F-UnitMad Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 For us space-starved UK modellers, one of the problems with Mid-Western granger Railroads is all those long, empty miles in between towns... how to get a sense of all that space in a tiny layout...?? How about like this...... Just a pity the F-Unit isn't white 'n' red..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Oi, mister! There's nothing wrong with the old yeller & green! ha, ha! Pretty neat little layout too! So! Did Tim Warris build it or just film it? Cheers, John E. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Chris Chewter Posted November 18, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 18, 2011 Oh dear. I misread the description and expected endless lines of GWR prairies! Should have gone to spec savers! A very nice layout. I'd love to know how the turning mechanism is built. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Here's another one that I've seen in action - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO_I99P9oZs The locomotive isn't powered, and the layout is on a slight slant, so the train rolls forward downhill as the layout turns. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 The locomotive isn't powered, and the layout is on a slight slant, so the train rolls forward downhill as the layout turns. That's quite a clever way of keeping the train and layout speeds in synch I have to admit! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prof Klyzlr Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Oh dear. I misread the description and expected endless lines of GWR prairies! Should have gone to spec savers! A very nice layout. I'd love to know how the turning mechanism is built. Dear Chris, Have a read of the video's "comments". The basic concept is: - Remember the "For every action, there is a equal and opposite reaction"? - the loco is powered, and is effectively "pushing the track out behind it" - assuming the track is fixed in position, as per a normal layout, this would make the loco move forward. (The track can't move when the loco "pushes against it", so the loco moves instead) - However, in this case, the "track" _is_ free to move, (it's built on a bicycle wheel, which in a "perfect science world" would be frictionless), so when the loco "pushes the track out behind it", it "spins the layout" rather than "moving the loco along the layout". Think about how you "stay in fixed position" without holding onto anything, when you are jogging on a treadmill... (You are "pushing the treadmill belt out behind you", instead of "moving forward") Hope this helps... Happy Modelling, Aim to Improve, Prof Klyzlr PS Yes, I need to spend more time on the treadmill too... ;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 Oh dear. I misread the description and expected endless lines of GWR prairies! Should have gone to spec savers! In the "USA & Canadian" Section...??!!?? Specsavers indeed........ - Remember the "For every action, there is a equal and opposite reaction"? Otherwise known as "Newton's Third Law of Motion"...... It's certainly an ingenious way to rotate the board! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prof Klyzlr Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Dear RM Team, Questions arising: - is there a limit to the phsyical size of the "disk" that a bicycle wheel can support? (and thus, by implication, the minimum radii possible?) - is there a minimum speed at which the train can successfully turn the layout? - who could see * Santa Fe Warbonnet F-units + passenger cars * Canadian/US grain hauler * etc fitting into such a scene? - if the track was permitted to have a "not perfectly smooth circle" trajectory, would that affect the motion? - if a "curved passing loop" could be placed anywhere on the circuit, and a train parked in it, would it represent a "out-of-balance weight" which would affect the movement, a la an out-of-balance car wheel? - would adding a prarie "grade crossing" with gates/bells add to the scene by giving a "live doppler" effect as the train "blasts past", or would it detract due to the frequency of it's appearance? - similar question for a "backdrop to end-of-layout" overpass? - Taken to a much more modern era, and possibly illogical extreme, if the curve radii, and therefore circumference of the circuit could be accurately calc'd, what say ye about a string of BNSF or similar aluminium "Coal gons" and a SD?? "mid train helper", or an earlier era 40' grain boxcar + SD40-2 "mid train helper" train? (IE a loco and cars which form a complete coupler-to-coupler train covering the entire circle of track?) It'd make the oft-cited reason for US person to "run the grade crossing", ("...you've seen the length of them trains, I'd be stuck at this 'ere grade crossing for hours waiting for it to end...") look like 10 second wait... :-) (and drive the kids mad running round and round the layout trying to work out where the train starts and ends...) Hmmm... Happy Modelling, Aim to Improve, Prof Klyzlr (we've just had all the windows done in the house, and access to the modeling room and equipment is severely restricted, does it show? :-) ). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 (we've just had all the windows done in the house, and access to the modeling room and equipment is severely restricted, does it show? :-) ). Yes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Dear RM Team, Bu99er - I have just typed an answer to this and lost it, so we'll try again. Questions arising: - is there a limit to the phsyical size of the "disk" that a bicycle wheel can support? (and thus, by implication, the minimum radii possible?) Probably, but it may be somewhat larger than the original diameter of the wheel - is there a minimum speed at which the train can successfully turn the layout? That would need experimentation - who could see * Santa Fe Warbonnet F-units + passenger cars * Canadian/US grain hauler * etc Oh, Yes! fitting into such a scene? - if the track was permitted to have a "not perfectly smooth circle" trajectory, would that affect the motion? Yes, almost certainly. The vaying distance from the centre will alter the weight/force that the train exerts on the wheel - if a "curved passing loop" could be placed anywhere on the circuit, and a train parked in it, would it represent a "out-of-balance weight" which would affect the movement, a la an out-of-balance car wheel? You might be able to get away with it by adding a similar weight at the same distance on exactly the opposite side of the disk - would adding a prarie "grade crossing" with gates/bells add to the scene by giving a "live doppler" effect as the train "blasts past", or would it detract due to the frequency of it's appearance? I think this would really depend on how large the disk is - the larger the disk, the greater the distance netween repeats - on a small disk it would be too much - similar question for a "backdrop to end-of-layout" overpass? Likewise - Taken to a much more modern era, and possibly illogical extreme, if the curve radii, and therefore circumference of the circuit could be accurately calc'd, what say ye about a string of BNSF or similar aluminium "Coal gons" and a SD?? "mid train helper", or an earlier era 40' grain boxcar + SD40-2 "mid train helper" train? (IE a loco and cars which form a complete coupler-to-coupler train covering the entire circle of track?) I think both of these might become boring very rapidly - also the helper would need to be either a dummy or both DCC "consisted, and fed through wiper pick ups as shown on YouTube It'd make the oft-cited reason for US person to "run the grade crossing", ("...you've seen the length of them trains, I'd be stuck at this 'ere grade crossing for hours waiting for it to end...") look like 10 second wait... :-) Again this might be a "cliche" (and drive the kids mad running round and round the layout trying to work out where the train starts and ends...) Hmmm... A thought might be something like the circular "Industrial" figure of eight that appeared on YouTube and Carls site - that just misses whacking its tail-end. A further thought is that the whole thing might be powered by a seperate motor - if the loco and motor were DCC powered it might be easier to synchronis the speedsusing DCC with 128 speed steps Happy Modelling, Aim to Improve, Prof Klyzlr (we've just had all the windows done in the house, and access to the modeling room and equipment is severely restricted, does it show? :-) ). Yes - having done the same - I can only say "What fun!" Best Jack Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold griffgriff Posted November 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 20, 2011 Oh dear. I misread the description and expected endless lines of GWR prairies! Should have gone to spec savers! For that you will have to model Tyseley on a Sunday afternoon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prof Klyzlr Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Dear Jack, No need to make the "helper" a dummy, it would be _the_ motive-power... (there would only be the one loco on the track, it would just have a string of cars attached to it's rear coupler soooo long as to also attach to it's front coupler, thus making it appear like a "mid-train helper"...) These modelling-bench-withdrawals are getting pretty extreme... Happy Modelling, Aim to Improve, Prof Klyzlr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 ....there would only be the one loco on the track, it would just have a string of cars attached to it's rear coupler soooo long as to also attach to it's front coupler, thus making it appear like a "mid-train helper"... That would take some accurate measuring - to get the circle of track precisely the right circumference so that the last boxcar just coupled to the front of the loco.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prof Klyzlr Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 That would take some accurate measuring - to get the circle of track precisely the right circumference so that the last boxcar just coupled to the front of the loco.... Dear F-Unit, ...or, use some old-style Kadee #4 couplers with their "stretchable" draftgear... :-) Happy Modelling, Aim to Improve, Prof Klyzlr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 For those of you who wondered what I was talking about in my earlier post The layout was Greg Malinowskis "Bay Freight Division" on Carls Scrapbook page #100 and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXvVTodbHbY Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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