Chris Williamson

To confirm mine returned in the post on Monday. All now in full working order. Well worth waiting for. My thanks to Rapido for dealing with this in an open and professional manner. Doubtless a number of lessons have been learnt that will be applied to the production of the Class 44.

Lots of hard work, but fun too! We were steam testing on works trains on Sunday afternoon after the last of the adjustments to fishplates and the like. Waiting for a clear line to deliver and install the nameboard at Lime Kiln Halt: Running back to Lhen Coan:

Still intermittently making progress with the wiring of the Mimic Panel. Meanwhile, a break from other domestic duties, this morning, to assist with the unloading of fittings for the new shop at the 1:1 scale Narrow Gauge 'Layout'. An opportunity to admire our efforts on this winter's track relay, all looking rather fine in the sunshine. Though recycled plastic sleepers have been used, the work was a little heavier and a bit more involved than pinning Peco Flexitrack in place. Some photographs of the Compare and Contrast variety for your amusement: Into the first curves. And then into the second set. My efforts at 1:76 aren't in quite as sharp a focus here; probably for the best... A reminder to me, too, that the Goods Shed still needs down-spouts and other details attaching.

Keith, You're spot-on regarding the 'cab control' and it's true to say that the principle is easy to understand. The 'complexity' is the physical manifestation of applying the simple principle to my ridiculous choice of 14 track sections compounded by my 'truly heroic' and 'over-the-top' desire to add the indicator LEDs to the section switches. These days mental health professionals have names and labels for my kind. I'm lucky enough to be old enough to have avoided being so identified in my younger years - but I digress! It is the sheer quantity of copper that has to be employed and the lack of space within which to route it all that's taxing me. That said, I can't escape the fact there's a certain justice at play here. Another Digression for those still awake: At the tender age of 16 I started work in the Drawing Office of a company now long gone out of business. They made control gear for big industrial electric motors. There was only one drawing board and I was the only draughtsman. The former, and at that time semi-retired, manager used to throw me scraps of graph paper covered in indecipherable spiders scrawl by way of designs. Somehow I turned these into engineering drawings and parts orders for the men on the shop-floor to work to. I had to learn fast and grow up quickly. These were hard men who didn't like to be messed about, albeit they just about tolerated me. At the same time the general manager was always on my back to keep costs to a minimum. We used to buy-in ready made pressed steel cabinets for the contactor panels that didn't need to be specially built for harsh environments - mostly we built ships-deck gear, mostly MoD, and to a lesser extent supplied the now defunct NCB with flameproof kit for the coal mines - remember them? So on one occasion I managed to order a cabinet nearly too small to fit the job - smaller was less expensive than larger you may be surprised to learn. Cabinet arrives along with the other bought in materials for the job and I take my related drawings down to the print room we shared with our sister company who manufactured the motors. Prints made, back to the shop-floor to deliver same to the foreman, who by chance, also happened to be our principle wire-man. He looked at the drawings then the cabinet, then the kit to be fitted into it. This was shortly followed by an explosion of expletives directed at me which, in summary, enquired how the F*** **** ******* ****** **** he was supposed to ***** ****** ****ing well fit all this *** **** *** into this tiny little box. I can't recall my answer but do recall departing the shop-floor ears burning. Being a skilled fitter, the foreman, of course, worked wonders at somehow squeezing everything in. I learned a lesson. Now it's my turn to test my skills!

As Mike quite rightly points out, I've been far too clever for my own good from start to finish with this layout. A triumph of Enthusiasm over Common Sense. Somewhere earlier in this never ending story I mentioned that this was originally intended to be a quick and simple layout that I could complete without too much effort, learn lessons and move on to something else - whatever that might be? However, it has, through my naivety, taken on a life of its own that will doubtless run for several years yet. That's frustrating in one way, but satisfying in another. Perversely, I'm enjoying the slow progress and the challenges and the hard won and seemingly small successes that come along every few months. I was very tempted in my own mind to follow Ian's suggestion "If it works...". Alas the original cardboard panel was truly life expired and the related design work very much 'unfinished business'. Having got this far there's still one element to add. That needs me to tidy up to make room. Having done that, I still like to transfer everything from the Hardboard to an Acrylic panel. The choice of 12V DC control is the root cause of the complexity here. Possibly foolishly, I've designed a layout that can be operated by two controllers at the same time. To enable that, the track plan as been split into (a possibly ridiculous) 14 sections. Each of these has a selector switch to allow track-power to come from one or other of the two controllers. It's this that's the cause of the wiring headache. If that wasn't enough and just to go properly over-the-top, each switch is going to have a pair of LEDs, one either side, to provide a better visual indication of the controller selected. These LEDs still need to be wired in and I really do need to make room to safely poke the soldering iron in to do that! Conversely, the point and signal operation is all DCC based using the DCC Concepts Cobalt Alpha setup. Expensive and undoubtedly far more complex than wire-in-tube or some other hand operated system that would, lets face it be far more in keeping with the Narrow Gauge Ethos, it has, nonetheless, proved terribly easy to set up and only involves two DCC Bus wires to control everything. Beautifully simple if not quite as simple as manual operation. And let's quietly overlook what I've spent on this! The corresponding Alpha Mimic has been equally straightforward to install. Two small control boards daisy-chained to the DCC Bus, one each to match the two cobalt boxes, and a set of plug and play red/green LEDs to reflect the settings sent by the Cobalt. Some pictures to help make sense of all of that. The Cobalt boxes: Two views of the Mimic with section and isolator switches: The switch and two LEDs under the controller are to allow the selection of a plug-in walkabout controller on Track 2.

Keith, For variation in colour for the likes of the luggage: have you tried mixing shades of paint? I've had some success, where I've previously used a primer coat, of darkening or lightening the shade of a colour using grey, black or rust for darker or white or very pale grey or brown for lighter. Very little paint pigment and proportionally plenty of thinners seemingly adds to the subtlety of the tones. I use the tip of a cocktail stick to keep quantities to an absolute minimum at any one time. Others may have better suggestions?

Still pondering window frames, but encouraged by Ian's comment. I'm considering making this a little more three-dimensional by adding an outer frame made from fine plastic strip from my stock of Evergreen supplies Pondering, I have to say, is being interrupted by other priorities again: a) the pressing need to refit the fast failing 35 year old kitchen inherited from the late aged parents - while the planning and decision making is consuming a disproportionate amount of time and energy the end result has to be right first time as I only intend doing this once; b) having first promised my help well over a year ago, I have, since January, spent my Sundays assisting with a big re-lay of the 1:1 scale "Line that Runs Uphill to the Sea" - I should have known better at my age, but I'm sure the hard labour is good for the Soul! Meanwhile I've conclude that the best way to make progress here is to tackle the job that's otherwise been annoying me most: Cf The motorisation of the beam engine and the fiddle yard lighting. So to tackle the complete bodge of a temporary control panel fashioned from corrugated cardboard for the purpose of providing a quick and dirty mounting for the sectional switching. This is where that ended up: While it fulfilled it's primary purpose and allowed me to think a bit more about how to arrange the Mimic aspect (I'm using DCC Concepts Alpha Mimic) it was never meant to last this long. So a few evenings were spent drawing up a more practical design and this has been carefully transcribed onto a piece of scrap Hardboard cut to size. Prototype number two, you could say. The final panel will be fashioned from some acrylic sheet left over from a bathroom refit. One day... Stop scrolling and look the other way now if you're easily offended! Meanwhile, on reflection, things have got a little out of hand and I've now to spend some time untangling a Rat's Nest and to tidy up the wiring into a more manageable arrangement. The reality is worse than it looks. This may take a little while...

Can anyone here confirm the Running Numbers of the all the Esso Class B tanks that are going to be available through retailers? I'm confused on this point for the following reason: I've ordered and received the four available from Rails. These came with the numbers shown on the Rails website. Other retailers (TMC for e.g.) are showing the same four product numbers but with four different Running numbers to those I've received. Are there really eight different wagons available (I'd like to have another four, but not to duplicate Running Numbers) or has a transcription error been replicated across TMC and others? Anyone at Revolution able to clear this up?

The results of a quick crude test! Scrap material used and just pushed into the opening. I haven't stuck anything. A pencil crayon was used to add some colour. I'm pleased with how sharp the end result is, but still in two minds as to the need for something a tiny bit more three dimensional. If I do pursue this approach, I'm thinking of using watercolour paints once the frame has been cut out. A more solid colouring might help? Thoughts and suggestions now sought. Don't be shy. I won't be offended. Constructive criticism and suggestions all welcome.

I never saw Chee Tor. The last Manchester show I attended was, if I recall correctly, the first showing of Chiltern Green. For an N Gauge exhibition model, or for that matter any exhibition model, it was, in my view, way ahead of its time. However, at the same show I also saw 2mm finescale for the first time and that was just short of mind-blowing. I'm afraid that's the moment I fell out with N. It just didn't compare! So I was all set to scrap my efforts in N and start again in 2mm FS. But I never did. Too many other distractions got in the way. That said, my late father became an avid 2mm FS practitioner and was a member of the 2mm Society to the end of his days. "N in the landscape" is what tempts me now. Particularly as the RtR offering is now so finely detailed and there's the possibility of approaching the FS 'look' using proprietary Code 40 track and turnout kits. But I need space and time...

I turns out I may not have vainly whiled away endless hours scrolling through various model railway Facebook posts. Those with memories that go back that far, as well as the inclination to keep track of my sporadic and sometimes unrelated ramblings, may recall me fretting about window frames. Yesterday evening I came across the following short instructional film in the N Gauge Forum: Sticky Label Window Frames I might just have an hour or two to experiment, so I'm off now to root through the stationery draw.

Are you going to run a Spot the Difference competition Mike?

I've seen a couple of Tramfabriek videos on how they have fitted DCC sound. They are amazing. But the best, by a long, long way, has to be one by Rob Bishop that Tramfabriek shared. If you haven't seen this already then you do need to watch to the very end: Best sound for Bachmann Britomart Quarry Hunslet.

With apologies for hijacking what ought to be a 009 thread: Yes it is a wonderful model and definitely one to set in motion and just watch for the fun of it! I'm not sure what started me down this line beyond an initial curiosity. For over 20 years we lived in the Derbyshire Peak District just a half hour bike ride from Millers Dale and the old Midland main line. The track has been converted into a cycle trail with all the tunnels reopened and lit. It's an amazing stretch of civil engineering in a beautiful and relatively dramatic setting. I've always been fascinated by it. What I hadn't realised, until very recently, is that there was a station at Monsal Dale, between Millers Dale and Monsal Head. Unlike Millers Dale, there's hardly a trace of it left now. There are quite a few photos here - Disused Stations: Monsal Dale Station (disused-stations.org.uk) I'm badly tempted tempted to recreate something from the late 1960s based on this. N Gauge would be ideal with motive power restricted to diesel for the purposes of reliability and pulling power. As another 'big kid' amused by 'simple things' I just want to sit and watch as a succession of long trains come past in either direction with the occasional local train or DMU stopping at the station. So I'm also going to have to confess to already having acquired a small number of locos and stock as well as to have started experimenting with DCC control. Supposing and only supposing for now - let's not get carried away here - that I could clear a good long space in the garage, then there might be room to construct a baseboard of sufficient length to do justice to such a project. With a storage yard of at least eight up and eight down roads and the whole thing controlled by iTrains or similar I could do just that - sit and watch as the trains go by. Of course, the Passing of Time and other calls on my time are the opposing forces in all of this day-dreaming... Meanwhile, here's a wonderful film of the branchline from Millers Dale to Buxton Midland station - Watch Through Miller's Dale (Near Buxton, Derbyshire) Midland Railway online - BFI Player

With the financial year end only just over two months away Hunslet must be very pleased with the record number of recent deliveries out of their works. Britomart and Nesta have now arrived at Rheynn Eas Mine. In typical and hopelessly optimistic Manx fashion the directors ordered not one but two Quarry Hunslets to shuffle wagons on the two short sidings that serve the mine. On reflection, perhaps it wasn't that daft an idea as, doubtlessly, one or other will always be out of service and waiting months at a time for spare parts from the Adjacent Island. Warning: Yet more gratuitous Quarry Hunslet footage follows! For those who haven't yet had enough of people posting about their new locos, here's a badly shot, slightly out of focus contribution to the genre:

Prevarication (Manx: Traa dy liooar) - Over a year ago, well on reflection, possibly nearly two years ago, I purchased a cheap set of LED lights from B&Q. These are the sort intended for fitting out of sight under wall-mounted kitchen cupboards and the like. They were neither well made nor very expensive. Pondering them for some weeks, I began to wonder why I'd bothered. They looked more trouble than they were worth for the few pounds I'd seemingly wasted on them. I also began to realise that I should have paid more attention to how the fiddle yard (under the Mine) was to be illuminated at the time of building (see also: Hindsight). If you've been following progress here and not lost interest due to the lack of it, you'll know that Time Passes. This is how it's got to be 2023 already! However, energised by the success with the Engine House servo, I determined it was time to banish the darkness 'underground', so to speak. A bit of electrical butchering followed by the liberal use super-glue and Lo, there was Light!

Wiring slots have now been cut through both the foamboard landscape structure the Engine House sits on and the fiddle-yard base. Everything is wired up with the servo controller inside the main control panel and there's a switch mounted in the panel acting as an on/off switch for the servo operation. Still to come: window frames, painting and final fixing of the beam assembly that's currently held in place with double-sided sticky tape. I need to extract the beam to be able to paint it prior to final assembly. A couple of short videos follow:

As Woody noted in a recent post, other things often get in the way of modelling progress, or Tinkering as it is sometimes called. Considering my next moves with the Rheynn Eas Mine Engine House has occupied my thinking for nearly a year now, with nothing to show for it. The Christmas and New Year break from domestic tasks has provided the impetuous to stop staring at the box of servo parts and get off my ar*e and do something about it. I finally figured a way of mounting the servo within the building. I'd previously thought about mounting it below the building in the fiddle-yard area, but couldn't think of a satisfactory way of completing the necessary mechanical linkages. So, here we are:

If it helps, I got a Graham Farish blue Midland Pullman for Christmas. Still envious of those who got the OO Triang Blue Pullman as Christmas presents back in the 1960s!

And then there were three: A Dundas DM28 added to the rake. Time and patience are required to get everything square. These kits are not to be rushed. I've been very happy with the end result. Each has been better than the last and I think I may have finally masted the art of assembling Greenwich couplings reliably.

And then there were two: A Dundas DM28 next, when time allows.

Given the standard of driving and particularly shunting, the Independent Inspector's interim report on the line mandated the fitting of airbags to all passenger carrying stock. Obviously, these have to be tested as part of the construction process!

I don't like permanently fixing rolling stock roofs in place. To get round this, I've been constructing a frame to the internal dimensions of the stock in question and attaching the frame to the roof. The difficult part of this is locating the frame onto the roof in just the right position. This is best achieved in-situ, but care is needed to avoid sticking the roof and frame assemble to the body at the same time. It's only just occurred to me that Blutac is the perfect solution to this problem.

Tinkering - Part n+1 Wet Autumn days are the perfect excuse for endless Tinkering! A start on the next DM29 with lessons learnt from the first: Make sufficient notes regarding locations of additional details that they can be replicated on future builds; The above includes noting what locations were used on the Bill Bedford handrail jig used for bending and drilling; Add the wire rails, door handles and end steps prior to assembling the coach body - it's far easier to measure out and mark locations as well as to fit; Use 0.45mm dia wire for the rails rather than 0.5mm dia; Care is needed applying solvent. Lessons learnt that should be noted for the next build: Add the end seats prior to attaching the second coach side but fit the centre seats after attaching the second coach side.

Tinkering - Part 5, Act 1. Having got this far with the Dundas DM29 4-wheel coach kit, I did feel the moulded door handles were a little underwhelming. Hence the very lovely Markits 'T' handles. The original moulded handles have been removed with a sharp blade prior to fitting. A little more cleaning up is required prior to priming. The detail on the handle is truly exquisite! I'm just sorry that this is the best my camera could do. I've another DM29 and a DM28 still to build. I'm going to be interested to see what the complete rake looks like and if I'm them tempted to build some more. Who knows, I might even look at attempting a 'Pairs' bogie version?