RichardG
Western Thunderer
The rigid towing bar stops the engine running away into the Defender, though I suppose with too much speed it could end up propelling the car.
Yes, I can see detail of the perch bracket at 10:22 in the video.
Watching the video a second time, I think the most glaring error in the model is the colouring of the tyres. These are made out of soft, pliable plastic. If I can't paint them, perhaps I can make replacements from styrene.
Thank you @mswjr (I'm sorry I don't know your name) it is really helpful to have a close-up video showing this engine.
Cassette-based fiddle yard . . part 4 new base module with display panel
New
RichardG
Western Thunderer
The fiddle yard has turned out to be a bit cramped (photo in October 2024) and I am making a new one to use the same cassettes.
The new fiddle yard is a reversible design, for use at home and at a show. The layout connects to either end, so the open side of the fiddle yard can be at the front of the layout or at the back.
There will be a display board for exhibitions, a shelf to hold cassettes and stowage for r/c handsets.
The basis of this is a kit from Grainge and Hodder. I have dispensed with the cross-braces supplied in the kit because I don't think they will achieve anything useful in this application. I have put in the diagonal brace instead, to stop the long sides moving relative to each other.
The brace going under the baseboard had to go in through a hole in one side. This is now blanked off.
I have taken photos to show parts of the structure before I add the display board. With triangulation in two planes the whole thing is very stiff and shows no desire to settle on a skew.
The short lengths of oak are a shelf support and something to hold a lighting strip.
A mock up before I add the display board and fix the shelf, with the unmodified Corgi road locomotive for continuity.
I want to think I could eventually add further stub tracks so I can use this creation for other track gauges. Especially my H0 and H0e models because I have no workable layout for these at the moment.
RichardG
Western Thunderer
No . . . the dowels for this baseboard have needed work.
Up until now I have used pattern maker's dowels from Station Road Baseboards throughout the baseboards in this project. Every module is a G&H one. Unfortunately these dowels are no longer stocked because of quality and tolerance problems.
Of course I didn't know this when I ordered the baseboard last year. I do know that G&H sell their own dowels but I don't know their specification, or whether they will mate with my existing ones. So I have improvised.
For the first end, I salvaged the dowels from the old fiddle yard. The dowels carry the track power from one module to the next. Up until now I have used brass bolts to connect wires to the dowels; this time I used the lathe and some solder. Such is progress as skills improve.
For the second end, I bought some 12 mm dowel pins and turned them down to fit. The new diameters are about 7.95 mm for the business end and 8.05 mm for the part driven into the baseboard. It is easier for me to turn steel down to fit the baseboard than to open up the holes in the plywood and keep them concentric.
The packing pieces supplied with the baseboard kit are giving me some cosmetic trim.
I am glad I went for pattern makers dowels. The fitting clearance is about 4 thou, while ordinary bullet dowels give about 12 thou. The sloppier fit is fine for finescale 0 gauge, but I it would risk taking my 0-MF track out of spec at the baseboard joints.
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RichardG
Western Thunderer
The rear-most shelf slat is bracing the display board, and the display board is holding the same slat straight and level. The other two shelf slats are loose, I can fix these after I put the finishes on the other parts.
The Intentio medium cassette is here to give scale.
So I now have a shelf long enough to hold three small cassettes from Intentio (or one small and one medium); and some nooks and crannies to hold r/c handsets and the uncoupling hook. The top panel can hold a sign with the name of the layout at a show, or more paraphernalia at home. I can see myself fitting this out with its own lighting, perhaps an analogue controller too. A second stub track will go at the front left corner to let me turn the whole unit end for end.
The display (on the other side of the display board!) is probably beyond the scope of WT. I have gathered up some photos and prepared a map for this. A sheet of Perspex is on order to finish it off.
RichardG
Western Thunderer
Back here in Part 3:
The Heybridge Railway, 1889 to 1913
I use this cassette so much I forget it is non-standard. The length is as Intentio intended it to be, 578 mm.