Hello to our fellow modellers.
This layout is called Wulan Unterwald, which is a name made up by my friend John Andrews who actually owns this little layout, it's a play on words from my Rabbit layout, Burrowby Underhill that I failed to resurrect after its eight years of unused storage, in a rush to attend the East Midlands Narrow Gauge Exhibition at the Portland College, Mansfield this coming Saturday the 13th July.
John kindly offered to loan me one of his little layouts to save me having to give back word to the show organisers.
My brief was to freshen it up, and check my rolling stock ran OK on it.
The freshening up, and the laying of ballast to the more or less originally un-ballasted track, was a simple operation, but me being me, I had to complicate things by attempting to replace the fingerpoken operating of the points, into more technical wire in tube operation, and never having used that method before, I failed. This was not as usually happens I understand, due to friction, but because I purchased some 1/8th" bore nylon tubing, and the piano wire inner had too much room, the mechanical control panel I made with seven DPCO slide switches mounted on it at a central position at the rear of the layout, required bends to get from panel to point tie bar, and the slide switches did not have enough travel to take up the slack and move the point the distance required.
The wire in tube version was taken out, and mark two attempt at remote operation I decided was to be point motors, a concept I was more at home with, but on a ready built and sceniced layout, I had to give up that attempt as well due to lack of time.
So we are back to manual operation in the Mk three version, and at the moment, that seems to be working, but Saturday will tell whether I have been successful.
John's layout was built originally as a test layout for his HOe equipment, which he sceniced to add interest, its very simple but functional, well it was until I got my hands on it, but the number of things that went wrong during my loan tenure you wouldn't believe, after two attempts with a centralised control position failing, culminating in my Gaugemaster control packing up.
Luckily, the control packing up was the least of my worries, as I have a power system that I could use as a backup, I will be returning the controller back to Gauge master as their life time guarantee allows, when the dust settles.
I am going to post some pictures below, with any description I think might be helpful.
The complete layout over view.
(https://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af229/gtmspyder/DSCF4554_zpsarw2ba5w.jpg) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/DSCF4554_zpsarw2ba5w.jpg.html)
The concept is a European Spa, served by its own station
(https://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af229/gtmspyder/DSCF4555_zps0zort9rd.jpg) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/DSCF4555_zps0zort9rd.jpg.html)
The buildings are all HO 3.5mm/ft, although two of the figures that I have placed appear as giants being 4mm, but John in his inimitable style, has an amusing explanation.
(https://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af229/gtmspyder/DSCF4557_zpsbtqmkwdf.jpg) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/DSCF4557_zpsbtqmkwdf.jpg.html)
The Station has goods facilities, and a ready supply of barrelled Lager available looking at the good shed loading bay, the little Church on the hill to the rear, covers any unforeseen drownings.
(https://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af229/gtmspyder/DSCF4558_zpssq6uxus9.jpg) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/DSCF4558_zpssq6uxus9.jpg.html)
The pool itself has fresh air changing facilities, and a sprung diving board.
(https://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af229/gtmspyder/DSCF4559_zpsvl2nuqfb.jpg) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/DSCF4559_zpsvl2nuqfb.jpg.html)
The station location has an engine stabling facility.
(https://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af229/gtmspyder/DSCF4561_zpszbeli2cw.jpg) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/DSCF4561_zpszbeli2cw.jpg.html)
My second attempt at operating the points was to be using Seep point motors, and this second control panel was built, with the intention that DPC Over toggle switches were to operate the point motors, but time constrains made me abandon that attempt.
(https://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af229/gtmspyder/DSCF4562_zpsxv1clcj4.jpg) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/DSCF4562_zpsxv1clcj4.jpg.html)
This picture shows the current state of the base board, the white cabling is the multi-cored cable from the control panel to each point motor position, still in place, and the black nylon tubing that I have again re-installed to operate the four points at the front of the layout, the three rear points being operated by the fingerpoken method, with modifications.
(https://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af229/gtmspyder/DSCF4563_zpsygw6bnia.jpg) (http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/gtmspyder/media/DSCF4563_zpsygw6bnia.jpg.html)
The rear left one uses a slide switch, because the dead frog point was not cooperating and passing on the power through the point switch blades, and required a switch wiring to select the appropriate track, which also mechanically operates the point blades. The second modification was to the second rear off scene point which had lost its over-centring spring, and had to be held over to use the point switch blades to pass the current through to the appropriate track. To overcome this problem, I made a simple lever to do the task, but no picture I'm afraid, as the technology involved is awaiting the patent office's approval.
Regards,
BrianT
What size is this Brian?
Hello Steve, the physical size is 3ft x 2ft , 009/HOe, with seven Peco dead frog points and there is no water in the pool in case it interferes with the rudimentary electrics ;D
Regards,
BrianT.
Quote from: gtmspyder on July 09, 2019, 15:48
The buildings are all HO 3.5mm/ft, although two of the figures that I have placed appear as giants being 4mm, but John in his inimitable style, has an amusing explanation.
Wondering what that explanation might be. It seems to me that prototypical people occur in a far greater variety of heights than they are typically modelled in, you'd think this kind of scale mixing would work (speaking as someone trying to shoehorn a 4mm driver into a HOe cab).
Quote from: S Arrowsmith on July 10, 2019, 10:09
Quote from: gtmspyder on July 09, 2019, 15:48
The buildings are all HO 3.5mm/ft, although two of the figures that I have placed appear as giants being 4mm, but John in his inimitable style, has an amusing explanation.
Wondering what that explanation might be. It seems to me that prototypical people occur in a far greater variety of heights than they are typically modelled in, you'd think this kind of scale mixing would work (speaking as someone trying to shoehorn a 4mm driver into a HOe cab).
For some reason that I have never been able to work out most 00 scale figures are modelled as 6 foot tall in 4mm scale whereas most H0 scale figures are modelled at between 4 and 5
Quote from: B.Meldon on July 10, 2019, 11:59
For some reason that I have never been able to work out most 00 scale figures are modelled as 6 foot tall in 4mm scale whereas most H0 scale figures are modelled at between 4 and 5
3mm scale? Didn't know you did TT3 Brian!
As a matter of research I went upstairs and measured some of my large stock of HO and small number of OO figures. Both the Noch and Preiser HO scale male figures were all 20mm high which equates to about 5ft 9ins, by co-incidence the Bachmann OO scale ones (Factory Worker Set) were 23mm which also comes out at 5ft 9ins! All the other boxes looked about the same so I can only assume that Brian's are TT 1:120 and not TT3 1:100 or HO 1:87...
If you check up "average heights" you will find that most of Northern Europe is between 5' 8" and 5' 10" (UK 5' 9"!) so the models are about right for the Euro average.
There is a caveat to the above, if you are using the Chinese cheapo ones of eBay (advertised as HO/OO or OO/HO) which looking at those pictures you may well be (I'm sure I recognise the garish colours!) I believe they are copies of Preiser/Noch figures and as such are HO scale and really much too small for modern OO scale humans!
Quote from: S Arrowsmith on July 10, 2019, 10:09
(speaking as someone trying to shoehorn a 4mm driver into a HOe cab)
Turns out my drivers (original source unknown) are 25mm, which puts them at over 7ft in HO. May be time for some procrustean surgery. (Pretty much all the other figures I have are 20mm, apart from a couple of Hornby OOs which are 23mm.)