Steve Stubbs

So who can recommend a decent baseboard kit supplier?    I am looking for quality not cheapness, and supply within a reasonable timescale.

regards

Steve Stubbs

Somerset

I bought one of the very first ones, I think i was told it was no 13 off the production line.     I had ordered a kit, but they decided that they were too complex for the average punter to assemble.     I did get it at the pre-order price.    In essence it is what I wanted, I have the middle length N Gauge one, each track will hold a diesel and 9 bogie coaches.     Or a Heavy freight diesel and 24 4 wheel goods vehicles.

I had a few problems with it.    All were solved, but very frustrating at the time.    I had bought it to use on a modular layout with the Weston N Gauge Modular group.    I made some modules to take it, with a run around track going either side of the main span on both Up and Down, a scissors at each end so all to tracks could feed either direction running, and four cassette docks for use with DMUs, light locos, and very short trains without the need to occupy a full length track on the main device.       To carry it around to meetings, I used a sack trolley, which meant carrying it at an angle.

First problem, not mentioned in the literature, was the track spacing at each end is wider than the standard Peco, which in itself is too wide.     To get track alignment from the incoming ends of the two scissors within the length of the triple module meant very tight reverse curves outwards, I ended chopping up Peco Setrack second radius curves to make it work.    But this involved changing the large radius turnouts for the run around and docking station tracks for short radius to make the needed space.

Next problem was the Peco code 55 trackage in the carrying trays was not fixed in position longditudinally so it moved when it was being transported at an angle on the sack trolley.   Net result was rails torn out of the retained sleepering strip where they stuck in the entrys as the carriers moved up or down.   There is only 2mm clearance at either end between fixed and moving tracks.   I replaced about 7 full lengths of Peco 55 and used a small amount of UHU to retain the tracks from sliding in their trays.   However this occured again at the other end, the meter length being fishplated to get the extra length.   Yes I had forgotten to anticipate that.    The fishplates didnt hold.   I then had to cut and refit another set of tracks at the shorter end.    The Nelevator people sent me some of the vertical retaining clips as I had to destroy the ones there to get the damaged track off.

The third issue was simply in my view bad design.    I started getting the track carriers stopping while being driven down, then falling free once tapped to free them and the indexing was lost..     I rang the Nelevator people who said remove the cover over the stepper motors, what was happening is that the drive from the stepper motors is transferred to a circular polished steel shaft through a meshed gear, the gear (Nylon) being retained by a small grub screw.    There is no way a nylon gear with a tiny grub screw will be kept in position for long on a polished steel shaft with no 'flat' for the grubscrew to engage in.    Under load, the gears were being driven laterally out of mesh by the torque.    They were already aware of the problem, presumably someone else had already reported it.    They explained they had changed their manufacturing procedure to bond the gears to the shafts.    ( I had already anticipated this and had applied the locktite already).    BUT they had not advised the owners of those elevators already out in the wide world of either the problem or the solution.

The final thing was the need for a 'KILL' switch in the system, I did see a prototype mk 2 handset at a show at least a couple of years back which had one.    If you are not that near and one of your clubmembers drives into an already loaded tray, the result is a cascade of rolling stock down onto the floor.    All you can do is rush over and pull the power lead out, before attacking the relevant club member with any convenient hammer or wrench.       And then all the carefull indexiing is out of the window and you have to reindex all the tracks before continuing.    

Yes I still have it, and still like it, and would I buy another?   Maybe but the price is a lot higher now.     It is probably as cheap now to build a fiddle yard the old way with ladders of sidings, but that uses a heck of a lot more space and effort.   But I wont try transporting it about without extra care again.     I cant see the use of them in OO other than if you only have very short trains.    

Steve in Somerset

For many years I have used Carrs Green Label Flux which came in bottles of approximately half a litre.     Haviing finally exhausted my supply I find only piddles little 50 mil bottles are now sold by C&L, and the price seems to be very high, some £7.50 per bottle plus VAT on top.

Can anyone point me at a source of an equivilent flux for brass which is sold in sensible size containers and doesn't need a mortgage to buy?

Steve in Somerset

New chassis jig for the 03 arrived this morning. The frames now have the bearings soldered in, and are sitting in the jig with the axle steel rods through the jig and frames, waiting for me to fettle up and fit the ocb spacers. But that's tomorrow.

Sticking with the subject of tie-bars, and using sleepers for that purpose, I have successfully used tiebars sleepers made from filed down fibreglass strip. Into these I drill a pair of holes and I insert a pair of 4mm turned coach door handles (I kid you not), retained by 12ba washers soldered on underneath. The fibreglass is very strong, and the inserted door handle 'flats' are spaced so that the inside edge of the point blade solders to them. They are low and flat-sided tiny rectangles, so a good strong solder joint is acheived, and they rotate as the sleeper moves so that no strain is put on the solder joint, and the wheel flanges pass well above the minimal solder meniscus so no bumping over solder blobs.

I operate them with wire-in-tube, operated by a sliding switch which switches the polarity of the crossing as well as moving the point blades. If anyone is interested I can stick a couple of photos up.

For what it is worth, I tried thin pcb strips of sleepers end on with wire twisted round for the pivots, but found them prone to breaking and quite hard to set up. I also tried inserting lace pins into them, bent over and found them even harder to make reliably. You pays your money and takes your choice ........

Dapol Dave replies on the spring question "As for the couplers, we are now going to supply spare springs with each pack,..."

Thanks for that, however I have the problem now of two couplings that cost me a fiver that are useless. Any suggetions would be welcome ... <smile>

Steve in Somerset

Well two of my 'refind products' have now lost their springs and are useless. So an answer as to whether spare springs are available is of paramount importance to make sensible decisions on future purchases, not only of couplings for stock with NEM pockets, but any future Dapol rolling stock and locos, if they are going to be fitted as standard with these couplings.

Steve in Somerset