Chris Chewter

No obligations today, so I can fit the remaining electromagnetic uncouplers on Tetbury, although that means the painful experience of taking up some of the coal yard. Hopefully it’ll be worth it to make operating the layout more enjoyable,. I keep telling myself that!

I also managed to do the uncoupler by the unloading dock.

Although some fettling is required to make sure it’s well tested with no uneven track.

Hopefully I’ll get a bit of time tomorrow to relay the coal yard track and wire up the uncouplers.

Quick question, and sorry if it’s been asked before, but which decoder works best for the 15xx? I was thinking of an ESU lokpilot, but it’s limited to 0.75a.

Those of a nervous disposition look away now! I haven’t posted recently on Tetbury as it’s been undergoing a bit of an upgrade. The thing is, the layout became nothing more than a glorified test track and was getting a bit dull. Whilst running a friends layout fitted with kadees and uncoupling magnets, I decided to do the same and upgrade Tetbury. However…

Neodynium magnets are ok but a bit hit and miss. I’ve tried the Kadee over the tie couplings but they’re a bit ugly, and again hit and miss!

I did feel adventurous, and fitted a magnetic uncoupler at the far end, and that works like a dream. 
 

However to fit them involves taking up track work.

Never mind. It’s had its magazine showing and been on the telly, now to make some improvements. But hacking up track is a little painful.

Also, wiring is not very photogenic. These are the relays for the uncouplers. Now it’s tested, it needs bell clipping back.

I mights start working for British Telecom soon!

Well that’s Carterton exhibited at a larger exhibition, albeit a home club exhibition. As one of the exhibition managers, it’s a bit difficult to truly enjoy yourself when your mind is also on what’s going on around you, but it was a successful day for the club, so that’s all good.

The layout was partially loaded into the van, whilst stock was taken in my car. Some club items also needed to be moved by the van.

The layout was quickly assembled and tested. Everything worked out of the box, so I could concentrate on my exhibition manager duties which were split with another club member.

Doors opened, and the show could begin. Sadly the first loco seemed to put up a fight. Panic! The multimeter showed it was the loco not the layout, so it was swapped out for another pannier.
 

There appeared to be a good flow of people throughout the day.

I ended up with a pannier, collett and 14xx pretty much running the whole time, although I did get a play with a Rapido 15xx that another member wanted testing.

(I did dust off the plywood debris before the event got into full flow.)
 

The 14xx I acquired from NHY 581 was a particularly lovely performer!
 

The event seemed well attended, with quite a few compliments on the backscene and people interested in the history of the Fairford branch.

Because the layout is so easy to operate, a few children politely asked to have a go. Because they were so polite, I had difficulties to say no. So they were talked through how to operate it, and seemed to pick it up very quickly.

Sadly I didn’t really get to nose about the rest of the exhibition much, but it looked like people were enjoying their day as I headed towards the nearest supply of tea!

At 4pm, everything was put back into the stock boxes, panels put back on and the layout transported home.  
 

I even managed to use the clubs laser cutter to knock up a few coasters for the many cups of tea consumed through the day. After all, I don’t want tea rings on the fiddle yard!

But I’m not sure what to do with the exhibition plaque? If it went on the layout side, it’ll just get knocked off. I’ll have to give that a bit of thought. Although I might fire up the laser cutter one more time…

For sale is a two car 2-BIL set in Southern Railways livery.  DCC fitted with the decoder reset to 3.  Complete with instructions and unused headcode transfers. Tested and runs.  No damage from what I can see.  Let me know if you need anything else.  Payment through PayPal please.  Looking for £110 + £8 postage

Thanks 

With Oxrail on the horizon later this month, Carterton got its legs stretched to check that all was OK, and to give it a bit of a photo shoot. Other that a bit of a loose joint with the fiddle yard point motor, it works perfectly out of the box. Something tells me that when it comes to Oxrail, the inevitable will happen…

I’ve also changed some of the end boards. Hardboard just isn’t robust enough so three sheets of plywood were cut to replace the sub-standard panels. The club laser cutter has been drafted in to engrave the covers so we know which one goes where!

Now onto Oxrail in a few weeks time!

More details about the exhibition can be found here:

http://www.oxfordmrc.org.uk/exhibitions/

The bucket comes as part of the Springside DA61 fire iron set.

However if it’s just buckets you’re after, the Springside DA58 fire bucket set gives you a set of six, you just need to file off the ‘F’ on the side of each bucket!

Actually the fire irons dried fairly quickly!

And of course, the obligatory hanging bucket!

I nearly forgot to post on progress with the Hornby 14xx. I decided to live with the olive green back and tone down with weathering.

Crew is from Modelu. Brass work from Mainly Trains. Lamps are springside, because this loco has to be more robust to handling than the Modelu ones can cope with. Weathering is Humbrol powders, which are then t-cut away from the tank sides and boiler barrel.

And a quick trip to Tetbury to try it for size. The logos are a tad shiny as the weathering process wore off the Hornby printing, and they had to be replaced.

I need to fit some etched numberplates as the edges also wore off during weathering, but I’ve only just ordered them so I’ll have to wait for a bit!

I’m also waiting for the paint to dry on a set of springside fire irons I found in the modelling box. Looks like I’ll be fitting them tomorrow.

On 02/07/2023 at 16:50, VIA185 said:

The Toad branded for the Tetbury branch was definitely bauxite. Can't locate my picture of it at the moment but considering its work on the branch was primarily with unfitted 16-ton mineral wagons I assume it was just an available van in good condition rather than one chosen specifically because it was fitted. (CJL)

 

Yes it was a bauxite van. However the Tetbury branch did have its own dedicated van with "Tetbury Branch" stencilled on the side.  It appears in all its full-colour glory on p630 of Gloucester to Swindon Branches Part 2

Well Tamiya olive green seems to be the closest match I can find for whatever self coloured plastic the loco is in.

I might try mixing it with a bit of black to tone it down (Or hope it’s less noticeable post weathering 😆)

Well the postman popped the bits through the door. A comet models set of brass door handles and some Mainly Trains etched lamp irons.

And a splash of paint on the front.

Ive got to work out how to match the paint on the back, because Hornbys colour is nowhere near Railmatch BR loco green! Weathering will hide the sins.

One thing that came out of exhibiting is that, whilst unusual, 14xx worked the branch. Finding a Hattons 14xx in lined green is like searching for hens teeth, so a green Hornby Railroad 14xx has been sourced.

A chip and stay alive has been fitted, plus  a crew, but more work is going to be required to make the model look right.

So first up, let’s compare the Hornby model against the Hattons/DJM model and see what needs to be done.

From the front, lamp irons seem to be an easy fit. That door looks odd, but I don’t want to loose the number. Windows need glazing but a spot of clear fix will solve that. The moulded door handles have to go.

Side view. Not sure I’ll do much here. I know some people don’t like the top feed but I don’t want to mess about with it.

Lamp irons and tool brackets seem like an easy win here.

I might add what I think are the injector pipe work. Nothing a bit of brass can’t fix.

Kadees have been fitted. The old Hornby tension lock coupling has been removed. A long NEM Kadee has had its NEM legs removed, and a hole drilled. The screw that holds the keeper plate in position also holds the Kadee in place.

So some etched lamp irons plus a brass door dart has been ordered. You can’t order any tool brackets, so this afternoon I’ve been twisting them out of brass.

These have been sized by comparing a Hattons 14xx

The door handles have been removed and clear fix put into the windows.

Now to wait for the postman to turn up!

Im a little undecided about the smoke box door, but I’m not sure I can bring myself to do that just yet.

With not much to do today, except wait for the railway clubs laser cutter to finish, I thought I'd splice together a video of Tetbury for people to enjoy.

Another successful outing completed for Carterton, and no special smoke from the CDU!

The day started with the pickup of the van at 8am. The van was helpfully loaded with the assistance of one of the club members who in exchange received a ride to the open day.

Upon arrival the layout was set up. Strangely the fiddle yard point motor wasn’t working, but it was found to be the terminal box that sat between the wiring and the point motor. A fairly quick fix.

The layout ran fairly well with quite a few club members having a go. Having fitted kadees to the rolling stock, some were running a little low, so the day was used as an opportunity to check which were running well and which were problematic.

A few locos put up a fight.  One pannier stopped working and another was running a bit fast.  A buffer fell off a Collett Goods and a screw worked loose off the other Collett. However there were more than enough panniers to keep things running. (You can never have enough panniers!)

Before long, the open day ended. Left over cake quickly consumed to summon the energy for the take down. Some club members were put to work and the van was loaded. Now with the return trip made, Carterton can be put back into store.

With the club open day quickly coming up on Saturday 13th, I’ve been doing a few jobs on Carterton. Apart from changing the CDU and sorting out a few electrical gremlins, I’ve also been fitting Kadees to overcome the tension lock tangle!

Ive also, with the help of Railtec transfers, sorted out the text in the toad. I didn’t do the whole “5:15 from Fairford” business, because it would come out in microscopic text, so I’ve gone for a different text instead.

There’s a class of locomotive that I particularly like, and that’s a 9f. That gap between the frames and the boiler looks odd but makes it such a distinctive loco, and having fired one, they’re an impressive machine to operate.

Anyway, having a few Bachmann 9fs in my collection, I just wondered whether the Hornby offering was enough of a step up. So I decided to buy another Evening Star, and the preferred loco would stay in the collection.

Ive sat the two side by side so that people can make their minds up.

First up a face off from the two contenders!

Which is which? The easy way to tell the difference is the tyres. The Bachmann ones are blackened where as the Hornby has silvered tyres. The lining on the Hornby loco looks very slightly finer to my eye.  The Bachmann loco also has that brass spring for the pony truck which socks you in the eye, which the Hornby one hasn't.

So how do they look head on?

Hornby on the left, Bachmann on the right. The platform below the smoke box door being the most obvious difference.  Why the locking handle for the Hornby loco is in the wrong position is a mystery! Both have NEM pockets.

From the rear.

Hornby on the right this time. Not much to say here to be honest.  There are tender pickups on the Hornby loco, but no pickups on the Bachmann BR1G tender.

How about from the top?

Hornby on the right and Bachmann on the left. The chimney is the give away here. The Hornby loco has an open chimney, where as the Bachmann one is not as deep. Also the ventilator (Nicknamed the ‘Sunroof’ where I volunteer) is openable on the Hornby version.  We've already discussed the boiler seam in the thread already so I won't go over old ground.  More coal in the Hornby version. Tender filler seems bigger on the Hornby tender, and the Bachmann tender has an extra cap.

Side on:

Hornby on the top and Bachmann on the bottom.  I’ve already mentioned tyres but the pipe work on the Hornby version is different. Not too much to say about the printing, but does the Hornby version look a little olive green in colour?  The lining on the Hornby version again does look finer. But that Bachmann pony spring looks huge! No sand pipes on the Hornby version though.

And the tenders. No pickups on the Bachmann version, although that Bachmann tender has the roller bearings picked out where as the Hornby one is simply black.  The number spacing also differs. No idea which is correct!

There is obviously more detail in the cab of the Hornby loco, with handles picked out in red, and obviously, there's that firebox glow in the Hornby version.  The Hornby version also has crew in the box.  You have to supply your own with the Bachmann variant!

When it comes to boxes, Hornby wins hands down! Sliding open the box is lovely when you’ve spent a ton of cash on a loco, but getting it past the Mrs could be a challenge!
 

I hope that helps. My view is both are great-looking models and the Bachmann loco holds its own, especially as its a 17-year-old design! It’s a case of whichever manufacturer makes the loco you’re after and how much you’re willing to spend. You pays your money...

Which one am I keeping, well that’ll be telling!

I managed to splice together a video from the footage I collected earlier today. I thought it might be useful if you weren't able to attend:

We set up for the bus museum last night, so first thing morning was nice and leisurely! I swapped out the CDU for a smaller unit and fitted a different 16v power supply.
 

That worked nicely until 2pm when the magic smoke appeared from the capacitors.  I eventually found two wires touching in the point switch unit. A work around was hastily found and the layout continued until closing, with the third point being switched by hand. So some repairs required before it’s next outing in May!

We also had some Great Western action on the layout.

Plus a visit from a certain blue tank engine at one point.

I think he’s got lost, as he’s a long way from Sodor!

The museum opens at 10:30am until 4pm. You have to pay an entry fee to get into the museum but there isn’t any extra charge for the layouts.

Well the exhibition at Twyford went well. 
 

The layout was packed into the van last night and the stock boxes put into the car.

We arrived about 8:30 to set up at Twyford URC.

Panel covers were unbolted and the layout was assembled.

A couple of wires had worked loose so the soldering iron was fired up and they were reattached.

The layout worked fine generally throughout the day, with a few club members having a go at operating the layout.

However my luck ran out when the CDU gave out. Given this has happened before, I think the power supply is wrong. That gives me a bit of a problem with the bus museum exhibition tomorrow.

1/ The replacement won’t  arrive ready for tomorrow.

2/ my spare CDU I don’t think has the capacity to throw three points.

2/ If I bypass the CDU and run the points off the 16v power directly, it wasn’t throwing all three points.

I’ll rob the CDU power supply from Tetbury, so fingers crossed that’ll work, otherwise the fiddle yard point will be operated by hand tomorrow!

To try to keep myself away from the traders, I spliced together a video of the event for those who weren't able to attend. Sadly my plan was unsuccessful, and my wallet is now a little lighter.