John Isherwood

Nope - I have my Asda recurring slots set well into November. John Isherwood.

The LH diagram illustrates my test attachment of microswitch and actuator cam (10 x 3 x 3mm. plastic strip) beneath the tiebar and sleeper; the cam was bolted through the central hole in the tiebar and the microswitch was glued to the sleeper. The RH diagram shows how I will improve this arrangement in future. The microswitch will be bolted to the sleeper via the existing holes in the microswitch, and the cam will be increased in size to 12 x 6 x 6mm. to compensate for the relocation of the microswitch and to make the cam more robust. The microswitch will change the frog polarity and so the turnout will be a standalone unit, which could be actuated via the digital 'flick' method, if desired. Assuming that this system works satisfactorily, the switching function of the slide switch, used to operate the wire in tube system, will not be required for turnout electrical switching, but could be utilised for mimic diagram operation. John Isherwood.

Try some of these https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=metal+suppliers+chelmsford John Isherwood.

Quite right - I built my own. John Isherwood.

Years ago, when I bought my Unimat 3, I went to my local metal suppliers and asked if I could have a rummage through their non-ferrous metals offcuts box; I was charged very little and I am still using those pieces. The Unimat 3 is quite capable of turning and milling small components in steel. My 'learning-curve' project was a scale chassis for a BR Booth PW diesel crane; (aka the Airfix / Dapol Booth Rodley crame kit). The frames, deck, bufferbeams and pivot ring are brass, but it has steel draw-out stabilising beams, with working steel screw jacks on the ends - talk about jumping in at the deep end! (If buying steel rod / bar, ask for bright mild steel). John Isherwood.

So do I - let's hope that it is the announcement that the models have been despatched to those who have paid for them! John Isherwood.

Is it just me - or is the above self-contradictory? If KR Models had no capital, and has used others' money to get where they are, how could they be in a position to refund to the penny if the project had to be cancelled at a late stage? If the funding is available to refund - why was others' money required in the first case? What we can be certain of is that KR Models cannot have got to the production stage without expending others' money. ...... or am I missing a vital point? I would be interested to hear the answer from KR Models. Let me be absolutely clear - I bear no ill-will towards KR Models; I trust that GT3 and their other proposed projects are successful. HOWEVER - illogical communications such as the above have, from the outset, rung alarm bells with those who, like me, are a tad circumspect when it comes to trusting their hard-earned funds to others, of whom they know little or nothing. John Isherwood.

Any good? https://www.emcomachinetools.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=60 John Isherwood.

That is still to be determined! Originally, I was intending to use the same, manual 'flick / digital' operation that I have on my test track, and was looking for a simple means of switching the frog polarity. However; I have now just about decided to use an adaptation of wire-in-tube operation, actuated by a slide switch. Assuming that I proceed on this basis, I will not need the tie-bar microswitches - though they could be used to operate point position indicator lights, I suppose. John Isherwood.

That's exactly what I have experimented with fitting beneath the tie-bar of a Peco Code 75 Bullhead point. A block of plastic square section, drilled, tapped and screwed to the underside of the tie-bar using the central hole provided. This actuates the striker of the microswitch that is glued to the underside of the sleepers at the toe of the point. The switch is so small that only a tiny recess is needed in the baseboard to house the microswitch. John Isherwood.

I think that - given the premise on which this layout is built, but having regard for the harsh reality that the branch did not actually survive - only the most basic of terminal facilities could have been justified. Even Lords had finite resources, and those that didn't go bankrupt must have had a degree of hard financial common sense. Surely something far more 'Colonel Stephens' would be more appropriate - this rural environment could never have generated more than a trickle of passenger business? There would not have been a stationmaster, surely - just a yard foreman / shunter and a guard / conductor? John Isherwood.

...... because someone here always falls for it !! What we need is a deafening silence next time it happens - except for a chorus of "Loads of errors - but we're not telling"! It ain't going to happen, though, is it? John Isherwood.

Surely a good photo and a bit of plastic card ......? John Isherwood.

I don't !! Acquiring knowledge takes time and, more often than not, money; (buying books and plans, spending valuable time researching primary sources). This is part of the development process for a commercial model and has a value; if a potential manufacturer wishes to take advantage of a someone's personal investment, they should be prepared to pay for it. I have been asked - and paid for - my transfer designs, to be used on commercial models; and that is how it should be. It would seem that KR Models' research policy is to make a token stab at producing a CAD for their new projects, and then throw it into the railway modelling arena for us to throw up our collective hands in horror, and redo the job for them - FOC! Ingenious - but hardly an honourable business model. The alternative interpretation is that they do not know much at all about the prototype railway - hardly a good basis for a model railway business. John Isherwood.

In my experience - years ago - getting the white lining to look straight / consistent is the challange. John Isherwood.

Phil, I would try and get a little more of a curve into the second side - that will help the top and bottom corners conform to the profile of the donor coach. I have fitted Comet etched sides to a good many donor coaches; I was not initially happy with the increased width as a result of applying the etch over the moulded side. My standard practice now is to remove the entire sides between the inner faces of the end mouldings. I then file the edges of the ends to remove the thickness of the etched sides. In order to locate the etches and provide a strong bond, I glue a strip of plastic section along the eaves, under the gutter. The lower edge of the etched side can also be strengthened / stiffened by soldering a strip of brass to the inside, in order to bring the thickness of the new sides up to that of the original plastic side. In this way, the re-sided coach ends up exactly the same width as the original donor coach. A little more work but, IMHO, well worth it. John Isherwood.

Lima paint came off in seconds with nothing more exotic than methylated spirits. John Isherwood.

I put the model in a plastic bag and spray Mr. Muscle into the bag. It contains the smell and the paint comes off OK - but I still dislike using it. John Isherwood.

Mr. Muscle oven cleaner is much the same - a strong caustic foam with a - to me - unpleasant, catch-in-the-throat odour. Strips paint very efficiently, though! John Isherwood.

I know - it is taken away when one is on the 'naughty step'! (Just as in nursery school). You couldn't make it up, could you?!? Regards, John Isherwood.

You can see a turnout in the video. John Isherwood.

It depends on whether you are doing blood and custard / choc. and cream, or maroon. 21 lines of straw yellow / black, and 21 lines of straw yellow / black / straw yellow; each 197mm. long. John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

You could try Sheet BL28 at https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

Into a soldered model? I get the impression that Mr. Wealleans isn't keen to have a second go at building it! Lead shot, perhaps - but not fixed with PVA? John Isherwood.

I've one of these; (Acorn?); part-built - I've a feeling that I won't be in a hurry to finish it! John Isherwood.