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roddy

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Everything posted by roddy

  1. Would it be possible to attach a sleeve to several wagons that could then be used as required on a tank loco? It doesn't allow for bunker first movements though.
  2. You talk of a bonus day in the garden, I drove down to Pontefract yesterday and met the car lads from all points of the compass. Nostell Priory all afternoon, laughter in the evening, a bit of a drive this morning and home again via Scarborough and Whitby. Top down in the car for both days despite the weather forecast. Absolutely brilliant with the Autumn colours starting to come through in the sunshine.
  3. Earlier this year when I was considering the form of my railway, I mentioned wanting perhaps a shipyard. This was inspired by my close proximity to the old Lambton railway which served between the coalfields and the staithes at Sunderland. Less than a mile from my house is the remains of the Doxford shipyard. Part of this is still operating for repairs and the yard is still the largest undercover shipbuilding shed in Europe. I have seen many photographs of the small crane/tank locos in the yard, but this morning I came across video of the same. This is number 4 of 7 videos which are on Youtube under the title "Steam Nostalgia". I hope that you find it interesting. I may still incorporate an impression of the yard in my railway. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_bxkbzkz58
  4. Know what you mean. I have only recently got an android phone. Can't make it do anything that it's supposed to. Only advantage is that I can now send a text message. I need a small child to show me how to get the internet on it. What on earth are apps?
  5. With the cars we call these things necessary safety equipment.
  6. Hope you keep improving. We must be a real bunch of old crocks here with our issues.
  7. Is this stuff expensive? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Small-Granite-Chippings-Model-Railway-Warhammer-Modeling-/281163917187?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item4176ace783" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; They offer three sizes or a mix.
  8. I have a number of Triang wagons with plastic wheels on long metal axles. The axles fit into the axle boxes of metal underframes and the axle boxes are open all the way through. The wheel/axle assembly has a number of issues that I thought might be easily solvable, but aren't. The wheel assemblies from Parkside wagon kits have brass bearings for the axle to run in. I have discovered that these bearings fit nicely into the axlebox drillings of the Triang wagons. By gently splaying the metal of the Triang wagons, a wheel assembly can be fitted between the bearings and the splayed metal gently crimped back onto the axle. I have a Triang wagon that now runs nicely on what I believe are Romford wheels. I shall try the bearings with other wheel assemblies.
  9. Although R?C is not a line that I would follow, it fascinates me, and it's nice to see what you are doing. I have a soft spot for the old Golden Arrow too. She used to pass the back of my house when I was a kid. Southern Region so would probably have been a Battle of Britain (Merchant Navy class) Spam can loco. ?????
  10. Been a bit quiet lately, but I do have trains running. I have a couple of easy to sort glitches in the trackwork that I shall get around to sorting out permanently. These are at the ends of my removable sections. A little track realignment and some sliding joiners is all that is needed to stop the occassional derailments. All of the points are now motorised and working as they should. The other little snags relate to rolling stock. I have a real mixture of Hornby and Triang wagons which have various wheel sizes and couplings. The couplings need to be all the same, so there is a Winter job for me. The wheels on some Hornby and all of the Triang don't like running through points. I have found that one wheel is inclined to ride onto the check rails causing problems. This should be solvable. The wheels and stub axles run on a metal axle. The stub axles allow a variable distance between the wheels. A spot of epoxy glue between the axles seems to cure the problem by keeping the correct back to back wheel distance, but the couplings still lock, disconnect, or bounce apart. Much of this is due to various heights and stiffness, and bentness in some couplings. Easy to sort out with new couplings all round. My wandering console works just as it should, but having used all sorts of odd cable that I had lying around, I could really do with with making them all the same at some time. It works for now, and that's enough. I shall probably be in hospital for remedial surgery sometime in November. The surgeon informed me that they like to do this via keyhole if possible, but it's only when they have a look in theatre that they can know. The difference is that with keyhole it's only a week in hospital and a fairly quick recovery, or having all the abdominal muscles cut again, a couple of weeks in hospital, and a much longer recuperation. Either way, I have enough to keep me quiet through the Winter sorting couplings and wheels. Fool that I am, I fell off the stepladder yesterday cleaning the downstairs windows. Got some aches and pains today, and scratches where I landed in a rose bed. Fortunately the roses are not damaged beyond redemption. I really must learn to stay on the ground with my walking stick instead of scaling the dizzy heights of a set of steps. A question. Should wagon weight be consistent for good running? By that, I mean is it better to have all wagons weighing the same, as it seems that some wagons (the lighter ones) don't like running in a rake.
  11. You will be totally snookered if somebody wants to buy Mrs Grumpy. In fact I think I shall make an unrefusable offer, just to see how you get out of it. I just love what you are doing, While I enter my second day trying to fit points motors to the first point, you go and make four sets work with some rubbish and a lolly stick. British ingenuity at it's best.
  12. Rained off yesterday, but made more progress today. Started by soldering power feeds to both loops of track. Soldered joining wires between rails at fixed and removable portion of one bridge. This allowed me to run a loco around both loops as far as the greenhouse. I found the obligatory high track pin, and a twig that I'd missed, but the only other problem was both ends of the removable piece. I found it difficult to get a true height that matched all four rails. Got it right in the end, but I'm not happy. I'm feeling that the answer is to drive a naail in tight to each rail, and when the rails meet properly fix rail and pin together with solder. Then I got a phone call to hang pictures and another couple of little jobs at stepdaughteer's house. Grrrr. doesn't she realise how important my work is? Anyway, for now it's nice to see locos running for 60ft of the total 75 ft loops, and the forecast is good again for tomorrow. On another note,=====, I have about 20 Triang wagons. It is known that these will not run across Peco points, but I had to try to see what the problem is. Am I right in saying that there are two problems? One being the depth of flange making it rise above the plastic parts of the points, and secondly, the thickness of the wheel itself making it too wide for the check rails. It looks like new wheels and bearings all round, but not without first trying a fettle by removing the wheels, and turning them down with the help of an electric drill.
  13. I only made one console --- honest. Heaven knows why it's repeated so many times. Apologies too for having a couple of sideways shots. I really should have straightened them before posting.
  14. Here is a poor pic of the console that I made the other day.
  15. Had a good day tracklaying. I started with the two points and crossover which separates the sidings from the loops. Measured and cut and fiddled and faffed with that little corner until I was happy that everything lined up properly. Marked and drilled slots under the points tiebars for the motors and then nailed the whole lot down checking that the slots were correct at the same time. I then ran 6ft of double track into the shed with two further sets of points to start the sidings, All nailed down after sighting it through. Then I laid the double track a further 4 yards round the water butt and across the Sweet Pea fence. All nailed down. It was a real struggle behind the water butt, but I got it all in. I ran a tender loco with two carriages over everything by hand just to make sure that it was good on joints and clearance because I knew the water butt would be tight. No bonding done yet. Tomorrow I'm planning on going the length of the Ivy fence round a curve and across where a bridge will be. With luck, I shall then have an awkward piece through some honeysuckle and behind the fountain. That could well be ten or twelve yards of double track, but most of those will be straight and uncut. I had better take the camera out with me to show progress. Points motors may arrive tomorrow, but thats another problem.
  16. Nice big box arrived this morning. All my track and points. The sun is shining. What more do I need? Just a little patince to set up the points/crossover formation, and it's the long haul round the garden. Expect some photos soon. I'm getting excited now.
  17. Waiting for my track to arrive. Track pins and rail fishplates plus a crossover are here, but the exciting stuff isn't. I have spent a day or so making a control console. The base is a cupboard that sat on a computer desk, plus a set of casters that have been unopened in the garage for 5 or 6 years. A few odd bits of wood completed it. Schematic plan painted to a board above controllers using an old car aerosol. Stud and pencil methoud of points control using some left over bolts from kitchen units. Wire salvaged from an old car loom that has been cluttering the garage for I don't know how many years. The little 25 watt soldering iron worked admirably, even outside in a breeze. All of the track on order is new stuff, but I grabbed 12 Seep pm2 points motors plus 2 CDUs last night for £25. I reckon that using stud and pencil instead of switches will do away with the need for the CDUs. Can't see for the moment how they are supposed to wire in. What do you think? Need to get some timber offcuts out of the brick shed where the sidings will be. Mrs was moaning the she couldn't get to her freezer tonight. General tidy up jobs until my track arrives. I need the shed clearing anyway as the boards that are in place for the sidings will make an ideal workbench for soldering bonds to track. I have enough cable to do the feed for both track loops and all the points motors. I will only need to find enough to create a wandering extension for my console which will be moved to my preferred operating positin some 12 ft away. This lead will need to carry the point motor feeds and return, and the main track feeds, although the main feeds could be connected anywhere on the circuit. I'm eyeing up three lengths of redundant telephone cable that runs around my house. There is more than enough there but I'm not sure if I can get it away from the building as it's all secured with those metal clip tie things. I have a feeling that it wont just pull out, and I cant reach high enough with my little ladder. Telephone cables might even be too small for the points motors at that sort of distance. I don't know. Just thinking aloud.
  18. Good Heavens, thanks for that. I have tried describing it in shops to be met with blank faces, and I've searched online. Must have been using the wrong words because as soon as I looked on the bay, there they are. Thanks again.
  19. Ordered all my trackwork the other day. Postman came this morning with --------------- packets of track pins. No track, no points, no crossovers. It feels like Christmas has been delayed. How my arthritic fingers will manage those little pins, I don't know. Pair of pliers I should think. Who remembers the handy gadget no longer available the held pins magnetically and just pushed the pins in? I suppose the Heavens will open when the rest arrives next week, and I shall have to sit looking at it all in it's boxes. Better find the soldering iron and get it warmed up.
  20. That's it, all done and ready for track. Strangely enough, now that it is all felted, complete with two removable pieces for access, I can see that there is no need for fancy bridges at all. The boards flow nicely round the garden and the two pieces can remain either flat, or have fancy bridges built to replace them. Something to do when boredom sets in. The garden is finished front and back for now. Just some weeding as they grow and general tittivating that gardens always need. I now have some time and weather to get on with tidying my car ready for a big meet of fellow enthusiasts in October. There is no repair work needed, but I really do need to give some time tocleaning the underbonnet and chassis areas. Some are dedicated enough to use cotton buds and toothbrushes and more potions than the ladies have in the bathroom. I shall not be going to those extremes, but would like to see it much cleaner than it is. Polish up the aluminium bits and a little paint around the highlights and so on. I do have new rear suspension to fit, but that's not a necessary job, and the soft top could fit a little better so may get some adjustment work. It's not so much the adjustments that are difficult, but the removal of the seats and roll bar to make enough room. But that's all another story for another forum. Meanwhile back to the drawing board to decide a wiring plan, and an operating system for the points. I would like to keep it as a simple rod operated system, but that will need a fixed operating position with a permanent "signal box" console fitting somewhere. This hobby really isn't just a case of playing trains is it?
  21. Oh yes, always double check. There's nothing wrong with a belt and braces approach.
  22. For my straight lengths of track, I shall ping a chalk line down the centres, and fix the track pins on the line which will wash away at the first rain. A chalk line is merely a string coated in a fine chalk and held tightly between two points and pinged. It leaves a fine chalk line dead straight. Commonly used in the building trade. Curves again can be laid out with a garden hose or a bowden cable, or even the springy wire used to hang net curtains. Hope you know what I mean as terminology changes as we cross the Atlantic. I shall be using Code 100 Peco. I do have some old Triang wagons, and if they play up, I shall fit them with new wheels. I thought of the car connectors when I moved an old wiring loom for the umpteenth time in the garage the other day. Sorted through it and found enough to do both bridges. That's my sort of recycling.
  23. The house is very high above the ground due to the hill that we are built on. My next door neighbour has a single step to her front and back doors, yet I have five steps. The garden has a little right to left slope on it because I levelled a lot out when we first moved here. The far end of the garden is very much narrower than the house end because we are on a corner plot. That is not a perspective thing from the camera. I really didn't want to interfere too much with established planting or structures, and I think I have got away with it pretty well by flying over, through, or behind those things, yet retaining straight track with mostly gentle curves. There are two sharper curves, behind the water butt to the right, and behind the statue at the far left. They shouldn't matter because I want neither long trains or fast trains. I shall be quite happy sitting the other side of the little fence and watching something running in each direction and a choice of three more ready to change over with in the shed just off pic to the right. There will only be two sets of points (just behind the water butt) and four more in the shed, so nothing very complicated. Each ot the two tracks will have it's own controller, and the shed will be isolated from them, but be able to switched to either one or the other of the main tracks when needed. To think that it was towards the end of September when I asked my wife to bring me some railway magazines to read in hospital (and couldn't read them because my head was too drugged up, and the hospital had lost my glasses) and then last Christmas when I decided for sure what I wanted , it is quite surprising to see it almost ready for tracklaying. I'm still in no rush to get a bit of track down. I have a few expensive bills to find and I don't use a credit card unless it can be paid off the following month. I would rather spend time at it and do it properly first time round. I would be permanently unsettled if I relied on rail connectors until I got round to the bonding. Droppers to a buss bar couldn't be justified really as lineside clutter in roughly the 1930's. Points and signals would have been operated with rodding rather than electrics. So I shall stick to bonding the rails. Where the two bridges have to be removed, I'm thinking of wiring loom connectors used in cars. Quick and easy to connect and disconnect. It would be nice to operate points manually, but I think that there will be too many bends and cranks to get round for it to be efficient. It's surprising what can be done with Bowden cable and some rodding though. Food for though there! I would love to have working semaphore signals too, but they have to work, and I doubt that they could be robust enough. I think you can understand that come my time with an operating railway, I shall be happier maintaining stock and running trains, than forever maintaining the trackwork, and if friends visit, I don't want excuses like "well it's been OK up to today and where's my pliers or soldering iron".
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