Tortuga

Same here. @NHY 581 when you say Derby are you referring to MAG?

That’s lovely. Will doing this decrease the radius at one side and increase it at the other?

I agree and I’ll be looking into that in more detail as a future project… …since ^^^this^^^, plus the successful testing with the Super D, means I’m sufficiently happy to go ahead and fit 3-links to my locos and rolling stock - we have green light for Priority 4, I repeat, green light for Priority 4!

Looking at other photos of the same train (image search for “GWR weed killing train” on Google, can’t link to relevant photo), there does seem to be a pump with an air vessel like that in @MrWolf’s photo. It’s a fascinating train (definite shades of Heath Robinson) and an interesting use of redundant/spare tenders. I thought weed killing trains were a relatively recent thing, but obviously not. Sadly a quick search for an LMS version (preparatory work for a future project!) turned up just two images and only in one of these are all the vehicles visible.

Me too!

Fair enough. Makes sense and a bit of a daft question on my part tbf; I phrased what I was getting at really badly! I was just surprised that the raised sides of the coal space weren’t cut down level with the top of the water tank.

Did they just extend the water tank by cutting out the hopper part of the coal space and plating it over?

Rude of the Welsh to write almost the whole sign in their own language, but borrow the English for the number six…

Hi Geraint. There’s three spots where it happens: two are on turnouts, but the third is on a section that might’ve changed radius between planning and track laying. I’ll try and get some photos like you suggest tomorrow. Your second thought occurred to me also. The loco does seem to “nose out” noticeably on the curves and there seems to be more slightly more side play than on my Bachmann Super Ds. The wheelsets on the 8F do seem to have softer side springing in comparison and obviously the 8F is longer (approx 20mm), though the length of the coupled wheelbase is pretty much the same. I could tweak the wiper contacts so they press more firmly on the backs of the driving wheels to stiffen up the side play if you think that’s worth a try? The pony truck isn’t sprung, though it is on Hornby’s cam arrangement, so I don’t know if some element of overcentre spring could/should be incorporated into that?

I’m sure I read that somewhere as well… I'm going to have to test whether the same issue occurs when propelling a Stanier brake van, since Alsop has hidden curves of 2’ radius…

Thanks for the sympathy! Fortunately, a more intensive testing session confirms the issue is restricted to the 8F running loco first and no problems are encountered running first. The session also confirmed that no buffer locking issues were encountered with Super Ds regardless of running direction.

While the buffer locking during loco-first propelling is a touch frustrating (I thought I’d preempted it with a minimum radius of 3’!!!), it’s not the end of the world as tender-first propelling was also used at the real Shallcrosss and, from initial tests, doesn’t result in buffer locking. I also have other locos to trial - Super Ds, an Ivatt 4F and Fowler 4Fs - but wheel cleaning of these will have to wait until I find my locomotive cradle (note to self: a block of scrap MDF doesn’t do lamp irons and good). That leaves me unable to progress with Priority 4 until I determine how prevalent the buffer locking issue is, since I might have to rethink my coupling preference from 3-links to a centre-buffer type of auto-coupler. In the meantime, I’ll move on to starting some track detailing - buffer stops and point levers. Watch this space!

Turns out the “short” rod isn’t too much of an issue: I’ve removed the 6mm wooden spacer I’d originally fitted twixt motor and baseboard and, fortunately, the rod is just long enough to operate the point. I’ve cleaned the wheels of the 8F, leading to improved running, though I feel there is still room for further improvement. I’ve also done a little more playing testing, which has revealed an unexpected issue - I’m getting buffer locking when the 8F is propelling wagons loco first, which has thrown a bit of a damper on things tbh.

That is a nice ‘halfway house’ modification of a PECO point. Trimming the sleeper ends and infilling the missing part of the sleeper has made a massive visual improvement - I had to zoom in to check whether you’d also thinned down the sleepers marked B to match the other sleepers, but you haven’t and it’s not noticeable. Excellent work!

Right. From all of the replies it seems like Osborn’s Models are still trading, though I’d question whether they actually deserve to be, given their level of communication with customers. Personally, I certainly won’t be purchasing anything from them and I won’t be recommending their services to anyone else.

Wiring on the extension board is complete, I’ve managed to swap over the wires on the switches so the movement of the toggle is in the direction I want the train to go and I’ve managed to get the crossover points to switch in opposite directions at the same time, exactly as planned! What wasn’t planned was somehow trimming the operating rod on one point motor too short. 😖 B****r.

Oh, and I forgot to say, I decided to wake up the “sleeper in the coal” as I didn’t want to lose him when I moved the loco downstairs to play with carry out testing, and it turns out @Peter Kazmierczak might’ve been right - ‘e was as stiff as a board ‘e wor! Needless to say t’local Bobby’s been tol’ an’ ‘e’s investigation’. Furst reports sez victim were awfu’ ‘eavy ter move, so t’polis suspects Lead Poisonin’.

Just had a thought; I changed the designations of my wiring colours after posting what they were, but I don’t think I updated the thread. So, for the record: Red: positive 12v DC feed to track Black: negative 12v DC feed to track (black to back) Green: common (12v DC) feed to point frogs (frogs are green) White: common (12v DC) feeds to tandem point frogs (frogs are white in this case) Orange: front 16v AC feed to point motors from passing contact switches Brown: rear 16v AC feed to point motors from passing contact switches (brown to back) Blue: 16v AC feed to point motors Yellow: 16v AC feed to passing contact switches

Tonight’s work on the layout has more or less completed the wiring on the inglenook board: The bank of switches (all four of them) and the controller socket are hanging down, opposite to the side to which they will eventually be attached; the transformer socket needs fixing to the underside of the baseboard (I’m intending to stick it using a hot glue gun - there being no mounting holes - unless anyone has a better suggestion?) and the right hand chocbloc needs replacing with a five terminal alternative so I can carry five wires (two track feeds, one point motor feed and two switch feeds) across the joint. Yes, I’ve had a play done some initial testing and I’m pleased to report that the new controller works and the points throw. I’m going to have to swap the switch wires over though, as the route set is in the opposite direction to the movement of the toggle switch - which makes operating nearly as confusing as trying to explain it! Before I do more playing further testing, I need to do some intensive loco wheel cleaning: there is movement on all tracks, but it’s neither as slow nor as smooth as I’d like. The wheels of the 8F are filthy, so it’s not a surprise really… What’s the current thinking as to the best way to clean wheels these days? Isopropyl Alcohol? Methylated Spirits? PECO’s wire brush and scraper? Huffing on them?

…and the first two wagons are Highs loaded with containers!

Managed to get a little further with the wiring before getting called down to cook dinner (Wednesdays is my turn). All the feeds (black and red) to the track linked together, frogs (green) linked to the point motors and the common AC feed (blue) running to the point motors. Just the wires that connect to the point switch to do now. I’m not sure how the two points at the end of the loop were operated at the real Shallcross. The furthest one was definitely operated by a hand lever (it’s clearly visible in several photos of that end of the yard), but I can’t see a lever or rodding for the other. Might it have been sprung (in the same manner as a sprung catch point on an incline), so it was always set for the straight road, the weight of a loco running over it causing it to switch to the curved route? Since I can’t see any way of getting points to reliably switch route as the loco passes over them, my pair are going to switch together from a single lever* (like a crossover), since I can’t see a situation where one point needs to be set to the straight route while the other is set to diverge. (*passing contact toggle switch)

Thank you for passing on the sad news Jeff. I can’t think of anything to add which others haven’t already said, apart from to say that I’m going to miss seeing the notification “Rowsley17D commented on…”

Fortunately, they’ve yet to charge my Dad’s credit card. He’s going to let his credit card company know and keep an eye on whether they charge him.

So it looks like failing to answer phones and respond to emails isn’t a new thing and, from the latest post on that thread, the only surefire way to elicit a response is to send an email that threatens legal action and to rescind payment. Thanks folks. I’ll pass that onto my Dad.

Thanks Gents. I searched, but couldn’t find any mention of them after October last year, hence starting this topic.