ikcdab

Hi Ian, maybe. I guess it also depends on which hole you use on the servo horn, the more distant ones giving more movement. I also gave up on microswitches partly for the reason you gave...I got annoyed with the clicking as well as the need for adjustment. I now use miniature relays instead which I find far superior in every way. Ian

I am going to build one of these next month in 4mm... This is the older 1960s ship, not the modern one. The model will be improved by buying some ship modeller parts rather than making it all from paper and card. The instructions already suggest a solution for the handrails. I plan to blitz this over one weekend with family involvement, so would like to have all the bits in hand ready. Has anyone made one and if so, can suggest what additional parts to buy. Navigation lights? Anchor? Mast fittings? Life rings? All suggestions gratefully received! Ian

There are holes drilled through the diagram and the backing aluminium sheet. I attached the diagram to the sheet with heavy duty double sided tape. Given that the holes were already drilled, it would have been very difficult indeed to line up the new diagram such that the marks on the diagram lined up with the predrilled holes. Far less heartache to just start again!

Can you post a link to the other forum? I'm always looking for interesting things to read. Ian

Try Yatton. Two branchlines and very rural. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14.2&lat=51.39324&lon=-2.82743&layers=10&b=1

I have tried, and indeed I am using, some of the megapoints servo mounts. With my 9mm baseboard plus 3mm cork and the configuration of the mount, I think that they hold the servo too far below the tiebar. This means that the operating wire is long and the servo has to move to its extremes to operate the blades effectively. For my later installations I made some brackets from plasticard that hold the servo much closer beneath the baseboard. The operating spring wire is much shorter and the servo doesn't have to move so far. I think it works better. This is with handbuilt track. If you are using points with over centre springs then it is much less of a problem. Ian

If going for solid, then I would avoid roofing felt which is short-lived and prone to leaks. All my outbuildings are roofed with OSB on the underside, then a layer of insulation between the joists, then a layer of thick polythene covered with Coroline bitumastic sheets. Totally impervious to water, reasonable cost and long lasting. If your pockets are deep, then GRP is even better and lasts for ever.

Thank you, that's really helpful. D it is then. Ian

Yes I understand. However, I can't find any pics of a 33/1 with a D prefix. My supposition is that when they were converted and painted to blue in 1967, it wasn't thought worth adding a D at that stage. The southern finished with steam in July 1967. What do you think?

And now I do have a question. I understand that the 33/1s were generally painted blue when converted. But.... Did they carry numbers with the D prefix when blue, or by 1967, were they given the numbers only without the D prefix?

Replacing polycarbonate is a DIY job, so it can be just the price of buying the sheets and sealing strips. Assuming the glazing bars are ok. But far better to go with glass with the reflective coatings. We have pilkington K glass and it's excellent. Really works well. I don't know about the panels.

Progress has been made! Body stripped down and painted. I have the required parts, so reassembly starts tomorrow. I have just noticed though that the 33/1 had the marker lights removed as the multi cables covered them. I haven't done that and too late now as I would need to repaint the ends. I'll just have to let the cables cover them. I'm pleased how the previously green loco has come out. Ian

I agree with this. We had a large extension built in 2015. I very much respect the builder we had who did an excellent job all round. He recommended and fitted a dry verge system and so far it's been perfect. So he fitted it correctly and it's far superior to the old cement system.

In the warmest place

Not quite the same but I had something similar with a rake of Hornby hawksworths. I found that they were getting heavier for the locos to haul. I found that the pinpoints were clogged with gunge. I took out each wheel and cleaned the pinpoint and the bearing with a cotton bud and IPA. Now much more free wheeling. At some point I had over-oiled something. The oil found its way onto the track and thence onto wheel bearings where it mixed with crud to begin to jam wheels. Ian

To be honest and to develop my post.. the picture of the shed was taken in particular light conditions at a certain time of day, maybe with the sun bring filtered through clouds. It was then filtered through a lens and the film emulsion and processed by the local chemist. It was then printed onto paper (maybe) and then has been scanned and post processed. Maybe it's then been printed in a book and scanned again.. And post processed again. Then it is being displayed on my phone screen with a particular pixel value matrix. Then my phone has applied it's evening night cast..... So who knows what the original paint scheme of the shed is.....

To me, it looks as if you need to add a bit of blue to your green mix. The shed in the photo looks distinctly blue. Trouble is old film emulsions cannot be relied on. Not only are you dependant on the light at the time of day the picture was taken, but also the changes in the emulsion over the years. And if your original pic was from a book, then it's anybody's guess, the picture will have been through so much processing. Ian

If it got magnetised in then there must be a way in. Have a good look with a torch and a magnifying glass. The body should come off somehow and that won't invalidate the warranty.

Getting back to the original topic. Big advantage of living right next to the railway. Lots of engineering work yesterday saw several large "man riders" passing our house with jcbs on board. We live adjacent to Cogload Junction. Traksy had a T3 near somerton but that seems a long way away for such a vehicle. Anyone know what work was going on?

You can amuse yourself for an hour on line (and mystify your family) by browsing pictures of track. It varied a lot. Mix up some brown grot and when the airbrush needs refilling, add other tones. Mix and match. I suspect the weathering is darker in the middle, presumably where the passing traffic deposits oil etc.

Thanks. I designed and built it as you can see then realized that I had done it all upside down! So I had to scrap this one, rejig the graphics, reprint and rebuild it all.

Track was very varied in its colouring depending on state of weathering. It really doesn't matter what shade of general brown grot you use. In the absence of railway colours, military modellers paints are great. I now try to avoid humbrol paints which are not what they once were. Tamiya, mig and Vallejo acrylics are far superior.

I don't see that "steam era" makes any difference. The kitchens had gas and later electricity so there would have been no constraints to cooking and prepping food. Indeed, the idea of cooking it off site and then getting it to the vehicle and serving it would have had more logistical difficulties. And some of the services had extensive menus, so predicting what would be needed in advance was difficult. So yes, all prepped and cooked on board. Ian

I am an evangelistic convert to servos. The 90g type cost about £2 each and you need a driver of which there are many different types. I use MERG servo4. Mounts are home made from plasticard, though there are many different homemade solutions available. Then all you need is a single wire to trigger the servo from a simple on/off switch. I also use a diode matrix and a rotary switch to select the route that then throws ask the required turnouts. See control panel below. As it's a single wire only, the diode matrix is fast simpler than with solenoids. If using commercial points then thats all that is required. My handbuilt points require polarity switches and I use miniature relays. In this case I use a double switch such that one side operates the servo and the other the relay. It's more simple than it sounds here! If the OP (or anyone else) wants more info, then just ask! Ian

To be honest, the actual back to back is not the important component. The key measurement is the check gauge... That is the distance from the running face of one rail to the inner face of the check rail on the other rail. Your wheels should be set to just clear this distance. Measure a few check gauges with you calipers and see what they reveal. If they are wildly different then your track is the problem. If they are largely the same, then add on a quarter of a mm or so and that is what you back to backs should be. As is said above, you need to look closely at what the exact problem is. Ian