Steve Hewitt

Sector Plate now under DCC Control.....

The sector plate is the link between the Station and Cutting and the "Rest of the UK."

i.e.  the fiddle yard sidings.

Our move to DCC is a bit unconventional in that DCC is restricted to control of the trains and is deployed through the original DC Route Control system we have been using for many years.

This means we only have control of Locos/Trains when they are on a selected route. At all other times they are electrically dead.

This also allows us to give every loco the same DCC Address.

We are also standardising the auxiliary DCC functions to a limited number which each have dedicated control buttons at each of the three operating locations.

I hope this is clearer in this short video I shot on Wednesday when I managed to get on hour with John.

We're making good progress replacing the stolen locos and looking forward to regular running sessions again in the not too distant future.

Steve.

Great progress on the baseboards............

The fiddle yard design is expected to fit on  a series of 2 ft wide boards, so the overall scheme is seen here: 

We intend to avoid the need for the five half width boards shown above.

The clubroom is a hive of activity in these shots taken on Tuesday evening.

Looking North, the shed will be on the left, the station in the middle and the Yard/Branch on the right.

The view south.

The full 32 ft length of the layout.  It will be 12 ft wide, and will comprise some 30 boards each 4ft by 2ft.

I'll try to show the way the boards are aligned and secured. Fairly conventional except the "bonded" arrangement of the scenic boards has required a variation of the "pattern makers dowels" design.

That's for next time.

Steve.

Here's the third Beattock signal..........

Good progress is also being made with the baseboards. Should complete the front "scenic" boards very shortly.

Steve

Latest additions......

The Jinty (and others?) will handle some of the Suburban services or occasionally perform Station Pilot duties.

This Compound will be a regular on the "North Wales" services.

Some of the other items stolen last year are also being replaced.

John sent this photo with the comment:

"Just arrived this morning, replacement coaches for the North Wales train that was stolen last year.

I already have enough spare vehicles to make the train up to full strength and have received E M axles to convert."

More soon......

Steve

Another one ready for service very soon...........

John has sent these pics with the comment:

"That’s another one almost ready for service, just a few bits for Rob to attend to and some adjustments to the sound."

The fleet is certainly growing.

Steve

On 08/03/2023 at 22:54, iak said:

So that answers what signals one was working on in Preston.?

An interesting project...

Yes, indeed!

Could this be the first layout where the signals are ready before the trackwork?

The first two completed signals:

1.  The Down Platform Starter - possibly the lowest doll I've seen on a bracket signal.

For viewing under the footbridge.

It has a Banner Repeater further back along the platform, but I haven't started on that yet.

2.  The Up Home signal controlled from the North Box.

With the South Box Distant below it.

I assume it's so tall to ensure viewing over the "Crooked Road" bridge.

It is seen here over the loco cab:

In the background is the third signal, which I started at the Preston show.

All lower quadrant  arms controlling the Moffat Branch facilities.

Five arms for "Up" movements, and two for "Down".

A lattice gantry , it carries five dolls and spans one goods line.

Here are a couple of work in progress shots.

Most of the static metal work complete. The finials will be added after painting and final assembly. 

Meanwhile progress on the baseboards is going ahead at quite a pace in the Clubroom:

Extensive use of jigs is accelerating our progress.

As we left things yesterday.

And we have a plan..........

More soon I hope, if we continue to progress.......................

Steve

More additions to the fleet............

New stock goes through several steps to prepare it for operation:

• Conversion to EM gauge
• Test running under DC control through all the layout.
• Installation of DCC chips and speakers etc.
• Test running under DCC control.
• Weathering

The latest locos to pass through this process are:

The G2.

 Royal Scot - just a fit on the turntable.

In addition to the conversion of R-T-R stock, a number of locos are/will be hand built - 

More later.

Steve

Great to be back together............

Things have moved on a lot since all the Lime Street Crew were last together to discuss the way forward.

Great moves have been made in developing our use of DCC and incorporating it into the existing control system.

Another few weeks should see the two control panels modified with the DCC controls integrated.

At present we are using the development versions of our new controllers.

Some "ground rules" have been agreed for how we will use DCC.

Each engine will use DCC for driving control, supported by Directional lighting, Sound synchronised with speed at about 15 mph, Modest amounts of Inertia and momentum, and a large "stay alive" capacitor. 

There will be  single set of control buttons which will execute similar but loco specific functions when used.

e.g.  Whistle/Horn, brakes, drain cocks, safety valves, shovelling coal etc. etc.

Yesterday saw the Crew gather at John's for updates and training/practice and an excellent lunch!

The Crew L-R:

John Holden; Noel Coates; Les Green; Steve Hewitt; John Rocca; Rob Harrison.

Her are some little video shots I managed to get on my phone.  Sorry for the shakes and fuzzy focus.

Very early, before the sun is up.

We are soon going to be having regular operating sessions, once the control panels are completed.

All the operators will have to go through several hours of practice as we all get to grips with our DCC.

More to follow as soon as possible..........

Steve

by Blackburn & East Lancs MRS.

Our latest club project in 4mm scale is set in the BR era - pre-Electrification of the West Coast Mainline.

It will attempt to represent approximately a half-mile length of the mainline and the area covering Beattock Station with its goods yard, branch to Moffat and engine shed.

In reality the WCML here is straight but space constraints will force us to curve the tracks at the North and South extremities.

Even so, the layout will have a footprint of some 32 ft by 12 ft.

Beattock has been chosen as the location for our model mainly because of the intense activity  generated by the need for Banking Assistance to be provided for most Northbound (Down) trains as they face the climb to Beattock Summit immediately ahead.

It will also meet the needs of our members who have appropriate rolling stock from our sadly missed Oxenholme layout.

Consequently, we will be using DC analogue control by default, but we intend to facilitate the use of DCC control at least as far as train control is concerned.

Making a start.....

We have chosen to construct the baseboards from 4 ft by 2ft units. and these are layed out in a "bonded" arrangement.

Adjacent boards are aligned with the aid of "pattern makers" dowels, and secured by M8 Star Knobs and Insert Nuts.

Here is the progress to date:

As we left our clubroom yesterday, with several glued joints clamped and left to cure.

More soon........

Steve.

Hi Keith,

Thanks for asking. 

I'm afraid no further news on the stolen models. 

We got two back very quickly when they appeared on Ebay within two days. 

A further  two were spotted for sale at Guildex and subsequently returned.

Nothing since.

Steve. 

On 16/09/2022 at 16:52, Graham108 said:

Any progress on this aspect of the thread?

Thanks for your quetion.

We have had a couple of small successes.

First was two locos appearing on eBay within 48 hours of the burglary!

They were spotted by an RMWebber based in Hong Kong who got in touch.

The details were passed to the local police and ultimately the two engines were returned.

Second was more recently when two 0 Gauge items which had been taken from a display case were spotted for sale at the Guildex event.

They were withdrawn form sale and subsequenlty returned to John the following week.

In addition to the locos stolen from the layout, a significant stock of RTR locos, awaiting convertion to EM gauge, were also taken from a storage cabinet.  Several such items have been spotted on eBay, but it isn't possible to be certain of their provenance as they had not be "customised".

We continue to keep a close watch on-line, and are always hopeful that the more difficult to replace items will surface.

Steve.

New developments..........

As a consequence of losing almost all our Locomotives in the Burglary, a period of contemplation was necessary to determine the way forward.

In order to get things moving, quite literally, a process of acquiring replacement locos has begun.

Some very kind gifts and discounts have enabled a start. 

Predominantly R-T-R 00 based, conversion to EM in bulk is underway.

Following very interesting experiences with DCC and Sound on Mike Norris's Preston layout

and "research" at shows etc. we have decided to pursue a detailed investigation into incorporating DCC/Sound into all our locomotives.

Since we are not starting from scratch, we will have to integrate the new technologies into our existing control system, and John and Geoff are making good progress on that front.

Taking an existing Coal Tank loco and adding necessary chips and speakers (plug and play - no soldering required) we now have a working test train.

The DCC control is integrated into the DC control system (don't ask me how).

Here is the result of the first test:

Futher developments to follow, comments and constructive suggestions welcome.

Steve.