doublecee Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Thanks. The music is La Vallee des Cloches, performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony orchestra from the Album Grainger: In a nutshell from EMI classic. Ironically, there is a steam train on the cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Thanks. The music is La Vallee des Cloches, performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony orchestra from the Album Grainger: In a nutshell from EMI classic. Ironically, there is a steam train on the cover. I've had a large collection of classical music for the past umpteen years but never heard that piece before. Station area is looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 same here. i had http://www.wqxr.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; blasting through the apartment whilst working in nyc last year and this just stopped me from doing what i was doing. it has an ethereal quality that i love. i found it on iTunes as soon as its airplay finished. measured the track bed for the station and despite me telling the guy it had to be level, it isn't. worse so, at the span with the turnouts, its a 2cm drop!!!!! so its all coming up this weekend and I'm also using that as a chance to swap out the turnouts for express versions... As the layout is starting to settle, I'm noticing a few bits that need addressing, most annoyingly, the hump on the main express way (you can see it in the latest video). So the track is coming up, the felt of and I'm going to see if some liberal planing will address it other than that, I still get a lot of joy from project. Its such a great way to relax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 ...As the layout is starting to settle, I'm noticing a few bits that need addressing, most annoyingly, the hump on the main express way (you can see it in the latest video). So the track is coming up, the felt of and I'm going to see if some liberal planing will address it... That sounds like an action replay of my previous layout. In one or two areas the decking boards appeared to swell causing a slight hump which at 4mm scale became quite noticeable especially on video footage. Getting the felt off again after it had been stuck down with bitumen adhesive was a pain but eventually I managed it and was able to plane the offending sections level before replacing the felt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 ironically, the first thing that sprang to mind was one of your earlier posts regarding the Old Selby layout... I 'suppose it base to be done.... so, fine weather, a glass of wine and hopefully this time next week we should have the sidings height addressed and express points instead of standard ones. I have updated the blog with some more Noch and Priesser adventures at the station as well as last nights start at tarting up some old Hornby Margate LMS coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 So, I ripped out all the standard points as they were just giving me too my jip... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rRNnfv3_j0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Im much happier, both from an operational standpoint as well as from an aesthetic one too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 They look much better. The switch from one track to the other is now a lot smoother. Well worth the effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 most certainly... the previous incarnation was just a real pain.... it was a great source of frustration. We didn't have express points when I was a kid... so I just went with what I knew at first... It wasn't until a chat at my local store made me realise that I was doing it wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Just being specific here. You swapped out regular switches for Peco stream line with the snap locks right? I've been pondering if I should just get peco for my layout. I can sometimes be hard headed and not listen to good advice that comes from experience. In my case Atlas switches don't come with any sort of manual lock on them, so even though I worry about price I'll end up having to get switches of some kind for them. Maybe being cheap isn't worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 When you say "switch", is this what Americans call turnouts / points? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Well we use it interchangeably. So a point is a switch. A toggle switch for electrical control. I suppose I wasn't clear in my comment. My atlas points don't have any sort of control with them as far as keeping the points aligned. If I use more Atlas points I will also have to buy some ground throws to keep everything lined up. Peco has that nice snap function that makes them very reliable. Still, price is always an issue. Going to have to suss out ( figure out in american english he he ) what's cheaper: Atlas w/ separate ground throws; or Peco straight out of the box. So you are using peco correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george356 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I saw a good method of throwing points (switches) at a local model train show. The operator had connected the tie bar to some s/steel wire in a plastic tube. this is fed out to a convenient spot at the edge of the layout (in our case it would be the edge of the decking). A normal SPST toggle switch is mounted on a bracket and has a hole drilled through the throw lever and the s/steel wire is connected through this. The switch is not used electrically, just as a method of latching the point tie bar. It worked extremely well, gave a positive indication of which way the point was set, and could be sited quite a way away from the point it is throwing. As long as you select a toggle switch with a long enough throw lever it would work almost any point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) I've used a bicycle brake cable to operate a crossover on the K&WR. You can buy bicycle "Bowden" cable by the metre so you can operate points as far away as you want. Edited August 4, 2012 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george356 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Is Bowden cable rust proof Ian? I know the inner is, but what about the liner inside the plastic sleeve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 UPDATE! So, as some of you know, I was more than displeased with the performance of the points leading to the station and yard. Depending on the stock, derailments became more and more common an event. Upon close inspection, the chap that did the extension work whilst I was away didnt concrete the posts on the new section, so it started to dip. Add to that, one section was without any support mid way and started to bow. So, last saturday, he came back, track was carefully removed, as well as the station. Everything was remedied, and it was then just a case of finding enough time to run the most unforgiving of trains... one of my cherished APT's (I have two). I wanted to see how she would cope crossing the new points as well as the new span across the gap, to the platform section. This was a black spot for all manner of woes, leaving me wishing I had just stuck to an oval and not gotten smart. As she sped down the straight, and entered the curve, I held my breath.... in the old setup, she would hit the point and then the bump and dip caused by the uneven span and loose her footing... Well, here is what happens now, when she is set to 11 and left to fly... "> " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; If you look closely at one of the platform shots, you may see a chap slightly disappointed by the lack of carnage. I wish Hornby would do an update of this awesome set... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Layout looks great with the new station and points. Seems the track is all sorted too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanerg6e Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 When you go through the points at that speed all the passengers most have their soup thrown from one side of the coach to the other. Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Well it certainly doesn't have a problem traversing the junction now! Had good old BR persisted with the APT then I'm sure we'd have seen an updated model from one of the major RTR manufacturers before now. Somehow I don't envisage that happening in the future but stranger things have happened. Perhaps at the rate they're going they'll fast run out of new models to produce and have to resort to some of those that never quite made it. ...If you look closely at one of the platform shots, you may see a chap slightly disappointed by the lack of carnage... You wouldn't want to find yourself sitting on a train next to him would you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted August 4, 2012 Author Share Posted August 4, 2012 @ Traingeek: Thanks @ cleanerg6e: Fortunatly it was just a test. I try to keep speeds at scale normally, but this and the Scotsman smoke test dictated otherwise. The Smoke Gen only gets going at full tilt... and the scotsman performs more like a Scalextric car than a train. I may try a resistor in the motor to get better scale speed from her. @mick: Id love to see a re-tooled APT full rake. With the only surviving example at Crewe, once its gone, its gone. From what I have seen, she is just sat in a Siding (correct me if Im wrong). I'll probably end up weathering mine and doing the internal detail as best I can, because the chances of anything coming from Hornby, are a million to one (he said)...* *Gratuitous Jeff Waynes The War Of the Worlds reference thrown in for good measure. But thats another story, for another time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 Thought I would have a stab at a nice long slow good train today.... I have decided that the hour or so before sunset is when I like my layout best... "> " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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