D869

Chin up Pete. I agree with other posters that furry (and frayed) card can be rescued by persuading it to absorb something that sets solid. We've used superglue on buildings but can't vouch for it on ground surfaces. I guess in the old (pre superglue) days the advice would have been to use shellac so there are other options.

I guess that the challenges will be to make sure it only goes where you want it and to restore a matt finish when you're done.

Regards, Andy

Very interesting, but I'm left with the feeling that the first two are well worn and listening to the audio on the third, it is clearly not in the best of health. Overall, I'm left with the impression that whilst they may bounce the selection of evidence here is a little partial

Oh well, I didn't select anything - these are just the first 3 videos that I found that show a WR signal returning to danger. Admittedly they are all fairly recent so it is possible that there was a golden age of non-bouncy WR semaphores in the past.

My gut feel is that there are some heavy lumps of metal involved. If you put the signal back to danger quickly enough then all of that kinetic energy has got to go somewhere when it reaches the end of its travel. I don't know exactly what stops the motion, but I'm guessing that it has a cushioning effect built in to avoid breakages, so bounce seems like a distinct possibility.

There is, of course, the view expressed by some that GWR/WR lower quadrant signals don't bounce

I don't remember a promounced bounce but there definately was a soild sort of clunk and things shook a little - not exactly the sort of thing you could model in 2mm unless someones comes up with a sound chip to work on DCC?

I suggest that we consult the real thing for the answer on this question.

A couple of nice photos of a ground disc on that thread though.

At an risk of this being interpreted as putting my hand up to do this... Are the shunting disks going to stay fixed, or will they be moving as well?

I'll let you have a disc etching and a servo once you have made good your escape from Cornwall.

Any plans for some 2 foot gauge track and a Lister to bring the peat from the works?

Nice work. Its amazing how much difference just one signal on the platform makes. Regarding your comment about the branch joining within station limits. I suspect the problem is that the GWR would not have done it quite like that. It is more likely to be a post steam revision done that way. So perhaps it doesn't matter if you adopt something not quite GWR.

Don

Thanks Don. To be honest the more real signalling plans I look at the more I realise that there were lots of very odd arrangements out there in the real world. I suspect that if we had invented the arrangement of carriage sidings and signals part way along the departure platform then nobody would have believed it (including us). Actually it is the genuine pre-1938 arrangement which was forced on the GWR by circumstances such as a restricted site and the previous broad gauge arrangement. The way that the goods yard sidings join a platform road is also pretty odd, but again is taken straight from the real thing. I'm pretty sure that this particular platform face would not have been used for loaded passenger trains though.

I have had my reservations about the branch junction because it forces some 'wrong line' running for a short distance on the double track but in the end I decided that within the limits of a terminus station there are plenty of examples where this is inevitable. Finding the Barnstaple Junction arrangement (which isn't even a terminus) also helped.

Did you use a mixture of mse etches and scratchbuild items overall?

Oops - didn't answer that one, did I? Yes, we're using MSE parts wherever they suit. For the signal in the photo that means just the arm the ladder. If we could use more off the shelf bits then we would do - not having to make finials would be quite nice but I don't know of anything else that is suitable.

Get the modified PIC I think they are about a £1 and play it really is quiet impressive even in 2mm

 

I'm really impressed how far you've ALL got since Expo 2010

Thanks Nick. I think we might already have the bouncy code but that's not my department... which makes a change because software is my day job. I believe that we also have the technology to reprogram the PIC but we weren't brave enough to try reprogramming our one and only controller yesterday - we had only just got it working. We definitely have lots of new things to try out over the next few weeks.

...I thought I had my work cut out having to make two junction semaphores one day...but having seen your plan...

That looks terrific Andy...and the lamp really effective.

Did you use a mixture of mse etches and scratchbuild items overall?

Thanks Pete. I'm not finding it too daunting - just taking it one signal at a time I find it quite satisfying. Each one individually is not too much work compared to say a coach kit so there is a real feeling of progress. I'm sure you'll manage your signals just fine although I'm guessing that you might not have a nice easy one to practice on?

The MERG bounce is the bees knees imho

Tweaking and possibly modifying the MERG is definitely something we plan to play with but nothing to report as yet other than plugging in the vanilla SERVO4 and proving that it works.

Good to see Catcott Burtle here again. Can't have too much S&D I feel. Thanks

Nice new blog. I'll sign you up as an author for the St Ruth blog too.

Any chance of a photo of the underside of the siphon to see what you have done? Not sure about that blu,e dirty brown or maroon is what I remember. Nice looking models though

Don

Done - added some more pics to the blog posting.

Looks nearly finished now - amazing what a bit of grass can do.

I rather liked the chocolate fudge cake version in the first photo though - lacking a few candles perhaps.

I didn't realise any siphons got painted blue! When were they changed?

Oh yes, definitely! I suspect that the start date was similar to coaches - circa mid 1960s but with plenty hanging around in the older liveries for a good while - even crimson. Dave Larkin's book shows one at York in 1968 still in crimson and a blue one at Penzance in 1970.

There are plenty of colour photos of blue ones on Paul Bartlett's site, for example...

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrsiphon/h34a1e996#h232e7775

Very nice Andy...always good to see more shots of this layout.

Superb as usual - this is rapidly becoming one of my favourite 2FS layouts.

Thank you both.

Think I have a couple of those old Lima Syphons in my box somewhere...I seem to recall modifying one with plasticard to plate over the grills?

 

How many (if any) Dapol Westerns have you pre-ordered?

The old Lima siphon is totally transformed demonstrating how good the original body moulding was. Like Pete, I have a couple of these stashed away.

I'll await some photos of your new 2FS Siphons soon then. One of the good things about modelling parcels stock is that there was so much variety - even well into the blue era. Blanked louvres are fine for some Siphons. I also have one more stashed away along with a set of etches from Ultima to convert it to diagram O62 (more louvres instead of less). I think that our parcels van shortage has now eased so I'll give Siphons a rest for now so it won't be appearing for a while. Plenty more stuff in the gloat box.

I haven't pre-ordered any Westerns. I'm sure they will be good but somehow I want to actually see one in the flesh (plastic) before committing.

But all my layouts have those as a prerequisite

 

Seriously though Andy...South Yard can be stored on a shelf so freeing up a bit of wall in your garage space to make them readily accessible and before you know it, we will see a blog running on the progress...(he says rather cheekily)

Ah... I didn't mention that the shelf in the garage is about 6 feet off the floor did I? Fine for storage but useless for playing trains. It is also a lot less than 8 feet long so Taw Bridge needs to be stacked when it is put away. For now it will need to sit on the floor when it comes out to play. I might think about buying or building some decent trestles in future.

Sounds like a fun way to spend the day. Finish it, you know you want to.....

I wouldn't rule it out one day but the first step is to fix up some of the problems caused by the ravages of time so that the thing is actually usable other than as a dust collector. There isn't much point adding scenery until the layout finds a proper home because it will get wrecked in the garage. Finishing it would also mean addressing some of those boring 'infrastructure' issues that came from my bad planning and construction - dodgy baseboard joints, unsuitable supports and no provision for lighting.

Please don't wait another 16 years to tell us though.

Ah well... if RMWeb had been around 16 years ago...

It really looks an interesting project, and am guessing that other short board seen vertically hooks onto the right hand end?

Yes - the centre board is 4 feet long. You can see the other 2 foot 'scenic' board with the release crossover. There is another 2 foot board with a flat top for shuffling fiddle yard cassettes around. Very traditional in concept - the only concessions to modern thought being the use of a cassette fiddle yard and the truncation of the track plan at the (non existent) bridge so that one crossover is omitted.

Would be great to hear a bit more about it...and hey...what's wrong with having multiple layout projects?...

Nothing wrong with that but I have some way to go before I catch up with you.

you'll have to help me on that one Andy...

Oh c'mon... filming location for.... 'The Prisoner'... and home of the big white sphere.

Good to see that Portmeirion Moorswater is coming along.

Those little jobs soon add up... I know this because I'm useless at getting them done.

Did those viaduct railings ever turn up?

Despite the setbacks, it looks like you have made a nice job of the Thompson BG Andy. The CCT also.

Thank you Pete.

I use microrod on plastic or card roofs.

That's a thought... although I've never really got on with microrod if it's what I think you mean - coloured rods that seem to have a definite 'grain' and try to crush when you cut them with anything less sharp than a light sabre. I popped into my LMS at lunch time today (Antics) and they have a stock of Plastruct styrene rod in various sizes. I find this much nicer to work with although I'll need to save up because it's most definitely priced to discourage those 'might come in handy one day' purchases.

Thanks. I've done rainstrips in the past with microstrip and with wire. The microstrip looks like microstrip and the wire looks like wire. Probably the best I've done was on an etched roof which had slots for the rainstrips. The slots had wire soldered into them so that only the top half of the wire remains visible... unfortunately this isn't an option when you are starting with a plain plastic or metal roof.

Hi Julia,

How do you do wheels with 3D printing then? - presumably they still need metal axles and tyres, so how does it all fit together? - are the 3d printed bits just cosmetic or is there a reliable way to fix axles and tyres onto them?

Regards, Andy

Interesting. I was thinking of the old Severn rail bridge when I first saw this but then realised that you mean the tunnel.

I've often wondered about the name 'Second Severn Crossing' and whether it was chosen from ignorance or just a deliberate marketing ploy.

Good to see that you're getting the tricky jobs out of the way - they can really hold up progress. Some people might have been driven to distraction and gone off to do some modelling of Scotland or some such.

Are you sure those big white spheres aren't just a bit closer to the track than last time?

Thanks Michael - Not sure I know of 'Cligwrap' but I think I know what you are describing. The buildings need to be bedded in soon even if the viaduct remains removable...

I guess he means wrapping your buildings (err... temporarily) in clingfilm so that you can push the sculptamold/polyfilla/whatever right up to their edge. Silver foil also works well - it can be better at staying where it's put in some situations.

Regards, Andy

Coming along nicely. Can't wait for the foliage - the real place has lots of foliage IIRC.

Regards, Andy