Oxfordshire & West Berks (OWBAG) Meeting Tues 13th September

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ianpenberth
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Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 6:25 pm

Oxfordshire & West Berks (OWBAG) Meeting Tues 13th September

Postby ianpenberth » Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:28 pm

At The Plough Inn, High Street, Long Wittenham, OX14 4QH, on Tuesday 13th September from 19:30 onwards.

Our room is booked from 19:30 - 21:30. The pub will be open beforehand and serving meals and the usual refreshments. Please contact the pub directly to let them know you're coming if you intend to eat - 01865 407738.

All welcome, whether local or just passing through. Feel free to bring along something you have built or are working on.
Ian
PenBits Model Railways - Diesel bogie springing and detailing

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ianpenberth
Posts: 117
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 6:25 pm

Re: Oxfordshire & West Berks (OWBAG) Meeting Tues 13th September

Postby ianpenberth » Thu Sep 22, 2022 3:06 pm

Seven members made it along for another interesting meeting: Gareth, Robin, Mike, Andrew, Martin, David and Ian.

Gareth had been checking and adjusting his BBs and had seen improved running as a result - it's nice when theory and practice concur!

Couplings continue to engage the group, so to speak. Gareth had been playing with the Wizard electromagnets for AJs, and found them a little fierce on 12V, working quite adequately on 5V. It was pointed out that the distance below railhead will have an effect. Also the trick of having a light 'brake' (foam or spring wire) acting on one axle to prevent unwanted magnetic attraction. Robin is working with Dingham couplings, while Martin has received the first production etches for his own brand. Andrew introduced us to the Winterley magnetically latched couplings, with a few wagons so fitted so we could try them out - fascinating. He has since kindly provided these references:

Original articles by Rodney Pearce:
Railway Modeller November 1996, How do they do that? Detailed description & building instructions for his auto-coupling design, which gives hands-free coupling and uncoupling without any external uncoupler magnets or mechanisms.
Railway Modeller June 1996, The Ash Branch. 3mm finescale layout using these couplings.

Website and videos of the Winterley coupling, which John Shaw developed from Rodney Pearce's original design:
Couplings (winterleyproducts.co.uk)
Winterley Auto couplings Testing - YouTube I believe this is a 4mm layout, though not specified on the video.
Welcome to Gillan & Brown! - YouTube 7mm layout using Winterley couplings. Brief explanation (and close-up video) of coupling operation at 4:30.

Mike brought along a brake van using a RTR conversion test etch that he'd hoped would make a 'quickie' conversion but turned out to be more of a fiddle than it was worth. However it was noteworthy for having inside bearings on the axles made from those little brass bushes that are wound into the ends of steel guitar strings.

Other discussions ranged onto using 3D printing and laser cutting for helping to make baulk road, inset trackwork and architectural fittings. Gareth brought along a tortoise that he'd disassembled so we could see what was going on inside.
Ian
PenBits Model Railways - Diesel bogie springing and detailing


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