melmerby

13 hours ago, Peter Kazmierczak said:

Thanks Keith that certainly looks like one. 
 

I've use the more colloquial term 3-way/4-way; am I correct in that these were termed tandem turnouts? 
If so, how would a tandem that diverged three ways be differentiated from one diverging four ways, in terms of nomenclature?

On Templot ones with overlapping blades are 3 throw, sequential ones are 3 way tandem

Here's a couple of 3 throw and a tandem for good luck (curved as well!):

I think there is another 3 throw far left.

EDIT one of my original picks is another tandem, so 2 three throw and 2 3 way tandem.

5 hours ago, keefer said:

Don't know if it represents a prototype or was just an exercise in 'Can I.....':

http://www.clag.org.uk/green14.html

That's a mixture of multiway and compound points

There used to be a 4 way/compound in Snow Hill Station, Birmingham.

Just to the right of the platform end.

5 minutes ago, ruggedpeak said:

Not being funny, can you get assistance at NEC? There were plenty of wheelchair users who got to see it,

I've never used a wheelchair and would probably be a nuisance to all and I've still got to get there, so unfortunately a miss.

I did wonder about finding a lightweight folding chair/seat I could carry but ran out of time.

An unfortunate result of getting old☹️

1 minute ago, ruggedpeak said:

it remains a very impressive layout to see and excellent work by the team.

I was really looking forward to seeing it.

I'm fairly local and can get there on public transport as I always did for the Warley Show.

Unfortunately I have done something to my back and standing up looking at layouts would not be possible.

2 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

It's a matter of some embarrassment that the only part of the TfW rail network that comes close to making an operating profit is the bit in England.

The South Wales to Manchester trains must do most of their miles in England🙂

Interestingly Shrewsbury & Chester Stations are managed by TfW along with most on the English side in the borderlands.

1 minute ago, woodenhead said:

Not suited to large mobile layouts I think is more appropriate.

 

I think the airwaves get a little crowded when all the people turn up, later in the day as things thin out I'll bet they have a lot less trouble operating.

Only a problem if you are using wireless.

Shouldn't be a problem with solid wiring.

On the Midlands Today piece, the problems were random shorts, nothing system dependent.

It is all dependent on the wiring and interboard connectors.

11 minutes ago, ruggedpeak said:

DCC is not suited to huge layouts.

A strange comment.

It's better suited than DC.

Miniatur Wunderland has 16.5km of track and is entirely controlled by DCC with Train Controller using 64 computers, try that with DC.

1 minute ago, maq1988 said:

shame Making Tracks seemed to have so many electrical and wifi problems

They were having problems when the TV crew visited for Midlands Today.

6 hours ago, John M Upton said:

I'm sorry? A model wagon with a rotation counter is more accurate than a proper tape measure?

 

What a load of utter nonsense!!!

Better tell Guinness World Records then.

That's what they are accepting.

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

They're creeping over the border, there were some Welsh trains parked up at Birkenhead North depot the other day!

 

That's not very far over the border.

They go to Birmingham International from as far as Bangor or Pwllheli

25 minutes ago, Bon Accord said:

Comparing mortgages and interest rates between now and 40 years ago really isn't illustrative.

For a start the average house price today is nine times the average salary (and rising), whereas in 1984 it was only four times.

Required deposits were significantly less and certainly back then much of the calculations were based on one wage, as opposed to today where two people can scarcely afford a mortgage.

Whilst interest rates were higher 40 years ago, today's homeowners are paying a LOT more for their property.

 

 

In 1974 when I got married, the average house was £9000, the average wage was £2000, and mortgage interest rates were 11%.

By 1979 the average house was £18500, the average wage was £5000 and interest rates were 17%

The 1980s were very volatile with rapidly rising house prices, double digit inflation and a proper economic recession, that's when home buying started to become less affordable.

The trend has continued to this day.

2 minutes ago, Silver Sidelines said:

I would say not a lot wrong with the previous Hornby Black Five.  Rock steady, smooth and quiet.

I would agree with that.

I have one, bought S/H at a reasonable price and there is little wrong with it as a model of a Black 5.

2 hours ago, MJI said:

One problem is that with vcrs they got quite poor build quality by late 80s.

 

I still have a working 1982 deck.

The standard VHS deck was poor quality from the outset, that's why they were so much cheaper than any other systems and ideal for the rental market.

The JVC launch model in the UK (piano keys) relied on rubber belts and slip pads for the different speeds required for the capstan and spools.

Some of the later introductions were a bit more sophisticated.

I had a Grundig 2x4 Super (V2000 system), there was a seperate motor for everything.

A loading motor, a lacing motor, a capstan motor, a head motor and 2 spool motors and they were all expensive custom designs, not off the shelf Mitsumis.

This not only making them extremely complex but rather heavy & bulky as well.

They did make some cheaper ones later on with less complex operating systems, the quality had gone by then.

1 hour ago, The Johnster said:

 I used ‘NICAM Stereo’ VHS as a stereo audio recording medium

Surely the Nicam was just the decoder for the TV signal audio?

The actual recording would be the standard VHS, which by then was probably FM stereo

My first S-VHS recorder could record audio in FM quality with no compression, it even had VU meters and recording level controls.

Much better than MP3

The recorder was built like a tank with an all metal case and metal chassis, everything about it was quality.

My second & last S-VHS recorder was very plasticy and horrid

BBC Midlands today had a feature on Pete Watermans layout.

It is apparently up for a Guinness World Record for the world's longest transportable model railway.

To measure it accurately they have a wagon with an axle rotation counter which will be propelled the length of the layout. Tape measures aren't accurate enough it seems.

Sadly my back is no better so I won't be going.☹️

On 25/04/2024 at 17:49, Il Grifone said:

Part of the problem with Peco and Hornby pointwork (apart from being H0 scale to USA  standards)

Doesn't look much like the more prototypical code 83 stuff

2 hours ago, Dagworth said:

PDC was your friend

If the information was correctly uploaded by the broadcaster.😁

Even now with all digital TV there are problems with programme start/finish times or split programmes that want to reserve e.g. 8550 minutes.

It all depends on the human interface at the broadcaster's end.

Remember those VCR's with a numerical code (published in TV guides) that you scanned or entered to record a program

6 hours ago, kevinlms said:

The microwave is usually one of the easiest things to set the clock on.

We've got a catering microwave, it doesn't have a clock on. It also doesn't have one of those silly revolving dish things, in fact we've never had a microwave with one of those.

It does however have a memory where cooking programmes can be stored.

11 minutes ago, ColinB said:

I was surprised when I saw Hornby had adopted this, edge connectors of this type were a constant issue on electronic equipment I used to have to fix.

That's why they are normally gold plated in industry, I had plenty of experience of edge connectors in my job and non gold plated ones were a PITA.

One batch of equipment (several hundred sets) was so bad they had to go back to the manufacturer to have the connectors (both the PCBs & sockets) gold plated*, they were fine afterwards.

All newer ones came with gold plated ones as standard.

*Yes they were done in situ.

3 hours ago, ColinB said:

That still doesn't remove the issue that you cannot pickup current from those wheels. As for the rubber well you have your opinion, I have mine. You cannot get rid of the fact, rubber is an incredibly good insulator, design isn't going to get rid of that. Those wheel will only pick up current on the flanges.

My Hornby Dublo AL1 had traction tyres on one axle of one bogie and picked up on the remaining 6.

It would pull a prodigious amount of load in one direction, not much in the other but current collection wasn't a problem.

Remarkably the only drive was to the axle with the tyres!

2 minutes ago, ColinB said:

I would imagine adding those additives would probably compromise the traction ability

Car tyres conduct electricity but the electrical resistance is still on the high side.

They have carbon compounds in the rubber mix.

39 minutes ago, ColinB said:

rubber is an incredibly good insulator

It can also be made to conduct electricity with suitable additives

4 hours ago, 30801 said:

We have a smart oven that connects to the internet.

Can it automatically set the time when the clocks change?

No it bloody can't.

My non smart central heating timer, now 13 years old changes with the clock changes. (MSF radio control?)

My car has a touch screen DAB+ radio/media player/Satnav does not use the time data from the DAB signal and has to be set manually.

My previous car same make, same range had a much more basic manual DAB radio/CD player and did get the time info from the DAB data🙂

3 hours ago, Neil said:

I'm thinking of the huge increase in house prices in cities, particularly London, which must have led to big increases in commuting.

Commuting is down, leisure travel is up. (more days off due to WFH)

Great.

Looks like we've reverted to the previous layout.

Obviously not what the punters wanted.

How different is the Labour "Great British Railway" from the Tories "Great British Railway"?

🙂