NFWEM57

I 

6 hours ago, jamesed said:

my suggestion is that you consider Cobalt IP Digital point motors which only work out at about £21 per set of points

Hi, Apologies, I should have been clearer. The turnout price of £45~£50 includes the turnout..!   In my case they would be, for the most part, EMGS B6s and British Finescale EM gauges points with a few bespoke built.  The cost per point is made up of, for example:

• Cost per channel of DCC control, so 1/8th of a Dijikejis DR4018  (£5) or ESU Switch Pilot Servo 3 (£6.25)
• Cost of an MP1 (£18) or Dingo MiniPoint with Switch and Servo (£9.50)
• The turnout itself (£27)

I have looked at Cobalt Digital but its runs off the track power and I could see no way of providing separate power and control so i discounted that as a solution.  All my other solutions have separate power provisions.

Patrick

I rekindled my interest in model railway during lockdown, having had a gap of 50 years...!  Although I purchase a bit of 1970s and 1980s Hornby stock to upgrade i was impressed by the level of detail and mechanical improvements of more modern offering; and shocked by the price.  Trying to improve 40 year old models to match modern standards was going to be a waste of time in most cases and more expensive than buying later offerings, stand fast some Lima models, so I gradually morphed to acquiring more recent models.  On the choice between DC and DCC it was obvious, given my engineering background, DCC would be the obvious choice and I duly purchased an ESU ECoS and use, predominantly, ESU decoders.  Sound is not the be all and end all for me although I generally have at least one of each (Diesel /DMU) class sound fitted.

Roll forward a few years and the landscape is changing.  No longer do we have to play with CVs as the human machine interface takes care of all that.  But now we have a variety of offerings and I am wondering if my ECoS is redundant given the offerings from Lodi and  YaMoRC with very much simplified firmware updates.  So, having (partially) invested in servo turnout and servo signal solutions for my planned layout, I am now considering fully committing to  MPB turnout motors and maybe even using coloured lights instead of semaphore signals.  But the problem is, which system..!!?

I have looked at the turnout solution from an overall cost basis and the cost is in the region of £45-£50 per point regardless of solution from MERG to MP1 with ESU controllers and similar.  But the advantages of the latest systems far outweigh the cost differential.  So, I am on the cusp of moving to Lodi or  YaMoRC with MP1s and similar and selling off my old DCC hardware.  However, ESU will likely remain the decoder of choice for my bespoke locomotive lighting arrangements with additional bespoke electronic.

Has anybody else found themselves taking a step back an looking at the bigger picture?

Patrick

I have made  start on the hoses and the results are reasonable.  The images below show the unpainted vacuum (top left), steam (top middle) and air brake hoses (top right and lower 4).  Note the left and right handed isolation valves on the air hoses and steam hoses and the variation in hose sizes.

The 3D D printed hose and cable sets from West Hill arrive tomorrow and whilst they are more detailed I am not sure on my planned layout it makes any difference as it is primarily a 'watching the train go by' layout and so fine detail will not be that visible.  Which brings we on to the ETH/ETS and MW cables.  There is a lot of detail on the West Hill sets and much variation between classes.  However, the fine detail might not be required for my layout and so representation (as above), rather than exact copy, might be adequate.  I'll create some ETH/S and MW cables solutions for comparison.

The key consideration is flexibility.  The RTR and West Hill sets are rigid plastic, the item above are adjustable and not perfect copies.  The vacuum hose are wound guitar string, the rest copper wire with fuse wire.

Patrick 

Patrick

On 12/05/2023 at 19:12, hksuher said:

Yesterday I learned the condition about Digikeijs bankruptcy.

Great pity as I had just started buying up Digikeijs DR4018 16-channel switch decoders for £40 a go to go with the MP1s I have started to use.  Looks like I will have to use an YaMoRC Y8116 at  £62.50, But, it looks to be way more versatile and easier to set up. 

Patrick

On 24/04/2023 at 08:59, Bucoops said:

Roll on a few years and a "keen" new storesman came along. Who decided to streamline things (know where this is going yet?) and did an analysis of stock and decided that there was too much money sitting stale in some chips compared to the usage rate and sold them.

 

2 days later he was gone and the company had to go round buying as many as they could at a much higher rate 

There are government departments that do that all the time to save money 'in year' only to have to expend far more downstream.  One manufacturer I dealt with bought all the 'excess' stock being sold off and sold it back at a far higher price a year or so later.  The problem is not storemen in the government's case, its the treasury and accountants who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.  Just look at HS2, same problem.

On 29/07/2023 at 12:08, BR traction instructor said:

Have a chat with Phil Sutton at Rail Exclusives/SLW loco works on 01780 470086...he should be able to fix you up.

Hi, thank you for the tip.  I had a look at the web site.  Was tempted by the Tyne Dock conversion set but have more or less decided on the home built solution.  After studying a lot of porotype buffer beam images have worked out cable and hose sizes.  Have drafted an article with diagrams which I will upload as a pdf in the near future.  Once my last item arrives, 2mm round rod, I will make my first set and include the images in the document.  

On 29/07/2023 at 22:13, 45125 said:

West Hill Wagon works

Thank you for the information, very useful.  I have ordered a set for C37, C45, C47 and Steam to see what they look like and maybe use as a reference.  However, at £4.50 per locomotive and unpainted, I think 'home made' might well be cheaper and, made out of wire, possibly less prone to damage and more 'adjustable'.

On 29/07/2023 at 12:03, Ighten said:

Any updates....

Yes.  Real work, sport ( I am team captain for club) and and heat (my study gets too hot in summer) got in the way..!   However, now have all the raw components (wire, guitar string, shaped plastic) and (various orange) paint and will commence on a Lima Class 47 shortly.   The Lima has a new chassis and railroad powered and unpowered bogies with Alan Gibson wheels set for EM.  Sorry for delay, aim to complete by end of August.

Patrick

Bachmann sell a set of 4 sprung buffers and air pipes as a spares pack E3165-253-05 for £5. There are similar sets on offer from them as well.

Patrick

Now that we know that P4 and a few other gauges are being catered for, should we should change the title to 'Using the easy-assembly Finetrax pointwork kits in N, 00, EM, P4 and other Gauges'.

Or better still, 'Using and Modifying British Finescale Easy Assemble Point Kits' and include the tags for N, OO, OO-FS, EM, P4. 

I have added tags except OO-FS as there was no tag available.

On 23/06/2023 at 13:59, Mainlinefreighter58 said:

I use phoenix cantrail orange 

Thanks, I purchased Phoenix COLAS Orange.  I'll see how they all turn out..! 

On 04/07/2023 at 15:40, TimberValleyRailway said:

I own a RR HST and am looking to make it more realistic

Hi, thank you for the comments.  Project overall was a failure because the railroad power bogie without traction tyres just cannot pull anything. 

You may wish to look at my other conversion for the Lima HST Conversion for some more ideas. You could certainly make use of the electrics and stay alive.

On 04/01/2023 at 13:32, WIMorrison said:

Plus, there is a generation coming behind us who have no issues using mobile phone screens 😂

Let's hope they make much larger versions of smart phones for seniors then..!

I have noticed that most publicised solutions to have a switchable red or switchable cab lights have often use 2 auxiliary channels for each light, i.e. one aux channel for each red light or cab light.   Some time ago I developed a solution to this problem which only used one aux channel per light function.  The basis of the circuit is an optocoupler which converts the sink of the auxiliary function into a power feed.  Switching on Aux1 illuminates the led which in turn enables the photo transistor which in turn pass current through to the LEDs which are connected to white and yellow.  Thus a direction sensitive setup.

On a standard 8 pin DCC decoder, with wire for Aux 2, this provides for switchable red running lights and cab lights.   I used the concept in a modified Mainline Warship to provide switchable red running lights and cab lights.  A small PCB was developed which provided separately adjustable brilliance for Head Codes, White Running Lights, Red Running Lights and Cab Lights.  The PCB is shown below.

The inputs are wired to the board, blue, green (aux1) and purple (aux2) on the left. The yellow and white are connected to the left of the DuPont connectors.  All marked with a cross on teh left hand PCB diagram.  The DuPont connectors are as follows:

• White/Orange, Yellow/Orange - Head Code Lights on chassis (LED)
• Dark Blue - Adjustable White Running Lights - Body Shell
• White/Yellow  - Body Shell
• Red - Switched Adjustable Red Running Lights - Body Shell
• Purple - Switched Adjustable Cab Light

The trimmer are 50K, all resistors are 1K.  Left light yellow PCB is top of PCB with components and middle yellow is where the track cuts are.  Dark  yellow is underside (mirror) to show where the cuts actually are.

Fitted circuit board is shown below:

Hope this is useful to somebody.

Regards,

Patrick

On 29/10/2021 at 07:13, Eveannessant said:

Necessity is the mother of learning new skills.

 

Did you build in OO or have you switched to building in O..?  Just curious, given your contributions regarding both gauges..!

Have just come across this thread..!  Very interesting.

I recently converted a Lima HST to EM gauge using the Hornby driven bogies and centrally mounted motor.   Did publish under Modifying and Detailing RTR Stock. Guess i should have published here.  Link below for interest.  Same pulling power as full fat version but for a 1/3 the cost..!

Thank you for the reply. Just ordered Vallejo Light Orange, I'll see how that goes.  

Does anybody know what colour orange is best for ETS boxes? I will be using acrylic paint.

Check for cracks in the motor casing or a stripped thread on one of the casing screws which can cause problems as the casing appear joined but is loose causing commutator contact issues.   Have had this before.  Simple fix, drill through the casing with the stripped thread and use a nut and bolt.  I think I used M2.

Couple of suggestion.  Find a rod of equal diameter to the screw head and file to a half moon shape and see if that will rotate the screw, but be gentle.  I rather think someone may have glued the screw in place so see if you can remove the other half of the head so that the eccentric can and other parts of the motion gear can be removed.  The third  option is to use a very thin fine tooth razor saw to cut through the screw under the upper connecting rod, not the eccentric; there is a locating lug underneath the eccentric.  Then it is a matter of removing the remains of the screw.  If it is in there solid then a new axle with wheels might be the only option unless you can drill and tap accurately. 

Good luck...

Only have an EM and OO test track at present on which to test all my conversions, OO for selling on and EM for me.   60:40 split diesel and steam and have all I need so set about gradually converting diesels to EM using Ultrascale; now complete.  For steam i am using Alan Gibson wheels and making my own crank pins so that I can use the original motion gear.  Did try the 3D printed gear wheels but they were invariably not as good.  Have 3 Mainline Warships which have been converted to EM with new gears, DCC and running lights. I have 3 more which will remain OO but will have replacement brass gearwheels and DCC with running lights for sale on a certain auction site at some point this year; one Green and 2 Maroon.

Always had excellent service from Ultrascale, just need to plan ahead..!

Ordered on 7 Feb 21 and delivered on 24 Feb 21...!

I had similar problems and replaced the final drive gears with brass ones from Ultrascale.  Problem solved.

I have a number of newer Lima Class 37s and Class 47s which I am converting to EM gauge with new or upgrade drive trains.  Missing from my list of part are the pipes and cables needed to add buffer beam detail.  A search of RN Web did uncover an excellent thread (Kylestrome’s 4mm Workbench) which described how to make most of the pipes using nickel silver rod and wire but not the ETS cables and junction boxes.  Have searched RM Web but nothing found.  Of course, i could resort to purchasing detailing kits from one of the usual  RTR manufacturers but that is an expensive option and does not allow flexibility in assembly and fitting.  A review of the various models revealed a plethora of ETS fits within a class.

Has anybody attempted to make their own ETS cable and junction boxes in much the same way that Kylestrome has for the pipework ?

I may as well try to make my own based on a set of weathered ETS cables for a Bachman Class 45 and prototype images and measurements.  Suitable component ordered.  First candidate is a Lima Class 47 converted to EM with a Hornby Railroad chassis, separate thread when complete.  I will update how I made the ETS cables, connectors and junction boxes here.

Now work in progress.

Patrick

10 minutes ago, Bernard Lamb said:

Note number of axles rather than length is the key factor.

I use weight per axle or per bogie for wagons and coaches.  For locos I try to get most of the weight on the drivers for steam and  the driven bogies for diesels to maximise traction for metal on metal; I avoid traction tyres.

Agree, Iain Rice 20-25 grams per axle. The mainline coaches for my test track com in at 75g per bogie, 150g overall.  Later Hornby Class 43 HSTs come in at 260g per bogie, 520g overall.