D869

Alan, I have Manor bits too. I'll PM you.

...as mouldings they are of course all the same bit of plastic.

I was wrong on that one - having now attacked the broken handrail bits it turns out that the handrail itself is a piece of wire with plastic knobs threaded onto it.

 

Surprisingly it turns out that the way that most of the knobs snapped left a small dimple centrally positioned in the base of the knob - ideal for positioning a 0.3mm drill. The more critical of the snapped ones have now been drilled and the corresponding hole in the boiler drilled to accept a wire dowel... no rubbish though - a brand new 0.3mm Dormer drill for this job. I'm also a bit more hopeful of being able to adjust the joggle once everything is back in its proper alignment.

 

Regards, Andy

Useful information on removing the plates and other insignia. Sounds a bit of a job.

Don

Thanks Don.

 

Is the insulation destined to keep the coupling rods on the hall too?

For now, yes. It's rather more tricky to remove a soldered on washer. I won't mention names but I'm definitely in good company on this one although tracking down some black insulation would be a bit more in keeping.

 

Do you have any idea about how the moulded handrail brackets compare to similar ones from NBrass or the 2mmSA etched ones, as I guess this is the option for replacing the broken ones?

I don't have any turned or etched ones to compare with but I don't think it would be easy to replace a moulded one because somehow I would need to remove the moulding while retaining the integrity of the handrail - as mouldings they are of course all the same bit of plastic. Replacing the handrail too would probably be a more practical option.

 

The snapped ones have only broken at the point where they plug into the boiler so I'm hopeful of being able to do something with them - at least with any that are the only means of support in the middle of a long run of handrail.

 

Regards, Andy

Thanks Rich. Let's talk on a PM.

There are a few (4?) hall nameplate sets on ebay at the moment, I was looking at them for myself the other day, but they were for locos that were not in the west country during the dates I was wanting.

Thanks. I hadn't thought of looking for plates on eBay. Having said that, I can't actually find what I'm after there but it was worth a try.

 

The change of wheels does make so much difference. I should have bought one.

Thanks Don. As far as I know you still can. I'm not sure how often Nigel does batches of chassis but he's still actively using this way to build locos so it's worth asking him.

 

That's coming along rather nicely.  With a fair strong (following) wind she'll be ready for Abingdon ;-)

Maybe I don't want to make any promises though, there's still plenty to do.

As usual your ground textures look great Tom. How do you do the tarmac?

 

Regards, Andy

I'm sure your soldering will stand up just fine Pete.

 

FWIW, my preference is green label flux. It is quite aggressive though and needs cleanup but sometimes lets me do things that I didn't think I could do. It's also a no-no for very thin double sided PCB because I've had it cause the insulation to break down several times.

 

I also use Orange flux - this is pretty sticky and less effective but allegedly needs no cleanup. It does smell nice though.

 

Regards, Andy

Great stuff Ian.

 

A disc and crossbar next then?

 

Regards, Andy

Wow, the BHMRC show opens at midnight?

 

I've not done one of the GCR dining trains myself Neal but I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Fantastic work Andy, it's making me shiver just looking at it!

 

What did you use to represent the snow?

 

Andy

 

Thanks Andy. It's probably overkill for a temporary effect like this but I used 'Precision Snow' for the job. This stuff is intended to be used with an adhesive for making permanent effects but I didn't want to do that so I needed to experiment a bit. In particular I found that the sieve provided did not give a sufficiently even snowfall - instead I got a result much like I got when sieving the icing sugar into a mixing bowl for our Christmas cake.

 

My improvised solution was a cheap tea strainer with some items of old clothing scrounged from Mrs D869 stretched over it. The material is like tights are made from but they are actually some sort of cut down socks. The advantage of this stuff is that you can stretch the material to vary the mesh spacing until you get enough going through but without losing the finesse of the dust... which is very fine indeed so I took precautions to avoid inhaling any stray dust during sprinkling operations.

 

Given that the stuff was loose I also avoided any actual running until after a heavy hoovering - I really don't want this stuff getting mixed with the oil in gears and bearings.

 

There are cheaper alternatives - usually food based like cream of tartar or baking soda. I can't vouch for either of these options though.

 

Regards, Andy

Those are really good Will. You obviously have an artistic streak.

Thanks Don.

Nice Andy

 

Is that a permanent weather change or will it thaw?

 

Must say, it works very well for this layout

 

Thanks Pete. This is definitely temporary, in fact it has already thawed - one of the things I wanted to find out was how well the stuff would clean up afterwards and for the most part you wouldn't know it had been there. Some bits of coal are looking a bit grey and will need some re-doing although some other kinds of coal have cleaned up just fine. I guess it's down to the porosity of the different types of coal.

 

I did think about doing it permanently but I think that the novelty would wear off and with South Yard being used frequently the white stuff would probably get a bit grubby, so on balance it will probably remain snow free most of the time.

 

Regards, Andy

That looks very effective.

 

Best wishes to you

 

Don

 

I like it! Looks like 1963.

 

Lisa

 

Thanks Both.

 

The inspiration for this scene came from a Peter Gray photo in 'Heyday of the Warships' of D827 on a threatening snowy day at Torre. I've borrowed the snow, the coal wagons and tried to get the general mood but have not tried to reproduce the exact scene because I can't run long passenger trains at South Yard.

 

I have just checked the caption again and by coincidence (I won't claim any more than that)... February 1963!

 

Regards, Andy

Hi Andy.  

Interested to find out your means of mounting motor at drive end.  Seems a distance from gearbox with short motor shaft?

 

Have you used a long extension shaft or fitted some form of coupling in there,  possibly so the worm is not producing end thrust on the motor?

Regards

Alan

 

Hi Alan,

 

Yes, you are right. The latest photos don't show it because I added some more lumps of Plastikard when I did the top acting wipers. If you look at the first installment you will find a photo that shows it more clearly.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/722/entry-13569-the-little-house-on-the/

 

The female part is made from an axle muff suitably chopped about. The part on the motor shaft is a Nigel Lawton shaft adaptor with some lumps filed out and a couple of bits of brass rod soldered on.

 

Regards, Andy

An interesting and useful tail Andy. I also tend to use top acting wipers where there is room as they are much easier to fit, adjust and keep clean. I also open out the axle holes so that there is a little bit of slop - in much the same way as you do for Simpson springs. I suspect things will improve even further when you fit pickups to the pony trucks. I seem to remember when we had a look at the loco at Warley that there was some self centring springing on the trucks, any chance of a bit more info on that. Jerry

 

Thanks Jerry. I guessed that the top acting wipers and Simpson springs are variations on the same theme so clearly the extra bearing play is an essential ingredient.

 

The pony springing is done in both horizontal and vertical axes by the same bits of 36 SWG P/B wire. I've tried to get a couple of better photos and added them above. As well as bearing down on the axles, they are also adjusted so that they are touching the insides of the pony truck frames... which is why they have a centering effect. This is definitely a better bet than having them bearing inwards onto the axle muff.

 

At the moment mine are still awaiting adjustment or replacement since being majorly disturbed during my other rebuilding activities... so the centering effect is currently an off-centering effect which is not a good thing!

 

Initial tests have had good results but this is not yet a tried and tested design. It has managed to navigate South Yard without mishap and also did a few successful trips back and forth on St Ruth during the Kidderminster show.

 

I'm in two minds about whether to substitute finer wire. This would allow more weight to stay on the driving wheels but the pony trucks are quite exposed so it may prove a bit too prone to being bent out of place during manual handling.

 

Regards, Andy

One more small issue is that a diagram should show points so that it's clear what is the normal position. Your main line is mostly OK in this regard but things go a bit awry on the goods loop - for example the point that would switch trains out of the yard and onto the diamond crossing should be 'normal' so that trains are directed into the goods shed. I think there is a similar issue with the middle one of the three points at the right hand end of the plan.

 

Hand worked points don't have a 'normal' so would be drawn on the real thing with the two lines joining together rather than 'missing each other'... although if your point control mechanism on the model does have a normal you might want to depart from prototype drawing practice there.

 

Regards, Andy

Hi Ian,

 

It looks like a good start to me but I'd think that your best bet is to search out locations that have comparable track layouts and operating needs (e.g. your back siding with no headshunt space) and copy from there. I'm not too familiar with how things might have differed in Edwardian times. Given your track construction, you really need to think even further back in time and then understand what would and would not have been updated. Maybe you have an opportunity for some more antiquated signalling kit to go with your baulk road track.

 

I reckon your up home is too close to your station though - if that's the only home signal in that direction then I'd have thought it should be outside the loop point and FPL with some room for error if a train doesn't quite manage to come to a halt at the signal (AKA the clearing distance). The clearing distance also applies to the down home, but I guess you can claim 'not to scale' for your diagram there.

 

Regards, Andy

Thanks Jez. It was good to meet you too.

 

Regards, Andy

Thanks Don.

 

Regards, Andy

Did anyone see the Great Train Robbery Diorama at Warley this weekend?

 

I saw it at Railex earlier this year. Nicely modelled and an interesting and different way to present things.

 

Regards, Andy

Always interesting to see what goes on before the actual show,

 

Thanks Nelson. It's difficult to find new photos for these posts sometimes - pictures of St Ruth at a show with punters watching get a bit samey after a while. 

 

Great unusual pics Andy - love the 'drive thru' gag

 

Glad to hear the Gremlins disappeared too...

 

Edit: PS, congratulations on the prize

Thanks Pete.

 

Well done on the award.

 

Driving between layouts must have been a bit nerve wracking - hope you weren't out of gauge!

 

What, me or the car?

 

Congratulations on your pot.

Thanks Rich.

 

Must admit I saw more of the back of the layout than I did the front - mainly due to the constant crowd, but you made excellent neighbours and contributed to a very enjoyable weekend. Hope we weren't too rowdy on the other side of the pillar!

 

Will put some pictures of visiting locos, including a couple of beauties from St Ruth, on the Highbury thread in the next day or two.

Thanks Jerry. We had a great time and it was good to see you and your helpers again. Look forward to your photos.

 

Regards, Andy

Very nice work Andy - I won't be able to get to the show so hope all goes well - look forward to see some pics...

 

Will see what I can do.

 

Regards, Andy

Top work Andy, if I can escape Highbury i'll stop by at Warley for a look!

I'm sure we can arrange for your look to include a session or two at the controls

 

Always assuming that Jerry will allow his staff some time off