pup slept for ages after that one.

Well, as my mother was fond of saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Perhaps as a tentative suggestion it might be an idea to restart the thread. Look at the signals, both semaphore and lights which are available off the shelf to modellers. Then suggest via some practical examples the way in which they could be used in a manner which would, within the limits of an average model railway, control the movements of trains within the context of a model railway. Surely the idea is to get folk going with signalling, which was I think the ops concept. Its a complex subject and of course is both time and location specific. But getting started and thinking about the absolute details on a case by case basis might be a practical approach ? Just a thought.

But back to the op. If someone is going to produce a rtr single it will be OO . So its going to be popular and creating a scene or mini layout around it is a good entry into pre-group modelling. Ok, we might snipe at rtr, but it will give a new modeller a feeling for the overall size and look of pre grouping stock. So again Vicza I'd go for it. We all started with OO and got fussy later.

Really lovely. I might concur with the comments on the gentlemans hats. I would also make the floral parts of the ladies hats a little more colourful, perhaps some pinks and light blues in the floral arrangements. Mind you, You know your modelmaking is top class when the fans have nothing to quibble about other than hats .....

Go for it vicZA. Good to see someone having a go at pre-group modelling. You have to start somewhere and all of the above advice is good. Search about, there are sites for most of the pre grouping companies with a lot of detail. Most are very helpful, they have folk with a huge knowledge base. I would have got nowhere fast without this lot. Quick plug; http://www.crassoc.org.uk/web/index.php as an example. Anyway I warn you, pre group modelling is very addictive. You start off thinking that you can buy stuff, then you discover its all about kit and scratch build. Peco code 75 is a good start, but then you do a bit of research looking at old pics and somehow you realise that you can do better. Then you find out how much satisfaction doing it all yourself gives. Oh, and the sleepers were 8' 11 1/2 inches. The reason ? Tax. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2091/entry-18495-some-trackwork/

Its worth keeping on trying SWTDriver. Compensated chassis do work. All the above advice is good, I read up about them and talked to folk before I tried one. Half a dozen bad compensated chassis later I built one that ran like a dream. Thirty years later it still does. So whats my advice ? Simply that when you do crack it the satisfaction more than makes up for the learning curve. The thing that I finally realised I was doing wrong was the coupling rods. The cure ? Buy a box of 1.5 mm drills and never use them for anything else. ( or whatever size, they fit gibson crankpins ) Make the rods up and drill the first hole of both pairs into a block of good wood, preferably formica faced. Leave the first drill bit through the rods and the wood. Next drill bit, second hole through both, leave it in place. Next drill bit etc. Mark the rods , I dot a bit of paint on the rear. Then reference everything else from the rods. I have a set of old romford axles with the ends turned down to 1.5 mm, use the coupling rods to set the axle bearings up. Its not my Idea, I borrowed it from lots of other folk. Try it, might help.

It might Mikkel. I will just have to get into the habit of moving a train back an inch or so, the magnets only work in a fairly limited range.

Interesting. I can see those pens being used for making the framework for scenic items such as trees and shrubs then having flocks and foams added. Perhaps for forming the base for coal loads, covering of real coal. Even for making the basic forms of terrain, less mess and a lot lighter than plaster mixes. A bit like the silhouette really, intended for card cutting for artwork, now a major tool on the modelmaking bench. Worth keeping an eye open for an inexpensive one.