Chuffer Davies

I have only once had a plastic centred wheel fail, due to a cracked boss, despite my models having to work reasonably hard on full length trains on the Hungerford exhibition layout. I have a theory that when such wheels fail they will be the wheels on the primary driven axle (the one the gearbox is on) because these are taking the full weight of the train. If my theory is correct then if the builder chooses to key any wheels to their axle then it is only the wheels on the primary axle that require keying, the others should be just fine with Loctite. Can I ask those people who use plastic centred wheels, and who have had failures, if their experience supports my theory about it being only those wheels on the primary axle that fail? Thanks, Frank

In the 1920's, around the time the Great Western introduced their toplight coaches, they experimented with building complete sets of articulated stock. They started by building 18 suburban (non corridor) vehicles, four triplets and one sextuplet. The triplets were marshalled in pairs resulting on three sets of six suburban coaches. These were successful and lasted into the late 1950's/early 1960's. Subsequently the Great Western built two articulated express sets comprising a 1st class triplet (including brake end), a kitchen triplet (3rd diner + kitchen car + 1st diner), and a twin first class set (including brake end). These sets were not as successful and were rebuilt as individual coaches in the 1930's although the dining triplets lasted a bit longer. There are pictures in J.H.Russel's book of Great Western Coaches (Part 2). Regards, Frank

Hi Phil, Sadly this will not be possible. Much of the stock has already been lost to the club. BRM did visit the club several years ago to make a DVD featuring both Leicester South and Hungerford (EM) and there is quite a lot of footage on YouTube so that will have to do. Thanks for the suggestion though. Frank

Hi Tony and fellow followers of Wright Writes. I have some disappointing news regarding Shipley MRS's exhibition layout Leicester South (GN). The layout has been referenced several times on this blog and in particular by Headstock who has previously been a prolific poster to WW although in recent months it appears he has stopped posting. The layout was the third large finescale layout to be built by a core group of Shipley club members. Their first was Evercreech Junction and then came Tebay. These layouts were all well received and popular on the exhibition circuit. Sadly many of the core finescale group's members have now left the club due to moving away from the area, old age or worse. As a result there are insufficient members to stock and exhibit the layout. As a result the club has reached the regrettable decision to dispose of the layout to recover the not insignificant space in the club rooms currently occupied by the stored layout. Despite our best endeavours to find a new home for the layout no one has come forward. As a result we will commence final disposal of the layout in the new year. A great shame but I suppose this is the inevitable end for many a fine club/exhibition layout. Regards, Frank

Hi Tony, you are of course correct. It’s actually one of the early (quiet) gearboxes but in Geoff’s near silent railway room you can still hear the whine of the bevel gears. You wouldn’t hear it in an exhibition hall whereas the whine of the later Portescaps would still be heard above the noise of a big hall. Frank

Now that would be telling....

A few months ago, I fulfilled an item on my bucket list and built my first (and possibly last) P4 locomotive. The basis was the excellent Bachmann C1 Atlantic in GNR livery. The new chassis was one I designed in CAD and had etched in Nickel Silver by PPD Ltd. Having built it I had nowhere to run it and so today I at last took up Geoff Tiffany's invitation to visit his fabulous P4 model of Dewsbury for a test run. To mark the occasion, I have taken the attached short video which I hope subscribers to Wright Writes might enjoy. The visit was not 100% successful in that the front axle of the tender repeatedly derailed on a single slip. A check of the B2B has revealed that one of the wheels has a slight wobble and is narrow to gauge in part as a result. Unfortunately (:-) once I have had a chance to eliminate the wobble this will require a return visit to this remarkable layout to make sure its running is sorted. This layout is truly a work of art and a must to see. I understand its next public viewing is likely to be Expo EM-Summer (Wakefield) 2023 so get it in your diary now. Regards, Frank

They use 1mm diameter bolts if that’s any help? Ultrascale crankpins are better quality (in my personal opinion) and are a BA (16BA I think) equivalent of the 1mm diameter. Frank

Logically what Kernow are planning to do is to lapse/delete all the original orders at the end of 2022 irrespective of whether the customer has re-ordered or not. By doing this it removes the complexity of matching new re-orders to original orders and avoids the risk of despatching two models in error one against the original order and one against the re-order.

I don’t know about anyone else but when I send a model off to be painted I wouldn’t dream of asking the painter to strip down my model. Their time is far too precious to waste on tasks I can better do myself. I have tried painting frames myself using car rattle cans but I have never been happy with the outcome so I now leave all the painting to the professional. Before posting off I always disassemble the model into its component parts and thoroughly clean everything. Nowadays this includes placing everything in a sonic bath for several minutes. It’s amazing what comes off in the bath even though it’s the last stage of cleaning process. Nowadays I build my models as a number of sub-assemblies that are then bolted together. Before sending the model off for painting the model will be broken down as much as possible to aid the handling of the model during the painting and lining process. The separate components will typically be: - Footplate including cab, (except for tank engines where the cab and bunker are usually a distinct assembly separate from the footplate) - boiler/firebox/smokebox assembly, - frames less wheels and bogie/pony truck - individual sets of wheels on their axles - coupling/connecting rods, etc - separate backhead - tender superstructure - tender frames - sets of tender wheel/axle assemblies I retain all nuts and bolts, motor and gearbox, axle washers (carefully labelled by individual axle) and put them somewhere safe awaiting return of the model for final assembly once painted. It’s at the final assembly stage when the plastic centred wheels are finally fitted to their axles with Loctite to prevent any risk of slipping. This will also be the first time I lubricate the chassis, all test running during the build stage having been carried out with dry bearings to avoid contamination of metal parts prior to painting. It’s quite an involved process but I believe the end result justifies the effort. Regards, Frank

Now that really is coming along nicely… Well done Jerry.

Ha ha, now that takes me back to happy days developing systems in Albion Street. At least all that knowledge has not been wasted as I used it to help design the end user requirements for this new control system. I'm sure you'd enjoy testing it really. Good to hear from you. Frank

I'm the opposite to you. I have access to SMP flexi track but not to any EMGS points as I make my own point work. I have measured a piece of SMP and the sleepers are approx 0.8mm thick with the rail head being approx 3.1mm from the top of the cork underlay. Hopefully you can measure your EMGS points to get the equivalent measurements as a comparison. Frank

Hi Dave, both use code 75 bullhead rail and so any code 75 fishplate will work. They have different sleeper thicknesses however and so you will need to pack the SMP track up slightly as you transition onto/off the EMGS point work. The packing will subsequently be hidden by any ballast. Regards, Frank

One further item I believe to be noteworthy at this time is the progress we have made on the scenic front. Most of the contouring of the land has been completed and so the next thing we needed to progress was the dry-stone walls that were, and remain, a major feature of the landscape in the area. We require over 40 feet of walling but initially we had no idea how to produce it. Eventually one of our team, Barry Spink, hit upon the approach we have now adopted. The start point are strips of 3mm ply which are set into slots carved into the polystyrene substructure. The strips are temporarily installed in their slot and the contours of the ground, and the top of the wall (less the capping stones), are marked onto the face of the ply strip with a pencil. The ply is then trimmed down to the top line of the wall with a saw to give us the basic shape. The plywood is then primed with PVA glue and once dry the surface of the ply (down to the line marking the ground level) is covered in a thin layer of DAS modelling clay applied a bit at a time by thumb. Barry has created some small dies from plastic flute board which are pressed into the DAS (whilst still soft) to recreate the random pattern of the stonework. The capping stones are recreated by cutting slits across the top of the wall with a sharp scalpel blade. Once dry the wall is painted to recreate the variety of colours characteristic of Yorkshire stone in this area and it is then ready for permanent installation after which we will be able to start recreating the pastureland which bordered the railway line around Clayton. That's it for now, Frank

This control system was the brain child of one of our members who had for a long time had an ambition to design such a system. He is a highly experienced electronics engineer with many years experience in the defence and communications industries and so this system has been so to speak a bus man’s holiday for him. As a club we were clever enough to provide any encouragement he needed. This system also enables the modeller to encode interlocking rules into the design if so wished. Once the system is fully tested I believe the plan is to offer it to the MERG Group to add to their range of kits. It might have been possible to get the equivalent operational outcome using a more traditional approach but it would have been more difficult to both wire in the first place and to trouble shoot if things subsequently went wrong. Time will tell if we have made the right choice but so far I believe we have as we have not had any issues with the system’s hardware since it was installed, and the software has been stable for several months now. We just have a few adjustments still to make to the data on the spreadsheet in the light of experience operating the layout. Frank

At the same time as working on the control system, I have also turned my attention to installing a turntable with capacity for the storage of an additional 11 locomotives. Whether we will ever have spare locomotives is an entirely different subject but this area will also double as a loco servicing and cleaning area and so the ability to run loco's in and out of this area is still important. Since this is intended to be an exhibition layout there is limited depth below the base board to install a drive system whilst keeping it safe during transportation. This ruled out a number of commercially available turntable solutions. I have chosen to install the old Airfix turntable kit because it requires a very shallow well of only about 8mm depth. The kit was modified extensively by replacing the plastic outrigger wheels with small ball races and fifth ball race was installed in the central pivot which carries the majority of the weight. I experienced problems with the outriggers flexing under the weight of a locomotive which then caused the deck of the table to drop onto the rail on which the outrigger wheels run. I had to strengthen the outriggers with nickel silver which seems to have cured the problem. We have motorised the turntable with a stepper motor and 1/250 ratio gearbox from RS Components, the control of which is achieved using a solution from the MERG group. We have had a bit of an issue with interfacing the MERG control system with our main fiddleyard control panel but I'm sure we will sort it in due course.

Hello again (at last), It has been a disappointingly long time since I last felt that we had something newsworthy to report. Progress has been slow but steady but sadly I have to report that we lost our dear colleague John Anderson to cancer early this year after a long illness. John was our lead scenic modeller with 30 plus year's experience having worked on the club's previous finescale layouts; Leicester South (GC), Tebay and Evercreech Junction. We will continue to strive to achieve the same high standard that John set for the scenic modelling on the layout. The main progress to report is that the bespoke control system is now all but complete. It is my firm belief that the success or failure of an exhibition layout is first and foremost determined by the simplicity and intuitiveness of the control system. As a visitor at an exhibition I will quickly lose interest in a layout if the train's movements are spoiled by constantly running on to dead sections of track or running up the wrong line because the operator has failed to change all the correct points or select the correct section switches. There are a few people who are just incapable of operating any layout correctly and they should not be allowed anywhere near an exhibition layout, but in the main I believe the fault lies squarely with the poor design of the control system, with the need to constantly drive across multiple controllers and manually set isolating sections, etc. The problem often grows exponentially with the size of the layout. We have done our utmost to ensure that this won't be the case with Clayton. Despite the complex trackwork in the fiddle yard the majority of the routes will be controlled by pushing the single button on the control panel associated with the siding that the required train is to depart from, or arrive into. Selecting a route automatically cancels the previous route including activating any isolating sections. At the same time the correct controller is automatically allocated to the new route as determined by how the points are set, the choice being one of the Up controller, the Down controller, or the Local controller. At the same time the selected route is highlighted by the illumination of LED's on the control panel. If the LED's are lite then there is no risk of the train running the wrong way or onto a dead section of track. The 'rules' that determine how the layout operates are written in an Excel spreadsheet which is then uploaded into the microprocessor boards installed throughout the layout and control panels. The 60 plus microprocessor boards communicate to each other using CanBUS technology. This is the same technology as is used in modern motor cars to control all the equipment in the vehicle. The station yard's panel works in the same way. The main line (station) panel is slightly different in that points and signals are controlled by a frame of DC Concepts levers. The allocation of controllers is none the less determined by how the points are set. Setting the crossover from the Down to the Up line will automatically allocate the Down controller to the Up line throughout the station area. Similarly setting the points from the Down line into the station yard will switch out the station yard's controller and switch in the Down Controller. No need to set any 'Cab Control' switches and therefore no risk of driving 'off section'.

You’re very welcome Tony. I’ve emailed you. Frank

Ultrascale do a direct replacement. If he can’t supply one immediately I’ve got several complete units from which I could ‘borrow’ a gear until the replacement arrives. Frank

I’m wondering what your motivation is for choosing to install the largest of the High Level motors in your 2P model? The more space occupied by the motor the less space is available for ballast and 4-4-0’s are notorious for being nose heavy suggesting that you will want to get as much ballast as far back in the loco as possible. I suggest that the motor need only to be sufficiently powerful as to be able to spin the wheels, rather than stalling, under maximum load. To achieve maximum haulage potential it might be better to consider installing a smaller but still adequately powered motor rather than an overly powerful motor leaving less room for ballast. In my experience the High Level 13/20 coreless motor whilst small is still more than adequate to spin the wheels in your 2P and would provide more space for ballast thus improving haulage. Just a thought…. Frank

Hi Don , I did consider that. Whilst the stay alive would allow a loco to continue rolling after the relay has tripped, as long as the loco has received the instruction to stop then the relay will prevent the loco from receiving a new instruction to set off. I therefore think the relay is sufficient to achieve the desired outcome. Frank

Hi Jerry, You've got it in one - a relay is a powered switch. This usage is about as simple as it gets but you can do more sophisticated things with them as well. As you have predicted doing this will eliminate the need to further subdivide the split rail to avoid shorting as the t/t rotates. Regards, Frank

Hi Bob, yes it just requires a standard, non latching, relay. Frank