66C

Hi

First of all make sure that each rail end on the crossing is fitted with isolating rail joiners so that the crossing is completely isolated from the rest of the trackwork.

Refer to the user manual for the Cobalt-SS.  Use the terminals marked 7 on page 2 of the user manual to switch the V on each turnout.  Use the terminals marked 6 on page 2 to switch the Vs on the crossings - separate wiring for each V - one from each side of the turnout controller.

Connect the left rail (in your diagram) of the crossing to the left rails of the running lines.  Connect the right rail of the crossing to the right rail of the running lines.

Please note that this assumes all the trackwork shown is in the same DCC power district.

Regards.

I want to lay 4mm rail across my Brunel timber viaduct. A temporary fix was a length of flexi track with sleepers attached but now I want to make it prototypical with the rails mounted on longitudinal timber baulks as per the attached photograph of Venn's Cross Waterrow Viaduct on the Barnstaple West to Taunton line. Has anyone done this please? Am assuming lengths of rail with chairs attached. obviously being very accurately laid on top of the baulks. 

 

Jonathan

Hi Jonathan

I think it is normal practice to use bridge chairs for securing bullhead rail on timber baulks.  Bridge chairs have the fixing bolts closer to the rail than normal 2 or 3 bolt chairs and so the bolts would not be as close to the edge of the timbers.

Your photograph shows the timbers surrounded by stone chips - I do not think that a timber viaduct would have ballast when used by railway track.

Regards.

Hi Mark

This is from "Railway Bylines", September 1999:

Regards.

Hi Neil

 

I am very impressed with your layout.  I am a volunteer up at the Strathspey Railway and would be very keen to recreate the 4 road shed.  Would you be able to tell me where you got the shed produced?  Do you have design drawings for the shed?  Also is it now oo or n gauge?

 

Thanks in advance.

There are drawings of buildings at Aviemore here and on following pages:

http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/search/do_quick_search.html?q=aviemore&mime_type=

Regards.

I went for one of these - it is also an excellent work light.

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/22w-fluorescent-magnifying-craft-lamp-a29ff

Regards.

Hi Jim

I used this kit to make a low relief factory building but in 7mm scale.

Anyway, the pitch for the engine shed roads is 63mm between centres for the OO version - I expect that it was designed to suit set-track spacings.  As always these kits lend themselves to adaptation as required.

Regards.

Hi Huw

Very simple - what is the maximum output (in amps) from your controller?

Buy the next value up screw connector block.

Regards.

I wonder if such a placement might place a restriction on the curves you use especially if the buffers are not sprung.

Bear in mind that UK coaching stock fitted with buckeye couplers had the buffers retracted when the buckeys were in use.

Regards.

I imagine that making it into a continuous servo (aka DC motor) would make it more difficult to use a servo for point and signal control.

 

...R

Hi Robin

Have a look at this topic:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/112916-hacked-servo-point-control/

Regards.

Forgive my ignorance but is this a mostly plastic kit?

If you look back to post #2 in this topic you will see all the parts included in the kit - they are all plastic.  The kits are fairly basic as supplied but very good value for money.  The builder needs to source wheels, buffers and couplings.  Additional detail is easy to add and it's up to the individual just how much that is.

You may also be interested in another current topic on building Ian's kits - have a look at this from post #135 onwards.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/109283-duncans-7mm-workbench-ian-kirk-coaches/page-6

Regards.

Hi Duncan

I have used both methods but prefer a removable roof for coaches with interiors.  My method is as follows:

First of all the roof moulding is cut to length - just a little longer than the body to give a prototypical overhang.  The roof moulding is not cut to width at this stage.

I make a false roof (ceiling if you like) from plastic sheet cut to the width of the body side and its length is such that it fits between the ends.  This will sit on top of the side mouldings and form part of the cantrail.  A strip of wood is glued to what will be the upper surface of the sheet.  This composite is then drilled for M4 threaded tees at the locations where fixing screws will be used - I place them in line with the compartment partitions to minimise their appearance.  The partitions that accommodate the fixing screws are thicker and in two parts with a central space for the screw.  The threaded tees are fixed to the upper surface of the wood strip.  A test fit is done at this stage to check the locations of the fixing bolts and fit of the false roof.  The second picture shows the body - this one is a for a Gresley articulated twin but I used the same method for my ex-LMS coaches.  The screw is upside down only to show its position through the compartment partition.

The roof moulding is glued to the false roof taking care to centralise the false roof.  The roof moulding is then trimmed for width to that of the false roof.  The underside of the roof assembly is sprayed with white primer.  I finish the roof with grey primer and then Halfords grey bumper paint.

Note that the profile of the top of the coach ends may need adjustment and/or building up to sit neatly against the underside of the roof moulding - best done before any painting of the coach body.

Hope you find this useful.

Regards.

Hi Simon

The end steps are a couple of bits of plasticard - 20thou for the step itself and a bit of microstrip for the flange.  Sizes and positions were taken from scaled drawings.

Regards.

I wonder if those rainstrips are not a bit too far up the roof.

 

Photos of the real thing suggest that they are right but I suspect that there may be a bit of an optical illusion created by the fact that the photos have been taken from track level. If the rainstrips were really that far up the roof, there would be almost half the roof that was not being drained by them which seems odd.

I positioned the rainstrips according to the information in Ian's instructions - "Cement in place about the centre of the coach and approx 25mm from the edge then gently pull down at the ends to form curves in rainstrips running in a little solvent as you go."

This was cross-checked with drawings and photographs from the "Historic Carriage Drawings" book and Volume III of Jenkinson and Essery's Illustrated History of LMS Standard Coaching Stock.

Regards.

Hi Dave

Mark Clark's website seems to be unavailable at the moment for the 7mm scale model - it should be at:

http://www.locosnstuff.co.uk/home

If you would like something larger, have a look at:

http://pdf-models.com/steam-locos/kerr-stuart-wren/

for a battery powered model, and:

http://wrightscale.co.uk/wren.html

for a live steam version.

If you do a bit of Googling, you should also be able to find 5" and 7.25" gauge versions.

Regards.

Hopefully, this might lead on to an expanded range of turntable kits. e.g. a 60' version which would look more at home on a small/medium sized layout.

 

Then I can stop hunting for one of the smaller (70' in HO) Heljan ones........

 

John

Alternatively you might wish to consider the following:

http://www.kitwoodhillmodels.com/ho-65ft-turntable/

Regards.

I suspect that this list was itself copied from the previous year's information and is not accurate.

Alba Railway Models will not be attending with a trade stand this year although if anyone wishes to collect an order they should contact David Elvy as soon as possible.

Since Parkside Dundas has sold it's standard gauge range to Peco, I suspect that there will not be trade stand for them either.

Regards.

Using conventional analogue servos it's better for our applications to turn off the control pulses at the end of the movement. This causes the servo to power down and the friction in the gear chain holds the position.

 

If you leave the control pulses running and the mechanical adjustment is not spot on, the the servo will be continually pushing against the stops and will be noisy and very power hungry.

 

Digital servos cannot be turned off this way as they remember the last setting and continue driving the motor.

The toggle switch acts as a changeover switch to reverse the direction and as a limit switch to turn off the power as it is moved over.  The servo motor only draws current while moving.  The mechanical resistance in the gearing holds the servo position at each end of its travel.  Bear in mind that in this modified form the electronics are stripped out and the servo is simply a well-geared-down DC motor.

I tried one out in a test rig that has been well played with by various fellow modellers and has survived OK so I think that reliability should be fine.

The photo shows my test rig operating a 00 Peco turnout mounted on a piece of 6mm ply.  Power for the test rig is from 4 AA batteries but the planned implementation operating hand-built 0 gauge turnouts will use a regulated 5 volt supply.

Regards.

I was originally thinking about cutting lengths of brass rod, the width of a chair with rail cutting snips, and soldering to the rail web where a

chair would appear. As the ballast covers every thing else the lack of the rest of the chair won't show. However, it's cutting multiple length all

the same size that stopped me before. Any ideas if this will work?

Copper wire from twin and earth would be easier to cut and solder - some leftover cable would be cheaper than buying brass rod.

No reason why it should not work.

Regards.

Hi Ernie

If you are looking for just the buffer bodies, have you considered approaching suppliers such as Invertrain or Northants and asking if they will supply castings only?

This may be considerably cheaper than Shapeways products.

Regards.

Hi

I used the Ambis tie bar sets (from C&L) - these consist of etched brackets that are soldered to the switch rails and thin double-sided copperclad strip that is used for the stretcher bar.  I made the first stretcher bar longer on one side to take a loop of brass wire that engages with the operating wire from the point motor.  Hopefully this picture will help (click on the picture to see full size):

My track is built using Exactoscale chairs on ply timbers in 7mm scale.

Unfortunately the price of the Ambis sets has increased to the point (ouch!) where, in future, I intend to make up my own brackets from 0.5mm wire and use these to attach copperclad strip for the stretcher bar.

Regards.

I have used non-solvent based "No More Nails" type glue from a Pound shop for embossed plastic card finishes.  Being non-solvent it does not attack the plastic and gives good gap filling for the rear of the plastic sheet.  At joints or corners extra glue is used, allowed to extrude from the joint and then left to harden before trimming back and blending in to the embossed pattern to give a neat finish.

Regards.

Hi Dan

The turnout shown where the loco stops is the entry to a loop!

Have you isolated BOTH of the frogs at each end of the loop?

What is the arrangement for the frog of the siding turnout?

I suspect your problem is not to do with the DCC80 but the isolating gaps and track feeds needed for the loop.

Can you post a diagram of your wiring and positions of insulated joiners?

Regards.

Hi Ian

Have you tried a heavier (stiffer) spring wire instead of that supplied?

I have used this successfully with Conrad motors to operate Peco points when the over-centre spring is still in situ.

A minor modification to the Peco points that may help is to loosen the retainer for the over-centre spring cover and move the cover out a bit to reduce the pressure on the over-centre spring.  Then tighten the retainer to keep the cover in place.

Regards.

Hi Leigh

I appreciate you may not be considering building your own turnouts but I hope this screenshot from Templot will help with the radius question.  The turnout is OO gauge and the V is 1 in 4.5.

Unfortunately, manufacturers of ready-made pointwork can be very reluctant to provide geometric information or at times may be somewhat misleading in their descriptions.  For example, Peco's small radius Streamline turnout is described as 24" radius but the minimum radius in this turnout is much nearer 18" because of the geometric design.

So perhaps you should consider building your own - it's not the black art that some people make it out to be and it's much cheaper than buying ready-made.  There have been many posts on RMweb about trackbuilding so there is plenty of information and help out there.

Regards.

Gorgeous place. Pity about the neglected thatch though .

Perhaps because it is not thatch!

Faroese roofs are traditionally turfed; with livestock - usually a sheep or goat - used for "pruning".

Regards.