Silver Sidelines

There has been some discussion recently about techniques and materials for connecting ‘droppers’. Single Core 0.6mm tinned wire for making droppers Those of you who read this Blog will know that it is an account of my own experiences and as such it contains descriptions of activities and techniques that work for me. Since 1980 I have constructed three large layouts. They have all used Code 100 Peco Streamline track. For each layout I have reused and added to the components from the previous layout. Hence I do not know the current length of track – but I am guessing that it is perhaps in the order of 150 yards. Certainly there are over 100 points some of which date back to the 1980s. The only concession to the 21st Century being that some of the earliest Peco points have had shims added at the frog to ease the passage of the finer scale wheels favoured by Bachmann. Early Peco Medium Radius Electrofrog Point with shim All three layouts have been DC and have use...

This last week saw the arrival of Western King – with no yellow panels. Heljan had already introduced their Western Class models prior to my return to the hobby and I have been on the lookout for some time for a Maroon model with no yellow panels – now I have found one! Heljan D1039 Western King I have fond memories of the introduction of the Western Class diesel hydraulics. As a school boy I used to be taken once or twice per year to visit 'family' on the Wirral. My parents would take the opportunity to spend a day shopping in Chester and I would get to spend time train spotting at Chester General. D1007 Western Talisman In those days office workers did not have as many days holiday as now and Father used to arrange our visits to include a Bank Holiday. Hence I know that the above picture was taken during August Bank Holiday 1962. In the summer of 1962 Chester General was a shadow of its former self. No Castles only a rundown Hall. The Beeching cuts had star...

Following on from my last Post I have been running playing with my DMUs   When I want to watch trains ‘go by’ I can operate the Main Line as a continuous loop with up to three different trains following each around all at the same time.   The power comes from four different Gaugemaster DS controllers which is kept constant for all trains.   This does have the disadvantage that if one train runs faster than the others it will catch one of the other trains up.   Not to worry it is relatively easy to find a rail section and let it have a rest.   Similarly if one of the trains is significantly slower, then the other two trains will have to have a rest!     I was attempting to run all three Bachmann DMUs, Class 105, Class 108 and Derby Lightweight.   It was very obvious that the Class 108 was lagging – why?   On first inspection there did not appear to be anything seriously amiss.   However I did note that the PCB was dated 2006 s...

Following on rather quickly from my last Post I can see that there is far more interest in Bachmann’s newer Cravens than their earlier Class 108s. Cravens (top) Class 108 (bottom) To prevent buffer locking on Peco Medium Radius points the Cravens appear to need an extra millimetre separation compared to the Class 108. "Mind the Gap" - Cravens . My Cravens do not get much use and hence I have not studied them quite as much as the Class 108s.   I have been puzzling - “Why the difference in behaviour?”   Actually it is quite obvious: “Eyes left – eyes right” The Bachmann Class 108s have larger diameter buffers than the Bachmann Class 105s – which helps prevent buffer locking on tight curves.