All change - a small OO roundy

[Phred]

fourtytwo wrote:
What have other people come up with here ?

I cut grooves in some balsa sticks with a mini hacksaw for the platform edge, then cardboard rectangles for pavers, then wet & dry. See below:

Different style of station from what you're making but still...

[fourtytwo]

Woww looks fantastic. The W&D I have is 600grit that is on the fine side, I have some 360 but not enough, yours looks maybe 100 ?

[Phred]

fourtytwo wrote:
Woww looks fantastic.

Thanks!

It's P400 but, to be honest, I just stood in front of the sandpaper rack in my local hardware outlet and picked one that looked to me like a OO scale asphalt platform surface. Cameras pick up every little blemish so it looks more coarse in the photos than in real life.

[fourtytwo]

fourtytwo wrote:
Woww looks fantastic.

Thanks!

It's P400 but, to be honest, I just stood in front of the sandpaper rack in my local hardware outlet and picked one that looked to me like a OO scale asphalt platform surface. Cameras pick up every little blemish so it looks more coarse in the photos than in real life.

I like the crystal telephone junction box

Scenery on hold here with yet more software & hardware bugs found (that's the problem with actually running trains)
Had some interesting & messy junction collisions with trains running in both directions simultaneously, quite hairy on such a small layout and quite difficult to sort out the sequence of events and find the bug. Recently I discovered some of the track circuits had tiny bit of cross-talk that added to the excitement especially as when stopped everything worked correctly. Usual fix, box of small capacitors to the rescue

[Phred]

fourtytwo wrote:
I like the crystal telephone junction box

I had to find a use for it! It was one of those 'useful for something' things.

[fourtytwo]

Accident investigation this morning, a nasty head/side collision at a junction between trains traveling in opposite directions, many casualties, investigators at the scene

Preliminary accident report :-

4.10.41 P5/6 junction collision, fixed
Cwise train waiting in S1, acwise approaching from S6 having left plat3 in auto but switch now manual. Acwise train routed to S2 and entered it as far as S2main when S1 train started and hit other train at junction. S1 train cannot leave without both S5 & S6 locks.
Problem is if plat3 manual set whilst in exit state (after routed) S6lock is forced off, this should not happen, S6block will release the lock when appropriate anyway as it will also do for arrivals. I cannot see any reasonable reason for this line of code, it should just be commented out in all terminus platforms (3).

I can only hope the people who write real signalling software have better test facilities than me before they unleash it on the real railway

[Mountain]

Problem is we have things like unreliable couplings and differing wheel standards to contend with, so things that "Should" run perfectly have their days! (Real railways have their days as well! Best one I heard was when 12 sprinters got stuck in the middle of no-where when more and more were sent down to rescue a failed sprinter. Ended up with all of them stuck waiting for the travelling fitter to reach there late at night. The poor guy knew why his job was called a "Fitter" he sometimes had miles of walking carrying heavy tools!

[aleopardstail]

was one with a voyager, broke down, they sent another to fix it, the first one had an electrical fault, coupled the second one and sparks flew

they were both recovered by being dead hauled in two pipe mode (i.e. air lines and coupler only, not electrical)

similar with a voyager and a meridian, something in the wiring objected in an amusing way

having lugged a power brake controller a mile or two down the cess to recover an abandoned train dumped in a siding I can sympathise with said "fitter"

[Mountain]

One of the funny ones was when we had a new fitter. He was on the failed service ahead, and my service, being the next one behind, was going to be used to couple on and push the one ahead into Swansea where it could be left and the passengers could continue.
The guard (Who trained me) was quite a character, and for some reason, anyone new on the railway he would tell the same story of what happened on one of his trains many years ago when a large lady got stuck on a toilet after being suched in when going through a tunnel. Each person he told this to would have a little chuckle then he would tell them off for smiling or laughing and say she had to have 43 stitches after firecrew had to break the toilet pan.
Now I saw this fitters face after he came on our train instead and said (Once we closed the crew door) "Is he for real? I have just had a long walk up the track and the first thing he starts telling me is the story about...."
"Yes, that's (*Saying his name*)!" Welcome to the railway!

I actually miss the people on the railway. The characters. Made it an interesting place.

[fourtytwo]

Good news the goods yard is complete and the stock out

Not so good had a go at repairing several loco's that were not running very well, mostly successful (e.g. a Hornby with a broken pickup carrier) but one a Bachmann split chassis has had to be scrapped

I had previously fitted new axle insulators (old ones were split) but the square holes were larger than the axle stubs (hence the bit's of paper) BUT this was almost the least of it's problems, one of the wheels looked like it had been mashed with a pair of pliers and indeed it was bent out of true (not perpendicular to the axle) and it was not the only one, the result was what can best be described as lurching running, the only fix new wheels, more than the value of the loco so it's gone to the scrap yard.

I don't think I will be risking any more of these they are to difficult to repair, I have heard there were several variations of the axle square pin size making it very hit & miss.

[Bigmet]

...a Bachmann split chassis has had to be scrapped... don't think I will be risking any more of these they are to difficult to repair, I have heard there were several variations of the axle square pin size making it very hit & miss...

All mine long ago worn out, typically only lasted 6 years due to my intensive operation on layouts, before the plating was so worn through on tyres and in the axle and block contacts that pick up was unreliable.

I have salvaged all useable parts from mine (and the preceeding Mainline and Replica items): Motors, gears, assembly screws and plastic plugs, bogies and pony trucks including wheels, cylinders and side rods, keeper plates, bodies and tenders. Some used as spares to repair friend's models while still possible - that's pretty much over now for old split chassis models, but the motors are good if they will fit any model - other bit and pieces recycled into other RTR, and used to make DIY models of subjects not available RTR at the time - that too a diminishing activity with the cornucopia of models now coming to market.

[Mountain]

Check if Peters Spares has any as they may have had axles made?

[fourtytwo]

Check if Peters Spares has any as they may have had axles made?

I am sorry to say that's where they are from. As I said I have heard the axle stubs were not consistent in there dimensions so unfortunately I ended up with small ones on this particular loco. I have done the same job before on a J72 tank successfully so the problem is not universal hence my wish to have nothing further to do with these chassis. Shame because they do run well when they are in good fettle.

[Mountain]

So is a new chassis build instead?

I want to find easy ways to build chassis with 0-4-0's and things like that. That looks a bit more complex. Wonder if another chassis can be adapted to fit?

[aleopardstail]

So is a new chassis build instead?

I want to find easy ways to build chassis with 0-4-0's and things like that. That looks a bit more complex. Wonder if another chassis can be adapted to fit?

the "easy" way is 3d printing, chassis tend to be quite boxy, the main drawback is a printed chassis has essentially no weight to speak of

split chassis are the devils work