Ravenser

As far as I'm aware the Bure Valley is the only 15" gauge line to operate tank locos, though I stand open to correction

Scalescenes downloadable kit. A little fiddly but very effective

I don't have a Heljan Lion , but their 47s in particular have a reputation for drawing large amounts of current and the Hornby decoder isn't rated to stand more than 0.5A on a sustained basis.

That doesn't explain a dead Bachmann decoder though

What next, Mk1s in T-scale? Hang on, why not Proto-T?

That will be Proto - Type .....

Tramway des Zones Humides or Tramway de la Zone Humide....

Actually Chemin de fer du Marais would probably an equivalent

Thanks for the comments - as Donw says it's not just the model railway projects that add up.... I've not posted anything on the boxfile before, but I'll try to add a posting on it to this blog

Very useful and instructive - excellent results

Is there any risk that the tinplate will weaken the magnet in the motor over time , affecting its power . A bit like shielding the motor in case any metal filings get onto it ?

Don't be disheartened. The Scharfenburg coupling on the 73 is truly impressive

What have you been doing to the 101 underframe? I have a 101 and an uncomfortable feeling I ought to do something to improve the underframe - but I can't quite see anything practical...

It is perhaps worth pointing out that these days the Government at Westminster does not run Scotland. Thanks to devolution , Scotland, by and large is run by Alec Salmond and his mates. And this arrangement was put in place by a party dominated by people from Scotland , essentially without any input , consultation, or consent from the English people, precisely to ensure that a future Tory Government at Westminster would be powerless to do anything meaningful in Scotland

At the same time that party seemed to intend to rule England using Scottish and Welsh MPs votes at Westminster ad infinitum . Hence no form of "English votes for English laws"

It has been rather striking in the last few days how many of those appearing in front of the cameras expressing their views on what should be the Government , essentially, of England have been Scots (John Reid, Tom Harris , David Steel , Alex Salmond, Gordon Brown, etc etc),- not to mention the un-elected players (Lords Mandelson & Adonis and Alaister Campbell) Sometimes elected English voices seemed far and few

The old cry of "no mandate to govern in Scotland" cuts both ways. Given the overwhelming rejection of the previous Government in England , the agonising over whether the Scots would tolerate the English replacing the Government they had rejected with something else looks a bit odd to English eyes. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander

Again - very simply , Scotland is largely autonomous these days and a situation where people are agonising over whether a given Government would be acceptable to people whom (by and large) it doesn't govern , when its evidently acceptable to those it does, looks mighty odd. Can you really have laws for England only being voted through with the votes of MPs from half a dozen parties which did not even stand in England, let alone attract a single vote there?

Take out the party names and policies , and in the abstract it would still have been a very curious and problematic situation

Hi again. I'm still scratching around this plan and I wanted to ask how you lengthened the original plan to 100"? Did the extra length get added evenly throughout the plan, was it absorbed in larger turnouts, or added to the siding lengths? In my sketching I find the forward track in the fiddle yard tends to wind up too short (this track is the centre of the three on the left side of the plan). I still really like how this worked for you using multiple units. When I first looked at the plan I was looking at it through "loco plus two coaches" eyes but found the more I considered the plan the less I see it working the way Carl proposed.

 

Funny. I see my earlier comment is from much earlier when I started on this project. Must be something about this plan that so caters to the procrastinators in the crowd eh?

 

Thanks

/chris

It's taken a long time to find this - sorry. The answer , basically , is I just extended the lines outwards. Thus a 2 car platform/fiddle yard road becomes a 3 car one. I was also using Marcway 3' radius points which added a little bit onto the central point complex, and I added an extra road in the FY at the back.

I can fully share your dilemma , having at one point found myself actively pursuing 4 layouts (and that's ignoring the stalled light rail project , the half forgotten ambitions for Ravenser Mk2, and the bits of modern N I started acquiring)

But with one exception, all of them were 4mm/OO (provided you ignore the large padded envelope stuffed full of 3mm wagon kits)

At least there was scope for me to reuse stock originally intended for one project on another project.

I think the first step may be to try and sort out which scale you want to commit to. You've mentioned 3 scales above: N , 4mm, and 7mm. Once you choose one scale, you're likely to find you stick in it for most or all future projects

A useful second way of approaching this may be - what models/stock/materials do you already have? Using what's on hand is a cheaper and faster way of getting somewhere than starting completely from scratch in a scale, with absolutely nothing, not even a sheet of brickpaper

A further suggesting is do do some rigourous scoring and analysis as a way of clarifying your thoughts and choices. The Americans like to do this, and I found it very helpful when deciding what to attempt for the last challenge. Draw up a list of things you want out of a layout , and a list of constraints (cash, space, skills, trade support etc), and probably a list of other factors like stock/materials on hand . Score each possible project against each category , say on a scale of 0-3 (0= doesn't do this at all, 3= perfect fit)

Add up the scores for each project , and you should get a feel for which one is going to suit you most. If you have any other ideas you've toyed with , even if abandoned, score those too.

Hope this helps

One further possibility here might be chopped up Networker seating , if East Kent Models still have supplies

Striking improvement. I still have my Bratchill 150 to finish - having decided to upgrade with jim s-w's etches , ready made correct size windows would be a great help, so I'm eagerly awaiting Shawplan's formal release of these (Ally Pally / York time?)

I know I suffer from getting most of the way on a large project , stalling , and then starting something else. Leading to complete distraction, loss of focus, acute guilt and nothing getting done. Once you don't actually notice them anymore when you look at the workbench, you're lost.

I may not be the best qualified person to offer an opinion - but if you send off the OO jackshaft from the 06 for replacement , that at least deals with that kit , leaving you to focus on getting the RSH tank up and running . Then when that one's done (possibly just after the jackshaft arrives ) you've got a choice between the 06 and the Neilson tank, depending on which you feel like at the time. The 16" tank looks like a back number at present....

Just a thought - which would be the most immediate use on the layout?

I'm pretty sure Judith Edge have done the Steelman Royale for a Beetle , though the original 4 wheel Sentinel is intended for a chassis (Guess what I have lurking the cupboard, amongst the main "first loco kits")

Is this the supplier who allegedly didn't believe in providing instructions, on the grounds that if you didn't know what to do with the kit already you weren't competent to build it? It doesn't seem the best way of encouraging folk to develop in the hobby

I tried a fibre glass pencil (very gingerly , and on 31 270 which was stopped for other reasons, just in case) but this looks better , even if it leaves a shiny surface. I don't think the factory weathering is at all realistic, either

This may be a matter of inappropriate bodging, but would a large does of microsol result in them stretching sufficiently to accomodate?

Three years ago , I spent New Year clearing up my study , or at least the top of the IKEA bookcase & cupboard prior to launching into my Challenge layout. It proved a very valuable exercise (Unfortunately IKEA seem to have deleted the low cupboard and bookcase I had bought some time before - it was about 18" wide)

I also found it invaluable when I bought a ready made workbench /storage box for all my stuff. It cost about 3200 and I know all the stuff about "you can make your own" - but I was never going to get round to it, and it was one of the best purchases I've ever made. I am struggling to remember the manufacturer , but he appears at Ally Pally each year

Sorry to hear you're struggling on the job front , though it looks like you've plenty to keep you occupied while looking round

I've got one of these kits in the cupboard , though I can't recall whether it is fitted or unfitted . Anyway at least this reassures me there are no horrors lurking . I've never done a whitemetal wagon kit , though I've done quite a few plastic ones

You really don't like stone bridges , do you? I suppose its a case of familiarity breeding contempt - a stone block bridge sounds picturesque and interesting to me.

For what its worth , I think I'd go with a longer version of the lattice foorbridge . As you say it looks rather nice (And for the record the ramped footbridge at Barnetby mentioned in that thread looks like a cross between a new multistory carpark for a shopping centre and a children's adventure playground)

Looks very good . It says something that I had to scroll down right to the bottom to check it really was N - I wasn't sure if it was a Bachmann one

I take it the car was originally owned by the man who designed the point motors? Having some problems with my own point motors (tortoises in OO on Marcway) in this department I know how you feel