JN

I realise possibly out of era, but perhaps worth looking into china clay and timber trains (I noticed you put OTAs in your Speedlink section).

@Accurascale Fran

Just letting you know you (Accurascale) have used an incorrect spelling on your website. 'Onllywn Colliery' should be Onllwyn Colliery.

On 30/11/2022 at 15:00, adb968008 said:

flickr url / not mine

 

flckr url / not mine

 

 

i often wondered why the former, near end of life was repaired, whilst the latter at the start of its was not.

 

In both images, it seems the skin bought the damage, but the frame above the fuel tanks behind seems to hold strong

One is crumpled. One is dented.

4 minutes ago, MikeParkin65 said:

Appreciate I may be coming across as I have shares in Heljan (!) but another positive to report. Have fitted as No 18 Kadee to the Number 2 end with all the detail parts still in place (which incidentally took me well over an hour to fit to one end of my Bachmann version and dont even get me started on the Accurascale Deltic!) and it traverses my layout without issue. So thats down to a minimum radius 36 inch (for curved Peco turnout). 

You are allowed to praise models for being good models.

1 hour ago, Chiltern Junction said:

 

 

Great post. Even if you do have a 100% accurate scan, some things just do not scale. What may be a visible feature in real life such as a rivet, fold or ridge in the body may be so tiny at OO scale that it isn't visible once painted, so it has to be made overscale as a result to retain the 'look'.

 

Materials do not scale nicely either. Loco bodies should be thinner than tissue paper at 1:76 scale and glazing should be thinner than a piece of printer paper. A 100% accurate model in 4mm would be so fragile you would not be able to pick it up without it bending in half or breaking under its own weight. So again, compromises are needed. Despite plastic loco bodies getting finer, they are still hundreds of times over scale and plastic doesn't bend and flex to conform to a shape like metal, it has to be moulded or cut and that means it will never look exactly the same.

 

And then there is the paint. To be true to scale, paint should be less than 1/1000 of a mm thick on an OO model. That is physically impossible with current technologies but it has impacts on the way light reflects and casts shadows on a model.

 

So given you cannot create a 100% accurate scaled copy, all manufacturers have to make decisions on how to scale their designs accordingly. Heljan and Bachmann have made different choices using what is likely to be exactly the same data points. Neither is right or wrong, they are both just interpretations.

 

Yellow is yellow. Light sources (bulbs or the sun) might affect colour perception. I know from photography that light bulbs are about 3300k and sunlight is about 5500k (the higher the k value, the bluer/colder the temperature). Bleach (fade), dirt etc will impact on how a colour is perceived. Old photographs (can) fade and the way screens are calibrated (RGB etc and emit blue light) might have an impact, too. However, yellow will still reflect the yellow part of the yellow light spectrum. Different wavelengths, so the colour can be measured objectively assuming the other variables to be fixed. I do not understand why a colour would change with the size of an object given light behaves the same way for all things in all places. However, I get most people want to operate their new model and do not have a spectrometer to measure everything.

I imagine the people involved in the design process know how to mix various colours to get the correct colour from a British Rail manual. Basically, the same idea as the Deluxe colour charts. If not, I imagine design teams order paints to that specification rather than buy a few tins of the closest matching Humbrol.

26 minutes ago, drjcontroller said:

 

Many thanks Roy.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134886031132?itmmeta=01HR4MHW83QK3GD5D5CGTMN3JG&hash=item1f67d57f1c:g:zPUAAOSwBrtj3jzX&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0C0FITiewXTCRBlo4BCTWJJ6YqkM0e5jzciUS2gRe9XvH9o1%2B4mtEvcyJ3cBgZOFGrNUKDTWx1PktEgo11KbsVrwtgpYFZfG4oTwso0%2BIU0s1kkqzLD2lH9QJ%2BuBgRHrkdV4c3DPUQNT3me5042xIXEgQ%2B2MyD8opXRCideMW%2BxsEkAJjMrrIMDjsS36VQadXXnkz5MaXYfWh43lQpzc7ZqZQJObxod%2FmATIy7j9Bz8Sdo2A6vALygR1okLBKPJKLxOcCNrPqtRerLRGMzAJdEo%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5jEx5TBYw

if you feel like nine is too many ;).

22 hours ago, Roy Langridge said:

Try this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134949932258?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=Ny7IWU6CQFG&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

Roy

Thank you as well, Roy.

On 03/03/2024 at 08:04, JohnC said:

Hi JN

I bought some superb coal loads from smuggler7 on EBay. He has also done loads for many other wagon types and they are excellent without being over expensive.

John

Thank you for that. His loads certainly do look impressive. I remember asking Accurascale if they would be making loads for their HAAs as was done for the PFA wagons (was not a deal breaker) and someone told me I should be making my own loads. Anyway, I have just got myself some loads from the smuggler7 ebay store. A few of the other loads look impressive, too. Thanks again.

4 hours ago, JohnC said:

Hi JN

I bought some superb coal loads from smuggler7 on EBay. He has also done loads for many other wagon types and they are excellent without being over expensive.

John

Thank you for tip. Will check the store out.

I hope the following pictures help.

Route: York-Leeds-Sheffield-Birmingham New Street-Cardiff Central-Swansea. Sorry I cannot help with identifying the first few coaches.

A couple of miscellaneous services:

Bristol Temple Meads - York

Glasgow Central to Birmingham New Street (via Kilmarnock)

Wolverhampton High Level-York

Also, I do not know if Nottingham-Cardiff would count as XC service, but that would have gone through Birmingham New Street and was usually a 158.

Not sure if I know of any other services, sorry. Anyway, I hope you have found these useful.

32 minutes ago, Paul W said:

3 of the superb Cavalex 56's....

Awesome. I am tempted to use the same photo for my '074, but I want a little practice beforehand. I noticed another photograph on Flickr of '074 going through Doncaster station with the same streak (about the same time (spring 1991)).

I got myself a triple pack. I am wondering if people know a good way to make coal loads from scratch. What technique do you use? What I have in mind is to make a card base and a sort of papier-mâché mound with smooth that off with something then putting the coal on that smooth surface.

On 27/02/2024 at 22:09, RBE said:

I am not sure what you are saying here? That you want the nameplates and pipework pre fixed? I am always happy to give advice regarding fitting nameplates and pipework etc.

I ordered from Ultimate Model Railways, so getting the pipework prefixed was not an option. I do not mind trying, but is something I have not been successful in this instance. Still, better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. Best to have succeeded, but some worth in trying. I do get easily demoralised and I was also annoyed with myself for not being as good as other people. Due to my autism I also have a very binary worldview - in this case: pass or fail. I look at the Doncaster layout and am impressed by that and would like to be able to produce something of that quality myself. I am my own harshest critique and being a perfectionist means my goals are often higher than my abilities.

Thanks, but I was not complaining I never got help. Someone had advised me to use blacktack and that seems to have worked for the nameplate. I get you are busy and I am not the centre of the universe. Also, my point was more about critics who do not help, but I get people have other demands on their time than the latest post on a forum.

The depot plaque and double-arrows I used glue for as the 'tack was too fiddly for me. The depot plaque was really easy as I just put a blob of glue in the centre and I managed that as soon as I got the glue home from my local newsagent. I used a cocktail stick for a small blob of glue as using the nozzle would have wasted glue even if the glue does dry clear. I used a moist paper towel to clean up. The jig was easy to use for the plaque and the plaque's shape and look made straightening easy. I had difficulty lining the double arrows and nameplate (especially the double arrows) up straight and put the jig hard down to the roof to make sure the nameplate was straight and used the grey line to make sure the plate is on as straight as possible. I did try the two-sided tape provided once I realised that the two-sided tape is the two sided tape, but the blacktack seemed to work better for the nameplate. Just really thin sticky stuff and used the technique as with the PVA glue.

However, I was struggling to get the pipework in the holes just because of my shaky hands from anxiety and such. For the three I have done so far (the coupling chain and two pipes to the left) I just held my tweezers near the grab and put them in. The pipes have stayed in, so I will not be messing with them. I just need to put the remaining two pipes in. As much as I would like to use the chain coupling I will be best using the tension lock coupling, so I only really want the piping at the one end. I have no idea . I can barley tell the contours of what the model people are wearing, so I am going to struggle painting the crew. I have got a set of very thin brushes, but the detail is looking too fine. I joked with my dad about me probably needing a magnifying glass to see the model let alone fixing pipework to the model. Not, obviously, so, but I was using the exaggeration and humour to make a point. I prefer oo-gauge just because that is what I already have.

The HAA wagons I ordered came today and I want to get on with making coal load mounds, but I will pop some advice request on the HAA wagon thread. My dad gave me a copy of The Guardian on Thursday, so I have some papier-mâché material and I have thought I could use the cardboard the wagons came in as the base for a papier-mâché base (I did not ignore everything on Blue Peter!). I just want to have a go at a different task. I have no deadline, no exhibition, to get everything done by/for.

I had a quick look at the wagons and, well, another excellent model. I do not even know where to begin with making a model, so thanks for making a well-made model. Thanks to Trains4u, too, for sending quickly - I thought the wagons would be coming early next week. Not as exciting as a locomotive, but still high quality.

Sorry to AY. I was a little over the top. I tend to keep silent until things get too much. I also have the sensitivity skills of a sledgehammer at the best of times.

Before I sign-off on this essay, I found a website about coal mining: https://www.nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/coal-mining-in-the-british-isles/yorkshire-coalfield/. Some of the details are a bit much as I only really have a railway interest, but people with an engineering interest might be interested in the technical aspects of the pump house engine details. I checked out the website for dates of coal mine closures, so I would not create a timetable for a colliery/power station run from a closed colliery. If people are interested in the operational side of things I have found:

http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/elrs/_mileages/w/wag1.shtm. I cannot state to the accuracy of the website, but a useful guide (the order is correct, but the measurements might be incorrect - I am using the information as a standard). My dad uses the guide of eight revolutions of his six by four layout as about five miles. In my flat I have a six by one alcove for a shed layout. I could probably do something such as the foyer area of Knottingley MPD

Use as a working diorama as well as learning to weather, scratchbuild and put together kits etc. Maintain the locos with a rolling road and join a model railway club to talk trains and life more generally. I am doing this, amongst other reasons (such as: I like trains), as something to do other than watching YouTube.

On 25/02/2024 at 14:01, AY Mod said:

 

In what way are statements of fact insulting?

I will give you an opinion ('A bit of a sad reflection') of a possible fact ('effectively killing the idea off for good'), but 'A bit of a sad reflection of the how little some were prepared to do even 12-15 years ago effectively killing the idea off for good' is not a factual statement. Also, pre-liveried items have been available since model railways began. Am I telling you that your preference is 'A bit of a sad reflection' of something? No. I did not realise I was objectively ruining the hobby for you or for anyone. Sorry if I am, but I do not believe I am doing so. Would you prefer me to stop? Presumably so if me buying models the way models are produced is factually 'A bit of a sad reflection' of something.

Perhaps people have other priorities outside the hobby or different priorities within the hobby (I am collecting route information then I can drive the train according to that) or have wider tolerances generally. Some people build kits or modify or scratch build an item rather than buying (fairly) generic ready-to-run models. That is all fine. Some people do not have the skill, space or time to do the same as you or James Makin. Seemed to me you were lamenting this for whatever reason. I do not have the skill or space to do everything, but last I checked I am allowed to buy an off-the-shelf model which coincides with the particular theme I am going for. You seem to be complaining off-the-shelf models which may or may not need further modification are available to the experienced an inexperienced modeller given 'A bit of a sad reflection of the how little some were prepared to do even 12-15 years ago effectively killing the idea off for good'. You replied claiming this as 'a fact' not as an opinion.

I am struggling with getting the nameplate straight even with the jig. I am also struggling with the double arrows and the piping. That is even having done Airfix kits. I have noticed I have probably clipped off the left-hand guard/step at the number two end when I rested the locomotive on one end, so I could hopefully attach the piping more easily. I probably bent the aerial with my sleeve when reaching over. I will just have to learn. The last time I tried putting on numbers etc, well, that did not go well. Putting the big numbers on was fine, but I made a mess of the TOPS panel. I also made a botch of making wagons despite having made Airfix kits. This is aside from the electronics of a locomotive. If I can buy unique numbers on the model already I will do that. I would be prepared to tolerate replicating wagon numbers as a way to compromise on not making a botch of renumbering - the whole do not let the best become an enemy of the good. Models are a simulacrum for me. I can cope with a train just looking similar to the train I am trying to represent rather than I need the model train to be a perfect scaled down version of (for example) 6D43. I as with everyone else buy the best I can afford.

I am not sorry for buying an item. I asked for advice in this thread and only one person responded. I have followed his advice and ordered the blacktack. Did you respond? Does not matter as someone else gave advice and no-one has infinite time to help everyone. I looked at James Makin's thread for advice on attaching nameplates etc. I watched an Everard Jn (and a few others) video of him attaching a nameplate. I bought cocktail sticks and some PVA glue as well as varnish. I will try the blacktack before trying the varnish. I just hope I can make a really thin strip of 'tack, so the nameplate and arrows do not look silly and (in scale) hyper-elevated.

I do not see how any of this reduces your enjoyment of modelling railways. Not as much of an achievement as scratch building and painting and creating your own transfers? I agree with that, but some people just want something to do rather than doing the hobby to win competitions. I am fine with that and the latter is more where I am at. The BR Blue Doncaster layouts and other layouts are quality layouts despite not every item having been built from scratch.

14 hours ago, rob D2 said:

It’s been suggested before with other model manufacturers but blue box wouldn’t do it because in their view it doesn’t sell - there’s a large % of modellers unable or unwilling to add decals … worked for Heljan though with their unnumbered 47s

14 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

It didn't really; most were the last to sell and most discounted. A bit of a sad reflection of the how little some were prepared to do even 12-15 years ago effectively killing the idea off for good.

 

O is a bit different though.

14 hours ago, Paul tpxguard said:

Stepping down from o gauge that’s how most of the locos I have come 

but I get what you mean I had to show one mate how todo it 

I couldn’t believe he had never done a airfix kit or something like that 

The posts quoted seem insulting.

On 24/02/2024 at 00:49, Southwich said:

Next month or so all being well - we’re happy to accept suggestions in the meantime though! 

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

Glad to hear this. I am hoping for some more FEDN (1991) locomotives.

I have made a little progress on the piping and plaques. One of the Toton shed plaques is fixed. I am pleased with that. However, I am struggling with the BR double arrows and the nameplate. The piping is a struggle, but I have managed to fix two pipes (though now the pipes are a little scruffy) and the three-link coupling. I am glad I am not doing this in n-gauge.

22 hours ago, CoachKidd said:

Hi folks... 

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for suppliers who can build the baseboards and benchwork we need for a layout we're planning for an 8' x 8` space in a spare bedroom, please?  

 

I've attached a layout design in which we're utilising the space behind the bedroom door for a fiddle yard, and we need a hinged section for access.  The baseboards must be 1m high and open underneath to accommodate IKEA Kallax storage units.  The coloured rectangles on the design are my sketches of train lengths to ensure the design can accommodate them.

 

We're based in Gosport, Hampshire, so the details for any local suppliers would be gratefully received.  Equally, we're happy to travel further afield for a suitable supplier.

 

I appreciate any help you can provide.

 

 

Not to take anything away from the other suggestions, but have you thought of B&Q and/or ordering online?

For example:

https://www.whiterosemodelworks.co.uk

https://www.scalemodelscenery.co.uk/model-railway-baseboards-352-c.asp

https://www.graingeandhodder.co.uk/shop

Not sure if those companies have delivery limits, or if you would have to pay extra, but might be worth looking at if only to compare prices and such. I have no experience of any, but I know of their existence.

Anyway, I like the look of your layout. Good to see someone using the space and not putting too much in. Nor was or is every railway a high-speed four-track main line with complicated crossings and/or ladder junctions carrying the longest trains. I also like the offshoot from the triangle (as well as the triangle). Original plan and has the look of a graceful branch line. Most layouts tend to be loops of track or end-to-end with no alternative destination involved. Some other interesting features too. What is your layout based on? A real place, a compromise of a real place (I wanted to build the whole of Toton Yard, but I only had room for x or y), a realistic hypothetical that never happened (a what might have been) of a real place, a completely fictitious place?

For the station have you thought about flipping the non-platformed run-round loop and maybe put some disused sidings in the space between the loop and the station? That is merely a suggestion, though. You could keep as is, but put in some disused sidings in anyway. Your choice.

Anyway, all the best for this project. I look forward to the updates and I hope you get many hours of enjoyment.

3 hours ago, Erixtar1992 said:

Try it…

 

when pushed towards eachother it can force them in the wrong direction, which can lead to buffer lock.

 

its a simple problem solved by a fixed bar coupling rather than something loose like tension locks ect

I had previously replied about buckling couplings and had compared buckling couplings to buffer lock.

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Not a one off - every class 60 and class 56 I own from the red box company has the same issue (total 14 locos).  Others have had the same issue as detailed on threads somewhere on here. It is probably a design issue with those models and I can’t explain the physics suffice to say it does happen and can be corrected in way I described.

Sorry. I was terse when I replied. I have subsequently realised the person I quoted might have meant buckling couplings (similar to buffer lock) rather than couplings going the wrong way. Maybe I am just wrong.

I meant 'maybe its you' in the sense of perhaps you are going into a curve too fast or your curves are too tight or something like that. Although, the whole train should be moving at a constant speed, but I suppose a fast buckle might cause more risk of derailment because the extra speed would cause the car to lose balance quicker.

I get bodies and couplings will not hold the centre line perfectly on any radius curve. The shallower the curve the closer to the centre of the track the coupling is (I was originally referring to the fulcrum of the kinematic coupling). Furthermore this might only be fractionally reduced by a bogie coupling.

40 minutes ago, Bryn_Bach_Railway said:

With double heading or pushing stock, it entirely depends on how the kinematic coupling is designed. If it’s completely free from the bogie and is very free moving, then when pushing or double heading (if the following loco is faster) the coupling gets push to the outside of the curve rather than pulled inward. However if the coupling is guided by the bogies like the accurascale 37 or a lot of coaching stock (still kinematic and not attached to the bogie, but if the bogie turns a lot, the coupler is nudged over too) then the couplers stay on the inside of the curve when being pushed and double headed as well as being pulled. That’s in my experience anyways.

I get the buckling problem now with double heading AND the locos are not speed-matched. What do I do in that situation? Speed-match the locomotives. The same from pushing, but derailments can happen from pushing anyway. Perhaps use non-kinematic coupled stock for shunting. I would prefer the chains if I could get them in and had a straight layout (or a space so large the curves would be barely noticeable). Shunting would be done by buffer bash (for pushing) and chained for pulling.

14 minutes ago, Matt said:

I used to think this too but after multiple problems with another manufacturer’s kinematic system I spent hours playing with and modifying them.  The issue is if the coupling has a heavy load. As the loco enters a curve the overhang at end of body swings out outside the curve which seems to cause the coupling to extend on the outside of the curve or “the wrong way”. As progress into the curve the coupling wants to correct itself but has to pass through the centre point which means it has to shorten to do this- something it struggles to do with a heavy load on the hook. In many cases this results in derailment of leading vehicle.  I’ve found that filing down the centre of the kinematic channel on said manufacturer’s system seems to help - not totally removing but rounding the centre to remove the point and make the transition from left to right easier. Hth, M

Seems an issue with slackness the way you have described the issue.

https://www.trains.com/trn/train-basics/ask-trains/measuring-track-curvature/

(See linked image).

Let me call the left-hand rail, rail a.

Let me call the right-hand rail, rail b.

Assume the train is moving in the direction right to left, a coupling should move towards rail a bending towards rail b. I am not sure a coupling can move (‘the wrong way’) towards b by bending towards a, in the direction given.

Kinematic couplings are designed to straighten out the track for the couplings to get around the curve without buckling: preventing a derailment because the chord between the wagons is extended, so the curve is less sharp. If something else is happening then something is wrong with you or your couplings because the laws of physics are constant (our knowledge of those laws changes or discovered, but the laws are constant). Perhaps the couplings are not loose enough. Other people’s couplings do not seem to be not working, so maybe you got an end/start-of-shift model.

4 hours ago, Erixtar1992 said:

Only problem i find with Kinematics is when double heading locos with something like tension locks ect. Round curves the coupling is forced the wrong way and causes issues.

How do the couplings bend in the wrong direction? The couplings would go the way the coupling is supposed to: following a curve. If a curve goes to the left, the coupling goes left, pivoting at the fulcrum and returning to the alignment with the centre whether that fulcrum is on the bogie or not. Possibly a coupling does not have enough slack, but a coupling cannot have too much slack or bend away from the curve unless something odd is happening. I do not know how or why a coupling would bend away from, rather than with, a curve. Look at the two closest buffers between two cars when the cars go around the left-hand curve, the two closest buffers on each car should be on the left-hand side of the car.

1 hour ago, atom3624 said:

TBH I've accumulated all sorts of paints over the years - mainly acrylic.

I painted the shoes, chairs and 'dotted' the eyes in black.

Eyes after a cream, red mix for skin colour on the hands and faces.

Overalls were a mixed dark blue - I simply used Rail Blue plus a little black ....

I then used the paint in an orange paint pen for the Hi-Vis jackets over the dark blue jackets.

Hair - I've used black on one, copper on another!!  Just to be different.

The thought was there, the effect sort of!

 

Hope that helps!!

I'm no artist, and many on here will be miles better, but I'm quite pleased with the result.

Al.

Thank you for that. Much appreciated. I am not someone who has to have a perfect miniature, but I still want to do the best I can.

Just done the depot plaque and nameplate on one side and tried doing the BR arrows this morning. Depot plaque was fine and I used PVA glue - cocktail stick single small blob in the centre using the jig. Not sure if the nameplate is correct (might be a tiny bit slanted, but seems okay. Not bad for a first go. I made a hash of the double-sided tape for a few reasons. The arrows I am struggling with and ended up putting her back in the cradle just so things are a little more stable for that.

I was figuring out that I should put some figures in to add that little je ne sais quoi. I am just going to do the one end, but the locomotives were operated by people, so would be weird to not see at least a driver (some photos do not seem to show a second man in the cab, though). I am nervous about lifting off the body just because I know I can get anxious about anything delicate and my general anxiety levels mean I get a bit clumsy. However, I thought whilst I am wrestling with the piping (the piping I am really struggling with as I cannot get a clear sight on the holes even using my magnifying glass specs with lights and I am useless with chopsticks, so imagine what I am like with tweezers!) and plaques I should order the next stage - perhaps the change of activity can help me relax about the tasks I am already trying to do.

Anyway, thanks again.

19 hours ago, atom3624 said:

I've fitted the Modelu crew into my 56.

It got me thinking what 'other detail' might be of interest, so thought of newspapers - always saw the drivers carrying one or 2 when mounting the cabs at Lime Street in the late 70's.

Thing is, the size of them.  Tabloids are 17x11" (~6x4 mm) and Broadsheets are 27x22" (~9x8 mm).

I copied and pasted BBC front page presentations onto a Word document, then reduced the size - might work for an effect at least.

Al.

Just about to do the same myself, but for '074. What colour paints do you recommend? I mean for the clothing rather than the hair on the driver!

4 hours ago, Pedro32 said:

Thanks for sharing the link to the YouTube clip. I’d not spotted this yesterday. I’d also noticed last month there was a post on Heljan UK here https://www.Heljan.co.uk/post/oo-class-47s-due-february-2024

 

Cheers

 

Peter

I am not too fussed about 47s, but that video came up in my YouTube feed.