Model Railways and Railway Related Things.

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Incredible - you've really got a wide range of skills there. I've known a few people who did various kinds of modelling (a relative does touring cars), and I've seen a few impressive looking rails layouts, but no-one who scratch-built their own rails and electrics like that.

The only problem is that your posts are making me a bit jealous of you having such an involving project to work on. It's awakening my own "building things" instincts - I need to do something with my hands other than just typing (no suggestions from SaveFerris required! ) You may well have inspired me to look for a new project of my own, though probably not anything on quite such a grand scale!

I look forward to seeing more.

Thanks Trogluddite. It can be as difficult or as easy as you want to make it. You can buy Peco 0-16.5 track which is the track intended for this scale and gauge. It is known as 7mm narrow gauge and also 0-16.5 in UK, 0e in EU and 0n30 in USA. I simplified things a little as I don't have track gauges so I used 00 gauge track, pinned it roughly in position and then cut out the plastic sleepers about three at a time and soldered on the PCB cut sleepers. I did use thin card to pack under the PCB sleeper just while I soldered the rails in position as PCB is thinner then the plastic sleepers.
Most of my waggons are scratchbuilt. I enjoy making them. I have a very visual mind so I can think out designs to make using the materials I have. Coaches are a mix of kit and scratchbuilt. Locos are mostly kit built but often much altered from the kit manufacturers design intentions. One loco was converted from a 00 gauge loco as it is, which involved removing the cab and chimney and replacing them with larger scale versions. I also deepened the bufferbeams ready to take the new couplings.

Couplings. These took a couple of years of ideas floating round my mind along with a couple of tests. More on these in a bit..


Loco coach and waggon kits where used are either Smallbrook Studio's resin kits which are (I find) generally easy to construct and any mistakes are corrected with DAS modelling clay or similar. I also have a pair of Peco coach kits, which though come in ready painted form, I painted my own livery over the top. This gives a consistant look as my efforts are not up to factory painted standards, so by repainting them at least they blend in.

Couplings.

As there is no standard coupling in 0-16.5, though most use the 00 gauge tension lock type coupling which I was using, the issue for me was that of cost. They worked out at the time at 75p a coupling so this added £1.50 to whatever item of rolling stock I wanted to build. This was not on for me, so I looked into designing my own.
Initially I was thinking along the lines of using the Peco type couplings as used with Hornby Dublo etc, but these were more expensive to buy (Or just as dear as tension locks) and thouhh they are relatively simple to make in theory, in practice, some stock would need slots cut into bufferbeams to get them to fit. Tension lock couplings also habe this issue. So I started to think of a more suitable design. Many on model railway forums suggested I used Kadees, but these are way too expensive. I needed something cheap, reliable and easy to make and also easily obtainable.
thoughts of wire, maybe paperclips... What else do I have... Drawing pins (Thumb tacks). What do I need from a coupling design? I simply want it to be easy to couple and uncouple, and stay coupled in use. I don't need them to work automatically like Kadees do or semi automatically like a tension lock does. I don't mind a hands on approach.
So I set about dreaming up an idea which became my Mk1 design. I cut a slot in the top of the drawing pin, and using a paper clip in the form of a hook protruding through the slot a coupling was made. The other end of the paperclip would take a 90 degree bend along the bufferbeam and come out the side of the vehicle in the form of a little lever. This was simply suppoerted in position via U shaped hinges glued into holes on the bufferbeam. I decided it would work, but on testing they didn't like sharp curves and uncouples themselves when the weight of a slightly longer train length was used.
So it was back to the thinking board...where I eventually came up with my Mk 2 couplings. These allow stock to negotiate sharp curves, are easy to make and easy to use. They are partly a combination of something like a European H0 coupling but with Welshpool and Llanfair looks, as instead of a horizontal loop, I use what I call are "Drop bars" which to me look a bit like a pair of safety chains used on the W&L. So at least my couplings have a prototypical feel to them.
I can put the drop bars in the up position and bump them onto other stock and they will drop.

https://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/F ... &mode=view

https://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/F ... &mode=view

https://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/F ... &mode=view

https://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/F ... &mode=view

Simple home made scratchbuilt waggon. I made this before I converted to the home made couplings so it has tension lock type couplings fitted. It has a simple H pattern wooden dowel chassis. The body has coffee sturers for the main platform area. The uprights are bicycle spoke. The wheels are Hornby 12.5mm metal wheels. I made a mistake when I drilled the holes for the wheels. They were not straight to remmedy this I opened out the holes and drilled a small hole down the centre of the H chassis in a front to back direction and using a single strand of bicycle gear inner cable inserted through this whole and over the top of each axle, with a little adjustment I end up with a waggon with a form of sprung suspension. This is an easy waggon ro make. The spacers on the uprights (Painted black) are simply cuts of drinks straw.

Another little waggon I made, though this time it is slightly kore complicated as I used Peco code 100 rail offcuts for the frame, old H0 wheels I purchased secondhand, and tin can for the bucket part.

https://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/F ... &mode=view

Small pieces of wire protruding upwards were soldered on the frame at either end of the waggon so the coupling drop bars can hook onto, the waggon frame itself acting as a buffer. (I soldered these on sometime after I had taken the photo).

The layout. It is made to be portable. It is no where near finished yet but I have plenty of time to improve it. The controller is not quite finished yet. Is a homemade controller. It will habe other pieces to go with it to make it work correctly. More on that later. The points have a homemade lever frame. I may need to extend this so I can also control signals. The holes are to reduce weight and provide different heights for a scenic approach.

https://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/F ... &mode=view

https://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/F ... &mode=view

Just see if I can make pictures work easier.


A picture of the layout partly assembled. As can be seen are the homemade controller and lever frame etc.

Thats better. I can get the pictures to work!

Coaches...

Here is a simple scratchbuilt coach made from coffee sturers, lollypop sticks and things like that. It runs on old Romford 10.5mm wheels. I have not made the coupling drop loops as yet, but I have made the buffer parts to them. In all it didn't cost me too much to make. Not a lot more then the price of the wheels.




The principle behind point (Turnout) operation is something like this.



I then cast some little wheels out of resin and drilled out the centres and made a grove in them where the fishing twine goes which controls the points.



I soldered stiff wire from a paperclip to the point tie bar and return springs were fixed into position.

Then I decided to make myself a point lever frame which can also be used for operating signals.

Further developments of the point levers...



A method to provide a greater leverage was designed to assist in operating a far reaching point (Left of photo below), along with an adjustment mechanism (The white thing on the right... All the wires to control the points need this. Initially I tried three holes in plasticard, but found five holes with larger adjusters were needed). And I also started work on a wooden frame to position electrical frog switches and a means to screw littlw clips to so the point levers can be held in the extended position against the return springs.

More progress... A few more cast resin wheels in position and the point frog switches, along with a start of the clips to hold the levers in the extended position (Two fitted in this photograph).



Other things cast in resin are various parts like coach sides for a future project...





Playdough is used as a mould for "One off" casting jobs. It is not as accurate but a whole lot cheaper!

You are a very talented and innovative man MG! This is all extremely inspiring!!

Thanks Teach51. It has been rather fun building things! Though I do need to be in a building frame of mind, so I get a building spree where I am making things and then I rest. The rest is where I use my mind to dream up new ideas. No pressure. Just when I decide to think about things... It gives me stress relief and probably accounts for about 96% or more of the time I spend in total with the hobby.

Layout legs and constructive methods.

There's nothing over complicated about the layout itself. Simple but joints are used which are screwed and glued to form an outer framework which the board is screwed onto. The boards were 4' x 2' MDF which were shortened to 3'6" and one was shortened to about 3'4" due to the length of the timber I had available. The timber was all recycled and sneaked in from the firewood pile except from a couple of pieces which were washed in and sitting there on part of our local coastline. (Actually the fishing twine used for point control came from a similar source!) The MDF was a previous purchase. A word about MDF. When cut the MDF fibres are very small and thin and are similar to aspestos in size so take precautions. Best to cut or drill MDF outside so one does not breathe in the dust.



The photograph above shows the main baseboard with its two pairs of legs folded up. The legs simply fold out on a double hinge system which is better explained by showing pictures of the other board as it only needs the one set of legs.







That is the basic principle. The main board has a more squashed in design to accomodate two pairs of legs which have to fold and fit into each other.

The method used to join the two pairs of boards together are simple hinges which have had the hinge pins removed, and new larger replacement hinge pins made which are removeable.



The track used to run to the baseboard edge. However, after a summer heatwave it was found that the railheight had altered slightly and caused a slight bump. I could have made adjustments with a file to the top of the rails, but if I had movement again it would be a problem, so another method was made which allows for any small movements between the boards. The rails were cut back and new bridge rails were made being careful to allow the railjoiners sufficient room to slide back to aid easy removal. It is easier to explain in picture form.

I think next I will give a brief account of how and why I decided to build myself my own panel controller.

Now I had intended to use a Gaugemaster panel mounted controller. I did want a simple version but I was offered a new one with a similator and brake for a very good price, so I bought it. However, as I want my layout to be portable, and I wanted the controller to run from a 12V DC sealed leisure battery, the Gaugemaster (Which requires 18V AC) is not really suitable, as the voltage drops when it gos through the rectifier and runs a few other components, so with 12V input (I can feed DC through the AC input supply as the rectifier converts it to DC anyway as that is what a rectifier does), the loss in voltage at the output end is just too much.
Now I didn't want to bypass the rectifier as I would be voiding the warranty as these have are blessed with a lifetime warranty... so in theory I could step up the voltage a little, but that would spoil the fun!
Photo shows the Gaugemaster panel controller that I decided not to use on this layout.



Now for me, with my inquisitive mind I just have to try to see if I can make my own panel controller, so I raided my "Spare parts box" which is actually a collection of various bits and pieces not neccessarily kept in one box, and as part of this collection I had the remains of an old Triang resistance controller. All I had was the control knob with its wiper contacts and the resistance wire part, and the plastic piece supporting the assembly had seen better days. "Uhmm" I thought...
So I dreamed up a plan. I had the remains of a PCB (Printed circuit board) which would be ideal to use as the main structure of the panel. So with this in mind I got to work!









Now we have variable resistance and also the wiper design reverses the current as the control knob has a centre off position. However I need to include a safety overload feature. I decided to use the traditional old ways to solve the problem in the form of a simple bulb, the idea being that the bulb should be a sufficient wattage so that if wired in series, the loco will operate normally with the current passing through the bulb without illuminating the bulb (As the motor uses far less current so the current goes to the motor in the locomotive instead). Yet if the loco jumps the rails and causes a short, the whole of the current goes towards the bulb and illuminates the bulb rather then heating up the resistance wire in the controller which could be an issue. (Resistance wire is commonly found in the old electric fires as it glows red when sufficient current goes through it... It is not the effect we need for a panel controller. The resistance itself is the effect we need as the wiper touching various parts along the wire varies the resistance. The glowing effect if the whole current heads to the resistance wire should there be a short is what we want to avoid, hence the need foe a bulb to take the current instead).
Now the bulb itself also will act as a visual indication of a short taking place, so it solves two issues in one go. It maybe primitive, but it works!

Below is a basic test to check the principle works and that I habe a suitable wattage of bulb. Car indicator ad sidelight (Parking light) bulbs should be ok. I am planning use both a 5 watt and a 10 watt bulb as not all model locos draw the same current.





The panel was then painted steampunk style!



I need to assemble the backscene and do more wiring before I can install the overload cut out bulbs into position on the layout. The layout is not wired yet.

I couldn't agree more with Teach51 - I'm really enjoying seeing everything come together. Your ingenuity with cheap, everyday materials is particularly delightful - I always find it very satisfying when I get a problem solved using something from my random collection of "junk that I can't bear to throw away in case there might be something useful hidden in there"!