ikcdab

Fantastic work. I am trying to do a similar thing on a much smaller scale myself. Looks you have a resin 3d printer. Mine is causing a lot of issues at the moment with failed prints. Very frustrating. Excellent work by you though.

You forgot the third component: chassis that are perfectly square and true too. If you could build this then you wouldn't need compensation, but it's an impossible dream and even if you could, wood and chassis move. With standard wheel profiles, the depths of the flanges take up these irregularities, but in the finer scales, the flanges are too small, hence compensation. For locomotives, compensation is more important in order to keep electrical contact between wheel and rail. So in a perfect world, compensation is not needed, but a perfect world is unobtainable.

I'm another one in the fusion 360 camp. I found that learning it is in three steps. 1. The basic creating workspace and navigation, design cube etc. I found this easy. 2. Once you have the basics, then it's a set of tools and you just learn each one as you need it. They all have a similar interface. I found this easy. 3. Then your need to know the best tool to use in individual situations. I found that far more difficult but it's only experience. Bear in mind that the free version, whilst having all the functionality you could possibly need, only allows you to save 10 files. Once u have 10, then u have you delete others to keep below the limit. But for railway modeling things, I would recommend it.

Hi GWR, many thanks. I am just working on a level crossing and 3d printing servo mounts.....watch this space...

What he said! I have an elegoo Saturn resin printer and the detail is perfect. I'm just printing off since 4mm signal lamps. On the resin printer you see an the detail. On a filament printer it would just be a blob. Filament is ok for things where appearance doesn't matter. Resin where it does. But it is not plug n play. It does take a bit to get it running right. I have used water washable resin and this has worked very well for me. I made my own curing station for a tenner.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/172525-grounding-a-newb-in-late-60searly-70s-somersetwest-country-and-wales/

But in your original post you said that you had tried older controllers and you still had the fault. That would mean it isn't the controller, unless they are all of the same type. Did I misunderstand that?

Ive used both. Copydex for plain track and pva for turnouts. In both cases i have plywood baseboard, then 3mm cork, then the templot template on thick paper then the ply sleepres glued to the template. I haven't noticed any difference whatsoever, apart from the horrible smell of copydex. I just find pva so much easier to work with. I have also used prittstick and that has been OK too.

And most importantly, let us know how you get on!

If you have tried other controllers and locos with the same result and if you have tested the power clip, then the problem can only be with the track. I would remove any points and try with a plain oval. If you have other controllers and locos, do you have other track too? Can you set up an oval with different track and try the loco on that? Try different combinations and see if you can get anything to run. But if you can't sort it out easily, then it's probably best to return the set.

With any problem solving like this you need to eliminate the variables and find the point where the problem occurs. You say you have tried different Controllers and different locomotives but you still have the same issue. Therefore they are not the issue. You could confirm this by taking apart and the track and just connecting up one single piece you the controller. If the loco runs on that single piece then you have made progress. If it doesn't then the problem could be with the power connector. But a bit more detail whether it's DC or dcc and controller type will help. What track layout do you have? If you can give a bit more info then we can help further. Ian

I did the same thing when I was much younger and built a 009 layout that I loved. So good luck and I very much look forward to seeing it on here.

Having spent all day thinking about this I really don't see why a heritage railway is fundamentally any different to any other business. But the culture needs to be thought about carefully to make sure they are properly run and managed. I would say that to succeed a railway needs to: 1. Focus on the core business. If you are a heritage railway then do that very well. Don't try to be a theme park or diversify. 2. Value and reward the staff and volunteers. Make them feel welcome and included. 3. Embrace the local community and work so that the local community feel like they own the railway. 4. Focus relentlessly on costs and expenses. Don't hesitate to spend when needed but don't waste it. 5. Maximize revenue, without compromising the other points above. A certain railway in Wales seems to do this very well and it has survived for 70 years in preservation. I have no links with it other than a very satisfied visitor. Other railways also do this but some don't and those are the ones that struggle.

Best not to go there. The demands of a modern commuter service are not compatible with heritage infrastructure. You would see modern signalling, tactile platforms, modern signage etc. You could do it but you would end up with steam trains running on a modern railway totally devoid of any heritage feel at all. It's why the ELR is so opposed.

There is a lot of tat rusting away on premier lines too. If it wasn't for the "lack of realism" of the early preservationists (festiniog spiral?) then we would not have most of the lines today. So who would decide which of the "lesser" heritage lines should close and who would mop up all the blood on the carpet?

I think you need to be very careful about broadcasting self fulfilling prophecies. The entire sector that is non-discretionary spend is under pressure. The massive advantage that anything run by volunteers is the sheer tenacity of the people involved. Please don't even think about reopening the Llangollen and WSR cases (the latter in which I was involved) as they are entirely different and not related to costs or volunteers. But both railways have survived because of the commitment of the volunteers who run them. But those that are soundly managed and stay true to the heritage railway theme and not degenerate into a theme park can and will prosper.

Is anyone else about to make a mail order purchase from brassmasters and can add to their order? The minimum order requirement seems unnecessarily harsh especially today when people can use PayPal or bank credit.

Today's Railways are not privatised. Network rail is government owned. And the government now "owns" or closely controls most of the TOCs. I haven't checked which ones. The early days of privatisation were a great success with new trains and better services. It's only now since the government is meddling that things have gone haywire.

I remember a few years ago that all the complaints were about the multiplicity of fares and how complex it was. How in one carriage everyone might have paid a different fare. It was then thought desirable to streamline this and reduce the number of fares and today's structure is the result. It's a really good example of "be careful what you wish for".

Mine are 1200mm. And it's a perfect height for me at 1.86m tall. I made a series of little steps of varying heights for shorter people to stand on if needed. Works well. Viewing is much better with a higher baseboard. Ian

Looks excellent. Really impressive job.

Well yes. Everything is difficult until you know how. I found that learning fusion360 was an entertaining project that I could do on my laptop in the evenings when I don't want to go out to the shed.

Yes, sometimes the old ways are the best..... But using fusion360 is not that difficult, and doing a set of bus seats is straightforward. There is quite a good YouTube tutorial to produce an ice cube tray which, to me, has very similar characteristics to a bus seat moulding. I think the video is 20 mins or so long. So not long winded at all. Ian

Why? Scalescenes can sell downloads that you are allowed to print off multiple times. I see no difference with selling stls on line the same way?

We are with eon next and have the smartview2 in house display. This has started to freeze up every night. It seems to "stick" in the early hours. All I can do is to remove the battery and reboot it. Its not saying it has lost the connection to the meter, it's just freezing up. Anyone else seen this? Ian