Chrislock

Well I have to say my other half for the first time looked a bit worried when she saw the size of it ( boom boom!) - and imagined the space a layout might take up There is something quite magical about seeing a dumb beast come to life. The sync is astonishing, and could not be achieved in 2mm as technology stands. It won't stop me modelling in 2FS - I have too much of an investment now in Little Midland, and that railway will always be number one for me - but I am happy to sit and play with this and allow myself a little pleasure from it. Tha advantage of modelling 2FS is that this loco looks massive, so there is less temptation to do the same in O gauge!! Seeing is believing Mikkel. I would never have thought that a steamer could sound this good, and the 04 is a great looking engine - even if it is from foreign parts. The weathering is also well done I think, I have been given a couple of wagons which I've also been weathering, though I can't see yet whether they will get used. The screen? A simple device for making sure my two little grandsons don't get too near! I am also considering extending it into a case to keep dust off, so the loco can remain in situ. Regards, Chris ps keep up the postings on Farthings - loved the last one!

Well, I've done it. For some time, ever since I bought into the potential of DCC in fact, I've been hankering after having sound in a loco. I have never been really taken thus far with the quality of steam recordings I’ve heard, so have been tempted more towards a throaty Sulzer on a class 24. The problem is, 2mm just doesn't lend itself. Even if you could crank the sound up loud enough, it would somehow be disproportionate to the size of the models in the general context of the landscape. So as the small 2mm layout is approaching completion, I've been thinking what to do about sound for some time. At this moment in time, I fancy doing something a little different which doesn't involve having to make stock always from scratch or kit, and which runs well straight out of the box and is easy to see! O gauge appeals, but aside from the expense, and the kit building issue, I knew that I could never do it justice without converting a spare bedroom into a railway room, which I am reluctant to do, as we often put up visitors,and because I don't know anyone with an O gauge layout ! Then a few weeks ago a friend invited me round to play with his (OO) trains. As soon as I saw and heard it I knew I was going to buy one. I'm talking about the exquisite Bachmann Robinson 04 in weathered finish. The sound quality and synchronisation are just amazing and blew me away - I could have played with it all night, and very nearly did! It is absolutely what I was looking for, I just wasn’t thinking in 4mm. As a result, I have now installed a Howes’ programmed ESU sound decoder and speaker in an 04, and set it up on a rolling road which I have borrowed, and I think it must be the ultimate executive toy! It is simmering gently in front of me as I type, and lo: The fireman has just begun to shovel on some coal! The Howes chip also features a shunting mode, and all the clanks and hisses I could want, so I mayset up a small shunting board for home use, though the intention is to keep it on my windowsill on a rolling road of my own. Of course, a bonus is I that I can take the loco elsewhere to give it a proper run out with all the animation that the sound brings to this model. (Tried to add a video clip but couldn't get sound on my phone for some reason.) Regards, Chris

Maybe but its annoying that I twisted them cutting the from the etch - teach me to be lazy when it comes to changing blades. I've asked Damien if he can supply a replacement anyway. If not I'll have to see what I can do to straighten them.

vvrrroooommm alright. Thats all I can get out of this chassis at present. It doesn't appear, in spite of the gearing, to have great slow running capability, but I'll see what its like after some tweaking and running in. Some photos added to the original post, with the body resting on the chassis. Still have some work to do to get it to sit properly. Also no cleaning up done as yet! The damage to the coal rails has yet to be addressed!

Apologies for the poor quality video, from my phone and saved for email.. Just wondered if I could upload video...

1Pontrack.wmv Usual remark about close ups

Greetings. Just a few extra details added this evening, before quitting to watch Whitechapel. This is a very detailed kit - far too so for me, personally, as it requires soldering under magnification of some very fiddly detail. My eyes are just not that good anymore! The etches though are astonishing in terms of quality. I found the tiny (.3mm) holes in the chassis for the brake wire too close to the driving wheels. When I tried slotting a piece through it actually rotated with the wheel. I have therefore taken liberties with the brakes,omitting and bypassing the centre shoe, and soldering the lever straight across from front to back. Sorry if that disappoints some modellers! The folding of parts has been made easy since I purchased a small "hold and fold" tool., so the side tank covers went reasonably well. Buffers are on the way from Nick at NBrass, so the chassis will be in a reasonably finished state at that point. I'm not sure how I'm going to blacken it as yet. Regards, Chris

Nick. I have the latter publication - the No1 Wild Swan. I am also going to trawl through my other photographs of these engines, before i finally commit, although I do already have a set of numbers for 2618 provided by Damien; an engine which I know worked the mainline between Bedford and St pancras circa 1905. Thanks for the warning about specific details, I'll be sure to have a close look, though I might not be as picky as some over those! Regards, Chris

Not at all Pete. Having just chipped them I have grown quite fond of them! They are sitting on a length of easitrac on my windowsill as I type, where they can often be seen taking it in turns to move, whilst I am considering a small filthy industrial setting for them, in the form of a shunting plank! I have no plans to change Little Midland from DC as yet.

Well I am waiting for some buffers, guards and vac pipes.....so I have a bit of an excuse...! I have also to decide which prototype to go for. I have the Essery publication though so will enjoy a happy browse over what has always been one of my favourite engines. Hopefully not months, though possibly weeks!

I finally got around to starting this Twommlocomotives kit. The bulk of the chassis has been kindly built for me by the owner, leaving blackening and some detail to add, some of which will be difficult because it has been assembled. Anyway, this afternoon I worked on the footplate,

I think this must be the case, since the wheel swap over went without issue. The 24 was particularly quiet and smooth out of the box on the N test track. It is still well within the acceptable, I was just surprised that there should be a difference.

Yep. Never really occurred to have Gordon S work on the wheels. They are not quite as smooth as the original N wheels though. Ok, but a bit noisier even after some oil. Wonder if its the brass gears meshing with plastic? Did you use drop-ins and did you find the same?

Greetings, Just finished rewheeling and recoupling this loco and what a straightforward and easy job it proved! Compared to the Class 25, everything about this retooled loco makes it easy to work on: Now just need to dirty it up some more... Chris

Kelly - try this if that's what floats your boat ! http://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/shop/showitem.asp?id=2242 Yes I wonder if/when Farish will retool the class 25.... It des have a certain primitive charm though as it rumbles, whirrs and grinds it way along the track!!

Sorry Kelly, I thought the title might be misleading - but couldn't resist it!

This 3 added pics up top seem to show the settings for the three routes throught the point, as suggested by Martin? Sorry for the crudish illustrations but I hope they are clear enough. The way I understand things, the point motor which controls the back(A- B ) tiebar will switch the correct polarity to the green section of Martin's diagram; while the second motor will do the same for C-D and the purple section.

Not scotch but Brakspeare Organic ale! Scotch and modelling..hmmm... possibly not a good combo? Hi Lisa, Well, all the 2FS logos, while a nice touch, look the same don't they, apart from the lettering, so I thought why not..!

Well not at all about LT, except like those fabled red buses, I post no blogs for ages and then two come along at once, haha. After a period of very low ouput ( and interest, if I'm honest), a few things have been happening this week, so I thought I would blog them. if only to fill up some space! The experiments with more complex track has already been documented, and any further assistance with getting the wiring and operation will be gratefully received ( see last entry). This week a wave of blue euphoria has swept over me, as I figured it was time to tackle a few outstanding and put-off diesel issues. First, a bit of heavy weathering - diesels should be dirty. I like the 25 but am still thinking the 24 is a tad undercooked at present, though a train driver/ enthusiast friend thought it looked ok when he popped round this week to return my DCC set which he has been borrowing for a few months: Which leads me nicely onto that job which I have been avoiding - chipping the class 25: ... and one with the bonnet up.. Remarkably, it works - though somewhere, somehow I have made the 25 far less responsive than the 24, which still has its N wheels. Could it be the 7.5mm drop-in wheels which don't fit as well? I took some care with these, and the wheel pickups - it is picking up from all wheels. Oh well, it runs, if a tad noisily compared to the 24, which is a Rolls Royce by comparison. My driver friend thought that my 25 really does sound like its got a Sulzer inside... not sure that was a complement though!! Regards, Chris

Martin, thanks, that's useful and makes sense. .

Hi Pete - mainly for the learning curve, although you then start to think "what can I do with this"?! It is one of a batch of points I've been assembling trying to achieve a better, more reliable standard. Won't be a new layout as such - I'm still working on Glenfield off and on. Maybe a small industrial plank for the blue diesels?.

Greetings. I have been inspired to have a go at a 3 way point by some of the excellent work in the 2FS forum of late. I took the template from Templot ( I am very much a beginner but managed to cob a solution together). I constructed the turnout from code 40 and pcb strip using my usual easy method of construction: there are no chairs used. It took a couple of evenings from start to finish, and my test wagon rolls through all roads nicely. The photo shows how I planned to isolate parts electrically( white marks) and where polarity switching would be needed ( green). The question is, was my reasoning correct and will it work? Advice gratefully received. Many thanks Chris

Thanks Invicta. Your comments are gratefully received. I really need to get on and add the few detais it still needs - including some better level crossing gates!! Chris

Ah but is ANY layout ever more than nearly competed!

Well I can lay claim to having a nearly finished layout on a Swedish shelf in Little Midland at Glenfield... ! Looking forward to seeinghow you go about this scanman, cos I have three boxfiles sitting empty on my bookcase with something in mind. Chris