Joe's Garage
Western Thunderer
I don't think Rob needs temptation as he is already thinking about it.
Tales from The Room of Doom. Dipping a toe in various bucolic backwaters.
- Thread starter Flaxfield
- Start date
Flaxfield
Western Thunderer
Morning all.
Well, that has been a hectic couple of weeks. Firstly, with SWAG and the post event admin, then straight into three days exhibiting at Bristol.
Overall, Ewe behaved itself though one of the J70s, 68225, got itself a bit over excited on Saturday morning and was taken away to reflect on its behaviour.
That said, 68222 and 68223 carried the show, gliding about like a couple of Victorian Daleks.
The back up J15 was never required to be deployed.
And that, in theory, is that as far as exhibiting goes for this year.
So, does this mean some modelling time ?
Hopefully, yes.
The Black Layout needs finishing off and I have a couple of weathering projects to get on with, now that I have discovered that I can still weather things ! An odd thing to say but I really did lose confidence in my weathering.
Some of these projects will be Black Layout focused, others will be for the forthcoming LB&SCR layout, or as it will be known, Lambsdown........yep, Lambsdown.
I know I have repeatedly said that the Sheep stuff is done with........
BUT
I have had a set of 3D printed running in boards for Lambsdown for some time now and it is such a shame that they remain unused. The inspiration behind the 'Brighton' build is The Dyke branch which made it's way from Brighton, up onto the Downs......You can see where this is heading, I'm sure...
Now whilst some stock is yet to arrive ( LB&SCR
vans, more opens and brake vans later this year ), the buildings are in stock and can be worked on, as can the two locos ( third yet to be released ).
So that's the current state of play.
Rob
Well, that has been a hectic couple of weeks. Firstly, with SWAG and the post event admin, then straight into three days exhibiting at Bristol.
Overall, Ewe behaved itself though one of the J70s, 68225, got itself a bit over excited on Saturday morning and was taken away to reflect on its behaviour.
That said, 68222 and 68223 carried the show, gliding about like a couple of Victorian Daleks.
The back up J15 was never required to be deployed.
And that, in theory, is that as far as exhibiting goes for this year.
So, does this mean some modelling time ?
Hopefully, yes.
The Black Layout needs finishing off and I have a couple of weathering projects to get on with, now that I have discovered that I can still weather things ! An odd thing to say but I really did lose confidence in my weathering.
Some of these projects will be Black Layout focused, others will be for the forthcoming LB&SCR layout, or as it will be known, Lambsdown........yep, Lambsdown.
I know I have repeatedly said that the Sheep stuff is done with........
BUT
I have had a set of 3D printed running in boards for Lambsdown for some time now and it is such a shame that they remain unused. The inspiration behind the 'Brighton' build is The Dyke branch which made it's way from Brighton, up onto the Downs......You can see where this is heading, I'm sure...
Now whilst some stock is yet to arrive ( LB&SCR
vans, more opens and brake vans later this year ), the buildings are in stock and can be worked on, as can the two locos ( third yet to be released ).
So that's the current state of play.
Rob
SouthernFan Ian
Western Thunderer
Looking forward to seeing your take on ‘the Brighton’, Rob. It’s a railway oozing with character ( along with many others!).
Regards,
Ian
Regards,
Ian
Flaxfield
Western Thunderer
Evening all.
A little project has been signed off this evening. I acquired a W&M Railbus direct from Heljan. Despite running in, far in excess of the recommendations, the start / stop was disappointingly abrupt.
I decided to fit a decoder and popped in a Lokpilot. The start/stop was still a bit rubbish so I tried the 'autotune' facility. Big improvement. Not quite as I want but good enough to make do with.
Whilst apart, I removed and painted the interior. Very simple job of using a few shades of brown to suggest the polished panels. A touch of blue on the seats and the seat handrails picked out with some silver. Basic but good enough and certainly better than the plain grey plastic interior.
Nice to be doing a bit of modelling..
Rob
A little project has been signed off this evening. I acquired a W&M Railbus direct from Heljan. Despite running in, far in excess of the recommendations, the start / stop was disappointingly abrupt.
I decided to fit a decoder and popped in a Lokpilot. The start/stop was still a bit rubbish so I tried the 'autotune' facility. Big improvement. Not quite as I want but good enough to make do with.
Whilst apart, I removed and painted the interior. Very simple job of using a few shades of brown to suggest the polished panels. A touch of blue on the seats and the seat handrails picked out with some silver. Basic but good enough and certainly better than the plain grey plastic interior.
Nice to be doing a bit of modelling..
Rob
Willl
Western Thunderer
As you say Rob, it’s good to see you modelling again. I had one of those rail buses when they first came out. They’re charming and lovely models to look at but the running was a bit suspect. I’m not familiar with the auto tune feature - will have to look into it
Will
Flaxfield
Western Thunderer
Hi Will.
It's something enabled on Lokpilot V4 decoders.
Using CV54 for Motor Auto-Tune (Easiest Method)
Place your locomotive on a straight, long stretch of track.( Rather important )
Set CV54 to 0.
Ensure the locomotive is on address 3.
Set the throttle to speed step 0 (stop).
Press F1 (or the function key that controls the sound/motor).
The loco will start moving at speed and stop automatically once it finishes calculating.
This SHOULD improve or actually eradicate poor or jerky slow speed running. It certainly has on the two or three occasions I've used it.
Rob
simond
Western Thunderer
Mike
It’s safer, sure, but it doesn’t allow the controller to compensate for the mass of the loco itself, as it’s not accelerating, it can only allow for the inertia of the wheels. I’ve not calculated what difference this might make, but I guess it might be significant.
best
Simon
Flaxfield
Western Thunderer
Morning all.
For those of us ( in the minority on this forum, I suspect) interested in/modelling/ about to model something in 4mm and reliant mainly on RTR for our pre-grouping fix, it's a busy time and it's pretty much all Rapido's fault, though other manufacturers are getting on board.
Sticking with Rapido, a reduced order of their GNR Vans is due to be delivered here today, their Manning Wardle L class have arrived and are due to be shipped out to retailers in the next few days. The GER 7 and 5 plank opens are en route from China and the LB&SCR vans are following behind. Later in the year, the LB&SCR Brake vans will appear, as will the SE&CR G Class 4.4.0.
Add in a new range of NER wagons commissioned by TMC, starting with a V4 brake van, along with additional GER wagons from Oxford Rail and it's looking pretty good.
Who would have thought there would be such a huge choice for the RTR based pre-grouping modeller/enthusiast ?
Rob
For those of us ( in the minority on this forum, I suspect) interested in/modelling/ about to model something in 4mm and reliant mainly on RTR for our pre-grouping fix, it's a busy time and it's pretty much all Rapido's fault, though other manufacturers are getting on board.
Sticking with Rapido, a reduced order of their GNR Vans is due to be delivered here today, their Manning Wardle L class have arrived and are due to be shipped out to retailers in the next few days. The GER 7 and 5 plank opens are en route from China and the LB&SCR vans are following behind. Later in the year, the LB&SCR Brake vans will appear, as will the SE&CR G Class 4.4.0.
Add in a new range of NER wagons commissioned by TMC, starting with a V4 brake van, along with additional GER wagons from Oxford Rail and it's looking pretty good.
Who would have thought there would be such a huge choice for the RTR based pre-grouping modeller/enthusiast ?
Rob
Rob,
WRT the running quality of the W&M railbus it might be worth undoing the wheel retaining gearbox pad screws on the underside of the chassis and then doing them up less tightly in case they have been overtightened. I say this because when I stripped mine down some years back now, (to enable conversion to P4, add sound, and change the wiring), I found that if they were too tight on the axles it had a negative impact on the slow running quality.
Bob
WRT the running quality of the W&M railbus it might be worth undoing the wheel retaining gearbox pad screws on the underside of the chassis and then doing them up less tightly in case they have been overtightened. I say this because when I stripped mine down some years back now, (to enable conversion to P4, add sound, and change the wiring), I found that if they were too tight on the axles it had a negative impact on the slow running quality.
Bob
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
Oh so different from the 1960s when my dad at the time converted the Hornby Dublo R1 0-6-0T to an ex-SER Q 0-4-4T and an ex-LCDR R1 0-4-4T. He also converted the Hornby Dublo N 0-6-2T into a SECR J 0-6-4T with the materials and tools available in the day. The B&W photos are my dad's originals and the colour are mine.
Q
R1
J
And finally one of my early attempts as a 14 year old in the mid-1970s for my dad - a rebuild of a Hornby J83 0-6-0T into an ex-LCDR A2 0-4-4T.
Willl
Western Thunderer
The sudden appearance of the Manning Wardles was a pleasant surprise, although the need to weather a Wainwright liveried loco always leads to a slight spike in blood pressure!
We really are in a very good place for RTR right now - I was playing with my urban terminus thingy earlier, and the combined spectacle of Met 4-4-0t, Buckjumper, LBSC E1, pre-grouping 4 wheel and bogie coaches was something to behold, and wholly unimaginable 10 years ago.
Will
Jordan or Plymouth Mad
Mid-Western Thunderer
Your photos do remind me of the late P.D. Hancock's Pre-Grouping North British models, which would have been contemporary with these. He talked about how he had to mix up 'kits 'n' bits' to get his collection together as well.
Funny (or frightening!!) to think how the 1960s was closer in the stream of time to Pre-Grouping than it is to today, 60-ish years later.
Flaxfield
Western Thunderer
Morning all.
There is some degree of anticipation hereabouts as we await the arrival of a Manning Wardle or two. Reports elsewhere indicate that these really are pretty little things.
I have a SE&CR example en route and am hopefully collecting a Bombay ( arguably the prettiest livery after the SE&CR) today.
Top stuff, methinks.
Rob
There is some degree of anticipation hereabouts as we await the arrival of a Manning Wardle or two. Reports elsewhere indicate that these really are pretty little things.
I have a SE&CR example en route and am hopefully collecting a Bombay ( arguably the prettiest livery after the SE&CR) today.
Top stuff, methinks.
Rob
Kane Clements
Member
Evening Rob.
That is a lovely looking locomotive.
Dare I ask, if you have had time for a quick test, what the running is like? One or two reports (on the Internet therefore not necessarily reliable) suggest that some have 'issues'. And that the instructions mandate a thorough running in period.
Frankly I trust your view well above some random geezer on YouTube.
Best of wishes.
Kane
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Flaxfield
Western Thunderer
Morning, Kane.
Early days regarding the running but I have a couple of observations, which I'm happy to share here ( whereas I wouldn't 'go public' on the other channel as it would spiral ).
Firstly, all three of mine run pretty well and I have not experienced the kind of poor running that I have seen in one video in particular. That said, they really do need proper running in. One of my Bombays ( I have two) is really noisy in reverse. It might bed in, but if not, it's going back. The same loco had a lot of external oil on the base plate. The other Bombay was dry and quiet..
The biggest issue was that there was Crimson paint on the rear of the centre drivers on BOTH Bombays. Bizarre. Smudged but, in my opinion, enough to interfere with the pick-up/wheel thing. However, a good scrub with track magic has removed it and improved things. All wheel treads/backs were cleaned and were pretty dirty..
So, one had a slight hesitation when moving off, but this has eased with the five minutes of running it, but it needs more. I like to give them at least an hour on the rollers to free things up.
If I get time, I may set up the black layout to test them through point work and report back.
My biggest concern, however, is fitting a decoder. Looking at the instructions, this requires the 'easing' of pipework away from the side of the saddle tanks, removing a screw from the chimney and then ' prising' the saddle tank/ smokebox assemble up and away from the footplate.
BUT............
The sandbox lever, which runs along the side of the saddle tank, will also need to come away. It appears to be split in the middle, with the part running from the cab actually coming out of the cab front from within the cab, as there is a representation of the handle at one end.
One of mine had indeed split and detached, having slid backwards into and out of the cab. I have no idea how. What a bit of fun that was to replace through the cab, as in finding the less than 1mm slot to exit the cab front !!
I can see this being a topic of conversation on the other channel as people discover this when fitting their decoders. Open cab versions won't be an issue.
However, these matters aside, they are lovely things. Typical of the new breed of RTR where additional detail comes at a price. They are a wonderful little loco, but if purchasing one, either in person or via mail order, ask for it to be tested prior to dispatch to avoid any issues regarding a noisy mechanism.
I shall update.
Rob
Kane Clements
Member
Hi Rob.
Really appreciate that. The one in 'that video' was a DCC sound fitted version, which IMHO added a number of possible causes to the poor running, which weren't addressed.
Nothing else there to be concerned about. I'm solidly in the DC camp, having contemplated DCC for a while, so I'll take a punt on it. Bombay look so pretty, I may have to follow your lead and order some new plates later.
Ta very mutchley from almost sunny Devon.
Kane