D869

Thanks Mikkel - they seem to have a good selection, so I need to go figure out which loco to choose. Regards, Andy

A little project that I've been working on for the past few weeks... This is an Ixion manor bought on Ebay and now sporting a partly completed Nigel Ashton milled brass 2FS chassis. This evening was its first proper test run. South Yard is a bit too short for this sort of activity so after a few initial runs there to make sure the thing could actually move it was up to the loft to try it on the rehomed (and not very scenic) Taw Bridge where there is at least 6 feet or so of clear run. When the loco arrived from Ebay I was very impressed by the running of the original Ixion chassis and I thought that the 2FS version had a lot to live up to. Happily it has managed to pass that test with flying colours . It runs very smoothly indeed at all speeds although it doesn't go very fast because I chose the slowest possible gear ratio. Pickup is very reliable because it picks up from the split frame loco chassis and also has pinpoint pickups on the tender. It also managed to pull 4 Colletts back and forth (leaving Rapido couplers on the ends of a few coaches has advantages sometimes ) The test was interrupted for a meal break during which the loco stayed in the loft so I now also know that it still runs well after cooling to sub zero temperatures. Lots of work still to do... most notably adding the conn rods and crosshead... hopefully without screwing up the nice running qualities. And then I need to do something to lose that 'out of the box' look for the body... which leads me on to... Early BR black is of course hopeless in terms of historical fit with all of my other stock. The black thing probably won't be the long term body for this loco because Dapol were knocking out Manors for 40 quid at Warley, so I was unable to resist buying another one in late BR green - rather more suitable as a supporting cast member for some nice green Warships. Anybody know where to get hold of etched GW name and number plates? I only know where to buy diesel nameplates.

You have been busy Pete. Nice one for taking serious cutting implements to all that N gauge plastic. Some couplings and a bit of paint in strategic places and they'll be cracking. Regards, Andy

Oh, do we all get to play too? - cool! Wondering if it (and its friends) had a less ornate livery before its first withdrawal though. Bulldogs are quite appealing too... Regards, Andy

I like the use of IC sockets - very neat. I just wish I could find as simple an answer for semaphores. Regards, Andy

You can't beat a nice 4-4-0. Look forward to seeing Truro finished - whichever 'mark' you are on by then. Bet you can't wait to get on with the lining! Regards, Andy

Go on... switch them on. You know you want to! I'm guessing that the PCB needs to be fixed up against the lower surface of the baseboard. Correct? Regards, Andy

I stopped procrastinating and got on with the railings this evening. Not quite as neat as yours though. The horizontal rail was done in two 'L' shaped pieces and I used a card spacer to get the height consistent initially. Cutting and joining the wires at the corner where 3 wires meet was a right pain. In the end I used a slitting disc to trim the wires and was constantly switching between the slitting disc and the soldering iron. Sometimes you think that a job is going to be a nightmare... and then prove yourself correct. Anyway... it's done now... until the next bracket signal. Just a few plastic bits to stick on now, a bit of tidying up and then paint it. Regards, Andy

Those handrails are very neat (as is the whole signal). Any pointers on how to get them all straight/square/parallel? - The horizontal bits for St Ruth's departure starter are coming up soon on my to do list... might have been done already if I didn't keep putting it off. Regards, Andy

Sorry to keep banging on about Chris Pendleton, but he doesn't recommend drilling the axle holes. Instead he uses a tiny boring bar after mounting the wheels by the rim in a collett. Not sure if this would be possible at half the size though. He also has some words about how to ensure that the collett is concentric with the lathe spindle - all about making it on the same lathe and marking it so that when you use it you fit it in exactly the same orientation as when it was made. Regards, Andy

Yes - the cover of the Kevin Robertson book on WR signals (more on boxes than signals though). Oh dear. Is it bad for your health then? Seriously, I'd be happy to help. Are we going back to the handbook approach instead of continuing with more single topic books like 'Track'? Regards, Andy

Yes - MSE arms, balance weights, truss and ladder. Strangely if you use the MSE bracket etch then you find that the the MSE balance weights are too long and overlap each other so I've had to shorten them. The main post is K&S tube (with the signal wires inside) and the dolls are 1mm rod. (in Churchill the dog voice)... err... noooo. No gantries needed for St Ruth. Next on the list is probably a 3 doll bracket (using my own etch for the truss) but the signal with the most drive wires is already done - the down main home and call on with 3 slide mechanical route indicator. I'll be admitting defeat with the branch home - this will have a WR electrical route indicator like the home signal installed at Penzance circa 1960. Regards, Andy

This is the latest signal for St Ruth which has been on my bench for a little while - the departure platform starter and my first bracket signal. Over Christmas I drilled a socking great 10mm hole just off the platform end followed by fettling the servo drive in situ Tonight's job was to wire up the (LED) lights (fed via the ladder and top deck of the platform) and see if they worked. Thankfully they did This has proved to be a rather tricky issue because of the use of 0.4mm PCB for the decking - it's very difficult to keep this fully insulating when flux is around... I really need to get some 0.7mm stuff for the next one. Remaining jobs are to tidy up the messy wires, finish the railings, add finials and then paint the whole lot. The whole thing splits in two at the bracket truss to allow removal of all of the moving parts for painting BTW, the background is NOT St Ruth!

Hi Julia, I can't offer any advice from my own experience (other than tea and sympathy regarding wobbly wheels) but have you read the article by Chris Pendleton in the latest MRJ? It's all about curing the deficiencies of less than perfect 4mm scale wheels, conducted with Chris's usual level of attention to detail. Obviously some of it is 4mm specific but I suspect that a lot of what he's talking about will be relevant if you're trying to build your own wheels. Regards, Andy

Welcome to 2FS... or FS160 or whatever.... > so my wife doesn't realise that I am filling the house with railways umm... isn't building it in the kitchen a bit counter productive then? > which system I am going to use for the fiddle yards Modules are probably the most space-efficient and require just a flat-ish surface on which to shuffle them. Then you just need to decide how to arrange the alignment and feeds - bulldog clips or some sort of plugin arrangement. Having two modules attached simultaneously at double track spacing is a bit more of a puzzler though. What will you use for the overhead wires? Regards, Andy

Cheers Pete. Hope you are spending some time with the family and that Santa brought you some nice new things.

Thanks Mark - and the same to you and yours.

Seasons Greetings from all at the Midland Area Group of the 2mm Scale Association. Hope to see some of you at our next outing - Railex in May, if not sooner.

I'll look forward to seeing the stuff that goes on top of these. I'm with you on the desirability of doing the bogies first though - much better for the motivation to be able to put a coach onto its wheels as soon as possible. I also find building up etched bogies to be one of those nice self-contained jobs that I can get on with with a reasonably concise set of tools and without needing to keep stopping to go off and research some question of detail. Kinda short of wheels just now though but hopefully that will improve soon. Regards, Andy

That's certainly a major improvement over the moulded detail Pete. Can't you find some nice smelling glues? ... or perhaps invest in some strong after shave? Regards, Andy

Yes... definitely a slippery slope there. Nice job on the Sentinel. Regards, Andy

Thanks... already got an 810 (in blue) though - that was the first one I did and my first 2mm scale loco... about 1983 I think. The boiler top is a bit of 10 thou punched with an office hole punch - not up to scratch nowadays but an improvement on the chrome plated body screw that it replaced. The plastikard replacement skirts are just about holding on but the chassis is still going strong - built like a tractor and much improved by shoe-horning a 5 pole motor in. I wonder how the Farish offerings will be holding up mechanically when they reach the same age. Regards, Andy

Still on the etch I'm afraid - waiting for me to get round to starting on one of my Warships... at the moment backdating Druid into green seems like a plan because I have few too many full yellow ends kicking around and no green D800s at all. Unlikely to happen before the temperature in the paint shop garage improves though.

Liking the Warships... just reminds me that I need to get around to improving my out of the box Farish examples. Regards, Andy

Thanks Pete. Hope the new job is going well for you and that you're enjoying the... err... seasonal... weather. Regards, Andy