davetheroad

have a look here at post #4

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/141768-hornbyairfix-12t-van-chassis/

Have a look at the Bachmann Mini Long coupler 36-026

Sounds like Lima will tick the box - the roof and windows are the same moulding. There are clips at either end in the corridor connection glazing which free it off to lift off the roof and windows.

Thanks, they are cheap enough second hand

OK, sorry, I should have said easily removeable roofs. My latest Bachmanns have the sides moulded with the roofs and you have to cut the pipework on the end to get the roof/side off, even then they are not designed for easy removing. The latest Hornbys have the roof and sides as one moulding with the ends attached and they are easier to remove.

I am interested in Corridor Brakes for use in a remote vehicle mounted uncoupling system which raises the hook on a tension lock coupler anywhere on the layout and at an operating distance of up to 15 feet without precise positioning of the vehicle. My eyes are not what they used to be!. The system (if it works) will use a servo or actuator to raise the hook controlled by radio and battery powered. I need easy access to replace the battery unless I install onboard charging.

After the project is finished there will be perhaps 6 semi fixed rakes with converted brakes plus others for local and parcel trains.

The local non corridor and excursion train can use Dapol coaches and the roofs come off

Are there any 00 scale MK1 coach models out there that have removeable roofs?

That's a relief!

Ditto

I just noticed their website is no longer available, just when I was thinking of purchasing some BCK Mk1's

Look at these, Micron Radio Control specialises in RC but as far as I understand, a servo is a servo and as long as the correct voltage is applied the control signal is the same

http://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/servo.html

I really, genuinely am not trying to be difficult or stupid, but ………………………..

 

I have just gone into the back yard and the humidity meter shows 59% …. it also shows 59% in the garage …………. but in the ground floor of my house it shows 64% and in the unoccupied bedroom/landing area on the first floor it shows 69%

 

So I wouldn't even think of dampness issues if I stored the layout in my living room but that seems to be more humid than outside in the yard - I am totally confused. Yes, my wife and I have been sitting in the living room  this evening but upstairs it's even more humid.

It confuses me too. I have 3 hygrometers and just checked them. Here in the lounge it is 18.6C and 35%. The conservatory is 7.9C and 69%, the railway shed with dehumidifier and frost protection fan heater is 10C and 49%, the local weather forecast has it 0C and 89%. The relative humidity can vary a lot with temperature change. Maybe your garage has so many drafts the air in there is essentially the same as the air outside?

edit - I just breathed on the lounge meter 3 times and it jumped to 36% and went back to 35% a minute later

Just come in from work - dehumidifier has been on all day - humidity in garage is 66% - humidity outside in back yard is 66% !

What sort of dehumidifier is it? Desiccating or compressor?  I have been running my desiccating humidifier for a couple of weeks now and the humidity varies between 47 and 51  percent with a daily water output of about 400ml. I don't know if this is normal but that 3-4mm crack at the top of the wall insulation on one wall worried me All the wall insulation is combined moisture barrier/insulation/ plasterboard on battens. I filled that crack yesterday, a fun job involving various tools taped to a broomstick handle because the layout was in the way. I await the daily water output reading with interest!

Presumably other electricians are not quite dead yet?

 

The voltage drop created by the heater could result from poor plug/socket contact or it could be the cable that's not equal to the task. My shed runs on an extension from the house and I can run an arc-welder there without any problems, but that's because I used the right size of wire when I buried the cable.

The cable appears to be half inch diameter armoured so is it 1.5mm squared wire?

It's hard to be sure without looking at subjects, but I suspect oxidation has a lot to do with it. It might be best to simply have the outlets replaced and have the electrician install new plugs on the cables. I'd be surprised if that does not solve the problem (although I am surprised quite often).

Things can get complicated, he is no longer in the land of the living.

My memory is returning, back when I had 2 gaugemaster controllers the trains used to slow down slightly when the 2kw heater kicked in

The cable has nothing to do with it. The heat is being produced at the plug or socket because there is more resistance there than there should be. Note that a high resistance connection will end up heating both the plug and socket which accelerates oxidation which increases the resistance etc etc.

 

When were the outlets installed? Are they in humid locations?

8 years ago and yes, humidity up to 85% which is why I recently acquired a dehumidifier. humidity now 50%. The sockets are 2 double boxes screwed to a wooden back panel

I have a single skinned garage which is insulated including moisture barriers and the humidity in there was over 85%. A recently mostly card constructed station canopy warped so I bought a Ecoair DD! Classic MK5 desiccating humidifier from amazon. I have been running it foe a week or so and for the last few days 24 hours a day in Eco mode. I also have a watterladen thermometer/hygrometer, also from amazon. Daily water extraction starter at 1. 2 litres and has dropped over 4 days to 0.7L The cost per day has dropped from 60p to 51.5p The relative humidity has varied between 47% and 51%.

It appears the Ecoair is sucking more moisture out of the air than is being added. There is a lot of wood, unsealed plasterboard, cardboard etc in there and this only releases its excess moisture slowly so eventually the water extracted should stabilise as the only source is atmospheric through the trickle ventilation or opening the door and me breathing. When this happens I can experiment with running the unit for less than a day. My target was maintaining the humidity below 60%

Desiccating humidifiers are best for cold rooms as thy work down to 1C 

Check out Meaco  dehumidifiers as well

I am olympic standard at losing stuff., half an hour to find a screwdriver is nothing. My best loss is pruning secateurs, I bought a new pair and months later found the old ones in the sock drawer - don't ask!

This is a bigger shed made from 2 kits, the office is scratch built. I also used scalescenes for the walls. lots of details still to do. The 3rd image is also a modded Metcalfe kit. The kits are solid construction And i have a signal box to plus a couple of rows of houses awaitinf construction

Check out the S-Cab site for a system that charges from the rails and auto switches between track power and battery

http://www.s-cab.com/

Recharging without handling - whether achieved by induction, rail contact or magic moonbeams - seems ideal to me on the count of damage reduction on small scale models.

 

Recharging through the plain track rails - which have to be in place for a model railway - seems so natural a solution (minimum incremental cost of kit for a start) that it somewhat baffles me that I have read insistence in the past that this not even be considered for on board battery recharging!

 

The major benefit I see is maintenance of the convenience we already have: in that because the battery can be continuously topped up whenever on plain track with no user intervention of any kind required, the model is always ready to go. The thought of having to monitor charge and take action to recharge over 70 locos does not appeal.

I chanced on this topic late but as I have been building a BPRC layout for 4 years I offer some opinions based on my experience.

Firstly a couple of years ago I tried out 2 Bluehorse boards from BlueRail Trains in the USA. They use the latest version of Bluetooth Radio to deliver the commands to the board which can draw its power from DC or DCC via the rails or from an onboard battery. What I found interesting was that the board could seamlessly switch between power sources. If the track power was absent it switched to the battery. In effect the battery was a replacement for stay alive capacitors but with a vastly increased run time. Onboard charging via the rails was not included but there is no reason why it could not be. They have developed a new much smaller board but not released it yet. such a board would be an ideal solution. run with whatever power source you want or mix and match them on your layout. I would opt for onboard battery because that is how I power my 45 BPRC locos and I don't need track power so, although I could energise some plain track I don't fancy refitting power pickups and losing the benefits of less drag that I have with battery power.

The track still needs cleaning, I do mine about twice a year and the wheels get cleaned when the stock is serviced, that is when I remember to do it.

Fettling your lima motor and drive chain can make a big difference. Replacing the motor with a CD type has also worked for me. They are smooth with good hauling power. the class 20 is happy with 20 coaches. Traction tyres are not a problem so far but with battery power I only clean the track about twice a year. Adding a coating of Bullfrog snot to an existing tyre should help with the black gunge problem.

Here is a link to the service video

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=servicing+a+lima+diesel+loco&qpvt=servicing+a+lima+diesel+loco&view=detail&mid=4D20ACD6E32F295868464D20ACD6E32F29586846&FORM=VRDGAR

pull some hair out and chop it up?

Those big letters are probably stretched versions of these customised with gaps added. I would use something like Inkscape to draw the outlines as because it is a vector drawing program you will get smooth curves when printing. The image would be good enough  to use as a source of your drawings. Click on the image to enlarge it.

I tend to agree, but given the 'constraints' of the OP, I can't see any other way to do it! I'm not aware of any stations like the OP described (but there could be ...). All the ones I've seen have the ridges running perpendicular to the platform edge, and the side parallel to the platform edge ramped down. More like the photo I posted on Burton-on-Trent.

Here you go, the north and south ends of the Penrith Island platform. The distance from the platform building to the end of the canopy is about 25 feet which appears to be the standard spacing for the support pillars along the platforms. My model which is partly inspired by Penrith will only have 2 canopies on the island platform because I don't have the width for the prototype 50 feet. My platform is 153mm for some reason. The platform building is 150 feet long and my model is flat roofed a bit like Oxenholme.

I suppose it complicates matters but the canopy has 2 ridge lines like this.

Would a tapered awning be a valid solution with the horizontal supports getting shorter and the awning getting deeper?