What's on your workbench?

[37lover]

81F,

I'm sure I'll kick myself later but what is WSF and FUD?

Edit; looks an interesting little project. Will it be a one off or a rake?

[81F]

81F,

I'm sure I'll kick myself later but what is WSF and FUD?

Edit; looks an interesting little project. Will it be a one off or a rake?

That's a very good question, I've just had to look them up! They are descriptions that Shapeways use to describe the materials they print.

 

WSF =  White Strong & Flexible  which is Polyamide. It's a bit grainy looking, will not glue easily (thoufgh I have stuck some broaken bits together with superglue. It is the cheapest material so I try to use it first. Being flexible I find itr good for coach bogies and wagon chassis as you can spring the W irons back to drop the whhels in.

 

FUD -= Frosted Ultra Detail is an acrylic material. It generally has a much smmother finish and shows up fine detail better than WSF however it's more brittle and twice the price!

[37lover]

81F,

Thanks, we live and learn!

[LCDR]

 This is a whole new world for me.  And certainly a whole step change from Yellow, Magenta and Cyan! Thanks 81F.

 

By the way I am very impressed with your CAD!

[flyingfox4475]

I have decided,  to move my turntable to another part of my layout, boy am i wishing I left well alone. 

My first problem was soon sorted, I managed to find a lose connection to the motor,so I was able to reconnect it. Then my second problem. The  clips that hold the access track broke. Quick thinking small blob of super glue will stick it back in place,then sods law took over super glue did not stick to the plastic. So I thought about my problem and then glued the access track in position. So far so good. After getting it in place and wiring. It up then the test run a loco on and off then sods law strikes again, as you operate the bridge those pesky copper contact's at end decide to come adrift and refuse to go back so they make contact when turning a loco. Now it looks like I am going to have buy a new turntable.  Then me thinks what about your  spare turntable then remembers that one had the same problem so it was junked not to long ago.and before anybody says I should have made sure the bridge turned without problems beforehand. It did and only after final fixing did it start to jam causing the copper connections to come adrift  Still that's why I like my model railway always something to do or fix. Sorry for a long winded post

[81F]

 This is a whole new world for me.  And certainly a whole step change from Yellow, Magenta and Cyan! Thanks 81F.

 

By the way I am very impressed with your CAD!

Thank you LC&DR. This was produced on a free CAD package called TinkerCAD. It allows you to make up a virtual 3D model from Cubes, spheres cyliners cones etc from which you can build up more complex shaped (like a GWR 517 body or coach bogies. The ony downside id that cyliners can have a bit of a planked effect that need fettling.

 

A google search sould find the site if you want to have a go. If you want to 3D print you will need to set up an account with a 3D printing service (if you don't have a 3D printer) but my one with shapeway is free (I oly pay for the printed model). They also automatically check your design to see if it will print when you upload your design and often offer fixes.

[81F]

 @ flyingfox4475

 

You think that's bad. My 009 needed a 9mm gauge turntable with an approx diameter of 50mm (2"). sadly the n gauge kit (PECO) is approx 150mm (6") imagine the fun I had shortening the bridge reducing the diameter of the pit by constructing new side walls from a piece of a down pipe spout and then getting everythiong concentric, let alne building the mechanism from mecano!

 

Sadly i have to make anothe for the other end of my layout so I've just bought the motorizing unit but may need some more mechano.

[81F]

Just taken delivery of the first prt of  my 3D printed Camping Coach Interior (for short Triang Clerestory Composite). The biege bits shown below. Together with my 8'6" Dean bogies

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 Only slight error is thatwhen fitted the table (to be ordered later) will prevent the body screw going up to the roof. However, as th eroof os a bery good fit without it and I rally do not want a huge pillar in the dining room, it is probably a good thing! Actual photos below.

 

 

[LCDR]

  Not so much on a workbench, BUT today despite constant drizzle, I have been wiring up the permanent power supply to my garden railway layout.

 

I wanted to remove all mains current from outdoors, so I have installed a bank of transformers in a shed that has already got mains power inside, and run four feeder cables from there to the control positon.to carry 12 volts to the point where I can plug in two speed controllers (panel mounted into a a portable enclosure) which then feed a section switch panel, which allows me to select which controller feeds a particular track section.  The units are all portable so they all go indoors when play finishes. Therefore each unit has to plug into the other.

 

Today I have wired the transformers to the feeders and tested that power is received at the control point. I have also confirmed that the LEDs that indicate which controller is feeding which section are powered up and working.

 

The feeder cables are second hand Ring Main cable, and are clipped to the rear of the baseboard structure. The transformers are old Scalextric power packs that put out 12V 2.5A. although I have plans to eventually instal  some higher voltage transformers as the controllers can accept up to 24V and I would like extra power.

 

This is the Section Switch Panel (below) which now sits on a shelf under the layout. The shelf is on runners and slides out from under the layout when needed. The power feed firstly plugs into the speed controllers which in turn plugs into this.  At the back are two banks of 12 plugs that connect to the track. A seperate feed comes to the Panel to illuminate the LEDs which show which controller (red or green) is feeding the section. This is achieved quite simply with DPDT centre off switches. There is a spare feeder just in case.

 

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[81F]

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Just received a test print for a replacement balance weight for the Hornby R6004 Operating crane truck (aka Hornby/Triang R127 Operating crane truck). After filing back the original to a 1mm thick plate I found that it fits so well that it stays in place without glue!

 

The down side is that  didn't have the confidence to print the first inthe Frosted Ultra Detail material in the first place. But having made a tweek to the "COWANS" text to make the O & N stand out a bit more I have now ordered a FUD print from Shapeways.

 

I will probably replace the chains wit string as the prototype has cables.

[81F]

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Another project underway is my 2721 saddle tank body for the standard 0-6-0 chassis. Avove is the cut away test print to ensure that nothing was fouling in the body (painted grey for photography). Sadly it sits 1mm too high at the front so I have fixed that on my next print which I have ordered as a complete body. The tanks will need some fettling to get rid of the planked effect that seems to come with the 3D modelling package.

 

Boiler fittings will be those produced by Alanb Gibson and Buffers probably Slatters.

[37lover]

It was on my workbench but now on the layout! I've just built up a rake of ISO tankers in remembrance of a trail in 2013 called "Lifting the Spirit" in Scotland to transport whiskey from several Distilleries to a

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central Bottling Plant. I used 20ft Tank Containers from C-Rail and added my own tranfers, not an exact copy but close enough once I've had a tumbler or two of the whiskey. The wagons were pulled by a Class 66 in real life but the 37 looks better!

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[Howbi]

@81F.........Your comment...."The tanks will need some fettling to get rid of the planked effect that seems to come with the 3D modelling package."     reminded me that in AutoCad there is a setting for the number of segments in a circle which affects the smoothness of the curve.......looking at your 2721 body it would appear that there are only 6 segments to the 90 deg arc of the boiler..........if your software could be reset to 96 segments or more per circle then your end result would be much smoother.........just a thought...... 😀.......HB

[walkingthedog]

Your wagons look great 37, that's a lot of whiskey. 

[81F]

@81F.........Your comment...."The tanks will need some fettling to get rid of the planked effect that seems to come with the 3D modelling package."     reminded me that in AutoCad there is a setting for the number of segments in a circle which affects the smoothness of the curve.......looking at your 2721 body it would appear that there are only 6 segments to the 90 deg arc of the boiler..........if your software could be reset to 96 segments or more per circle then your end result would be much smoother.........just a thought...... 😀.......HB

Thanks for the info, Sadly if I were to use the AutoCAD to which I have access, at the very best all my designs would be the copyright of my employer and at worst could possibly even breech my terms of employment. so I have t make do with a much cheeper alternative :(

 

[37lover]

Your wagons look great 37, that's a lot of whiskey. 

WTD,

Although the trial run showed a nominal saving I believe there was no future because the Insurance Companies of each Distiller placed a restriction on the volume each could transport at any one time: 3 x 20,000 litres of whiskey. If raw cost is £10/litre that's £600,000 although I doubt the raw cost is half that. I think the actual trial ran with 14 ISO containers! Would keep me merry a few years.

[walkingthedog]

Very merry. 

[81F]

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My GWR M17 Bullion Van, All nut the wheels, Couplings and Buffers 3D printed then painted. (platform side with doors)

[81F]

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And the other side withot doors

[81F]

Work on my GWR 2721 Saddle Tank continues...

 

Just received the 3D print of non sectioned body with the errors corrected. For some reason this one is not as tight a fit as the sectioned one was. So I may need to glue a thin plasticard lip behind the rear bufferbeam.

 

I've managed to remove the "planking ove the saddle tank by spreying with car primer and sanding the top of the ridges (about 3 coats) then spreyed the entire body.

 

Next step will be to open out the holes for the hand rail knobs on the tank sides and bend up some wire for the main handrail. The cab and bunker grab rails are printed as part of the body. I will then need to add lamp irons and fire iron hoos before adding whistles (spare hornby) boiler fittings (Alan Gibson) and buffers before painting.

 

 /media/tinymce_upload/6e329f43d0261aa441fb2fb51f342f74.jpg 

[81F]

 GWR 2721 Saddle Tank continues

Spilt a load of superglue over the entire body - totally ruined :(

[Twintop]

My Triang Midland 3F 0-6-0. I converted this with Romford wheels inc the tender about 10 years ago and added extra pick ups to the tender.

However, I had not run it for 2 years or so as it had stopped working, but then I tried it again a few weeks ago and it ran fine, Then suddenly it stopped working again so I have been having a look and have deduced its shorting somewhere.

So, I have been testing it to see where the shorts are and its the tender pickups so out came the wheels to have a better look and I promptly lost a top hat bearing.....  Not amused, but I did find it eventually after much annoyance. Plus, the screw holding the motor in at the rear would not tighten so I was not happy at all, but then realised another screw on the loco was the same thread but slightly longer so swapped them over so I am on the road to recovery after a frutsrating couple of hours when I had contrived to make matters worse than when I started..

Hopefully now I can start to put it back together again. 

Then I should get on with my Triang 2-6-2 tank that I also converted, but less successfully as I had trouble with the main gear fitting on the new axle. I ended up opening out the gear - big mistake as it ended up fitting but slightly loose so slipped. I did try and sort it out and the loco is now dead - so will have to go back to basics with it - I suspect I put the wheels on incorrectly and have got a short. In hindsight I should have recalled my engineering training and put the shaft in the freezer and the plastic gear in warm water and then maybe it would have fit without opening the sntre hole out. 

 

Needless to say after the experience with the 2-6-2 tank I never got around to doing my 2 Triang Britannias with similar conversion kits ! yet another example of money wasted ! 

Plus I bought a DC Kits class 101 and that is half built, last being touched about 10 years ago, as I could not get the motor bogie to swivel in the chassis - so it runs in a straight line only !!! I have no idea how to get round that one at all as there just does not seem room at all - I have opened the chassis up as much as I dare.  I should complete it though and have it parked up in a carriage siding.

Otherwise I have been buiding a SQuck station building, bought mainly for the canopy to go over a subway, a better solution than an island platform building kit. I have bullt the station but needs a baseboard extension to site that, so the camopy and its two waiting rooms will do for now.  

I have also built a rake of Dapol Stanier 57ft non corridor BR naroon coaches. Nice kits, but they dont run well, so will have to look further into that - must be either the plastic wheels or the couplings that droop too much. Or maybe more weight is needed. 

It was interesting to see that the "non-corridor" are actually "part corridor" with some of the compartments in the centre of the coaches sharing a lavatory in the Brake and sharing 2 lavatories in the composite.

And finally, I still have not sorted out the binding tender wheeks on my Railroad 9F !! It has not run for 2 years now and its about time I sorted it out.  . 

 

 

 

[81F]

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In the process of detailing a hornby hand crane with a 3d printed balance weight. Since I took the photo, I've also popped out the wheels and replaced them with new Hornby Spoked ones on the same stub end axles but may have damaged the chassis as the wheels now come out very easily

[LCDR]

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The real thing at Edge Hill in 1986. The under-runner is a LNER/BR Flat ED, a wagon similar to a Plate wagon but without ends and sides and with lashing rings set into the floor planks.

[VESPA]

/media/tinymce_upload/8ae53275337bd9492b89e66d851c664f.jpg 

The real thing at Edge Hill in 1986. The under-runner is a LNER/BR Flat ED, a wagon similar to a Plate wagon but without ends and sides and with lashing rings set into the floor planks.

LC&DR and 81F, I have a photo in my stock of other peoples photo of this crane in Horton in Ribblesdale. I cannot reproduce it here as it is copyright of David Heys. If you look through his enormous website it is there somewhere but at present I cannot find it. The crane appears to be yellow as the Hornby model shown with black and white stripes at the top of the jib and on the rear of the cab where you have put your 3D items. The runner seems to be a loger than normal 4/5 plank wagon. If I can find the link I will put it on here.