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drmalesis

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  1. Hi, Glad to see you've got the bit between your teeth and have started a new layout. If you need any more info - just shout. The weather's been pretty abysmal here since the end of October, so I've not been up to much - but I'm hoping to start again soon and I'm looking forward to seeing yours and others progress... Duncan
  2. Hi Mick, The power supply isn't too bad around here at the moment, but we went through a bad patch when we were getting several power cuts a day. With the power being supplied over overhead lines, they are really susceptible to high winds, heavy rain and electrical storms. The main transformer is on a pole just behind the house and you could hear it tripping out. There were a couple of days in 2013 where the power dropped and kicked back in several times in the period of a couple of minutes. It was this day that did the real damage. The poor PC didn't even finish rebooting before it lost power again. Anyway, sadly neither the cash nor the will is currently available to start again, but I've not given up hope of resurrecting it at some point in the future as and when finances allow. I couldn't afford the Davies weather station last time around, but that will be my first choice if I do start again... Duncan
  3. Hi Tony, The P2 is a very popular model over here in the UK and Hornby's stock allocation had already run out when mine was delivered. The station by the way is made from resin and the doors don't open. I could cut them with a razor saw and leave one propped open - it would certainly make a point of interest when the station lights are on and the light streams out of the open doorway. Well worth considering perhaps...? Duncan
  4. Almost there Mick, no more slacking. Let's see if you can get a completed loop before Winter sets in - then you'll really have something to celebrate for Christmas... Duncan
  5. As mentioned earlier, I've uploaded a few photos to show the extra detailing I've added to the station area. I've still got plenty more detailing parts to add - including station name boards, passenger information boards and people etc. There's also the small mater of the station building lights and the painting of the footbridge. I've had the paints a while now and really must get around to it. I've also been toying with the idea of the possibility of having real smoke come out of the chimneys using Seuthe smoke generators. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...
  6. My experience with weather stations is somewhat mixed. When mine was up and running is was great. But living out in the sticks we experience a lot of power outages. Many of them are just for a few seconds, but over a period of 4-5 years they were responsible for destroying 2 UPS's, 1 computer and 2 weather stations. The first was a cheap one and not really up to much but the second was an Oregon Scientific WM100 which was great until it failed to work after yet another power cut. At the time I was also monitoring and downloading EUMETSAT information and images from various geostationary and orbiting weather satellites via a large satellite dish. Sadly, this also bit the dust after the receiver card in the PC got fried by the large power surge that also did for the last UPS I was using to protect the whole lot. For anyone interested in this kind of thing, here's an article (in PDF format) I had published in the "Group for Earth Observation" quarterly magazine... contrails.pdf
  7. Sorry for the delay in replying guys, but I've just got back from a weeks holiday in Devon / Dorset. I was hoping to put the link up here before I went but time and other preparations got in the way. I'm glad you liked the video, it was another where more than half of the shots turned out to be duff. The shots featuring the lights are the hardest to master as the camera struggles to focus in low light, and if I use the built in night mode then all motion is blurred due to the slow shutter speed. The P2 locomotive is superb value for money and I have to say I'm very pleased with it although it is at the limit of what I'm prepared to pay for a locomotive these days. The weather looks good for this weekend so I may be out with the camera again. I stooped of at "Buffers Model Railways" on the way home as it was on the A358 Axminster road on the way home. I was hoping to pick up a Bachmann Class 70, but they were out of stock. Instead I picked up a few detailing bits and pieces for the station area - see if you can spot them in the next video. I also popped into the PECO shop earlier in the week on a very brief visit to Beer in Devon and picked up another Bachmann Castle Cement JPA Bogie Hopper. This will bring the total rake to 12, and unless some real bargains come my way I'll call it a day as far as they're concerned. Catch you all soon... Duncan
  8. Great work Mick, that's a really impressive looking structure - can't wait to see it in action...
  9. Hi Dave, Thank you for your kind words. Yes, with a little care the re-cycled plastic can be used to good effect. A few precautions have to be adhered to but it's worth that little bit of extra effort. You're also correct is saying that the footbridge is the Hornby one. I found a link somewhere when looking for a footbridge modelled after the original Midland pattern and found an article describing how to alter the Hornby product. The conversion was very easy and really just entails removing a certain number of steps from the original. The supporting stanchions have a mark or groove on them that is just in the right place to cut them with a razor saw and keep the bridge at the correct hight for the numbers of steps removed. I used Tamiya Extra Thin Cement to glue them back onto the base of the footbridge. I've kept all of the sleepers I removed when laying the track and intend to start gluing them into place as soon as I can. Given the rubbish weather, forthcoming holidays and other commitments, I suspect any further major work for the year is now at an end. Time to spend a bit of time concentrating on the little odds and ends that require attention and running trains - which was the whole purpose of this years effort. I'm glad you think the videos are very professional. I'm very pleased with them considering I've not done any like them before. I have a reasonably good camera and a couple of tripods and that certainly helps. The rest is really just a matter of trial and error with positioning and time spent editing out the duff stuff. In the last video I used less than half of the 71 clips I actually shot. Getting the camera down to track level helps to give a more realistic viewpoint, but I've yet to master the art of panning. I've only included one clip that uses panning because the rest that I've shot have been abysmal failures... Duncan
  10. Hi Ian / Mick, Thanks for the kind comments. I do seem to getting on quite well at the moment but the weather looks like curtailing any further work this week. When I was in Soulby 18 months ago I took my video camera just down the road from our accommodation to a beautiful spot to catch A4 Sir Nigel Gresley on the Cumbrian Mountain Express. Sadly I stood there quite happily thinking I'd got a great video to look forward to later, when I noticed almost as the last coach past me that it wasn't recording. It made me look a complete divot in front of the other "spotters" out at the same location... I'll do better next year... Duncan
  11. For those of you interested, I've posted a new video on Youtube. Will hope to get another up soon with the lights working... Cheers... Duncan
  12. Hi Tony, The PowerPack is basically an inverter and battery all neatly wrapped up in one package. I may get another though to keep as backup while the other is charging... Duncan
  13. I love the idea of ballasting the track Mick as it certainly adds to the realism. But I'm also of the opinion that continual maintenance detracts from the enjoyment of a garden railway for me. Given the amount of expansion in the plastic trackbed I've used I doubt very much if it would last very long anyway. Good luck with the Frog Juicers - I was seriously considering them before I decided that installing points was just too much effort, especially when all I wanted was to run trains... Duncan
  14. Hi Ian, I'm not that hot on electronics so I took what I thought was the the easiest route and wired them in parallel. It does mean a higher current draw but to my simple mind it seemed the "right" way to do it. It does mean however that my 6v 500mA power supply will struggle when I add the lights on the next platform as the total current draw will be just under 1A - each of the lights draws 70mA. I'm not too bothered though as I had the power supply lying around anyway, but I will need to get one that can push out 2A to be on the safe side. I supply the power to the line using a Ring 12v Powerpack I purchased from Halfords. The model is the RPP210, It contains a 40AH battery and supplies enough mains voltage to run the existing circuit for about 4 days of typical running. When both circuits are up and running I expect this to be less, but still more than enough for a day or twos running. It also has the added advantage of supplying enough power keep a light and the TV running for a few hours during the many powercuts we experience out here in the sticks. Sadly, the snail won't be racing trains any time soon. The site is inhabited by hundreds of them and I have to pick 3 or four of the tracks most days. The shell on the platform is my concession to a bit of modern sculpture for the passengers benefit... In reality though it's one of the many "empties" that the resident Thrushes have left behind... Duncan
  15. Well it's been a reasonably profitable weeks holiday so far given the indifferent weather. I've managed to paint the down platform and install the platform lighting. I still need to wire up the station building lights but they're 12v as opposed to the platform lights which are only 6v and will require a separate power supply. I've also managed to connect the remaining dropper wires to the main bus wire, so the whole circuit is completely connected and no longer relying on the fish plates for electrical conductivity. Here's a few images of the completed platform...
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