Scalefour Forum

Thanks, Tony, and also Keith. The original switches for the electro-magnets couldn't handle the 3-amp demand placed on the circuit by these particular electro-magnets, so they were replaced with higher-rated switches, which I largely avoided using other than for testing , before the diodes were inst...

I have had very little time for any hobby activities in the past few weeks, due to having to spend all my time completing a professional writing project to meet a tight deadline. I did, however, find the time to do the battery test on the layout suggested by Keith Norgrove. With no electrical equipm...

Thanks, Tony.

I was thinking of looking at it with my multi-meter, and this is something I'll do next week, in addition to the battery test mentioned above.

I would have been interested in this virtual event, but simply didn't have time last weekend to go online.

Is the recorded material by any chance still available, and if so can a link be provided to it?

As I mentioned yesterday, I won't be able to try the battery test suggested by Keith until next week, but I should perhaps make it clear that the dull glow from the LED when it is switched 'off' doesn't greatly bother me in itself. My real concern is whether the 'stray' current that makes the LED gl...

Thanks, Keith. I'll try that. I'm currently 90 miles away from the layout, so it will have to wait until next week. (By the way, just to show my complete ignorance of electricity, I had gained the impression that current flows from the negative terminal of the power supply to the positive terminal, ...

At Keith’s suggestion, I have prepared a simplified circuit diagram, which shows the entirety of the circuitry for the LEDs powered from the 12v DC output from the controller. I don’t understand electrical and electronic symbols, so please excuse the crude form in which this diagram is presented. LE...

An LED conundrum Some time ago, I decided to add a panel indicator to the switch panel that controls the electro-magnets for uncoupling the magnetic couplings on the layout. At the time, there was a risk that a switch might inadvertently be left on (as I was not using push-buttons for this purpose ...

That's a rather good venue, with a light, airy atrium, and a large exhibition hall upstairs "Wycrail" is held there each year (although not this year, obvs.), using both the atrium and the exhibition hall. I can't remember what the catering is like, but the atrium provides convenient seati...

I haven't had time to do much on the layout in the past few weeks, due to other calls on my time, but one job I did get done was to connect the wires from the transformers to the layout. I showed a photo a few weeks ago of the new choc-block under the baseboard after it was wired up. The final job w...

You could, of course, dispense with the clock altogether, and just run through the sequence (the times shown in the WTT being purely nominal).

I wrote a letter in the Railway Modeller making this suggestion as long ago as 1966 (!)

I applied POWsides rub-down transfers to a PO wagon, and then sprayed it with Testor's Dulcote direct from the can.

I had absolutely no problem after spraying Dulcote on the wagon sides. In fact, I was very pleased with the result.

I do have to agree that there is no way of identifying the bare title as a link, and I spent some time hunting for a link before I found the clue in this thread, and then successfully clicked on the hidden link.

Sincere congratulations to the whole organising team, and to all those members who contributed to the content of the virtual show, on a very successful and enjoyable online event. Nothing can really replace the real thing, but this was a very welcome and thoroughly worthwhile initiative. So a big th...

I only had time to view the first video, and found this layout really impressive.

I understand that all this material will remain available on the Society's website (?) so I shall make a point of looking at the other three videos.

David, This is the most brilliant and informative instruction video I have ever seen! Some professionally produced training films don't match up to this excellent standard. I have seen your demo previously at Scaleforum, but this video really got the message across. It was truly inspirational. My LR...

I'm looking forward to the virtual Scaleforum. This has clearly involved a good deal of effort on the part of quite a few people. The printed flyer with Scalefour News showed that there will be some interesting layouts on show, and some useful demos. As for musical accompaniment to the videos, my re...

Just watched (and heard) the Scaleforum trailer. I'm a dedicated classical music fan, but I couldn't help laughing. The opening passage from this Bach toccata is a favourite soundtrack for horror movies! If you want a suggestion, how about the opening movement of Elgar's Enigma Variations? (Hackneye...

My understanding is that the question posed related to the working of the local pick-up goods train, calling at all stations to drop and collect wagons. On a main line there would, of course, have been through goods trains passing the station without stopping. Coal going to more distant destinations...

The source of coal would be influenced to a significant extent by the relative proximity of a coalfield that could supply coal of the type required. Local coal merchants would deal mainly in household and general use coal. In a large part of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, local merchant...

Work has been carrying on steadily over the past few weeks to complete the pre-planned work that had been scheduled while easy access could be gained to the underside of the baseboards. This included revised feeds to the layout from the two transformers and the feeds to the controllers. The former i...

I have been making good progress with work on the underside of the layout, consisting of various changes to wiring and switching arrangements, which I had deferred until I could do this work without having to reach up under the layout (involving getting solder to flow uphill). The changes are fairly...

My understanding is that the underframes of GWR Brown Vehicles (including headstocks, buffers, etc.) were always painted black. As regards body colour, there appears to have been a change of practice around 1928. Prior to that date, the ends of the body (but not the headstocks, buffer housings, etc....

Evergreen strip container A month ago, I illustrated in this thread the very unsatisfactory temporary storage I had improvised for my Evergreen strip, and welcomed the potential for a better solution using the laser-cut parts from EBMA Hobby and Craft . This led to a discussion with Andy Goodman of...

I should also now ask for a degree in Ikea assembly.... I think we would all qualify for a degree (or at least a post-graduate diploma) in self-assembly furniture of various different makes! Fortunately, there was nothing of that sort this time, but when it comes to the main house move, probably ne...