D869

Dear Sir, being towed behind speedboats in Ibiza does not conform with the public perception of railway modellers. Please revert to type immediately!

 

Isn't the explanation obvious? Someone asked him if he wanted a ride on a flying banana and he misunderstood what they meant.

 

Oh dear oh dear (both for the track and the rib).

 

Actually the last shot has a certain ambience. Maybe a post-closure cameo with a JCB or bulldozer dragging away the last few sleepers and bits of rail?

 

Operation possibilities may be limited though and it would probably be disqualified from the GJ challenge.

 

Hope the rib mends soon.

 

Regards, Andy

Thanks Pete. Yes the layout mostly behaved itself. Inevitably there were a couple of issues - for some reason the fiddle yard deck was not isolating when being moved but that's easy enough to work around once you've figured out what's happening.

 

The worst issue was some misalignment on the up line where it crosses the joint between the scissors and MPD boards. This caused some derailments but we could partly work around that by sending freights via the other line which is signalled for both directions. This is not a new issue but has proved to be quite resistant to our efforts to sort it out back at base. It seems to be worse at some shows so maybe it's related to the temperature or floor surface.

I believe I've seen a Mallard Models full brake in the past. Am I right in thinking that the five sides folded up from a single piece? If so, how easy was this? I assume that you would have chosen brass to make the forming of the sides a little easier.

That bit was already done before the model came to me. I've had a closer look. There is no solder between the sides and floor so it looks like the sides fold upwards. I suspect that the etch line is on the outside of the fold which is unconventional but it does give a crisp bottom edge to the side.

 

The ends have solder along the bottom edge and up the corners so I'd guess that these were not fold-up jobs.

 

Either material would work but Mr Rathbone reckons that paint adhesion on brass is better than nickel silver so that seems worth having given the choice. Nickel silver has lower thermal conductivity so it's definitely a better choice for etches like wagon chassis where there are lots of bits to join together without burning your fingers or unsoldering earlier work.

 

Many thanks and sorry for all the questions.

You're welcome. No worries.

Lovely stuff Andy, I too rather like NPCS although most of mine are 4 and 6 wheelers.

Cheers Jerry. Seems to be a common affliction. Maybe it's because building a single NPCS vehicle leaves you with a finished item that 'makes sense' in its own right whereas most passenger carrying stock needs several friends. Or maybe it conjures up ideas of journeys involving much luggage or Christmas parcels.

 

Interesting Nigel, I never came across the complete range although I do have a couple of the Mallard etches in my gloat box - a GWR full brake (K?) and a LMS period 1 example. The GWR clerestories are very nice, Im after a couple to add to my growing 1920 GWR rake to add some variety to the Masterclass toplights. So, if anyone has a couple to spare.......

Now what would you be needing a 1920 GWR rake for? I'm guessing not the S&D. Bath Spa as your next layout maybe?

 

Regards, Andy

Very nicely built. A couple of questions if I may,

 

1.) Are you going to try and add the lower beading or leave the recessed bits as they are?

 

2.) As I'm thinking of doing something similar for some unusual GNR prototypes, do you know what thickness brass was used for these?

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Thanks Steve,

 

I'm intending to leave the lower half of the sides as etched. I realise that the beading should be proud of the panels and that the etch is a bit of a compromise here (it just has etched lines on either side of the beading - the panel centres are not etched) but I think it would be easy to overdo this because the lower beading is VERY thin. Here are a couple of pictures of the vehicle that I'm working towards.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertcwp/15173680243/in/album-72157603653607671/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertcwp/15791244841/in/album-72157603653607671/

 

I've just measured the sides. The answers were a bit variable but I suspect it's 12 thou or possibly a bit thicker. It's nickel silver though, not brass but I'd probably choose brass if I were etching one myself.

 

BTW, a discussion on the BRCS Yahoo group identified the location for the photo above as Keighley

 

Regards, Andy

Thanks Rich. I do like a bit of history for early kits.

 

 (but don't quote me)

 

Oops.

Hi Andy,

 

Blacksmith Models were sold by Cove Models near Farnborough did these years ago. As you say, the original Mallard etches were 4mm and they simply halved everything. My clerestories are the same source and I remember buying up as many as I could at the time. I should have looked beyond the GWR and picked up one of these as, like you, I have predeliction for BGs and the like. Looks like a really neat job.

Thanks Nigel. I did have the feeling that these kits probably had a bit of a story but I couldn't find much about Mallard online and no mention at all of any 2mm versions. It would be interesting to know when they were produced.

 

Very nice work Andy...

Cheers Pete.

Hope you weren’t sitting facin a wall all day though Andy

 

Glad it all went well though - another 22 build sounds good...

 

No, I was allowed to turn around once in each hour

 

Actually, I asked for a spot against the wall because I had those big plastic photo display thingies and I'd checked some pictures from our previous Chelford outing and I spotted the picture rail on the wall... otherwise goodness knows how I would have displayed the photos. I have most of them on my tablet but it usually takes me quite a while to locate a specific photo if someone asks a question.

 

I'm looking forward to doing a second class 22 but I really need to get some other stuff off my workbench first. Just now there is quite a lot of primering and sanding of 3d printed bits going on when the weather allows.

 

Regards, Andy

Cheers Andy. I'm intending to stick with the approach that I used for my other class 22 - the Worsley kit on an Atlas MP15 chassis. It does run very well and my previous experience of Dapol stuff has been pretty variable. I haven't picked a prototype yet but the plan is to try to make life less difficult for myself this time by choosing one that needs fewer changes from the kit as designed.

 

I have quite a few other things to get off my workbench first though, but an extra class 22 (or two now) is definitely on the 'to do' list for Hayle.

 

Regards, Andy

Glad it went well Pete - looks like a really nice day from your outdoor photos on the other thread.

 

Regards, Andy

Should be... although it is not unheard of for me to forget the things I intended to bring.

 

Regards, Andy

Looking good Pete but I'm going to be a bit of a contrarian on the gangways. The gangways that you see on the end of a loose Mark 2 coach are fully extended. When two coaches are coupled together, the gangways are compressed slightly. Have a look at the spacing between the Celedonian Sleeper coaches on the Wikipedia page.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Railways_Mark_2

 

So if possible, I'd look at getting the coaches to couple more closely. I gather there are ways to do it with the Dapol couplers but I do it a different way myself. We also need to deal with non-scale friction so my coaches are coupled so that the gangways just about don't touch - that way we can propel them through a reverse curve without one chucking its neighbour sideways off the track. Same applies to Mark 1s, Bulleids and Gresleys - anything with Pullman gangways.

 

BTW, are you planning anything suitably orange for your trip to Essex?

 

Regards, Andy

Thanks Jerry.

 

How about...

 

'You should have seen how many of Pauline's flapjacks I've had - I reckon it's about this much'

Glad they came out well Ian.

 

Regards, Andy

Yes. Available from Eileens Emporium on line or at shows.

 

Thanks. That's one for the shopping list at York then.

Hi Ian,

 

Good luck with the etches.

 

I do like that handrail bending jig. Can these still be had?

 

Regards, Andy

That's very good. 

 

Very, very clever, — and it works, amazing!

Thank you both.

 

 

That's working really well.

 

The tank wagon could do with a little bit of built-in friction to stop it lurching forwards. Assuming there is some weight in it, you could try a very lightly sprung wire rubbing against one axle. Alternatively, you can cut a couple of turns from an N gauge coupling spring and put it over the pinpoint of one axle (an idea cribbed from Micro Trains). Either way, I've been doing similar things on Chapel Wharf since the early days, and the end effect is to make wagons move as if they really do weigh a few tons.

 

David

 

Thanks David. Yes, some brakes are on the 'to do' list. I have them on some of my 16 tonners but so far none on the oil tanks.

 

Impressive stuff Andy - The 2 minute vid is very therapeutic

 

It needs the obligatory pound coin in the pic just to show how small it is

 

Can you tell us more about the layout? Is that balsa used for the inlaid track area?

 

Cheers Pete. I tend not to go in for the whole coin shot thing. The layout ain't built yet - this is just a mockup to test out ideas but yes the infill is all done with 1/32 balsa - another idea borrowed from Laurie Adams. I found that there are some big variations from the nominal thickness of the balsa where the grain varies from soft to hard so will need to be more careful in choosing sheets in future. The deck is 1mm PCB - 3 sheets stitched together (with splints made from 16mm scale rail!) but I will order a big sheet for the real layout.

 

Of course the whole contraption requires a completely clear run underneath the board surface so there must be no board cross members, wiring, point tiebars or uncouplers to get in the way. All these things must either be arranged above ground or else some means devised to keep them out of the way when the tractor is coming through.

 

Very good Andy.  I'm impressed that you managed to avoid driving the tractor where the buildings will eventually go!  I didn't when I played with it the other night :-)  But then you've had a lot more practice, and I'm used to driving a 1/10th scale racing car at around 30mph around a track that's significantly wider than the gaps between the buildings :-)

 

Ian

 

I haven't had that much practice. I only drew the building lines on just before I brought it to the meeting. It's pretty tricky to swing the tractor round through the other gate but on the final layout there will be a bit more space - the mockup is truncated at both ends because the bendy bits in the middle are the more important things in terms of proving whether the thing works or not. The result is that the oil depot outlines are rather more constricted than they will eventually be. I just re-checked the drawing and that building by the gate is in reality outside the area covered by the mockup.

 

22mph was the top speed of the tractor I'm modelling although I slowed mine down a bit because I think it was close to the limit in terms of how fast the Arduino can keep up with the trig to work out how to move the steppers.

 

I'm sure you will get another go sooner or later

 

Regards, Andy

Don't suppose you know anyone local who could take a few suitable photos for you do you? Might give you more options to choose from. The coming week might not be the best time though unless you are after a snow scene.

 

It's not an area that I know very well - Devon is a very big place and there are lots of bits in the middle that don't get visited much. I did track down the former station called 'Hole' on the same line once - it took quite a bit of detective work because I couldn't find anywhere with that name on the map. Happily it was remarkably intact. It was a few years back so hopefully it still is.

 

Regards, Andy

Yes it went very well thanks Pete. Not a massive show, nor a finescale specialist show but the quality was good throughout and our train set behaved itself.

 

Putting us near the book stand might not have been the best thing for my wallet though.

 

Regards, Andy

It would seem that they are. I remember the name from way back too. I don't know whether the guy behind the stand was the original proprietor.

 

There wasn't much of 2mm interest on that stand though so I did not enquire further.

 

Regards, Andy

Looks good Ian. Drop me a message if there is anything I can help you with regarding DraftSight.

 

FWIW I attach my roofs with rare earth magnets on stretchers high up inside the body and a small square of steel glued to the underside of the roof. It has a lot of advantages although it does complicate any fittings that attach to both roof and body (e.g. handrails for end steps).

 

Regards, Andy

Ah... snow scene eh?

 

Seriously, good to see you moving forward with this. I hope your track runs smoothly but my experience is that track usually works much better before you paint it and it takes some perseverence to get it back to the same level of reliability afterwards, so stick with it!

 

Backscene-wise, your horizon looks pretty low so I'd think that some representation of the local scene would be the best bet.

 

Regards, Andy

Adding weight is easy enough but what exactly do you mean by 'too light to propel' ?

 

Do you mean they fall off the track? ... in which case I'd check the back to backs very carefully first (at several points around each wheel just in case it is 'wobbly') and then have a real close look at the track.

 

Another issue is that wagons with pinpoint bearings can be so free running that they can run away from the propelling loco by a few mm while on the DG 'delay latch'... the loco then catches up again and re-couples. The answer to this one (which I nicked from Jerry Clifford) is brakes (yes, really!) - some 36 SWG phosphor bronze wire arranged to rub on one axle (axle, not wheel) is usually enough to persuade the most free running of vehicles to behave itself.

 

HTH.

 

And Happy New Year.

 

Regards, Andy

Always good to get some track down. I still havent tried Easitrack myself but have recently been knocking together some pointwork with PCB and I always find that I need to make adjustments before I get the alignment right... plus the ones I'm making are non standard anyway so I think it will be a long time before I use Easitrack turnouts. I did puchase some plain Easitrack at the AGM though... but haven't had reason to use it yet.

 

Regards, Andy