The Burnbake and Woodyhyde Railway

[clayliner]

I've done a crude mock-up of the transfer shed:


transfer shed mock-up by clayliner, on Flickr

It's been a useful exercise, mainly because it's shown me that it really needs to be bigger, although there's not a lot of room for expansion. Maybe an extra centimetre in all directions. (It's not just that one of the locos won't fit under it - I'd be tempted just to cut a hole in the sheeting to clear the chimney, which I suspect is probably what would have happened in reality.)

Now I just need some nice thick rocket sticks for the uprights...

David.

[WALLSHIRTS]

Looks good and another interesting Loco. Is that one of the Pecketts from the Scaldwell line?
Mal.

[clayliner]

Thanks, Mal. I'm afraid I acquired it second-hand many moons ago now and its origins are lost in the mists of time... It does look a bit Pecketty, I suppose, and any info on the Pecketts of Scaldwell would be interesting.

This loco will need to go off for overhaul soon, too, and I suspect it may return as an 0-6-2 (I've never liked the overhang at the back!)

David.

[tedp]

The transfer shed mockup doesn't look bad - it's a very useful way to test ideas, and this looks quite atmospheric. I like the platform face and the track detail, by the way.

[invercloy]

This is looking very characterful. I like the transfer shed idea, the design you've come up with fits in nicely.

The loco looks like a shortened 'Beddgelert', but I can see the Scaldwell influence too.

[clayliner]

Thanks for the encouraging comments, guys. As people keep mentioning Scaldwell and I didn't know anything about it I thought I'd better do some research (I now know it means 'shallow spring', for example). From the front 'my' loco does look rather different from the one at Amberley - apart from having square spectacles the smokebox extends beyond the tank. So it looks rather stretched both front and back (which is why some trailing wheels might help to balance it up).

Incidentally, I've just bought a


bug bat by clayliner, on Flickr

Enough said. Hopefully some results here before too long (if I don't electrocute myself).

Just one question - does the polarity matter? (I imagine not, but I don't really want grass on the ceiling...)

David.

[Elmgate]

Polarity does not matter; however, you need to find the "earth" side of the high voltage circuit, and fit a wander lead, which you then attach with a pin, or otherwise, to the scenic base where you want to add the static grass. The "bat" will need to be replaced with metal tea strainer, into which you place the grass. I have not carried out the conversion myself, but have one that I bought through Ebay. I believe there may be a "how to do it" on YouTube.

[clayliner]

Thanks, Tim - but if it's the earth side which needs to be attached to the wander lead then presumably polarity does matter  ???

Yes, I've located the videos but confess I haven't actually digested it all yet - once I've made the effort then presumably it will all become clear (as much as electricity will ever be clear to me!)

How well does yours work?

David.

[Elmgate]

Polarity: Since I believe that the device delivers alternating current, at low power, there is no real polarity. I was really answering the point you made whether getting it wrong would put the grass on the ceiling! ;) My reference to the earth side, was more from the point of view of earthing one side of the circuit to the layout. Since I have not dismantled the device to see where the connection has been made, I cannot comment on how to find the second connection. Hence the suggestion that you look at YouTube.

Although I tried to give some guidance on making an electrostatic grass application tool - unless you are confident with what you are doing, I would advise against it. The device should not be dangerous to humans (or the fly swat would not be sold) in its intended use, the "earthy" side is insulated, and I presume that the lethal shock the insect is supplied by suddenly charging it up. Once you dismantle the machine, you expose both terminals of the High Voltage circuit, and could provide a shock.

That said, the device that I have is obviously derived from the one you have bought. I cannot compare with an expensive "professional" model, but find it works for my purposes. My only comment is that my tea strainer has rather small mesh, so it takes some shaking and tapping to get the grass to fall through.

[Graeme Dunbar]

Bearing in mind the warnings about safety you feel yourself confident to carry out the task you will find several sets of instruction on YouTube and elsewhere for making a static grass applicator from an electric fly killer. Regarding safety you may even happen across a YouTube video of an idiot sticking his tongue into one!  :o

I posted my own video showing how to make the applicator a little safer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkzLwS5n5c8

Regarding polarity, there ain't no such thing as zero volts in the same way that absolute zero temperature exists. Volts are relative to some point. Bang a metal peg into the earth in one place and at another and you may find there is a voltage between them.

The static applicator works due to "like charges repel, unlike charges attract". It doesn't really matter whether the tea strainer or the PVA on the baseboard is the more positive. (Well it may make a very slight difference, if I remember correctly the earths electric field is in the region of a hundred volts per metre and rather more if a thunder storm is on the way.)

I am not sure that the voltage is ac, but it is quite possibly pulsed. You can hear this as a squeal in my video when I short out the tea strainer to a piece of kitchen foil. Often the fly swatter has a capacitor on the output that accumulates the charge. Some people remove this capacitor to reduce the large "zap" instead of adding a resistor as I did. As you can see I touch the strainer with my finger with no ill-effect with the resistor added.

As the saying goes: "it's the Volts that jolt but the mills (milliamps) that kill". You can possibly generate a higher voltage by scuffing across a nylon carpet with rubber soled shoes.

I stick a pin into the baseboard and clip the crocodile clip on the "earth" side of my applicator to it. Adding a drop of washing up liquid is supposed to help prevent the glue "skinning" and I understand washing up liquid contains salt so that will aid conductivity. However the current flowing is so minute the baseboard need not be very conductive to build up a difference in electric charge.

Commercial "flockers" use much higher voltages and except for the really big ones the current is limited to even less than what I estimate my one can supply.

[Graeme Dunbar]

Regarding the electric fly swat being used in its intended form, my one has (or rather had) three layers of mesh the outer two were "earthed" and the one sandwiched between was at the "high" voltage wrt to them.

[clayliner]

Mine's the same, with two wires to the outer mesh layers and one to the business mesh in the middle. I probably shouldn't have used such a technical term as 'polarity' - I really just meant does it matter which lead is connected to the strainer and which to the board. Clearly not. All the videos are helpful and amazingly they all seem to agree on what to do!

Thanks for all the advice and electrical theory. Which reminds me - I must have another read of
Hugh Norwood's article in the latest 009 News - someone who can actually make electronics intelligible!

David.

[Hugh Norwood]

Hugh Norwood's article in the latest 009 News - someone who can actually make electronics intelligible!

David.

Gosh, Shucks!

[invercloy]

We'll definitely have to publish part 2 then, Hugh ;)

[clayliner]

There's more? - excellent!

I can now report that I'm now flocking and so far quite pleased with the results. I can see the advantages of flocking onto a piece of plastic and then peeling the patch off for dealing with those hard-to-reach places. The only shock I've received so far was being asked