You are quite right about the 'lifesign' signal, we have looked into this and it is part of the recommendations in Turnout, so it's covered. And yes, the cut off must work directly on the motors, not just the signal to the speed controller. Shorting the motors might be unnecessary, a rapid rather th...

Thanks for the feedback. I want to make it clear that we are not looking for problems here, we just want to assess whether there is a perceived problem, or not, and if so to put in place a simple solution to it. If we agree amongst ourselves that there is'nt a problem, then we don't need a solution....

Hi Holger,

Thanks, that sounds like a distinct possibility, but it's all new to me, I'm not into electronics at all. If it achieves the result we are looking for, it will do.

I'll do some investigating.

Dave.

Some of you may have heard of Rob Foxon who travels around giving film shows, often on railways. His current tour calls at the Rolls Royce Pavilion, Moor Lane, Derby, at 7.30 on Thursday 19th April. The show is titled Carrying the Load, Freight Trains. There is also a film on the Merry go Round, and...

It's that time of year again, mad panic before Shildon. Ben suggested I post something on my progress with the latest signal. To make things quicker, I decided to have a go at a colour light signal, after all there's nothing to them, mistake. My earliest drawings are dated 1974, by which time health...

Oops, can't completely delete an accidentally submitted post apparently.

As no-one seemed able to help, I've had some etched in stainless. It's soft soldered to the signal platform frame, and using phosphoric acid flux it tinned without any trouble at all. The bolt heads are 10BA.

I need some 5" gauge Durbar plating for a current project. Does anyone know where I can get any? I tried the Tamiya stuff, nicely etched, but far too coarse. If there is no current supplier, I can get some etched on 1/2mm nickel silver at £25 for a piece 300 x 150mm (plus carriage) if anyone else is...

You will have noticed that Turnout 68 has not arrived, yet. One problem is the usual lack of articles, but also, the committee has inexplicably lost it's e-mails. I had downloaded some from my editor e-mail, but there may still have been some on there when they disappeared. Therefore, if you have su...

Try "Historic carriage drawings, LMS", I'm sure it has something, though only 4mm scale. Can't put my hands on mine at the moment, (no surprise there). Will forward copy when it turns up.

Today's Adli Special Buy is stainless 6" digital calipers for £7.99, including 2 batteries.

The Historical Model Railway Society (HMRS) is pleased to announce it is taking pre-orders for “Constructing 5" Gauge Wagons” by Doug Hewson. The Historical Model Railway Society (HMRS), until the 31st March 2017 is taking pre-orders for “Constructing 5" Gauge Wagons” by Doug Hewson at £30.00 plus p...

Richard, yes, the plan was to use the arm with the hole at 7.5mm. On my drawing I assumed a useable angle of 102 degrees which gives 11.4mm of movement which seems to work fine without catching anything. The two pull wires can then be connected straight through, so that there is plenty of scope for ...

Andy, and anyone else who may be interested, there is a part built Crab in the West Midlands for sale. Nicely built, there are the parts shown in the photos, probably drawings, and possibly driving wheels. It is thought that they may have been returned to Reeves, in which case replacements should be...

I entirely agree with Holger. I joined Facebook, and my inbox was continually filled with rubbish from them, and when I say rubbish, I mean rubbish. It just isn't designed as a place for sensible, measured discussions, unlike this Forum, which works well for that sort of thing. I'm not on Facebook a...

Ben, On the bases which I slotted, I just drew a line across (felt tipped pen) where the slot was to identify it. No-one seemed to notice, so it's not too obtrusive. I think they need placing in specific places, rather than placing randomly and then trying to fit the wiring to them. I did design a s...

Ben, Putting double sockets in is a real pain, they need to be in a plate, and the back of the socket recessed into the board so they don't stick out, for handling and storage. Then the cable needs to be in a groove, and either fixed in , or ideally, covered over, a lot of work. Then there is the pr...

Keith,

For Noble Yard, I just ran a router across the underside of three boards (near one end) to give a slot big enough for the cable, in my case about 9mm dia. Seemed to work OK. The turnout also acted as a crossing for the cable by putting a socket in each side.

There seems to be some inconsistency around DIN plug pin numbers. The official numbers seem fairly random, but even so, it would seem sensible to use the same convention. DIN socket wiring.jpg If you look very closely at the plugs and sockets, you will see that they are numbered the same. Ignore the...

Nice work Ben, I wish mine looked that good.