Jon Fitness

Sounds like a good idea but.. theres always the option of a spring like I did on the earlier one I made Steve! JF

The shutter arrangement on these signals sits on a substantial bracket on the front of the post and this is the etch folded up ready. This is the rest of the etch parts for the shutter box, ready to fold up. The shutters slide up and down in channels either side of the box and this is provided for in the form of a lost wax casting strip. This was tinned on the reverse side, cut in to 2 pieces and a length soldered each side of the box etch. This was then folded up and assembled ready to accept the shutters. The shutters themselves are a bit of a tight fit in the guides and both these and the guides needed a little fettling to get them to run up and down. I fear I may have "over fettled" these though as there is now a tendency for them to tip a little. Oh well you live and learn (then forget and do it wrong again if you're anything like me!). The shutter box was then soldered to the bracket per instructions, the lamp (unlit!) and some bracing strips added and once everything appeared roughly the right shape, 2 of the supplied pins were soldered to the bracket 2 holes were then drilled in the post and the bracket assembly pushed onto the post, checked for alignment and finally secured with superglue. A quick word on how this signal functions might be helpful here so.. Each of the shutters has a route name on it (usually of 5 letters or less) and is lifted into position in the display by pulling the appropriate lever in the 'box. The weight bar for the actual signal arm is within all the other operating arms on the post. It has a cross bar fastened to it in such a way that if any shutter is lifted, it lifts up the weight bar thus moving the signal arm with it. When the shutter is lowered, the signal arm returns to danger by gravity. There is no direct link from signal lever to the arm. On the model, the same principle applies so all the mechanics must be free working and on the etch, an extra spectacle plate is included to add extra weight to assist the signal to return to danger. I'm going to have to be careful with the paint then! Oh and there's more problems now. I've just realised I have forgotten to make a channel in the post for the lamp wires. They should have passed under one of the side plates. bollicks! More soon. JF

You could always have the preservation people re-open the joint line back to Hooton..... JF

Hmm I think the same when I see the loco and scenery people at work! JF

Well, it's nose back to the lower quadrant grindstone. This next signal is more or less a straight kit build of a Scale Signal Supply GW5 wooden posted 3 leaf route indicator. There will of course be a few mods (lamp, sevo operation etc) but I'll be using the original bits in the kit. The first little problem I encountered was the side plates were wider than the supplied post but a good few strokes with a file sorted that out. The plates were then superglued to the post after cutting and setting to the required gap. This is the rest of the etch as supplied and the various fittings The operating arms were fitted with small lengths of tube to act as spacers and bearings and the lengths of these adjusted to fit all neatly in the gap between the plates. A captive nut was soldered on one side plate, and a washer on the other. I used a chemically blackened bolt to hold these in position while I soldered them, the blackening preventing the solder from affecting the bolt. The base plate in the kit isn't big enough for my purposes so I cut a new one 50mm x 30mm. and drilled/countersunk a hole for the provided 8BA screw. A matching hole was drilled in the post base and the post/base fastened/glued together. Next was the arm pivot. A small length of tube was soldered to the provided plate, a small cut out made in the post and the pivot assembly glued and pinned. The lower pin was left untrimmed as the lamp case bracket fastens on to the other end of it. ] The supplied lamp case is a solid brass casting so I carefully drilled it out to accept a 3mm W/W LED from underneath. That'll do for now! JF

Another signal for the layout. 2 arm shunt for exiting the lower yard. This one will have to wait a week or two for paint as I'm off down to the IOW for a short break. Totally off subject, the place where I keep my wreck bus had a bit of a shunt around and I managed a rare shot of it. It's usually pretty much buried behind other resto-jobs and the running fleet. I managed a bit of work on the lower deck interior while I was there. ( I won't re-panel the exterior until nearer completion. Some clumsy oaf will probably dent it!) JF

All finished. Weathered and installed. I'll blend the base in later. Cheers JF

and quite a bit more Heath Robinson as well!JF

A quick u/q fix! Just a simple signal for our layout, but I've added some extra detail from my own castings. When anything is bolted through the tubular posts (on the real thing) there is a casting fitted against the post before the nut is added, just to spread the force of the nut being tightened. I produced a couple of masters in brass and I've fitted some of the resulting castings to see how they look. (I think I may need to be a bit more careful with the alignment!) I think they'll look OK after a coat of paint but would welcome comments.... Cheers JF

Lovely stuff Mick! Particularly like the co-acting one..very lofty! Jon F.

Since I've been fixing servos directly to the signal bases I've been struggling with testing the completed signals on the bench. Knocked this up from a few scrap bits of wood and a spare SERVO4 board. I can now stand a signal on the top with the servos fitting through the hole and connect the wires up to the board.The switches are connected to each servo output and there is an output for the lamps as well. I can set up the board for each servo I test with the MERG setting box and observe the mechanisms working through the open front. I tested it with the GW signal shown previously but I'm sure you've all seen enough droopy signals for now...... JF

60045 running round 6L57 at Chester today. Arrived from Warrington way and left towards Crewe. Jon F.

If you can manage the 5" gauge stuff, this should be a piece of..... .! JF

Honestly, although I still have 3 more to build, this is deffo the last GW signal for now! Wooden post early pattern stop&distant with (because I forgot it at the time...) an additional c/o arm on a little scratchbuilt bracket. All worked with the usual servos and LED lit. Used my usual trim tape to secure the servos in a stack underneath but just to be sure I soldered a strap of brass around the stack and to the base as well. Now where's my tray of U/Q bits gone?....... JF

Normal upward heading service will shortly be resumed! JF

Spotted! It's just a test lash up to check everything works before delivery. The customer is supplying his own DCC powered MERG boards (I think they'll operate 8 servos!) Fortunately I had managed to set the servos up so that when I swapped one servo lead out for the 5th one the stroke was exactly the same. The only adjustment needed was one of the back blinds was a bit close to a lamp case and had to be tweeked out a bit. Cheers JF

All done electronically Mike; much simpler! JF

Here's a bit of a video of the gantry on test. Its on Flickr as the file size is a bit big to upload here so I can't view it myself from work. Let me know if the link ain't working! Click here JF

All painted and seems to have freed off reasonably well after 3 or 4 coats. A spot of oil here and there should smooth everything up. If I can organise it, and anyone wants to see it I'll post up a test video with lights lit and signals going down and up & stuff. JF

Oh it's got to be a mismatched range of loaded and empty with some MCVs and brightly coloured private owners. Loco in BR livery and an LMS brake van with no tail lamp just for completeness... JF

Cliche of the future?:- A Heljan LMS Garratt with "A Hundred Wagon Coal Train". JF

It'll look like silver from a distance, and all the other signals I've done for him (and there's quite few) are per his request, black and white. JF